I know that a lot of authors publish books and then leave it at that. No promoting, no marketing, just laying it all out there and hoping for the best. Some authors do well with this method - if your story is good enough, it will promote itself, right? - others not so much. I know that promoting works, I've done it and so far, the Authority series has done pretty well however I still haven't had the kind of response I thought I'd have. I worked hard on these books. It was a long process (one that still isn't over yet) and I guess I was hoping that more people would be eager to share it, respond to it and be involved. That isn't the case though.
I'm an anxious person - like, really anxious. I stay awake at night wondering why it isn't doing as good as it should. Am I being a pain in the ass by talking about it so much? Am I following the right steps to ensure it's name gets out there on Instagram, Facebook, Google+, Twitter*DeepBreath*GoodReadsBlogsMyspaceTumblr... *Exhale*. This list goes on forever... I'm not interested in paying to promote on these outlets. I want to do this as cost-effectively as I can even though I know that it would probably help...The problem is is that with Facebook, you are preaching to your friends, family and old high school nemesis' who are only on there to see if you've gotten fat (I have), addicted to drugs (No, but I'm sure I could this time of year) or have had ugly children ( I win on the baby-making front! They're gorgeous!). If they weren't the first ones to buy your books, they aren't going to. Instagram has a bajillion 'Authors', most of whom have publishers to promote for them and the entire day to sit around and come up with promo pics and contests. I'm a stay at home mom who homeschools my daughter and looks after the neighborhood kids. Cooking, cleaning, eating and sleeping come along at some point and before I know it I'm laying in bed telling my husband, "Not tonight, I'm too tired" and stressing over the fact that I didn't sell a book that day, post 5 pictures on Instagram or update my Fans on Facebook about my new cover reveal for the next series I'm starting. Did I bathe Darius? Does Brooklynn have that play date tomorrow?
I'm exhausted and at the end of my wits. When did writing and my book - the one that I love, fanaticize about and cherish like my child - become a chore? It's easy to get sucked into the Googolplexian (It's a real number) articles on Pinterest (Should I create a board for my books?) about marketing your novels and they all seem so easy when you're reading them but then one article sends you a link to another article and so on and before you know it you're watching a tutorial on how to apply fake eyelashes as a moustache to your cat to accentuate it's ears and wondering what the f$#@ this has to do with promoting.
My brain cant keep up with it.
I want to go back to a time when I was excited for my books, not filled with anxiety. I want their content to speak for itself and mostly I just want to sit back and write more. I want to stop stressing over whether or not I should go to a writers convention, do a book signing or host another contest.
I guess the real question here is to promote? Or not to promote? Do I leave it all up to faith and trust in the storyline or do I ensure that they are in readers faces, a constant reminder that, "Hey! Here is an amazing book just waiting to be read?"
Enjoyed your blog. Promoting is the bane of all indie authors, at least in my opinion. I wrote a similar blog after releasing my first novel and doing so somewhat blindly with no real clue as to what was coming my way as far as promoting. I still hate promoting, figure I probably always will, but have had to suck it up and do some anyway. I'd much rather just write.
ReplyDeleteI can totally relate to this. You just have to remind yourself that it's a long game. Hardly anyone is a overnight sensation. You have hope your book begins to build momentum and having a second book (and a third and a fourth) will help. So don't give up on promoting, but cut yourself some slack. Do the stuff you need to do, even if that doesn't involve anything book related. Easy to say, hard to do. I'm trying to take my own advice.
ReplyDeleteWasn't it fun.. those moments before you hit publish? Those moments when the reality of what selling a book actually meant? The moments where you thought "this book is going to do something!"
ReplyDeleteI completely understand where you're coming from. In all honesty, I only published my first book a couple of weeks ago and i was SHOCKED when i didn't make the NYT Best Seller list in the first week.. haha.. maybe not NYT but did I think it would sell better than it did in those first few weeks? Yes. Definitely. Am I still selling? Yes. As much as I wanted? No.
Everything about this process was new to me. I never published before. I never had to contact anyone to format, book cover design, edit before. All of this was a learning curve for me. Did I think some of the hardest parts was getting people to read it? Never.. Did I think I'd have to chase my FAMILY members to read and possibly write a review? NEVER. But it was and I did have to.
I've contacted more bloggers than I can count. Every one has a different policy. Some don't even respond to the request. You have no idea if they even got it let alone are interested in reading it. Some agree, but don't post anything for weeks to come. Many all blog about the same books, ALL by authors who already have plenty of notoriety and are so well known, they don't actually need the extra promotion.. But I get it, it's what keeps readers coming back to their blog. But what about us little fish? Many of these well known authors were where I am today, and it just took one blog to write about them. How much begging, promoting, hassling is too much? How much do I need to do to make it work?
the trials and tribulations of an aspiring author.. apparently not all the work in just in creating the story....
~~~~Caroline Nolan - author and apparently promoter