I threw a party and no one came

The time is 9:49 p.m. on Sunday December 9,2012. Today I hosted my very first authors Q&A on Goodreads.com, and no one came. Oh sure, one person signed up to attend. I invited 5 people. That's almost all of the friends I have and I left posts on Facebook. Not one person asked a single question.

Makes me wonder, if not one person cares to hear the story of a fucking guy who made an XXX online sex show with his own cousin, my book is destined to fail. My protagonist is a fucking Internet pornographer for Pete's sake, and still no body cares. My poor beloved novel is doomed.

I love writing. I really do. I love connecting scenes, building characters. I even love studying grammar, and sitting on my couch late at night, drunk, and painting pictures with words. But I hate writing because it has brought me unprecedented despair, sadness and feelings of failure. Nothing else in my life has done that to me.

I was hoping to talk to someone today about my novel, anyone. No one wanted to talk to me. Maybe  it's not a lack of interest on the part of readers, maybe my ads suck, or maybe it's my cover. Maybe I should just face facts and realize the whole idea for my novel sucks. No one wants to hear the story of a Latino who doesn't cheat on his wife, or sell drugs, is not a vampire, a secret agent or a psycho. He is just a guy who is willing to go to Hell for his family. Maybe I need to face facts and move on.

I love writing and I will continue to do it. As a matter of fact i am starting to consider my next novel. But I am writing at this point because I CAN'T stop. But I now write with a pessimism that was not there before I published my book, and a certain degree of sadness. 

What I've concluded about paid advertising

     This is a follow-up to my last post in which I shared the paid advertising results for my novel, Confessions of an Internet Pornographer. Not only did I blog about it, I was proud of my results so I shared them on absolutewrite.com

     Unfortunately, all the writers at absolutewrite were un-impressed with my results. Not one felt as if the $400 I had spent were worth the sales, and they were right if you look at the situation in pure dollars and cents. But I’ve come to look at it a different way. First of all, I welcomed the chance to spend the money to spread the word about my book. Did I pay a lot for a little? Not if that little meant earning 2 good reviews on Goodreads.com, and reaching hundreds of voracious readers. The book got  a 4 out of 5 star review from a guy in Bangladesh and a 3 star review from a Russian reader (and everyone knows that a 3 star book review from a Russian is like getting a 4 star in America ;). I'm also on 19 “to-read” lists. What I hate more than spending money on advertising is having my book in limbo and no one knowing it exists!

     The $200 I used to advertise on Facebook was also well spent. I racked-up 91 "likes" and I now have a better idea of my demographic. It allowed me to shape good ads, as evidenced by eventually good click through rates. If I decide to advertise again I know my ads will work. That alone was worth $200.

     What I have concluded? I want to try some of the other things the writers at absolutewrite.com  recommended before deciding if paid advertising is better than other forms of book promotion. Remember, they did not see ANY benefit to paying for advertising.

Here are their  recommendations:
1. Send out review copies to bloggers and book reviewers, and offer E-Arcs for e-book readers. 
2. Create a Web site, but I don't spend a lot of money. See what other writers have done. 
3. Join Goodreads.com and Library Thing and offer giveaways.
4. Don't pay for ads, online or in print. Word of mouth and written recommendations from friends and trusted reviewers are the keys.  

    What's my next move? A book give-away on Goodreads, and to learn about Library Thing. I’ll post my results later. I’ve also lowered my book price. I still think my novel is worth as much as a cup of coffee or a large bag of chips so it will not be .99. I only make $1 per e-book or paperback anyway, so I don’t charge from greed. The novel IS worth something. It has value. And I refuse to give it away for free!!! But that’s another post.

Until next time I will continue writing into the wind.

Luis

Why Goodreads.com is better than Facebook for book promotion

     I am writing this in the hopes that it helps anyone who has limited funds and is trying to figure out how best to use their resources to promote their book. I want to share my experiences advertising my novel on Facebook and Goodreads.com. First of all, if you do not want to read any further, Goodreads.com was the best promotional tool of the two, read-on to learn why.

     The key is what webmasters call "targeted traffic," which is really just a modern version of what sales people have always referred to as "shoppers vs. buyers." Think of shoppers as people walking through a mall casually looking at store displays and shelves. They'll see something that interests them, pick it up, stare at it and then put it back and keep going to the next store. Buyers are people with money in hand eager to buy exactly what you are selling. A guy wants a new shirt, guy sees shirt, guy tries on shirt - it fit! - guy buys shirt. Done. Targeted traffic refers to buying advertising that will reach buyers, not shoppers.

