If You Like, You Can Now Buy Me a Coffee (or Just Keep Reading)

I read marketing and writing articles so you don't have to. I provide honest opinions about the services I've used and I share my results.

I'm under no obligation to push any particular provider, because none of them are paying me. (Actually, no one is paying me; not even book customers.) 

If you search out articles about book marketing, you'll find a lot of (excuse me) bullshit. I've fallen for it myself and wasted too much money in the process.

Admittedly, this blog is for authors like me who don't have a lot of money to invest. If you're flush with cash, go ahead and do whatever you want ~ money is no object. But being poor shouldn't be a barrier to selling high quality writing.

Think about it; you've scrutinized your finances and determined that you're able to scrape together a total of $100.00 for marketing without defaulting on any of your monthly bills. Averaging out all the book promo sites I've used, I've spent about $25.00 on each of them. If you choose three that each cost around $25.00, that leaves a grand total of $25.00 in your budget. Guess how many of those twenty-five (yes!) sites I tried for my latest novel actually moved any of my books. Three. Two of them (BookRaid and BargainBooksy) each sold three copies, and the other, FreeBooksy, gave away almost a thousand copies. So, I earned royalties on exactly six sales, or $10.76. I lost over $600.00, all told. (Mind you, these promos were only purchased whenever I had a few extra dollars to spend; not all at once. $610.00 would equal two car payments for me.) Bottom line, I name names ~ those that work and those that don't.

And I don't only write about marketing. Author headshots, book covers, crafting a blurb,  social media, ARC readers, the three big manuscript conundrums, writing software. If I find something that works, I share. Likewise (maybe primarily) if I find something that absolutely doesn't work, I'm thrilled to share that as well. 

I spilled my guts about almost being scammed out of big bucks. I should have been too embarrassed to spell it out in all its excruciating detail, but writing about it was cathartic, and maybe that post will clue in some ignorant authors (me being a prime example of one).

My biggest pet peeve among all the "expert" advice I've read concerns author newsletters. Everybody, from self-published Redditors to marketing gurus, tries to shame authors like me who don't write a newsletter. Well, I tried it ~ it doesn't work. Anyone else going to tell you that?

So, if you read a particular post that helps you avoid a financial or career pitfall, you might want to consider slipping me a buck or two. I realize that'll only leave $23-$24 in your budget, so the decision is yours. Either way, I won't stop sharing my opinions and experiences. 

My "Buy Me a Coffee" button is right up there, top left on the home screen. 

(up there)

And lord knows I need my coffee.