Back in August I had a flash idea for a drawing book/sketchbook I wanted to exist, so I made it. I proved the concept with pre-orders and eBook sales, so I got 200 from a printer abroad.
Right now sales trickle as long as I'm investing in ads but it's been a learning curve to figure out how to put it in front of people. My plans are to continue advertising online re-investing revenue, find art/book/comic-zine fests to attend, leave it in consignment at stores... I've even sold it to a stranger at a coffee shop without even trying. Lots of good feedback-- so the challenge seems to be putting it in front of the right eyes, consistently and efficiently.
It was easy to get excited and imagine publishing more books, though I know I probably should focus on making the first one successful first (right? right?). I know it sounds silly but I guess I need to confirm with my dear mentors here. Especially because my marketing strategy changes if I promote one particular book to Audience A or promote "books"
Any good sources of info would be much appreciated. I already went through the same dozen of Google articles and I'm reading one book about self-publishing but I still don't feel very grounded. As usual it's hard to know the answers when you can't even ask the right questions.
@MJ DeMarco if you don't mind sharing any nuggets of wisdom... how to get into bigger bookstores? So far I'm trying to hit local ones, but that's not gonna yield a decent order size I doubt. How to build up to that?
Right now sales trickle as long as I'm investing in ads but it's been a learning curve to figure out how to put it in front of people. My plans are to continue advertising online re-investing revenue, find art/book/comic-zine fests to attend, leave it in consignment at stores... I've even sold it to a stranger at a coffee shop without even trying. Lots of good feedback-- so the challenge seems to be putting it in front of the right eyes, consistently and efficiently.
It was easy to get excited and imagine publishing more books, though I know I probably should focus on making the first one successful first (right? right?). I know it sounds silly but I guess I need to confirm with my dear mentors here. Especially because my marketing strategy changes if I promote one particular book to Audience A or promote "books"
Any good sources of info would be much appreciated. I already went through the same dozen of Google articles and I'm reading one book about self-publishing but I still don't feel very grounded. As usual it's hard to know the answers when you can't even ask the right questions.
@MJ DeMarco if you don't mind sharing any nuggets of wisdom... how to get into bigger bookstores? So far I'm trying to hit local ones, but that's not gonna yield a decent order size I doubt. How to build up to that?
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