Book Marketing - We Hate It, But It Has To Be Done

Hi guys. 

As you know, I started this blog to share my experiences in writing, the good, the bad and the ugly. 

I was thinking the other day, that in light of the pandemic, that while I've had a really good season of paid work, my own books have suffered from lack of attention. So today, instead of finishing my allotted word count, I hopped over to Canva and made some videos.

Here is one, reintroducing my books and my writing to you. 

Enjoy.

 

Also, feel free to visit my author page and browse.

Kisses.

Four Books, Four Days, Free

Try saying that fast four times.
Yes indeedy, four is the theme of this post.
I love marketing. It's so fun. You come up with creative posts for your social media, and catchy slogans so people will remember to do what you want them to. It's almost like procrastinating except without the guilt. Because you're still working, but it's fun. The returns might be far in the future but one thing I've come to learn is that returns are not the point.
It really is about the journey. I am not even being facetious.
It might be different if I was planning to live on the returns of writing. Maybe one day, but I'm not there yet. I won't get there without your help. So, thank you for reading and downloading and participating and engaging. I do very much appreciate it.

And that does not mean I am not super thrilled by every sale I manage to make. But unlike most people who are discouraged by slow results, I am zen. I am prepared.
That said, go to my author page and at least download the free books - I've gone a year when I've made at least one sale a month, and I mean for that streak to continue and grow. Help me out guys.
So anyway, to create super hype for Marcus Devereux what we're gonna do is help you to read the first four books if you haven't. Now I remember those days when I was too poor to buy books and I came across a good story in a series but it was book five...
Man, the frustration.

So I'm doing this for you guys who genuinely want to read but are financially challenged - the rest of you buy the boxset. It's like...the price of three beers or coffees and you get to enjoy them more than once.
So we're gonna start with In the Shadow of the Styx, which will be free from 1st to 4th April. Four days of free books for four months. In the Shadow of the Styx, The Swamp is Full of Mystery, Child of Destiny and Requiscant In Pace free for the first four days of April, May, June and July respectively.
(I admit, since The Swamp is Full of Mystery is permafree, May might be superfluous but it's the poetic symmetry of it, ya dig?)
Hov and B think that the number four is significant. Seeing their life, I'm gonna assume they are on to something. So I'm basing my marketing strategy on the number four.

Let's see what happens.
Here is an excerpt for your enjoyment.

How Do You Get Readers for Your Books?

I really hope you don't think I have the answer. If I did, I would be on the New York Times Bestsellers' list. So let me put in my disclaimer that I'm no expert. I'm just in the simulation, trying to read the patterns.

So the first thing that you should probably know is that marketing is in the mind. Get in the right mindset. Whether you're self-published or traditionally published, the bulk of the marketing will be left to you. When a traditional publisher looks at the potential of your books, they also look at your social media following to see just how many 'fans' you've managed to accumulate for yourself. I see many authors asking, "What exactly is the use of an author page?"
Well, my answer is, "If you're inviting people over for tea, you're gonna need somewhere for them to sit."

It is not possible in this day and age to be an 'anonymous' author who just writes, publishes and waits for readers. Even authors using pen names have forums where they interact with readers. Not just authors, but anyone with a product to sell...It's a whole new world people, and social media is king.
The thing with social media though, is that you can't just post "buy my book" and expect your audience to be like, "Oh. Okay, den."
Let's talk about readers, shall we?
There are two types of readers. There are those readers, and they are the majority, who you can find on so-called reader forums. Some of them have blogs. They usually have 'reader' or 'reads books' in their Twitter bios... These are the readers whose attention everyone is trying to get. Because they're the low hanging fruit.
Or so it seems.

The thing with this reader though, they are deep in the simulation. They want to read the books everyone else is reading. They practically run down the New York Times Bestseller list as their TBR list. They like recommendations from influencers. If you're a lowly writer without the resources to influence the influencers these are not the people to target.
The second kind of reader may or may not list 'reading' as an identifier in their social media bios. They don't care who the 'next big thing' is. They're just looking for good stories.
Do you write good stories?
Then this is your demographic.
You gotta keep plugging your stories. Putting them out there. Letting people know in whatever way you can.
Hashtags are great.
Just use the right ones.

Lots of authors like to use #amwriting and they might get a few likes and even retweets but...you get likes and retweets from other authors who are just as thirsty as you for READERS. So stop targeting other authors. That's like all those sales reps I see on the street, crowding together when they're selling the same thing be it airtime or whatever...instead of spreading out and increasing your chances of finding your own customers. It's like artists who all try to copy Rihanna in an attempt to poach some of her success. Although this strategy has been moderately successful in some cases, (Selena Gomez and Jennifer Lopez) ultimately it fails. Because Rihanna releases an album like Anti and you don't know where to start copying it.
I digress.
#greatreads #goodreads #fridayreads #tuesdaytales...these are some hashtags that might net you some random passing reader. But you can't just do the hashtag, you have to hone your captioning skills man. This is your elevator pitch in 280 characters or more (if it's Instagram or Facebook). The hashtag has made the reader pause, now you gotta reel them in. Make. it. good.
It's a marathon, not a sprint.

