Thursday, September 23, 2010

Here's Why I'm Not The KINDLE Queen

I don't know if "readers" follow Joe Konrath's blog, but a lot of writers/authors do.  I check in every couple of weeks, or when the whole writing community is buzzing about his latest post, I hit my bookmark for Joe's blog, A Newbie's Guide To Publishing.

Joe writes graphic thrillers and horror.  He's making a killing (pun intended) selling ebooks on Amazon's Kindle, too.  In fact, Joe sells MORE books on Kindle than he does in print, where he started out.

Joe has done it all, toured the country, taken a bazillion speaking engagements (often for no money) to get his name out there and has been very successful.  It's obvious that the groundwork he tirelessly laid has gotten him where he is today.

TV/Movie producer/author Lee Goldberg may be running a close second to Joe, and I make Lee's blog an almost daily stop.

These guys have something in common besides writing well and being well known:  they have a HUGE backlist.  (Well, Joe has self-published a lot of stuff that has sold well because his audience loves his works and knows he'll deliver.)

AbusedCover.sm Me?  I have two novels and eight short stories up on Kindle and they ain't selling like hotcakes.  (Okay, Abused: A Daughter's Story IS selling like hotcakes, but that audience doesn't check out my other work (more's the pity).)

The problem:  I don't have a name.  Or the name I do have (Lorna Barrett) isn't the same name that's on the two novels and eight short stories.  I can only hope that when the Victoria Square Mysteries come out next year that the audience will go looking for other stuff I've done.

It's also been made pretty clear to me that I have to chop something big out of my life--my volunteer work--and actually do more writing and put it out there. Hey, this is my livelihood, and much as I enjoy that volunteer work, it doesn't pay for the washer that just died, or repairing the car that won't start, or the cleaning lady that comes every two weeks and keeps the house clean so I have more time to write to pay for the things that break ... and on and on.


So, why can't I make as much money as Joe?  I haven't laid the groundwork.

Oh!  Look at the time.  Time to go to work and WRITE.

And if you're looking for "new-to-you" Kindle books from traditionally published authors, check out Backlist E Books on facebook.