I give up…
[Note 1 from Steve: Missing something? For those of you who enjoyed reading my politically-oriented articles about current events in the US and around the world, you’ll now find them at http://pubprogressive.com. Please drop by if you’re interested.]
[Note 2 from Steve: My blog readers can consider this article a sequel to “I’m a failure…,” my 6/9/2021 article that’s about as equally positive and negative as this one. Read on if you want to learn more truth about this publishing business!]
I give up. No, not on writing—I’m addicted to storytelling and blogging (sometimes they’re the same thing). I gave up on traditional publishing (yeah, I tried it), and now I’m giving up on all those marketing gurus who promise everything and deliver nothing with their services.
Nearly all “book marketing experts” focus on Amazon now: Amazon this; Amazon that. We can help you get more Amazon reviews. We can help you with Amazon ads, key words, whatever. All this amounts to is a complete surrender to Jeff Bezos and his mega-monopoly that actually hurt authors more than help. And I don’t want Bezos’s bots screwing around with my books anymore! (I only leave my “evergreen” ones on Amazon because it would take a lot of time to pull them all down. I haven’t sold a book on Amazon in a long time! I’m now boycotting them.)
Those marketing gurus offer all kinds of “free” advice too (most of it involves using Amazon!). Believe me, I’ve tried most of it. It’s mostly worthless, especially if it’s based on using Amazon. About all you can do anymore that might do some good is a book-launch campaign to let readers know you have published a new book. (At least that might give you some useful graphics you can use in your own DIY promos.) Anything else is worthless. Period. Full stop.
Worse, the marketing gurus’ efforts are focused on one book (even though they offer the contradictory advice to write the next one, which I’ve done many times over). I tried to get BooksGoSocial to promote a full series (without using Amazon!), and they ignored me. Same for AME (a marketing service wholly dependent on Amazon it seems—do they work for Jeff Bezos?). Maybe their services produce results for some authors. Their advertising certainly implies that. But neither one offered solutions for my series. (BooksGoSocial has focused on NFTs lately. How stupid is that!?)
I can write a good story; I just can’t sell them. (That’s different from finding readers. Apparently some of those read pirated ebooks, but, of course, I’ll never know that number.) Marketing gurus don’t seem able to help authors like me who are in the same fix. They can’t sell books either. And their business models suck.
Even sleazy lawyers do pro bono work; for some of them, that’s all they do. Smack someone with a lawsuit, and the lawyer only collects if he wins the case. That’s because lawyers know what they’re doing. They work off percentages: Win enough cases, and they’ll get rich. Not so much who they represent, but they get something too.
Greedy marketing gurus want their money up front. There’s not one that does pro bono work. (If I were to go easy on them, I’d say they were just working under the delusion that they’re like Madison Avenue ad execs. Ha!) The reason is simple: Unlike the lawyers who know their business model works, book marketing “experts” know their business model doesn’t. So they just leech off authors by asking for their money up front even before doing a damn thing, and that’s all they end up doing for authors—take their money.
What’s an author to do? What I’m doing: Enjoy the storytelling and give up on all the rest. And you shouldn’t think a traditional publishing contract will help you. First, you can do much better with royalty percentages if you’re DIY. And traditional publishers won’t do a damn thing to help you in marketing either, unless you’re one of the privileged glue-factory-ready mares and stallions in their stables that consistently sell their schlock, tired and formulaic stories, to unsuspecting readers. And you should give the finger to marketing gurus except for those who are competent enough to run a good book launch. You’ll be a lot happier if you follow my lead.
By the way, give up on your dream of making a living with your storytelling. It’s unlikely you can do that now. Look elsewhere to make a living if you insist on doing it by writing (journalism or advertising work…or greeting cards?), or keep your boring day-job. You’ll be a lot happier doing that too, and so will your family.
I know some writers hate me for telling the truth about publishing. Tough. They have kicked me out of discussion groups so they can fester with their damn dreams, but they can’t stop me from blogging about my experiences. Some authors think like I do but are afraid to tell others, as if it’s some kind of stigma to tell the truth now. I’ve dedicated over two decades to putting my stories out there. I know the truth about today’s wacky publishing scene, and I’m not afraid to state it.
I always wanted to be a writer. Now that I am one, I’m happy enough. I’ve told many stories. I think most of them are good ones. The rest doesn’t matter except for warning you not to expect too much. You’re not likely to get it. It’s like playing the lottery. You might win, but you’d better just do it for the enjoyment, because you probably won’t win.
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Comments are welcome.
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Around the world and to the stars! In libris libertas!
