The other day I was silently bemoaning the fact that for so much effort I’ve had so little (financial) reward. Then I thought of the numerous fruit trees in my backyard. It was at least three years before they started to produce a good harvest. Being a ‘successful’ author is much like that. Just as you need to tend and nurture your garden, in order for it to bear fruit, you need to tend and nurture your writing … eventually it should bear fruit. Well, that’s what I’m hoping. I must admit that I am rather impatient and eager for that ‘success’ now, but the fruit tree analogy has put things back into perspective for me. Of course, ‘successful’ is a very subjective term. For me, it means earning a modest income that would enable me to quit my day job, and be no worse off financially than I am now.
So, what am I doing about it?
- Working on the next two books in the Angel Series — Angel’s Messiah (book 3) and Angel’s Body (book 4). The more quality work I produce, the likelier it is people will begin to notice me and read my books.
- Marketing, marketing, marketing … Facebook ads, Kindle promotions, making my books available for review via NetGalley, multi-author promotions, and other online advertising. I’ve also booked a table in the Indie Author Zone at Supanova Melbourne (April 2016) and have submitted an application for a table at Oz Comic-Con Melbourne (June 2016). The latter will be more difficult to get into, but fingers crossed, my application will be accepted. My third book will be available just in time for Oz Comic-Con, so it would be great if I could be there to promote it.
- Trying hard to build up my email subscription list. As well as being the first to receive updates, subscribers receive freebies, and are automatically entered into any giveaways I have, so there are good reasons to subscribe and stay on my list. I’ll try to hold a giveaway for each new book release.
- Networking with other authors and readers via Goodreads, KBoards, Facebook and Twitter. Twitter is a real challenge for me. I’m having a hard time ‘getting it’. And of course, I find it hard to keep what I’ve got to say within the 140 characters Twitter imposes. That’s probably the real challenge for me!
Only time will tell if my labouring will bear fruit. Stick around for the journey to find out!
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