Under Desert Stars   Elen síla lúmenn’ omentielvo

I’ve made a commitment recently to update this weblog on a weekly basis. I even designated Friday evening as the time to do it. This week, however, that isn’t going to work. By this time tomorrow I will be in Avondale, AZ, participating in CopperCon 32. I’m looking to promote my novel – The Luck of Han’anga – and continue to reconnect with the science fiction community, where I’ve become a stranger over the past 20 or so years. I will freely admit to having something of a mercenary motive. I’ve written a science fiction novel, after all, and where better to promote awareness of my book than at a science fiction convention?

This business of being an independent author – and yes, I do see what I’m doing as a business – is all about self promotion. Word of mouth will spread your book from reader to reader, and word of mouth, as they say, is golden. It’s got to start somewhere, though, and for an indie author, “somewhere” is yours truly. And so off I go to a “con” to participate in panel discussions, do a reading, and sign books. This last could be seen as a bit risky, I realize, since so few people know of the book. It’s not likely anyone will be coming to seek me out for an autograph. But I’ll be there, out in the open, copies of The Luck of Han’anga ready to sell. It’s visibility, and every way I can find to make myself visible counts to some degree.

I will, I sincerely hope, do similar things at an event here in Tucson, in November, called TusCon. And again in the Phoenix area for LepreCon. I’ll go further afield as my financial situation improves.

When I’m not heading for a con, I’ll wield the internet as a tool for self promotion, of course. While it’s hard to beat meeting readers face to face (an experience I’m looking forward to) the reach of the internet is simply amazing! In a single year I’ve gone from wondering if I could sell books at all to selling them in England in addition to the USA. Selling books overseas! That’s the power of being online.

I’ve only just begun to explore the possibilities of online self promotion, and this past week experienced a “first.” Book One of the War of the Second Iteration has been featured on the Indie Author Anonymous weblog. Here’s the link:

http://indieauthoranonymous.com/?p=148

Not a bad start at all!