Hmm. I’m still scratching my head. Every time I think I’ve figured out how to duplicate the success of Bullet, I realize I have no freaking clue. Be Careful What You Wish For released on Monday, April 28, and it started out with a bang. The book made it into the top 500 Paid in Kindle Store on Amazon and made it to the number ten spot in the New Adult and College category. That was cool!
And then it stopped and dropped.
No, it thudded. Came to a screeching halt.
I’m not complaining, because that tells me I have some hardcore readers, and they bought the book, and I appreciate it.
That said, I see the success of other authors and wonder what I’m not doing. I’m marketing (as best I can, although I’ve never made it a secret that I’m no genius in that department). And it’s not like my books are overpriced. Yeah, I venture into unsafe areas, and I realize that might be part of the problem. Some readers have been quite vocal about the fact that they will not read a book about cheating.
Surely, that can’t be all of it, though, because so many readers LOATHED Bullet and sales were astronomical despite it (or because of it?).
Part of me would like to blame Facebook, because I successfully marketed Bullet on Facebook alone (well, a teeny tiny bit on Twitter) just by talking about the book and sharing excerpts from it. Shortly after Bullet went live, Facebook changed its algorithms (and made no bones about it). They’ve changed them several more times since then. Why? I’m sure part of it is monetarily related, but it’s also much like middle school. Facebook wants to determine what’s popular and what’s not. We don’t get to decide for ourselves–we have the bullies and popular kids telling us what to like, unless we decide to go behind their backs. 😉 I’ve tried working around the Facebook issues, but I’m tired of fighting that losing battle.
So here are my plans for the future. I’m going to continue writing Finger Bang. But I’m branching away from Facebook. I’ll still be there, but my presence won’t be as strong. I can’t justify spending as much time there as I do, because I’m no longer getting as much bang for my buck. I’m planning to spend time on Google+, Bookopolous, and other sites where I can maximize my exposure. I am also expanding my Street Team in hopes that more bodies can “canvass” a bigger area.
Those of you who have stuck by my side, thank you. I appreciate you. Thank you for reading my books, sharing your opinions about them with others, leaving me those oh-so-important reviews, interacting with me (even if it’s just a like here and there!), and letting me know you care. Here’s to Finger Bang.
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