Doug Simpson published his first novel, Soul Awakening, in October.  Though a new author, Doug is not new to writing: he has had numerous articles published throughout the world.  He’s already learning self-publishing and wanted to share his experience.

1. Tell me briefly about your book – what is it about and what motivated you to write it?

Soul Awakening is a spiritual mystery that delves into reincarnation, past lifetimes, and the attraction of strangers in this lifetime to each other as a result of having shared previous lifetimes together.

I spent a number of years researching the life and reincarnation readings of the legendary American mystic, Edgar Cayce.  Some 2500 of Edgar’s over 15,000 readings, obtained while he was in a deep, self-induced, trance-like state, are reincarnation readings.  These readings reveal details of a person’s past lives, but not all of their past lives.  Only incarnations which were relevant to the reasons why an individual’s soul chose the individual’s body as its residence in this lifetime, were revealed.  To put that in different terms – a soul selects its next residence to achieve progress in its development so it can return to its original God-like state with no further need to reincarnate.  The knowledge which I obtained while researching the Edgar Cayce readings nurtured the seed that became Soul Awakening.

2. How have your sales been?

I have no idea.  I decided that I did not want the hassle of personal selling, so I set it up for all sales to go through brick-and-mortar and internet bookstores.  It is too soon to get much feedback.

3. What has been your experience with traditional publishing?

After a series of form letters like “We are not currently accepting …” from traditional publishers and agents, I implemented Plan B.

4. You’re relatively new to self-publishing. How do you like it so far?

I had a great experience with my self-publisher Book Locker.  I would recommend them to anyone, and often do.

5. What sort of marketing techniques have you used to sell your books, and which ones have been most successful?

I have been working on my internet presence by joining the social networking sites, various blogs and internet small-bookstore promotion sites.  It is too early to determine which approach has been more successful.

6. Are there any marketing techniques you intentionally avoided or discontinued, and if so, why?

Not really!  Because I am new at this, I am prepared to try anything reasonable.

7. What’s the most important thing you’ve learned about self-publishing that you didn’t know when you started out?

I didn’t really know anything about self-publishing when I started out.  I guess the biggest surprise has been the amount of my time, normally spent writing, that promotion requires.

8. What projects are you currently working on?

I have actually, except for the final proofing, completed book two and three in the ‘souls’ series that follows the main characters in Soul Awakening, and I have started book four.

9. If you could market your brand – not just one particular book, but your overall brand of writing – in one sentence, what would it be?

It is the discovery of the mystery of the reincarnation of souls.

10. How can readers learn more about your book?

Readers can visit my author page at Book Locker for a more detailed write-up on Soul Awakening, and read two very interesting free chapters.  If they would like to obtain more information on the Edgar Cayce reincarnation readings, they can visit my website.  I have had over twenty articles, using the Edgar Cayce readings and additional material, published in Australia, Canada, France, India, the United Kingdom and the United States.  I do not publish my articles on my website.  Instead, I refer visitors to my site to the magazines and websites where the articles can be read. This can become a bit of an adventure in itself.