Self Publishing/Marketing

One inherent and major challenge with self-publishing, is the marketing aspect. No book is going to sell if nobody knows it exists … and that is where the marketing comes in. If you happen to be a celebrity, then your marketing issues are quite possibly going to go away as some publishing and/or marketing company will happily take on those responsibilities but … for the rest of us? We tend to be on our own, developing our own strategies, and trying to come up with something that is financially feasible.

A professional publicist did offer to take on the marketing responsibilities for “Who Said I was up for Adoption?” for $18,000.00/year (if I recall correctly). To “break even” would dictate selling over 3500 copies per year however, as all net profits will be donated to the Oakville & Milton Humane Society (our local shelter who rescued Ray and worked with him to make him a feasible candidate for adoption), the questions all revolved around investing such a significant value into a high risk venture. Should I take the chance, and be prepared to write-off the $18,000.00 if necessary? My answer to myself was a decisive “No!”

The most economical method of reaching people is via the various social media platforms and, of course, through blogging. A local library here agreed to carry “Who Said I was up for Adoption?” in their inventory, and our local newspaper has promoted it on a number of occasions.

“Who Said I was up for Adoption?” is quite simply a tribute to our beloved Ray. It documents, in considerable  detail, the emotional roller coaster ride that was the first eighteen months of Ray living with us. He gave us many challenges, not the least of which was testing positive for heart-worm, and our first summer with him was subsequently dictated by his heart-worm treatment program. He was distrusting of all people and other dogs and would bark loudly to show his displeasure and “make them go away”! He would misread body language and react inappropriately. and would do so many other challenging things that we used a considerable amount of professional help in order to get him comfortable in his new environment. All of this is detailed in “Who Said I was up for Adoption?”

For marketing, I will simply say that it can be purchased in eBook, paperback and hardcover formats, and is available world-wide through all the usual on-line book retailers. It is currently on special pricing of $4.99, $11.99 and $19.99 (for the three formats respectively) if ordered direct from the FriesenPress Bookstore (link below):

https://books.friesenpress.com/store/title/119734000018826578/Colin-Chappell-Who-Said-I-Was-Up-For-Adoption%3F

Finally, there are numerous reviews on amazon.com. for anybody trying to decide whether Ray’s story is for them!

13 thoughts on “Self Publishing/Marketing”

  3. It is so difficult to find a publisher today who publishes a book of a “no-name” author only because they like what they wrote. I don’t know if there is any publisher at all who risks it. As you said, it makes a difference if you are already a celebrity or a renowned author. Self-publishing still seems to be the only option in case you don’t want to spend thousands of dollars. I was lucky with my German “I’m Free”. My publisher was convinced of my book. But for the English version, I made a contract with a US publisher and spent quite some money on it. But I have to say, it was worth it. Because I wanted it to be professionally made, typo-free, and with a good network in the background.

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