Fellow Authors and Aspiring Authors...

I may not have the time to speak to you my fellow authors and friends over the phone much to exchange notes and ideas, especially for those of us that are self published. I may not be able to do the facebook IM or any of these avenues as much as I would love to. But I would love for us to share on this forum if you please. I believe we can all benefit from eachother. I am also specifically referring to those of us who are of African descent because we have certain things in common and we have similar stories which are not mainstream but nonetheless, need to be heard.

And this would also benefit those who are aspiring authors as well. Maybe by asking questions or by reading some of the comments from others, you might even avoid making some fresh ones of your own!

I used Createspace to self publish my book and I would like to know how that compares to Xlibris or Author House for example or even Lulu or Lightening Source. Hopefully, we all plan to do some more writing and we need to get better and improve on some of our choices and decisions each time.

Please share folks!



Folake.

Marketing, marketing, MARKETING!

Yes, that is the word of the day. It doesn't matter how great your book is if nobody knows you wrote it. It also doesn't matter that much more if only your friends and family members buy it...lol. But I am determined to change that and I am changing that already. That is why I am on this quest to do for myself what a big publishing house would have done, if I could find one to broadcast my story. That however, is not an easy task when you are a minority and an immigrant. So, I decided to self publish. You gotta be a celebrity or Reality TV Show Star nowadays to get a non-fiction book deal. And don't even think of a memoir or autobiography if you are neither. Even Barack Obama's "Dreams from My Father" did not get the recognition it deserved till he became a politician with a voice.
But I love this process and I feel like I am learning a new trade.
On Sunday January 10th @ 12 noon, I will have my first Book Signing Event @ BORDERS in the East Cobb area of Atlanta. (Really Marietta but still the Atlanta metro area!)
I am so pumped. God is good. If all goes well, Borders will carry my book "The Only Way is Up: The Journey of an Immigrant" eventually.
The door may not be held wide open for you but you can always find a crack in the window. I found mine and I will work it.
There is always a way!
Peace...

Folake.