Things have been quiet since Hello My Name is Sharkbait launched late last year, but not in a bad way. Far from it. I’ve been building a few things behind the scenes… and I’m excited to share the news. An updated website, a new marketing focus, and my first Author events scheduled! First up is Katonah Reading Room on Feb 21!

If you aren’t interested in more behind-the-scenes info on my publishing journey, jump straight to my new Events page, and please join me at one of my upcoming author events. I’d love your support. I’ll be signing books, discussing my writing journey, and hosting Q&A on the book, the hike, and more.

Now, back to the dramatic update…

When I wrote Platinum Blazing a few years ago, I didn’t really see it as universally marketable, nor myself as a legitimate author. Don’t get me wrong, I was ecstatic to publish it, but with the exception of a brief visit to Damascus Trail Days, didn’t do anything to promote the book. My co-author did some work, even getting us written up as a feature article in AT Journeys, but it stayed mostly dormant on a shelf, just hoping people would find it.

But I’ve been reading an interesting book to help navigate this new path. Mark has a great analogy, which is obvious on the surface, but every author at some point believes won’t apply to them once they are live on Amazon. Spoiler alert, it does.

Uploading a book to Amazon, Ingram, or any other platform is the equivalent of putting a single can of beans on a supermarket shelf and walking away. It’s stocked. It exists. But nothing about that act alone creates demand, visibility, or trust.

Ain’t that the truth. As much as I love Sharkbait, it’s just another can of beans in a store of beans. A warehouse of beans. A digital shopping mall with 44 million other cans of beans. (sigh)

So, this past month, I got to work.

New Website Refresh. If you are here, you probably noticed something different. I initially launched a new website just for the book, but quickly learned that is confusing, misleading, and diluted my brand. Hello, Neiman is my identity, and this website has been my passion side-project of writing for nearly 2 decades. If I am going to market myself, I should do it in one place. I mean, if I promoted there and blogged here, literally dozens of people would be confused! I spent a few weeks researching, re-coding, and relaunching this gorgeous HelloNeiman site to be my one-stop shop and drive all traffic towards. And opens up some new ventures I plan to build out over time around trip planning, gear recommendations, recipe sharing, etc. There is a foundation for now, but this could get some legs. So take a look around, I hope you like it.

Events. I have a couple lined up already, and working to secure a few more. It has been fun traveling to the various small bookshops in the area and talking about my book. Everyone is surprisingly eager to help. One store scheduled a Memoir Book Club event around me, another as a Staff Pick Recommendation, and a 3rd is in the works for an AT Thru-Hike Q&A Discussion. I’m also working with a family friend to pitch my story to more TV stations, podcasts, and local periodicals. That momentum is a bit slower, but I’m confident it will eventually break through with enough hustle. I’m short on a lot of things, but hustle ain’t one of them. Check out the Events page for more details and stay tuned for more events. Oh, and don’t worry, Minnesota. I’m working on some plans to visit you again soon too. Maybe after the temperature gets above zero though.

Promotions. Long story short, I’m going to start getting help. It’s overwhelming and not my forte, but there are simple tricks of the trade to help me focus my attention and dollars. Amazon ads and Facebook ads are probably still the #1 outlet, but before I spend more, figured some professional advice could go a long way. I’m also working on a press kit, discussion guide/book club suggested questions, and featured blog articles that have nothing to do with my book but highlight my writing style in fun new ways. Stay tuned for more short stories and novellas that allow me to stretch this muscle a bit further. Gotta keep my trail legs in-tact if I’m ever going to write a sequel…

Hello Neiman!