When I mentioned that, he said, “There are no book marketing roads that aren’t well-worn paths.”
And he couldn’t be more right.
The Beginning of My Book Publishing Journey
My first book was published in 2009. While indie presses weren’t exactly new back then, they were often called “vanity presses,” and they were looked upon with disdain. The thought process was that any publisher that asked you to pay to have your book published wasn’t a real publisher.
There were some “small presses” that didn’t charge for this service, but they didn’t give out advances either. They were also looked down upon because they weren’t “real publishers.” They weren’t going to make any author a success, but they would get their stories into the world (where, hopefully, someone would notice and buy them).
Amazon wasn’t a big player at this time. Sure, a small press could get your book on the site and this might garner you some sales, but Amazon hadn’t yet blown up into what we know it as today.
Marketing Options
Ten plus years ago, the marketing avenues for indie authors were wide open. Twitter hadn’t yet gotten flooded with people, and there were a lot of other social media sites that you could become members of that weren’t as big or crowded as Facebook.
Think My Space, but not My Space. Most of those other places were more like discussion boards and you joined groups that interested you. Those still exist today, of course, but they were different back then; smaller and more intimate.
YouTube was also a good place to advertise your book, and creating book trailers was all the rage. I only had one professionally made because it was all I could afford at the time. I thought the process was weird, they are books, but marketing online is different, and people wanted videos because they were quick and easy to digest.
The Next 5 Years
After getting my first book published in 2009, I put out a book fairly regularly every year after. This was another marketing strategy because they said that to attract and retain readers, you had to produce. I had a lot of stories in me, so I put them on the page and sent them out into the world.
About 2016, I decided to switch publishers. By this point in time, they were referred to as “indie publishers.” Sure, you could still find “vanity publishers” (technically, you still can today as well), but the small publishers were getting a little more love. They did have the ability to make huge careers, and they were giving the Big 5 (or is it 6? Or maybe 3? It’s so hard to keep up anymore) a run for their money.
Amazon was getting more into the publishing game at this point. Around this time, they offered KDP. You could upload your books and get paid out of a pool of funds when members read your story.
2016 was a good year to be a KDP author. I had two books enlisted at that point, Life After the Undead and Death to the Undead. While I wasn’t raking in enough money to become an author full-time, I wasn’t upset about the payments that came in. They almost made it worthwhile to be an indie-published author.
Then, the indie publisher I was working with unexpectedly closed its doors. That left a lot of authors in a lurch, and many of us were scrambling to find a way to ensure our books stayed available to readers.
Amazon offered its self-publishing services at this time, so I decided to give it a try. With the ability to upload both ebooks and print books, Amazon seemed like the answer to my prayers. I decided to go this route for several of my books. Eventually, all of my books became self-published (but that was still a few years down the road).
Promoting Myself
During these next 5 years, book marketing started to become a bit tougher. The “My Space”-like sites started to disappear, mainly because they weren’t getting a lot of traffic. Facebook definitely became the reigning king, and there was a push for authors to create a Business Page to promote their work.
Twitter was becoming more popular, and it was getting easier and easier to get lost in the crowd. YouTube was blowing up with other content, so book trailers fell out of favor. Although, I’m sure you can still find some on there today.
In an attempt to make sure my stories were getting attention, I looked for different ways to promote myself. That’s when being a guest on podcasts became a thing, and I developed in-person workshops and presentations.
I still lived in Wyoming at this time, and I traveled quite extensively. I offered my presentations/workshops for free at first, but when they started becoming more popular, I asked for money—and I got paid to do them.
That changed when we moved to Nebraska. Getting into libraries and high schools was more challenging, but I did go to a few. Then, 2020 hit, and I don’t need to explain how that shut down in-person everything.
Still Holding Out Hope for Indie Publishers
Even though I had a few of my books self-published on Amazon, I still held out hope that working with an indie publisher was going to help me get the big break I was looking for. It felt more legitimate than being “self-published.” I was able to get one of my books into a bookstore (Humanity’s Hope in a locally owned bookstore in Omaha), but I never made any sales.
I did a few book fairs and continued to go to conferences and conventions. Most of that continued right up until 2020. Things slowed down a few years before due to personal issues, and then everything just came to a screeching halt.
Eventually, I got all of my book rights back and self-published them all. That hasn’t worked out the way I had hoped.
Reviews Are (Or Were) Where It’s At
One of the other things that was pushed really hard back in the day (and still to an extent now) was book reviews. Amazon used reviews as a way to promote products, particularly books, so getting as many reviews from people as possible was essential.
This became a big business, and authors could buy reviews to post on their Amazon site. As you can imagine, this became incredibly problematic. Any author who paid for reviews was looked down upon. You were supposed to get them in the “traditional” way. Paying for them was viewed as cheating.