     I began advertising my book on Facebook in January. I ran four ads, and constantly tweaked them in order to improve my click-though-rate. A pretty good indicator of how your ads are doing. It was my only method of promotion at the time. My ads generated constant "likes" for my Facebook page, but they did not generate any sales. Discouraged I learned about Goodreads on absolutewrite.com and spent $100 to run a campaign using the very same ads I perfected on Facebook (after all they were proven traffic generators.) Here are my stats for Goodreads vs. Facebook.

Facebook stats from January 2012.
Spent $200.00
Impressions 1,262,341

total Clicks 446

CTR 0.035% (click though rate)

CPC$0.45 (Cents per click)

My Goodreads stats from July 2012  (same ads, same targeted audience)

total credit purchased $200.00     

total impressions 691,399

total clicks 682

ctr for all time 0.1%

cpc for all time $0.50

     As you can see, I was much more successful advertising on Goodreads than on Facebook. I spent almost equal amounts of money, over a shorter period of time, less people looked at my ads, and yet I still received more clicks and my sales were better with Goodreads. Why? I believe the answer is targeted traffic. With Goodereads I reached book buyers, not shoppers. Your FB ad might be read by 1 billion people, but more READERS with cash in hand are on Goodreads.

     Another thing I like about Goodreads is that ability to track your book, to a certain degree. On Facebook you'll see your ads reach, your click-through-rate, and the number of clicks your novel got, but that's it. Sales will tell you if your ads are really doing anything.  But Goodreads gives you an author dashboard that gives you everything Facebook does, and more.

It looks like this:

number of works: 1

added by unique users: 19

fans: 0

ratings: 3 ratings (4.00 avg)

text reviews: 1 

to-read: 1 person
currently-reading: 2 people

     That kind of information is not only super informative, it's exhilarating and may be the shot in the arm you need during those dark times, when you wonder if your book is getting any attention. I hope this helps anyone trying to promote their book on a limited budget. Good luck.

Until next time I will continue writing into the wind.


Luis Mario  

I've found the urge to write again

     I wrote yesterday. Not so amazing news? It is for me. Since I've published my book I have not written a word. Oh, I've written ads and a dozen other forms of advertising, but I have not written anything I would consider literary. The biggest reason is that I've been so busy learning how to "build a platform," and about marketing and advertising. I've had little time for anything else. After spending years in a little corner writing page after page I am now expected to sell my book to all of the many friends I did not make because I was too busy writing! Publishing my book has been mind melting. That's what sucks about self publishing, maybe trade publishing too, you spend so much time on the business of publishing there's no time left for writing.

     I've just started to get the urge to write again. Oh sure, my subconscious has never stopped sending me new ideas, voices, and images. They still come and try desperately to leave a story behind, but I do not let them. I have been pushing away new ideas for months. Creativity is distracting, and right now, my life is about telling the world about my book. I've even been thinking about taking a break from writing for a few years and going back to school. I'm getting older, the jobs getting harder, and higher education might be a better plan for changing my life than writing another book.

     So what did my literary work produce? A very interesting short story, and that's all I want it to it to be. The only kind of relationship I want with my writing right now is something fun, non-committal, sexy. No novels and long relationships. However, I must admit it felt wonderful to feel the images and voices rush into my mind and not push them away. I felt the joy of  discovering new places and people again. I will finnish my little story, but I'm in no rush. I want to savor the process of writing it like I would a great meal, slowly. I still have new ads to create, stats to check and promotional giveaways to think about - everything a self-publisher has to do to survive. However, from now on I will make time to write. I've been so busy trying to save my book from literary oblivion I had forgotten that warm comfortable feeling that comes over me when I put words on paper. 

     Bye the way, I've gotten 91 "likes" on Facebook, Thank you! My goal is 100 and I'm posting like a madman to try to get there. Sales are depressing right now, but that's okay, they'll pick up. I know my readers are out there somewhere, I just have to keep searching for them.

 Until next time, I continue writing into the wind.

Lucho

   

Reviews are in for my novel Confessions of an Internet Pornographer

     I'm glad to report that reviews for my novel have been great. I hope it is beginning to find an audience. I've reached over  50,000 people on Facebook and it's only cost me $150. In 1998, it would gave cost twice that much to place a small box ad in a magazine. It's easy to create and manage ads on Facebook, although their server is slow and frustrating at times. Being "liked" is also free advertising and every time you send out an ad their friends see it. Facebook ads are what will keep my book alive for now. Who knows? Here are 3 of my reviews:

Confessions is your great read,
 December 28, 2011 By  EK Amazon Verified Purchase
The title of the book might make you think this is a totally raunchy affair, but it is actually a warm, funny story about the lengths and depths a husband and father will go to make a better life for his family. In this case, it's a Latin man starting a XXX website with his Jewish in-laws. As humorous as that situation sounds on its own, turns out, it's not all fun and games. The moral and ethical struggles that come from the choices Jose (the main character) makes help ground the story. There are moments when I laughed out loud, and moments that are really touching, and, yes, some that are a bit risqué. All together, it works as a highly enjoyable book, even more impressive that it's from a first-time novelist. This book has a lot of heart and soul which is what stands out about it most for me. It's definitely worth a read!


The Truth, June 3, 2012 By  Floridian palmita. Amazon Verified Purchase. 
"This is a Must Read Book! The Author brings me to places I've never seen, as a Floridian we do not have Bodegas or really have to take a cab or walk anywhere. Luis Mario lets you see the city for what it truly is, he let's you feel his struggles on the outside and within himself. He let's you savor the tastes of the foods in little neighborhoods that people may remember as kids. He describes the sights and sounds of the borough in the most elegant ways as if you are standing right next to him. Today people are going through their own struggles and I can relate to his struggles, family and religious beliefs." 

Exploits of cab driver following his dream of becoming wealthy. Amazon Verified Purchase
"One can easily identify with any character living in the Bronx who wants a better life for his family--that desire is universal. Jose's life as a cab driver was both a colourful and depressing one. He appeared a credible character. This story is based on a true one and that came across as obvious in many respects. It was felt however, that the setting--Jose spending three hours in a confessional booth seeking absolution for selling sex having done it all for money--was probably not the most appropriate setting for the telling of this story because it took much, much longer to read the materials than what one has to assume was orally delivered to the priest in that supposed three-hour time-frame. The narrative is a faily long one and so that setting was somewhat incredible. I think perhaps even "Cinco Horas Con Mario", a five hour talk with a dead person, must have been a shorter novel than this one said to be narrated within three hours. The author's writing style in Confessions was witty, entertaining and quite vivid making this an engrossing read. Whether the author intended to present the church/religion as hypocritical is not known but this comes across regardless--the MC believeing he's sinned, confessing but asserting he would do it all again if he had to, and Father Monahan appeasing him by saying he could still get into heaven by letting Jesus into his heart and donating lots of his ill-gotten gains to charity--ten percent. Of course, he must engage in performing Hail Mary's and Acts of Contrition, so many that he would probably end up an old man when he's finished them all. Redeemed, and at peace with himself for having confessed, he leaves the confessional. This novel, while it does make one laugh in many segments, tells a tragic-absurd provocative tale that begs a serious study of man's motives for his actions, good and bad, and the place religion assumes in his life."

Not too shabby? I hope future reviews will be so good. For now, I'll continue writing into the wind. 

Luis Mario
    

My experience publishing with Amazon and Createspace

Hello everyone!

     I know it's been since February since I've posted anything, but I've been busting my ass working on my book Confessions of an Internet Pornographer. It is finally out in paperback. I've priced it as low as possible, $9.99 on Amazon.com. I've had a good experianc working with Amazon which is the topic of this post.

     First of all, Amazon does not publish the book, the website you will be doing business with is named Createspace. As a matter of fact, when you are finished and pricing you book, you will get a bigger royalty for copies purchased at Createspace, than at Amazon.com. I guess as an incentive to send shoppers to them. However, once you publish at Createspace your book will be listed on Amazon in a couple of days, without you doing a thing.  

     The program is easy to use. I've spent the better part of the last two months formatting the book. I had to chose margins, cover color, everything. Luckily, I could make changes regularly, and they've added a way to view the proof of your book online. You can also order hard copies at cost. When you are finished the program editor will show you where problems exists on a page. They provide a lot of help. Best of all it's FREE to place your book on what will soon be the worlds biggest book publisher.

     Another great thing about Amazon is that you are an instant International author. The minute you publish your book it's available in the US, England, Germany, Italy, and Spain. I was looking at my stats the other day, and sure enough, I made a Kindle sale in England and Germany. I've actually sold over a 100 copies of my Kindle book in the UK. Thank you great Britain! Amazon lets you set the U.S. price, and it will do the currency conversion for you. I am definitely recommending Createspace. My experience with Amazon, both when publishing my novel as a Kindle book and a paperback, have been smooth.

    Until next time, I will continue writing into the wind.

Luis Mario

Book Recommendation: The Dirty Parts of the Bible

Hello everyone!

