It’s Labor Day

By Sheila Lowe

William and Kate are not the only ones to welcome a new baby into the world this week. After many months of hard labor, I've just uploaded my new book to Kindle and am sighing a huge sigh of relief. Which is silly, really, because now the hard work begins—marketing it!

After publishing four books in my Forensic Handwriting Mysteries series with a major publisher, What She Saw is my first standalone novel, first self-pubbed. It follows a young woman through the terrifying labyrinth of amnesia, where no one is who or what they appear to be. Writing this book gave me the freedom to explore a somewhat different writing style. My series books are a little breezier, and though my main character Claudia Rose and some of her friends have important roles in WSS, the tone is somewhat darker. After all, how would it feel to wake up and find yourself on a train to an unknown destination, realizing that you don’t know how you got there or who you are. That’s where What She Saw begins.

The subject of amnesia has always fascinated me and I knew that someday I would write about it. That day has come and early reviews (including Peg's) are gratifyingly positive. But that doesn’t mean I’m not terrified. I’ve always had a publisher behind me, so this foray into the world of independent publishing is brand new. I think of it as flying without a net.

I made this choice after being orphaned. In the publishing arena that means the editor who loved my work left the publishing house and the one who took her place was not so enamored. Therefore, without a new contract and left to my own devices, I certainly wasn’t going to stop writing. And with Kindle offering much nicer royalties than the big houses, it seemed like a no-brainer.

The one nice thing the big guys offer their authors, though, is distribution. They may not do anything to promote our books (they save that money to spend on the big bestsellers), but they do get them into the stores, which is worth quite a lot. This time, I’m counting on some of my fellow bloggers on CRC to coach me on how to spread the word. Right now, I just know enough to be a little bit dangerous.

Here's the link: http://amzn.to/14DgMtj. I’m asking my FB friends to post it to their walls and ask their friends to do the same. Maybe we can get it to go viral. It's a start. Another strategy is to give away a back list book with the motive of getting new readers hooked on the rest of the series. I plan on giving away the Kindle version of Poison Pen, the first of my series from July 30-August 1.

And lastly, my new bookmarks have just arrived. I'll happily send one, or a bunch if you have a book club. Email me a request with your snail mail address: sheila@sheilaowe.com