Being discovered as a self-published author!

So my debut book is written and uploaded onto Kindle, but as of yet has hardly had any views or downloads. At first it was a little soul sucking, after spending countless months creating a great story only to find it doesn't reach it's intended audience.

Naively I was so focused on getting my story into print, that I didn't pay too much attention to advertising the book to help boost its audience. So first lesson learnt the hard way in self-publishing, it's not just about the writing, but also about advertising it too!! With this in mind I turned my attention to getting the news of my debut book's release out there, using every available tool I had on offer.

Social media, is such a big presence in the 21st century that this was the first place I knew I needed to start. Sharing my book's release across Facebook and Instagram, I have set about letting people know. Sharing with friends and family too encouraging them to head on over to Kindle too to download 'Longing At Sea'.

With Christmas just around the corner, I plan to also utilise the tools KDP have to offer too. Book promotions are essential to help boost sales and popularity of your book and who doesn't want the opportunity of a great deal on a great book to settle on the sofa to read, in those winter months?

With the creation of my brand new website, I will be able to share with even more readers my debut novel, letting them learn a little about me and I hope that my readers will get behind my story and share with me their feedback of what they made of Damien and Alexa's story. With the option of joining my emailing list, it also gives readers the chance to get a sneak peek of my up-coming releases and news of future books.

So lesson learnt don't just assume that publishing your first novel, that it will be instantly recognised without putting the work in to publicise it first. After all, if you don't let people know it exists, how will they know this great adventure is waiting to be read.