Finding the Readers

The quote from “Field of Dreams” is ‘If you built it, HE will come’ which has been misheard for decades as they will come. So here I am I built something, hoping HE or THEY will come. Readers, that is! Unfortunately, I was informed that my local bookshop could not stock the book because the market isn’t good there. YA/Fantasy, Science Fiction won’t sell there. This means I need to find my readers. I have put out the ad, and I have boosted my range to England, the US and the whole of Australia. With 70% being in England so far. I am hoping people will buy the book.

The advert will last a week. My posters have been out in town for two weeks. I even have had the same poster in the Coffee Shop for two months. It seems that right now I am only reaching the same people and word of mouth isn’t working, or the word isn’t spreading yet.
My article in the local magazine didn’t get the exact phrasing I wanted, I got a small mention at the bottom of another article. I hope it doesn’t get overlooked.

If you are here reading this because of the ad, a magazine or another means. Comment below how you found out and thanks for reading. Spread the word.

Bank and Boost

This week has been a real learning curve in terms of being your own business and trying to get royalties from overseas. I thought I fixed the bank rejection trouble with my iTunes Royalties only to be told that it was rejected again. Why? Because it wasn’t an overseas account. That’s right, I need to create a middle bank account, one that will take my royalties from overseas and then transfer them into my Australian account. It must be simple to create that account, right? Wrong!

I am now waiting to hear back from my bank to know how to create that middle overseas account to act like a middleman. Hopefully, I hear back next week, otherwise, I might be receiving my first royalties six months after the fact.

On the positive side, I created my first social media ad to boost engagement and, hopefully, sales. It will last a week and then I will try to create another. If the first one works. The ad will let people know about my next event and where my books are. Hoping they will then check out my website.

If you have came here because of the ad, comment below your city/country you are from and let’s see how who is the furthest from where I live.

New Month, New Goals, Old problems

October has started, Daylight savings started and the nights are getting longer. With plans to have my book signing on Saturday the 22nd, everything else needs to go smoothly. I have a goal to sell all my books by end of October that I have physically ordered. It has been a slow progress with the Fridays, trying to buy a book and my elevator pitch needs to improve. But I still plan on selling them all, so I can put Book #3 on Amazon before Christmas.

What I have discovered is that my bank and iTunes aren’t seeing eye to eye, which means I am not getting the royalties from iTunes just yet. I hope to hear back from them with an explanation. I hope that they can resolve this, so I can start getting an income from them.

There were a few problems that I found that I won’t mention - if you find them you can message me - and it seems that trying to reach to people is way harder than I thought, especially if my words aren’t heard or overlooked.
Keep an eye out for latest updates for the Book Signing.

Trying to Sell to New People

This LONG weekend, I tried and failed to sell my book to new people. Friday, I put my Cut-out in the Coffee Shop I spent my morning working at but I didn’t have the opportunity or the courage to bring up my book. I have learned that trying to talk to strangers is more difficult unless they bring it up or looking at the product. Then on Sunday, while the world came to my suburb, I didn’t have time to let slip that I am an author. I wanted to, but I didn’t get a chance.

Monday, I advertised that I would sell my book at Wollongong Golf Club for a different audience and took several books with me to an event that happened on the night. But I learned that people take a while to buy a new concept, a new book. People need time to accept a new story, and especially a self-published story.

The hope is that come October I will sell the rest of my books that I ordered back in May and June and that by December people will be buying it online.

Me, Myself and I are doing their best to market, promote and advertise but it also takes word of mouth from those who have bought the book. Those who have read it to, post a review, spread the word too. That way more and more ‘new’ people' can understand what the book is about and buy it.

Book Two on iTunes and Things to Come

The presale has ended, the second book “Immortal and the Hex” is now available for purchase on Apple Books, this was a long process, trying to figure out why it wasn’t working. Attempting every second day to publish it, only to get an error. Here’s hoping those on Apple Devices, will enjoy reading the two books.

This book delves into the the 21st Century, an alternate 21st Century. It looks at the Mitchell’s continuous desire to help and protect as well as the consequences of his actions.

