The Pivot: When Do You Know It' s Time?

 The universe has been kicking me in the ass of late, with signs and portents of changing winds. I know this territory. It's familiar because it's not the first time it's happened to me. The thing I've been asking myself is; do I want to pivot because it's the path for me, or because I'm giving up?

I've indeed been increasingly bored with the assignments I get. There are only so many Regency romance storylines you can write before they begin to blur together. But is that enough reason to quit?

Then I think back over the years, how long I've been thinking about this, but there just has never been time to make it happen. So much work to do, and so many bills to pay. The upheaval that has happened in the last few years, both internally and externally has really brought this thought to the fore; Annemarie, is it time to do things differently?

I'm gonna be fifty this year. My body is breaking down. I don't want to write smut for publishing mills for another ten years. I'd like to continue writing stories but with a bit more control and the ability to earn life-changing income from it. Gotta think about my retirement plan.

(It seems delusional to have a retirement plan with the way the world is going but theoretically).

So yesterday, I got another push in the 'you need to pivot' direction. A client I had written a 'clean wholesome romance' for last year sent me a message. 

(Honestly, any white woman wanting a 'clean wholesome romance' should have been a red flag but again as I said...bills to pay).

I think I completed the assignment in October, I'm not sure and then she sent a message in December about the book being in editing and after that was done, she might send it back to me for corrections. Later on in December or early January, she sent me a message that there would be no corrections to do.

Great. Nothing out of the ordinary. Sometimes it turns out like that. So I gave the generic, thanks, hope to work with you again, bye.

So yesterday, she replied to the message, saying "Oh sorry I forgot to end the contract, and here's my 'honest feedback' on your work. She then proceeds to tell me she suspects I used AI because I used 'big words'  that no one uses in conversation.

In the next sentence, she accuses me of having grammar and spelling mistakes, 'which shows I don't check my work'. Now, if I'm supposed to be using AI, doesn't it proofread? She also said my work was late - which is the only true thing she said.

Now, aside from being extremely discombobulated by her message, I just couldn't bring myself to take it seriously.

(Oops, there I go using big words that people don't use in sentences. This must be an AI post)

It seemed so disingenuous and ill-intentioned, especially coming out of the blue MONTHS after the assignment was complete.

She then closed the post by saying the readers hated it because my writing was subpar. Now as an author, I take leave to doubt that she had her book published already if the editor completed their work in December and there 'were so many spelling errors' and so much didn't make sense. Unless she decided to publish the book with these errors and mistakes and AI that didn't make sense etc. So even if she published in January, there's no way you have feedback by February. Unless you're J.K Rowling or Diana Gabaldon and people are spending nights on the sidewalk to get your book first thing, you're just not going to have feedback that soon.

So, white woman is lying. Nothing new there. It seems to be their default. I really don't know how y'all live with them 24/7. The mental health challenges alone...

(Disclaimer: yes, yes, I know. Not ALL white women)

But it was like the last straw.

I am now convinced that -

It's time to take up the reigns and make a change. Finish this romance for Harlequin romance. Begin the story for choice games, finish Marcus Devereux, and look for better-paying, and more challenging gigs that don't take up all my time. 

No big.

I've been listening to former recruiters on TikTok, giving advice on how to get the job of your dreams. I'm trying to implement it. It's not easy but it's not impossible. Just gotta be patient, do the work, and believe in myself. 

Like always. 

Sigh.

(Wish me luck.)

How Do You Get Readers for Your Books?

I really hope you don't think I have the answer. If I did, I would be on the New York Times Bestsellers' list. So let me put in my disclaimer that I'm no expert. I'm just in the simulation, trying to read the patterns.

So the first thing that you should probably know is that marketing is in the mind. Get in the right mindset. Whether you're self-published or traditionally published, the bulk of the marketing will be left to you. When a traditional publisher looks at the potential of your books, they also look at your social media following to see just how many 'fans' you've managed to accumulate for yourself. I see many authors asking, "What exactly is the use of an author page?"
Well, my answer is, "If you're inviting people over for tea, you're gonna need somewhere for them to sit."

It is not possible in this day and age to be an 'anonymous' author who just writes, publishes and waits for readers. Even authors using pen names have forums where they interact with readers. Not just authors, but anyone with a product to sell...It's a whole new world people, and social media is king.
The thing with social media though, is that you can't just post "buy my book" and expect your audience to be like, "Oh. Okay, den."
Let's talk about readers, shall we?
There are two types of readers. There are those readers, and they are the majority, who you can find on so-called reader forums. Some of them have blogs. They usually have 'reader' or 'reads books' in their Twitter bios... These are the readers whose attention everyone is trying to get. Because they're the low hanging fruit.
Or so it seems.

