Okay, I'm going to take a deep breath before writing this one. A DEEP, DEEP breath. Maybe three of them...or three hundred.
For years leading up to now . . . I talked about writing the novel. Years of work, edits, rewrites, throwing it away, writing again. Now I love the book, love the characters and what they grew into, and adore the voice I groomed throughout all those setbacks and do-overs. I could not be happier with Lowcountry Bribe.
Well, let me tell you something . . . selling a book is damn hard work. Yes, I cursed. It's worth cursing about.
I felt like a mouse, running around in a maze, bumping into walls, never finding the outlet, as I sought the best means to sell Lowcountry Bribe. I've learned there isn't one way. And I've learned that more people sell books, and write books, than read books.
Yup, I said it. I've said it before, too. Many of us prefer to write than read, and as a result, there are a lot of books to be read and too few people to read them.
Back to the deep breaths.
Selling books is time consuming, costly, and a test of patience. Some booksellers are willing to give a debut author a shot and others show you the door. The media is flooded with book suggestions, so they are numb about all the new releases hitting them in the face. The process of trying to prove you have a marketable commodity is a steady, chipping away process on this huge, raw, unshaped piece of raw material. One book here. One reading there. Another guest post, then another. Somewhere, deep inside that block, is your success.
You look at the calendar and realize it's been six weeks, yet you feel like time is slipping away from you as your book ages, and as others are spit out from the master book machine to take
its place. As much as I'd like to fuss at someone else for this situation . . . like many people do to Amazon, traditional publishing, self-publishing, agents, fill-in-the-blank, I can't.
I chose to be in this business, and I put myself where I am now. This is what I want to do. Publishing a book, like creating any new commodity or service, takes time to spread via word-of-mouth.
For years leading up to now . . . I talked about writing the novel. Years of work, edits, rewrites, throwing it away, writing again. Now I love the book, love the characters and what they grew into, and adore the voice I groomed throughout all those setbacks and do-overs. I could not be happier with Lowcountry Bribe.
Well, let me tell you something . . . selling a book is damn hard work. Yes, I cursed. It's worth cursing about.
I felt like a mouse, running around in a maze, bumping into walls, never finding the outlet, as I sought the best means to sell Lowcountry Bribe. I've learned there isn't one way. And I've learned that more people sell books, and write books, than read books.
Yup, I said it. I've said it before, too. Many of us prefer to write than read, and as a result, there are a lot of books to be read and too few people to read them.
Back to the deep breaths.
Selling books is time consuming, costly, and a test of patience. Some booksellers are willing to give a debut author a shot and others show you the door. The media is flooded with book suggestions, so they are numb about all the new releases hitting them in the face. The process of trying to prove you have a marketable commodity is a steady, chipping away process on this huge, raw, unshaped piece of raw material. One book here. One reading there. Another guest post, then another. Somewhere, deep inside that block, is your success.
You look at the calendar and realize it's been six weeks, yet you feel like time is slipping away from you as your book ages, and as others are spit out from the master book machine to take
its place. As much as I'd like to fuss at someone else for this situation . . . like many people do to Amazon, traditional publishing, self-publishing, agents, fill-in-the-blank, I can't.
I chose to be in this business, and I put myself where I am now. This is what I want to do. Publishing a book, like creating any new commodity or service, takes time to spread via word-of-mouth.
C. Hope Clark is the Editor of Funds for Writers which has been named as Writer's Digest 101 Best Web Sites for Writers - 2001-2011. You can link to it by clicking here. She is also the author of the newly released, Lowcountry Bribe -- A Carolina Slade Mystery from Bell Bridge Books. If you would like to learn more about the book, here is the link.
If you would like to buy her book you can do so by clicking on Amazon or Bell Bridge Books .