In 30 days, I plan on selling all the book copies I have left that I ordered in one go, I will be having a Book Signing in my local community. I hope to sell some books on Monday when I travel down south for an event, and then keep selling books. I hope that I attract enough buyers from all around the area so I can be sold out on the day.

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Yesterday, my third book cover was revealed, if you missed it, check out Facebook or Instagram. I am impressed with the turn-out, something that tells a bit about the book without giving it away. I hope to publish the third book late October after the Book Signing. But I will take each week as it comes.

Catch the Clues

Tomorrow the third Book Cover will be revealed, the last three days I have posted clues on Facebook and Instagram. The clue could be in the image, the words or both. The clues will help give you a mental picture of what the cover might look like. Of course, I am leaving the main part of the cover unmentioned until the big reveal.

Can you guess the blank space?

The problem with starting a series and being a beginner author is that you don’t know if people are liking the book, finished reading or even started the book. You can only hope; the feedback you get helps but until people outside your friends, family and those that you pay to provide feedback, the book is still an unknown factor. I was hoping to have three books out in 1 year. Because the books flow and lead from one to another, but unless someone leaves feedback saying “I can’t wait to read the next book.” It’s all uncertain.

So please, comment below, have you got any guesses for the clues, have you finished the book?

Tease of the Cover

Yesterday, I posted on Social Media, a hint of the Third Book’s Cover. With the big reveal on the 21st, I will be dropping hints on social media for those who are keen observers. It took two extra months to arrange for the third book’s cover. The plan of three in a row went out the window. Then iTunes struggled to publish Immortal and the Hex onto Apple which took over two weeks. So that will come out on the same day as the Cover Reveal.

Comment what you can see, and what you think might be on the cover. Keep checking social media to see if you can figure out the clues and hints.

Post from Saturday 17th September

Pre-Order, Previews and Pictures

This week you can Pre-Order “Immortal and the Hex” on iTunes and have it ready to read by next week. The book continues straight off from Book #1. After a month of struggling to get the book available, using a Windows computer to do something that works better on Apple and Mac products hopefully will be worth it in the end.

This week, I will also be providing hints and clues to the cover of Book #3, “Class of the Immortal” which will have its cover reveal next week on the 21st of September. If you check out my Instagram or Facebook page this week, there will be word clues and visual clues.

Finally, I am running out of material to use for marketing and need the help of those who have bought my book, eBook or Physical. If you have the book at home, take a picture of the book somewhere in your house, your office, car or even public transport. Then send me the picture, and you will have credit for the picture when I use it for marketing. I just need pictures of the book in new places to help promote the book.

Changes and Updates

The world mourns the passing of the Her Majesty, the Queen, Elizabeth Windsor. The world will never be the same, but she will not be forgotten. When I heard the news, I was devastated, she didn’t make it to Christmas. She has been through a lot, two wars, flood, fire and epidemic. She lost her father, mother, sister and husband, along with daughter-in-law. She traveled the world, she met so many people, shook so many hands and wore so many hats. As long as her story is told, she will not be forgotten, especially by the commonwealth.

I may have written her to live to 100+ I may have made her retire at 100, but that was my Fantasy, my alternate reality.

Now for an update, I have managed to get iTunes to publish Book #2 “Immortal and the Hex” onto Apple Books, however, I have decided to postpone the release of the book until the 21st of September, around the same time I am revealing the third book’s cover. I waited this long for it to be available on Apple, while not another two weeks.

Spanner in the Works

It has been over a week since September started, and Apple still hasn’t resolved the error preventing me from publishing my second book there. I have been emailing them for the last seven days, and they keep getting back to me with can you tell us what the problem is. Hopefully, this will be resolved before the end of the month. I am really hoping to have it available on all three platforms BEFORE I reveal the cover of the third book.

The biggest spanner in my works is social media not reaching the wider audience; having only 50-100 people reached isn’t getting the word out there. The same people are seeing the advertisement, and unless they are sharing the posts, no one else is. In order for this to reach a wider audience, I need social media actually to have their “Algorithms” work in my favour.