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Wednesday 29 January 2014

If there's a button, why not push it?

My resolution for 2014 is to push more buttons, and I shall be actively seeking out new buttons to push. I'll also be giving up pushing old buttons that no longer work, which is a failing of mine. I find it hard to abandon something that has served me well in the past.

Jeff Bezos said, "If you double the number of experiments you do per year, you're going to double your inventiveness." He's also quoted as saying he doesn't think consistency of thought is a particularly positive trait. It's healthy to have an idea today that contradicts the idea you had yesterday. The smartest people constantly revise their understanding and reconsider problems they thought they’d already solved. They're open to new points of view, new information, new ideas, contradictions, and challenges to their own way of thinking.

You have to accept that most buttons you push won't make anything happen. Acknowledge that you're going to feel foolish and discouraged after several duds in a row - but still keep looking for another button to push.

So far, I've paid for a Bookbub ad (successful). I've got out my half-finished screenplay of Replica, finished it, and emailed it to a professional screen writer who was rash enough to volunteer to look at it. I've decided to leave KDP Select (again) and really try to make it work on the other platforms this time. And I'm trying to think up an idea for a series...

12 comments:

  1. Well done on your button-pushing campaign, Lexi.
    I've been wondering about Bookbub - would you recommend it as a good sales boost?
    I think I need to start pushing buttons, too.

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  2. Yes, I would - Bookbub seems to be able to pick books that will appeal to their lists of readers. I made about four times the cost of the advert from increased sales, and will use them again if they'll have me.

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  3. Best of luck with the book bub ad, I've heard good things about the site, only time will tell.

    Oh and count me in on any button pushing mayhem!

    I have finally finished the series I'm working on, which is out in a few months. Therefore, I'm going to have to seriously get my finger out of my bottom and market it.

    Cheers

    MTM

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  4. Congratulations on finishing the series, MTM! A lot of work, series. As is the marketing.

    Push those buttons :o)

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  5. I'm impressed by your last paragraph.

    Replica would make a good TV programme and then you might get asked to turn it into a series. If Sherlock Holmes can continue after the hero 'fell to the ground', I'm sure you can pick up the Beths and run with them.

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  6. So many readers have commented that Replica would make a good film, I feel I have to try. The odds against getting anywhere with a screenplay are even worse than for a novel - but hey, it's just another button to push :o)

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  7. So will we be seeing your work available from Barnes and Noble, Apple, Kobo and other eBook retailers?

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  8. Yes, as soon as the books' term in Select is over. Ice Diaries in a few days, the rest after March 8th.

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  9. I can't help but think that will be a good move for you, especially with the nice sized catalog you offer. Sales for my lone book are, unsurprisingly, quite slow, but the Barnes and Noble numbers lately have been as good as and sometimes better than those on Amazon. Sony, Kobo and Apple sales are still rare, but they happen. And a few libraries have picked up the ebook through Smashwords.

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  10. That's encouraging, Alan, though I'm planning to use D2D rather than Smashwords.

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  11. I would love a series from Wolf by the Ears. It is practically screaming series at me so I hope this is what you had in mind. :D Love your stuff and just finished reading your books.

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  12. Zenobiah, I have to write a series! Wolf was not intended to be one, and I can't think where the sequel would go.

    I am currently mulling over ideas for the next book, which I want to be the first of a three part series. If readers like characters, they want more of them, I know, and stand alone books don't satisfy that need.

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