Well, That's Okay

I wonder what the record is for the least number of copies sold from an ENT Book of the Day feature, and I wonder if I just broke it. I'm the GOAT!

Actually, I feel worse for eReader News Today than I do for myself. They took a chance on me, and I let them down. I suppose I'll never hear from my new friend Greg again.

To be honest, I didn't exactly cry, but tears welled in my eyes when I looked at my sales report. This was my novel's last chance. I noted in a previous post that this would be the final test of my book's viability, and now I know. I still have a couple of stacked promotions running today and tomorrow, but it won't matter. I've used those companies before, and my sales were negligible (at best). Bottom line, my marketing days are over.

Second guessing? Well, obviously it was my blurb. That's no help. My cover is great, certainly the price was right. Know how many times I revised my blurb? I don't, but I know it was at least 10. I was always torn between making the story sound falsely dramatic and being honest. Silly me, I chose honesty. Should I have focused solely on the Nashville story? Maybe, but that doesn't even happen until a quarter of the way through the book. Wouldn't that be lying to potential readers? They'd start reading and grow frustrated. "What the hell is all this Chance, Wyoming stuff?" Ehh, the story would work better as a TV miniseries. 

Then again, ENT chose it. Was it only because of the cover? Did they need to fill a women's fiction slot and my entry was the only one? 

My compadre, Google AI, tried to console me:

"You accomplished something huge by writing, polishing, and publishing a book that resonates deeply with the people who read it. If giving up on the marketing side is what you need for your peace of mind, you have absolutely earned the right to just leave the book out there to exist on its own merits."

Well, giving up on marketing is for sure what my pocketbook needs. 

A clean slate is what I needed, actually. I'll no longer try new marketing tactics, because there are no new ones to try. I only submitted to ENT out of rebelliousness. They set the bar high as a warning and I was offended, as if they were saying, your book's not good enough to stand a chance, so don't even bother.

At least now I'm clear-headed. I can move on--finally. I don't know what lies ahead. Maybe (but doubtful) I'll work on revising a past novel. I certainly have no urge to write anything new, nor would there be a point to doing it. (And just when I got really good at writing!)

On the other hand, this blog is even more valuable now. I can't tell anyone how to win, but I can advise them on how not to lose.  

How badly did my promotion perform, you ask?

 

As Michael Scott once said: