I have made many international sales thanks to the invention of the eReader. German citizens have been the latest eBook readers to start noticing my novels and I want to thank them for becoming fans and taking a chance on a newbie.
Last year when I first started thinking about self-publishing and actually did it, I was so ecstatic when the very first ebook sold...then I sold ten; I was glowing. One year later and selling over thousands of eBooks, I am doing pretty well. I have been on a few bestselling lists for my first eBook and now the second and third eBooks are catching up and, in some instances, outselling the first book. This has given me a boost of confidence to continue to hone my skills and create more mystery romance novels.
This has been a very challenging journey for me. I'm not one to peddle my wares or hound people to purchase things. I'm a very quiet person that doesn't attract attention easily or approach strangers in a crowd. All that is changing now that I have attended a few book shows. Meeting these independent authors has been a great asset for me. They are so willing to share information and selling points or how they approached marketing to get their books noticed.
Before meeting these people or joining the various groups that support independent authors, I preferred to observe rather than partake in vocal activities. My selling techniques were so challenged, that I would buy most of the fundraising items my kids would be selling for their school instead of hocking it to my co-workers or family. Seriously, I could only store so much Christmas paper that wasn't enough to wrap a pair of earrings or peanut brittle. Don't get me started on the outdated M&M's; they really aren't good after sitting in a cabinet for more than a year. In my case more than a year since I'm not a chocolate fanatic.
The self-publishing industry has proven serious independent authors belong by helping us get that foot in the door. Many of today's self-published authors are very successful and have proven they can stomp with the big dogs. If you are serious about getting into this business and giving up your spare time, then I say go for it. I have given up a lot of my weekends and evenings to dedicate to crafting my dream.
My first book was my test. I have gotten feedback from that book and learned from it. A little warning, if you can't take criticism, this is not for you. I took the good and the bad and made myself better with the intentions of only going up from there.
Selling my work to others to enjoy is a great feeling for me. I love to read and I know what I look for in the types of books I read. I try to convey that to what I write. If it doesn't make sense to me when I'm reviewing it, it’s back to the drawing board until it makes sense. Example being: I'm working on my fourth novel and one part of it has me thinking I need to make changes. I have been working on those changes for over a month now and will continue to work on it until it feels right to me.
Don't get into this business if you are only looking to make a quick dollar, do it for the passion and knowing you worked hard to put out a product someone took the time to purchase, read and even review it. The good reviews are great confidence builders but take the bad reviews as well. Most reviewers will tell you why they rated the book low and you can learn from that.
God bless to my fellow Indy authors and good luck to those thinking about joining the party. It is fun and frustrating at the same time.
No comments:
Post a Comment