I Dream of Holding My Book

I can still remember the first (and only) writing contest I’ve ever won. I was in first grade, and we had to write about our favorite books. I wrote about The Little Mermaid, and I was rewarded with a book about a family on a road trip. I’d like to think that was when I realized that I wanted to be a writer, but it probably had more to do with the show Ghost Writer on PBS. To say I liked the show was an understatement since I was so obsessed that I used to write fan fiction about the show. The fan fictions were about what you’d expect from a child, but those fan fictions helped me develop my writing skills.

During my teenage years, I used to picture a book with my name across the cover being sold at Borders or Barnes and Noble. I wanted nothing more than to hold a copy of my book in my hands. I even carried a notebook with me wherever I went in case inspiration struck (I still do this today), and I currently have over a dozen projects on my computer that I hope to turn into income. I’ve tried to in the past and failed. I released my ‘debut’ novel during a hard time in my life. The novel wasn’t my best work, but it may not have mattered since no one read it. While I didn’t want to fail, but I’ve also never been more thankful for that failure.

Maybe no one read it because of my inability to market…

I have a confession to make, I don’t know how to grow my audience and that’s probably why my book failed. Writing has always been my passion, but marketing is anything but. Despite that, I’ve done everything from studying hashtags to taking an actual marketing class, but nothing stuck. I’ve written thousands of blurbs, and even share the first chapter of my book, but it hasn’t amounted to much.

I was advised to start promoting my book well before it was ready to be released, and I spent most Tuesdays picking out a quote from my book to share on Wednesday (#1linewed). I’ve made cute graphics and even made a cast list on Pinterest to sell books. I’ve befriended other authors on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, but none of them were particularly interested in maintaining a friendship with me. They were even less interested in buying and reading my book. I created a blog, newsletter, and did everything the ‘famous’ authors did. I even printed out business cards, hoping that I could give them out to potential readers.

Marketing is hard, but I know that I must do it if I want to sell books.

Introducing Kindle Vella

I’m sure most readers have heard of Wattpad, the popular writing site where you can release your novel in short chapters. Many writers have gained success from writing on the site, which is probably why Amazon decided to make their version of the website and named it Kindle Vella. I knew I had to sign up after reading a single article on the service. According to Kindle Vella’s information page, readers would get to read the first three chapters of any story for free and after that, they could buy tokens and support the stories they wanted to read more of. Stories didn’t have to be finished, much like Wattpad, so readers do run the risk of reading something that will never be finished.

I decided to sign up because of the success I’ve seen others achieve through Wattpad, and Amazon was offering a newer version of that. Amazon also happens to have a film studio, and I have a feeling that they plan to turn some of these books into movies. While I can only dream of my writing being turned into a movie or a tv show, I can’t ignore the chance to make money by pursuing my passion.

My Marketing Plan

As mentioned above, I’ve studied loss leaders, made cute graphics, and figured out the best day to release my book. I’ve made a detailed marketing plan, and plan to use newsletters, freebies, and giveaways to guide me to the best seller’s list. I plan to partake in writer’s lifts and follow any authors/readers who want to connect. Why am I going this route? Well, I’ve learned one very important thing from my time working in sales in retail: it’s all about relationships.

I’m going to use my social media accounts to build relationships with readers and other authors. If you build relationships with others, you not only gain a friendship, but you gain someone willing to help you or read your writing. I also plan to constantly write about my writing, because you can’t promote something without telling others about it.

Lastly, I’m going to hope that the free sample featured on Kindle Vella draws in some readers. This will act as a loss leader because not everyone who reads those first three chapters will want to read anything further from me.

My Hopes

I’ve wanted to be a writer from the first time I held a pencil. There was always a story in me, and I hope to one day be able to make a living with the stories I’ve written. I’d like nothing more than to hold my book in my hands and know that I wrote it. I can only hope chasing that passion will make my dreams come true.