"The Defeatist Stage"

In the months I've spent promoting my novel, I could have written almost an entire new book. That is, if I wanted to write one, which I don't. My point is that I've wasted over seven months on Running From Herself, and I'm no better off than when I started.

I can easily point to things I've done wrong, and I'm not going to rehash those, but the fact is, my potential audience is tiny--minuscule. No amount of paid ads is going to change that, nor will endless posts on social media. When we're talking about niches, well, here I am! I don't even think my reader base is large enough to qualify as a niche.

When experts advise an author to identify and target her ideal readers, I have to shrug. I have no ideal readers. Worse, I can't even convince anybody to become one. 

There are a few things on my mental to-do list that I haven't done yet, other than tell myself I need to do them. The biggest one, of course, is rewriting my book blurb. The amount of work I would need to put into that far exceeds any potential benefit. Once I have a good blurb (hypothetically), will that make any difference? Doubtful. And I don't even know that I could do it. I'm fairly certain I can't. I've got about ten or so discarded blurbs that prove my point. 

I'm now being reliably informed that I need good A+ content for my Amazon book page. Ever notice that everybody jumps on the latest thing? How did authors sell books before A+ content existed? I did a rudimentary banner-thing for my novel, but Amazon allows up to five separate modules, and what, pray tell, would I use those for? Google suggests using book excerpts and "endorsements" (as if), and to showcase the setting with maps or mood-setting imagery. Yes, fine. My story takes place in the real world--am I supposed to include a map of Nashville? Yes, that'll wow people. Of course, there's Wyoming, too, which is just as exciting. And how exactly does one fit an excerpt on a banner? Size 2 font? Besides, you've gotta read the story in context. One excerpt would just confuse people, if people actually viewed my book page, which they don't.

Another thing that has crossed my path: Google wants me to add my products to the "Search Shopping tab". I briefly looked into it, and found that it's an unwieldy process. Google intends it for businesses that sell directly from their website. Well, I don't do that. On my site, I link my books to Amazon, like most indie authors do. For Google's purposes, that's forbidden. I did find an article that purports to show people how to do a workaround, but it looked so complicated, I simply bookmarked it and left. Again, what would be my reward for figuring it out? And I'm not going to embroil myself in a site like Shopify, which I'd never be able to place on my author site so it would actually work. I would end up messing up my site, which is near perfect as it is.

I was thinking tonight about what a wonderful life authors with money must lead. They can get their websites professionally designed and include direct sales, and everything will work the way it's supposed to. They can do a big ad blitz and never bat an eye. They don't have to worry that they're spending their grocery money on a "dream". They can pay big bucks for editorial reviews. (I'm not saying those are worth anything, but hey, no harm done, those authors would say.) They can pay someone to write their blurb for them.

I've listed three concrete steps I can take that won't cost me anything, but I'm in no rush to do any of them. Because they won't matter. Let's say I somehow manage to come up with a knockout blurb. Then what? Who cares? 

The bottom line is, people have to look at your book page to read the blurb and view the A+ content, and Google displaying the book cover isn't going to work. My Amazon and Facebook ads proved that. 

I'm fairly certain that skywriting is an expensive proposition, and I'd have to locate a pilot willing to do it, plus I'd probably need to buy some kind of "hazardous occupation" insurance to cover him. A billboard is unworkable. How slow would someone need to be driving in order to catch the entire book page link? Not to mention all the collisions that would result from an eager would-be reader slamming on her brakes to jot it down. I guess bodily injury is just a bridge too far, even for me. 

I have jotted down three or four notes from Jessie Cunniffe's (Book Blurb Magic) really brief session on the Book Marketing Academy's webinar from yesterday. It's not her fault her presentation was so short, but I'm kind of appalled that the outfit offers a pay option for $97.00 in order to view some basically fifteen-minute videos at one's leisure. But I digress. So, with my notes, I fully intend to work on my blurb sometime. I'm not quite fully defeatist; just mostly.

As for A+ content, really, I can take it or leave it. I don't even find that interesting enough to waste brain cells on. Google Shopping sounds far too complicated, so it's doubtful I'm going to go there. Thanks for the offer, though, Google.

Maybe instead of defeatist, I'm more at the "I can take it or leave it" stage. It's like standing at the bottom of a towering staircase, peering up, trying to decide if it's worth the climb. Will I be bowled over by the view up there? Perhaps the things here at the bottom are just as picturesque, meaning "not at all". But at least I'll save myself the strain.

 

ADDENDUM (proving my point) 

Hello April Tompkins,

We wanted to update you on the status of your book review request. Unfortunately, no one has picked your book "Running From Herself" for review in the past 90 days. Please do not consider this a negative reaction to your book. The high volume of review requests we receive can cause even the best books to be overlooked. It is also possible that the reviewers who would be interested in your book are busy with other books.

We will continue to display your review request to our reviewers, but one thing you could try that has helped other authors is to update your book's description. When you submitted your book for review you included a description of your book, which is the single most important factor in getting your book reviewed. The best book descriptions are short and compelling, like a book blurb. They are about 1-2 paragraphs and often grab the reader with a cliffhanger. (emphasis: mine)

If you think your book's description can be improved, you can login to your Author's Area and update it, as well as update any other information you submitted in your review request. You can even upload a new version of your book if you have made changes.

I honestly don't even remember Readers' Favorite, but I apparently submitted to them to try to get (free) reviews. So, I guess no one liked my normal-ish sized blurb, but more likely they didn't like the novel's premise. Regardless, I slapped together something really short:

Whenever life got too hard, were you tempted to run away?

Leah Branch has done that—twice, once when her local band dissolved in a heap of physical fights and apathy, and now for the second time, after she miraculously lands her big break in Nashville.

Now Leah doesn't know where she belongs, if anywhere.    

Sure, it sucks. But it is two (okay, three) paragraphs, so there's that. Whatever they want; doesn't matter.