Back in February I entered "Eternity" into amazon.com's Breakthrough Novel Award contest. I didn't make it past the first cut, which is okay, but it got me excited again to push ahead and get the book out there for people to read.
Part of the process of entering the contest was posting an excerpt from the book and people can come and read what you've written and make comments. I got so many positive comments and constructive critiques that I was quite simply floored. I think my book is great, but then I wrote it so I'm extremely biased and my opinion doesn't count. But because of the positive feedback, I'm finally moving ahead with publishing on podiobooks.com.
I had said in a post from last year that I wanted to publish on podiobooks.com, paperback, and kindle simultaneously, but I think if I really wanted to do that, it would take the rest of this year. Instead, I've come up with what I think is a pretty good marketing plan that I'd like to share with any other authors out there.
I'll be releasing my book, one chapter at a time on podiobooks.com in audiobook format. People will download it to their ipod/mp3 player, they will be directed to the website (http://www.eternitynovel.com/ which is registered but NOT up yet so don't click the link) where they can make comments, write to me, read the back story, get previews of the next chapter and visit the store on cafepress (more on that later). There are 36 chapters in the book which means it will take about 7-8 months for the whole story to be heard by listeners if they download one chapter per week. This gives me plenty of time to finish the podcast (I'm about 9 chapters ahead) and get all my editing done. When we're about two months away from the final chapter, I'm going to order my paperback copies and kindle editions and make them available on my website. The pitch will be: "Yes, you can listen for free one chapter per week, or you can buy the very inexpensive paperback (or even less expensive kindle) and find out how the story ends right now." I think it will be a good incentive for people. I hope. Then, I'll order several copies for myself, along with a few of the t-shirts and mugs from cafepress and hold a release party at a local bookstore. I'm shooting for Barnes and Noble but I'd be okay with the used paperback store in Southport if that's all I can get. We'll have a little party, do a reading from the newest unreleased chapter, give away the swag and hopefully sell some books.
I think it's a good plan, but feel free to leave comments and tell me what I'm forgeting. I know better than anyone else that I'm a novice at this whole author/self-publishing deal. I don't mind criticism at all.
I've uploaded my first chapter in audiobook format and sent the link to podiobooks. So now my next step is to simply wait for podiobooks to contact me and tell me if I made it. From what I gather, it's pretty easy to get on their website as long as you follow their formatting rules. I'm excited! Check back soon; I'll be putting a post up as soon as I know a podiobooks release date! It will be soon!
