NO ONE CARES ABOUT YOUR BOOK

 

                                                  Yes.

                            No one cares about your book.

And that is the trouble with self-publishing. 

         You can have a beautiful cover, ideal formatting,

                              and a fantastic story --

                           and it will generate few,

                                       if any, sales.

eBook sales are up -- in total. 

But the majority of self-pubbed authors will sell fewer than 250 copies

a year --

                         unless you're Madonna or E L James.  

                       And do you really want to write erotica?

So self-publishing is an exercise in futility and obscurity.

Of course, there are the stories of the writers who self-publish

and magic happens and they sell millions of books,

but those are the rare exceptions.

 How rare? 

                       Well, on the order of 1 or 2 per million.

For most people,

       the task of developing what the publishing world calls a ‘platform’

       is simply too time-consuming and too difficult if you don’t have one already.

What is a platform?

 It’s getting enough people to care about you and your book,

through social media, traditional media, word of mouth, bake sales –

anyway you can.

 It’s creating a community of people with a genuine interest

in the idea you’re putting forward.

  It’s the way in which you create a strong brand around you and the book

              and get the world to pay attention.

You can create a platform with social media.

 And  the GOOD NEWS  is that it is virtually free except in terms of your time.

The BAD NEWS is

                that in a world that is completely oversaturated with traditional media,

                information, news, hype, marketing, books, TWITTER, FACEBOOK,

                blogs, magazines, online magazines, advertising everywhere, television,

                and THE DEMANDS OF REAL LIFE, it’s incredibly difficult to stand out.

SO WHAT CAN YOU DO?

               You have to craft an extraordinarily compelling message and story,

               create a clever platform around it

                         that makes sense for what it is and who you are,

              and then have the patience to do what it takes to  develop that platform

              through the social media and traditional media

 you’ve chosen.

             It will take years.

  So enjoy the journey for what it is:

           A walk into the dark towards an uncertain future.

 

           It's called life. 

 

  Enjoy each sweet

           breath of it, for it sure beats the alternative.

  And look for the laughter and beauty along the way.