So ultimately, it boils down to what Mr. Goodlander said.
Start writing. :)
I'm still new to indie / self-publishing, but if there's a question you'd like to ask me, please feel free to do so.
Contact me here.
An author friend shared this in our forum, and everything about this post just hit the nail on the head. It's perfect, really. I posted this earlier on Facebook but I wanted to share it here, too, since I couldn't have said it any better. Post by Marian Tee. I am beyond honored that some of you would think my opinion matters, but really, it doesn't. Or maybe it does - but only if you're asking my opinion as an avid reader. If that's the case, my opinion wouldn't be any different from any other avid reader you know. And as an avid reader, my opinion wouldn't really help you "develop" your craft. All I'd be able to say is, "I love your premise" or maybe "Nah, not my cup of tea". However, I'd rather not say the latter even if it's what I feel since I know how sensitive we can be about our work. I don't want to crush anyone's dreams. I don't have the right to do that. But I may end up doing it accidentally if you put me on the spot.
So ultimately, it boils down to what Mr. Goodlander said. Start writing. :)
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...so I'm not really complaining. :) Yesterday around 2AM my time - which is 2PM EST Sunday - Greek #4 was released. I stayed up long enough to get my newsletter together and send out the notification that the book's live. Woke up the next day around noon and I'm stunned that 500 people bought my book in just 10 hours! With Books 2 and 3, my average ranking was around Top 800-900 but with this book my first ranking was #298! That is the best initial ranking I've ever gotten and without ads at that so to say that I'm blown away is definitely an understatement. But that's not all! I checked the Movers and Shakers list, which Amazon defines as ---- Movers & Shakers identifies the biggest gainers in sales rank compared to twenty-four hours ago. For example, if a music item has a current sales rank of 10, but was ranked 30 twenty-four hours ago, its Movers & Shakers increase would be 200%. For non-U.S. customers, Kindle content availability and pricing will vary. In the past, the only way I could get to this list was through a boxed set. But thanks to Greek #4, I was able to debut in this list at #3 and NOW it's---- I know. I know. I KNOW! I can't believe it either. Like I said, I've never been on this list before due to a book of my own - not even when I had books released by my publisher and which got tons of advertising! So, yeah, pretty much stunned speechless and grinning like crazy right now. :D And to borrow a line from sales reps --- But wait. There's more! Went over to check B&N. My book there went live about half a day after it was released on Amazon. Usually, my Greek billionaire books there would debut in the 4k-5k ranks. But this time I was in the Top 400, and that's my initial ranking. And just now, I'm at---- I don't think even my solo boxed sets did this well on B&N so again - yes definitely I'm blown away by this. And for my last screenshot - the highest that Greek #4 ranked on Amazon US is--- And that's it. I promise it's the end of my screencaps for this post. I'm addicted to screencapping mainly because there's no way to know if I can ever achieve a certain feat more than once. So I really treasure moments like these. Also, every time I get a book out, I always feel like I'm the underdog since I always think of myself as a non-native-English-speaking nobody from a Third World country. WTH am I doing, writing for readers outside the Philippines?
Honestly, all I know right now is that I OWE my readers so much. I will always be eternally grateful that they took a chance on me. :) Now, on to the not-so-nice part. Greek 4 is the greatest risk I took with the series, but I had to write it as I picture it in my mind. This has disappointed readers, and while I'm doing my best to woo them back and make sure they give the last book a try I also know I can't please everyone. This book is about Damen's redemption. He has to be redeemed after all the stuff he did in Books 1-3. Now, another major complaint about this fourth book is the length, which really surprised me since Book 4 is almost exactly as long - or in this case as short - as Book 2. However, I think because of the way I wrote this book it was extremely easy to read and thus readers have finished it quite quickly. No one really complained that much about Book 2's length so I'm thinking length isn't really the issue here. I guess it has to do with my writing, which is too...simple? But then...that's also why most readers were able to connect with the story. Why so many readers wrote to me telling me that they cried so many times while reading Book 4. Because I wrote straight from the heart. I really honestly did. And if that means it made my book simple, well...I guess it is. :) I hate to disappoint readers. I told my street team about this earlier - as an author, I'm like a possessive mom who doesn't like losing her kids (aka readers) but I also know it's not my right to force my "kids" to think of my book the way I think of it. So, I'm really sad that I disappointed some readers and though I hope and pray they'll come back and give Book 5 a chance, it is what it is. I just hope I can win them back with another book. :) But for now, it's been a really glorious ride so far and I owe it all to my readers. Thank you for sticking with the series - just one more book to go, guys! :) Well, basically, that means I'm just blogging since I'm not yet in the mood to continue working on Greek 4. =D Lately, everything's been really surreal for me. The most recent boxed set I'm lucky to be a part of - Riding Desire - made it to Amazon AND BN's Top 30 overall rankings in less than 24 hours! Like I said...surreal. And then there are the two solo boxed sets I have out, which are still surprisingly in the Top 100 on both Amazon US and UK. Eternally Seduced has even made it to the Top 50! And according to my publisher, Eternally Seduced's selling more or less one thousand copies a day on just Amazon US! All these led to me being #16 on overall Amazon author rankings at this particular hour. Remember that Amazon updates their author rankings hourly. But still - sixteen? Really? People have been congratulating me about it, and I don't even feel like I deserve their well wishes since I think all these things are just the bestest fluke ever. :D I think I'm weird that way. I am SUPER optimistic when things are down, but I am SUPER pessimistic when things are doing so well? Anyway, I was checking my mail and I got the usual notification for those God wants you to know messages which I am sorta addicted to...Clicked it and lo and behold...this. If you don't want to click it, this is what it said --- On this day, God wants you to know that... I really LOLd with this one. It mirrored exactly what I feel about work. I feel like I should be working harder, writing more, and whatever I do, it just doesn't seem enough. Maybe when I've been self-publishing for a year, maybe then I'd be more satisfied with my work. But for now - I need to get back to writing again. :D
I've been thinking really hard about what to post on my Facebook and blog about on my website lately. I just want to be sure that the stuff I'm sharing is the kind of stuff that readers would really be interested in. So I thought of posting the question to my readers themselves and - surprise, surprise - they just want to know more about my future books (like release dates) and characters they're familiar with or they'd like to read more about.
This means that most of the stuff I'm writing about probably doesn't interest them. Like for instance I was totally excited - like, hyperventilating-excited, when I saw my solo boxed sets make it to the Top 100 on Amazon. That's a huge thing for me as a writer. Other writers get that. But readers? They're happy for me, but what they really want to know is when the next book's gonna be out. :D So...anyway, long story short, I've decided to post all about my personal and writing stuff here. If you're a writer, then THIS is the place you'd like to visit. If you're a READER then you should head over to my blog. At least this way I can guarantee that you'll be able to immediately gain access to the kind of info you're most likely interested in. :) |
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