AUTHOR'S CORNER;

HOW DO I APPEAL???

Now, it's no lie that almost every author will write firstly for the pure love of writing.  Most of us, if not all, feel compelled by some obscure force to write and write and write!  Most of us see the world in different shades of colour and have a need to share with others.  We see characters enriched and have a desire to bring them to life upon the pages of our novels.  Nothing gives us greater pleasure than to create, animate and bring forth a character which is living and breathing and thinking upon page after page of a mini world, parallel to this, of our own creation.  Power in our fingertips, insight in our minds, stories at the tips of our tongues.  There is nothing that can compare to the power of imagination; because to imagine is to escape into a world of your own making, to let go of all inhibitions and spread our broken wings. To imagine is an alternative to reality and reality often drags!  

Now that's great; need met and desire fulfilled!  But now we come to the more difficult part, the part which every writer struggles or has struggled with at some point in their career; the appealing to others!  Remember, the writing part is the personal part, because that part was done in private, at the comfort of your own desk, in the safety of your own home. Now comes the real test, the bit where you have to put yourself out there and get someone to notice you.  Not as easy as it seems; for there are so many obstacles in your way, you'll soon realise that your resolve and determination are put to a very harsh test!  To mention a few, the obstacles in your way can vary from the style of your writing to the current market trend that's out there.  Not to mention that it is extremely difficult to break into the world of publishing; most big publishers do not want unsolicited manuscripts (which means, no author without Agent representation) and will not even give your manuscript a second glance!  Most Agents will be extremely picky (with good reason, they have to be sure they can sell your work) and they are often harder to obtain than publishers.....get the picture???  So one moves onto independent publishers in the hope of finding a platform.  And let me say, thank God for independent publishers, for they are a Godsend to most of us!  But then there is a catch, the catch?  you will find that you will need to do an awful lot of self promotion yourself!  Whilst the independent publisher will do a good job and give you very good treatment, they have not the bookshelf space a giant publisher might have in bookshops, nor the millions to put behind your promotion of that of the 'big boys', nothing personal, it's just a fact!  So the responsibility falls on you to promote yourself.  Easier said than done!

Don't ask me how it's done; if I knew I would be a millionaire by now!  The point is, one never really knows what or how to appeal to others.  You have tasks set out once you have published a book; mainly to sell as many copies as possible. And although your book is doing nicely on Amazon and other websites, you now need to spread the word to the masses. One way to do this is by book signing, but when you do approach shops, you are often told that the shop can not let you book sign because of blah, blah, blah!  Which basically means nothing to you, because they get the books free and only make a profit if they sell and never make a loss because they can send the books back!  Enough meetings with store managers and lame excuses can leave a writer quite disheartened!  You know you need to get the promotion but you can't pester the shop managers; you'll only end up making enemies and that is no good.  Remember, no matter how frustrating it may seem, you need the store managers' help at some point!  

The other way to promote yourself is to try and get yourself in the local paper; ring up, tell them you are a local writer and you've just been published!  Easy right?  Every local paper likes to write about a local writer, show some community spirit?  Wrong!  Basically, you are often regarded as wasting their time!  But come to them with a burglary story (as I did a few years back) and they will jump at your misfortunes, because it's juicy gossip!

The third way to promote yourself is to try and get yourself an interview on local radio....huh, have you tried?  It is like trying to get into Buckingham Palace!

The fourth way is to go on social media.  Yes, tweet, Facebook it and tumblr your way to the top.....um, right....okay, where the hell is the top???

The fourth way, of course, is to blog, get enough blog followers and your name will become popular.  

I personally have found this way to be effective, as many people on the web have   already approached me and expressed their pleasure in my blog!  At least with blogging, you know that you are reaching someone and yet you are sufficiently far enough not to be seen as pestering!

And as my friend Christine once suggested; perhaps a stint on Big Brother might do the trick!  Who knows, I might just put myself forward.......