As an indie author, even one with a series being published by a small press, it’s my job to handle all the aspects of marketing and selling my books, along with writing them, of course. Over the course of time, I’ve learned that one of the best ways to promote one’s books are through GoodReads giveaways.
Now, given that reality, I say the best time to rethink one’s priorities and make new goals is not at the end of the year, in the form of New Year’s resolutions, but right now as we in the US of A approach the income tax filing deadline.
And here’s another real-life story for you. I’ve spent the vast majority of my weekend on preparing for our annual visit to the taxman. On that score, I’d have to say there’s good news and bad news. The good news is that we’ll probably be getting a refund. The bad news is that’s because I’ve spent way too much in order to gain too little with respect to my published writing.
This was a situation I had last year, and I told myself it wouldn’t happen again. Unfortunately, a couple of factors I hadn’t anticipated came into play.
For one, I decided to start a podcast, which required the purchase of various equipment and hosting services to make my life easier.
Second, I entered my screenplays into way too many contests, when focusing on one or two would have greatly benefited me.
Third, I decided to revamp my website entirely. That came with a cost of course, along with a learning curve, which I’m still grappling with.
This isn’t to say that I’ve done everything wrong. Along with the bad has come the good news. As I look over my expenses, I see all sorts of ways to cut back. I also see clearly what’s most cost-effective and what isn’t.
So I would urge everyone to think of these things as you go over your expenses. Where’s the fat in your budget? What expenses can you cut without suffering much? Where do you best focus your energy and money?
One thing I still believe strongly is that print books are worth the cost of production. Otherwise I wouldn’t be able to do signings and other book events. Also, I couldn’t do my GoodReads giveaway of INVISIBLE ME, could I? Please check out this giveaway. You can enter here.
There’s one thing every author wants that no money can buy and that’s good word-of-mouth about their books. So if you win one of the five copies in my giveaway and enjoyed it, please write a short review!
FYI: the first resolution (if you will) in my re-tooled marketing plan is that this situation simply won’t happen again! 🙂
And with that done, I’ll end on a musical note!