Everything is against you.
Amazon will put the books in front of readers that authors have paid them to.
Sometimes they arbitrarily remove your book reviews making it difficult for you to move up the totem pole.
Some book sales get lost in a black hole somewhere.
It can be very demoralizing.
The thing is, you have to factor in the fact that you will get demoralized if things aren't happening as fast as you'd like. You have to be prepared for that shit. Wallow in it like a hippopotamus in the mud. And once you're all covered, all good and proper, get out, shower and get back to the work.
Plug. Plug. and Plug away.
Every day, do something small to put your book maybe in front of that enthusiastic reader whose gonna recommend it to their friend. Their book club. Their family.
Word of mouth. That's how you get the word out.
It's an uphill battle and many will fall by the wayside.
It's up to you if you reach the top.

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

A Picumentary

Character Intro

In Search of Paradise is the first ever post-apocalyptic gay African romance that details the Struggle of being gay while attempting to survive the end of the world. You have been introduced to Ben, Anders, and Zawadi in other posts. Today we're just summarising what we know in form of pictures. Because otherwise there's just too much stuff to read.
Right?

Charity

You can pre-order your copy by going here, and hovering your mouse over the picture. It will give you options from Amazon to Kobo whichever you prefer, where you can pre-order In Search of Paradise at a very discounted pre-order rate. It's discounted because we want as many people who can, to pre-order so that we can raise a goodly amount for the National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission.

The Book Cover

I want you to take a closer look at the cover. Look at Anders' face. Do you see it? His face actually spells LOVE. The black and white background behind Ben and Anders' silhouettes is actually a picture of Uhuru Park in Nairobi. The bottom colored portion of the book cover is shaped like a pyramid and shows the devastation of the Apocalypse. After you read the book you'll have even more appreciation of how awesome that is. 

And Finally

Pre-order period ends on 3rd November which is closer than you think. So hit that link today.

Book, Relationships and Launches

Today I woke up feeling gratitude.
You've heard of The Secret right? Thoughts become things and other stories? Well it's true, they do, but thinking can be bloody exhausting sometimes. Especially first thing in the morning.
Most mornings when I wake up I couldn't be arsed about having an attitude of gratitude; I just want to go straight to 'okay, what problems do I have today?'
But today! Today was different.

I woke up grateful that I went to sleep late but still got up early.
Grateful that water came.
Grateful that I had this absolutely big protein-rich breakfast followed by gym and a swim. I felt like I was doing my body right.
And very grateful that Doctor Oz declared that dark chocolate is good for you, because now that cube of Wholenut I eat every day just moved from the self-indulgent to the self-care column. I mean, if you can't be grateful for that, what can you be grateful for?

I'm also thankful to Kat (not Elissa) who had me sorted in fifteen minutes yesterday, thus ensuring that I did not have to delay....drumrollll

The Book Launch for Charity!

yay!

In Search of Paradise is now available for pre-order wherever e-books are sold! I'm so nervous about this, yet excited. Why nervous you ask? Well, this is a new space I'm venturing into, a stranger in a strange land. And yet not really.

Because the core of the book is relationships. And I think nobody is a stranger to those. 

Allow me to digress.

Or not really.

This week, Amber Rose held her annual SlutWalk. Now I'm really not sure what the message of the slutwalk is...but I think it's something to do with rape culture. I saw that it began when some policeman in 2011 said, "Well if you don't want to be raped, don't dress like a slut."

I grew up in the eighties and nineties when social media involved actually going out and socializing. Now because I didn't have access to everyone's every thought, I grew up thinking that everyone had the same views about certain things. Like there was a 'right' choice and a 'wrong' one. (These days that has been converted into the 'left' and the 'right' ironically). 

So in my mind, growing up there was no option for justifying rape. There was no scenario in which you could excuse a rapist because, oh, reasons. I thought everyone held that view until social media taught me different. There is apparently justification for anything; rape, murder, slavery...There is nothing which is 'wrong' anymore.

So okay, moral compasses are a thing of the past. How then to negotiate through life in the present? In this life where pastors sit on gold couches and their congregants kiss their shoes (true story). In this world where presidents are children playing their game of thrones with no shame or any indication of self-awareness;  not a smidgeon of leadership skills. And this applies to every leader apart from Angela Merkel. 

