Andy’s thoughts on… Expectations
Hi all,
It has been ages since I last wrote a blog. I’ve been squirrelling away on a couple of secret projects along with the follow up to Dispatchers.
I’d like to take a moment and have a short rant about something which really riles me, namely expectations and the unbelievable misuse of the “Meet the Authors” forum in Amazon. There is a forum in which the subject of promotions is debated. Now I occasionally enjoy adding to the debate and discussing various promotional strategies with other like-minded indie authors and we occasionally have a laugh.
There is, however, a growing population of indie authors with unbelievably high expectations who seem to believe that because they have written a book that they are automatically entitled to instant success (some I would even suggest are even rather hostile). The “Meet the Authors” forum is filled with people ranting about their books. I hate to be a killjoy but they are ranting to other authors who are also trying to get established.
I raised the debate in the Promotional Strategies forum that the best approach for a new author, who is trying to get noticed, is offer their work FREE to bloggers and reviewers. Some bloggers have a fantastic following and if they read your work then positively review it, hey great times! Yet I was shouted down on this rather simple concept. Some authors found the concept of giving away their work, even for a day, to be abhorred. “What? Give my work away? Are you mad? Do you know how many hours I have slaved over this 200 page masterpiece?”
Wake up people. That 200 page masterpiece isn’t even going to get a look in unless you either;
(a) Bite the bullet and give copies away. If this means signing a copy and sending it to a blogger or running a week of free promotions then so be it.
(b) Have such a grand following of friends/family that are prepared to spread the word on your behalf. This does happen but one should never rely, or worse pressure, their friends/family network to promote.
It seems that there is an expectation amongst some that simply because they mention their work that they will suddenly amass a grand following. Lunacy!
But what about “Wool” I hear you cry? Interviews with Hugh Howey suggest that he didn’t work particularly hard to promote Wool, which is true. Wool was on the market for a long period of time before it amassed a following. How? Hugh Howey was writing novellas and short stories for years and had already amassed a small following. He didn’t need to push Wool too hard as he was busy writing the follow-up. In the background, Wool had gathered momentum and it went viral. In short, Hugh Howey did not just show up in a forum and declare his work, he had worked for years and the foundations paid off. Some Indie authors ignore this.
“Meet the Authors” is about networking and sharing ideas. In some cases, the forum can be used to amass a fantastic network of proof readers, editors, bloggers and cover artists. Use this tool wisely.
Consider this; would you part with your hard earned cash if presented with a novel written by a total unknown, especially if the only person saying that the novel was any good was the author? No, thought you wouldn’t.
I’ve recently launched a new facebook site designed purely to network (http://www.facebook.com/the.new.novel...) where I am hoping to amass a directory of proof readers, artists, editors and authors. No self-promotion, just a useful and free network. The new novelist directory also has a twitter feed (@new_novelist)
My personal twitter is @doc_lamb, please feel free to follow and be exposed to my various rants.
It has been ages since I last wrote a blog. I’ve been squirrelling away on a couple of secret projects along with the follow up to Dispatchers.
I’d like to take a moment and have a short rant about something which really riles me, namely expectations and the unbelievable misuse of the “Meet the Authors” forum in Amazon. There is a forum in which the subject of promotions is debated. Now I occasionally enjoy adding to the debate and discussing various promotional strategies with other like-minded indie authors and we occasionally have a laugh.
There is, however, a growing population of indie authors with unbelievably high expectations who seem to believe that because they have written a book that they are automatically entitled to instant success (some I would even suggest are even rather hostile). The “Meet the Authors” forum is filled with people ranting about their books. I hate to be a killjoy but they are ranting to other authors who are also trying to get established.
I raised the debate in the Promotional Strategies forum that the best approach for a new author, who is trying to get noticed, is offer their work FREE to bloggers and reviewers. Some bloggers have a fantastic following and if they read your work then positively review it, hey great times! Yet I was shouted down on this rather simple concept. Some authors found the concept of giving away their work, even for a day, to be abhorred. “What? Give my work away? Are you mad? Do you know how many hours I have slaved over this 200 page masterpiece?”
Wake up people. That 200 page masterpiece isn’t even going to get a look in unless you either;
(a) Bite the bullet and give copies away. If this means signing a copy and sending it to a blogger or running a week of free promotions then so be it.
(b) Have such a grand following of friends/family that are prepared to spread the word on your behalf. This does happen but one should never rely, or worse pressure, their friends/family network to promote.
It seems that there is an expectation amongst some that simply because they mention their work that they will suddenly amass a grand following. Lunacy!
But what about “Wool” I hear you cry? Interviews with Hugh Howey suggest that he didn’t work particularly hard to promote Wool, which is true. Wool was on the market for a long period of time before it amassed a following. How? Hugh Howey was writing novellas and short stories for years and had already amassed a small following. He didn’t need to push Wool too hard as he was busy writing the follow-up. In the background, Wool had gathered momentum and it went viral. In short, Hugh Howey did not just show up in a forum and declare his work, he had worked for years and the foundations paid off. Some Indie authors ignore this.
“Meet the Authors” is about networking and sharing ideas. In some cases, the forum can be used to amass a fantastic network of proof readers, editors, bloggers and cover artists. Use this tool wisely.
Consider this; would you part with your hard earned cash if presented with a novel written by a total unknown, especially if the only person saying that the novel was any good was the author? No, thought you wouldn’t.
I’ve recently launched a new facebook site designed purely to network (http://www.facebook.com/the.new.novel...) where I am hoping to amass a directory of proof readers, artists, editors and authors. No self-promotion, just a useful and free network. The new novelist directory also has a twitter feed (@new_novelist)
My personal twitter is @doc_lamb, please feel free to follow and be exposed to my various rants.
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