As of the date of this blog entry, the five 'easy-to-read' teen books I have on Amazon are receiving no attention and generating no revenue.
I'm confident this isn't an issue of quality, but rather one of marketing. This aspect of a writer's life is a new journey for me, and I'm taking small steps in the right direction.
I've begun posting regularly on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube Shorts. It's an entirely new skillset to master and can consume a lot of time. It also requires courage! It feels weird knowing I'm on the screens of potentially thousands of strangers, but there's plenty of other awesome authors doing the same thing, benefiting from their online communities. I'll keep up my adventures in organic marketing and continue working on my repertoire of material. I'm doing things in my own time and way - it's definitely not boring.
Aside from my experiments with social media, I have just finished book 6 rewriting and formatting. I am so proud to have achieved this goal of 6 easy-to-read books in a year. I really can't believe I've done it, worked a four-day week (with so much take home work) and paid for the covers and illustrations by selling my crystal, wood and light features at the local markets. Making those beautiful pieces has taken up lots of time but having a hand hobby to pay for my head hobby has been insanely awesome and rewarding. I've put a little video of one of my market set ups below.
And back to the no sales, no sweat bit. Yeah, I do stress about being a failure but I'm manifesting success and there's little room for self-doubt if I want to garner those good vibrations and have them working for me. I honestly believe this is a long game. I know my work fills a much-needed niche and I just have to find that market and settle into it. It'll happen.
It's ironic how easy it has been to make money with my crystal lights, opposed to my books. But I can do a thousand dollars or more at my market stall and not feel anywhere the same kind of success I feel if I sell a few books. I must be crazy, but this passion runs deep.
My focus for this week: finish the year of school (yay!); edit 'Big Money' until it's perfect (with the help of my readers) and do some more social mediaing (new verb). I'll also do a market next Saturday and put away the profits to go toward my next easy-to-read endeavor.
Catch you next week!
Jay Bird
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