Marketing is Hell!

I know, I know. "It's a marathon, not a sprint" blah blah blah. I get it.

The thing is, my personal marathon has been going on for well over a decade. I've been writing stories all of my life, and seriously working at this 'writing-to-publish' gig in one way or another since 1999. I've had a bunch of short stories published, won a few prizes, and been awarded a grant. I've studied English Literature and creative writing. I've always been a voracious reader, and carefully studied and honed my craft. I'm still honing: I don't think any writer should ever sit back and say "That's good enough" and rest on their laurels. That's cheating.

Yes, I went the traditional route with endless rounds of agents and publisher queries. I even had an agent at one point, but we were not a good team. The traditional route is a baffling one. A lot of people at Big Six publishers liked my writing and encouraged me, but no one went that extra step to publish it.

Yadda yadda yadda.

Fast-forward to the Indie Revolution and the breath of fresh air it offered as a way to reach readers. I was ready to give it a go, so I did. I finally presented 'Base Spirits' after professional editing and formatting and getting some kick-ass cover art. For the most part, I've enjoyed the process and all the fabulous, encouraging people I've been meeting along the journey. I've had great feedback and reviews from readers from all over the world. Yay!

But?

I have to come clean. Marketing-- for me-- is pure, unadulterated HELL.

I've carefully followed examples and taken suggestions: giveaways, KDP Select, contests, blog hops, guest interviews (both giving and hosting), blogging, Facebooking, Twittering, Triberr, Goodreads, cross-promotions, layered marketing etc. ad infinitum. I am not renewing my KDP Select after this round. I fear that the e-book market has been saturated with all the freebies to the point where a great many readers just expect us to hand over our hard work for nothing. If one has a large backlist, it makes more sense: one book helps introduce your writing to the world. I may revisit it once I have more ready to publish.

It's still the Wild West for Indie Publishing. What used to work as a 'surefire' marketing or promotional tool last month may not work now. I'm not bitter-- just sort of baffled. I admit it. It's a mystery.

I've decided I am more interested in writing books than standing on a virtual street corner wearing a jester's hat and making balloon animals for passersby who really couldn't give a toss. So for now, please forgive me while I happily type away on Book One of the Dead Drunk Mystery series. I'm not giving up: I just need to write books instead of spending hours a day on social media.

What I am trying to do is get more reviews. I think reviews are a good idea for the long haul. Readers are much more likely to be impressed by a decent third party review than any clever Twitter blurb or barely-disguised subtle plea from me to give my work a try. I've been pretty lucky so far: most of the 21 Amazon reviews to date have been stellar. Now I'd like to concentrate on being reviewed further afield on blogs and websites.

In fact, if you are a reviewer or book blogger reading this and you'd like a free review copy of either 'Base Spirits' http://www.amazon.com/Base-Spirits-ebook/dp/B005L38G8E or my short story 'Family Secrets' http://www.amazon.com/Family-Secrets-ebook/dp/B007D8TLP2, I'd be more than happy to send them your way. Please leave me your e-mail in the comment section below.

Now back to our regularly scheduled marathon...

Good Karma! Success and Thanks for a Great Day!

WOW!! My Indie author adventure took a dramatic upward turn on Leap Day!

I am thrilled with the results for the cross-promotion day with the launch of Crushing Hearts and Black Butterflies debut anthology, Dark Light. The anthology shot up the ranks and is selling REALLY well... and I was staggered by the number of downloads I had for Base Spirits.

If you are an Indie author questioning the idea of using KDP Select as a marketing tool for your book, I am sharing my method this time around. Maybe it will help you decide if it's worth a shot in your own unique case. Obviously, you will have to tailor the promo for yourself in ways that make the most sense, but this is what I did:


When I initially joined KDP, I'd made Base Spirits free for 2 days in January-- the first day I had 38 downloads, but on the second I had over 1000. As a result, I had a wee bump in sales, and have since been getting more great 5 star reviews and word of mouth... and sales (though frankly still miserly) were at least slowly-but-steadily happening.

