First off I'd like to apologize for randomly wandering off for a month. I tend to get involved in things like writing, self-loathing, work, depression, and life in general. I can't even say I've been working on the rest of the 2014 "Novel Series" posts because I haven't. I've got one almost ready which is book two for the year and I'm up to five books for this year.
Second I'd like to say that I've probably been suffering with some form of depression for the past ten years (or more) and sometimes it's really hard to cope with it. I can come off as okay and happy on small things like Twitter or NaNo Forum posts but most days I feel like crap. I don't want to get out of bed or when I go to sleep I wish that I won't wake up. The only way I deal with it is by writing a novel and immersing myself in a character's life because most of the time it's about as crappy (or more so) than mine.
This depression was brought on by a lot of things that I don't feel like getting into right now but one is important to this post. So, away we go.
For those of you that don't know: if you want to be a writer you have to have a thick skin. I don't have a thick skin. It's probably part of the reason I don't promote so much because I'm afraid of what people are going to think. I know that if someone thinks badly of my work that I'll start hating it myself and then I'll stop writing.
That's exactly what happened tonight. A friend asked how I was doing in the writing front so I did what I probably shouldn't do: I Googled my name. To be honest, there were a lot of good things coming up. But I found a review for one of my books that simply said "Don't bother." Never mind the same book had a "not bad" review on it. It's the "don't bother" that stings.
Now, I understand that I can't please everyone. I also understand that the book in question is four years old. I'd like to think that my writing style has improved since then. I also understand the concept behind having a thick skin.
That doesn't mean a comment like that, two (or three) simple words, doesn't sting. It hurts. It made me stop writing in the middle of chapter tonight because I thought: "Well why bother?" Then I started thinking about how even after four years and a month that I haven't made the money I spent on my books back. I started re-evaluating my whole thought process on being a writer in general: "why bother with it?" "you know no one's going to read this," "there are people out there better than you," "you don't deserve to be a writer," "you have no future," and etc.
It's a whole downward spiral that I think I'm coming out of. It would be the quickest I ever came out of one, that's for sure but it's a good thing. It means I'm developing that thick skin and not taking a bad comment to heart. I'm not bursting into tears over it and I'm not feeling like I should delete everything and never speak of this again.
No, instead I'm thinking "well, he didn't like it. Hm, why? Let's go read it. It's not that bad. Yeah, it can be improved here, and here. Okay, so he doesn't like my writing. Big deal." Other people have liked it, well, thought it was okay. I'm good with okay because if it was okay four years ago, my writing is better than okay now. Rule of averages and all that.
What I'm trying to say is that for every bad comment there are probably at least four or five that aren't so bad. If you're lucky there's only one bad comment in a hundred. But that one bad comment will be the death of you if you let it. So don't let it. I know it's hard but hey, so long as your writing pleases you and you're happy with it, who cares?
Oh, and so you know: I didn't make it to Round Two in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award contest. I also haven't submitted a damned thing because (if you hadn't noticed) I take rejection pretty horribly. That and I'm still on the fence about the debate of self-publishing (as unsuccessful as it's been for me) and traditional publishing. It's part of that whole self-loathing thing that only goes away when I'm putting my characters through some trial or another.
Until next time: comments, questions, rage, rants and everything in between can be directed to the comments.
Showing posts with label marketing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label marketing. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 8, 2014
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
So I'm back....mostly
In case you haven't noticed, I dropped off the face of the Earth for quite some time. My last post here was March 28th which is about the same for Twitter and Facebook. This is really horrible for promoting which is funny because one of my goals for 2012 was to promote more. I suck with goals, really I do.
Anyway, I'm back in a sense. I never really left to be honest. I simply did not have the motivation to promote. There I said it: I did not have the motivation to post.
Why? Well, there's a few reasons and I'm going to be completely honest, bording on blunt if you will:
1) I have no idea how to properly promote and the whole thing scares the crap out of me.
2) I'm honestly afraid of what people will say about my work.
3) I kind of became really obsessed with the 12 novels in 12 months challenge and forgot everything else.
4) I've been exceptionally depressed.
Let me explain those a bit.
