You’re self-publishing your next (or first) novel. This gives you immense freedom, but it can be daunting. As endless fiction floods into bookstores, it’s a challenge to get noticed and sell.
A friend told me recently that she’s in a sales slump. She said: “I’m spending more time advertising than writing. Self-publishing is too hard today.”
She’s taking a break to consider her options.
Is self-publishing more challenging today?
In a recent writers’ group meeting, we talked about the freedom of self-publishing.
Freedoms include:
– A lack of gatekeepers. Publish what you like when you like.
– Choose how to publish, and where, and when.
– The ability to test markets and advertising so that you can save on promotional costs.
One author says she loves the ability to market while writing a novel. She can also edit her books after they go live, using her readers’ feedback.
That’s the major benefit of self-publishing: when something no longer works, you can try something else.
If you’re struggling, let’s look at some ideas you can try.
1. Change the format: write a novel, or write a serial?
One of the easiest ways to get out of a slump is to change your publishing format. You could try writing a collection of short stories, or even a serial.
From Serial Fiction: What Is It, And Why Write It?
In serial fiction, each part (episode) of the serial has a climax and a cliffhanger. The cliffhanger entices readers to read the next episode and the next.
I’ve found that when I change my format, I become inspired. You may find the same: you’ll have fresh enthusiasm for your ideas when you tell a story differently.
2. Put yourself first: use your inspiration
In these days of AI and fast publishing, publishing can seem like running around a hamster wheel. You’re not only competing with writers, but you’re also competing with apps and algorithms.
Instead of chasing the latest trends, look to yourself. Write what makes you happy, even if there seems zero market for it. You may well begin a new trend.
Check out 5 Tips to Overcome Page Fright for ideas on how you might do that.
Additionally, ask questions.
3. Ask questions about everything: find your enthusiasm
I keep a notebook for questions. They include:
– Ideas I am keen to explore and things I want to learn.
– Books I would like to read.
– Challenges in my current book.
4. Find a new audience: what do you (and they) want?
Chat with other authors. Read their blogs. Ask them questions on social media. There’s so much happening today that it can feel safer to do what we’ve always done. But if your books aren’t selling, and you’re in a slump, it’s vital to think differently.
Try checking bestseller lists and reading readers’ reviews of these books. Read reviews of your books—but don’t do it if you become obsessed.
Get excited: use the freedoms self-publishing gives you
When you’re in a slump, experiment. Remember to do things your way. Avoid following the crowd.
Most importantly, have fun with what you’re doing.
Escape Across Time: Tara, Molly, & Priscilla (Time Travel Regency Romance Trilogy)
Three popular novels in one volume. Read the complete trilogy...
Love time travel romances and the Regency era?
Three novels in one volume. Read the complete trilogy…
Tara’s Enchantment: Regency Time Travel Romance, Book 1
What if you could escape across time, and find your soulmate?
At 26, gorgeous Tara Ballantine has a near-perfect life. Not only is she lovely, but she also has a trust fund from her billionaire father, and two loving sisters. Her boyfriend’s proposed too.
Tara doesn’t realize that her stepmother’s hatred will send her across the world and across time.
Discover Adam and Tara’s story, and the story of Pudding, the time traveling toy poodle.
Molly’s Magic: Regency Time Travel Romance, Book 2
Your life can change in an instant…
At 24, not only is Molly Ballantine stunning, she has two sisters she loves, and a wonderful career. Then her eldest sister Tara vanishes, and her life disintegrates.
Molly’s life is about to become even more chaotic. She wakes up 200 years in the past, with a man who’s too good-looking for her peace of mind.
Molly soon becomes desperate to return to her own time. She’s falling in love with Edmund, the handsome, aristocratic rake, and she can’t allow that to happen. She has good reason not to trust handsome men.
Priscilla’s Destiny: Regency Time Travel Romance, Book 3
22-year-old Priscilla Ballantine is the beautiful youngest daughter of billionaire Thomas Ballantine. Cosseted and protected by her two older sisters, she’s an artist, a dreamer. She doesn’t have an adventurous bone in her body.
So when she’s despatched 200 years into the past, and wakes up stark naked in revolutionary France, only the awareness that she must rescue her beloved sisters puts steel into her spine.
Handsome aristocrat, and master spy, Dominick de Roche, Lord Bellemieux, finds Priscilla naked, and disoriented.
Priscilla’s horrified by her attraction to de Roche. Of all the dangers she faces, that may be the biggest danger. She can’t fall in love with a man who in her own time, is long dead… Or can she?
Read the complete Time Travel Regency Romance Trilogy now.
