2. Join some Indie groups so you’re in contact with those who know what to do and will help with advice. The Indie Romance Ink and the Author’s Network on yahoo are two good examples. (Go to Yahoo on Google and at the bottom where the lists are located click on Groups.)
I’ve listed the two loops above because those are the one’s I’m on and they have helped me tremendously. I have no doubt there are many more out there that will work for you in the same way.
There is a certain language you will run into as you become more involved with the Indie world, and I remember being as green as a mushed avocado and had no idea what many of the terms meant—especially those phrases pertaining to publishing, contracts and promoting. One I remember that got to me was Create space!?? If you take it at its traditional meaning it didn’t make sense where they referred to it. L Oh yeah and Hootsuite?????? Whaaa!!!
Thankfully on these loops, I never felt too shy to ask what I needed to know. And… I always received at least one answer and many times a bunch. Most of the others on the loop are happy to reply and support you both in the good times and when things are going rough.
Not only are your questions answered here but there are friendships to be made and contacts to generate. There are also those, who like yourself, need something in return. For example – they have allotted certain days where they hold “Likes & Tags” swaps for not only the Indie books, but those traditionally published and even for your facebook pages.
There are files on the Database attached to the loop where there is a list of everyone’s twitter handles and facebook pages so you can widen your social media web.
Also, you can find bloggers who will gladly guest you if you have a new release that needs some love and of course vice-versa. Sometimes you’ll be so busy that you can’t even think of writing blogs for your site and so you can depend on the some of the others on the loop to step in and fill your page.
At one time, there were groups being formed to set up one blog among a bunch of writers in the same genre. Cutting down on the amount of work and having a longer reach worked well for many and enabled them to find more followers. See one such group blog I’m on called 99cent Ebooks. If this isn’t happening while you’re on the loop, open the discussion yourself. There’s always many like you who want to be involved.
Some of the best advice I ever received was when I needed recommendations for a good editor or cover artist. Happy authors are always glad to refer the names of their own people, knowing that they need work also. And as you’ll find out in Part #5 this information can be invaluable.
Most of all, this is where you can form lasting friendships with others like yourself who are starting out. Many of the writers I met on this loop are now my beta readers and will gladly review my work when I need those blurbs desperately for a certain promotion—as I happily do for them.It’s those friendships that will open many doors for you in the future and they’re your cornerstone to building a reader base that takes years. But with a strong, foundation you’ll be on firm ground.
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