Publishing A Novel: Waiting For My Big Break

One of the most frustrating things about being an artist is that you often have to depend on others to help you make it "big." Since I'm a writer, musician and jewelry designer, ALL of my creations rely on others' subjective opinions. I work really hard in everything that I do and I know that I shouldn't care what anyone else thinks. But if I really want to succeed in any of these ventures, I HAVE to care about people's thoughts.

Most of the time, I love doing what I do, but there are days like today when things are going slow and I begin to question myself. Those doubts are hitting me rather strongly today, especially since I recently learned of a writer friend's big break. Her work got noticed by someone in a high place and that person was able to get her book a lot of attention and sales. The book deserves the acclaim and I'm happy for her ... but I'm also envious. I want someone with that much influence to notice my work, too.

Most successful writers or artists will advise you to never give up if you want to succeed. I'm among those who's spouted this cliched line, but there's truth behind it. You have to keep working at whatever it is that you want to do. Thanks to my hard work, I've put together a CD, a novel and two jewelry businesses. In some ways, I am very successful. But in others, I'm not. My sales on Etsy and Amazon are ... okay. I'd like them to be great. I see plenty of other Etsy artists who sell thousands of pieces each year and hear of other indie writers whose books are best sellers. Honestly, I want that to be me.

I've read hundreds of articles about selling products online and have studied the sites/books of the successful ones ... and I feel as if I'm heading in the right direction. I'm willing to put in the time and the work. But it seems as if many of these people were also lucky because the right person noticed them. They happened to have their jewelry featured in a popular fashion blog or had their book reviewed by a well-known blogger whose site gets hundreds of thousands of hits. I wish that someone with that much influence would give me some notice. I've been working for years on my various crafts and spent over a decade paying my dues at the magazine. I'll be 39 soon. I'd love to make it big by the time I'm 40. I feel like it's my time to shine.

I guess I'm ahead of some people because I've run into many who've never even come close to achieving any of their dreams. I'm happy to say that I have. But I see nothing wrong with wanting even more for myself -- and am determined to get there.

Please help my dream come true: read and review my novel REVENGE OF A BAND GEEK GONE BAD.

Kindle Book Review Feature

As part of my publicity campaign for BAND GEEK, I'm having it featured in The Kindle Book Review site. It seems to be working so far because I've had decent sales today after a bit of a slow-down. Moreover, I love the way the sensationalist tabloid-like headline that they gave to my blurb: "Mel Just Lost First Chair -- And She Wants Revenge!" I'm picturing Zombie Mel coming after Kathy with a chainsaw. It's certainly an attention-grabbing way to advertise my book!

As a journalist, I appreciate that they took the time to come up with a catchy header. I also like that the person who put this together obviously spent a lot of time reading through my blurb, bio and Amazon page to come up with an appropriate ad for me. Thirdly, they link to my purchase page several times throughout the ad. Overall, I'd say that I got my money's worth.

Meanwhile, my blog tour is going strong -- or at least it's supposed to be. So far, a couple of sites have yet to post my guest blog entries on deadline. But I also understand that life sometimes happens and that sometimes people can't get to their computers for reasons beyond their control (massive hurricanes, for instance). So I'm trying to be patient and hope that my posts will appear soon enough. (Update: it was indeed a power outage that prevented my post from going up. But it's up now and I will link tomorrow).

Some people are questioning my decision to pay for publicity, but I believe in that old adage, "You need to spend money to make money." I believe in it to a point, anyway. Obviously, you don't want to go into debt or to spend money on things that won't help your business. But I've learned through my jewelry businesses that you do need to spend at least a little cash to get results. This is why I don't mind too much if I have to pay the registration fee for a craft fair or for some book advertising. I've set a budget for both and see these as worthy investments.

My main goal, of course, is to get my book out there. Slowly, but surely, the word is spreading. I know that it will take time and patience -- and I'm TRYING to be patient, though it isn't always easy!

Please read and review REVENGE OF A BAND GEEK GONE BAD.