The thing with this reader though, they are deep in the simulation. They want to read the books everyone else is reading. They practically run down the New York Times Bestseller list as their TBR list. They like recommendations from influencers. If you're a lowly writer without the resources to influence the influencers these are not the people to target.
The second kind of reader may or may not list 'reading' as an identifier in their social media bios. They don't care who the 'next big thing' is. They're just looking for good stories.
Do you write good stories?
Then this is your demographic.
You gotta keep plugging your stories. Putting them out there. Letting people know in whatever way you can.
Hashtags are great.
Just use the right ones.

Lots of authors like to use #amwriting and they might get a few likes and even retweets but...you get likes and retweets from other authors who are just as thirsty as you for READERS. So stop targeting other authors. That's like all those sales reps I see on the street, crowding together when they're selling the same thing be it airtime or whatever...instead of spreading out and increasing your chances of finding your own customers. It's like artists who all try to copy Rihanna in an attempt to poach some of her success. Although this strategy has been moderately successful in some cases, (Selena Gomez and Jennifer Lopez) ultimately it fails. Because Rihanna releases an album like Anti and you don't know where to start copying it.
I digress.
#greatreads #goodreads #fridayreads #tuesdaytales...these are some hashtags that might net you some random passing reader. But you can't just do the hashtag, you have to hone your captioning skills man. This is your elevator pitch in 280 characters or more (if it's Instagram or Facebook). The hashtag has made the reader pause, now you gotta reel them in. Make. it. good.
It's a marathon, not a sprint.

Everything is against you.
Amazon will put the books in front of readers that authors have paid them to.
Sometimes they arbitrarily remove your book reviews making it difficult for you to move up the totem pole.
Some book sales get lost in a black hole somewhere.
It can be very demoralizing.
The thing is, you have to factor in the fact that you will get demoralized if things aren't happening as fast as you'd like. You have to be prepared for that shit. Wallow in it like a hippopotamus in the mud. And once you're all covered, all good and proper, get out, shower and get back to the work.
Plug. Plug. and Plug away.
Every day, do something small to put your book maybe in front of that enthusiastic reader whose gonna recommend it to their friend. Their book club. Their family.
Word of mouth. That's how you get the word out.
It's an uphill battle and many will fall by the wayside.
It's up to you if you reach the top.

This Isn't Bragging; It's Updating

I recently moved my books that are not priced free to a new publishing platform in addition to smashwords. It handles distribution to Amazon, Google Play, iTunes, Barnes and Noble and Kobo. I'm finding that people prefer to shop at Amazon than anywhere else because that was the fastest turnaround I've seen in publishing to first sale since I started self publishing. Well...at least for my paid books.

For the free ones, I'm happy to say that The Swamp is Full of Mystery was in the top ten highest downloaded books on free ebooks.net within a week of my posting it. Which is great. I love it. The more exposure the better. And the fact that people are choosing to download my book, among the however many thousands there are on the site?...Awesome.

There is another book of mine that is doing really exceptionally well on all sites it's on. It's a real puzzle to me because first of all, the story is like...eight pages. I wrote it in about half an hour for a competition (I haven't heard back from them and I can't remember the results date or even the site); and I decided to post it because why not? And now it's been on free ebooks like for five minutes and a hundred people have downloaded it. I am truly stymied. There is just no predicting this shit.

I'm thinking maybe I should expand it to a full fledged novel. Just go to pacemaker and make out a six month plan for writing and editing. I don't know. Do I have more story? Of course I have. It's like, a given at this point. The question is, do I want to write it? I'm in the middle of Child of Destiny - Marcus Deveraux which I've kind of put aside to concentrate on work and promoting the other books first; kind of get the momentum going....

But.
Yeah.
So hit me up if you've read it and let me know what you think I should do.
The story is called Cinderella By Any Other Name.

Hit Me With Your Best Shot!

Hi. So I'm back! Lots of emotion swirling about looking for an outlet. But I want to make it good. So do me a favour and click on the link below to give me some honest to God feedback. The gods of good stories will reward you.

Launch me!

So I just came back into the city today from performing burial rites for my dad. I didn't realise until yesterday that I had actually bastardised Bukusu traditional rites in my book Child of Destiny. I won't tell you where because that would be spoilery. I didn't even know I knew this stuff so its kind of bemusing.
At the airport in Eldoret, I met these three white American women who sat at the same table as me and my sisters. I asked them where they got their biscuits from as my son was apparently perpetually hungry and they told me. This led to some conversation between us and one of them said to me...
"You speak really good English."

Now normally that shit is patronising but having travelled to India with my dad a few years ago, I do understand that sometimes you can be speaking the same language as someone and not understand a thing they sayin. I remember my dad asking one of the tuk tuk guys in India to 'speak in English' when he actually already was.

So I get it. My accent is similar to your accent so you understand me better. Its more of a sigh of relief than a compliment really. Still, it made me think about how insecure we generally are as human beings because many would have taken it as an insult and been all affronted.
Why are we always so ready to take offense?

Anyway, so apparently in addition to needing you to give me feedback! I also need you to practise some tolerance and cultivate some chill. POST FEEDBACK! CLICK ON THE LINK ABOVE THAT SAYS LAUNCH ME!
THANKS!!!