I suspect a lot of the people who follow this blog are writers, so this is a blog post for you. I hope it gives you a laugh and a bit of encouragement. Pets have been on my mind a lot this May, so that’s a theme here too. If you’ve been following me on Twitter, you’ll know my dog’s kidneys were in a bad way at the beginning of the month, but she is much better now. Her SDMA reading is 16 (down from 37). With some more meds and care, we’re hoping to get it down to 14 or lower. It’s a miracle that she has pulled through (I’ve shared a photo of her from last night at the end of the post).
Unkown Author with an Unknown Book
My debut has been out in the world for less than a year. Sales have been steady, but there haven’t been any overnight successes. So I have some experiences to share with new indie writers who are in the position I was in when I first published: under 500 online followers and small beta and ARC teams. The dream is to find reviewers and book bloggers who like your genre/s and appreciate what your book is getting at.
If you spend a bit of time in online writing communities, you soon start to see some reviewers’ profile pics appearing again and again on your feed. If you are polite in approaching these people, and you show an interest in their posts, you may be able to reach out to them with a copy of your book. In a world of direct messaging and bots, the only way to show you are genuine (and human) is not to rush the process. Get to know bookish people over weeks or months. You don’t need to comment on all their posts or spend hours on socials, but a little consistency goes a long way.
Now, we all want reviewers and readers to be utterly captivated by our books. What writer doesn’t want to weave the same magic their favourite authors wove in them?
Attracting Cats
Accumulating reviews while maintaining a healthy average rating is an emotional process. It’s a bit like setting out on a mission to find cats who like you. The results are largely outside of your control.
Admittedly, the reader=cat metaphor is flawed. Some people don’t like cats and yet they are cat magnets. I don’t know many indie authors who are pursued by readers they don’t want. Still, I’m sticking with it for this post.
There are some ground rules when dealing with cats: don’t be grabby, for example. Every cat is different, so an approach that works on one won’t work on another.
Sometimes all the neighbourhood cats adopt someone as their human. From the outside, you may not understand why; the person doesn’t seem to be doing much to warrant the attention. Maybe he spends a lot on gift boxes of catnip and treats, and you can’t afford that. Often people are happy to share advice if you ask.
You start visiting some specific cats. Maybe a contact told you about a cat they had a really good experience with. Heart full of hope, you are looking forward to meeting this dignified Burmese. He regards you, intrigued. Maybe he even lets you stroke his head. Then suddenly, he jumps up, scratches you, and stalks off. He rates your technique 2 stars.
You visit another cat you have heard about. This one is an energetic tabby. She is taken with the feathery toy you trail over the ground for her. You start getting excited: she’s hooked! Then someone walks by, and she immediately loses interest in you, turns tail and runs after the other person. You didn’t even finish your game.
Throughout this process, you will have moments of getting angry with the cats or the people they prefer over you. Be kind to yourself and allow yourself to reflect on why those feelings are coming up. Just turn to someone you trust rather than socials to talk about it.
Hurt, you retreat for a bit. Then a surprise cat comes along to join you on your walk. Sometimes this is a cat that you have seen around. Other times, it is new on the scene and you didn’t even know this cat existed, but you are glad of the company and she is happy to follow you home. After that, she comes to visit you occasionally, leaving a dead mouse or two (4 or 5 star ratings) at your door.
Don’t feel bad if you bear more scratches than the next person. Honestly, the best thing an author can do is work on the instinct to compare. Allow people to have opinions, and allow yourself opinions too. When we join any community, we build up secret expectations of one another. We usually aren’t even aware this is happening, but it is good to reset those expectations every now and then. There are people I engage with online who write in genres that are way outside my comfort zone. Even if we never read each other’s books, I can still cheer them on. Our stories are important, but we are more than our stories.
C B Lansdell 