writer « Robin Writes

I seldom blog about my own books—I don’t know why, it just doesn’t happen. Maybe because they’re all listed on the sidebar here . . .

Well, today, I am!

REDUCED: FREE on Kindle this week!

A devastating biological agent is about to be released, to be tested in remote areas. Rumor has it, though, that there is more to this than meets the eye. One group makes plans to hide out, and survive, in case that rumor proves to be truth. Meeting at an abandoned summer camp near St. Louis, Missouri, a dozen old friends gather after the alarm is raised.

Life becomes more precious, more tenuous, as time passes. Government controls tighten, people are herded into the city . . . or killed. Towns are obliterated. And soon, the enemy agenda becomes obvious.

Abby, like the rest, has special skills—each member of the group was chosen not only because of past ties, but also for their unique training and abilities. She will come face-to-face with death, bear the responsibility for a young girl, and endure the severing of childhood relationships in the most terrible way imaginable.

From mere concealment to reconnaissance to aiding a rebellion, where will it end? Will the entire region be decimated, and who will be left alive to know?

So yes, FREE! The second and third books, REUSED and RECYCLED, are available now, and the fourth, REPEAT, will be out in March!

The short answer is this: I’ll be darned if I know!

The long answer, however, is this: Many, many factors.

First, you have to have a good story, and/or a book with wide appeal. Second, it must be well-designed. Third, you have to get it to market.

A good story has a beginning, a middle, and an end. Something to hook the reader and let him in, hoping to discover more and wanting to know more.

A book with wide appeal is something to which many people can relate. In fiction, that can be all over the map, so to speak; in non-fiction, it could be as simple as cooking, or self-help, or entertainment, or information on a common illness or disorder.

That simply means that it must have universal appeal—a book about your family will be interesting to your family, but not necessarily anyone else (unless you’re famous). A book about something you overcame or your own life story may be intriguing to some, but not to many (unless you’re famous).

And of course, you can’t price it too high.

Timing helps too—you don’t want to release a holiday book in the spring, for example.

Then you have marketing. This means exposure. If you don’t have a website or do nothing with it, if you don’t have a blog or never post new material, if you only market to other writers, etc., etc., you will not sell books. If you never do events or festivals or appearances or speaking engagements, you will not sell books.

If you do all these things, consistently, you will sell books. Probably.

The single biggest factor for marketability is luck.

Just stop and let that sink in for a moment.

You’ve all seen really crappy books, or even just a short story sold as a “book,” that climbs the Amazon charts. Ugh. And good ones, from unknown authors, that just sell and sell and sell.

WHAT THE HECK?

Luck. Pure and simple. Like winning the lottery. I can’t explain it and neither can you—if you have the awesomest story ever, and the most brilliant illustrations, but sometimes that just can’t compare to this type of luck.

What does this mean? Not a thing. It certainly doesn’t mean you can’t or shouldn’t write or draw or try to sell books—that won’t get you a darned thing, and that’s for sure. Keep trying, keep working on it—why?

Because that’s who you are.