This time around, I thought I'd try a one-day cross-promo of Base Spirits with the anthology launch of Dark Light. CHBB publishing are fairly aggressive about getting the word out, so I figured if some of the antho authors could hitch a ride and do a giveaway at the same time, it might yield more results. I also nicely & discreetly requested RT-ing and sharing from high-profile key people (all of whom did me the favour). If you want to ask people to share your posts, ALWAYS ask directly in a message and DO NOT just post it on their walls unasked. 9 times out of 10, they are only too glad to help. And? Pay back the favour by Tweeting and sharing their news and promos. I notified 'E-reader News Today' and got featured in their ENT wall of free books. I'm also new to Triberr-- a 'tribe' of others will share your blog posts so that you reach a bigger audience. My reach there is over 55 thousand or something. I did a special blog post about the giveaway, and noticed it was going out steadily all day without any extra effort from me. I also posted in maybe 4 or 5 targeted FB groups, and did a fair amount of tweeting to bump things along.

Final tally of free downloads: Amazon.com= a truly stunning 3794, Amazon UK= 82... and I broke into the European market with 10 in Germany and one in France! I was in the top 100 free books at times, and was at #3 and #5 for the categories of ghost and historical fiction. (At one point, I even beat out Dracula and The Scarlet Letter by those *other* 'hacks'!)

SALES first thing in the morning... 63 on .com and 6 in the UK!!!! Now I can finally get a cheque from Amazon! WOOT!!! Those numbers may pale in comparison with other folks, but comparisons will only drive you crazy. This is a huge leap forward for me-- so hooray, Leap Day!

So I'd say that worked!!! It was a lot of fuss to do, but not as much as you'd think-- and it didn't cost me anything but time and some effort. I have 2 more free days left, and plans for an upcoming cross promo with a bunch of other horror folks.

Good luck with your own books. Marketing is a tricky thing-- what works brilliantly for some writers totally tanks for others. Sometimes results accumulate rather than skyrocket. Remember- it's not a race. Also remember- you're not in this alone. "Writers are a tribe". A great Canadian author Margaret Laurence said that-- and it's true. We are all in this together. When you need help, just ask.

Bookish Things are Brewing this Month!

A lot seems to be happening around here for me this month...

Since experimenting with putting Base Spirits on KDP Select, I have noticed an increase in sales numbers. Nothing like enough for me to quit my day job (oh please, oh please...!!), but hey-- any improvement is a good thing, right? There will be another giveaway blast coming up next month in a big promotion with some fellow indie authors, so watch this space for the fun.

Reviews are coming in for Base Spirits, and they are very positive!

Jon P. Bloch from the Kindle Book Review called it 'an impressive debut' and posted this very kind review on my Kindle page today: http://www.amazon.com/review/R2UZZDTJUGDDS/ref=cm_cr_pr_perm?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B005L38G8E&nodeID=&tag=&linkCode=

Kara Malinczak posted this lovely review on her Great Imaginations blog at the end of January:
http://greatimaginations.blogspot.com/2012/01/base-spirits-by-ruth-barrett.html

Best of all are the kinds of reviews left by book-loving readers who just really liked the book. No one asked them to post a review, so it means the world when they give you 5 stars and leave comments like this one from my Amazon.uk page:

"As a fan of Barbara Erskine I was intrigued by the plot of this book. Once started I could not put it down. The historical tragedy, coupled with the modern day tragedy of an abusive, controlling husband was inspired. Reading was tense from start to finish. Can't wait to read more by this author who has en- captured all the elements of great storytelling." (Thank you Josie, wherever you are!)

Later this month, I will be sitting in with a local book club as they discuss Base Spirits as their February selection. That should be fun! And this week I am doing two different features and promotions on websites... I'll post links once they are up.

I also have two NEW short stories being published this month!

Dark Light Anthology

'The Transformation' will appear on February 29th in the debut anthology Dark Light from an exciting new publishing company 'Crushing Hearts and Black Butterflies'. Here's a link to their book trailer: http://www.crushingheartsandblackbutterfly.com/dark-light-excerpt.html

I am also e-publishing a darkly disturbing, stand-alone tale 'Family Secrets' on Kindle this month. Watch this space for all the details, links and dates!

But for now, I'd better get some sleep and hit the ground running in the morning...

Encouraging Words!

A Bit of Gothic York to Whet Your Appetite...

I have been getting excellent feedback from readers so far on Base Spirits. I had a lovely e-mail just yesterday- what writer wouldn't want to get this in their in-box?

