Author Vince Bailey was welcomed warmly by readers and fans at a recent author event, held at Barnes & Noble Arrowhead in his hometown of Peoria, Arizona. Vince met with readers and passers by and signed copies of his paranormal historical fiction novel, Path of the Half Moon. Path was recently named an official SEMI-FINALIST for the PARANORMAL Book Awards for Supernatural Fiction, a division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards (CIBAs) and is the previous winner of the Arizona Authors' Association Literary Award. 

We're excited to announce that Vince Bailey’s debut paranormal historical fiction novel, Path of the Half Moon, has been named an official SEMI-FINALIST for the PARANORMAL Book Awards for Supernatural Fiction, a division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards (CIBAs). The Paranormal Book Awards recognize emerging talent and outstanding works in the genre of  Paranormal and Supernatural Fiction. The Paranormal Book Awards is a genre division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards (The #CIBAs).

Path of the Half Moon, also winner of the Arizona Authors' Association Literary Awards, is a paranormal historical fiction tale set in a remote detention facility for wayward boys in the early sixties. Curtis is an African American youth whose character and physical endurance are tested by a murderous inmate and a century-old Apache curse. It's available in print and e-book wherever books are sold. 

We discussed earlier this year how important building your brand as an author is. Strategy, content, and social media all come into play when building your own brand. Here, we will break down some practical ways to begin building your brand and give you a step-by-step guide for getting started!

3. Set Up Your Platform
When you’ve answered the questions of who you are as an author and who your target audience is, you can start to set up your actual author platform. First and foremost, you will need to set up your author website. For further instruction on how to best build your website, you can revisit our blog post on it.
 
4. Don’t Shy Away From Email
If you think of your email list as just another way to connect with your readers, like Twitter or Facebook, it becomes much less intimidating. If you can make a great first impression with your readers and create an easy form for them to use to subscribe to your email list, building your email list is completely doable. The important thing to remember when building your email list is that you shouldn’t wait to start. Begin building the list and develop it as you go, even if your website or book aren’t quite ready. 

5. Get Active on Social Media
As we’ve mentioned in posts previously, social media is crucial to your brand. The beauty of social media is that you have the creative liberty to tailor it to exactly the way you want it. Keep in mind the Rule of Thirds that we mentioned in an earlier blog post and remember to use your social media as a way to connect with your audience. If you use it solely as a promotional tool for your book or even for yourself, your audience will not be drawn in as effectively. Keep in mind what your readers connect with about you, and use that often in your social media.
 
Remember to have patience with yourself as you build your brand and that, even using these practical steps, it will probably take some time. It’s okay to not get everything in order right away, as long as you are making progress!

​When it comes to marketing yourself an author, you don’t have to wait until your book is finished and published to begin. The earlier you connect and begin to build familiarity and relationships with your readers, the better.

This becomes possible when you realize that you are marketing yourself more than you are marketing your book. At the end of the day, your name is a more important brand than your book’s title. The key is to build your own personal brand through which you can promote your books. We're launching a new blog series in 2019, dedicated to helping authors build their platforms and their brand. Here's a few things to get you started . . . maybe one or two will make it to your New Year's Resolution list!

For authors with books already published, we strongly suggest creating and keeping fresh your Goodreads Profile and Amazon.com Author Central profiles. Be sure to keep them fresh with weekly posts or link them to your existing blog.

Read more about Goodreads setup here. It's a powerful tool with a great return on investment of your time and energy. 

We'll talk more in upcoming posts about creating a compelling social media presence but for now just make a start. Create a profile and bring the new YOU to the New Year!

A Call to China was named as a Silver Winner in Friday's IBPA Benjamin Franklin Awards(TM), which include over fifty categories recognizing excellence in book publishing and are regarded as one of the highest national honors for independent publishers. Winners were announced April 6, 2018 during a gala dinner held in conjunction with IBPA Publishing University in Austin, Texas. 

IngramElliott is proud to be an IBPA member and shares this prestigious award with author, Jeffrey Meyer.

See all the winners on the IBPA website and read the press release here!

Indian Country by John T. Young was highlighted in The Military Times Spring Reading Guide for Fiction for 2018! The titles selected highlight military-themed literary offerings for consideration.

Reviewer J. Ford Huffman notes the mix of thrills and literary quotes set in and around a Native American reservation as a "scene of action and a source of solace" in Indian Country and touches on the novels heroic themes.

Indian Country is an intense thriller is set against a backdrop of biker gangs, drug cartels, terrorism, and dangerous liaisons. It's available in eBook and print.

Author Event at Birkdale Village
 
Sunday, March 25
1:00 pm Eastern Time
Barnes and Noble Birkdale
8725 Townley Rd. 
Huntersville, NC 28078

Benny Moon: Racing the Medicine Wheel
Salem Wolf Heart will be signing her middle grade chapter book and demonstrating the power of the Medicine Wheel. You can also sign up to win a gift basket of Benny merchandise!

Author of Mystery Muffin & Soda Pop Slooth interviewed by local television station.  Watch the video.