Drifting down the Amazon
I make no apologies for writing about the progress of my novel, Beneath Gray Skies. Judging by the fact that I’ve had comments on the site and off about my previous blog posts on the subject, it seems to be something that is of interest to quite a few people. Maybe there are a lot of you out there wanting to take the plunge into self-publishing. If so, I am happy to share my experiences with you and provide assistance if required.
Well, I have to say that I (in company with the hundreds of thousands of other authors out there) am thrilled to see my work on Amazon and Barnes and Noble at last. I am pretty sure that it’s not the same as seeing piles of your books in a bookstore, and watching people rushing to the register with copies, though. Just having one physical book in your hand, with your very own words of fiction neatly printed in it s a real rush, I have to admit.
On the other hand, although you don’t have the joy of seeing your book on the store shelves, you don’t suffer the disappointment of witnessing someone actually pick up your book (hooray!), flip to the end (huh?), read the last page (spoilsport!), put it down (agh!), and then take the latest John Grisham to the cash desk (boo! hiss!) (actually, I think that when John Grisham writes well, he writes very well indeed, but I would be upset if I saw someone discard my book in favor of a Jeffery Archer offering!).
In Amazon’s favor, it’s almost certain that many more people are likely to stumble across your magnum opus on Amazon than in a bookstore, if you write a decent blurb, and tag the book properly, so the chances of an actual sale are probably greater. Reader reviews, whatever their general tenor, also show that there is some interest in the book. Even if someone writes:
This is the worst novel I have tried to read in years. The dialog sucks dead rotting whales through a straw, the characters are wooden, and the plot would stretch the credulity of a simple-minded 2-year-old.
it’s a review, after all, and you might even get some sales from people wanting to see just how bad it really is. As it happens, of course, I don’t believe that in my book either the dialog or characterization is poor, and the plot, though imaginative, is possible, if not plausible. Naturally, you may have other opinions if you read it for yourself (none-too-subtle hint), and if you do, I’d be delighted to see them on the Amazon or B&N site.
Of course, success breeds success, and one way to do this, apparently, is to have all your customers try to buy on the same day, thereby pushing up the numbers. So if anyone feels like buying the book, please do it on a Friday - and that way it may look like a mini-stampede as both customers race for the checkout clutching a copy, driving Beneath Gray Skies to the dizzy sales ranking of 189,343.
But for now, it’s just a warm fuzzy feeling inside.
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