In all of the craziness of the past couple of weeks, I forgot to make mention of an announcement here on my blog. (Although, if you're a frequent visitor of my author page on Facebook, you already know about this.)
As many of you know, I have signed on to be part of the Sow Me Your Books author event happening in Kansas City, Missouri, September 7th and 8th, 2018. However, I was on the search to find an event to partake in sometime this year. At the request of my wife, I was hoping to find one close to my home base here on the West Coast of Florida. This was a challenge for me, as those who know me personally know I don't drive. (I never bothered to get a driver's licence in my 45 years of existence. Mind you, when you spent most of your life in a city with an 'adequate' public transit system, the need is somewhat moot. Alas, that's not the case in my new home, but I digress.)
So, the search was on. There are a few events here in Florida, but the closest one I had originally found was about 65 miles away. I figured my 2017 was going to be 'signing-less,' until I stumbled upon a new event occurring this summer. After some investigating (and a delay until my budget allowed it), I am please to announce that on July 16th, 2017, I will be part of the inaugural Tampa Indie Author Book Convention.
At the present, myself and 40+ other independent authors have signed on to appear at this event. For more information, it can be found on their website: https://tampaindieauthorbookconvention.wordpress.com or their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/TampaIndieAuthorBookConvention/
The only question I have to ask myself is, does only one of my triad show up, or all three faces of moi?
Monday, February 13, 2017
Friday, February 10, 2017
It's Not Easy Being An Indie
As many of you know, I've considered myself an independent author for close to 6 years now. While one would think I should know all of the ropes by now, the truth of the matter is there are quite a few things I need to learn.
One thing an independent author needs to learn is patience, and I admit, it's one thing I have struggled with throughout my life, let alone one as a writer. I see other authors churn out books ad nauseum, and I want to have that same capability. Unfortunately, most of these authors have a huge support system in place, whether it be personal assistants (PAs), editors, and beta-readers. These are things I am slowly attempting to obtain, but it's not easy. The thing I'm concerned about is the probability where these cost money, and when one is not really the master of his own budget (which I admit, is due to some bad life choices caused by personal demons), it's tough to "keep up with the Jones's," per se.
It's funny; I liken myself in this industry to a pro wrestler on the independent circuit. A worker who toils away at their craft, waiting for their big break. I know it's all a matter of exposure, and creating a fan base. However, I can't help but feel envious of those who have a decent following. I figure it's because they have been able to have their support system for a while. That being said, I like to believe I have a support system, but not a devout one. My sales have lagged in recent months, save for last November when I had a new release. I get the reading audience can be fickle in the aspect of "what have you put out lately?" But, when you're a person (with a multiple-author personality disorder) who has released a dozen titles over three genres, it's difficult to tap into that "sweet spot" niche.
I still do my best to improve my writing, and having someone beta-read one of works-in-process helped. I appreciated their feedback, but felt a little disheartened about having to rewrite a huge chunk of it. This is where the patience comes in. I need to learn to be patient, and not inflict self-pressure to churn out my stories at a record pace. My only concern is alienating my readers because it's taking so long to pump out new material. The long story short, I'm intimidated by the current marketplace where the line between quality and quantity is blurred. I want to please my audience with the stories I tell, but the fact it has taken longer than expected is frustrating.
I'm probably beating a dead horse here. I want to build a following and an audience by attracting them to the books I've already put out, while toiling (albeit slowly) on new material I will release in the future, but when there are more and more books out there for consumption, I can't help but feel lost in the shuffle, though.
One thing an independent author needs to learn is patience, and I admit, it's one thing I have struggled with throughout my life, let alone one as a writer. I see other authors churn out books ad nauseum, and I want to have that same capability. Unfortunately, most of these authors have a huge support system in place, whether it be personal assistants (PAs), editors, and beta-readers. These are things I am slowly attempting to obtain, but it's not easy. The thing I'm concerned about is the probability where these cost money, and when one is not really the master of his own budget (which I admit, is due to some bad life choices caused by personal demons), it's tough to "keep up with the Jones's," per se.
It's funny; I liken myself in this industry to a pro wrestler on the independent circuit. A worker who toils away at their craft, waiting for their big break. I know it's all a matter of exposure, and creating a fan base. However, I can't help but feel envious of those who have a decent following. I figure it's because they have been able to have their support system for a while. That being said, I like to believe I have a support system, but not a devout one. My sales have lagged in recent months, save for last November when I had a new release. I get the reading audience can be fickle in the aspect of "what have you put out lately?" But, when you're a person (with a multiple-author personality disorder) who has released a dozen titles over three genres, it's difficult to tap into that "sweet spot" niche.
I still do my best to improve my writing, and having someone beta-read one of works-in-process helped. I appreciated their feedback, but felt a little disheartened about having to rewrite a huge chunk of it. This is where the patience comes in. I need to learn to be patient, and not inflict self-pressure to churn out my stories at a record pace. My only concern is alienating my readers because it's taking so long to pump out new material. The long story short, I'm intimidated by the current marketplace where the line between quality and quantity is blurred. I want to please my audience with the stories I tell, but the fact it has taken longer than expected is frustrating.
I'm probably beating a dead horse here. I want to build a following and an audience by attracting them to the books I've already put out, while toiling (albeit slowly) on new material I will release in the future, but when there are more and more books out there for consumption, I can't help but feel lost in the shuffle, though.
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