The business of reviews led to rule changes, and depending on the type of review that was left on Amazon, it could actually hurt you. Reviews were taken down that didn’t adhere to Amazon’s new rules, and it all felt willy-nilly and Big Brother-y. It caused such a kerfuffle.
During this time, being on Goodreads was the answer to reviews being taken down at Amazon. It was a platform that allowed readers and authors to connect and talk and recommend, without being policed.
Then, Amazon bought Goodreads. I don’t know that that merger necessarily ruined it, but I don’t think it made it better. Now, it’s just kind of a cesspool of badly behaved individuals—both readers and authors. The only reason I use it anymore is to keep track of the books I’m currently reading. I haven’t checked reviews or ratings for any of my books in years.
Things Were So Much Better Back in the Day…
The only reason I say this is because back in the day when I was a newly published author, all of the marketing avenues that were open were still fresh and new. Other authors were using them, but they weren’t so saturated that it was hard to get noticed.
Now, those avenues have become well-worn paths. They still might be beneficial, but you have to know how to stand out from the crowd and make yourself known.
Even Amazon has become less helpful in recent years. KDP was so amazing and lucrative in the beginning, but with so many authors vying for attention, the amount of money an author gets for reads has shrunk considerably—assuming anyone can find your story in the first place. And it seems like no one recommends KDP anymore because the membership fees aren’t worth it.
I’m sure Kindle Vella is Amazon’s attempt at finding yet another way to get more money, and I’m sure right now, it’s a worthwhile endeavor. But it won’t take long before that market becomes saturated and authors stop making money.
Correction: before most authors stop making money. There will be a select few that roll in the dough while everyone else fights over the scraps.
I’m sure some cutting-edge marketing options will open up, and once a few people find success and make some sales, the rest of the writing world will rush to whatever it is and suck the life out of it.
I’ve heard that authors were talking to influencers on Instagram and trying to get them to promote their work. Same with TikTok. I know there’s also some bookish thing on TikTok, but I haven’t checked it out. I don’t feel the need. It’ll become worn out much too soon.
Bucking the Trends
Back in the day, I spent a lot of time doing what I could to make sure my work was seen. I dedicated a lot of time (and spent a lot of money) promoting myself and my work—all while having a full-time job and raising a family.
I don’t regret what I did. I thought it was going to lead me somewhere. I thought eventually my hard work and effort would pay off.
Unfortunately, those well-worn paths led to dead ends.
Of course, it didn’t help that I faded away. Life became too overbearing, and something had to give. Book marketing and promotion were at the top of that list.
I’ve considered getting back into it. But I can’t justify the amount of time and money it will take. Even in my heyday with all of my promotions, I never made it as a “big time” author. I never received a return on my investment.
That’s not to say I didn’t have a lot of fun—because I did.
I don’t regret what I did. I thought it was going to lead me somewhere. I thought eventually my hard work and effort would pay off.
Unfortunately, those well-worn paths led to dead ends.
Of course, it didn’t help that I faded away. Life became too overbearing, and something had to give. Book marketing and promotion were at the top of that list.
I’ve considered getting back into it. But I can’t justify the amount of time and money it will take. Even in my heyday with all of my promotions, I never made it as a “big time” author. I never received a return on my investment.
That’s not to say I didn’t have a lot of fun—because I did.
I loved meeting people and talking about nerdy things at the conventions, conferences, high schools, and libraries I attended. There are so many fascinating and wonderful people in the world, and I don’t regret spending my time with them.
Maybe I wasn’t a good enough salesperson.
Maybe I didn’t push my books enough.
There are so many what-ifs.
At this point, I can’t even get people to read my stories for free on Wattpad. But I don’t push them too much, either. I’m of the mind that if someone wants to check it out, they will.
I’m in the process of taking all of my stories down from Amazon (except the paperbacks) and uploading them to Wattpad. I’m sure it won’t matter, but it makes me feel better.
Maybe I wasn’t a good enough salesperson.
Maybe I didn’t push my books enough.
There are so many what-ifs.
At this point, I can’t even get people to read my stories for free on Wattpad. But I don’t push them too much, either. I’m of the mind that if someone wants to check it out, they will.
I’m in the process of taking all of my stories down from Amazon (except the paperbacks) and uploading them to Wattpad. I’m sure it won’t matter, but it makes me feel better.
My Experience Is Not Yours
The paths are well-worn, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t travel down them. Like I said, you never know what’s going to get you or your stories noticed.
For me, the journey is too exhausting.
I don’t think I’ll stop writing; I’m getting back to the point where I enjoy the process, but I’m done trying to get the world to notice me.
No one can take away the time and effort I put into creating a story. I will always have that accomplishment under my belt. I don’t need the validation from others to know that what I accomplished took a lot.
If nothing else, I’m proud of me.
My work is out there for people to check out, but if they don’t, at least I can open my Wattpad page, look at my stories, and say, “I wrote that.”