    I will start this post by thanking my return visitors. While examining my stats’ I’ve noticed that 100% of my visitors last month were return visitors. Thanks’ for coming back! I am also getting a lot of Russian visitors so I would like to say, "Добро пожаловать на все мои друзья из России!” which I think means “Welcome to all my friends from Russia.”   

     I want to use this post to tell you all about a great book I am reading entitled The Dirty Parts of the Bible, by Sam Torode. The book tells the story of a strict preachers son who is searching for a secret treasure to save his father’s home. In order to find the treasure he must go on an odyssey across the American mid-west to his uncle’s farm in Texas. Along the way he meets a cast of motley characters who are wonderfully 3 dimensional and oddly familiar. It is a very enjoyable ride. He finally arrives on his Uncle’s old farm and begins to learn things about his family, and his father, that change him forever.  

     Anyone who knows a little about Christians and the bible will appreciate the religious humor and titillating biblical references. It you had a very religious upbringing, like me, you’ll laugh out loud. They are very funny and some of the most enjoyable lines in the book. I was hoping to find smart funny scriptural references when I bought the book – just think about the title – and I was not disappointed. The protagonist is a obsessed virgin who is seeing the real world for the first time; a man who wants to have sex more than he wants to go to heaven.  

     The book is sometimes laugh out loud funny and well written. My only critique would be that I wanted to the novel to have more description of the turn of the century middle America. However, the story never loses its sense of place and setting.

     I loved the way he finds the treasure. It happens very quickly and I was just as surprised about it's location as the protagonist. I highly recommend this self published novel. Whatever publisher turned this one down made a big mistake. If you want to read a funny, well written, guilt-ridden, sexy little story, with a nostalgic American voice read The Dirty Parts of the Bible by Sam Torode. Available at Amazon.com.

      Good luck to everyone and удача (success), until we meet again I will continue writing into the wind.



Lucho
P.S.
Please note I have not received anything for this endorsement, nor do I know or have ever met Mr. Torode. I just really liked his novel and think self-publishers should help one another.                       

Over 700 people have downloaded my book on the kindle

Over 700 people in the U.S. have downloaded my book on the Amazon! 139 in the UK!  I'm an international author.

At the end of December I ran a promotion in which I gave Confessions of an Internet Pornographer away free for a week. Over 450 people downloaded the file in one night! I'm hoping people will tell their friends about my novel and so on and so on and so on.

I did not make any money, but it's wonderful knowing over 700 people are reading my book. I hope they enjoy it. If 10% of the readers write me 4-5 star reviews on Amazon that would be 70 great reviews! 

Since the book did so well for Free, I lowered the price to $2.99. But that's the lowest I'll sell it for. My novel has value, and I believe it's worth as much as a sandwich or a cup of fancy coffee. I would also like to make a living writing someday and that will never happen if I give it away for free. But I'm very happy about the way the free week turned out.

The paperback is on it's way! I swear!

Remember all you self-publishers out there: don't give up and don't slow down. We're all going to become famous writers this year.

Wish me luck, until next time I will continue writing into the wind.

Lucho

Write hard this year

                                                  
Happy New Year everybody!

     Hope your post party hangovers are not too bad; remember to drink plenty of water, and greasy food works wonders. Let’s start the New Year with a determination to write more this year. If you are publishing your own book, like me, take a deep breath and promise your self not to slow down.    
     I want to start this year by giving you all an invaluable writing resource. I believe it is a must join for any new writer. I have learned that we all write alone, but you cannot edit, publish, or market your book alone. You need to know what people are doing right and wrong, get direction, and even find some emotional support. Don’t make the mistake I made the first time I tried to publish my book, you can't do it alone.
     The Web site that has helped me the most with pre and post publication has been absolutewrite.com. I found it during one of my late night – Tequila fueled -- research sessions by accident. New and experienced writers will love it. I have never posted a question on absolutewrite.com that was not answered intelligently and quickly. There must be people that spend all day just answering posts. It’s easy to use, friendly, and FREE! Below is how they describe themselves:
     

“Absolute Write offers articles and information about fiction, nonfiction, screenwriting, freelancing, and copy writing. In addition, we provide information about editing, publishing, agents, and market research. You'll find links to classes, software, and a large and active online community of writers and publishing professionals.”

     Use this resource in January to start writing or pushing your novel. That includes me. I’ve been thinking about writing a short story, maybe putting it on Zoetrope.com for feedback. I don’t know. After writing Confessions of an Internet Pornographer I’ve gotten so busy with publishing and creating a marketing plan I’ve had little time to write.
     If anyone reads this blog say hello. If no one is reading this then I bid the wind good bye for now.

Lucho