The last two weeks, we have discussed the number one reason why writers today choose self-publishing over and over again – CONTROL.

Via self-publishing, we control our book titles, book covers, book content (story and words), publishing, and copyrights.

We spend countless hours in front of the computer and our notebooks researching, writing, and editing our manuscripts to perfection.  We work through blood, sweat, and tears, until we fall in love with every aspect of our stories.

By taking CONTROL, we announce to the world that we are not only the author but the publisher too.

What else do we CONTROL in self-publishing?  The promotion.

Yikes!  Promotion.

Many of us didn’t go to school to study business and or marketing, while some of us might have.  Many of us don’t have the first clue as to how to promote our products.  Heck, many of us aren’t even that comfortable with promoting ourselves.

But we can; we can do it.

So what do we do next?

First, we want to create a Kindle Author Page, also known as an Amazon Author Central Account.  This allows authors to reach more readers and track book sales via Amazon.  These author pages include the writer’s biographies, images (author head shots and book covers), book summaries, and discussion boards.

For more information about the Amazon Author Central Accounts, click here.

Next, we want to set up a Facebook Author Page, also known as Fan Pages.  Once the account is set up with similar information to the Kindle Author Page, we can send out invites to all of our friends and family already on Facebook to “like” our page.  We can also set events, discussion boards, polls, and other fun applications to engage our readers.

For more information about how to set up a Facebook Author Page, click here.  Also, we found this fantastic 20-step guide over at Novel Publicity & Co.

Similar to the two author pages above, we also want to set up a Goodreads Author Page, also known as joining the Author Program.  But what makes Goodreads even more valuable to the author?  Goodreads is filled with people who actually like to read!  This is the primary reason why anyone joins Goodreads in the first place.  According to one of our star clients, Goodreads is her favorite way to reach new readers… and by the droves!

It is recommended that as soon as our book covers are ready and a publication date is set sometime in the near future, we want to set up our Goodreads Author Page.  Why?  This is again in direct relation to the fact that members join Goodreads for the sole purpose of checking out new books and posting reviews.

For more information on the Goodreads Author Program, click here.

Of course, we still want to promote our books via other methods of social media and we have a few more recommendations coming next week.  But for now…

Now we’re ready.  We’re ready to convert.  We’re ready to self-publish.  We’re ready to promote.  We’re ready to take CONTROL of our story.

Want to take control of your story?