As it turns out, writing a book is the easy part! What happens after you write, edit, re-edit, design, publish and launch your book? If you are lucky enough to have pre-orders, you will spend the next week or so shipping those out. Then comes the dreaded website silence. The orders that used to appear in batches stop coming. You check your email multiple times a day hoping to see the subject line,” NICE, YOU JUST GOT AN ORDER,” but all you find are political spam and reminders to pay your insurance bill. The only thing keeping you going is the response you get from the readers of your new work. It lifts you up, keeps you energized and upbeat.
Then you finally move the boxes of books that have sat next to your desk for two weeks to the spare room and place them next to the other boxes of previously written books awaiting a new home. That's when you realize how much work you still have ahead of you.
But the testimonials keep coming so you’re feeling fairly good about the prospects of your book becoming a best seller . . . until you make the mistake of looking up online what it takes to be considered a best-selling author. But that’s alright. You are perfectly happy blending in with the masses . . . meaning every author in the world who is not named James Patterson, Steven King, or Janet Evanovich.
You plan appropriately distanced book signings during a pandemic, pester your social media contacts to inspire new purchases, and consider the prospect of donating the remaining books to a bird sanctuary to line cage bottoms.
Such is the life of an author.
Long gone are the days when a publishing house marketed your book for you. Today, most authors must be savvy enough to evoke the interest of bookstores, libraries, online retail outlets, and individual purchasers. And with thousands of books hitting the market every day, the task is daunting.
This is a long-winded way of asking you, if you have enjoyed any of my books, to please consider mentioning it to a friend, co-worker, or family member. After all, word of mouth is always the best advertising. Also consider leaving reviews online at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and all major bookstore outlets.
Do your part. Help save a book from the bird cage!
