It has been nearly three months since my novel “Daredevil” that I’d been writing, editing, putting aside for long periods of time, agonizing over, and then finally picking back up again, was published. I knew that taking the non-traditional route of self-publishing meant that I would need to be my own PR/Marketing machine and I definitely thought I would have that piece covered. After all, I’ve spent my nearly 30 year career in PR and Communications, so this part had to be easier than the rest, right?

First off, I have to say that the entire self-publishing route presented a significant learning curve. Reviewing and considering the various options for publishing on Amazon, whether or not to utilize the KDP Select program (I eventually decided in favor of it), which formats to publish in, and how to price the book were all decisions I had to make after a whirlwind education and a lot of Googling. 

Second, I learned some important lessons while I was in the process of publishing on Amazon that caused me to stop and start a couple of times. For example, although I thought I’d done a pretty decent job over the years of editing and re-editing, it was clear that I needed to have a professional editor review the novel and provide a fresh set of eyes and another perspective. In addition, several authors advised me to spend the money on a professional cover. As the saying goes, a picture tells a thousand words, and although we’ve always been told not to judge a book by its cover, most people do. So I ponied up and spent some dollars on both a professional editor and a professional cover designer.

Once I’d taken care of these items, I went through a few painstaking rounds of formatting my book correctly and I even had to republish when I discovered – GASP – a typo and a song reference that was incorrect.  But eventually, I had a satisfactory final product in hand and I pulled the trigger and put it out there.

What to do next? I was giddy and hopeful. Naturally, the first week that I published, friends and family (well, not all – but many!) kindly supported my effort and purchased copies. I ran a KDP Select promotion, which allowed me to offer the Kindle version free for five days and that certainly helped. Then I began the process of identifying bookstagrammers and pitching them on reading a free review copy. I knew these folks were influential and a review from one or more, with the amount of followers they have, could be a huge publicity boost.

But as with most of my publishing-related tasks, I quickly learned that none of this was as simple as it might seem. Many of the bookstagrammers – particularly those with more than a thousand followers – receive free review copies constantly from a variety of publishers, agents and authors hoping to garner a good review and thereby, stoke sales. Many of them responded that their TBR (To Be Read/Reviewed) lists were far too long to take on more books, and many of them didn’t respond at all. A few have responded positively and I’ve sent them copies, but either they, too, have a long reading list in front of them, or perhaps, they hated the book and just have been too kind to post a bad review! Regardless, the Bookstagram route has been a lot tougher than expected and once the friends and family surge died down, my sales hit a definite lull.

But there is hope! I joined Goodreads. I joined Bookbub and Reedsy, sites that offer authors a chance to publicize and have their books reviewed. I joined the Women’s Fiction Writers Association in the hopes of being mentioned in their newsletter – and perhaps – chosen for their podcast but at the very least, it offers me a chance to connect with other women’s fiction writers. I dropped off some copies of my book at a few scattered Free Little Libraries in my community. And I’m fortunate that some of my early readers – not all of whom are friends & family, actually – have posted some kind reviews on Goodreads and Amazon. 

Amazon KDP Select allows you to run a free promo – up to five days and either all at once or broken up into chunks – every 90 days. So last week, at my 90-day mark, I ran a free three-day promo over the weekend. I guess most people really do respond to free stuff because I had my largest “sales” day ever with 104 downloaded copies in one day. I’m sure that would be nothing for a Stephen King, Ann Patchett, or Colleen Hoover but it was a joyful milestone for me.

Now my attention will turn to two primary activities: 1) Encouraging those who already have the book and have read it to write reviews (hopefully, positive ones), and 2) Continuing to hunt for Bookstagrammers and other social media reviewers who may be interested in free copies in exchange for a review. I’m also mulling over the possibility of BookTok; while I created a TikTok account, I have yet to post anything as I know it requires a substantial time commitment.

Embarking on this journey while still holding a full-time job has been difficult but ultimately, rewarding. I didn’t set out to make money on my novel but I wanted to see it to completion and ultimately, put it out into the world to see if anyone would a) read it and b) like it. The fact that a few people have done both has given me the necessary motivation to keep going…and best of all, to keep writing.

(To check out “Daredevil” for yourself, click here).