Special Book Feature and Guest Post: HEIR OF VENGEANCE by Fiona Tarr

Fiona's 5 Top Tips for Marketing

It’s been three years since I released my first fantasy book and now, as my 4^th book Heir of Vengeance is released I can honestly say, I’ve learnt a lot since then. I naively wrote my first book and released it into the wilds of Amazon with high hopes, but quickly discovered there is so much more to publishing, than simply writing a good story.

With an estimated twenty million books for sale on Amazon, how on earth is anyone supposed to find, read and review my novels? I have spoken with authors who have up to seven books published, but have seen little or no sales and no reviews on their hard and heartfelt stories. So what’s the secret?

Marketing! Marketing is the secret. Not that sleazy spammy ‘buy my book’ kind of marketing, but solid long term marketing. There are some exceptionally solid sources of marketing for authors out in the wide world of the internet and I have spent the last three years piecing them together into a strategy I use and have found to be successful.

By success I mean, I am selling books, I am getting reviews and I am building a network of readers and like-minded authors to network with. That doesn’t mean I have a big publishing contract on the horizon, or expect to hit the top seller list any time soon, but I am making progress.

So what are my 5 tips for marketing?

1. Marketing is a long-term strategy towards long-term readers and sales.
2. Write more books. It’s very difficult to build a reader database or fan base with only one published book.
3. Ensure your work is the best it can be. No one wants to read or review a poorly edited book. Get your work professionally edited.
4. Be prepared to give away short stories, part of your book or all of your first book to gain email addresses and new readers. It’s just like applying for a job. Your work is your resume and you need to get it into as many hands as possible to gain interest and credibility for the long-term.
5. Network with other authors and work hard to help them as much as they help you.

Heir of Vengeance is the 4^th and final book in my current series, although I do have a Novella coming out as a prequel before Christmas. Buy it now for 99 cents – Limited Time Only!

Available on Amazon or all other digital retailers here.

To celebrate the release of Heir of Vengeance I am offering a chance to win the entire series. All 4 e-books to be won.

To enter you can either LIKE my Facebook page here.

Join my Facebook Blog Tour Event here.

Or download my first book Destiny of Kings FREE here.

Or, you can do ‘all of the above’  for 3 chances to win!

Find me on

Twitter: @fionatarr

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fionatarr.atime2write/

Website: atime2write.com.au

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fionatarr/

In case you missed the buy link above. Grab Heir of Vengeance here.

Amazon

All other digital outlets

About the Author

My fantasy novels are fast paced, character driven historical stories with strong mystical, spiritual and theological themes mixed with elements of the classic heroic/epic fantasy genre. My writing was first inspired by the heroic fantasy style of David Gemmell, but I have most recently been compared to Traci Harding.

It turns out writing is in the blood. My Great Uncle was George Johnston (My Brother Jack) and although I don't claim to have his renowned literary style, I do write a mean fantasy novel.
I find culture, faith, philosophy and sociology intriguing and these topics are at the heart of my fantasy.

I live in Noosa, Australia with my husband and two sons and I run a small business involving tourism and watersports. Occasionally I dabble in advocacy, mentoring and spend time on my personal entrepreneurial pursuits. When I am not writing I am either kitesurfing, stand up paddle surfing, travelling or volunteering in some capacity. I love cheese, chocolate and living a creative life.

Live in Balance: What do you think?

The last time I blinked it was my brother and sister-in-law's birthday (they were born on the same date), and that was the 21st of May and like yesterday, wasn't it? The next thing there is an email to remind me to register for Camp NaNoWriMo.

My idea for Camp in July

Seriously? But that's in July and a long time to go yet! And yet, the month of July is only another 26 days away.
Winter has arrived in full force in my part of the country. The days are short (just over ten hours of sunlight) and the nights are cold.  While some parts of South Africa have warm days, we are praying for the rains to come in the Western Cape. The province is caught in a severe drought and receives the majority of its rainfall in the short winter months. Their rainy season is really cold and often accompanied by dangerously high winds. Let's hope the weather forecasters have their predictions in a row and the rain will arrive this coming week.
Where summer is a time for action and partaking in the enjoyments of life, winter seems to be a time for reflection and quiet. At least, that is how to experience this time of year. With the email from Camp NaNoWriMo, I was reminded that my Live in Balance goals for the year needs to be reassessed and perhaps adjusted.
Tempted as I am to simply delete one or two from my list, I decided to take a step back and have a good look at myself. These goals are mine. They are choices I made; commitments I made to myself. If I delete just one, what does that say about me and my commitment to myself to live the life I want? To Live in Balance and be a better, healthier version of myself. Should I just delete those goals where my performance was less than stellar, or worse where I have not performed at all?
I don't have an answer yet, but I will need to spend some time to reconsider my list of Live in Balance goals for this year. What you can be sure of is that I won't just give up. This is not a competition with anyone else. This list is about me, and my goals. Giving up because something turned out to be more challenging than I thought, is damn sure not an excuse in my book.
Have I given up on things in the past? Of course, I have as I am sure you have as well. Trying to milk the proverbial dead cow, is a waste of time. Life is way too short to worry about things where I cannot change the outcome, no matter how much effort I put in. Was it a complete waste? I considered it a learning experience that fortunately, did not cost me a lot of time, nor much money.
As we approach the halfway point of this year, I will spend some time to assess my progress towards my goals, and at the same time consider my goals for next year. Call it my first draft of 2018 if you like.
As with all first drafts, it will require time to sit before the editing/updating process gets underway. This is not a book; it is the next year my life we are talking about after all.
Maybe that is the reason so many people fail at their resolutions. They make impulsive choices that are not properly thought through.
What do you think? Do I stand a better chance of success because I spend the time to think about and plan my goals for the next year?