I'm trying hard to do a better job of promoting the second book in the Marge Christensen Mystery Series. Since the first book came out I've learned a lot. But, readers like to read series in the order they were written, and those who first read this book and like it are already going to have the first two out of order. When the third one comes out I need to figure out some way to make sure people know it is preceded by two others, so they can get those first. That sounds a little circular, doesn't it??
Just got my first blurb back and it looks like the reader liked the book. She's one of the first "mystery reader" types to do a first read, so it means something if she likes it when she has read many other mystery authors. Word of mouth is more important for a self published author than one with the distribution power of a publisher behind the book, so I hope this round of ARC readings -- about ten times as many as I did with the first book -- will spread that circle.
But I still have to take the time to learn how to use the internet to sell my books. And I have to get them on Kindle. But thats a project for a couple months down the road, at least.
All this left brain activity does nothing to help me keep going on the third book!
About Me
- Pat Batta
- I've been a writer since the fourth grade when the teacher instructed the class to write a story. I was so thrilled with process of creating a different world on paper that I wrote another one, and another, and another…. For many years I wrote mainly between jobs for my own pleasure or work related writing. Still, by the time I retired I had drafted two mystery novels and was working on a third. I revised and completed the first of the Marge Christensen Mystery Series, What Did You Do Before Dying? and published it in 2008. The second, Why Did You Die In the Park? , came out in 2009 and the third, Who More Than Wished You Were Dead? in 2010. Where Did You Die? was released in mid-2012, How Many Old Ladies Will Die? in 2013, and When Will the Secrets End? in 2015
3 comments:
We had the same problem of books in a series not being written in order, the next one is past fill in, before we move on. Our promotion didn't help much either because three books came out the same year with the same title. Ouch! The second one died in the water.
Glad to see you back on SINC. I wish I had a reader for content. Have an excellent line by line grammar reader, but she couldn't find her way down a corn row in Iowa to follow a plot.
Send me a copy and I'll review it for Bird's Eye View. I'm reading Fran Stewart's latest for the blog at the moment. Looks like for the most part I've working with authors from SINC and Murder Must Advertise.
Nash Black (Irene)
http://nash-black.blogspot.com
If I were you, I wouldn't worry too much about whether or not the books run in order. I've found that with the five books in my Biscuit McKee mystery series, if people start with one of the later books and like it, they're willing to go back and pick up the others. Naturally it helps if each book is complete in and of itself. Then the background readers gain from reading other books in the series simply adds to their overall enjoyment.
Fran Stewart
http://www.franstewart.com
Pat, I'm back again to say congratulations and best wishes on your new self-published book. I've added your "Meanderings" to my blog at http://pennhand.blogspot.com.
Irene
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