More or less anything I have ever done I have found a way to be successful with. Ok, successful doesn’t mean in my lexicon gaining notoriety or fame. It just means successful. I am adaptable and I can learn new things. But this selling books lark seems to be the biggest challenge I have ever met. I’m a poor seller it seems.
I had hoped for The Last Observer. It is fast-paced, exciting, magical and if you know what to look for, its full of real magic. It has quantum physics, parallel universes, an evil magician, a demon by the name of the Lord of the Elements. It has some love interest, a tad of violence. It’s a pretty good little story and many of the reviewers seem to to agree. And yet….it has failed to sell with disappointing take up and in recent weeks, it seems to have finally died. Its not expensive, available in many formats from many different outlets. I have wrote about it probably even pestered people about it. But nothing has really worked. I got reviews from friends but more importantly from reviewers I do not know who wrote honest reviews. One or two readers wrote reviews. I even got the reviewer from hell who trashed it, trashed me, trashed the publisher and trashed all of us wanna be writers which at least shows the reviews are genuine. It has a great foreword by Anthony Peake and had three great reviews to push it on its way.
Frankly, I’m stumped. I think you need some kind of lucky break to sell books.
None of my non-professional books has really sold. Inner Journeys – my first book – has racked up the biggest number. My poetry books sell a handful each if that.
Do I then keep trying or just give up? I don’t like giving up and I always think that success is just around the corner. I have never knowingly gambled but my obsession with books begins to look like it has gamble all over it.
So against all of that, I actually have a new book of poetry about to come out and I am working slowly – very slowly – on another novel.
Am I insane?
It appears so.
Oh, I do feel for you on this one, Gary; I know exactly what you mean – I have found the same. Don’t give up. Please. You have much of value to contribute to the writing community. Another way of looking at it is that you have already succeeded (as have I): you have poured your creativity into words; you have created real books; people have read and commented upon them. Gary, you ARE a success! Many people witter on about having a novel inside them; FEW actually bother to go through the metaphorical pregnancy, labour and birth.
This selling lark is a bloody sad indictment of the society we live in: known writers, even if they write unadulterated bollocks, get sales, readers, money; celebrities, who get their turgid life stories ghost-written, grab the headlines and the dosh pot.
It ain’t fair.
But it is also NO INDICATION that they have talent and we don’t!
xxx
Thanks Alienora… The frustration for me is I do not know how to reach an audience for my books. I have tried all sorts of things just to get the books in front of people… I will keep trying.