Review: Short, Concise, and Valuable
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 05 9, 2014
Seumas Gallacher is a man with a split personality. First he’s the author of a successful thriller series featuring hard-fighting former SAS operator Jack Calder. In a personality reversal, he also writes a humorous writing blog in the character of a rambling Scotsman with an almost indecipherable Scottish brogue. I’ve become a fan of both personalities. In Self-Publishing Steps to Successful Sales, Gallacher combines both personalities, producing a serious discussion on the benefits of social media to independent authors that is punctuated with a light wit.Gallacher doesn’t get into the weeds about the writing life or writing style. His point here is that it’s not enough to just write a book, you’ve got to get it noticed by readers and, more importantly, readers who buy books. A former international banker now living in Abu Dhabi, Gallacher approaches book selling using the same elements he used as a businessman — a business plan, business, marketing, and promotional campaigns, and a budget.Most importantly, Gallacher shows how to get your book in front of readers by using the tools afforded by Amazon’s KDP publishing platform, and Internet social media like Twitter, Facebook, websites, and blogs. Despite using these tools virtually every day for the past three years to promote my own books, I felt like a neophyte while reading Gallacher’s book.Whether you’re a novice writer or a publishing pro, Self-Publishing Steps to Successful Sales should be in your library.