A Modest Request: August Summary

I hope that everyone had a fantastic Labor Day! I did (got a bunch of writing done and watched Maleficent at the dollar show), and now I'm ready to barrel into September!

In August, I discovered a possible regular venue to selling my books, and one that I wouldn't have considered when I first started with self-publishing: Panera Bread. Yes, the sandwich shop that in the St. Louis area is still known as the St. Louis Bread Company. I set up a table there a couple Sundays ago and sold four books, two to walk-ins. I think this coming month I'll do this again, especially since I'm coming up on Archon 38 and Bookseller's Row, to get me used to selling books face to face.

Aside from the book signing sales, I sold one copy over Amazon and three audiobook copies on Audible. I'm going to rearrange the page for Sheep's Clothing on my website sometime this week to allow my readers to more easily find my stuff, and starting this month I've knocked a dollar off the price of the paperback.

I will be making a big advertising push through Facebook and such, not only to tell people about all the myriad ways they can get Sheep's Clothing, but also to tell them about my author page on Facebook so I can get more "Like"s. I've found a website called Tweet My Books which has a big list of free review sites, so I will be working my way through that as well.

To that end, here is the expected raft of links:

To Buy Sheep's Clothing
Amazon Paperback: http://www.amazon.com/Sheeps-Clothing-Elizabeth-Einspanier/dp/1495358372/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1402671109&sr=1-2
Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Sheeps-Clothing-Elizabeth-Einspanier-ebook/dp/B00IWY0Z6A/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=1-2&qid=1402671109
Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/sheeps-clothing-elizabeth-einspanier/1118630507?ean=9781495358371
Audible: http://www.audible.com/pd/Fiction/Sheeps-Clothing-Audiobook/B00MJ3LWZI/ref=a_search_c4_1_6_srTtl?qid=1407942119&sr=1-6#publisher-summary

Find Me Online
Website: http://elizabetheinspanier.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/elizabeth.einspanier.author
Twitter: https://twitter.com/GeekGirlWriter
Google +: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+ElizabethEinspanier/about
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/GeekGirlWriter
Library Thing: http://www.librarything.com/profile/eeinspanier
Shelfari: http://www.shelfari.com/authors/a1002742061/Elizabeth-Einspanier/
Amazon Author Page: amazon.com/author/elizabetheinspanier

Is there anything you've like me to write an article about on my blog? Let me know!

A Modest Request: July Summary

You may recall that at the beginning of July I posted about my minor apartment flood and how it inspired me to try to sell 1000 copies of Sheep's Clothing by July 2015. Well, here's a summary of how I did this month.

Here is what I did:

• Signed up for five free book marketing sites
• Contacted as many book bloggers as I could find who would be even marginally interested in a horror Western
• Sent off seven review copies (plus one to my old college adviser, but that's neither here nor there
• Talked to a lot of people at work
• Contacted a few places near me to discuss the possibility of a book signing event

The results:

• Sold 15 copies of Sheep's Clothing, 14 of which were face-to-face sales.
• One book signing event scheduled for this month.

 It feels kind of anemic, but it was only my first month of this. I want to avoid pay-for-promotion sites as much as I possibly can, as several of them want hundreds of dollars to promote my book, and there are free promotion options for me out there.

My plans for August:

• Attend my book signing, bringing 100 copies of Sheep's Clothing with me. Sell as many as I can.
• Go through this list and post my book to as many of them as I possibly can.
• Post book promos to all the relevant Facebook groups I'm already a part of.

Of course, I'm also moving forward with my other fiction (which is the real key to getting traction with something like this). I'm taking steps to self-publish my SFR novel Heart of Steel, I finished the rough draft of Hungry as a Wolf (the sequel to Sheep's Clothing) this past Friday, and I'm hammering out a fantasy/mystery story entitled One Spooky Case.

Whew! I've got a lot of hard work ahead of me--but it'll be worth it if I can make this goal!

Sales Links

Once again, to make things super-duper easy for you to find, here are links to all the places my book is available for sale:

Amazon Paperback: http://amzn.to/1kkWLR6
Kindle eBook: http://amzn.to/1kDQj80
Barnes and Noble Paperback: http://bit.ly/1srHxel
Subterranean Books: http://bit.ly/1p8ghjO
CreateSpace eStore: http://bit.ly/1kkXguf

Also as a bonus, Sheep's Clothing is available at the St. Louis County Library (and by extension, to any inter-library loan systems they've partnered with).

Link: http://bit.ly/1qVrdEd

And of course, the progress bar:

16 / 1000

A Modest Request

The last week has been a bit hectic for me. The roof in the apartment building where I live developed a crack, which resulted in my bedroom getting flooded twice in as many rainstorms. In between dealing with the leasing office, the maintenance guys, my renter's insurance, and the water mitigation guys, I simply had no time or energy to write a blog post last week, but I will do my best not to vanish without warning from now on.

Why?

This month, I have decided to embark on a concerted marketing campaign for Sheep's Clothing. My goal is to sell 1000 copies of my book my this time next year, and for this I need your help. I need everyone to at least take a look at my book, and if you find it interesting, then by all means buy a copy and leave a review. If you know anyone who would be interested in reading a Weird Western involving old-school vampires, tell them about my book. It is a well-researched but light read, and I've gotten a lot of positive feedback (4.5/5 starts on Amazon!), so what do you have to lose?

What I am going to do is submit my book to as many book review bloggers as I can, do interviews, give talks at various venues, and above all, I will keep my network (you) updated as far as my progress goes. This will keep me accountable for my own marketing efforts and keep me from getting lazy, and it will allow you to share in the accomplishment. So, once a month, I will provide an update on what I have done, and how many new copies I have sold.

Why am I doing all this? First, sales have been a bit anemic, and I think there's a lot more I could be doing to market my book. Second, I will need the funds to help replace the stuff that got water-damaged in the flood. Third, I want to make sure as many people as possible know about my book. Fourth, I think this will be a great learning experience for me.

And of course, to make it super easy for you to find where Sheep's Clothing can be purchased, I'm including a whole raft of links to the various places where it's available.

Createspace:  https://www.createspace.com/4641690
Amazon Paperback: http://www.amazon.com/Sheeps-Clothing-Elizabeth-Einspanier/dp/1495358372/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1404234604&sr=1-2
Kindle eBook:  http://www.amazon.com/Sheeps-Clothing-Elizabeth-Einspanier-ebook/dp/B00IWY0Z6A/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1404234604&sr=1-2&keywords=sheep%27s+clothing
Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/sheeps-clothing-elizabeth-einspanier/1118630507?ean=9781495358371
Subterranean Books: http://store.subbooks.com/book/9781495358371

I will update this list as I get more sources.

And of course, be sure to follow my blog for updates here, visit my website here, and be sure to join my mailing list here.

Also:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/elizabeth.einspanier.author
Twitter: https://twitter.com/GeekGirlWriter
Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+ElizabethEinspanier/posts/p/pub
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/GeekGirlWriter
Librarything: https://www.librarything.com/author/einspanierelizabeth

Wish me luck!

0 / 1000 (0.00%)

[Progress bar by another little progress bar]