Phooey, Krishna’s Counsel did not make it on Kindle Scout…
Yes, just got the message and it was a no-no.
Looking back on the past five weeks, it was so strange the way this all happened…Melissa Bowersock, a writer herself as well as a great supporter of indie authors, suggested I put Krishna’s Counsel on Kindle Scout.
I discussed the idea with the amazing friend who helps me with all my creative work and we decided to give it a shot. Why? Mainly because neither of us cares for self-promo, and, like it or not, promo is largely what indie publishing is about, at least once you have written your magnum opus. So we both worked hard and fast and uploaded Krishna’s Counsel; within hours we were accepted into the program, which was reassuring. It was the efforts we had to put in after that initial high which pretty much sucked, at least for me.
You see, both of us left the mainstream years ago to follow an inner path—so, while at one time we were both savvy and enjoyed the multiple pleasures of the Big Apple, if you labeled us reclusive hicks today, you wouldn’t be far wrong—which is my indirect way of saying that neither of us keeps up with much that is going on in the outside world. So, with Kindle Scout, for instance, we were both starting from ground zero, and it wasn’t easy trying to figure out how to accomplish what Kindle Scout was urging us to do—which was to get as many nominations as we could for a novel which readers had not even read!
Perhaps because I dislike hypocrisy in any way, shape or form, I shied away from doing this, but then again, if we wanted the biggest publisher of e-books to take over our promo, we had no choice but to pay the price. Right from the get go, we knew this was a numbers game. On top of that, friends in the business warned me not to expect much—mainly because my genre is metaphysical fiction. No matter how well-crafted a piece of work, I was told, this genre rarely if ever makes it to the bestseller list, and, mais naturellement, a book that will make tons of money is what Kindle Scout is interested in.
Despite being deflated by this disheartening news, we both decided to follow Lord Krishna’s timeless counsel—which is to do our best and leave the results to Higher Power. So I wrote a post for every day of the month-long program and continued to do what I loathe doing—which was to ask everyone I knew to nominate the novel. We were amazed at the response! Close to nine hundred people viewed Krishna’s Counsel, many of whom had read my first novel, Whip of the Wild God: A Novel of Tantra in Ancient India (don’t know exactly how many nominations we got, does not say). We got lots of exposure too, which is great, since ours is a labor of love and to spread the word via the oily means of filthy lucre does not float our bright little creative boat.
Now we both have a healthy respect for money, but when it comes to our Moksha Trilogy, and as far as possible, we want to keep money out of the equation. I consider it a minor miracle that everyone who helps/inspires me to produce my books—from this wonderful friend who wishes to remain anonymous, to Mishi Bellamy, who, despite her crazy schedule offered to design all my three book covers, and all those who support me in one way or another as I write my sagas—not one has asked for money—perhaps because everyone knows that the writers gets a teeny percentage of book sale profits. So, if our books sell, great; if not, that too is divine will. There are no accidents and everything is connected to everything else.
Another reason we were both sort of glad we did not make it to Kindle Scout is because we want the Moksha Trilogy to stay free of all legal entanglements. If in the future we find a publisher who will take all three of these novels on at one go, it would be best if we hung on to our rights. So, although I will not deny a frisson of regret that our hard work did not result in a contract, it took me minutes to get back on my emotional feet, and thank god for that! The bald truth of the matter is that there are many things I have wanted that I did not receive! And almost invariably, when I looked back at those unfulfilled desires with wiser eyes and nobler values, I was so relieved that the Divine had decided not to fulfill those particular desires. Why? Because the Omniscient Eye sees what the Finite Eye can never see—which is the Whole Picture! (Read my post: https://miraprabhu.wordpress.com/2014...)
To all of you who did so much to support our foray into Kindle Scout, THANK YOU!!! We could never have gotten as far as we did without your loving encouragement!!! Greetings from Arunachala, the hill that millions consider to be a powerful form of Shiva the Destroyer, and whose promise is to destroy the ego so that we can experience the bliss of the immortal Self!!!
