In late 2021, I published my second book.
‘The Fisherwoman’ would make waves.
This time, I would succeed...
This book was similar to my first effort (previously published stories, distributed on Amazon), but everything about ‘The Fisherwoman’ would be better.
- The stories were more ambitious and mature. They had been published in better-quality journals that paid, and a few had even been shortlisted or won competitions.
- The diverse characters would appeal to all: a war deserter fighting disaster at the Hong Kong races, a French clown who can fly, a neuroscientist desperate to implement ‘organic AI’, a downtrodden preacher in Mississippi, a frazzled competitor at an international Scrabble tournament, a time-travelling cat, and more.
- After five years of publishing fiction, I felt part of the community. I was a member of online writing circles, had 1,000+ Twitter followers and a mailing list, and was somewhat known to other short story authors and editors (especially in the UK).
- I briefed and commissioned an artist friend of mine to design the cover (see it in the header image here)
- I paid for proofreading and pro typesetting.
- This time, I had a marketing plan, involving sharing story snippets, regular social posts, graphics, reviews, cover quotes, readings, and even paid ads. I contacted two professional short-story book critics to schedule detailed reviews (unpaid).
This was a more professional approach to self-publishing.
I was sure that, despite short story collections being less popular than genre fiction or self-help books, it would sell.
Well, I learned another hard lesson…
The Fisherwoman is the lowest-selling book of the five I have published to date.
I tried amending the description, the keyword ads, the book category, and how I promoted the book. I still don’t know why it sold fewer copies. Sometimes, creative endeavours fall flat.
But there was no time to lick my wounds, as I had to move on and market book three (released just 7 months later).
Some of the best things I’ve written are in that book (please indulge this self-plug).
Ultimately, you do the work for yourself. You do it for the quality of the story. And if just one person likes it, that’s sometimes enough.
Next time, I get my own back on a publisher that ghosted me by delivering the world’s-first Bitcoin story anthology.
#writestr #creativity #author