The book cover. Where do you recomend getting affordable book covers and illustrations from? My friends all turned down making a book cover on commission because they thought they were not up to the task. Please dont hate on me but this book cover was AI generated. I made a lot of changes to it with my simple understanding of photoshop and I think it hits all the marks of a good fantasy book cover. It tells the viewer this is a fantasy novel about a bard, a crazy gnome, and a horned woman who plays with fire at a circus.

Getting ready for the book signing next Saturday. I made 20 coloring books to give away and designed this poster. Let me know if I need to make any changes to the poster please. It will be 18x24 on foam board. Will work up some bookmarks tomorrow.

This Tuesday is our first Authors Helping Authors: Marketing Edition! We have authors here at every stage, with different audiences, genres, platforms, and experiences—and that means there is a tremendous amount we can learn from one another. Here's how it will work: I'll share one of my favorite techniques as the first comment. Throughout the day, share one marketing idea, strategy, experiment, or lesson that has helped you reach readers—or one you are currently trying or considering. They can be successes or failures (sometimes we learn more from the failures) or in progress. I know you all share ideas all the time, and I love it, so the purpose of this is to gather ideas in one place. It can be something simple or something more involved: - A social media idea that worked - A launch strategy - A newsletter tip - A reader magnet - An event or partnership - A lesson learned from something that did not work - A marketing resource you have found especially useful You don't need to be an expert. Sometimes the most valuable advice is simply, “I tried this, and here is what happened.” Come ready to share, ask questions, and help another author find their next good idea.

Cleared this idea with Lara. If you are doing social media marketing drop a video ad or TikTok, Instagram facebook or YouTube post link and let's compare notes to see what we think is working and give each other ideas. Feel free to add yours to the comments and let's all give each other real feedback. This is the latest direction I've been going myself with daily posts on all the platforms. Description: The First True Song grew out of a character I played while rolling dice with friends. It follows a brokenhearted bard who leaves his family of con artists behind and tries to build a better life with two unlikely companions: a sarcastic gnome who thinks he is a theater director, and a firedancer who is all calm and stillness—until someone messes with her friends. It is a funny, heartfelt fantasy adventure about music, bad decisions, found family, theatrical rivalry, and a group of misfits trying to do some good in a world that does not always make that easy. Available now in paperback and Kindle on Amazon: https://a.co/d/0eJS5nlF⁠� #FantasyBooks #IndieAuthor #FoundFamily #BookReels

I’ve got my first book signing set up for August 8. It’s at the coffee shop next to the barbershop where I work in a small community. I’m also planning to send a press release to the Plaquemines Gazette. It’s a seven-page local paper that comes out weekly, so I’m hoping they might be interested in covering a local author. This small-town signing, where I’ll probably know most of the people who show up, should be a good test run. I’ve never attended a book signing, and since this is my first book, I’m not entirely sure what I should do to prepare. Should I spend a little money on a cardboard standee of the book cover? Are there displays, signs, supplies, or other things I should bring? I ordered 200 copies. No, I do not expect to sell 200 copies at this signing. I also plan to sell at Renaissance fairs and hopefully get a table at the French Market here in New Orleans, so I figured it made sense to have them on hand. Any suggestions from authors who have done signings before would be greatly appreciated.