A Case Study in Asking Advice of Amateurs

Guido Henkel has a guest post on J.A. Konrath's blog today. In summary, Guido had posted earlier in the year about his series of ebooks that were not selling at the rate he expected, in spite of very creative and extensive marketing efforts. That earlier post generated a *shitload* (my word, not his) of advice on how he could, surely, improve his ebook package, his Web presence, and, of course, his sales.
 
None of it, though, has seemed to work. And don't call me Shirley.
 
It's a long post, but interesting. The comments are painful to read, though, so be warned.
 
The comments are painful because people can't *not* give advice, even when they've just read a piece that demonstrates quite clearly that their advice is probably useless. Almost certainly useless.
 
If you ask people for advice, they will give it. Gladly. Freely. Even if they have approaching zero qualifications, expertise or equivalent experience in the arena for which advice was requested. Then they will be pissed off if you don't take their advice, but that's another topic.
 
Storytelling is one of the oldest professions of humanity, probably invented shortly after a member of the second profession was caught by his wife leaving the hut of a member of the oldest profession.
 
In spite of millennia of practice, no one can predict why one story will become a classic and another story is forgotten almost immediately. Just because ebooks seem to be new (they aren't, BTW) doesn't change that they are still stories and subject to the same oddly random factors that have always affected stories–and pretty much any other form of artistic expression.
 
Why does one ebook sell enough to make its author a millionaire, while another ebook (possibly by the *same* author) drop like a stone never to be heard from again?
 
We don't know. None of us know. But that won't stop us from thinking we know *something* that might have made a difference–and feeling *compelled* to share it.
 
-David
 
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THE SUMMONING FIRE Listed on Joe Konrath's BlogShort Story Ebook CoversMy Marketing Efforts Thus Far