A year ago I self-published a short story through Amazon's Kindle direct publishing model. As of today, I've not sold one single copy. Ever.
Yet there are 5 bad reviews. One person announced that this was the worst thing they've ever read. Really? I'd be hard pressed to say which story was the worst I'd ever read.
So I'm lowering the price and changing the marketing scheme to let Amazon market this for me. I'm also posting a link to it here. After years and years I essentially gave up writing fiction because finding a publisher was so ridiculously painful. Is self-publishing equally painful?
http://www.amazon.com/Year-of-the-Wendigo-ebook/dp/B004UVRI4G
If you wait until tomorrow to look into this, you'll find the price has been reduced from $2.99 to $0.99 in an attempt to increase sales. At the current royalty rate, Amazon is supposed to help market this story as well. I'll put more (and older) stories up soon and I've got an older novel I'm editing up now to put out there.
This is sort of a sea change for me. I used to focus almost everything I had on writing, then I just sort of stopped for a few years. Now I'm getting back into it, but in a much more leisurely fashion. I just want to write fun, interesting stories and put them out there for people to read. I'm going to be writing anyway, so a little money flowing my way doesn't hurt. I don't expect to become a bestseller, but my writing certainly isn't doing me any good just idling away the years on my hard drive where nobody can see it.
5 comments:
I went to check your book out and after reading the first 3 paragraphs decided I would like it. I'll leave you a review when I've finished!
Thanks! I hope you enjoy it. I've got a series of other stories I'm getting formatted to put up on Kindle. Don't know how they'll do there but they're fun to write. I guess that's where I'm at now on this ... I'm trying to relearn how to simply enjoy the activity of writing.
Hmm, here is what I think~I read the review as well as everything else that this person reviewed. His tastes are his own. So what! I mean he enjoyed a movie from the 90's about a gay relationship and liked it. Now not saying one or the other about gay anything, what I am saying is that one review is nothing to dread.
I enjoy your blog, your style of writing, and your perspective. I am a silent reader most times. To find a book on Amazon is as hard as the library...you can't so. One read means maybe you need to promote the book more, buy several to give away to promote honest critiques around the web.
Circulate information about your book when you type posts, by including a passage here or there.
I think pretty much all of us will never be an olympic athelete, a famous movie star, or one that we can reference a word and know the author. Yet, we can still enjoy life and the pleasure of pursuing in spite of the lack of worldly attention.
Being proactive and actually putting a book together is a huge start. I am not here to cheer you on with false hopes, but one to suggest that a dream~even if it is only yours and no one appreciates or respects it, makes no difference. Write I say and take a moment to appreciate you have something that you like to do.
Many seek after something and look and look without success to find that thing which gives them peace and joy and it seems you found your peace...so let it give the joy it should to you.
Jennifer
That's a great outlook and one that I have struggled for years to try and achieve.
I enjoy writing, and will do so for pleasure if not fame and fortune. I'm happier to have my stuff read than I am to actually receive any cash for it. I get about $0.35 out of every copy of this novella sold, and so far we've sold 2. :)
At one point, my goal was to become a published author. Technically I've achieved that goal. I'm just a POORLY published author.
Just wanted to say I loved it and could not stop reading. Off to leave a review now!
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