Howdy Gals:

Here's my two cents for what it's worth. First Edelweiss...don't be down on yourself. Feel good that at least you expressed yourself in a wonderful way, wrote a book and are on the way to fulfilling your dream. It doesn't matter if you are in Germany or USA or planet mars. If it's a good one and you can get the word out about it, it will work for you. If you have passion and enthusiasm, that will really help because enthusiasm is contagious! But Jaw Jaw and Mama Red are absolutely right about marketing and PR...it is the main part of spreading the word about your book.

Here is a great resource that I used to pass on to my PR clients who were thinking about writing/promoting a book. If you haven't heard of Dan Poynter of www.ParaPublishing.com, it's a good site to check out. He offers freebies, tons of info and a regular ezine as well. You can learn alot there. He is a self-publishing guru and here is blurb off his site:

"Wherever you are in the development of your book (thinking, planning, writing, producing or promoting stage), we have the tools to make your venture faster, easier and more successful. This site has hundreds of pages of information and free documents plus books (both ours and those from other publishers), reports, disks and tapes..."

You can also buy a copy or go to your library for: Writer's Market...the bible for the writer of publishers, agents, editors and also subscribe to Writer's Digest magazine which has lots of articles about book promotion, how to get an agent, how to edit, etc. There are also many good books on the market about promoting your book and whether you do it yourself or hire someone, you just have to believe in yourself!

Good luck,
KC