The book came to an end quite quickly and towards the end the pace to me anyway seemed to become quicker than what I was ready for.
The project was now complete. I had done it. It was finished and now in my hands and whatever steps I take now are the ones that are going to make or break me. As a first-time author and being in this industry as a completely new person, I must be honest, I am not entirely sure what to do to market my book.
Now that I have everything that I need, what do I do now? One of the obvious things to do is to put it onto Amazon KDP and tell people around me about one of the biggest accomplishments in my life. But what happens when you have exhausted the people around you? There are many avenues to promote and advertise your book and I am navigating how to find my way.
For me personally, Amazon KDP was always an option for me to publish my book. Unfortunately, I have found that the quality of their prints to be not exactly what I want to share my work and showcase my first ever project. Due to this I highly recommend that you get proof and author copies sent beforehand to make sure everything is okay before publishing. I have now had to outsource my own copies. I have decided to keep my Amazon account for accessibility reasons, but orders made directly through myself will have the correct format.
I am fortunate enough to have a family that supports me and believes in me, sometimes even more than myself. I now need to broaden my horizons and think big. Who sells books? Who is the market for my book? Where is the gap in the market for this book?
These are important questions, but I think the most important one is to ask yourself what you aim to do, and your intentions for your project. Personally, I would love for my book to kick off and be a staple in households. I would like to the agenda behind it to be picked up upon and for responsibility to be actioned, but how do I do this? The answer is simple. Research. Rather than leaning on my own understanding I need to think outside the box and formulate a plan that will help me action this.