An interview, five years into the future:



Interviewer: Let me ask you, Keith. What is the secret to your success?
Me: I’ll tell ya, it’s all about knowing your audience. With my fantasy novel, Necromantica, I spent years advertising through Amazon, Goodreads, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Google. I pushed the book to fantasy fans, readers in general, d&d enthusiasts... Anybody who I thought might enjoy some fantasy action and adventure. But I really wasn’t seeing much success.
Interviewer: So what changed?
Me: One Cyber Monday I was copying Amazon links to post on Twitter. Necromantica was 66% off on the Kindle that day.
Interviewer: Plus the paperback and hardcover were discounted with promo code NOVBOOKS18.
Me: You know it! Anyway, I’m on the paperback page and I notice the other products viewed by people who checked out my book. And right there, I had my answer. People who were into my fiction were also interested in painter’s tape and shirt garters! All this time I was trying to appeal to readers and people who enjoy fantasy. I kept telling myself, “It’s a huge industry. Hundreds of books are published every day. Most sell less than a thousand copies. But if I just keep plugging away and letting people know my stuff is out there, eventually I’ll hit that threshold. Eventually, my audience will start sharing my work with each other.” I’ll tell ya, I couldn’t have been further off! All that time. All those years, wasted! I should’ve been focusing on the shirt garter and tape crowd all along!