From a Distance

Taking a break from marketing has been a boon. Because I'm awaiting my final cover design, there is no marketing I could justify; it would all just be more money down the drain. Or time down the drain, if I was to return to social media. 

Everyone says that before editing a novel, an author should take a break, the agreed-upon ideal being two or three weeks. I could never and have never done that. When I'm in the zone, I need to keep moving. That's the time when I'm still excited about my story, and excitement for me is fleeting. Who knows? If I waited half a month or more, I might never return to it. 

Distance from marketing, however, is clarifying, at least for me. I've made no secret of the fact that I far overspent publicizing this novel. (There's that stupid excitement factor again.) Basically anything a promo site would send me; its latest take on an "event", such as "Free Book Friday" or "99 Cents on the 9th", I'd jump at. "This'll work for sure!" I exclaimed. (Spoiler alert: none of them worked.)

And really, nothing ever worked except for a FreeBooksy promo. So taking a step back allows my rational brain to kick in. I still read through Reddit's self-publishing sub every day, but I cast a jaundiced eye on any marketing advice someone offers. "Do xxxx. It really, really works!" No, it doesn't. Luckily (or unluckily) for me, I've tried everything at least once. 

It's only natural that once an author publishes their book, they want immediate feedback, but marketing experts advise devising a plan. If you're a new author, devising a plan can be impossible, but for me, I at least know what doesn't work. However, I'm far removed from my publish date (almost 5 months now), and truly, I wasted my initial chances because of my book cover (maybe). 

I subscribe to book marketing specialist Kathleen Schmidt on Substack. She's worked with big authors and a lot of celebrities, and she doesn't mince words. Even many of the celebrity books she represented didn't succeed. (And shoot, they've got built-in publicity!) If using her contacts in media didn't guarantee a bestseller, how can we little people ever hope to make it? 

One statement in her latest post hit home for me:

"Sometimes, nothing sells a book, and that’s REALLY hard for an author." 

She's right; it is hard. I'm from a generation in which it was drilled into us that if we persisted, if we tried our best; if we produced quality work, success was sure to follow. I'm here to tell you that was a myth. Or maybe it was true back then; not anymore.

I've definitely persisted; too much, actually. My ultimate question has been, why isn't my novel selling? The only possibilities anyone provided were, a) the cover, or b) the blurb. (or c) both.) For the longest time, I resisted paying for a cover. Every other indie author takes for granted that a professionally designed cover is a no-brainer, but no, not me! I could make one myself! And save all that money! I actually thought my original cover was pretty good. (It was awful.) The second one isn't much better. It took someone on Pen Pinery, of all places to convince me of that. "Your cover could use some work." That comment, combined with the expert review I received on my first cover, finally did the trick. I surrendered.

So, now I await my cover revisions, but will my shiny new professional cover make any difference? Sometimes, nothing sells a book.

Therefore, what's my plan?  

Right now, my plan consists of the following:

1. Try one method and one method only.

2. Give up.

 

Schmidt goes on:

"How do you know when you’ve done enough publicity?

The short answer is that you don’t know when you’ve done enough publicity. You can decide you’ve had enough (emphasis mine) and take a break or move on to writing your next book. If, after months of publicity, your sales are still tepid and there is no upside to the author branding you’ve done, I suggest pausing all promotional activities and reassessing your needs and wants."

I guess I don't really "need" anything. I'd love to recoup my money, but that's never going to happen. I might feel like less of a fool if it did. 

I've pretty much decided that my one method will be Amazon ads, because I've tried everything else. Yes, I did an Amazon ad once, but that was for Inn Dreams, and it resulted in one click and zero sales. (Didn't cost me a penny, though!) And Inn Dreams is a novella, which is a tough sell (I tell myself). 

When If that doesn't work, I'll move on to Step #2. I refuse to waste any more money. I've redone my blurb too many damn times already, and I'll have a professional cover, so when if that ad fails, there'll be nothing more I can do. 

I'm not going to stop being a being fan of my novel, though.