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| http://www.the-tg.com/homepage.aspx |
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| www.lostcousins.com |
Successfully publishing on Amazon Kindle and Createspace isn’t the end of the story, simply the beginning. To actually sell books, whether ebooks or paperbacks, it’s essential to bring it to the notice of the public. It’s not easy, especially if you aren’t the pushy sort – and I’m not. I’m what’s known in Lancashire as 'a bit back'ards in coming for'ards.' OK, I’ve been on Facebook for a couple of years and have built up my contacts there. More recently, I’ve joined Linked In and Twitter though it’s still early days and I’ve probably to still take full advantage of those networks.
I’m
a member of the national women’s organisation, Townswomen's Guilds with
individual guilds all over the United Kingdom and some 34,000 members so one of
the things I will be doing, once I’ve got my author copies is to send a review
copy to the Townswomen, the organisation’s quarterly journal, in the hope that
they will do a review. I’ve put my name forward as a prospective speaker for
the Chesterfield area and already have one booking, to speak at my own Bolsover
Guild at our March AGM. As the programmes are due to change in April, I’m
hoping I’ll get some more speaking dates for the coming year from other Guilds
in the area and where hopefully I can sell a few print copies.
With writing family and social history articles, once I had published on Kindle,
I contacted the proprietor of a particular website, Lost Cousins with whom
I’ve had correspondence in the past, about my book. LostCousins is about bringing people together, not
just people who share an interest in family history, but people with a shared
interest in the same families, people who share the same DNA. This is done by
entering census data of one’s ancestors and the Lost Cousins’ unique search
system identifies members who share the same ancestors by comparing the
information each member has entered on their My Ancestors page. Peter
Calver has been running Lost Cousins for over ten years now and, in addition to
the ancestor search facility, he sends out frequent newsletters to members.
These are always incredibly helpful to family historians, with lots of tips and
ideas and not just about family history. The newsletters have a chatty friendly
approach and what’s more, are free to all members, whether they have paid a subscription or not. Standard Membership is free but subscription
does entitle one to contact lost cousins and is well worth the
reasonable cost, currently £10 a year. I have made several connections
this way.
To
my delight, he featured my book in one of his newlsetters and, as he has around
97,000 members, I saw an instant increase in sales. In his latest newsletter,
he has posted a fantastic review of my book. This is what he had to say.
‘Review:
A Suitable Young Man
It's
not often that I review a work of fiction that isn't about genealogy, but I
enjoyed A Suitable Young Man so much that I just had to tell you about it. The author of
this extremely enjoyable book is Anne L Harvey - who many of you will know from
her articles in family history magazines - and the story takes place in 1956,
against the background of National Service and the Suez Crisis.
I'm
not familiar with the area of Lancashire where it's set … but I'm glad to say
that this didn't spoil my enjoyment in the slightest - the people and locations
seemed so real that I thought at first that it must be semi-autobiographical.
Judging from the effusive email I received from a LostCousins member both the
period detail and the geography are spot on - this is what Val wrote:
"I
am only half way through but can tell now that it will be the best book I have
ever read. I can see Rivington Pike from my kitchen window and my daily walks
take me 'up Rivington' or to Horwich.
"In
reading the book I am reliving my youth, everywhere the characters go I also
went, and the last train on a Saturday night out of Blackpool was spot on. It
used to be an exciting/frightening ride home where the lads did take the light
bulbs out and throw them out of the windows. Fortunately I was with my own
Teddy Boy boyfriend so felt safe enough. Like Kathy my parents did not like my
Teddy Boy but we rode out all the rough seas and later married.”
I didn't want the book to end
either - so I was absolutely delighted to discover that Anne has another novel
in the pipeline. A Suitable Young Man
is a skilful recreation of Britain in the mid-1950s which reminded me what it
was like to be young - and whilst some people might pigeonhole the novel as
romantic fiction, so was Pride &
Prejudice. Mind you, there is one big difference between Jane Austen and
Anne L Harvey - Jane Austen wasn't a LostCousins member!’
This immediately prompted
another rush of sales, even in the United States, a few in Canada, one in
France and one in Italy, presumably ex-pats living there. So, as an exercise in
self-promotion, extremely valuable. My advice is to explore as many of your
contacts as possible. And think laterally!
