And I thought writing was hard

[darkemeralds]

Beta readers are coming back with very few notes on Restraint. The rewritten story works for them. I think it really is finished. Seth Godin (whom I had the pleasure of meeting at a workshop in NYC a couple weeks ago) basically said, "Ship it."



My fear and loathing and introversion cut no ice here: whether self-publishing, signing a Big Five book contract, or undertaking some hybrid, I must promote my own novel.


Not the actual cover--this is a placeholder I've been using for the reader review copy

So I need some advice.

My "platform" is the hundreds of wonderful people who originally read and rooted for and commented on the story when it was fanfic on the AO3.

Exploiting the comments section at AO3 for mass commercial self-promotion feels unethical. But let's say you were one of the people who literally asked in comments to know when the book is coming out. How would you feel about getting a reply to your long-ago AO3 comment, saying, "That day has come and here's how to find out more"?

And if you have any other thoughts about how to reach out, I would love to know your ideas!

Comments

[grrlpup]

If I were such a commenter, I would be happy and gratified for you!

It might be especially sweet if when you announced it, you also told them a possible way to get a free copy-- NetGalley, Goodreads giveaway, etc.

And of course slathered on the appreciation for their support of the story back when, but I have no doubt you'd do that anyway.

[darkemeralds]

Thank you! Freebies are a fundamental part of this whole process, and nothing would make me happier than to offer a free copy of the "real" book to people who supported me and cheered me on through the long process of writing and posting the fic. What a lovely idea.

I even have some idea how to give free copies away. I'm learning so much!

[lyr]

I think it's fine to go back to the comments section at AO3 for a little PR. And it's fine to ask your flist to signal-boost your release, too. If you do end up self-publishing, I further suggest offering a free teaser sample people can download to try, and maybe also putting that sample up on a snazzy author website.

[darkemeralds]

"Snazzy Author Website" is on my roadmap of things to do!

[bluemeridian]

That sounds like it's against the Archive's TOS, so you might want to review it before going that route. I'm specifically thinking of the first entry in the Spam and Commercial Promotion section of the Archive's TOS FAQ ("How strict is the 'no commerce' rule?") and the actual TOS section IV B.

[darkemeralds]

I see a sliver of daylight in the FAQ:

How strict is the "no commerce" rule?

We want the Archive to remain a non-commercial space. That means that it isn't the right place for offering merchandise, even fan-related merchandise. Linking to your personal page (not, for example, an Amazon author page) is fine, even if the personal page includes some items for sale, but the Archive is not advertising space. If the abuse team issues a warning or sustains a complaint about commercial activities, the original poster can always appeal.

Under that guideline, I feel pretty okay letting individual commenters know, in follow-up comments, that if they're still interested, they can learn more on my site--particularly since I would be offering these specific people a free copy of the novel.

[bluemeridian]

\o/ Yay! :D

[greghatcher]

Every writer I know has trouble with this. It comes from the fact that the skill set involved in buckling down and writing a book is almost antithetical to the skill set involved with marketing the damn thing. Most of us are introverted, solitary, daydreamer types, and the thought of bellowing at people about how you wrote a book and should get money from them to read it just seems beyond crass.

So I always remind myself that I can't be an option if I'm invisible. I have the advantage of a publisher who is ALSO trying to sell the books, so there are places I can link to, and even so I still tend to be somewhat blushing and self-effacing about it.

Don't be afraid to use the connections you have. I send everyone to the Amazon page and am pretty shameless about asking for reviews; it's kind of sourly amusing to me that of the various anthologies I'm in most of the Amazon reviews are from my friends or people who know me from the column, so I at least feel like I'm doing my share. My various co-contributors are clearly even more isolated and awkward than I am.

Truthfully I was thinking about asking if you wanted to do some sort of e-interview about the project for the Junk Shop. I think the story behind RESTRAINT is a lovely throwback to the olden days of when I was getting started and lots of people broke in by doing fanzines. The arc is still the same but now it's electronic, and you are more conversant with the new e-fanfic culture than I am. I can talk your ear off about the paper ones like CAPA-Alpha and GRUP and Alter Ego and so on, but the electronic children of those are largely opaque to me. But we should wait until we can direct people to a platform where they can get a copy of your book for themselves.

[darkemeralds]

I would LOVE to begin my "blog tour" with your Atomic Junk Shop column! Count me in. I'm by no means a Big Name Fan or a fandom expert, but I do think I can speak knowledgeably about the differences between fanfic and professional fiction, and the learning process involved in the conversion.

I'm taking steps daily towards my platform. How about I let you know when I'm close to pushing the Go Button on Amazon. I don't have an ETA yet, but it's a couple of months away, at least.

The platform monster has several tentacles, because I have to design the book itself (which is going to involve a book cover photo shoot), as well as some sort of personal web page, AND there has to be a strategy with regard to collecting email addresses, and how much to give away for free, and creating artificial scarcity with limited-time offers and bonus content and stuff...

...all of which just skeeves me out, but I'm trying to keep your words in mind: I can be an option if I'm invisible.

By the way, Tim Grahl's Book Launch Show podcast is shaping up as an outstanding resource for authors. You might enjoy it. Each ep is 15-20 minutes, packed with straightforward, de-mystifying marketing talk for the likes of you and me.