The Road So Far...

 

 

     OK, I am not going to pretend to be an expert in any one area. If anything, I am kind of a Jack of all Trades. I have touched on so many businesses in my lifetime that I would be comfortable working just about anywhere. That being said, I just wanted to share with you what I have learned the past few weeks since I posted my book.

     Like so many before me, I had dreams of instant success. My book is different from most books out there, I thought for sure it would spread like wildfire. Now that is not to say it won't some day, but first I have to get a spark going and hope that there is something to burn once I do! I had read about an author that said she posted her first YA novel on Amazon and was averaging 3500 sales per week. She also said that when Amazon put her book on the 100 cheap books list, she sold 45,000 and 11,000 during the two day promotion. Based on what she said her book was about, I had absolutely no doubt in my mind that my book would blow hers away. I mean, she even admitted that her agent could not get a deal with any publisher for her book because it was not mainstream. What I did not consider is that even though I have never heard of her or her books, she already had a following. She has had massive help from a professional standpoint and when her book hit Amazon, she was already at a gallop.

     The reality of it is this. Getting your book to sell right off the bat is like winning the lottery. If it is written just right, appeals to the crowd of the moment, gets the right readers who have a following of readers for their blogs, I could go on, you get the picture. For me, I was excited when I finally got my first sale, and even more so when, by the end of the day, I had FOUR!! Wow, talk about a drop from dreaming of 100 or more sales per day!! Two weeks later, I have had 135 free downloads and seven sales (At least three of these I am sure were people I know).

     So what do I do? I pulled up my sleeves and started researching. I googled and googled. I read blog after blog, article after article. I started this blog, which I know is not the best but it is a start. My first goal here is to keep my friends and readers up to date with what I am doing. Secondly, I will watch for feedback and advise. Finally, I learned a long time ago that we retain more and stimulate ourselves further when we put our thoughts and experiences on paper (or in this case digital paper!). I have become a member in two forums http://www.kindleboards.com/index.php and blishedauthors.org/ where I am meeting other writers and readers. I spend most of my time on these forums reading about the experiences of other authors and getting to know the readers. I am getting valuable advise whether directly or indirectly. This will ultimately assist me in promoting my book and writing my future books. I have also found a few good sites that assist in Amazon's free promotion days. http://www.everythingauthor.com/?p=78 and http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/free-ebook-promotion_b52130 are the two I like best so far. I found out how to shorten a long hyperlink https://bitly.com/ (I probably should have used it on some of the ones above!). I followed the advise I have been given in preparing for my FREE promo coming up on Monday. From there, I will keep posting on the forums, keep studying, and most of all be patient. I even revised my book description to make it read better than before. Finally, if you read my earlier blogs, you noticed I played with the price which I found in the end keeping it at a respectable level and leaving it there to be the best thing.

     Will I ever be rich or successful as an author? I have no idea. But I can keep dreaming right? And in the meantime, I keep reminding myself why I started doing it to begin with, I LOVE IT!!