Filed under: Alzheimer's, Amazon, Diane Rehm, Feedback, Kindle, Marketing, Press, Promotion, Publishing, Science Fiction, Society, Writing stuff
Marketing a self-published book is the single biggest hurdle any author faces. Well, perhaps other than all the other hurdles such as writing the book in the first place, competently editing it, getting it put into an attractive format with a nice cover, …
Anyway, marketing is a huge problem. That’s why I did the KDP Select program, with the ability to offer special promotions. It’s why I blog & tweet and generally blow my own horn. It’s why I bug my friends and fans and ask that they help to spread the word. It’s why I leverage any connections I might have into any press outlets. It’s marketing. And you’re never sure what works or what doesn’t.
And I thought I would share one more item I’m trying: direct communication with the Diane Rehm Show. Here’s the text from a letter I am sending them with copies of Communion of Dreams and Her Final Year:
Diane Rehm Show
WAMU 88.5 American University Radio
4400 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20016-8082Greetings,
I’ve long been a listener of the Diane Rehm show, and know that Ms. Rehm is a fan of intelligent, thoughtful science/speculative fiction. My recently published novel is generally considered to fall into that genre, and has been generating considerable interest. I am enclosing an article from this past weekend’s local newspaper supporting this claim, and a check of the reviews on Amazon will do likewise.
I am also enclosing a memoir published last year, which deals with another issue I know Ms. Rehm has covered and seems to care about: care-giving for a loved one. In this case it was Alzheimer’s, and the memoir is a joint effort of myself and another man, along with our spouses. We were each care providers for our respective mothers-in-law, a relatively unusual role in our society, but one which is going to become increasingly common (and necessary) in the coming years. The book is based on each of our writings as we went through the multi-year experience, and includes blog posts and email communications.
I understand that Ms. Rehm, and likely the entire staff there, are probably overwhelmed with story suggestions and books to be considered. But I hope that you will find time to take a look at either or both of these books. The matter of care-giving for someone with dementia is extremely important to me, and I would like to see more people aware of the role that men play concerning this. And the novel which I wrote during my time as a care provider tells another story, one of how unexpected discoveries sometimes show us what really matters. I think it is easy to see how these two things may be connected.
Thank you for your time,
James Downey
Will it do *any* good? No idea. Maybe. If you would like to help get them to consider it, post a note on their Facebook page. Send ’em a tweet. Drop them an email through the ‘contact us’ form on their site. It might help.
It might not.
That’s marketing, at least as a small, self-published author.
If you have any other ideas or suggestions, or know other outlets/individuals which might be open to providing coverage, let me know.
Thanks.
Jim Downey
Filed under: Amazon, Feedback, Kindle, Marketing, Promotion, Publishing, Science Fiction, tech
Since Sunday’s big promotion I’ve been hearing from people who have read Communion of Dreams about how much they enjoyed it. Which is incredibly gratifying, and also extremely kind. Thank you, everyone – I do very much appreciate your letting me know what you thought of the novel.
But please, if at all possible, don’t just let me know. Tell your friends. Post it on your Facebook or LiveJournal or G+ status, with a link to the homepage for the book. Mention it in your Twitter feed. Even better, go post a review on Amazon or at least “like” the book there.
I know this is a bit of a pain-in-the-ass. But it can *really* help me out. More people will hear about the book that way. More people will see that others like it. And maybe, just maybe, more people will actually buy the thing. Because while I am perfectly happy to give away promotional copies of the book, the goal is for me to be able to be compensated for the years of my life which are invested in this. I can’t afford the kind of advertising that big publishing houses sink into promoting books by famous people, and making them more famous. But I can ask my friends, and my fans, to just help spread the word.
Thank you!
Jim Downey
Filed under: Amazon, Feedback, Kindle, Marketing, Press, Promotion, Publishing, Science Fiction
So, there was this little promotional event yesterday. And a newspaper article.
And things went a little nuts.
If you know me via Facebook or Twitter, you have some idea. For those who don’t, or want to know the final tally: altogether 5,277 people took advantage of the freed Kindle edition promotion. And there were even some regular sales of both the Kindle and paperback editions.
5,277. That’s pretty remarkable. And puts to total number of the finished version of the book out there over 6,000. That’s in about 6 weeks time – and amounts to the average number of people who downloaded the earlier PDF versions of the book in an entire year.
Yeah, I call that success. Stunning, actually.
I’m a bit exhausted by the whole thing, to be honest. Almost like a hangover. So I’ll probably take a break for a day or two, concentrate on getting other things done which I neglected in preparation for the promotion.