"Finally got to sit down and read your book... and I read it all in one day!!!! I am generally known as a boring old lady who reads only non-fiction... (don't think I have read fiction since high school). Three weeks ago I got up on Sunday morning and began to read... and I read ... and I read ... and I read until I was done the book. Just couldn't put it down. I really do not like the word "awesome" but that is the only word I can think of right now to describe your writing. The book had so many little twists and turns I couldn't wait to see what was "right around the corner."

Wow.

This gives me confidence. One gains an audience one reader at a time, and that kind of enthusiasm is (I hope!) contagious. Almost across the board, I've been told it's a page-turner and I'm keeping folks up nights. Hey- they like me!

The KDP Select experiment has worked in many ways so far. I decided to do the free giveaway promotion in spurts rather than the whole 5 days at one. I had around 40 downloads the first day of my 2-day giveaway, and well over a thousand the second day! Considering I was so under the radar I was invisible, this is good news. I even reached the 'Top Ten' in my 2 categories of 'ghost story' and 'historical'. It was pretty cool to be on the same page as Edgar Allan Poe.

Since then, there has been a spike in sales- not huge, but definitely an encouraging improvement over the relative inactivity at the end of 2011. I am going to band together with some other writers and do a kind of cross-promotion KDP giveaway in March, so we'll see how that goes. It's the Wild West after all, right? I'll let you know details closer to the time. We're still just scheming right now...

If you're curious to see what keeps people glued to the pages of Base Spirits, have a look here:
http://www.amazon.com/Base-Spirits-ebook/dp/B005L38G8E
I'd love it if you would at least 'like' the book and agree with some of the tags. Every little bit helps, and that doesn't cost you a dime. And if you are an Amazon Prime member, you can borrow my creepy historical ghost thriller for free. Win/win!

If you are one of the many who grabbed a free copy, I do hope you like it. If you do, please consider revisiting the Kindle page and leave a rating/review. As I say, this is a case of winning a reader at a time. The more people who become aware, the better. Thank you.

Meantime, I am fiddling with some shorter works so that I can put up some new things on Kindle before too long... quick and creepy fare is on the way!

My KDP Select Experiment with Base Spirits

So, after sitting on the fence to see how it was working for other writers first, I decided to take the plunge and try the KDP Select program for 90 days.

Readers! Come grab a free e-book!

For those of you who are unfamiliar, the details are here: http://kdp.amazon.com/self-publishing/KDPSelect

Despite the benefits offered, I'm not altogether happy about the exclusivity demanded by Amazon: I resist any attempt by an already powerful company to dominate a market and dictate the rules. It would be easier to take if I had a number of books, but I only have one available so far. (I am working on a new novel and getting a few shorter works ready, but that's another story-- stay tuned!) Those who have a number of titles can use KDP Select to push one that is losing its momentum and still have their other work available everywhere. It still sorta sucks, though. If it was a traditionally published book, would it not be available in any bookstore?

But the pros outweigh the cons in the end. If I find I don't like it, I can always opt out in 90 days. Frankly my sales on Smashwords & affiliates were very low, so I doubt anyone will be too miffed to find my book is temporarily unavailable. The lending library's pooled fund will pay me almost as much for a borrowed book as an actual sale, and the free promo days will hopefully garner attention and new audience. I really just need to get the word out and get people to read and then talk about my novel. It's simple, really.

I know Base Spirits is a good book. The word of mouth feedback and reviews have all been excellent. I just had another nice e-mail stating 'My husband gave me a signed copy for Christmas and I had to tear myself away and force myself to turn out the light and go to sleep-- and I finished it the next day before dinner'. The general consensus is that it's a page-turner and a chill-ride, so if you like ghost stories then chances are you will enjoy my novel.

And you can grab it for FREE on Kindle on Jan. 13 and 14th! http://www.amazon.com/Base-Spirits-ebook/dp/B005L38G8E Please 'like' the book on its sales page and tick off some tags while you're there. Apparently that helps! And please pass on the word to your ghost-loving reader buddies. Tweet, share on Facebook and Goodreads or any forums or readers' groups you belong to. I'd love you for it. And if you love the book, please come on back and leave a review. That is hugely appreciated!

If you miss the freebie, stay tuned for more to come... and in the meantime look into borrowing it through the Kindle Lending Library- http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/?docId=1000739811 It's free for Prime members, and it would make little ol' me-- and the thousands of other authors who have great books available-- really happy! Hell, even just take the plunge and buy it. You can't even get a really good specialty coffee for $2.99. And think of all the good karma you'll get along with your chills and thrills!