53 ARC signups so far

I am pleased to share that as of this morning, I have 53 submissions for The Name and the Key for people to read as ARCs. (I have to close signups at 100 submissions because Jotform will charge me, and I need to save on shipping and printing costs for the sign-up incentives).

Anyway, the ARC signups started out really slow. I posted on Threads, Instagram, and Facebook, and got two signups in one week. This had me very bummed. I learned some things the hard way about this, particularly from Instagram: Instagram won’t let you hyperlink in your comments. You can only add links to your bio. So, I had to create some new reels directing people to the signup link in my bio, and then people started signing up.

How I got my signups

I paid for boosts on three different Instagram posts. My numbers on their own usually range from 23-227 views, but the following are the boost numbers:

• 1, 825 views for introductory video to The Name and the Key –no calls to action, just the blurb and announcement that it releases July 21.
• 2,839 views for another introductory video to The Name and the Key, featuring mood boards, art, quotes, book cover, etc. Included blurb and announcement that it releases July 21.
• 2,299 views for the first ARC video request, preview of book, preview of chibi sticker art
• 703 views for a boosted post in progress—this one is going to last a week and is another solicitation for ARC signups. Includes mood board, cover, quotes, and chibi sticker previews. Includes book blurb in the description.

I’ve gained 66 followers since I started boosting posts, which isn’t a lot, but before I was at a snail’s pace for growing my following, so this was a nice bonus to all of the views.

However, only a fraction (maybe like 1/4) of signups came from Instagram. The big one: Facebook, of all places.

My own Facebook profile suppresses links, so I was getting no bites there. I did some snooping around and joined four different groups devoted to soliciting ARC readers and sharing information about ARCs and publishing. They are:

• ARC Readers/Authors/Reviewers
• ARC Authors and Readers Connection
• ARC Authors and Readers Club
• ARC Readers and Authors

I haven’t posted in all of these groups yet–I’m waiting to be approved, or else there is a specific way to post that I need to pay more attention to so I don’t get booted for not following the rules–but once I started sharing in groups, the number of signups grew substantially. This seems to be the place to be.

200 stickers coming my way

I used Sticker App to make my chibi stickers after they did an exceptional job printing out my American Writing Award Finalist stickers that I applied to Son of the Siren book covers.

It might be too early to order the chibi stickers because it’s based off of ARC signup numbers, but I’m crap with money and want to take care of this before I mess up my budget. I commissioned them March 20 and they’re currently in production, with an ETA at my home by Tuesday, March 31. Not bad! I ordered 100 stickers per character. As a reminder, here’s what they will look like:

Because of Lily’s magnificent hair, her sticker will be slightly larger than Andresh’s…although his hair is magnificent, too.

1 more art commission left that will lead to 100 postcards

My goal was to have serious/semi-realistic commissions of Lily and Andresh together, and then of Isabelle and Aineiron together, but I just can’t afford it. So I’m scrapping the demon art (which seriously bums me out) and am just focusing on Lily and Andresh. It’s going to be more of a romantic pose ( I sent some samples to the artist) with the two of them against a designed background, and I’ll be using Next Day Flyers to make the art postcards again.

I used Next Day Flyers for Son of the Siren. The prints came fast (the whole point of the business) but most importantly, the art came out amazing. I’m ordering 100 of them for the ARC signups. I already know how much it will cost based on my previous postcard orders, but I think it will jump up because I want to print some stuff on the back of the postcard, like a credit to the artist Juhaihai, a “NOT FOR RESALE” note, and a thank you for reading and reviewing the book. Double-sided printing will probably bring the cost up.

1 finished draft at 49,519 words

I finished the first draft of The Step and the Walk. However, I’m not happy with it because it is seriously under my desired word count. I want it to be comparable in length to The Name and the Key. I need to add about 20,000 words to this baby in order for me to be happy with it. So, even though I managed to write “the end” on this manuscript, it is far from over.

My goal was to finish this by March 1st and have beta readers read it for one month, then turn it in the end of April to my publisher, but it’s not going to happen. My contract says I don’t owe a manuscript until June, but I wanted to deliver this earlier to follow a sort of rapid release schedule, which has become popular with readers. My new goal is to get it to them by end of May, if possible.

3 more editorial reviews coming

I have ordered a total of four editorial reviews to help create blurbs for The Name and the Key. The first one, Reader’s Favorite, is already published, and it’s five stars, yay! The next ones are coming in a few months from Literary Titan, American Writing Awards, and the most expensive one, Independent Book Review. I hemmed and hawed at adding IBR, because I used them for beta readers for Son of the Siren and they can be pretty harsh…but impulsivity won out and I paid for a review anyway.

I don’t really like paying for reviews, but when you’re self-published or indie and want some editorial clout, the majority of places have you cough up some money to guarantee your work gets evaluated.

I like having some kind of endorsement instead of none, and although I haven’t seen actual proof of this, I think readers trust endorsed works a little bit more. Plus, paid editorials promise a publication of a review, whereas reader reviews aren’t guaranteed (or owed) at all.

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Publishing is tricky, and so is marketing and promoting your work. Even with Son of the Siren out there in the bookish sphere, I’m still a nobody in the literary world, so every step I take to promote is one I pray is in the right direction and a good investment.

Wish me luck, please!