When I decided I wanted to write a book, I had no idea what came after the writing and the editing. I tried querying some agents thinking I could get a traditional deal and then settle in to cash the checks. I wanted the be the new John D McDonald or Lee Child. Everyone asked me how I was going to publish and if I’d gotten any traction with agents. I decided to go down the self-publishing rabbit hole and write a series about something I loved, scuba diving, sailing, and the Caribbean. Then I tossed in some romance, some bad guys, and some gun play and there was a book. Now I’ve done it four times and the fifth one sits on the shelf waiting for me to decide what editor I’m going to use because Lord knows I need a good one!
Once the manuscript comes back from the editor and I get done swearing about the changes and blah blah blah, cause obviously I can do no wrong, this my book after all, I settle in to really polish the turd, then the proofreader and finally I uploaded it to Amazon. Crickets. Where in the hell are my giant checks? What? Advertising you say? Huh? You mean I can’t just toil away all day at the keyboard? I have to do social media posts, blog posts, advertising on Facebook, Amazon, BookBub, etc. schedule deals and sales, manage receipts, and shit, where’s my beer?
Then there is the almighty Zon in the sky. Taker of advertising dollars -they make more in advertising than in sales now- and dispenser of paltry checks. I’ve tried to get an advantage account so I can track my sales and make a few extra pennies on the side when someone buys something through my website or links. Sure they give me one and then nope they took it away. Sorry, your website doesn’t have current content. I just had the whole thing redone! I’ve written blog posts and at the time of the last rejection, I’d just added a new book to my site. But what???? Sorry you’re not eligible try again. Bummer.
So here I am writing something to keep my content current. The many hats of an author mean I spend half the day trying to be an advertiser. That’s what I tell my friends now when they ask what I do. Oh I’m in advertising and I write the occasional book.
