I had hoped to be over the moon with my sky-rocketing sales, but alas, it isn't happening. I've checked my sales stats too many times to count only to see the same eight people who kindly bought my book.
And I love and thank EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU! Do y'all feel the love? You should because I'm giving you some serious cyber hugs and kisses . . . and none of the purchasers are family members. And if you all didn't know I have 8, yes, EIGHT, brothers and sisters and their children, many of them adults with children of their own. And did any of them support little sis, as of the writing of this blog--NOPE.
So you see how my family rolls. Supportive from the ground up . . . Yeah, right. And though you may think this is sour grapes, it isn't. This is just the same old, same old in my family.
And I did the only thing I vowed I would never do--that I'd let other's responses, or lack of, affect my view of self. So, I'm not selling my book. Well, I'm not really marketing it right now. It's a very holiday oriented story. And the last time I looked Valentines Day ALWAYS comes before St. Patrick's Day.
Leprechauns simply aren't on anyone's mind right now.
But they are on mine. I thought about LOST LEPRECHAUN LOOT all last week and I realized that my leprechauns wouldn't let Kyte Webber get the last laugh. Payback would be on their mind. I brainstormed with my peep, Laura (she of the wonderful book cover) and, though I won't use any of her suggestions, she did get my sluggish brain juices flowing.
"I know what we're going to do today, Ferb."
Yes, peeps, I've been researching. Nasty word, but it does help ordering one's mythical characters. And I have three chapter books to write. Each leprechaun from LLL will be featured in his own payback story.
Do I have any idea what the stories are?
Uh, I have NO FREAKIN' CLUE! But I'll start writing tomorrow.
Until later, Peeps!
And do a sista a favor and pass LLL's purchasing link (upper right hand corner of this blog) if you liked the story or if you think another person might enjoy it. 'cause God knows my family doesn't give a darn. And this is pretty much par for the course with my family, so it isn't as hurtful as it would have been in the past.
Thanks.
Margaret--
ReplyDeleteThat's the way it goes with family. I'll never forget my RWI sisters who lined up to support me with my first book! And some of the same sisters purchased my e-book when they'd already read the print version. NO one in my family purchased mine but wanted their free copy.
What I liked about LLL was the hook and upcoming adventures Kyte will be involved in.
I'm so proud of you for venturing into this new world, and anxiously await what comes next!
Margaret, hardly any indie author sells a lot in the first months. I know I didn't. Often, days would go by and I didn't sell any books. But what's the alternative? Eight people bought your book already, and more will buy it, too. That's more people than were reading it before.
ReplyDeleteThe more books you put up, the more books you will sell. So instead of looking at your sales, concentrate on putting another book out there.
And thanks for giving me an idea for my next How To Write Shop article. lol
BTW, my younger brother bought Cattitude, but he's the only one in my family who was interested in reading my book. Shrug.
ReplyDeleteGlad to know that I'm not the only one who doesn't have familial support, Meg and Edie! Though I did hope for a few pity purchases. :-)
ReplyDeleteI'm angry with myself that I let this bother me, but I do have a plan:
1)write the next Chapter book (Easter will be part of the timing)
2) Edit GNOME with the thought that Jabberwocky will reject it and get it out there to coincide with the release of the movie, Gnomeo and Juliet.
3) write the other two leprechaun revenge stories.
One of my non-writing friends bought this story--it wasn't her thing, but she did enjoy it. BUT she kept thinking about it and wanted to KNOW MORE ABOUT KYTE, HER STORY, THE DRAGON, etc. So I think the story did the job of wanting to know what happens next. Edie's right, I need to get another one out there.
There are a few very important truths I have learned from managing my own online store.
ReplyDelete1. Marketing your work is a FULL TIME job. Until you've put in several months of full-time marketing your book, don't expect any sales. SERIOUSLY. I'm not saying this to depress you - it's simply the way it works.
2. Family/friends should never be expected to buy anything. I've never had any family or friends buy anything of mine just to 'show support.' It has to be something they really like themselves in the first place, and want/need. Again, that's just the way it is (this may be the part where growing the 'thick skin' you've , mentioned can be useful).
You can't take any of it personally, because it's not personal. If I went around buying stuff from every one of my friends simply to support them, I'd be broke. It may only be a few dollars, but multiply that by all the friends in my various networks, and it's just not realistic. It has to be something I like/want/need in the first place.
Before you direct your energies to putting another book out there, put in the hours/days/weeks/months marketing this one. Unless you do, others will suffer the same fate.
IT'S NOT THE QUALITY OF YOUR WRITING. It's the quality of your promotion/marketing.
How else do you explain non-talented people like Britney Spears being so successful?
It's AAALLLLL the marketing.
If I had to rely on family purchases of my books for income, I'd've starved years ago. It is disappointing, but it's a reflection on them, not you or your work.
ReplyDeleteWord of mouth is the best advertising ever, and it takes some time. Keep writing and getting your stuff out there. Ask for some blog interviews; ask the people who've told you they liked it to post reviews. It's a tough world, but you're tough, too.
I agree to a point, Jody.
ReplyDeleteI KNEW my story was seasonal when I published it, which narrows the window considerably. I want to get out a few more 'seasonal' short story/chapter books out there while I'm waiting for the publishing house to decide on GNOME (the one you read and first of the series). IF they reject it, I'll set out to self-pub GNOME and I'll do some serious marketing.
Thanks for the vote of confidence, Marilyn! My family may suck, but Todd's sister came through--she has a non-reading son (he's 11 or 12) and I hope this will get him interested in reading.
ReplyDeleteI'm a firm believer in word of mouth and I hope the people who DO buy my story will pass the purchasing info on. :-)
Hey, MAG... now that you are published, you need to change the sub-heading on your blog from "Blatherings of an unpublished middle grade writer" to something that reflects your status as "published"...
ReplyDeleteIggy