Audiobooks or not, that is the question.
Hear me out on this one. While audiobooks can increase your sales and improve your marketing strategies, you need to have the time and energy to put into this prospect. Many people migrate towards audiobooks to listen while working out, long car rides, cleaning the house, etc. The world is on the go now, more than ever, and consuming a book via audio is a great way to reach your target readers.
On the downside, you must put new energy into this marketing tool. Sometimes you can spread yourself too thin and not put in enough effort. You will spend a couple of hundred dollars hiring someone to be the narrator yet never earn that money back. You may have just spent the money you earned in Ebook and/or paperback having it narrated. So, I say, before you go audio, make sure you have the time and capacity built into your marketing model to get it going. It can lead you to a whole new demographic if done right.
Writing to market vs. writing for passion
This is a huge topic of contention for me. I say do both. After all, it would be best if you wrote because you are passionate about it. Yet, you also need to make enough money to follow your passion. When I started writing, I started with children’s books, then moved to memoirs, then romance, and recently started 1-hour short stories. Now I have a serialized crime story in mind for next year. The thing is, I am passionate about all of them. The characters have come to me and told me; you need to write the story I have for you. Each time I considered the market. I will either publish or not, but I always write. Kindle Vella is popping off right now, so I thought, what serialized stories can I write, but I didn’t have one. Once I started writing 1-hour short stories, crime fiction came to me and turned itself into a serialized one. Now I have my kindle Vella story I can try on that market. The thing is, yes, you need to narrow down your niche, but sometimes you have to try new things to find your niche as well, but always write with passion.
ARC Readers
Man, wouldn’t it be great if we all had a group of readers who read our books before we released them? These folks would catch all the little things that get us those critical reviews. These readers would help us make our book babies fantabulous. Well, they are out there. Sometimes just asking your network, asking in a group, or connecting with different people works. Reach out to bloggers and ask them if they would mind reading your book. People are friendly sometimes and love reading recent work if you have it ready for them. If this doesn’t work for you, you can always put your book up on a few sites that are secure and let people find them, IE: book sprout, Booksirens, story origin. You can do a google search for ARC Readers, and all kinds of articles, blogs, and posts will come up.
Take a mental health day.
Yes, I said it. Take a mental health day. We all could learn from Simone Biles and Naomi Osaka. They recently stood up for themselves in the mental health arena. Listen, you can still be wonder woman or superman, but you can’t do it if you are too frazzled to see the holes in your plot. See what I did there. I could go on preaching, but read any articles about these two world-famous athletes and take their heed.
Build a Network
Don’t do everything alone. Trust me; I’m a loner. I’m someone who doesn’t leave my house for months (no, I’m not a recluse, I prefer to write A LOT). But I also build my network with amazing people because we believe in each other. I don’t shy away from people even though I have social anxiety. It’s the physical proximity that gives me anxiety.
What I’m trying to say is that you can build a network of professionals that help each other, promote each other, and who can help you out when you’re in a rut and/or need advice. Nicole and I talked about this last night on the bombshell book review. She is building a great network that she plans on taking to Hollywood with her when her Sofia Madison series breaks through and becomes a series on the big screen.
I also want to mention Caleb Blair of Monkey Wrench Marketing. He is building a network of professionals banding together, working to break the stigma of mental health in businesses. The thing is. No matter what you are doing, you can build together and still have a fantastic future.
You don’t have to go it alone.
Until Next Time My Friends
CJ
