Congratulations on the launch of Hypnotic, Sherry! Wonderful to see the fantastic reviews for your book.
What do you feel has been your most effective book-marketing action so far?
For me, definitely social media. I have a really good network – both personal and author accounts – and have always been quite active on these. As much as my husband may have complained in the past about my social-media habits, he can now see how supportive those networks have been in spreading news of Hypnotic.
You have a successful blog. Any tips for other writers in keeping the momentum up?
I think it’s important to acknowledge that these things are hard work! So be forgiving when life gets in the way, be supportive of other bloggers to build a community and just talk to people as you would your friends in real life. I tend to include quite a lot of humour in my blogs – and mainly focus on the things that go wrong! There can be a tendency to want to promote everything as going perfectly, but sharing your mis-steps and frustrations can be very relatable! It’s also just a genuine reflection of me, so that the writing doesn’t feel like hard work.
How did it feel to hold the first copy of Hypnotic?
Just fantastic. It had been a five-year journey to publication. A year of procrastination, a year of plotting, then the writing, editing and preparing to publish. Still, five years of a work in progress and I didn’t have the book’s ending until incredibly close to the finish line!
What was most helpful in our work together?
Oh crikey, all the background knowledge to publishing I wouldn’t stand a hope of having. Having you on hand to calm my moments of panic, like when I accidentally set the book to publish when ordering a first proof!
One writing or publishing tip for getting the job done?
Tell as many people you know and trust as possible, so they continue to badger you to finish the book. The accountability worked for me!