To Self-Publish or Not to Self-Publish – That Is the Question .. A Guest Post by Phyllis Zimbler Mil

To Self-Publish or Not to Self-Publish – That Is the Question

A Guest Post by Phyllis Zimbler Miller

I am often asked about self-publishing, and when I think about how to answer, all the myriad possibilities spring to mind.  Where to start the answer?

This is why I have just written a third TOP TIPS ebook – this one to provide short answers to the question of self-publishing.  And I particularly want to warn prospective authors of a major pitfall I personally experienced when I lost control of my own ebook on Kindle.

The ebook is TOP TIPS FOR HOW TO PUBLISH YOUR BOOK IN THE AGE OF KINDLE: Action Steps You Can Do Immediately Whether You Are Unpublished or Already Published.  (New ebook on Kindle now — http://amzn.to/T5tdaY)

The ebook briefly covers such topics as the importance of your book cover and your book title as well as an explanation of Amazon’s KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) Select program.

KDP Select gets reams of blog posts pro and con.  Recently I discovered one author blasting KDP Select after not giving it a fair trial.  This blog post so upset me that I wrote my own post about not taking anyone’s advice, including my own, about KDP Select.  Instead, I urge authors to test out the program for themselves in a fair trial.

Here is one marketing idea I share in the new TOP TIPS ebook:

Bonnie B. Latino, co-author with Bob Vale of the U.S. Air Force-themed novel YOUR GIFT TO ME, had a very successful free KDP Select day on July 4th.  Bonnie and I are connected via membership in the Military Writers Society of America, and she and I traded information on free KDP Select promotion.

Then I experimented with two free days for CIA FALL GUY and TOP TIPS FOR HOW TO MARKET YOUR BOOK ON AMAZON AND FACEBOOK.  And although I thought having a fiction and nonfiction book free at the same time would be a good idea, in retrospect I think it was a mistake.  I had to divide my efforts between two books. (When I did two free days just for my U.S. Army-themed novel MRS. LIEUTENANT, I could take better advantage of this KDP Select opportunity.)

Bonnie and I are also connected to Kathleen M. Rodgers, author of the U.S. Air Force-themed novel THE FINAL SALUTE and also a member of the Military Writers Society of America.  I got to thinking that readers of one of these three novels – YOUR GIFT TO ME, THE FINAL SALUTE, MRS. LIEUTENANT – might like to know about and read the other two.

I contacted Bonnie and Kathleen about my idea, and they readily agreed to work together to promote our military spouse novels.  Then I created a page on my author website for what we are calling a triad of U.S. military war novels.  See http://www.phylliszimblermiller.com/triad-us-military-war-novels/

Now this joint marketing project has spurred the three of us to brainstorm other things we can do to promote all three books.

The truth is, thanks to Amazon – the elephant in the room when it comes to online book and ebook sales – all of us authors now have more opportunities than ever before.  What are you doing to publish and market your books?

Phyllis Zimbler Miller is a fiction and nonfiction author, and the technothriller LT. COMMANDER MOLLIE SANDERS that she wrote with her husband will be free on Kindle Sept. 3 (U.S. Labor Day) & Sept. 4 at  http://amzn.to/NUpy9o

To see Phyllis’ three TOP TIPS ebooks and her other ebooks on Amazon – check out her Amazon Author Central Profile at www.amazon.com/author/phylliszimblermiller

She is also the co-founder of the online marketing company www.MillerMosaicLLC.com

#PhyllisZimblerMiller