Sometimes we take a leap
of faith and hope for the best. That’s what I did.
I write two series: The
Sandi Webster Mysteries and The Bogey Man Mysteries. At one time I had two
publishers, one for each series, and it was a frustrating time for me. Not that
either publisher did anything wrong, but I felt so limited.
I’ve been through
self-publishing with a company who charged a fee, switched to two traditional
publishers, and now I’m self-publishing my books myself. I’m my own boss. Don’t
get me wrong, it’s been a difficult path to follow.
I’ve spent copious
amounts of time trying to put my name “out there” – to make it recognizable. People
remember the surname Evanovich, so maybe if I played my cards right they’d
remember the first name of Marja (with a hard “j”) and the surname McGraw (no
relation to Tim). I have a weekly blog, a website that I’ve tried to make fun,
and I join in on conversations on a number of groups on the Internet. I do
guest blogs such as this one on the sites of others. I’ve done many library
presentations, book signings at bookstores, and any event I could sink my teeth
into from Arts & Crafts shows to Christmas festivals. I’m always surprised
when I realize that people remember me. You mean to tell me I’ve done something
right? Sometimes I have to laugh at myself.
In the end I realized
that the publishers weren’t doing as much as I’d like. Of course, they can’t.
They’ve got other authors who need their attention as much as me. After long
and arduous thought, I realized I needed to try things my way.
And I did. My name has
become recognizable to an extent I hadn’t expected.
I cancelled all of the contracts for all of my books and re-released them
myself. Of course, this limited the number of places where my books are
available – at least the ebook version of the books.
Was I really limiting
myself? In some ways, yes. However, book sales are up quite a bit from what
they were with a traditional publisher. One of the reasons is very important to
me. I can price the books the way I want to, and in this economy that’s
important. I wanted my books to be affordable. They are.
I promote the books at
every possible moment. I have some promotional items I can hand out no matter
where I am like pens with Marja McGraw Mysteries and my website address on
them. I have letter openers with the same message. I created Thank You business
cards which have proved invaluable.
I’ve had a number of
people email to ask me for advice about self-publishing. I can’t offer advice.
I can only pass on how it’s worked out for me.
My first book in the
Sandi Webster series has recently been released in Audio Book format. I did
that myself, too. Narrators auditioned and I was able to choose one who did a
terrific job of being Sandi.
My best advice? Get your
name “out there” before you try self-publishing. After that put out the best
possible book you can. It should be as error-free as possible and entertaining.
It should be what you look for in the books of others.
Am I glad I self-published?
Yes! I’ve had to learn a lot about formatting, book covers and promotion, but
yes, yes, yes. I’m glad I took that leap of faith. I’d do it again in a
heartbeat.
Would I recommend it to
everyone else? No. What’s right for me might not be the “E” ticket for others.
You have to go with your gut feeling and put in a lot of hard work.
Whichever course you
take, I wish you the best.
Please leave a comment
and I’ll randomly choose two people to whom I’ll “gift” a copy of the audio
book. A Well-Kept Family Secret involves Old Los Angeles and murder. Surprised?
I doubt it. There’s even a little humor in the story.
Pat, thank you so much
for inviting me to post today. I hope this gives others some food for thought.
Marja McGraw worked in both civil and criminal
law for fifteen years, state transportation for another seventeen years, and
most recently for a city building department.
She has lived and worked in California, Nevada, Oregon, Alaska and
Arizona.
Marja wrote a weekly column for a small town
newspaper in Northern Nevada, and conducted a Writers’ Support Group in Northern
Arizona. A past member of Sisters in Crime (SinC), she was also the Editor for
the SinC-Internet Newsletter for a year and a half.
She
has appeared on KOLO-TV in Reno, Nevada, and KLBC in Laughlin, Nevada, and
various radio talk shows.
Marja
says that each of her mysteries contains a little humor, a little romance and A
Little Murder! Books
include both the Sandi Webster Mysteries and The Bogey Man Mysteries.
She
and her husband now live in Arizona, where life is good.
You can read more about Marja's books here:
