Selling books.

I’ve been an indie writer going on five-plus years now and on a whim I decided to try and calculate the number of books I have sold throughout my career. Results were a bit unexpected. Combining my eleven published ebooks with my print versions (when they still existed) I have sold more than 100,000 books.  Another 120,000 books have been given away as free promotions. That’s nearly a quarter million copies of my stories circulating the world.

 

So why aren’t I rich and my name world famous? With those kinds of numbers you’d figure I wouldn’t have to work a conventional job. Excluding that I like having health benefits and a nice retirement portfolio, why aren’t I living off my royalties?

 

The same technology and global reach provided by the internet also has a few pitfalls. The major one being, my books are electronic. They can be shared. They can be copied. They aren’t tangible materiality. They exist merely in cyberspace. In other words, readers aren’t willing to pay the price for a paperback or hardcopy that they will for an ebook. It’s an ethereal commodity.

 

I accept these facts and the loss of income from a low royalty rate. I don’t write because I believed it would answer my monetary aspirations and bring me fame, I write because I have too. The inner voice never goes away; never quiets its incessant ranting.

 

Thousands upon thousands of readers have discovered my stories and the reviews have been overwhelmingly flattering. Yeah, a $3 - $5 dollar royalty per book would be nice, but would readers have purchased my stuff hardbound in a brick and mortar bookstore if the internet and Amazon didn’t exist? It’s a trade-off I’m happy to live with.

Nice new reviews!

Got a couple of nice new reviews for DROP OUT and IMAGINATION from some awesome readers! Thanks for taking both books to the #1 bestseller spot on Amazon!

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DROP OUT - http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005FX0K7U

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful story.

By paula on June 7, 2016

Format: Kindle Edition|Verified Purchase

I loved this book. Makes you stop and think. Not take for granted the life we have. Bad things happen to good people, but we must carry on. With kindness peace and love. I will be reading more from this author.

5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars

By Patricia Romano on May 16, 2016

Format: Kindle Edition|Verified Purchase

Different, engaging, and worth the read!

5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars

By Amazon Customer on April 25, 2016

Format: Kindle Edition|Verified Purchase

Surprising self-reflection colorful details and language.

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IMAGINATION - http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ATFC3JM

5.0 out of 5 stars Before you go

By bobbie ventura on April 27, 2016

Format: Kindle Edition|Verified Purchase

What if your life was only someone else's imagination? What would you do, think, say. I wasn't sure I would like this book but once I started reading I couldn't stop reading. I recommend this book to those of us that like to think what if and outside the box,

5.0 out of 5 stars WHO AM I

By Robert Gale on April 22, 2016

Format: Kindle Edition|Verified Purchase

Very well written.

You won't want to put me down

5.0 out of 5 stars Imagine...

By Linda on April 14, 2016

Format: Kindle Edition|Verified Purchase

This is THE most imaginative book I have ever read: a world within a world, within a world, etc. It certainly gives a new perspective on imagination. Good read.

Judging success?

Neglecting to market my books and myself has always been my weakness. While I love the process of writing (creating new characters, worlds, and plots) the arduous task of promoting my work can seem dauntless at times. After writing consistently for 25+ years, I recently made the conscious, and I must say extremely difficult decision, to take a break from it all. I have gone thirteen months without publishing an original book and as of right now, two months have passed without me writing an original paragraph. It’s a horrific truth to admit!

That’s not to say there haven’t been some exciting moments in the past weeks. My last two major promotional campaigns brought four of my books to the Amazon #1 spot in their genres, and several hit #1 in their sub-genres. I write dystopian, sci-fi, paranormal, action thrillers, and literary fiction… so I am quite pleased with the results. I have a wide-ranging audience and have received enough 5-star reviews to believe that I possess some talent beyond the mediocre. For this, I am proud and thankful.

But how does one judge success? What were my original goals when I set out in my early teens to be a writer? At what point do I proclaim I have achieved “IT!”? My entire twenties, thirties, and half of my 40’s, were spent plugging away at my keyboard 30 – 50 hours a week; week after week after week. I lost friends, missed out on good times, neglected my family, all to achieve what I believe is my purpose in life. To write stories that effect change in a reader’s perspective on the world.

Contrary to the way this post comes across, it is not my farewell message to the world of imagination. This post is not a resignation letter that I have exhausted my creativity and said all I need to say. Rather, it is an airing of dirty laundry of sorts. The guilt of not writing has weighed heavily and for a few months I feared I had lost focus on my purpose as a human being. Life, especially as enriched as mine has become in recent months, can change your perspective of what’s really important; happiness vs. purpose vs. self-fulfillment?

When I finished my last book, AS IT IS IN HEAVEN, I took my own advice I had written and concentrated on doing what makes me most happy; mainly gardening, fishing, landscaping, and hiking. After time, I realized that what my happiness boils down to is the process and ability to take these life experiences and create something from nothing… to write about them in fiction form. And as soon as I publish this post I will be starting a new novel.