Beta readers and blog tours?

Another excuse - I mean explanation - for not writing as I would like. Just too busy. Mostly grandchildren but birthdays too. Please help yourself to piece of chocolate truffle meringue cake to make up for it.

I popped into Waterstone's today and was overcome as usual by the number of books. The same thing happens to me in libraries. So many books, what chance do my little novels have of ever getting anywhere?

Twitter and FaceBook are having the same effect: so many authors launching their books, either self- or transitionally published. I begin to doubt first of all  my ability, then the quality of my writing, and finally whether there is any point pursuing it at all.

I will because I am a writer. (See earlier posts for the hows and whys.) But the maze of social media is so complex and time-consuming. And I need to master it if I am to promote and market my work, which is the whole point of it.

While I write because I want to, I do want people to read and enjoy what I've written, which means getting it out there.

I am currently struggling with social media, thinking about submitting book 3 to a publisher, writing book 5, and wondering how to find beta readers for book 3 and 4.

I only recently began to hear about a number of small independent publishers, reputable ones rather than vanity presses, but I find many of them already closed to submissions. And do I really want to go through the submission and rejection process that inevitably leads to self-doubt all over again?

I also only heard about beta readers recently when I met up with Ann, a fellow local writer. I didn't have any critical feedback before publishing my first two novels so maybe this should be the way forward. And I still need to investigate blog tours. Add it to the list, sister.