Can I Read Your Novel For Free?
I’m sure any writer can attest to the fact that one of the greatest pleasures is being able to write something that someone reads and likes. More importantly when someone gives you feedback on your work or shows you support your soul lights up like a fireworks display.
I worked hard and self published two novels: Sacred Swords, a fantastic fiction novel about two young adults who find out they are descended from gods that have a destiny to save the world from evil. My second novel was The Candy Shop which is about a single mother living in anew York trying to survive physical and emotional abuse from her past and present all the while trying to provide for her young child.
These two bodies of work took years of my life to complete. Hours of sweat, tears, and neck cramps went into crafting these two stories, so I published them for the world to see. This is where the issues began. Now that I had. My work for sale, people wanted it for free. My friends and family wanted copies for free. If they didn’t want it for free they would leave the empty promise of buying it later for me to chew on, but 99% of the time that meant they weren’t going to buy it at all.
DISCLAIMER: This is not to say I didn’t have friends and family buy my work, it’s just to say that a lot of my family and friends I expected support from I got none from.
In my experience as a self published author trying to market myself, It’s infinitely easier to sell your work to a stranger than it is to a friend. Certain friends won’t support you unless they can do it for free or if it comes to benefit them in some sort of way. If this isn’t a mutually beneficial transaction they aren’t going to help you, and lord knows they aren’t going to pay you for anything. Its hard to sell them on the fact that reading can be a really enriching experience and a nice get away from the hustle of the daily grind. That’s not enough. Apparently neither is your friendship enough to garner support. It’s a sad truth, but still a truth of the world. Ask any entrepreneur especially a black entrepreneur. Our community spends too much time looking out for themselves to support each other a lot of the time. It’s sad.
While on the grind trying to sell my work to others I found it easier to sell to people I didn’t know. Not because their easier to talk to, I’m an introvert and prefer not to talk at all. They were easier to talk to because the would listen. They don’t know you so don’t expect anything from you, people are just intrigued by the fact that you wrote a book and are taking the time to listen to what it’s about. I’ve made more sales of my books all around the United States via online and overseas than I have in my own home town. Out of all the close personal friends I have only a small part of that population have actually read my work. Why is it easier for a stranger to take a chance on you than a friend you’ve known for years?
I’m not going to stop writing novels, and I’m not going to stop trying to put it out there for people to see. It is discouraging when the people you want to impress most are the ones who turn a blind eye to your work, all because you ask for support in your endeavor. We as consumers have got to try harder to support the everyday average man in your community with a face that you can see instead of this gigantic corporations that are ruling our economy.
Poetic Ice
Oh and check out my novels here:
