In between all those things, I tried my hand at marketing. I’ve made Canva video promos, and static promos. I’ve posted on socials. I’ve handed out so many bookmarks I’ll soon need to order more—and I’m talking about giving them to total strangers, like the wait staff at whatever restaurant we go to, or the auto mechanic staff at Pep Boys, or the pharmacy staff when I go to pick up my meds, just random folks with whom I interact. Because hey, you never know when or where you might find a new reader. Right?
But really, I know zip about marketing. What’s more, I don’t *want* to know more about marketing. I just want to write and put my stories out there so people can read and enjoy them. That’s my “why,” my reason for writing in the first place. If I could afford it, I’d happily pay someone else to do the marketing for me. (Yes, I’ve tried buying ads. No, they didn’t work. And no, I’m not interested in hearing about any “special marketing packages,” thanks.)
So between working on my writing business nearly non-stop with few breaks, beating myself up over not understanding how to succeed at getting my work out there more, and feeling the shock, dismay, anger, and helpless depression over the state of my own country right now (yes, I’m woke; no, I won’t be taking counterarguments at this time), I kinda slid down into a pretty deep slump. Anxiety is real, y’all. Trust me on this.
At some point, I decided that I could not be an active participant in the political sh*tshow that is the U.S. right now, because it was going to push me so far down the depression slide, I might not ever come out. I still speak out; I just don’t live from newscast to newscast. I am trying to focus on what I *can* do (which feels like precious little, but that’s a whole ‘nother blog post, and not really suited for this site).
As for marketing…someone posted on the 20 Books to 50K Facebook group a while back that marketing and ads aren’t the best way to help people find your books; writing more books is the best way to get your name out there. Someone will find one of your books, read and love it, then look for more. And there better be more for them to find, or they’ll soon forget you. With that in mind, I decided to stop trying to market my work, and just write.
I can’t tell you what a huge relief it was to stop playing Sisyphus and let those two boulders roll right on down that hill.
Despite all that personal drama and emotional turmoil, I’ve finished and released bo
oks two (“Broken”) and three (“Driven”) in The Founder’s Seed trilogy (in paperback, ebook, and audiobook), so that series is now complete. I’ve written the first book in the follow-up trilogy (Nexus) and sent it out to beta readers. I also decided that sharing some of my other works (short stories and novelettes) with a wider audience than just here on my site might be helpful in finding more readers, so I’ll be publishing those on the Zon in the coming weeks.
In fact, just yesterday I re-released the first novelette, “Deer in Headlights,” which was previously published in “State of Matter.” Next, I’ll publish the second novelette, “Jane Doe #7,” which was previously serialized in “Underside Stories.” After that, I’ll make at least one, maybe two collections of my other short works. All of these will be available only through Amazon at $.99. They’ll also be entered into the Kindle Unlimited program. It’s the best way I can think of to spread my name and introduce people to my work.
Honestly, though, I wish I could totally avoid The Zon. Why? Because I’d much rather support small, independent bookstores. Unfortunately, authors—especially indie authors like me—can’t avoid Amazon completely. Not if we want to find readers. So here I am. On The Zon. I still don’t plan to bring my novels under their exclusive banner, though. Just the short works.
One fun side-effect of this decision is that since I’ll be making these short works my “loss leaders,” I can’t afford to purchase professional covers. So, I’ve been tinkering around with Canva and Affinity Photo to make my own (without the aid of AI—which I refuse to knowingly use). I admit they aren’t as good as professional designs, but they aren’t bad. (I’ve seen worse!) Check out the cover of “Deer” (see image, left) and see what I mean. Got feedback? Please share! I’m open to constructive critiques that will help me do better next time!
Since I first started my author website a few years ago, this blog has become a journal. A peek at what goes on behind the scenes in writing and selling books. Every writer’s process, every writer’s experience is different. This is mine, and it’s an ever-changing landscape. And this post in particular is to let you know I’m still here, still writing, still asking big questions. I hope to post more often, now that I’ve kinda found my stride again. I’m still writing new stuff when time permits (or when I’m able to *make* time).
In the meantime, if you want to stay in the loop on my activities, releases, appearances, and general news, sign up for my newsletter here. I try to send a couple of those every month.
Soon to come: changes to the website, as I redesign it to be more current and easier to follow. Stay tuned.
That’s it for now. See ya next time!