So Changing the Subject will be free to download for 5 days from Sunday 27th to 31st of October; the time when it set. My sales have dribbled to an occasional drip and the How-to Guides have told me that a freebie promotion can give them a boost. Sales is what I’m after, what’s the point otherwise? And the reviews so far; 1 on Amazon UK and 2 on Amazon US, have been good; effusive even. Don’t people deserve a good read?
I’ve been a published author for nearly a month. I thought there would be a sense of elation or deflation or something, but no, there wasn’t really any sense at all really. Maybe it’s because publishing has involved clicking lots of buttons and posting lots of hard copies all over the place, which is not actually very exciting. The feeling is like not being a published author but with more debt.
And marketing doesn’t stop. I still have to persuade reviewers, and better still people who actually bought the book, to write a review. Not only does it encourage other people to buy the book, It also does something to Amazon algorithms to push you up the list of viewed books. I am currently ranking at at 382,969, 4,538, 2,832 and 2,291 for reasons that will become clear one day I’m sure, and given I don’t know how many books are in the pile all I can surmise is that my place is very low.
It is quite frustrating hearing people say that So and So said your book was really good. I have to hold down the urge to snap, ‘Well why don’t you buy it then.’ Instead, I mutter what I’d say if they we were complimenting my hair; ‘Oh thank you, I had a great editor’ or some such.
My commitment to this self-publishing path has been consolidated by a bit of a blow. If you have read previous posts on this site you will know that the only other thing I have thought of recently, apart from stories, is the double-barreled wastebasket, so that you can sort your bathroom waste without getting your hands all icky. It’s not a bad idea and I was rather proud.
Last week a double-barreled wastebasket appeared in my Facebook feed. Apparently, double barreled wastebaskets have been around for a long time, several types are available, all for a lot more money than a paperback by the way.
But I am undeterred, not only has it strengthened my resolve to crack on with the next story but I can still get something out of the bin business. As I was doing my marketing, I learned that a lot of book bloggers sign up for a thing called the Amazon Associates scheme. If you provide a link to a product on your site and someone clicks on it and buys it, you get a percentage. How much appears to depend on some sort of algorithm, which I will understand if anyone clicks. I have put links on all the books on my site, see the page Books Kate Loves, and of course, this lovely product;
Why not? And why should I tell you that my book is free to read on Kindle? I won’t get any money. Of course, maybe you will read it for nothing and then tell your friends and, unless they know me and can just tell me about it, they might buy it for actual cash. That’s a lot of maybes and mights. And I don’t get anything like the full asking price, printing costs money and Amazon take their cut. It might actually work out more financially beneficial for me for you to buy the bin?
The trouble with that logic is that I don’t get to find out if my book is well liked by a bigger number of people. It also doesn’t show faith in my product, and like it or lump it; I was late to the double-barreled wastebasket game. I am definitely a writer now. And if I don’t put my best foot forward and demonstrate my belief that Changing the Subject is a good read, why would anyone even read it for free. Changing the Subject is actually rather good and I want people to read it. So, I have promoted my freebie days, I’m only allowed five, on 25 freebie book sites and Facebook.
Now, I have to get on with quite a busy bit of my life and keep an eye on, hopefully, lots of people downloading, reading and recommending Changing the Subject to rich friends. If it works and my sales do boost; I might get a new bin.
