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Websites, Social Media, Email, and Other Marketing Tools of Self-Publishing
Writing is only the first step of the creative process for self-publishing.
When I first started writing — as a 9-year-old — and completed my first sci-fi story; more than anything, I wanted to be a published author. Visions of my books being on the shelves at all the bookstores and in libraries danced in my head.
A little context is necessary here, however. I was 9 years old in 1981.
Suffice it to say — the landscape of publishing has vastly, drastically changed in the intervening 40+ years.
In the 1980s and 1990s, you really only had traditional publishing as your option. Often, to get in the door you needed a literary agent to represent you.
For a couple of years in the late 1990s, I had an agent. But my fantasy work was not his usual genre.
During the early 2000s — after paying for my first professional edit — I made numerous inquiries to get more appropriate representation.
Getting a literary agent, FYI, is just as hard as getting in the door with a traditional publishing house.
In the mid-2010s, I became aware of the increased options for self-publishing and print-on-demand (POD). What…
