Great lyrics. This is why I listen to dusties (oldies). They really lift the mood.
"I guess that's why they call it the blues. Time on my hands, that could be time spent with you. Laughing like children, living like lovers, rolling like thunder, under covers. I guess that's why they call it, the blues... "
E. Writer
3 Important Marketing Tips that Every Author Should Understand for Long-term Success
Marketing a book isn't an overnight blitz
1. Marketing isn't an overnight blitz; it's a process that takes many months to build, unless you already have a strong brand like Stephen King or a franchise like Lee Child. Often, authors don't see the immediate impact of their efforts and give up before the results are in, leading to certain failure because the author gave up prematurely. Analyze your market. Depending on your genre, following, and other factors, it may take time to build a fan base from scratch. You want to build that before your book release. How long it takes is different for every author and every book. The key is to not give up. If something isn't working for you, reassess your marketing plan. Keep in mind that even celebrities write books that fail to generate sales.
Authors who are the most successful are the authors who have the patience, time, and motivation to roll up their sleeves.
Understanding the data and setting realistic expectations
Before you embark on your marketing journey, it's important to understand the data and to set realistic expectations. Only 2% of books become bestsellers. A sobering fact from Nielsen Bookscan data shows that 96-98% of published books will sell between 12 - 999 (under 1000) in their lifetime with many self-published titles selling between 100-250 books in their lifetime. Data shows that 51% of traditionally published titles will sell 12-999 books with 14% selling only 12 copies. When authors sell books, consider it a win in an industry with over 4 million books published annually. In other words, anyone who is publishing as a get-rich quick scheme, you are in the wrong industry. If you can sell 1,000 books, you are in an elite group, the top 2-4% of authors. Congratulate yourself. A bestseller is a book that has sold 5,000-10,000 or more copies. But most importantly, an author with a backlist of books is going to perform better than an author with a one-off title. An author with 5 books that sold 500 copies in 3 years will have better results than an author with one book that sold 60 copies in three years. If you are writing in a niche genre, your expectations should match what you are writing about.
Avoid these common publishing and marketing mistakes
2. The biggest mistake authors make is releasing a book and marketing the book after the book is already on sale. The proper order is to start marketing before the book is released. This is the strategy used by major publishing houses. You'll want to market 6 months to a year before the book goes on sale... or at a bare minimum, four months. Some distributors for small presses may even want to know what type of marketing is in place 18 months before the book is released. Marketing entails long-term planning. The industry will show support for your book with careful planning.
Avoid people and websites shilling "self-publishing" advice.
3. You have more than one audience. It's not just potential readers or followers, but an industry that may or may not support your work based on your approach and credibility. You can market using self-publishing strategies peddled by online companies or individuals shilling "easy answers" for clicks or high-priced consultant or "education" fees (often thousands of dollars). However, the truth is that if you use amateur strategies, retailers, libraries, and the media will treat your book like a self-published product, prompting industry gatekeepers to filter your book away from potential readers.
They may reject your work from potential publicity or reviews to maintain the literary standards of the industry. Using amateur-tier distribution tools like KDP often flags a book as "self-published" to retailers, limiting its growth potential and media credibility. It's important that you market like a business, meeting professional publishing industry standards. Keep in mind that despite the best efforts, there is still a chance that readers will not connect with a work in an industry oversaturated with millions of books. This does not mean you should give up your dreams. Use each experience as an opportunity to learn what works for future books.
#publishing #marketing
Frank Hutton Almost (not quite) makes me pine for the good 'ol days when writers wrote then gatekeepers did the shilling because that's what they were good at.
E. Writer Indeed. But that industry is long gone. Even the gatekeepers (big 5) are asking authors to promote their own books, or they only want to publish people who have a massive social media following.
Frank Hutton Yeah. It's all (editing, proofreading, design, shilling etc. etc. etc.) been sloughed off on folk whose skillset might well be antithetical to the tasks necessary to achieve overall excellence. And for pennies on the dollar.
What a deal.
E. Writer Way too many books published. Twenty years ago when my first book was published there were only 250,000 books published annually. Now it's up to 4 million.
Frank Hutton Ubiquity destroys value, for sure.
This is how I create illustrations for my Penelope children's book, as well as for my first teen graphic novel
#childrensbooks
You can read the screenplay for the Oscar Winning screenplay Sinners on Deadline's website. I found that I had to click the little box under it to make it readable via full screen.
https://deadline.com/2025/12/sinners-script-read-ryan-coogler-screenplay-1236652467/
Alex Morton I completely agree with your characterization of the film's underlying themes, I just think it could have been a far better movie. I only watched all of it because of the music. Mina and I managed about the same as you with One Battle. About twenty minutes was more than enough. Back to genres, I don't particularly like certain genres, and those include horror and superheroes. I've never seen any of the Marvel movies ... never had the interest, and if I want horror, I turn on the news.
E. Writer I too, am not a fan of horror or gorey violence. Game of Thrones really changed my mind on gratuitous violence in movies and TV. It was very well-made but it should have been called, Game of Murder, because every single episode included some hyper-violent murder or torture scene, and kept trying to up the ante on shock value. Peter Dinklage was the great spot in that show with some of the best acting I have seen. And I hate that it was such a great role wasted on such a pointlessly violent show. Do im with you on violence. The world is violent enough and I'm sick of seeing violence glamorized by Hollywood. Sinners was violent but not as gratuitous by modern standards, but I can see how you would turn away from it in disgust. After game of thrones, it seemed like every American or even British show was about an assassin or spies killing people for about 2 years, and I thought, why is killing so seductive to the film industry? Thats when I switched to Korean kdramas.
SJ Blues I can understand the vampire critique. I for one adored it because of all the nuances and social commentaries they made. Truthfully, I would love to see both this version AND a version that would have played out without the vampires, especially considering what would have happened that morning
bb santx It was two perfectly good movies mashed together into some kind of cinematic hash. I didn't watch the Oscars. Did it win?
E. Writer Both movies won different Oscar titles.
This isn't political, but a scientific, historical, and philosophical take on the weapons of war.
#philosophy #science
https://youtube.com/shorts/piairy04-1U?si=LjIOnfOklyBmge8j
I live like I have six months to tie everything up and bring my 51 years to a close. I understand the fragility of life and that the next moment is not guaranteed.
Alex Morton I'm the opposite. I live as if I have a century left to go.
E. Writer Isn't it interesting how two perspectives on life can be completely opposite? For me, life is a fragile thing to be nurtured with the inevitable always in mind, and for you, it's live like time is just a number.
Alex Morton As you know, I live with the inevitable drawing ever-closer, but I always look ahead, regardless. I felt the full impact of my mortality when I was nine or ten years old, realizing that the very me would vanish. It struck me very hard and I made a conscious decision at that age to put those thoughts aside.
E. Writer It is definitely a difficult thing to process. Especially at that age.
Alex Morton The lyrics for Elton Johns' songs were all written by Bernie Taub. I miss music like this with meaningful, thoughtful lyrics and real music behind them. What they're peddling today is primarily crap. Taylor Swift is a showgirl and nothing more and her songs will disappear as quickly as she loses her looks.
E. Writer Music today is all ego and flash, and no substance or love.