1) I don't know how to promote. Sure I've read Locke's book on how to sell a million ebooks in five months. Yeah, I've read other marketing books on how to use social media to your advantage. I've never really understood it. No, that's not right. I tried and failed a few times and can't seem to pick myself back up. I'll eventually keep trying though. Plus I always feel like I'm spamming people when I talk about my stuff and I don't like spamming people.
2) I'm afraid of what people will say. There are people who have read my work and loved it. They are the reason I started this crazy journey. Then there are the people who comment with "I had to force myself to finish it." For me, that's a pretty big blow. I'll admit, I don't have a tough skin, well, not yet anyway. I mean yes, the accompanying stars on that comment was a 2 and the book does have a 3.5 star rating which is good for something that was written in one month and edited too quickly for my liking. On the same book I get the comment of "I respect this book and the way it was written. It caught my attention and had the perfect amounts of realism that made the ending all the more tragic. I loved this book that was filled with the best memories we could possibly have during the holidays.....and the most horrible..." which makes me feel great. But there's still that nagging fear of what if people don't like it. I have to work on it.
3) Ah, ha, yes. I've become obsessed with the 12 novels in 12 months challenge to the point where I've written 6 novels this year. Let me reiterate that: I've written 6 120,000 word (or more) novels this year. Actually, since March. Oddly, none of them were book 3 of Tale of the Twins which I planned to finish this year.
4) I've been depressed. Life has been horrible this year and I can't shake it at all. I'm trying to get out of the funk, really I am. But the only way I can is by writing and staying in my fantasy worlds. This does not help with promoting because it seems like everything I've done in the past two years (going on three in March) has failed and that makes me more upset. I'm kind of half happy and half sad right now reading the reviews on 'Have a Bloody Christmas' on the Nook website.
With all that being said, well, I'm kind of here. I make no promises on how often I will post but I see a scheduler for post settings so that might help. Did I mention I'm forgetful and quite unmotivated when it comes to promoting? Ha.
Anyway, I decided to come back because of the one goal for this year that I refuse to fail: National Novel Writing Month 2012. I will get 200,000 words. I will not let anything stop me.
I will also write about my insane attempts and more of what I've been doing this year in the next month. I'll also put together some blogs (probably tonight then schedule them off) on character design, plot, setting and tone.
I leave you with this quote (varied from person to person over the years): "A good author has written 1,000,000 words." Yeah? I'm 30,000 away from 2,000,000. Am I a 'good author' yet? ;) More on that later. Till then, Happy Halloween, good night and don't let the demons from Hell steal your soul.
Anyway, I'm back in a sense. I never really left to be honest. I simply did not have the motivation to promote. There I said it: I did not have the motivation to post.
Why? Well, there's a few reasons and I'm going to be completely honest, bording on blunt if you will:
1) I have no idea how to properly promote and the whole thing scares the crap out of me.
2) I'm honestly afraid of what people will say about my work.
3) I kind of became really obsessed with the 12 novels in 12 months challenge and forgot everything else.
4) I've been exceptionally depressed.
Let me explain those a bit.
1) I don't know how to promote. Sure I've read Locke's book on how to sell a million ebooks in five months. Yeah, I've read other marketing books on how to use social media to your advantage. I've never really understood it. No, that's not right. I tried and failed a few times and can't seem to pick myself back up. I'll eventually keep trying though. Plus I always feel like I'm spamming people when I talk about my stuff and I don't like spamming people.
2) I'm afraid of what people will say. There are people who have read my work and loved it. They are the reason I started this crazy journey. Then there are the people who comment with "I had to force myself to finish it." For me, that's a pretty big blow. I'll admit, I don't have a tough skin, well, not yet anyway. I mean yes, the accompanying stars on that comment was a 2 and the book does have a 3.5 star rating which is good for something that was written in one month and edited too quickly for my liking. On the same book I get the comment of "I respect this book and the way it was written. It caught my attention and had the perfect amounts of realism that made the ending all the more tragic. I loved this book that was filled with the best memories we could possibly have during the holidays.....and the most horrible..." which makes me feel great. But there's still that nagging fear of what if people don't like it. I have to work on it.