So in this quagmire called life, what can you do as an individual to restore sanity to your life? What can I do?

Well, I'm a writer so I can write.

Back to Amber Rose: she holds this slut walk yearly and this year, her boyfriend 21 Savage came out to support his boo. In my book, that earned him a seat at the adult table with Hov, Kanye and John Legend (see my post labeled Pearls of Wisdom...or Not). But to the internet, this was something to make fun of him about.

It made me sad...for the internet. Poor souls have no clue what a healthy relationship is supposed to look like. Or else they're jealous because Amber Rose, known slut or whatever, has a man who is there for her, who shows up for her, who supports her in her endeavors. And they can't get a text back.

Anders and Ben, my heroes in In Search of Paradise,  go through something like that. They attempt to find a definition for their relationship when living in a world where you can't just go home and say, "Dad, this is my boyfriend." if you're a guy. So how do you negotiate the different relationships that you have as a person, and still stay true to who you are? It's a difficult question and I'm sure a lot of people in our community are living it every day. Can you relate?

After you've read the book, please come back and let me know.

Follow the #booklaunchforcharity events here. Or follow the hashtag #booklaunchforcharity and #readforacause on social media. I also intend to do some mad blogging this month so pray for me.

And go on, hit that pre-order button. You know the price will go up once Nov. 3rd arrives. Don't be caught with your dick in your hand - figuratively speaking of course.

Kisses.

And the Winner is...

So I had this little promotion for;

The Post-Apocalyptic Demon Hunter’s Reintegration into Normal Society 

First of all, I gotta tell you about that name. See I was reading this fan fiction about Demon!Dean...or was it BoyKing!Sam? I'm old, it was a while ago. 

Anyway so in this story they were trying to get through the apocalypse and I think someone, my instinct is it was Crowley was making snide remarks about their ability to have a life after hunting....

And, he sarcastically said someone should write a book about it, with the above title.

So I did.

It's just a working title though. I'm not sure if it will survive final edits. I'd like to hear your thoughts about that. For one thing, it's a little difficult to remember no? Talk to me.

So anyway, I'm writing, and my beta reader is editing. And we're really enjoying ourselves as we race to that deadline at the end of this month.

Will we make it?

Will we fail?

Tune in next week...

So we had the small promotional competition where the reader was asked to reimagine what happened before the excerpt given in a picture. This picture.

The writing wasn't very clear, deliberately because I need to know that you love me enough to make the effort to read it. :)

I got a few replies. Thank you very much to everyone who took the time to write something. Most of them were one-sentence type things. I get it, it's hard to go out on a limb and just give a blurb on someone else's story. Which is why Lesley Awino wins. This is what she wrote.

The sun seemed to be scorching the life out of everything they had passed. People had been dropping dead since long before Kevin and Alec even thought to pass this way. Even here, in the Acadia National park, rows and rows of bodies with malformed skin lay everywhere, and the stench was unbelievable. None of these poor souls would have passed for a melanated child of the sun. And so the sun scorched them out of existence.
Kevin and Alec's story was wildly different. They were simply trying to get back home to Kenya. It had been bad when all this started, but now there was barely any way to go straight home. Every form of land transport with metal or plastic or rubber had rendered unusable because of the heat. And so the two walked. From New York, all the way to Maine. They had made it this far on the hope, no, belief that there had to be a ship they could use to get home. For now, they were both exhausted, and needed rest. And then Kevin spotted one of those rare pools of clear water.

I mean...you gotta admit, it's very good huh? The description almost has me dying of thirst and seeing rotting bodies everywhere. And it fits in the story except for the fact that they're on the wrong continent.
Can we all give her a round of applause?

 I almost feel shy to post what ACTUALLY came before...but here it is for your edification and comparison. Oh and p.s. on my beta's advice, I changed the names.

“Tell me you see those, too!” she exclaimed, turning back to face her brother and Ben.Anders squinted. “Looks like an oasis,” he said.Zawadi whipped her head round to look at him. “So, you see it too?” she said, her tone urgent.Anders nodded slowly. “Yah, I see it.” They stopped, staring at the oasis, waiting to see if it was a mirage or not. Then Ben walked around both of them, at a fast clip, heading for it. Anders and Zawadi followed reluctantly behind. So thirsty.So ready for something good to happen. The oasis did not disappear.As they drew nearer, the sand under their feet gave way to tufts of hard yellow grass, which became greener the closer they came to the oasis. The more they saw evidence that they were nearing a water source, the faster they walked.

As I write, I'm also looking for the right cover for this pioneering genre. The first two contendahs are below. Do tell me which you like. Or even if they both repulse you terribly...

This post apocalyptic gay African romance, named 'The Post' is slated for release in September. Sign up for updates to receive other excerpts, news, and information.