Tripping and Trembling
Yearning for destruction and desire
Hey! Are you enjoying the new book?
There’s an unsettling quiet that comes after release. At least on my scale, I’m used to not seeing much discussion of any kind.
It’s a mystery as to whether or not those who bought a copy are loving it, hating it, bored with it, or can’t wait for a sequel.
In the weeks leading up to the release of Significatorius, I stopped checking my sales and stats entirely. The unchanging zeros feed into a complex suffering and are liable to burn hole in my resolve.
Why am I writing if nobody even cares?
The simple solution was to ignore the numbers! Focus on writing and launching. Keep moving even if it’s uphill and pushing a boulder.
So, that’s what I did.
I didn’t want distractions.
But now I’ve dared myself to look.
Initial Response
1 week out. 14 books sold. $17 earned.
13 copies of Significatorius and 1 copy of Revification.
There was a small spike during my free ebook promotion, which brings the number up to 53 for the last 90 days.
That’s not much, but it is more than my last launch. And I recognize that it’s far more than many other authors and writers ever reach. Hell, there are surely an infinite number of fully written books that will never even find their first reader!
And yet…
I still can’t help but feel slightly disappointed.
That same part of me that hopes to make this whole adventure my career.
Looking Forward
Even with me adapting and adjusting to the lines on the graph, without an actual marketing budget, the biggest boost I will ever receive can only come from you.
Reviews and ratings, short or long, good or bad, carry real weight. The big platforms like Amazon and Goodreads are where people go to measure the worth of a new story.
That’s why I need you to spread the good word.
If you’ve read Significatorius, I’d love to hear your thoughts!
What stuck with you?
What surprised you?
What made you want to keep reading?
And then shout it from the rooftops out into the world!
Someone out there is looking for my story, they just don’t know it yet.
More selfishly, I’m genuinely curious to know what you think. I think of my writing as an invitation to hold new conversations. And I poured a lot of heart and soul onto the pages.
I’m at the moment after the final note when the applause should begin!
Local Bookstore
I’ve also set up Significatorius on Ingram Spark. If you’re unfamiliar with that name, it’s a distribution platform for bookstores. Much more on the business side of things, but very important for serious indie authors.
What this means in practical terms is small (and large) shops can stock Significatorius if there’s interest.
Reviews and ratings are a big part of that decision process and can tip the scales in my favor, making business owners more willing to take a chance on microscopic indie authors like myself.
Let’s give them a reason!
Having real copies of Significatorius in bookstores around the world and across countries would feel magical.
A step out of the clouds and into living dreams.
Sharing Thoughts
I was very much hesitant to look at my numbers at all, never mind share them. The measures of success tend to be extreme and I’m nowhere near that threshold.
I am actually incredibly terrified of how my small achievements could be qualified as folly.
And I don’t really know where to go from here.
Other than hoping to find more readers like you.
I’ve met enough lost souls in the eternal ether to know the right readers are definitely out there. I just need a little help to get us to find each other.
Not unlike Palena and Avelven’s first awkward encounter.
So, I guess I’ll see you at the end of the world.
Until next time,
—JMB