Teresa,
I'm thinking I need to say a little more regarding how important everything you're beginning to do can be to your book, and your first impression to the world. It simply is. I'm sure you've always heard that when you're interviewing, first impressions count.

If you've ever gone to buy a house, there again, when you drove up, the first impression could very well of made it a "yes" or a "no" right off the bat.

Given this, I think it would be in your best interest to get Carolyn Howard-Johnson's book, The Frugal Book Promoter. It is the A-Z of book promoting and there are so many things you can be doing NOW. Carolyn tells you exactly how to do them, and sites a bazillion resources in the book to help you do your research.

Writing the story/book/article, whatever, is only the tip of the iceberg. Marketing is, or can be, a full time job. The more you are prepared BEFORE the book comes out, the better off you are. There are samples of press releases in it, query letters, and on and on.

If you were a carpenter, wouldn't you want to own a hammer? You are a writer and need the right/write tools to help you do a great job. I think everyone on this board will agree with me that Carolyn's book is your best starting point. That and doing research on google.

I hope this advice help! JJ