The Hustle
Like snake oil salesmen, tin men (aluminum siding smooth talkers) and Avon sales reps, the Indie author hustles to sell books. While I may not knock on doors to peddle my wares, I’m tapping into social media. Prior to publication of my second Contemporary Women’s Fiction novel, ‘An Enlightening Quiche’ (September 20, 2016) and shortly thereafter, I’ve hustled with bustle:
Facebook author page launch party
Month-long blog tour with Pump Up Your Books
Facebook Author events
Paid ads on promotional sites that offer a subscription service for readers, providing recommendations for eBook purchases through advertising my book along with many others in its genre.
Seeing negligible results despite knocking myself out, I’m skeptical of most things in a market glutted with free and reduced to pennies-on-the-dollar book offers which only serve to deplete the author’s potential to sell eBooks retailing for under five bucks to begin with. Mine is priced at $3.95 for 361 pages—so that’s my bottom line!
Currently, my minimal hustling is reserved to posting five daily Facebook ads in various free promotional groups. It’s catch as catch can for grabbing someone’s attention to click on the link and take a leap of faith in purchasing the Kindle Edition. It’s too far a stretch to bank on signed paperback acquisitions even at a reasonable price of $19.95 for a print book containing 550 pages.
Ads are just one aspect of the hustle. Hustling for publicity is another. In that regard, I’ve lined up a guest spot for “Author of the Month” in September at ‘The Write Side’:
https://janetirvin.wordpress.com/
I’m also getting psyched for two upcoming live radio appearances:
OFF THE CHAIN with Author and Radio Host, Yvonne Mason – September 9th (8-9PM)
https://offthechainwithauthorandradio...
DIALOGUE: Between the Lines with Susan Wingate – September 16th (10 – 10:30 AM)
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/dialogue
As with most hustling endeavors, there are no guarantees for measurable success via sales, other than the certainty—“Nothing ventured, nothing gained!”
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Jude
(last edited Aug 19, 2017 02:01PM)
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Aug 19, 2017 01:59PM
Daily checks of Kindle Reports and seeing your books flatline for days (weeks) at a time is discouraging, so you get on Twitter and post a link, flood your "groups" with more links, and spend money your books are not making to advertise, hoping that someone will buy a book and read it. You write a weekly blog that mentions your books or characters in them, and nothing happens. You do live readings, and the people in attendance are complimentary, but they don't buy. You create business cards and bookmarks--which is stupid because your books are e-books--and people take them and toss them in the trash when they think you aren't looking. You dread clicking on Kindle Reports, but you do anyway, because...well, because you're hoping for a miracle, but they don't happen. You keep writing, however because, well hell, it's what you do. What else is there?
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Jude wrote: "Daily checks of Kindle Reports and seeing your books flatline for days (weeks) at a time is discouraging, so you get on Twitter and post a link, flood your "groups" with more links, and spend money..."Jude,
Because I'm one of those hybrid self-published authors, I don't have the luxury of seeing a Kindle report. I wait for my monthly royalty report which is actually based on sales 60 days ago! I know better moving forward to go totally rogue.
Everything you mentioned is spot on! I've had similar experiences at my scantly attended author events at libraries, though I actually sold three books at one, and one at another.
Each day I struggle over whether to drop off the grid or persevere. Because my book has received a Readers' Favorite 5-Star Seal and was an ATAI Fiction Finalist, and has received other nominations--I stay in the game. So many of us Indies have overlooked 4-leaf clovers. I suppose we must keep "hustling" due to the belief in ourselves. May the force be with you!
