All too often, I see amazing indie authors floundering in the sea of kindle books. They have something worth reading, but no one knows about it for one simple reason – the author hasn’t pushed.
Then, I turn around and see countless pieces of crap, books I can’t make it halfway through before wishing I could throw them against the wall (but don’t want to ruin my tablet to get that gratification). WHY? Why do people pay for such crap and convince the authors to pump out more? Normally, sex. Often, it’s a simple case of marketing.
You see, the readers can’t FIND your book if they don’t know to look for it. They can’t fall in love with it, tell their friends, complain about how they wish it HAD ended, and all of that. The entire reading experience hinges on one thing: they have to be able to read the book.
With over 4 million books on kindle at this time (and growing fast), becoming an indie author is easy. Everyone out there talks about how to do it, how much crap is filling the lists, and how to spend hard earned money to make it. No one talks about the most important thing. Love your OWN book.
And if you don’t?
Then fix that shit! Sorry, but if you don’t even love your own book, then why the hell do you have it out there? If you want to get rich, play the lottery. The odds are probably better than becoming a kindle millionaire. If you want to be an AUTHOR, then do your work, write a damned good book that YOU want to read over and over, and then be proud of that book enough to tell the entire world you wrote it. Let your mother read that sex scene (pretty sure she knows sex happens, since um… you). Let your brother see how you portrayed his teen years (because really, that’s how we create villlains). Let your best friend know about this secret and embarrassing addiciton you have been hiding. Share the work, listen to feedback, and beg your readers to be harsh – because without real criticism, our work ends up as more crap to add to that pile.
Yes, right now I don’t want to even THINK about gladiators. I just finished up book 2 of the Wolf of Oberhame series, and it’s out of my hands. I don’t need to talk to them, listen to them, or be involved in their political crap again until the book comes out…. then I’ll read it just as voraciously as my fans. I write these books because I want to read them. I write them because I want to see characters like this, worlds like this, and can’t find anyone else doing it. I write it because I love these stories enough to read them until the cover falls off (or my screen cracks, as the case may be).
And my fans seem to agree, because they keep asking for more.