Jaded

For a time it felt like I was gaining some kind of momentum with my books. Maybe that was a result of a few puny ad buys. Taking action can lead one to believe they are accomplishing something, when in fact it only amounts to executing a task. "I spent fifteen dollars on an ad and look! Two people downloaded my book!" Those two downloads could well have happened organically, but the fact that I did something must mean I made it happen.

And two downloads? Free downloads? Oooh, boy. I'm on a roll now!

I'm slowly wending my way to a realization that whether I do something or do nothing, it makes no difference. I can write a little blog post on Goodreads, I can demean myself by joining awful social media sites. I can pay to offer my books for free. I can mail out a newsletter that no one wants. I can do all that and my results will be essentially the same. 

A while back I touted my "currently reading" stats on Goodreads, but all those really point to is failure. For example, one person is still currently reading Find My Way Home. It's a novella! One could finish reading it in an hour! What it shows is that whoever that person is, she abandoned the book. And that really applies to all my "currently reading". My books aren't War and Peace ~ they can be read in their entirety while waiting in the dentist's office.

While I enjoy writing novellas for many reasons, the fact is they are not in demand. There's no sense kidding myself about that. I can price mine at $1.99 while a whole slew of complete novels are priced at $1.99. Those novels may be complete crap, but, hey, they're lengthy! Quantity versus quality is apparently the name of the game. But would it make any difference if I lowered my prices? I myself am relatively poor, but I wouldn't burst into tears if I wasted two dollars on a needless purchase.

It's time to move away from marketing and promoting. My so-called momentum is bullshit. And it might feel more comfortable if my books faded back into obscurity. I grew used to that over the years. I need to focus on the things that make me happy ~ writing, designing, patting myself on the back for simply "doing it". It's time to stop checking stats, sales reports, newsletter reads. 

Oh, and it's time to unsubscribe from all those marketing companies. I never open their daily emails anyway; I simply delete them. They all claim to offer that magic bullet that guarantees sales success, but there's no magic and the only bullet is the one we authors shoot ourselves with when we waste money on empty promises.

Success? Here's what you do: write full-length novels (they don't have to be good) in the categories of romance, SF, or fantasy; and acquire the noisiest, gaudiest book covers money will buy. That's it. They practically sell themselves!

Feel free to hit me up for more tips like these. When I'm not writing I'll now have tons of free time.