Finding Balance Between Art and Business

A published author who wants to achieve "commercial success" must keep focused on both the creation and promotion of their work. That said, writing and promoting are two very separate activities, requiring different skill sets.

There are only twenty-four hours in a day... and some of those are dedicated to sleeping and eating. Plus, in the indie author world, most of us have day jobs. Some people have families and other responsibilities. Where does writing fit in? Who has the time (and money) to promote?

Promotion on a Limited Time and Money Budget

What are the goals? Constant engagement on all the social media platforms plus maintaining a blog (and/or newsletter) and website. Constant ads on book promotion sites. Continuous production of new work to promote. Being everywhere. Doing everything. Sound unrealistic? Unless you are ten different people or have a personal assistant, probably.

I have a decent understanding of social media. I'm fairly active on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest. In the last year, I've seen a 16% increase in Instagram followers whereas Facebook and Twitter have grown by 2%. I use my blog to post my weekly features like "Quote of the Week" on Mondays and "#TirgearrTuesday" on Tuesdays with a not-so-regular-lately post on Fridays. For time management, I use several social media post schedulers, like Planoly and Buffer. In the fall, I started contributing (non-promotional posts) on medium.com on Wednesdays to expand my audience. Words are important, but it's even better if you can reach the readers.

For new releases, I have used Facebook parties, virtual book tours, and book trailers to create interest.

I have a blog (obviously) and a quarterly newsletter I send using MailChimp. A lot of the how-to guides to book promoting stress the importance of building a mailing list. I have participated in promotions to add to my numbers. Most recently, a Booksweeps promotion which added 300 people to my list, equating to a 29% increase from last year. Ideally, offering a lead magnet would encourage readers to sign up too. It's on my to-do list.

My skill set has expanded to include (basic) web and graphic design. Templates make it accessible for diys. I design my own graphics using sites like Canva. I outsource when my requirements exceed my abilities.

My website contains the recommended pages: Home, About, My Books, and I use it as a landing page for newsletter sign-ups. My current package includes ten pages so I have an entire series on one page with shortcut links to individual books. I also have a Writing Community page with links to my author pages and interviews, other authors, writing resources, and promotional sites.

Aside from the author platform—social media, blog, newsletter, website—reader reviews are an invaluable source for promotional material. I've sent hundreds of book review request emails over the last ten years, found some excellent reviewers, and used review snippets in my book graphics.

In conclusion, I save money by doing as much as I can myself. Unfortunately, doing promotional activities takes time away from writing. In truth, this is probably not a good strategy because I don't make any money. For my last four books, I have spent an average of $800 per new book release ($3,000 total) and earned less than $100 in royalties (in the first year). Seriously, what I am I doing wrong?

I imagine I am not alone in this seemingly losing battle. I write. I promote. Capital is required to get my books in front of readers in order to make sales. But my past strategies are not getting results. So, where should I spend my promotional dollars?