3) Ah, ha, yes. I've become obsessed with the 12 novels in 12 months challenge to the point where I've written 6 novels this year. Let me reiterate that: I've written 6 120,000 word (or more) novels this year. Actually, since March. Oddly, none of them were book 3 of Tale of the Twins which I planned to finish this year.
4) I've been depressed. Life has been horrible this year and I can't shake it at all. I'm trying to get out of the funk, really I am. But the only way I can is by writing and staying in my fantasy worlds. This does not help with promoting because it seems like everything I've done in the past two years (going on three in March) has failed and that makes me more upset. I'm kind of half happy and half sad right now reading the reviews on 'Have a Bloody Christmas' on the Nook website.
With all that being said, well, I'm kind of here. I make no promises on how often I will post but I see a scheduler for post settings so that might help. Did I mention I'm forgetful and quite unmotivated when it comes to promoting? Ha.
Anyway, I decided to come back because of the one goal for this year that I refuse to fail: National Novel Writing Month 2012. I will get 200,000 words. I will not let anything stop me.
I will also write about my insane attempts and more of what I've been doing this year in the next month. I'll also put together some blogs (probably tonight then schedule them off) on character design, plot, setting and tone.
I leave you with this quote (varied from person to person over the years): "A good author has written 1,000,000 words." Yeah? I'm 30,000 away from 2,000,000. Am I a 'good author' yet? ;) More on that later. Till then, Happy Halloween, good night and don't let the demons from Hell steal your soul.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
I need a clone...
I really do need a clone. This weekend has been spent researching marketing tactics and attempting to formulate some form of marketing plan. I've read so much, I can probably write my own book about it (assuming the plan I do finally put into action works).
That aside, with all the posting, commenting, changes and other such things I have to do to market, I'm going to need a second me. Between working full time, attempting to write and keeping up to date with everything, I will have very little free time.
Am I worried? A bit, maybe. The more time I spend on marketing, the less time I have to write. BUT, the more time I spend on marketing, the more word will get out which will eventually lead to more time to write.
On the topic of writing, I'm playing with the idea to create a newsletter for different tricks and techniques to write a good novel. If not a newsletter, it will be a series of blogs.
On the topic of marketing, one of the major things I've learned is communication is key. Commenting on other blogs, discussing like subjects, talking to people on various social networking sites...is a big part of getting the word out there.
Another thing I learned is that I have more then likely been doing the whole Social Networking Marketing thing wrong. That is, I haven't really had a definitive WAY to market.
I also learned there are a lot of 'get-rich-quick' scams that come across as useful information...before they start telling you spam e-mail and use various different commenting tools to spam comment. Spam is a no-no. People hate spam, me being one of them.
Anyway, changes are on the horizon for this little piece of the web I call my blog...and there will probably be more changes to the website.
That aside, with all the posting, commenting, changes and other such things I have to do to market, I'm going to need a second me. Between working full time, attempting to write and keeping up to date with everything, I will have very little free time.
Am I worried? A bit, maybe. The more time I spend on marketing, the less time I have to write. BUT, the more time I spend on marketing, the more word will get out which will eventually lead to more time to write.
On the topic of writing, I'm playing with the idea to create a newsletter for different tricks and techniques to write a good novel. If not a newsletter, it will be a series of blogs.
On the topic of marketing, one of the major things I've learned is communication is key. Commenting on other blogs, discussing like subjects, talking to people on various social networking sites...is a big part of getting the word out there.
Another thing I learned is that I have more then likely been doing the whole Social Networking Marketing thing wrong. That is, I haven't really had a definitive WAY to market.
I also learned there are a lot of 'get-rich-quick' scams that come across as useful information...before they start telling you spam e-mail and use various different commenting tools to spam comment. Spam is a no-no. People hate spam, me being one of them.
Anyway, changes are on the horizon for this little piece of the web I call my blog...and there will probably be more changes to the website.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Motivation
So, I just received my first Quarterly Report from the publishing company. Book One has been out for about two months now and in that time, I have sold two e-books. I'm hoping it's because the book is only available online and not because there is lack of interest in it.
