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

[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!