I truly believe 2014 has been MY year. After getting rights to two of my books reverted back to me from my publisher, I decided to Indie publish them. I find that having control over my work has helped me find a balance between real life and my writing life. I choose the images for covers I feel represent my stories. I’ve also learned how to format my books for digital and print. I also upload my books to the various distributers, taking out another middle man in the process. The only thing I leave to the experts is cover design and editing.
As I think forward to 2015, cost is at the forefront of my mind. Though I’ve outsold and out-earned as an Indie versus traditionally published with a small press, my expenses far surpass my income. Thank goodness for the day job! However, I hear my situation isn’t unique. Across the board, authors aren’t selling or earning as much. Which makes me thankful for the books I have sold and the loyal fan base I have.
What I’ve learned in 2014 will help me in 2015. Forget bookmarks and magnets. These items can be pretty but they’re not an effective marketing tool. Print, autographed book giveaways on Goodreads . . . I’m still on the fence on this one. Usually, I run a concurrent ad (charged per click. I usually do 10 cents a click, $30 ad) and let these two items loose on auto drive. I see an uptick in sales. Yet, I also use Facebook groups (geared toward readers but also have a significant number of authors in the group too) to promote sales and new releases. I find Facebook groups and Facebook boost (paying FB to get my post to more “likes”) on my author page to be effective. The Facebook boost works better in conjunction with a giveaway for “likes” sharing or liking the post. And of course, the best promotions is the next book! So what does 2015 look like for Ashlyn Mathews?
Echo (Extinction #3 Echo and Rourke) May 2015
Almost Right (Dare You #2~ Bryce and Lucy) May 2015
Completely, Madly (Dare You #3 ~ Bryce and Lucy) July 2015
Redemption (Universal Law #2 ~ Dante and River) October 2015
Love Actually (Red Meets Blue) ~ November 2015
Love, Love, Love these covers–absolutlely beautiful design! I’m so happy you had a good year and it looks like you have your work cut out for you with five releases in 2015. Congrats!
Thank you Maggie! I’m in a much better place now because of my decision. And next year will be awesome!