Getting There

We're getting there. I promise.

Some have asked if I'm getting discouraged with the relatively slow pace of commercial publishing. After all, if I'd self-published my book I'd already be reaping profits. Well, probably not--considered that all costs associated with production, distribution and promotion of my book would have been paid entirely by me, if i were lucky I would only just now be getting around to a positive balance. So, for those who ask if I regret not self-publishing my first book, I can say this: I regret only that everyone hasn't had the opportunity to read my work in whole, rather than just in part on my website. Nevertheless, I am still confident that I'm going about this the right way, and know that when (not if) it happens, it will be bigger than it ever could have been if I'd paid someone to publish my book.

I'm not putting down anyone who has chosen a path that involves self-publishing. I'm just saying I don't think it is right for me.

I've had others ask what they can do to help me get there. You've all done so much for me, I don't know that I can ask for more. But if you feel inclined to assist, here are a few ways you can help me on this journey.

You can start by suggesting my fan page to your Facebook friends. The pictures below will demonstrate how to do this. The first step is to go to my fan page and join if you haven't already. I do not run the fan page: it is actually run by one of my best friends: the lovely miss Roberta Navarro-Harder. So anyone wanting to send me a private message on FB will still need to use my personal page. Once you've added my fan page, you'll see the following screen:

 

Once you click on the Suggest to Friends link, this screen will pop up:

Again, you can choose which friends to suggest the page to, and which ones not to. Please don't sent the invite to people you think will be offended by my books, or will just not enjoy them. And if they decline the invite, don't pester them again about it. It's nothing personal: not everyone likes the kind of books I write.

Next, we can increase the number of LIKES on my blog. You'll notice that the same LIKE button and counter found on my blog is also on my official website. They use the same code and counter, so if you like one you automatically like the other. This is the one that seems to confuse people the most: I ask people to click LIKE on my blog in a Facebook status message...and instead they click LIKE on the status message. I appreciate that, but it isn't the same thing.

First thing you need to do is go to my blog and look for this in the middle-right hand corner, right under my photograph:

You only have to click this once, ever. If you click it again, it "unlikes" it. The LIKE button is for the blog as a whole, not each individual post.

If you use blogger, or have a gmail/google account, you can follow my blog in google. I'll follow back any bloggers who follow mine, so long as your blog isn't offensive...fortunately, I'm not easy to offend. As long as your blog isn't about White Power or how great America would be if we made Sarah Palin our queen, we likely won't have a problem.

To follow me in blogger, go to my blog and look for the link bar at the very top of the screen. While you're there, you can click the SHARE link and send a message to any social network site you're a part of, including Facebook and Twitter. Both links have been circled here:

 

 If you use the Facebook Networked Blogs application you can follow my blog and recommend it to others who use the application.

Finally, I have a profile at my literary agency's website. No registration is required, so please leave a comment on the page along with the others. Publishers look at this. The more popular I appear now, the easier I will be to market later. 

Again, all of this is voluntary, and you don't even have to do all of it to earn my gratitude. I appreciate everything my friends, family and fans have done for me. When my books make it big (when, not if) it will be in large part thanks to all of you and your help. It will not be forgotten.