So, my debut novel has just come out!

I’ve had the amazing feeling of holding the first copy of my first novel in my hand, and nothing really compares to that moment.

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I immediately announced it on Facebook and Twitter and Instagram and launched my book website.

I got it on GoodReads and created numerous graphics for online promos for days, letting everyone know it’s available to order online at Amazon.com and on the not-so-well-known Lulu.com.

I made three video trailers which are posted on YouTube.

I had a small amount of bookmarks made so I could offer them along with hand-signed books if people wanted to order them off my book website, as well as give them away to people in hopes it would lead them to order a copy of my book.

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I brought my book to a cool little local science fiction bookstore I’d been frequenting in Joshua Tree and got some copies of my novel in there- and they asked if I’d be interested in having a book release and reading with another local sci-fi writer… “Yes!” I replied- as nervous as the thought made me at first. That will be in late November at Space Cowboy Books.

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Through a friend of a friend, another bookstore, Pipe & Thimble, is carrying it in the South Bay area…

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These are heady times!

Then… it’s like- what do I do now? I DIY’d all that I could think of! How do I get my book before the eyes of the masses?

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I’m at the very, very beginning of my career as an author and it goes without saying that at this point I’m a million miles away from the New York Times Best Seller List.

Like hundreds, if not thousands, of self-published authors- I’m wondering what to do next, without spending a bunch of money?

I understand the problem I’m up against.

While I know my book tells an entertaining story, and is well worth someones time to read it, I am unknown as an author.

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How do I get people to take a chance on me as a writer? I mean, I’m a completely unknown author, and not even most of my friends or family know what my writing is like.

I’d best describe my writing as a combination of speculative fiction and visionary fiction, but the feedback I’ve been given is that you don’t necessarily have to like either of those genres to enjoy reading my book.

To me, my “unknown” quality is the biggest issue I’m facing. After that comes all the other issues involved with marketing and promoting a book.

Because I’m in this game for more than just one novel, my strategy to tackle this issue involves looking at the bigger picture. How can I get my book in front of (many) people- and get them to take a chance on my writing? How do I win fans who will be interested in my next novel and the one after that? This is what my debut novel should do, right? Introduce me to the world as a writer.

This weekend I decided to launch an idea towards those ends – something to give people a chance to try out my novel and see if they like my writing.

Because my novel is written in a series of little bite-size pieces, it lends itself to an interesting idea – serialized mini-episodes.

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I set up the book website to automatically post one bite-size episode each morning, Monday through Friday, at 10:00 Pacific Standard Time.

Click here to start reading: somewhere.travelingshoespress.com/read-the-novel/

The whole series will run from October 9th, 2017 through April 11th, 2018 and consists of 133 episodes.

I’ll let you know how this project works out.

Meanwhile, I’m slowly editing my next novel, called Moving At The Speed Of Time, and I’ll be trying out various chapters here in the months ahead- so subscribe to my blog and don’t miss a single post from The Outpost!

Until later, best of health.

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