Promotion- Learning as I go, or NO dice tattos on naked butts

I'm such a man.
I never stop to ask for directions, let alone read the directions to any new gadget or gizmo I buy. I figure if I have to stop and read directions, then it's too complicated, so I move on. Usually to spend a lot of time trying to figure out how it works on my own (unless Mel knows, then I simply ask her). I've tried to break this pattern, but I simply can't. I think it's just the way I'm wired. So I learn as I go- by trial and error. I'm pretty thick-headed, so I think it's the only way something sinks in. Like this book thing. I have 2 books coming out this year. I've done all I can artistically- I've conceptualized them, written them, edited them, etc. The next part in the process is the promotion of those books. Since I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing I've hired a publicist. But there's still a lot as an author that's up to me.

That's where I'm learning as I go.

Now that the revisions for my 2nd Bunco book are done (yes!) I actually have some time to devote to promotion. I've discovered Facebook (I mean, really discovered it), online Solitaire (whoops), and checking out the stats on Amazon.com. My first book, Bunco Babes Tell All (which can be pre-ordered by the way) has been anywhere from 30 something thousand to the millions in presales stats. It's a mystery. In one day, my book can leap thousands of numbers. Does that mean one person bought my book in that day? Or maybe ten? Or maybe none, and someone else's book has changed its status, thus changing mine? Who knows? I have a feeling this obsessive game could take up a lot of my time.

Right now though, my focus has been on my new website. This process has gone on for over 6 months. The first web designer I worked with wanted to read my book so that he could get a "flavor" of what I wrote. Great, I thought. So I emailed him my manuscript. About 2 months later, he gave me his first mock-up. It was so horrible, I can't even describe it, but I'll try... I was on a writing retreat at the beach with Louisa and Mel and I didn't have Internet access. So in an excited tizzy, we drove to a Panera where they had free WiFi and flipped open my laptop . All we could do was stare in horror. There, on the Home page of what could be my website was a picture of a naked woman's butt with a pair of dice tattooed on her cheek. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. In the end, we all laughed. I don't write anything even faintly resembling erotica. So I have no idea how reading my manuscript could have produced that image. Go figure.

On to my 2nd web designer. I told him about the fiasco of the dice tattoo on the naked butt. He laughed (a good sign, I thought) and we talked for a bit on the phone. I immediately got a good gut reaction. In October, he came up with the first design for my website. I loved it. The colors were a bit off, but the concept was exactly what I was looking for. Since I'm doing my own copy, he then asked me for the copy so that he could get a better idea of how to set things up. At the time, I was in the middle of deadline for my 2nd book, so I couldn't get him the copy for almost another month. I had no idea how difficult it was to write copy for a website. I must have studied dozens and dozens of author websites in an attempt to figure out what I wanted. In the end, I sent him 20 pages (copy and detailed instructions for each page). I should be seeing a finalized version this week. I can't wait!