If there is one thing I don't like about being a writer in 2023, it's doing promotion. I didn't like it twenty years ago and I like it even less now.
Back then, before Amazon slayed the epublishers, if you had a good website, you did okay. Amazon is no one's friend. It exists to make money, plain and simple. Many, many, many voices have been silenced due to Amazon.
Yahoo used to have groups, as did MSN and Google. They're gone now and we're left with Facebook groups and other social media such as Twitter and YouTube. Doing promotion in the Facebook groups is like navigating several thousand landmine fields.
"Do this, don't do that! Can't you read the signs????"
Don't misunderstand me - there are myriad groups that are really great for promo. Post and go because an author's time is valuable, at least mine is. Other groups have a lot of rules, which I add to my spreadsheet.
I've mentioned the FB spreadsheet before. It's full of KC shorthand, but it works. I know which book I've promoted and when. I know if it went into review, when it posted, and if it's still pending a month later.
Really, folks. If you're going to review each post, DO IT. My spreadsheet has five worksheets and one page is for groups I've abandoned like a hot potato because I don't have time for nonsense.
In the past week, I've moved ten groups to the abandoned worksheet. It'll save time in the long run. One group removed my first five promo posts but not the sixth (the first was in January so they were spread out). I don't care what the issue was. I simply cut the group out of my rotation.
It's not like I enjoy abandoning a particular group. Sure, the groups are full of other writers, but writers are readers, too. Between October and March, I read at least four books a week. April through September are the outdoor fun months, so I probably read four books a month. The point is, writers read.
And since writers read, I'll stick to posting in the groups that are truly writer-friendly. And on the social media formerly known as Twitter. And YouTube if I can get off my butt long enough to go make a video. Beyond that, I really must figure out what to do with Patreon. But I don't like the idea of having people pay for special treatment.
That's enough whining for today. Promotion needs to happen, but I don't have to enjoy it.
_*_*_*_*_*_*_
www.kckendricks.com
My home on the web- Between the Keys:
http://kckendricks.blogspot.com
Visit my bookshelf at:
https://kckendricks.blogspot.com/p/the-bookshelf-of-kc-kendricks-and-rayne_3.html
No comments:
Post a Comment