How am I doing it...

This is where I’m going to tell you about the strategy I have used since I finished my final draft of Adoptive Personality and received my shipment of books in mid-March 2014. I’m going to pull out my ledger for this one…

I started out with an idea; I was assigned a creative writing assignment at Danville Community College, www.dcc.vcc.edu, by Ms. Carol McClanahan. That paper was 6 pages and essentially contained a beginning, a slim plot, and an ending. There is only so much you can put in 6 pages after all. Nothing compared to the finished book. .. But my idea was good. My teacher complimented me and encouraged me to be a writer if that was my passion.  That was in 1999…

Through the intervening years I would pick up that idea and write a couple more pages. When MySpace was first all the rage, I put the rough draft of the first ten chapters online. I got good feedback from those comments. When I was around 120 pages of my rough draft in, my husband took our hard drive (I have since learned to save my work everywhere) to Iraq during his first deployment in 2009; all was lost except for my idea.

In June 2012, I was working towards the end of my spouse’s second deployment to Iraq and suffering from depression; I pulled myself together, started my Bachelor program at www.ashford.edu and decided I was going to write my book. Now when I first started my draft, the middle of my book was different but I had years between my initial idea and sitting down to write my first book. I saw a doctor and got serious with my writing. Adoptive Personality was finished before the end of the month. I wrote like crazy…

I am such a book addict, that the ideas for the middle of the book took off and Eve’s sexy side was conceived. When I was finished with the book, I emailed it to around 50 of my closest friends and family. I received great feedback about my twisted imagination and more than half were future sales when I finally printed my book.

I performed several edits. I got my sister, Shannon that is a teacher to do an edit. This is where it is important to put the draft down for a bit. Take a break. I have learned that I still missed some errors in my first print first edition copy that I have for sale. There are only around 30 or so left. Taking a break between printing and reading gave me a chance to catch some minor errors that were missed in my book. The next print will have the corrections. What makes those first 125 I am selling so valuable? I will be a famous author one day. I am just starting out and not enough people have heard about my book. When they do, those first books that I sold will be worth future $$.

I printed 125 copies in mid-March 2014. The first book I ever sold was to my twin sister, Tina, two years before when I finished the rough draft. After the print, I have sold to family and friends, fellow co-workers, at a book signing, at a flea market, and word of mouth.

I have sold to 21 family members, 25 friends, 17 co-workers, and 14 strangers. Don’t take that as an inconsequential task because I consider this an achievement. I also sold to those strangers at a book signing my former college, Danville Community College, www.dcc.vccs.edu.  They let me sit at a table during a Celebration of the Arts week. I was in town visiting family and my printed book had just arrived. When fellow employees found out they suggested I talk to its coordinator, Sherry Gott, https://www.facebook.com/sherry.f.gott?fref=ts who is an Associate Professor of English. She was very excited to help a self-publishing author and former student. I left 10 books for the DCC, Castle Bookstore, www.dccbookstore.dcc.vccs.edu  to carry. I’m told they are set up on a display shelf and students are talking about my book. I will see it when I go for another visit this week. I also sold to many of my co-workers while I was there. While I was still in town, I went to the Ringgold Flea Market, https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ringgold-Flea-Market/192913540747285?sk=info and sat at a table for the day and sold a couple of books and talked about my book with strangers.

I also want to say a special thank you to Vince Decker at DCC for teaching me most of what I know as an entrepreneur; Carol McClanahan (retired) from DCC for being an inspiring teacher; Sherry Gott, Andre Jordan, Styphenia Reliford, and Andrea Burney at DCC for supporting a fellow student and aspiring self-publishing author; and last but not least my two former bosses that are an inspiration because they have always supported my dream and encouraged me, Rhonda Carter at DCC and Ms. Pat from IHOP. Special thanks are also deserved for the first three reviews I have had posted online by Lou @ www.crimebook.club.co.uk, Lindsey @ www.goodreads.com, and Hayley @ www.onlinebookclub.org; Lightning Press, www.lightning-press.com, for printing my books; and Sally Popu, www.sallypictures.com, for taking the beautiful author photo I am using.

So my books are spread around Danville, VA and surrounding areas (67) and KY (3). My friends and family have also spread the sales to MA (1), NY (1), MI (1), NC (3), CA (1), TX (3), and CO (1). I hope I’m not forgetting any, that’s off the top of my head. This is due impart to having family in MA and VA and all the friends I have made along the way in the military that have spread to the corners of the U.S.

I have had a couple people make future plans to buy a copy and those I have reserved for broke friends, lol. I am trying to plan an author event: Gossip at the Park in Danville, VA before I head back for another visit this coming week to spread the word of mouth and sell more copies. Right now in KY, I am talking up my book to everyone I can. I give out the teaser of the first five chapters and have sold two books that way in KY. I also have three more future sales because of that free CD. I haven’t been in KY long and we are moving before the end of the year so I want to make as many contacts as possible. I have left a copy with the base library to see if I could schedule an author presentation and book signing. It’s where I met Lisa Gardner and got my autographed book.  Keep your fingers crossed and say a prayer for that one.

I have also been using social media to spread word of mouth. I have teaser chapters on my YouTube channel, https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6eN2u6BMCxKS3okX73q_Dg; friend me on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/cassandra.scearce; follow me on twitter, https://twitter.com/Writ3rAddiction;, read my blog Unknown Author News, http://unknownauthornews.blogspot.com/; email me, cassandrasearce@yahoo.com; look up my google, https://plus.google.com/u/0/+CassandraScearce/posts/p/pub; talk to a friend; and get a review.

I have three online reviews currently out about my brand new book Adoptive Personality. I received 4 out of 5 Stars from www.crimebookclub.com, 3 out of 5 Stars from https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22081886-adoptive-personality, and  No Rating System from http://forums.onlinebookclub.org/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=19094&p=275378&hilit=Adoptive+Personality&sid=cd629bbcf0813a6a516091dd23c0baae#p275378. I have future plans to appear on www.crimebookclub.co.uk as a guest blogger and an interview.

I am currently reading Twitter: Tip, Tricks, and Tweets by Paul McFedries, www.mcfedries.com and it has really helped me out with all of my social media sites and was the instigator for starting my blog, Unknown Author News. I started off with around 23 twitter followers 36 hours ago and I have quadrupled that following. And the count keeps growing. This enables me to spread the word about my work. Stayed tuned for the Author Resource article about that book in the future. ..

My future strategy includes spreading the word on social media and author events like Gossip at the Park, as well as, the lovely people who already bought a book and are going to gossip about it. My plan is to tell as many people as possible. No one will buy your book if they don’t know about it. I will also be networking using my contacts and making as many future contacts as I can. Wish me luck and buy a book…