The first six months…

9 May

Blogging is a different kind of animal. Not being born into the computer age and being introduced to “Social Media” in my fifties, I have been slow to grasp the power of social media. It can consume you and your time.

I thought I was much more comfortable out in the garden or baking, but am I really these days? I have now spent three years at my computer, writing, rewriting and promoting The Year of the Cicadas. If I think of all of the hours that I spend, Facebooking, Tweeting, blogging, Goodreading, updating author profiles, contacting media and securing book events perhaps I am the person who is not accepting her new “norm.” The question is: What is social these days?

Steve and I have been driving around the U.S. with boxes full of books on our “Most Excellent Book Tour Adventure” with our bikes on top of the car. We have clocked a lot of miles, seen a lot of beautiful countryside, rode our bikes in unknown places, have met a lot of new friends and caught up with a lot of old friends. Amazing people caught up in our story, wanting to help us promote our book. They give us leads for bookstores and book clubs or perhaps they know someone in the media. Our readers have been and are the energy that fuels our continued success. Talk about “Social Media,” this has been an equally important kind of “Social Media.”

I enjoy sharing this book adventure with my readers and promising writers who are curious how an Independent book writer and self-publisher goes about promoting their book. There are many opportunities out there these days to stay in contact, but it is equally important to take some down time. I was reminded the other day, that you cannot stay in a perpetual state of motion. In order to execute a golf swing you must first bring the club back to a state of rest to get power behind the forward swing.

The book world has you on a time crunch. The most important time for your newly published book is the first six months. I have been chasing my tail for the past six months trying to do it all at once. Happy six-month release to my book this June.

I am going to breathe, bake, garden, and play this summer. This is the last month of my six-month run and I have a book event once a week this month. We end our first six months on the anniversary of Bryant’s fall at a book signing, which is so appropriate. To view our upcoming events, please click here.

My garden and grandchildren are calling to me. Time for me to regenerate and put my hands into the earth and around squiggly little bodies. Take some time this summer to plug back into what the creator is telling you.

Catie

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Our marketing plan is driven by one person at a time, and you play an integral role in helping this book find it’s way into the hearts and the minds of the people it was written for.

Want to help? Here are some of the things you can do:

Write a review on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or our website www.theyearofthecicadas.com

Tell a friend about our book or purchase a copy for them as a gift.

Take our book to your or your friends book club, church group, or start a small group to read the book together. We have study guide questions on our website to help guide you through conversations about the book. You can get a discount through our website for multiple books purchased.

Write your local newspaper book reviewer and tell them how much you like our book.

Send a copy of our book or write to one of your favorite shows, like the Ellen Show, Oprah, The View or Kathie & Hoda, tell them what you think about it. It only does so much if I say my book is good, you the reader carry a lot more weight than I do with the outside world.

Pray for our message, that our story will reach the hearts and minds of the people who can help us to open the doors. Pray that our story will help to inspire people who are in need and that our story finds a way into their lives.

Without you, the readers of The Year of the Cicadas, this story would be in a shoebox in the top of my closet waiting for my grandchildren to discover it after my passing. Thank you for letting me see it find the light while I am still here. You rock.