But I wanted to let everyone know the results – and to say Thank You to everyone! Oh, and to ask – if you got the book yesterday, and read it, and enjoy it – to please tell your friends, go and rate or like or even review the book on Amazon and anywhere else.
Thanks again.
Jim Downey
Cross posted to the BBTI blog.
Filed under: Alzheimer's, Amazon, Art, Feedback, Kindle, Marketing, Press, Promotion, Publishing, Religion, Science Fiction, tech, Writing stuff
Anticipation no more: the day is here, the article posted. Here’s how it starts:
The future, it has been said, is unwritten.
But this really isn’t so, at least to the degree that gifted local writer Jim Downey has penned a vision of what’s to come in his recent science-fiction novel, “Communion of Dreams.”
Downey once occupied space in these very pages as a Tribune arts columnist. His versatile, incisive writing style has been applied to topics that range from handguns to the humanity seen through the creases of Alzheimer’s disease — in September, features writer Jill Renae Hicks detailed the story of “Her Final Year,” a caregiving memoir Downey co-authored with John Bourke. By approaching the fictional worlds of “Communion” with his well-rounded cadre of concerns, Downey was able to draw out themes related to psychology, religion and spirituality, reminding us that no matter how technologically advanced we might become, our future will be a human one.
There’s more, and all of it very positive (to my eyes, at least.) Take a look, share it, comment on it if you’re a subscriber to the Tribune.
But more importantly, take advantage of today’s Free Kindle Edition promotion, and go download the book. Please. Please please please.
You help me out by doing so, both by pushing up the book’s ranking, and by just reading the thing. Because most people really like it, once they get into it. And if you like it, you’ll probably tell your friends. Or maybe “rate” or “like” the book on Amazon or on Facebook. Or maybe even take the time to write a review (there’s a new review just been posted overnight!). All of these things help me, and I very much appreciate it – why I’m willing to offer the book for free.
So, thanks again! Go forth and download!
Jim Downey
Filed under: Amazon, Feedback, General Musings, Kindle, Marketing, Predictions, Press, Promotion, Publishing, Science Fiction
Anticipation is a good thing. I think that, particularly when you get a little older, get a little jaded, it is easy to lose a sense of excitement about something that is coming. Or perhaps not lose it, but no longer trust it. Because so very few things ever turn out like we want, or plan.
Life’s experiences, life’s disappointments, teach us this. It is hard not to be cynical, just out of simple self-preservation.
And yet . . .
And yet, I find myself looking forward with anticipation for the first bit of press attention to Communion of Dreams. Even though I already know what it says. Even though I know *exactly* how it was put together, having myself written many such columns/articles about the arts for the very same small-town paper. Even though I have had countless other articles in the press about me and the things I have done or been part of.
Why? I’m not sure.
I “believe” in the value of the book, and the story I tell. But then, I also “believed” in the value of Her Final Year, and look how completely flat that book fell on its face.
But still, I am looking forward to tomorrow’s article. To the Kindle promotion. I’ve even created a Facebook “event” for it. I guess you might say that I have “hope.”
And that reminds me of an appropriate quote:
“There is hope in dreams, imagination, and in the courage of those who wish to make those dreams a reality.”
See you tomorrow.
Jim Downey
Filed under: Amazon, Feedback, Kindle, Marketing, Predictions, Press, Promotion, Publishing, Science Fiction
Some good news items to share this morning.
One, the piece in the Tribune this Sunday about Communion of Dreams is going to be quite substantial. I’ve seen the preliminary copy, and I think that people are going to enjoy it. A lot.
Two, some numbers from last month/since we launched the book.
In terms of visits to the site, there were over a thousand in February. That’s pretty decent, and I would like to thank everyone.
In terms of how many copies of the book are now out there (the Amazon editions, not the PDF version), I am happy to report that it is now about 850. That includes both the paperback and Kindle editions. And again I would like to thank everyone who has helped to make this a reality. And in particular I appreciate everyone who has taken the time to let me know they’ve enjoyed the book, or have gone and written a review on Amazon. That is both rewarding and very helpful.
Of course, I would love to double that number this weekend with the free Kindle download. Or even sales! So please, share the news with friends and people who love to read.
Thanks again!
Jim Downey
Filed under: Amazon, Feedback, Kindle, Marketing, Press, Promotion, Publishing, Science Fiction
So, I just got word that the local paper, where I used to be a columnist covering the arts, is going to run some variety of story about Communion of Dreams this coming Sunday. This was the reason why I ran the interview Q&A series last week. I don’t yet know exactly what the nature is of the article – it could just be a passing mention, part of some larger column, or a full feature. We’ll just have to wait and see.
