John Xavier
Acolyte
First let me say hello and add that my immediate impression of this site is that it's great. Looking forward to posting here.
Anyways, this is my situation. I just self-published a steampunk-fantasy short story collection on Kobo which I'm trying to develop interest in. I don't have an existing readership to draw on so basically I'm starting from scratch. I do have a wordpress site where I've posted other writing but only a couple of my posts there (academic-ish essays oddly enough) are getting regular views.
Not being someone naturally inclined to self-promotion, I've been trying to develop a strategy that would suit me. Still in the initial stage of that. One idea I would like some feedback on though is this: the first story in my collection is designed to introduce the reader to the fantasy world I've created and a specific city within it (which will be the primary setting of my stories for the foreseeable future) Will freely sharing this be a viable approach? To my mind the question depends on if there are enough platforms that welcome previously published material - provided it's free. Which of course it will be. Basically I want to use this story as a teaser.
I feel good about the story itself but I'm not sure how realistic it is for me to expect to be able to disseminate this one story across multiple platforms as a way to generate the awareness I'm looking for. Obviously it won't be the sole thing I do but (and maybe this is naive) I did think it would be a productive approach.
Let me know what you think or if you have any more general advice regarding my situation. I know I have to look into goodreads for example but I am probably unfamiliar with a lot of major resources self-publishing authors should be aware of so please don't hesitate to steer me towards them.
Thanks in advance for your responses.
Anyways, this is my situation. I just self-published a steampunk-fantasy short story collection on Kobo which I'm trying to develop interest in. I don't have an existing readership to draw on so basically I'm starting from scratch. I do have a wordpress site where I've posted other writing but only a couple of my posts there (academic-ish essays oddly enough) are getting regular views.
Not being someone naturally inclined to self-promotion, I've been trying to develop a strategy that would suit me. Still in the initial stage of that. One idea I would like some feedback on though is this: the first story in my collection is designed to introduce the reader to the fantasy world I've created and a specific city within it (which will be the primary setting of my stories for the foreseeable future) Will freely sharing this be a viable approach? To my mind the question depends on if there are enough platforms that welcome previously published material - provided it's free. Which of course it will be. Basically I want to use this story as a teaser.
I feel good about the story itself but I'm not sure how realistic it is for me to expect to be able to disseminate this one story across multiple platforms as a way to generate the awareness I'm looking for. Obviously it won't be the sole thing I do but (and maybe this is naive) I did think it would be a productive approach.
Let me know what you think or if you have any more general advice regarding my situation. I know I have to look into goodreads for example but I am probably unfamiliar with a lot of major resources self-publishing authors should be aware of so please don't hesitate to steer me towards them.
Thanks in advance for your responses.
Last edited: