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Yep, you get me twice today. Why? I read this for one.  http://terribleminds.com/ramble/2013/01/22/25-hard-truths-about-writing-and-publishing/ by the amazing Chuck Wendig, and it resonated. And I quote from Mr.Wendig's blog: 





5. About A Billion Books Are Released Every Week
 
As I write this  sentence, 50,000 more books will be released into the world like a herd of  stampeding cats. By now, I think the books are actually writing other books in
some self-replicating biblio-orgy of books begetting books begetting books. All
in a big-ass mash-up of ideas and genres and marketing categories (MIDDLE GRADE
SELF-HELP SCI-FI COOKBOOKS will be all the rage in 2014). Between the publishing industry and self-publishing, I think more books are born into the world than
actual people (and just wait till one day the books become sentient — man,
forget SkyNet, I wanna know what kind of Terminators Amazon is probably already
building). Your book is sapling in a very big, very dense forest.


Which, wonderfully though it is written, is enough to send anyone to drink. Anyone who writes that is. At which point you begin to think, why the heck should I even bother? Well the answer to that is quite simple for me. I would probably write if I had to do it on the used sheets of a loo roll. It is what I do. Not entirely 'who' I am, but a big part of it.

So this brings me to the 'angry' part. When I began the process of having my book published - No, it isn't self-published, and I don't have a problem with people who do - just sayin before anyone gets up in arms - I began with one simple idea. I wanted people to enjoy what I wrote. Innocent, naive little me thought it would do this all by itself. Well, I wasn't quite that innocent, but close. But as Mr. Wendig so cleverly says, mine is just a sapling in a very big, very dense forest. So I started looking at promotion and marketing, since, every one else and their neighbour seemed to be doing it. I listened to what other people had to say. I clicked on how-to tweets. I even *gasp* put out a link or two.

Then I saw what everybody else and their neighbours were doing. Honestly, I *do* understand that need to be read, or else why do we even try? I do understand that that little bit of income makes all the difference between how many hours we can 'afford' to write. But writing a novel doesn't give you some God given right to be read. It doesn't give you the right to constantly spam others or stand in a room and shout 'I am an author'. (While that may explain everything, that isn't the point).

How the heck did we get to this point? This point of constant spamming? There is a link on this website for my novel. You don't have to go there, you don't even have to read my blog posts. I do care whether people do or not. It is lovely when they comment, but you don't have to. It just... arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhh if I see one more post about 'how to sell your book' I shall probably throw mine at someone.

Yes, you need to advertise, but, boy, there must be a better way than this?

End Rant

Photo of Toots because it seemed appropriate.


Greta
1/31/2013 04:46:04 am

Gets to you, doesn't it? I've almost given up trying to sell. And I believe very strongly that there's much more money in selling services to the wannabes than in marketing books. It's very like the gold rush. Sure, a couple of people made money out of finding a big nugget - but heaps more made a pile by selling stuff to miners.

What's the answer? Who knows? I just keep writing books. Some people buy them. That's what I do.

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Susan
1/31/2013 04:50:28 am

Exactly! Now you do it 'nicely' you don't thrust it down people's throats, but it wasn't so much the book buying as, you are right, those 'selling services' which were getting to me. As I said, of course we have to advertise! Like you, I will just keep-on-writing. Thanks Greta.

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Eileen
1/31/2013 05:07:13 am

Thanks for the blog. Wish I'd written it myself instead if just moaned about it. I heartily agree with what you say. How tempting it is to just unfollow some of these pseudo writers. How sad it is that so high a percentage of these spammers detract from the truly talented. Best Luck
HoneyTicketyBoo

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Susan
1/31/2013 05:45:27 am

Thanks Eileen, and nice to meet you! It was just one of those days where it 'got' to me big time. :)

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1/31/2013 09:06:06 pm

It's tough out there. It's really tough. I promote only as much as I have to, or have time for, and hope my books build enough of a following to keep my publishers happy. It's like my book is a message in a bottle on the sea and I'm hoping some boater somewhere finds it. But you know what? It's a thousand times better than sending out queries and being rejected again and again, and leaving it up to agents to decide whether or not my books ever see print. Being rejected by agents on the basis of queries got me so depressed I nearly gave up. I'm glad I didn't. It's tough out there... but at least I'm in the water. :D

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Susan
1/31/2013 11:17:24 pm

You are definitely in the water! And, really I can't think of one of my good friends who is 'annoying' in their advertising. Greta beautifully posts a snippet, others, like you just post now and then, as I do. I rarely put a link to the book link, just to my blog. You've GOT to let people know. No, I think I got annoyed because it seemed like everyone who wanted to follow me was a 'marketing consultant' and while, yes, I prob could do with some help in that department, it was like - go away!
I am so glad you didn't give up either, and neither will I, but frustrations do get to me after all. Unlike most of my characters, I am human :)

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2/1/2013 12:03:03 am

The barrage of advertising gets to me, too, sometimes. :( It's a deluge and I admit I skim most of my Twitter feed. On my iPad I use software that lets me keep a list of people I enjoy following and when I use the list, I don't see all the spamming. The point Greta made about a gold rush mentality is point on. Services are rampant. I know a writer who paid $4000 to have her self-published book professionally edited. Hope she sees that money coming back, but I doubt it. :( I've looked into book marketing services that help get the word out, but they are more effective with books that have wide appeal, whereas I write genre...and niche genre at that. But writers are using these services like crazy. It's an "if I dump enough money into it, that will move the mountain" mentality. It's kind of sad, in a way.

Susan
2/1/2013 12:32:07 am

I know. I just can't get my head around it some days. To me, if mainstream publishers had had a better grasp on 'everything', meaning a better 'model', I doubt this would have happened in the way it has, even with the Internet. Good, well written novels should make it into readers hands, but as publishers are the first to say, no one truly knows what constitutes a best seller. But now many of those gate guardians are gone and it is a free for all. The industry needed to change, no doubt, and I am sure things will settle down somewhat. I am glad there is this freedom for authors. Really, that is incredible. I have no answers to anything *G*, but like the rest of the world, I have to voice my opinions now and then.

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2/2/2013 08:34:06 am

Argh! So true! I just joined twitter and didn't know why strange people were following me. Then I got the 'buy my book' messages. Suddenly it all made sense. Wish I new it was fine to not autofollow before I joined ::sigh::

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Susan
2/2/2013 08:49:50 am

Rhonda! How lovely to see you here. Yes, I have got a lot more cautious about twitter followers lately. Especially since I got hacked as well. People blame Kindle for all this spamming, but I think a lot of it began when agents suddenly demanded a 'platform' and people needed 'followers'. And, yes, you do, no doubt about it, but there are too many people trying to do it right now and you have to really stand out from the crowd. Not many can, I'm afraid. *Points to self*.

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