I recently retired from teaching fulltime. Now I can concentrate on turning my writing into a business, but I’m totally out of my comfort zone. You know how that feels, right? Like climbing Mt. Everest without a rope. I have two options. I can quit and stay the same, which isn’t so bad. My books have been consistently selling without any marketing. Still what I make right now will not pay the real bills, even though it’s tons of fun. Or I can hunker down, dig in my heels, and learn the art of marketing. I’m confident I’ll see my books go wild and wide and zoom up to the top of that mountain peak.
To truly succeed, I have to be willing to do the hard work, even though I know next to nothing about turning my writing into a business. I’ve been taking lots of classes, reading books on building businesses, listening to podcasts, and networking with other authors. I’m ready to start that climb, or at least take the first few steps. So, put on your hiking boots and join me as I share my journey to marketing success!
I’ve had many friends, coworkers, and especially bosses tell me to KIS – Keep It Simple. If you know me, you know that is very hard to do. But learning how to go wide with my books by treating my writing like a business is daunting, so keeping it simple is a great way to start. I’ve decided to begin by targeting one of my series, the Salem Witch Haunt series. This has been my most successful series and it sells with zero marketing. I recently added a fourth book to the series, Stranger Than Fiction, for educational purposes. I wanted to take book one, Salem Witch Haunt, and embed footnotes throughout that show where I got the factual history that drives the storyline. Book one showcases the first six trials and hangings that happened in Salem, 1692, one of whom is my ninth great-grandmother, Susannah Martin.
First, I removed the Salem Witch Haunt series from Kindle Select and took them off Kindle’s Extended Distribution. I’ve been with Amazon exclusively for several years, but recently learned that going w-i-d-e means being sold in multiple venues. I’ll always stay with Amazon, but I will also be in other places, like Barnes & Noble. As of the moment, I’m just learning how to do that, but I promise I will share my journey with you as I move toward greater success with my books.
Then, I purchased my own ISBNs from Bowker. Why? Because the free ones from Kindle Direct are exclusively for Amazon. You can’t use them in any other place. In order to go w-i-d-e with my books, each one now has its own ISBN number bearing my name as its imprint, Author Theresa Sneed.
Next, I signed up for Mailerlite . . . juries still out with that one, I’ll let you know how it goes. I’m having some difficulties navigating through it, but I’ve only just begun. I’ll get back to you with the results in a few months. I’ve signed up for Google Workspace in an effort to become a business in leu of just a hobby. I added Google Analytics to my Workspace, and while it is super cool, it’s a super lot of work to learn!
I’m excited to share my journey with you and if you’re doing the same, I hope my posts will help you along as well.
The signup form below is one of my first attempts with trying to build a following . . . try it out and let me know if it works! You can see, as I said earlier, that I’m starting with marketing my Salem Witch Haunt series . . . and you can get Stranger Than Fiction as a free eBook just for signing up!
