Worry Not, Noob Authors

Today marks the first week after my latest novel, ANGEL LOVER, went on sale. I've tried to keep up with the demands of promotion, but I must tell you, that stuff isn't easy. I have thirty stops on a virtual blog tour, including three interviews, nine guest posts, and an online chat with readers.

Writing guest posts are a mix of fun and stress. I try to share my everyday personality in each post so potential readers feel they know a bit about who wrote the novel and why. I called this fun because I enjoy sharing the whys and hows of putting together my stories, plus I view guest posts as a less formal celebration of my love of pop culture. The purpose is to connect to readers, and I hope I interest a few to give a newbie writer a chance.

The flip side, of course, comes from the time sink that's necessary to make each post different and interesting. My audience tends to be romance readers who enjoy paranormal with urban fantasy flavor. So, tough-as-nails heroines, vulnerable heroes, and villains who leap off the page. The stress pops up because it's difficult to say, "No, really, this book is perfect for you" without coming across as an echo of every author selling something.

After the first day, I started avoiding the Internet. I didn't want to refresh my Amazon page to see if I nudged the sales rank one or two points. I only went to that retailer and Goodreads to check for reviews I was expecting from folks who signed up to get an Advanced Reader's Copy of the novel. Did I avoid reading the reviews? Honestly, nope. I know I pleased some, and disappointed others, but that's all right. It's normal.

I jumped on Twitter and Facebook, my usual social media haunts, and interacted with folks through retweets and general chit-chat, but I paid attention to just how "pitchy" my posts were. Again, I get the idea behind promoting my work. I want people to know I have a new novel and an ongoing series available. What I refuse to do is flood social media with annoying and desperate "buy me" messages.

ANGEL LOVER doesn't look like a break-out hit, and I'm fine with that. I've released my third full-length novel, the few reviews I saw were mostly positive, and those who've enjoyed my work want more. I think I'm doing this author branding thing right. Slow and steady. I got this.

About Tricia Skinner

Tri­cia Skin­ner is an author of pas­sion­ate dark fan­tasy. She began her writ­ ing career as a busi­ness reporter and wrote for The Detroit News, Investor’s Busi­ness Daily, MSN, and The Hous­ton Chron­i­cle.

Raised in Detroit, Tri­cia grad­u­ated with a BA degree from the nation­ally acclaimed Jour­nal­ism Insti­ tute for Media Diver­sity at Wayne State Uni­ver­sity. She also earned a Mas­ters of Lib­eral Stud­ies — Cre­ative Writ­ing degree from South­ern Methodist Uni­ver­sity. Diver­sity in genre fic­ tion is dear to Tricia’s heart. She is rep­re­sented by Lau­rie McLean, co-founder of Fuse Lit­er­ary Agency.

When not writ­ing, Tri­cia can be found read­ing, lift­ing weights, or geek­ing out over games, movies, and music. She has a Tom Hid­dle­ston obses­sion, and she is Team Vader. Her fam­ily includes three Great Danes (so far).

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About ANGEL LOVER

The Nephilim are bound. Their powers cursed. But half-angel Kasdeja will do anything to free them from Heaven’s tyranny. When Kas is approached by a striking, mysterious woman, she tells him his greatest enemies hold the key to his freedom.

Mariel keeps herself shrouded in secrets, using them to hide her true self. For she is not just employed by the Renegades–enemy fallen angels—she is a double agent, working on the sly for Heaven. Her directive is to seduce the gorgeous Nephilim—despite her insecurity about such sensual acts.

For Mariel is playing a dangerous game, and falling for Kas could only cause trouble; her assignment isn’t just seduction. It’s destruction.