Insecure Writers: Discouragement

Wow, it's so easy to get discouraged in this writing biz. And let it throw us off track. It presents itself as an almost palpable obstacle now and then, so I overcome it by reminding myself why I write - because I love it. It's my joy and my escape, my nurturing and sometimes tearing-down. But always, it's part of who I am. All the other nits about this business won't stop me from doing what I love.

I came across this graphic online, and it seemed perfect for today. For anyone finding themselves in a slump, know that it's perfectly natural. Just keep your eyes on the prize, and remember what's important. Never never never give up.

Thanks to Alex J. Cavanaugh, the Ninja organizer of Insecure Writers. Go visit some other writers and spread some good will!

Insecure Writers: How can I shed the cloak of invisibility?

From what I’ve read about the “new world” of publishing, visibility seems to be one of the most important factors in sales. I don’t mean this as a rant against Amazon, but they certainly aren’t making things any easier for small-pubbed and indie authors.

Here’s a great post by Russell Blake, who understands Amazon’s new system of weighting better than I ever will.

In essence, they’re skewing the visibility factor toward bigger publishers who price their books higher. That way, Amazon will see greater profits because they’ll rake in greater percentages from those bigger pubs.

Did someone toll the death bell for big publishers? Seems to have been premature. They’re adapting to the new market, with the assistance of distributors like Amazon.

It’s discouraging. Just when I thought the playing fields were leveling out, they’ve padded the other half, the one with the goal. Like Russell Blake, I’ve jumped on the KDP Select bandwagon, held free days and rode the crazy roller coaster of seeing thousands of downloads. The after-bump sales held for awhile, which was also fantastic. But if Amazon has weighted their system against indie pubs, what’s the use?

I’d love to get this @&!! cloak of invisibility off my books. And then a little alchemy to get them to spontaneously combust and light sales on fire would be great, ha.

Any industry news you can share that’s in a similar vein? I try to keep up but Blake’s article surprised me.

Thanks to Alex J. Cavanaugh for launching the Insecure Writers group!

Insecure Writers Support Group

Love this idea! Thanks to Alex Cavanaugh for organizing the Insecure Writers Support Group. And you should follow Alex's blog, which always has something interesting.

Hm, where to start? :)  I've been epublished for a little more than two years, but every year I think I feel more like a newbie than ever. I suppose because the industry's in such a flux, and a writer never knows what's coming next.

My biggest insecurity, I suppose, is marketing. How much is too much? I'm not inclined to share every occurrence in my life, so I tend to ignore the advice that the writer is the brand. Do you buy into that? 

I also avoid Amazon reader threads, which can lean toward the vicious at times. I've also heard the threads hate hate hate authors who promote there, so how can an author introduce him/herself without getting slashed?

I guess the main question is, how much marketing is too much?

Thanks for any feedback, insights and tips! And check all the participating authors here.