The Carus Chronicles

My debut novel, Shift Happens , is due out sometime in the Spring of 2014. Probably April-ish. I don't have a set release date still, but I want to be as successful as possible. My publisher recommends a long list of things I can do to help promote my book and me as an author. These are the ones I have already completed: Website (  http://www.jcmckenzie.ca ) Blog (duh!) Use taglines on all blog posts (check) Facebook ( http://www.facebook.com/j.c.mckenzie.author ) Twitter (@JC_McKenzie) Post tweets automatically to Facebook (check)  Make a newsletter (I use Mailchimp, and I've tested it. First one due out Dec 15th) And then there's the one's I haven't completed: Post tweets automatically to your website (I'm not sure about this. Seems overkill?) Get people to sign up for your newsletter (how?!?) Create an online press kit (seems like I need a lot of the other things on this list first) Make a video book trailer (I covered my current succe...

As I skip down the road to getting published, I keep getting ahead of myself and my proverbial feet tangle up while I think of all the little things I need to do. Who do I dedicate the book to? Who should I thank in my acknowledgements? And how do I want to fill out the cover request form? All three of these questions had me paralyzed in fear. What if I chose wrong? What if I forgot someone? What if I don't put in enough information and I hate the cover, or worse, what if I over explain and kill the artist's creative process? The cover is important, after all, and in my opinion (with no marketing background whatsoever) directly impacts sales. But the cover information aside, the acknowledgement and dedication questions got me thinking...and as it often happens, said thinking lead to Googling. What do other people do? I went on a search to find out. Here are some funny ones I found along my researching journey: 1. The Heart of a Goof (1926), P.G Wodehouse "To my dau...