Things That Haven't Happened

It's not that I'm expecting anything momentous to happen; just things I've paid for, or at least received a confirmation of, whether paid or free.

Way back when Running From Herself was newly published, I managed to book a couple of reviews from bloggers. It's been seven months and I'm still waiting. Kind of missed that "new release buzz", if there ever was such a thing.

1. The first blogger, very reputable, told me she was pretty backed up with books to read, but that I could anticipate a review in October/November. She'd reviewed one of my books in the past and I was happy with the result. She doesn't demand payment, but suggests a donation. I'm fine with that. My only quandary is that when someone leaves the amount up to me, I never know how much to give. But I did send something like $20.00 her way. So, when I contacted her about my latest book, I understood the expectation and shot her another $20-$30 (can't remember the amount). 

Along with her initial email, she mentioned that she's always looking for article contributors, and I impulsively volunteered to write one. It took me a while, because I didn't know what to write about, but eventually I got it done and sent it to her. She liked it. She wanted to include it in one of her two magazines. Cool. I'd never turn down free publicity. Of course, she again suggested a donation, and I obliged.

Well, the fall editions of both magazines are now published. I know, because I received email notification of that, with one email titled, "We're Number One!" Oh. Great for you. Congrats. I'd be much more excited if I'd been included in one of them. Now I'm beginning to wonder if I'll ever be included. Apparently, the next issues won't be published until January. Maybe by then my article (and review) will have slipped her mind. 

It's probably asking a lot, but a brief email update would have been nice, such as, "I'm scheduling (blah blah blah) for the next issue, just so you know." 

2. Another blogger told me she'd be happy to review my novel. Having heard nothing since, I actually forgot about it. And since I only ever received two acceptances, one would think I'd remember. But I still had her email tucked away in a folder, so I finally checked out her site. Well, my book's still on her "to read" list. Face it, she's never going to read my book. The only plus is that she never asked me for money.

3. Now that I have my great book cover and my new and improved blurb, I scheduled a KU (Kindle Unlimited) promotion with LitRing the other day. It's inexpensive--I paid $20.00, of which $10.00 was for a "top of the page" listing. Since I haven't booked any ads in ages, I figured, why not test out my improvements? I did get a payment receipt from PayPal, but no confirmation that my promo is scheduled. Is it? Who knows? The fact that this place obviously doesn't give a damn doesn't bode well for my layout of money. In an effort to find out if my book will be featured, I went to the reader section of the site and signed up for the newsletter. No confirmation of that, either, and no newsletters have landed in my in box. Is the company still in business? Hello? Anyone there? 

Other things that haven't happened yet, but that I, at least, control:

4. I'm going to attempt to get my KU book or books (depending on how hard the process is) available to libraries. There was a time when I borrowed a lot of digital books from my local library, although I haven't done it in ages, but it's still popular with readers. This never used to be an option with Kindle Unlimited, but KDP is now allowing it. 

Every article I've read states that I need to go through Draft2Digital, and it requires uploading all my metadata to the site, which sounds like a real pain in the ass, and which also sounds like a glitch waiting to happen. But I'm willing to give it a test run. The book(s) have to be within their 90-day enrollment period, and I believe (?) that Running From Herself just renewed, so I should be okay.

The enrollment date was never anything that concerned me (why would I need to know?), but for those authors wondering how to check:

1. Log in to your KDP account and go to your Bookshelf.
2. Find the book you want to check and click the ellipsis button (...) next to it.
3. Select Manage KDP Select.
4. On the next page, you will see the start and end dates of your current 90-day enrollment period.

Of course, all of these steps won't guarantee that any library would even want my book, but you know the saying about nothing ventured...

The only action I've taken so far is to sign up for a D2D account. I honestly don't even know if I have my book in the format required for uploading or if I'll need to mess with that as well. My hesitation lies in past experiences with digital things not working out the way they're supposed to.

If I get through the process and it works, I'll report back.

5. I've "thought about" revising all my book blurbs according to Jessie Cunniffe's formula. I don't know if the effort would be worth it, however. That would be ten books, eight of which are only novellas. (Did I mention that no one wants novellas?) And to be honest, I don't remember the stories well enough to write a four or five-paragraph blurb for them. One day if I'm extremely bored, I might give it a whirl. 

6. I've also thought about creating new A+ content for my novel, but I haven't thought very hard. Again, this all depends on my boredom factor.

 

All I do know is, numbers 4-6 will get done if I want them to get done. I won't be sitting for months, wondering if something is about to happen. I know that independent authors are essentially beggars, but for civility's sake, a word of acknowledgement from paid service providers doesn't seem like a huge ask.