I’ve been thinking about supporting authors lately. Seems so much harder to get supporters these days. I’ve been told that the indie author bubble burst long ago, so that could be it. Yet, I do see some authors still getting tons of support and social media push these days. Then again, I’ve heard that most of those have enough disposable income to promote themselves. The game certainly has changed over the years.
Honestly, the list in the image seems rather old-fashioned given how things feel. I wonder if there are other ways to promote authors. The consensus I usually get when I make these posts is that nothing works. People will comment below about how sales are non-existent and nothing boosts them. I found the same thing when I released Do I Need to Use a Dragon? at the start of the summer. Yet, maybe here is something people have found that can work for those without disposable income and infinite time. That second part is big factor too.
Also, didn’t there used to be a Christmas event for indie authors way back when? Wonder what happened there.
Legends of Windemere 
I love giving books away as gifts. I also like having a Christmas book giveaway on my blog. The library reminder is good. I don’t have a TikTok account, but my sister-in-law does and brings up book recommendations from there.
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I don’t have TikTok either. Does it help with book sales?
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I’m not sure. Some people seem to think it does. I can’t verify this for sure because I don’t have an account.
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I haven’t figured out if social media still helps. Not unless you bombard sites.
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I do try to do some of these things! We have to support each other!
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Nobody else does. 😁
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I have not found anything that produces sustaining sales. There is a blip here and there but nothing that really worked.
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Makes things rather frustrating.
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I talked to my nephew about BookTok. He said that helps.
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Making appearances is still what works for me. Conventions, book signings. It’s hard to organize sometimes, but I usually sell a few copies there.
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I never had any luck with those. People would only want free stuff. I can’t do it nowadays though.
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Yes, it’s hard. There are courses that reckon to give you the information to make huge sales, with reviews by authors who claim up to 6 figure sales after doing the course. But those courses are always priced way out of my reach for a gamble that might not work.
I use Facebook, my website and occasionally Instagram with not a lot of success.
I have an email list (very tiny). People reckon you should build it and that’s the best thing to sell books. But I’ve not noticed mine does anything. Nor is it growing, in spite of me offering a freeby for sign ups.
Let’s face it, people. It’s mainly a matter of luck.
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I wonder if those courses promise money for the author or the one teaching. They always feel like a scam to me. I remember the email list craze and it never worked for me. Sadly, luck is the biggest factor.
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The email list craze is still going on, Charles. I’ve only come across one person who says it’s a waste of time and Facebook is better. Everyone else says “You absolutely must have an email list.”
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I meet those people. Still never been told how much it helps. Also sounds like I’d have to be churning out emails on a weekly basis, which I don’t have the time for.
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I send one out, reluctantly, every quarter. That’s not too much. I get about 30% opening, which I’m told is good. Still, I’m considering ditching it. It’s doing me little good.
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I’ve had to change my perspective. I write for my own enjoyment. I hope there are others who might enjoy my products. Holiday events are wide open. You could host one similar to what Teri does for Halloween. I know she gets a ton of traffic during October. There is a lot of sharing and reblogging. I can offer one more tip: If you enjoyed a story, just talk about it with your friends. There is usually a water cooler, break room, or teacher’s lounge somewhere.
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I got a lot of authors submitting things when I hosted last month. Not sure how well it worked though. I never notice when calls for such things happen, so tend to never submit. Doesn’t sound like many people are doing word of mouth these days.
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