OF SALES AND PROMOTION...

The above meme made me laugh, probably because there's some truth there. It was part of Kristen Lamb's email about the evolution and de-evolution of publishing, which was a fun read. In it, she talked about selling books. Let me tell you, selling is not always easy. Sales are tough and getting tougher all the time. It's hard to convince readers to try your books, especially if they are not already familiar with your work. Hell, sometimes it's tough to convince those who are familiar with your work. This isn't a complaint. Just a reality. I spend a good portion of my day promoting my work. That's part of the job and I actually enjoy it. Sometimes it's social media posts about my books or photos from events where I'm presenting or signing. Promotion is also talking about my writing day or the book(s) I'm working on at the moment. Interviews, press releases, newsletters (which I need to get written for this month), updating websites, and doing whatever I can to get the word out.

And I am not alone in this.

I'm sure you have more than one friend on your social media list who is doing the same thing. Writers, artists, actors, you name it, it seems like we're all trying to sell something. I am conscious of what I post and try not to overdo it. Sometimes I do, but I try to be careful. I don't want my social media to devolve into nothing but "buy my book" posts. I love writing and I love being an author. I hope to continue to do both for many, many years to come. Just be aware, I will promote those books from time to time. I will ask for reviews from time to time. I will mention sales, new releases, and my Patreon page as well. I will also probably complain about the parts of publishing that annoy me, although I plan to keep that to a minimum because it never ends well.

I love being a writer and I appreciate all of you who like my posts, reply to them, have conversations, review books, buy books, or just say hello.

I could probably go on and on, but I need to get back to work. I've got a new book that needs to finish production this weekend.

I hope you have a great weekend.

Bobby