How do I sell/promote my new Self-published book?

[Victoria]

Figure out who your target audience is. One mistake I've seen self-published authors make is overestimating the size of their target audience -- they say "oh, it's a book for all ages!" or "everybody would like it!" Nice as that sounds, it just isn't true. Come up with the types of people who would like your book -- either an age group, or people with a particular interest, or people who are fans of a specific genre or author -- and then figure out how to target them. If it's, say, older women, maybe rent a booth at a crafts fair, or join a group where a lot of other women will be.

Networking online is also a good idea, though it can be hard if you've never done it before. If you are on Facebook or Twitter, see who the most influential people are for your target market of readers. Make a list of them, and try to network with just 3 or 4 of them every week. Saying "I need to meet people on Twitter" is a large and nebulous goal -- breaking that goal down into smaller parts can be a huge help. For example, I write young adult fiction, and every week my goal is to participate in 2 YA-related Twitter chats, network with 2 other unpublished authors (who I've targeted as being good writers who have interesting things to say), and 1 published author.

Also, I had a look at your website, and I think there are some improvements to be made.

First off, you need a good copy editor. There are a number of misspelled or misused words (e.g., "no peaking" should be "no peeking"), comma splices, and an odd reliance on semi-colons.

Your excerpts (not "exert," as you have it spelled) don't tell me very much about what to expect in the book. I still have trouble figuring out what it IS -- is it a memoir of your years at the cottage? a book of stories about woodland creatures? a therapeutic self-help book? It's really hard to tell. When I look at a website for a book or an author, I look for a synopsis first. A one-paragraph or two-paragraph straightforward blurb would go a long way toward lessening readers' confusion.

And you can't be wishy-washy on the genre, either. You seem to be touting the therapeutic benefits of the book, and talking a lot about what it will do to a reader's emotions, and so forth. Honestly, this is a place where the old adage of "show don't tell" comes into play. Don't tell me how the book will make me feel -- show me! Do this through the synopsis / blurb, the excerpts, and so forth.

And regarding the excerpts, I think posting the entire first chapter of the book would go much further in terms of engrossing the reader than the three short excerpts you have up now. Dropping the reader into the middle of the book and not letting them get a handle on what the story is and who the characters are will not go a long way in enticing readers to read more. Even commercially published authors will post several chapters (always the first chapters, by the way) of their book on their website to get readers interested. If there's a big hook / cliffhanger at the end of a chapter, that's a great way to have readers clicking straight over to a "buy" link because they have to know what happens next!

Hope this is helpful!