Self Publishing Diary: True Believers Wanted

Companies, by nature, are profit-friendly and risk averse, preferring to invest resources into "branded" properties. Common sense dictates that better-branded properties will be more successful. This, however is not always the case. Just look at the box office any given weekend and you'll see something underperform its expectations.

New releases by branded artists benefit greatly from the hype they generate. Hype is the launchpad for monetization. However hype is an elusive state that is almost always temporary. Hype burns fast and dies away just like lighting a whole pack of matches at once.

The only way to keep that flame going would be to light another pack of matches from the first. Continue lighting pack after pack after pack. Who in their right mind would do that?

People who were dedicated to keeping the flame alive. True believers. A cult.

Indie publishers (like me) don't have the resources to generate instant hype. My marketing budget isn't spent with dollars but with time. I post here on Wordsushi, I throw a few tweets out from the @MYN Twitter account. I post on my Facebook profile. Lately, I created my first video book trailer with no budget, just using a great voice over I already had and some free stock footage and a bit of creativity.

Is it working? So far, yes.

With my next round of ebook releases, I'm striving to create and further some cult-worthy franchises that you, the faithful reader will hopefully not only enjoy, but also help further fan the flames for.

Up next, will be SHADOW FALLS: ANGEL OF DEATH, the sequel to SHADOW FALLS: BADLANDS (and as some call it, the third installment of the Shadow Falls saga if you include the original audio drama series).

What some of you already know is that ANGEL OF DEATH and BADLANDS are part of a larger body of work that I've been calling THE ANGEL OF DEATH CHRONICLES.

Soon after, I will be releasing two separate ebook versions of TRANSISTOR RODEO. Unlike some of my edgier, blood-soaked tales, TR is a very kid-friendly kinetic adventure about a robot rodeo that goes haywire and runs amok in the city of Los Angeles and the very human broken down cowboy who has to not only save the day but save his young son from danger. The first version will be just text but those of you who heard the serialized audio podcast version will remember the original music score I wrote to go along with it. The second version of TR will be an enhanced ebook that includes sections of the more than 3 hours of cinematic music I wrote, played and a produced.

And yes, there is much, much more on tap including the sequel to DIARY OF A MADMAN and lots of other wild and entertaining books I'm currently developing. As always, I look forward to your thoughts and I continue to be humbled by your support. Let's keep that flame burning!