I wanted to keep steady with this blog but of course I have to manage other things. Stress is one. Depression is two. And then it’s everything else that life has going for it. In 2015 when I knew I was going to publish Night First, I was very torn between publishing it and my first screenplay/novel Goval. Up until January 2016 I was still debating which one should be my first published book. I went with Night First because I thought it was more marketable. We were still riding that Twilight high. My book had vampire themes. Damien and his brothers have fangs, but they aren’t your traditional vampires. No, they don’t sparkle either. I wonder if things would have been different if I had published Goval instead. Night First sold more than a few copies but well under 100 copies. I think since that was the time self-publishing was really taking off, I had a good chance of finding my readers. Sadly, I wasn’t prepared. I had no idea about marketing and promoting my book. I just let it out there. I have done so much of my life ass backwards, it’s no wonder I am not where I want to be now. I wish I could do 2015 over. I wish I had spent more time understanding how to promote a book, using social media, perfecting writing.
I’ve been absent. I am sorry.
Response
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You’re not alone! I’m still a hot mess even after knowing what it takes to sell copies. A lot of it unfortunately is about luck, hitting the market just right, then reaching your true fan readers either way. I typically want to quit altogether at least once per year, it’s kind of a creative person thing, I think lol. But don’t give up. Keep writing, keep improving your craft. I always try to keep in mind that one day, if one of my books DOES go BIG for some reason, I’ll have a fantastic backlist for my readers to fall back on. It’s not a waste of your time, you’re still creating something meaningful and lasting, whether it feels like you are or not. The fact you’ve finished a novel, and published is already a huge milestone (though authors are usually never satisfied lol). Take stock of where you’ve come from and where you want to go, and work towards that one day at a time. I truly believe we’ll get there eventually. Even if you only have fifty loyal readers in the world, those fifty readers can help keep you writing and publishing. You’re not a failure, you’re not a bad writer, you’re growing and improving every year with everything you write.
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