A Lingering Lament
Those darn cows still aren’t home!
I’ve been at this writing business for much of my life, even taught the subject for a spell, and I’m not one to quit the battle without a proverbial last ditch effort, without showing yet another piece of me that is not so appealing… These are my three questions, one set directed to book readers, one set directed to authors – each set with auto-answers directed at both authors and readers.
First, to the READERS, let me ask you these three questions:
1) Do you like homemade apple pie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream?
Heck, I’ll save you the trouble and answer myself. Tens of millions of you like homemade apple pie with a hearty scoop of vanilla ice cream. The apples and the ice cream have to cost money – stores that I know don’t give them away.
Next question:
2) Do you enjoy going out to the movies, both drive-in and cinema houses?
Don’t mind, I’ll answer! tens of millions of you do! Otherwise, those Hollywood ‘Elites’ would be working regular jobs, or, getting rich on ‘Tell-All’ non-fiction books. I’m sure you pay for those movies, the popcorn, and candy.
Next question:
3) Can you afford those ‘apple pie/vanilla ice cream’ treats?
Again, I believe the answer is, “Sure! Wouldn’t eat the ‘apple pie/vanilla ice cream’ treats and go to the movies if tens of millions of us readers didn’t enjoy them and couldn’t afford them.
~*~
Now, these three questions/my presumed answers to Authors:
1) How much time and effort do you put into writing your books and short stories and poetry – and, your blog posts!
Most of us would say: 24/7 if we include ‘not sleeping too well’ with ideas popping into our cranial network… really difficult to calculate the hours, but certainly more than a normal 8-hour work day.
Next question:
2) Do you consider yourself an excellent writer, an aspiring author, and/or, a rather mediocre writer?
Okay, this is my guess… The self-publishing ranks have all of the above. Some should be on ‘Best Seller’ lists. Some are getting better at wordsmithing with each day they write. And, truth be told, there are really some bad writers in our midst, and there’s just not a whole lot to be done about that – we kid ourselves into thinking we’re great, but that is likely not the case.
Last question:
3) Do you give your books away in hopes that the free reading experiences are going to lead to big sales?
On this question, I could be wrong… I don’t like giving away my books. If my blog posts, my free flash fiction pieces, my poetry, or, my free short stories do not give readers a clear enough depiction of my writing style so that they might buy my books, then it appears I’m not as good at writing as I need to be… Or, maybe, it’s a matter of ‘why buy’ when I can get books FREE!
So, why the questions above?
Hopefully, to make us authors think twice about giving away so much of our souls. I know we must ‘also be a publisher’ as well as authors. I know we should do ‘mailing lists’ (which I do not! shame on me!), spread our marketing arms to embrace a multitude of ‘book listing’ sites, shop for ‘reviews’, ‘author interviews’, tweeting, facebook, social media ad nauseam, ad infinitum, ad forever!!
If you’re young, even, middle-age, stay the course if you feel you’re good enough to be among the stellar authors.
When you get a review like this one for my novel, “Mama’s Madness,” from someone I truly respect, it keeps me playing the odds a little longer…
~*~
Buy my books because I’m not giving them away – today! You can preview my books at: https://www.billyraychitwood.com
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https://brchitwood.com
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