So I turned in the manuscript for grydscaen: dissonance today to the publisher after spending the entire day editing the manuscript. I took one of the tips from my On Writing: General Editing Tips blog post. I shortened the sentances in the entire manuscript. It took me from 8AM to 3PM to get through the 40,000+ book. I was off work today so I could actually spend the whole day working on the book. I don’t usually take days off work but I am going to India soon for a business trip and I am trying to keep my stress level down by taking random days off work before I actually have to go.
I wanted to talk a little bit about marketing today. I ran into an author on a podcast who had a lot of friends and was able to get their friends and family to buy their books, and friends of friends and this author ended up being a USA Today Best Selling author after one year and was able to quit her job and write full time. So I am nowhere near that. I have been writing for 6 years and have published 8 with my publisher and 6 more through self publishing on Amazon. I am by no means in a place to quit my day job. I would be starving. I am realistic and don’t think being a full time author is open to me. Maybe it is because I write hard scifi and not romance or paranormal, or thriller mysteries or fantasy. Maybe it is because my books make you have to think and can not be read as beach fodder on a summer vacation. Maybe the subject is too deep and dark about my grydscaen post-apocalyptic world after a nuclear explosion rife with radiation sickness, poverty, crime, prostitution and drug addiction as well as technology hackers and nanomachines.
I don’t know. I have everything set up. The link to sign up for my mailing list which is just recently created. A street team link if you want to join the Packrat Underground and become a super fan. I do not have a kickstarter or patreon page. I pay for everything myself. And so that means marketing and paying for it.
I am a introvert. I don’t like public speaking. I write blog posts about hackers and cyber security and I have been quoted in newspaper articles as a IT expert. I could do public speaking engagements about that. I could do public speaking about writing or making manga since there is a manga of “A Storm’s Coming.” But when it comes down to it I am still an unknown even though I have had radio and Internet interviews been interviewed on Facebook and appeared on TV. I even have some of my books in bookstores. I have had blog tours, guest posts on blogs and Twitter chats. I have done Facebook adds and post on Twitter and Tumbler as well as Facebook. I have over 2000+ likes on Facebook. But still I can not make a living at writing as I just don’t have the sales. Sure I get royalty checks but lets be realistic. I am a starving artist.
But onto marketing which can get expensive. I wrote a blog post about editing and that can run you $1500 US for 40,000 words. Marketing is a hell of a lot more expensive. A book trailer will cost you thousands of dollars and I have at least 8 book trailers. Google search engine optimization can cost you over $5000 US with other add ons to get clicks. There are email campaigns and newsletters that can be free but you need a mailing list. For me mailing list is difficult because I just don’t have a lot of friends and I am not willing to whore myself at work and get people to sign up because I work with them. You need to have a large friend and family population to make some of these things work. Even kickstarter needs friends and so for Thunderclap campaigns. I have not done that because the audience I can not bring to that and well I didn’t want to deal with the Tax implications of getting free money. Sure I had to set up an Amazon Author Account on KDP select to get my short stories out there and the manga but my sales are minimal, I don’t hit the bracket.
So I have all the things I need to have, multiple books in the series, an author platform, Facebook likes, and a website but still I need marketing.
I work with my publisher for all my marketing. As I am not published traditionally it all comes out of pocket. I have had online and traditional publicists, email campaigns, and blog tours. I have been reviewed by professionals and people who have online websites. I need more reviews. How do I get them? I asked my publisher. We are just trying something new as of today.
Some people do kickstarter to make their funding for their books. I think that is shady and fund everything myself so it takes a toll on my bank account. Luckily I have a good job and can indulge when something comes my way. Sure it is expensive and I have spend about $100,000+ dollars on marketing and book trailers to date. For me this just hits my bank account you only live once. It is what is necessary to get the job done. I know I have a good product. A writer is a businessman first and foremost outside of the actual writing. Most small businesses don’t make any money in their first few years of operation. This is very true for me. I shell out way more money than I make. I am trying since I know that I have a good thing here.
I have done many things. The only thing that was completely unsuccessful was an email marketing campaign. I was a new author and no one knew who I was so that did not work. Other things like youtube ads for book trailers has been more successful and Reader’s Digest and Blog Tour. I am getting one of my mini films in movie theatres, I have an anime out and I have even had books in book stores. Marketing can be very expensive as I have found. Some people have large networks. This is not a luxury that I have so I have to start from the ground up.
I have done Facebook ads and some of my tweets have been liked and retweeted. I have done Amazon giveaways and Goodreads giveaways which got me some reviews though not many. So, I have a mixed experience. As of today and I am trying Google Search Engine Optimization and Goodreads Ads. Hopefully we will get some traction on this. We can only try. What is the worst that can happen? I run up my credit card. For now I will be paying off the balance for 2 years but it is the only way that I can make headway without a mailing list. I only have a few reviews and some books have none. I have been doing this for 6 years writing books. You would think I was no longer a “new author.” But alas I still am an unknown even though I have excellent reviews for the ones I have. The grydscaen series has been compared to Divergent, Blade Runner, Dune, the Matrix and Ender’s Game, as well as the Hunger Games so I am in good company. Reviews don’t seem to help unless they are from readers on Amazon which helps you sell books and increases the algorithms for their rankings. I have been in the top 10 on Amazon for grydsacen: utopia twice for a few hours but it didn’t stick. I think some authors game the system with their friends and family. I don’t have that.
So today I am trying something new as my Facebook ad and boosted post runs for a few more days. So it costs money. I can do this because I can afford to. Does it put a crimp in my budget, yes. Do I enjoy it, yes. Will I be paying on my credit cards for years, yes. Would I do it any other way publishing indie with my publisher and actually having 7 books out with them and dissonance on the way. No I would not change anything. I have full control over everything as it pertains to my books. Sure my publisher gets a cut so they have an incentive as well. But I get to publish on my own terms. Yes marketing is expensive. Anyone who tells you otherwise is lying, has a lot of friends and family who buy their books, has a mailing list they advertise to and a fan base or is just writing romance. I have no hate for romance but I write hard scifi cyberpunk, it has a smaller audience. I will try anything once. Hopefully this new marketing push will get me somewhere. If it does not I will always keep trying. More to come. I know I have a good book, we just need to get noticed. This is one way to do it. Wish me luck. I can only try.
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