Hey Ivy, my business coach/ mentor actually really advocates using Substack to market your business. He thinks that even if you don't use social media, you can use the Substack recommendations, networking, asking friends to spread the word, etc. to do it. Networking includes writing thoughtful comments on other people's posts, which gets your name out there! Though this is a time consuming process. (Though networking is necessary anywhere!) I actually enjoy using social media---Twitter and LinkedIn for me---so I'm using that. And I have Convertkit and Medium, haha.
Yes, I greatly prefer indie publishing, but I do have a bit of financial privilege. I'm not rich by any means but am able to save up. I'm also picky about book covers so I'd rather hire my own designers to make it, haha. (Yes, I hired designers on 99Designs for Anastasia's covers. You saw one of them on Wattpad!)
Maybe one big reason is that I've gotten to the point where I no longer need validation from traditional publishers...Not saying I don't need to improve my writing, obviously, LOL. But just saying that I'm confident enough that people generally enjoy my work, though I will also keep learning and working on my weaknesses. I also lost interest in putting my book in physical bookstores or libraries, since Amazon suits me just fine, haha. Most of my book purchases are from Amazon anyway.
Thank you for the comment! Yes I need to be better about the "social" aspect of social media to get my name--and Rowena's--out there. That is going to be my number one goal for the final quarter of 2024...in part because I do love hearing about other people's stories and writing process. I think cross-posting will also be a benefit, but like you said, it is a time commitment.
I also agree with you that there is a huge portion of the population that is getting their books via Amazon. I never have enough time to keep up with all of the great titles on KU. At the end of the day, I too am confident in my writing and believe that I will find my tribe and they will enjoy my stories. I don't need to sell millions of books, but it would be nice to have some folks out there rooting for my characters to have a happily-ever-after.
And I have seen your covers and the art is gorgeous😍 Then again I'm a sucker for dragon art!
Thanks, Ivy! As for finding an audience, I've come to see this as a matter of networking and marketing. Networking is a part of marketing. Paid ads on Amazon can help too but I still need to learn more about that. Kindlepreneur is a resource with tips on how to do well on Amazon, all that lovely marketing stuff. XD They have a lot of templates, too. Not saying the quality of our work doesn't matter, of course, haha.
But beyond the quality of our work, there's also a lot of promotional stuff like this. Networking can be fun! I'm a bit of a networking junkie and like to talk to a lot of people---though this can also be tiring, especially when people come to see you as very responsive and active. Which can be a problem when you want to rest from talking to anyone lol.
Hey Ivy, my business coach/ mentor actually really advocates using Substack to market your business. He thinks that even if you don't use social media, you can use the Substack recommendations, networking, asking friends to spread the word, etc. to do it. Networking includes writing thoughtful comments on other people's posts, which gets your name out there! Though this is a time consuming process. (Though networking is necessary anywhere!) I actually enjoy using social media---Twitter and LinkedIn for me---so I'm using that. And I have Convertkit and Medium, haha.
Yes, I greatly prefer indie publishing, but I do have a bit of financial privilege. I'm not rich by any means but am able to save up. I'm also picky about book covers so I'd rather hire my own designers to make it, haha. (Yes, I hired designers on 99Designs for Anastasia's covers. You saw one of them on Wattpad!)
Maybe one big reason is that I've gotten to the point where I no longer need validation from traditional publishers...Not saying I don't need to improve my writing, obviously, LOL. But just saying that I'm confident enough that people generally enjoy my work, though I will also keep learning and working on my weaknesses. I also lost interest in putting my book in physical bookstores or libraries, since Amazon suits me just fine, haha. Most of my book purchases are from Amazon anyway.
Thank you for the comment! Yes I need to be better about the "social" aspect of social media to get my name--and Rowena's--out there. That is going to be my number one goal for the final quarter of 2024...in part because I do love hearing about other people's stories and writing process. I think cross-posting will also be a benefit, but like you said, it is a time commitment.
I also agree with you that there is a huge portion of the population that is getting their books via Amazon. I never have enough time to keep up with all of the great titles on KU. At the end of the day, I too am confident in my writing and believe that I will find my tribe and they will enjoy my stories. I don't need to sell millions of books, but it would be nice to have some folks out there rooting for my characters to have a happily-ever-after.
And I have seen your covers and the art is gorgeous😍 Then again I'm a sucker for dragon art!
Thanks, Ivy! As for finding an audience, I've come to see this as a matter of networking and marketing. Networking is a part of marketing. Paid ads on Amazon can help too but I still need to learn more about that. Kindlepreneur is a resource with tips on how to do well on Amazon, all that lovely marketing stuff. XD They have a lot of templates, too. Not saying the quality of our work doesn't matter, of course, haha.
But beyond the quality of our work, there's also a lot of promotional stuff like this. Networking can be fun! I'm a bit of a networking junkie and like to talk to a lot of people---though this can also be tiring, especially when people come to see you as very responsive and active. Which can be a problem when you want to rest from talking to anyone lol.