After A Little Thinking….
I’m sure that, if my wife knew I was writing this post, she’d be a little upset with me. She prefers that I keep my “public persona” as clean as possible, and I admire her for that. But, at the moment, I’m a little upset and I’m going to shoot myself in the marketing foot.
Now that I’ve had a little time to think about what happened this morning, I’ll be flat honest: I’m pissed. I wasted an entire month of my life thinking that this would play out to be a fair start to a career, time I could have spent marketing Like Glass on my own, time I could’ve spent looking for another publisher. Hell, I was actually going to give up when I got the email from VHP, and I could’ve been working on my software development skills in this time, instead of worrying about building up an audience.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not going back on what I said earlier — I’m still very grateful to both Ms. Williams and Ms. Quast for what they’ve done for me. I’m mad at myself. Instead of making sure that everything was signed, sealed, and delivered, I kicked my feet up and trusted that things would take care of themselves.
It was my own stupidity/naivete, and it bit me in the ass. Now I know better.
I don’t think I’ll be spending any more of my time pursuing agents or publishers. I’m satisfied with the job that CreateSpace does for production, and I’ll be a little arrogant: I like to think that I can do a fine job in creating the promotional materials myself. I won’t turn down a reasonable offer if whatever Gods there may be decide to send me one, but I’m not going to waste my time to pursue it further.
I also think that I’m going to leave the series with Shattered. I had originally intended there to be a third, final book in the series, but as much as I hate to leave it at two books, I feel my time is better served looking elsewhere for financial support (i.e. actually trying to do well at my day job, instead of just putting up with it until I get that “big break”).
Note that I reserve the right to change my mind at any time, and I probably will once I get over this. But that’s where I stand at the moment.
So, here’s the current plan: Like Glass is still available at CreateSpace; you can find info on getting a discount if you go to the Like Glass page (click the link at the top to get there). Shattered is undergoing review by some friends of mine, and further information will be forthcoming once I’ve received their opinions.
I may pull the plug on Like Glass at the first of the year, and I may not release Shattered to the public. I haven’t completely decided yet. But, as of this moment in time, what I just wrote is the closest thing there is to a plan, for better or worse. Just don’t take it as the gospel, at least not until you have a copy of Shattered in your hands and you see Like Glass still for sale in Febuary.
I need to get back to pretending to work. Again, thanks to Kimberlee and Mary — it was fun while it lasted.
–Matt
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You got kicked in the teeth. It hurts. I know.
But don’t give up just because you had a setback. Why not keep writing? Why not keep your books up for sale, even if you don’t sell enough for grocery money? The point is, writers write. If you were writing mostly to make enough money to leave your day job, well, then go ahead and quit writing. But if you really burn to write stories, then you’ll keep writing no matter what. In the latter case, I see no reason NOT to keep submitting and selling your work.
Hey Barrie,
Most likely, I will keep writing; I’ve given up many times before — always more seriously than I’ve thought about today — and I’ve always come back. Earlier, I was considering it, but I’ll admit that I was only being pouty.
Right now though, I’m very tired — emotionally, not physically — and it’s been a rough couple of months. The thought of giving up sounds really good, but I know I won’t. In fact, I’m actually making plans already on building things back up. To start with (and I’ll post more about this in a moment), I’m lowering the price of Like Glass from 15.95 USD to 9.95 USD, effective immediately. I’m also working on some marketing plans for the near future, for both Like Glass and Shattered.
To more explicitly address one of the points you made, I was writing to make money, so I could leave my day job and write more. Simple as that. Yeah, it’d be great to be the next success story and be worth millions off the stories I tell, but honestly I’d rather just make a living by writing — even one that isn’t quite as good as what I have now. If I could pay the bills, I’d quit the grind in a heart beat, and I’d even willingly give my works away for nothing.
I write to entertain. It’s that simple. Unfortunately, the job I have doesn’t give me much time or energy when I’m off, so I’m unable to write as much as I like, or focus on it enough to write as well as I would like. It probably sounds like a cop-out, and maybe it is, but it feels “right” to me, if that makes any sense.
Got a post I gotta write at the moment though
–Matt
Hey, taking time off is a good thing. I did that this fall when many, many personal problems ganged up on me and my family at once. I was completely burned out on my writing by then. But I’m getting ideas now, which means I’ve recovered. Yay!
So, yes, take time off, as much as you need. And I know what it’s like to hold down a high tech job and write on the side, and how unsatisfying it can be. I wish you much success and the chance to support yourself solely by writing. It’s a huge long shot, but as they say, if you don’t play, you don’t win.
(One of the nice things about not having to support yourself only with your writing is that you can take time off from the words. I’ve written for a living, and you’d be surprised how quickly the writing turns into a “day job”, with all the associated woes.)
Best wishes and enjoy your holidays!
Thanks Barrie — it’s good to hear some feedback from someone who’s actually familiar with my situation. And that’s something I’ve been a little afraid of too: get to writing full time, and then it just becomes another job. Damn, I’d hate that, but I know it’s more than likely that that’s what would happen.
–Matt