Self Promotion Isn't Easy
Promoting yourself isn't easy.
Promoting yourself requires you to step outside of your comfort zone and reach out to people who could help promote your product. In my case, my product is my Unintended Travelers book series.
I'm very proud of my books, but extremely humble about them, too. I want people to buy my books and enjoy them, but convincing them to do so is the challenge.
I've worked for a long time developing the characters of Brooke and Bently, Henry, Pete, Father Ted, Liz, and even Fenton. Even now that I have been working on another book unrelated to this series, I can't help but continue to think about these characters. Each character has a characteristic of someone I've known over the years, and I've met and worked with many, many people throughout my 54 years of life.
Even Jazmine and Golden, Liz's horses, were named after the two horses that my husband and I had several years ago. I used them as one way to pay homage to these sweet horses, especially now that Jazime (left) has since passed away.
As I developed the setting of all three stories, I envisioned Madawaska, the community I grew up in in Aroostook County, Maine. From the Four Seasons Trail at the highest point of the town where the portal exists in my books, to the St. John River that flows below dividing Maine from New Brunswick.
The layout of the town was similar to the town I grew up in, too. The drug store was modeled against the one in town that I used to take the Cyr Bus from to visit my grandparents when I was a kid in the 1970s, and a couple of times got a sweet treat from, too.
I guess what I'm getting at is that these books are a part of me, my memories, emotions, hopes, and fears. From all of these elements, I've been able to create a story with people who do not actually exist but end up coming alive through the story, therefore existing in my imagination.
Conveying all of this to potential readers is the most difficult part for me.
Are my books amazing works of literature? Absolutely not. I'll be the first to acknowledge this.
I know that I have much to learn when it comes to writing a book. In fact, I've seen growth in my writing, approach, and style, between the first book to Pete's book, but I still have much more to learn.
Yes, I've self-published my books, and yes, anyone can self-publish a book. I realize this. However, my decision to not go the route of a traditional publisher wasn't that simple.
I didn't want to give up control of what I wrote. I've heard horror stories of editors dismantling a story until it was unrecognizable, and I didn't want that. I feared that my story would not end up the way I wanted it after all was said and done.
Because I went the self-publishing route, promoting my books is a lot of work. I have to sell myself and my books to anyone who would be willing to have my books in their stores or accept me to participate in local fairs or festivals.
Through some of the groups I follow about writing, I've recently learned that book trailers are a thing. So, I got to work and created a trailer for each book.
I will end this post with my three trailers and I hope you enjoy them.
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