WRITERS LIFEGUARD
The Odds
As with acting and singing, the odds against success in writing are formidable. No, make that impossible. The chances of us becoming paid and published writers are about the same as the winner of our high school’s talent contest becoming the next Madonna. Not. Gonna. Happen.
And yet, it did. Worked for Madonna Louise Ciccone, worked for Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, and in considerably smaller and quieter ways, worked for us. We beat the odds.
And look at the odds we beat.
Getting published in a big newspaper? As the editor of the Baltimore Sun said, on accepting (or maybe rejecting; it's been awhile) my article, “The odds against getting published in the Sun are considerably higher than getting accepted by Harvard or Princeton.”
Magazines? Worse than papers. Always were; now also worse than magazines of the past … just as papers, constantly downsizing and economizing, are worse than papers past.
Getting a book published? Can't be done. Never could. Slush piles — when there were slush piles — routinely ignored. And now that the sub-editor in charge of slush piles has become a teacher/social worker/naturopath, even that barely open window has been shuttered. “Sorry, but if you're not already famous, we aren't about to put your name in lights. Not even LEDs.”
And yet, and yet, here we are, still struggling, still bitching, still publishing. Even the dawning of the Digital Age hasn't felled us. OK, most of us.
But it has changed those odds.
Suddenly, the odds against getting our precious words in print have dropped to zero. We can blog and vlog. YouTube and Vimeo. Tweet and Pin. We can email (as I'm doing right now) and Facebook. If we have a book, we can publish as print-on-demand at little cost, or as an ebook for free on Smashwords or for $300 on BookBaby.
It’s once we’re in print that those pesky odds kick in. For blogs and videos and tweets and all that, the chances of getting paid for our work approach … well, not zero — even I manage it — are still mighty slim. When we’re defined as content providers, there’s rarely the concurrent assumption that content providers need to eat.
In ebookery, the problem is different but no less serious. Here, because publishing is now free or nearly free, everybody’s doing it. Try standing out in a crowd of a gazillion. Because yours is better? Dude, they have to find you first. Because it’s more topical? Dude, they have to find you first. Because you're you? Rinse and repeat. The odds against financial ebook success are insanely high.
Which is why it’s insane that I've just published my third ebook. The first, SKIING THE EDGE, might finally break even this year. The next, DEATH BY TARTAR SAUCE, has sold sixty-one (yes 61, no missing zeros) since 2012.
And now, TAKE ME HOME: How to Rent or Buy in a Hot Home Market. Why publish as an ebook? Because at 9,000 words, it’s probably too short for a traditional publisher. Why go with BookBaby for $300 rather than Smashwords for $0? Because BookBaby automatically gets it onto Amazon, has excellent phone support, takes no cut of my profits (assuming there are profits), and because I've worked with them before.
But still — why buck these terrible odds and publish an ebook at all?
Because I'm insane — insanely optimistic. And, I'm insanely determined to make this one work. A big reason for the success of Madonna Louise Ciccone, and Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta is that they share insane determination.
Just in case you're considering strolling down that same yellow brick e-road, here's a partial list of what I've done so far, some of what you'll probably have to do, too …
· Made a minute-short promotional minimovie about it
· Wrote a blurb
· Wrote two articles about finding home in a hot market (neither yet published)
· Blogged about it on my (paid) blog
· Encouraged/implored/begged friends & colleagues to rate and review it on Amazon …
· And/or to review it themselves
· Asked my college and high school alumni outlets to give it a plug
· Tweeted, Facebooked, Linkedined about the book
· Created a Facebook page for it called Hot Home Market
· Announced it to the writers’ groups of which I'm a member
· Talked about it on Radio New Zealand
· Told librarians about it
· Spent several hours on free webinars on making books succeed in the Digital Age
· And asked groups I've started, including this one, to buy/rate/review/publicize/bring ink. And to rate and review it on Amazon.
Is it working? Too early to tell. If you have other ideas, please share.
And if you're willing to buy/rate/review/publicize/bring ink/rate and/or review on Amazon, please, please don't hesitate. Do. It. Now. (If you let me know, I’ll gladly rush you one of my earlier e-tomes, your choice of ski mayhem or travel mayhem.)
Or, if you'd rather I send you a copy of TAKE ME HOME, I’ll do that now.
And in case you're wondering, no, I don't hate publicizing; I just like writing much, much better. But like it or not, if this e-puppy’s gonna grow, it will only be because I've fed it.
I offer you the same advice.
— jules
