So, You've Just Published a Book

It’s actually been about four months since I published my first book, The Gragon. I originally planned on writing this article three months ago, but work got in the way. That’s actually a recurring theme in my life for the last few years. Too much work, not enough time to write. But I do my best to strike when the iron’s hot. Or at least lukewarm. 

So, here it is now, four months since I published my book. And well, I have not had the time, or sometimes more precisely, the energy to promote my book. But nonetheless, I am happy that it exists.

I originally wrote The Gragon around the end of 2017 or early 2018. I’m not exactly sure, because I’m actually a little lucky to have not had to rewrite it after my old computer bricked itself out of nowhere.

So, what is The Gragon about?

The Gragon is the tale of a little creature that is half dragon and half giraffe. The Gragon grows up in a community of dragons and giraffes, but is ostracized for being a mix of both. Throughout the story, the Gragon uses its kindness, charm, and love for its friends to show them that it is no different than them. It does this by showing its friends its cave, where it likes to hang out in privacy with its hoard of pizza and tacos. (Don’t overthink the realities of food preservation here. Let’s just say the cave is a magical place where you can keep fresh pizza and tacos indefinitely. And the supply of pizza and tacos is infinite.)

In the end, the dragons and giraffes learn not to treat others differently. And the Gragon learns that by sharing, both its food and bits of its personality, it can make deeper connections with its friends.

Now to the problem I’ve had. I have published this book. Everyone that I have given a copy to loves it. But the dilemma is how to promote it.

If it were traditionally published, I would have a person dedicated to this task. Maybe even a small team. However, both fortunately and unfortunately, I have gone the self-publishing route. Mainly because after years of submissions, I wasn’t getting anywhere with traditional publishers. And I was fortunate to finally have the money to pay an illustrator to illustrate the book.

Skylar did an amazing job. I even thought about resubmitting it to publishers with the illustrations. But I wasn’t sure if they would factor in how much I spent on the illustrations into my advance or residuals. Also, I wasn’t sure if the publisher or I would retain the IP to the illustrations.

So, my question to my fellow authors, especially those who have published books, is: what do I do now?

I’ve attempted to promote my book a few ways, but granted, not very much because work has kept me busy. I wish I were one of the people who likes having my face and voice everywhere on the internet. But I still like the idea of being able to go somewhere and not have some stranger recognize me. 

So, how does one promote their book?

The Gragon is available here: The Gragon

And I have a little bit of merchandise here: The Gragon- Version 1

The Gragon- Version 2

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