I woke up this morning with an idea for my shiny, new blog at www.jenniferlynnalvarez.com. (I'm posting this here in case you are interested in participating in this experiment). You have probably heard of the movie, Julia and Julia? It's about a woman who cooked a Julia Child's recipe every day for a entire year and blogged about the process.
I am going to do one thing every day to promote myself as an author. This will include promoting, The Pet Washer (published last month), and seeking publishers/agents for Dead Girls Don't Cry. I am going to document this laborious process for my own record and for the public record.
Now--true to form, you need to know what I did today to promote myself. You will be shocked to learn that it included MATH! Egads, I have never enjoyed math (except for geometry!)
Today I registered The Pet Washer with Nielson BookData UK. They are a global information services company. They work with publishers large and small all over the world and keep records on 16.2 million titles. They supply libraries, publishers and bookstores with the most comprehensive global database in the world. Books are ordered using a sophisticated search engine which helps book buyers make informed decisions.
I contacted them for the first time on 12/26/11. Today is January 9, 2012. It took them about two weeks to register my publishing company, Dreamcatcher Books. Today I uploaded my product data and book jacket .jpg file. This is when I had to do the math. Nielson BookData is a British company, so they use different units of measurement. I should say, WE use different units of measurement in America than they do so I had to convert everything.
Being American, I have never worked with millimeters. The Pet Washer is 8 inches by 5.2 inches with a .5 inch spine. Now I know that it is also 203.2mm by 132.08mm with a 12.7mm spine!! It weighs 10.4 ounces or 295 grams (I rounded). I hope I did this right but I also had to convert the price to pounds (why do they measure their money in our weight system--it's confusing enough!!). So my $10.99 USD book costs 7.14 pounds in the UK. (I hope the exchange rate I Googled is correct!)
I successfully included my book in the catalog--barring any emails from the help desk at Nielson pointing out everything I probably did wrong. This is serious business, they have the most accurate title database in the world and I'm winging it! But that's what I'm finding in this indie publishing business--there is a lot to learn. I'm doing the best I can. I'm also seeking a publisher for my next book because this is often too much work!!
This morning, I should have worked on my book. Instead I converted inches to millimeters. But I'm not complaining, well I am, but I'm not unhappy. Everyday is exciting after you publish a book. Everyday I have hope that I will reach outside my own circle of friends and grow. I didn't have that hope when my book was trapped in my hard drive!
I am setting up my own challenge!
I am going to do one thing every day to promote myself as an author. This will include promoting, The Pet Washer (published last month), and seeking publishers/agents for Dead Girls Don't Cry. I am going to document this laborious process for my own record and for the public record.
This challenge will accomplish the following:
1) Force me to be accountable for my goals
2) Keep track of all my ideas and actions in one place
3) Connect with writers and readers
4) Encourage others and receive encouragement
5) Exchange marketing ideas
6) Showcase the life of a writer--the rejections, the successes and the work of it!
Please click HERE to view the new blog and subscribe to join me on this journey!!
(I will make every attempt to keep my posts short because we are all busy!)
Now--true to form, you need to know what I did today to promote myself. You will be shocked to learn that it included MATH! Egads, I have never enjoyed math (except for geometry!)
Today I registered The Pet Washer with Nielson BookData UK. They are a global information services company. They work with publishers large and small all over the world and keep records on 16.2 million titles. They supply libraries, publishers and bookstores with the most comprehensive global database in the world. Books are ordered using a sophisticated search engine which helps book buyers make informed decisions.
I contacted them for the first time on 12/26/11. Today is January 9, 2012. It took them about two weeks to register my publishing company, Dreamcatcher Books. Today I uploaded my product data and book jacket .jpg file. This is when I had to do the math. Nielson BookData is a British company, so they use different units of measurement. I should say, WE use different units of measurement in America than they do so I had to convert everything.
Being American, I have never worked with millimeters. The Pet Washer is 8 inches by 5.2 inches with a .5 inch spine. Now I know that it is also 203.2mm by 132.08mm with a 12.7mm spine!! It weighs 10.4 ounces or 295 grams (I rounded). I hope I did this right but I also had to convert the price to pounds (why do they measure their money in our weight system--it's confusing enough!!). So my $10.99 USD book costs 7.14 pounds in the UK. (I hope the exchange rate I Googled is correct!)
I successfully included my book in the catalog--barring any emails from the help desk at Nielson pointing out everything I probably did wrong. This is serious business, they have the most accurate title database in the world and I'm winging it! But that's what I'm finding in this indie publishing business--there is a lot to learn. I'm doing the best I can. I'm also seeking a publisher for my next book because this is often too much work!!
This morning, I should have worked on my book. Instead I converted inches to millimeters. But I'm not complaining, well I am, but I'm not unhappy. Everyday is exciting after you publish a book. Everyday I have hope that I will reach outside my own circle of friends and grow. I didn't have that hope when my book was trapped in my hard drive!
0 comments:
Post a Comment