What to do after your book bombs

I recently published the second book of my Retake Duet.

Not-so-fun fact: it bombed. I’m talking off-a-cliff, didn’t-make-my-money-back bombing.

If it were the Hindenberg or the Titanic, the disaster would’ve made front page news. But in book world the releases come so fast and so furious that only the people who were rooting for you to fail anyway (I see you, ladies) really noticed it ever existed.

I believed in this duet 100%. I still do. The idea was fresh and unique. The storytelling was on point. The characters are epic.

And still, it failed.

I had warnings that this was going to happen– mostly due to the fact that book one underperformed. When that happens, authors are told to look at the obvious things.

Maybe it was the cover. Maybe it was the blurb. I updated and revised both. Maybe it’s the story. The reviewers loved it.

The people who read the book fell in love. Sales wise, it didn’t matter. I couldn’t get more than X number of people to read it. Each book is only as successful as the number of people willing to take a chance on it.

I wrote book two anyway– partly because I had to, partly because I love these characters like they’re real. Still, I struggled to release on time (as in I was WAY off my original timeline) because, emotionally, I knew what I was in for. So my body shut down, my brain stopped working, and I struggled across the finish line. I limped across by the hair on my chinny chin chin, with tears streaming down my cheeks. No joke. There were real tears- and not just because writing this story ripped my heart out.

Writing is hard. Like step into the ring with Evander Holyfield and get punched 80 times an hour every single day hard.

Releasing. Is. Hell. Like show up to high school naked hell.

To be blunt, it is my least favorite part of this job. I spent every single release day since Catch my Fall in bed, too depressed to move until like 5 releases ago when I decided to ignore release day entirely. Oh, is that happening? I know it sounds nuts but it’s better than being curled in the fetal position obsessively refreshing rank.

If I’d obsessively refreshing during this release, I’d still be down for the count.

There’s a part of me in every single one of my books, but I jokingly say that the Retake Duet is one of my horcruxes. I left a big part of myself in there- a part I won’t get back. I have to make my peace with the fact that the majority of my readers will never know that.

This is the part where, as a sensitive author type, one might throw their keyboard to the floor and quit.

Believe me, there are days I consider doing just that- and not because my duet bombed. Most days I do whatever I have to do to focus on the positive instead of the negative. Since I suffer from anxiety and depression, I do everything I possibly can to stay in that lane. But when your release is tanking and you’re wondering why you bothered, it’s hard not to think about the things that suck. Such as:

Book world is petty. as. f. Seriously- if you’re expecting sunshine and rainbows or authors uplifting one another, you’re going to be shit out of luck 90% of the time. Yes, there are amazing- and I do mean amazing– people in this business. I have nothing but love, respect, and adoration for the incredible humans who have had my back through thick and thin. It’s mutual- and honestly, their example is what keeps me going a lot of the time. But the sad truth is that in situations like a book bombing, the shit weighs more than the sunshine- so that’s what you wind up focusing on. Backstabbers, shit talkers, two-faced assholes, people black-listing you to agents, PR companies, bloggers… guys, you have no idea. It takes balls to publish in this climate. Some of your favorite authors are the biggest drama starting, mean girl, dream crushing bullies you’ll ever meet. Oh, the stories I could tell.Success is 90% determined by the money you’re willing to put in. Yes, there are exceptions- but they aren’t the rule. Almost any author who hits the Top 50 on Amazon for an extended period who tells you they aren’t putting thousands upon thousands of dollars into promo is flat-out lying. There are like 5 people who can saunter into that top 20 without giving Amazon and Facebook a direct line to their credit card, but for the most part, everyone else has to make. it. rain .

Speaking of advertising dollars… fun story! Facebook deactivated my Ad account the day On The Way Back published. Can’t make it rain when they won’t take your money.

They say someone complained about my ads and when they checked they found I violated their rules. Really, they’ve been doing this to authors for months and months and the reasons are always bull. I’ve given them (literally) tens of thousands of my advertising dollars, but they’ve got this strict policy about never freaking explaining why they do what they do, so it is what it is.

Still, I threw money at this for a few days (mostly on Amazon), trying to get it to make a difference. It didn’t, and I’m not going to go broke tweaking ads and upping my spend because I’m stubborn and know that if people would just pick it up, they’d fall in love. So that’s that. The bomb is locked in.

It’s hard to come up with something fresh only to watch it tank. Readers say they want new and unique- but a lot of authors have no choice but to tell some version of the same story over and over again because readers don’t want to take a chance when we switch it up.

There’s a reason it’s called writing to market. It’s why you see a flood of certain tropes when one book does really well. One author will write X and when it hits the top five, 4,000 other authors will pick up that trope and run with it. Remember when we were overrun with stepbrother books? Writing to market, man. It’s my second least favorite thing about writing. I’ll need to think about how to deal with that going forward.

It doesn’t change this situation though. The bomb is the bomb– and not in a good way.

And that’s where the title of this blog post comes into play. What do you do after your book bombs? What’s next?

First, DO look over your reviews. Listen to what readers have had to say.

I’ll be holding onto the one above like a warm, furry blanket. She got it- and that’s why I wrote the story. When I wanted to throw my hands up in the air and say F this, book two is never coming- I reminded myself that Garrett and Shaelyn had a story worth telling- and the readers deserved to get a fully fleshed out tale that would leave them feeling like they’d read something special. I persevered- even though it hurt like hell.

Financially, this duet tanked. It’s a fact. But the readers who gave it a chance loved it- and THAT is why I wrote it. At the heart of it, a writer writes because they have stories percolating in their heads that need to be let out. I won’t be settling into a jet-set lifestyle from this duet- but I can hold my head up high and say, with full confidence, that I did my best. And my best fucking rocked. I’m the type who always downplays stuff because my self-esteem is non-existent and I never feel like I’m talented enough or smart enough or clever enough. That isn’t true with the Retake Duet. I wrote something 100% different. There is no doubt in my mind that this is the best and most layered tale I’ve ever written. I learned a lot from this couple. For once in my life I’m going to say it and mean it– I’m PROUD of me. Like, really proud. My bank account won’t reflect the accomplishment, but my heart does. I’m taking that as a win.

If your book bombs, find YOUR win. What was good about it? If you give it time, you’ll always find something. Once you do, it’s time to start the process of moving forward.

After you’ve looked at the reviews, eaten a shitload of chocolate, cried into your pillow and come to terms with it, you have a choice to make.

My Momma didn’t raise a quitter, so I’m back at it. If you ever bomb like I did, I hope you’ll get back up too.

Don’t silence the characters in your head- and don’t give your haters the satisfaction of chasing you away.

Take a deep breath.

Recalibrate.

And then sit your ass down in front of the computer and do it all over again.

You’ve got this shit.

You’ve got this shit.