Gone Fishing...

Well, I haven't really gone fishing, but would like to. Whenever I come off a freebie run I feel as if I need a vacation. The preparation time before, and work during the promotion, is a drainer of physical and mental energy. To get the most out of the free weekend I really should still be promoting the hell out of Fractured Facade, but I'm exhausted.

This last run was another success with close to 4,000 copies downloaded. The highest ranking I received was #2 on Family Saga and # 10 in Suspense...not too shabby. The biggest surprise was the hundreds downloaded in the UK. I do believe the one five-star review I received from the last promotion really helped. Germany was on the chart as well with 3 copies. I wonder if it was the same 3 readers who downloaded The Valentine's Day Curse during the last promo. Still, no paid sales from either country.

I decided to lower the price to $3.99 to see if I would get more action than the last time when I had it at $4.99. So far, no. In fact, last time I had more copies sold by the second day than I do now! And thus far, no borrows. My 90-day period is up July 2nd and unless my numbers dramatically improve over the next two weeks I will not be re-enrolling Fractured Facade in the exclusive program.

I think people are getting too used to free books. When an Amazon reader sees they can borrow the book, they know  the book is enrolled in Select and that the author has five free promotion days. I fear too many people are just waiting for those free days to happen rather than spend the money buying the book. An author cannot make a living that way. Hey, I download free books, but also buy books as well.

The only way for an author to make money is to write books, books and more books. The most successful authors are those that have many released, especially a series of books. When a reader likes one that they downloaded for free they will search out the rest of the series, and maybe even pay for them. I do not have a series of books. I am not a prolific writer. I do not write in a popular genre...and still don't know what the thrill is of zombies and vampires!

I read somewhere that an author needs to release 4-5 books a year to be successful. Ha! That's not me. Oh, if you want crap, I could do that with one hand on the keyboard, but that's not what I'm after. I just want to tell stories that mean something to me. Those tales take time. And you can't rush them. But there is something I can do to speed the process along. Get off the internet! Well, not totally get off, but definitely decrease my time, especially on Facebook, Twitter, blogs, etc. All those FB writing groups and blogs about writing and publishing are valuable, however, they can take up too much time and actually hinder the writing process, so it's time for me to step away a bit. Throw a puppy, running a business, insomnia, & exhaustion into the mix, it's no wonder my creative spirit is sapped.

Although I have two books battling each other to "go first," my brain cannot make the simple decision of which one will. Should I deviate from the first two and go with the more popular haunting/supernatural genre, or, spill another New York story? I do believe I need to take some time and clear my head, and rejuvenate my spirit before proceeding.

So yeah, I'm going fishing...