But I am going to go ahead and set up a Promotional Day for the Kindle edition of the book – meaning that anyone will be able to download the book for free on that day.
I would like your help: spread the word. Feel free to tell people about this post, or just tell them that the Kindle edition will be free this Sunday. Mention it on your blog, on Twitter, or on Facebook/G+/LJ/Whatever profile. Remember, you don’t even need to own a Kindle in order to get & read the book: there is a free Kindle emulator for almost all computers/tablets/mobile devices.
Please, particularly if you’ve already read the book, and enjoyed it, help me get the word out. It doesn’t cost you anything but a little bit of time. And your friends/readers will appreciate the news of the free book. I mean, who doesn’t appreciate something free, particularly when it is brilliant and entertaining?
Thanks. Seriously, I mean that.
Jim Downey
Filed under: Marketing, Press, Promotion, Publishing, Science Fiction, Writing stuff
Time to close out the question/answer series. Been an interesting experiment, but I’m unsure whether I’ll repeat it in the future, presuming that this won’t be the last time someone wants to ‘interview’ me this way.
Anyway, here’s the last one:
>6. What other projects do you have on deck? Do you intend to do something similar for your next book project or would you prefer to do something wholly different?
A number of people who have read CoD have asked this, and I consider that a good sign. For a couple of years now I’ve been thinking about a prequel, to explore a critical moment in the ‘backstory’ of the current novel. And of course, a lot of people are wondering what happens after the closing revelations of Communion of Dreams, and that’s fun to think about. Partly which direction I go will depend on what the response is to this book – of course, I’d love for it to be a huge success, and for folks to be demanding that I revisit that ‘universe’. If not, I’ll see where inspiration leads me. I certainly have no plans to stop writing.
Perhaps more later today.
Jim Downey
And a nice one, too. Someone I kinda/sorta know through a political blog ordered a signed copy of CoD a couple of weeks ago. I heard from him this week when he finally had a chance to start reading it:
I’m not able to read it as fast as I’d like, but I’m almost halfway through and you have me riveted. I am really enjoying it so far.
And then last night this:
Finished it. I enjoyed the read. I’m going to digest it and give it the night before I try to put words to pap…email.
I must say, it was a fun read.
I hadn’t heard anything from him today, but just a little while ago he ordered another signed copy, but this time to be inscribed to someone else and sent directly to them. I guess he really does like the book. And that’s the first time someone has bought a copy for someone else (that I know of). A nice compliment.
Jim Downey
Filed under: Kindle, Marketing, Press, Promotion, Publishing, Science Fiction, Writing stuff
And in the penultimate entry of the interview Q/A series:
5. Give me a sense of both the pitfalls and encouraging moments encountered in process of publishing this book – there was a bit of a false start previously, right? You embraced several means of delivery – traditional ones but also free PDF downloads and subsequent Kindle editions. What benefits have you seen from using multiple platforms and how do you feel such an approach fits with the current state of publishing and the written word?
Twice this book was almost published in the conventional sense. The first time it made it through the submissions process for a large publishing house, to the imprint which handled some offbeat science fiction. At the very end of that process the executive editor told me she liked the book, but that they had decided to “go a different direction” in the coming year. I found out later that that meant the imprint had been shut down as part of the conglomeration which owned the publishing house consolidating the whole business in reaction to market conditions. The second time a small start-up “geek fiction” press wanted to publish the book, and just as we were wrapping up contract negotiations the publisher stopped communicating with me. Well, they went under – and the book before mine was the last one they published. In both those cases, I was elated to think that Communion of Dreams was going to be in print, and went through the whole process of preparing the manuscript and getting it ready, making changes requested by the publisher – only to have it fall through at the last moment through no fault of mine. That was hugely disappointing.
After the second instance, I just couldn’t face going through the whole process again of trying to get a conventional publisher. It’s a slog, with little or no predictability and huge delays. But we’d been through the experience of getting Her Final Year self-published, and I knew what was involved with that. I decided that since I had a manuscript ready which had been prepped for publication, that I might as well just publish it myself. I could not do any worse than the two previous near-publication experiences had been.
The free PDF downloads were a way to build a base of readers, and there were in total some 35,000 downloads of that version. Whether or not that would help or hurt sales of the Kindle edition (or the paperback one) is pure speculation. I guess we’ll see.
I don’t have a lot to add to that, but do want to note that the local paper is tentatively planning on running some kind of story related to this series of questions on March 11. It might just be a mention, or part of a larger piece, or possibly even a review or feature – we’ll just have to wait and see. When it runs, I will be offering another “promotional day” when people can download the Kindle version of Communion of Dreams for free – so keep your eyes open!
Jim Downey
Communion Of Dreams 