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