The things I learned today....

Beginning of this month, I purchased a press release kit from my publisher, iUnivers, for $300 (always negotiate for a discount). I would provide the info (via questionnaire) and they would craft a press release (which I thought was pretty good). The package included, along with the press release, up to 300+ media contacts to which my publisher would send out my press release via email. I thought I just needed to wait for a request for an interview or for a free review copy of my book.

I thought this sounded like a good thing...until I hit a brick wall of reality this afternoon. These media outlets receive tons and tons of press releases like mine and unless I stand out, I don't have a shot. A very nice gentleman who was an editor at one of the local papers called me back and we had a good talk. I learned a lot, but the bottom line is that, even for a local paper, I don't really have a chance at a feature or a review until I sell about 1,000 books (at least! He said he'd love to talk to me if I had sold 10,000!). And I can't sell that many books until I get the word out. So, where does that leave me? Well, it leaves me with more determination to work hard and see this thing through, with one book at a time.

Ultimately, do I think it's worth the money? I'm not sure. If I hadn't done this, I would wonder if I should have done and second guess my decisions for a while. Would I do it again for another book, if I do self-publish another one? No. I already have the media outlet list for my area and I have an example of what a press release should look like. So, a definite no.

My goal for this blog is to share the info I have so that the next person who decides to self-publish would have a little bit of head start on this awesome and bewildering business called publishing (maybe it should have been self-publishing, but I've heard similar stories from the writers from small presses).

I am usually a very optimistic person, but today was difficult. This was just one example of how today went. I have four pages of missed connections and disappointments. But at the end of the day, my children and I went for a long walk and everything was well in my world again.

Finally, iUniverse sent out 317 emails to the media outlets around my area, but how many will actually request a free review copy or an interview, I don't know. My intelligent guess is that it'll be dismally small, but I live in hope, prayer, and laws of attraction.