Eva Pasco's Blog - Posts Tagged "hustling"
The Hustle
In the same boat with a lot of my Indie author friends
Waitin' for the day our ship'll come in
And the tide's gonna turn
And it's all gonna roll our way
Workin' 9 to 5!
(Adaptation of Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5” – released, 1980)
9 to 5? More than likely, around the clock with unspecified hours for bearing life’s responsibilities above and beyond writing, marketing, and promoting.
It’s a daily hustle which starts as soon as I tumble out of bed and my toes touch the floor at 5 AM, turning on the computer for it to come to life. The unforeseen rare exception? When my computer crashed on the evening of April 25th, plunging my world into darkness. Cut off from social media until the following afternoon, I could not post my daily Facebook ads or update my status at Authors Den and Goodreads.
While I’m aware that my short-lived absence from social media probably didn’t make a dent in book sales or lack thereof, my exile prohibited me from hustling online author opportunities.
Once my computer screen came into the light, I worked the room. Henceforth, in REAL TIME,
I’ve submitted my book to another contest:
Chill with a Book Awards:
http://www.chillwithabook.com/
I’ve been prepping pre-event posts for my book character event hosted by fellow Indie, Tabi Slick (The Slick Writing Corner), going live on May 1st from 5-8 PM EST on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/events/18946...
I’ve procured guest spots on Blog Talk Radio:
July 11th (1- 1:30 PM EST) Susan Wingate’s Radio Show for Authors – DIALOGUE: BETWEEN THE LINES:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/dialogue
August 19th (8 – 9 PM EST) Yvonne Mason’s OFF THE CHAIN:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/yvonnemason
The frenetic life of an Indie author is akin to a rolling stone gathering no moss in the hope that the tide will turn and things will roll our way.
An Enlightening Quiche
Waitin' for the day our ship'll come in
And the tide's gonna turn
And it's all gonna roll our way
Workin' 9 to 5!
(Adaptation of Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5” – released, 1980)
9 to 5? More than likely, around the clock with unspecified hours for bearing life’s responsibilities above and beyond writing, marketing, and promoting.
It’s a daily hustle which starts as soon as I tumble out of bed and my toes touch the floor at 5 AM, turning on the computer for it to come to life. The unforeseen rare exception? When my computer crashed on the evening of April 25th, plunging my world into darkness. Cut off from social media until the following afternoon, I could not post my daily Facebook ads or update my status at Authors Den and Goodreads.
While I’m aware that my short-lived absence from social media probably didn’t make a dent in book sales or lack thereof, my exile prohibited me from hustling online author opportunities.
Once my computer screen came into the light, I worked the room. Henceforth, in REAL TIME,
I’ve submitted my book to another contest:
Chill with a Book Awards:
http://www.chillwithabook.com/
I’ve been prepping pre-event posts for my book character event hosted by fellow Indie, Tabi Slick (The Slick Writing Corner), going live on May 1st from 5-8 PM EST on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/events/18946...
I’ve procured guest spots on Blog Talk Radio:
July 11th (1- 1:30 PM EST) Susan Wingate’s Radio Show for Authors – DIALOGUE: BETWEEN THE LINES:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/dialogue
August 19th (8 – 9 PM EST) Yvonne Mason’s OFF THE CHAIN:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/yvonnemason
The frenetic life of an Indie author is akin to a rolling stone gathering no moss in the hope that the tide will turn and things will roll our way.
An Enlightening Quiche
The Hustle
Like snake oil salesmen, tin men (aluminum siding smooth talkers) and Avon sales reps, the Indie author hustles to sell books. While I may not knock on doors to peddle my wares, I’m tapping into social media. Prior to publication of my second Contemporary Women’s Fiction novel, ‘An Enlightening Quiche’ (September 20, 2016) and shortly thereafter, I’ve hustled with bustle:
Facebook author page launch party
Month-long blog tour with Pump Up Your Books
Facebook Author events
Paid ads on promotional sites that offer a subscription service for readers, providing recommendations for eBook purchases through advertising my book along with many others in its genre.
Seeing negligible results despite knocking myself out, I’m skeptical of most things in a market glutted with free and reduced to pennies-on-the-dollar book offers which only serve to deplete the author’s potential to sell eBooks retailing for under five bucks to begin with. Mine is priced at $3.95 for 361 pages—so that’s my bottom line!
Currently, my minimal hustling is reserved to posting five daily Facebook ads in various free promotional groups. It’s catch as catch can for grabbing someone’s attention to click on the link and take a leap of faith in purchasing the Kindle Edition. It’s too far a stretch to bank on signed paperback acquisitions even at a reasonable price of $19.95 for a print book containing 550 pages.
Ads are just one aspect of the hustle. Hustling for publicity is another. In that regard, I’ve lined up a guest spot for “Author of the Month” in September at ‘The Write Side’:
https://janetirvin.wordpress.com/
I’m also getting psyched for two upcoming live radio appearances:
OFF THE CHAIN with Author and Radio Host, Yvonne Mason – September 9th (8-9PM)
https://offthechainwithauthorandradio...
DIALOGUE: Between the Lines with Susan Wingate – September 16th (10 – 10:30 AM)
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/dialogue
As with most hustling endeavors, there are no guarantees for measurable success via sales, other than the certainty—“Nothing ventured, nothing gained!”
