Sorry to go all business on you today, but there is a lot of grumbling in Indie Publishing world. Most authors who have been around for a while say that the golden times are gone and the market is brutally competitive. I wouldn't know about the first part(I'm new to Indie Publishing), but I agree with the competitive part. What authors need to do is not lose sight of the forest through the trees. Maybe because I've spent a good chunk of my life in the retail sector my mind is permanently altered. In retail it's all about the sales matrix. You can't get emotional over a product. You do forecasts and projections, and however the matrix settles, if you've met your target and your business stays afloat you're good.
Most authors have a book that's special to them. Hell, I have one. Regrettably, it sometimes works out that that book isn't the one that performs well. Authors bleed for their struggling pet, they let their energies drain trying to push it along, they make unwise business decisions to help it. They want that cherished project to succeed. Understandable. Human. Counterproductive to success in business. When I was in the garment industry and we did our in-house fall or spring collection preview, I always had a favorite line or SKU. When I got the sales numbers, whether it performed or not, my primary concern was did I make target projections. I had people to pay, a company to run. I didn't care if that cherish little black dress was sitting in the warehouse and soon off to the outlets. I didn't care if that hideous graphic t-shirt I didn't even want in the collection sold through the roof. Consumers make their decisions. I reacted and maximized my matrix because I have people to pay.
Remember to see the forest through the trees. Build a business plan without pets and favorites. Make sound decisions based on profit rather than sentiment. And hold your focus firmly where it should be: writing and release. writing and release. Everything else is counterproductive to your business success.
I don't know why I'm thinking this today. Maybe it's because I know I'm about to release a book that will not perform well. So why release it? It's part of my collection of work, an overall integral piece necessary to the greater story I tell. It is also part of my matrix. It will never sell at the level an author would want it to. I can pretty much project sales now. But performing as I anticipate it will IS that books doing its job. That's all an author can ask if they want to be realistic and succeed in the long term.
As always, I wish you Peace.
99cent Kindle Countdown UK When the Perfect Comes
99cent Kindle Countdown UK The Girl on the Half Shell
And as ever All my Books Are Free on Kindle Unlimited
The Signature, an Amazon bestselling Romance: http://amzn.to/1r48rHR
One Last Kiss: http://amzn.to/Z40f0U
The Girl on the Half Shell: http://amzn.to/ZqFAnZ
Rewind: Amazon http://amzn.to/1oQwarV
The Deverell Series. Available in Paperback!
Book 1: When the Perfect Comes. Amazon Buy Link US>>>> http://amzn.to/1oIYwV3
Book 2: Face to Face. Amazon Buy Link US>>>> http://amzn.to/1woI4A2
Book 3: Love’s Patient Fury: Amazon Buy Link US>>>> http://amzn.to/1CA9E24
Most authors have a book that's special to them. Hell, I have one. Regrettably, it sometimes works out that that book isn't the one that performs well. Authors bleed for their struggling pet, they let their energies drain trying to push it along, they make unwise business decisions to help it. They want that cherished project to succeed. Understandable. Human. Counterproductive to success in business. When I was in the garment industry and we did our in-house fall or spring collection preview, I always had a favorite line or SKU. When I got the sales numbers, whether it performed or not, my primary concern was did I make target projections. I had people to pay, a company to run. I didn't care if that cherish little black dress was sitting in the warehouse and soon off to the outlets. I didn't care if that hideous graphic t-shirt I didn't even want in the collection sold through the roof. Consumers make their decisions. I reacted and maximized my matrix because I have people to pay.
Remember to see the forest through the trees. Build a business plan without pets and favorites. Make sound decisions based on profit rather than sentiment. And hold your focus firmly where it should be: writing and release. writing and release. Everything else is counterproductive to your business success.
I don't know why I'm thinking this today. Maybe it's because I know I'm about to release a book that will not perform well. So why release it? It's part of my collection of work, an overall integral piece necessary to the greater story I tell. It is also part of my matrix. It will never sell at the level an author would want it to. I can pretty much project sales now. But performing as I anticipate it will IS that books doing its job. That's all an author can ask if they want to be realistic and succeed in the long term.
As always, I wish you Peace.
99cent Kindle Countdown UK When the Perfect Comes
99cent Kindle Countdown UK The Girl on the Half Shell
And as ever All my Books Are Free on Kindle Unlimited
The Signature, an Amazon bestselling Romance: http://amzn.to/1r48rHR
One Last Kiss: http://amzn.to/Z40f0U
The Girl on the Half Shell: http://amzn.to/ZqFAnZ
Rewind: Amazon http://amzn.to/1oQwarV
The Deverell Series. Available in Paperback!
Book 1: When the Perfect Comes. Amazon Buy Link US>>>> http://amzn.to/1oIYwV3
Book 2: Face to Face. Amazon Buy Link US>>>> http://amzn.to/1woI4A2
Book 3: Love’s Patient Fury: Amazon Buy Link US>>>> http://amzn.to/1CA9E24
RSS Feed