I'm also hoping that in the next four months I can make sales pick-up. I would be happy even selling 100 in four months, then say 200 the next. That's a half-decent goal, I think. But the problem is, major book-stores won't take it unless there is demand. And, I don't have a lot of time to make it so there IS a demand.
A bit discouraging yes, but I'm not going to give up. I didn't come this far to stop at the starting line. I'm going to find myself some really good friends to help push it over the next four months and hopefully that will make the difference.
And if I crash and burn, well at least I can say I tried. It's better to have tried and failed then to have not tried at all. At least, that's how the saying goes anyway.
On the plus side, the bookmarks, business cards and postcards look lovely. Now, once I get a small crew of people together, I can deliver them and hope for the best.
I'm also hoping that in the next four months I can make sales pick-up. I would be happy even selling 100 in four months, then say 200 the next. That's a half-decent goal, I think. But the problem is, major book-stores won't take it unless there is demand. And, I don't have a lot of time to make it so there IS a demand.
A bit discouraging yes, but I'm not going to give up. I didn't come this far to stop at the starting line. I'm going to find myself some really good friends to help push it over the next four months and hopefully that will make the difference.
And if I crash and burn, well at least I can say I tried. It's better to have tried and failed then to have not tried at all. At least, that's how the saying goes anyway.
On the plus side, the bookmarks, business cards and postcards look lovely. Now, once I get a small crew of people together, I can deliver them and hope for the best.
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Marketing
After touring writing.com, I have found out a few things: 1) The navigation and trying to find someone again is a bit hard 2) There are a lot of people out there trying to become a published author 3) The Internet is huge.
I will eventually get used to one. I all ready knew about three but seeing writing.com made me realize it all over again. It's two that kind of shocks me. No, shocks isn't the right word. I mean, I know all ready a lot of people try to write a novel at some point in their lives. I just never realized exactly how many people that was.
Considering all the people in the world trying to become a published author and the ratio of successful authors to not-so-successful authors, writing seems to be a difficult career to get into. The writing itself is easy. If one has a decent grasp of spelling and grammar, a wild imagination, a bit of time, a good sense of description, a good sense of creating believable conversation and characters, then they can probably write something wonderful.
But, along with all that, a writer needs to know a bit about marketing. No one will read your work if you cannot get it out there. The Internet comes in handy for this with all its social media aspects and various communities for authors. Also, it comes in handy for seeking out a company that will help publish and market an author's potential best seller.
It's quite the daunting task, to be completely truthful. Daunting and frightening because I'm not completely sure if what I'm doing is actually helping right now. I have no idea if anyone has actually bought a copy of the e-book or the soft and hard cover. I won't know till, actually I'm not 100% sure when I'll know. Which is kind of like flying a plane with just enough gas and wondering if you'll make it to land.
In summation: Writing is hard. Marketing is harder.
I will eventually get used to one. I all ready knew about three but seeing writing.com made me realize it all over again. It's two that kind of shocks me. No, shocks isn't the right word. I mean, I know all ready a lot of people try to write a novel at some point in their lives. I just never realized exactly how many people that was.
Considering all the people in the world trying to become a published author and the ratio of successful authors to not-so-successful authors, writing seems to be a difficult career to get into. The writing itself is easy. If one has a decent grasp of spelling and grammar, a wild imagination, a bit of time, a good sense of description, a good sense of creating believable conversation and characters, then they can probably write something wonderful.
But, along with all that, a writer needs to know a bit about marketing. No one will read your work if you cannot get it out there. The Internet comes in handy for this with all its social media aspects and various communities for authors. Also, it comes in handy for seeking out a company that will help publish and market an author's potential best seller.
It's quite the daunting task, to be completely truthful. Daunting and frightening because I'm not completely sure if what I'm doing is actually helping right now. I have no idea if anyone has actually bought a copy of the e-book or the soft and hard cover. I won't know till, actually I'm not 100% sure when I'll know. Which is kind of like flying a plane with just enough gas and wondering if you'll make it to land.
In summation: Writing is hard. Marketing is harder.
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