Great Expectations of an Indie Writer – Free Giveaway included!

When self-publishing your book I think it’s important to know what your expectations and goals are.  Are you hoping to be on the best seller list?  Are you hoping to attract an agent or other industry folks?  Is this a career or a hobby?  Are you interested in telling your story, being professional, making money?  Any and all of the these questions are imperative as you not only market your book but as you write it.

Why does this matter?  Well because as much as we as artists sometimes resist it, there are some standards which we need to meet.  This is the main reason why I’m planning on having Shadow on the Wall professionally edited.  I am not a professional writer and I don’t have experience in that world.  I need the insight of someone who is.  Every marketing website I look at which is geared toward Indie writers looking to really make something out of themselves with their writing say a few of the same exact things: hire an editor, have a professional cover artist and for god’s sake don’t act like a fucktard – it WILL come back to bite you.

These are things I hope to do (although my inherent fucktardian ways are hard to control).  But that’s pretty much where my willingness to conform ends.  I am an unusually self-aware person and I know that my books are not fodder for the masses.  Shadow is a good book.  In my opinion it’s going to be a great book, but that doesn’t change the fact that my style and subject matter simply are not suited for mass consumption.

Don’t get me wrong, if something I write makes it on the best seller list or get’s made into a movie deal I’ll be doing cartwheels on the roof (well not really, Buck Boom would have a stroke if I did that).  I know that both by a strict numbers game but also from a genre point of view the chances of that are so slim I should just start playing the lottery instead.

So why am I doing this?  Well, I have a story to tell.  So why bother investing in it with an editor and such, those things cost money!  Yep, they do, but it’s an investment in myself, in my art and pride.  I want to put something out there that is different and exciting.  I want to put something out there that is exceptional.  If only seven people read it I want them to say “Sweet Fancy Moses, that was fuck-awesome!”

My goals are different from other Indie writers I talk to.  Success for me looks like an interview on NPR and maybe a book-signing in the Midtown Comic Book Store in NYC.  Those things would have me tickled.  More than that will be the sprinkles on top of my soft-serve ice cream, not essential, but damn if you don’t love them.

So in honor of the fact that my writing is not the common variety and that while it would be cool to make some money that’s not actually my goal I am giving away copies of Consumed by Love on Smashwords for free TODAY ONLY.  Follow the link and use coupon code: QU22B.  18+ readers only – you have been warned, Consumed is an Erotic Horror piece.

Feel free to share the code, but know that tomorrow it will be gone.  All I ask in return is maybe a review of Consumed by Love there or on Amazon or on Goodreads.

Happy reading and write something exceptional!