Lessons Learned
It is currently early December 2023. I have been at this for almost four years and have been reasonably productive. I have learned a great deal about writing and self publishing. I thought I would make a page to share some of these insights. For now, these are notes and I will add bits
Amazon Ads
This should have been obvious to me but it wasn't. If you want to sell books on Amazon, you have to use Amazon Ads. There are other options such as Facebook Ads, or Google Ads. But there is a huge learning curve to all social media marketing and Amazon Ads is the most direct. And without marketing, prospective buyers have no idea that you have books to sell.
If you want to use Amazon Ads you either need to learn how to do it on your own or hire somebody to do it for you. Amazon Ads will cut into your profit on each book and if you have hired someone to do it for you that will cut in even further. Still, it is better to cut into the profit of books that are selling rather than not cut into the profit of books that are not selling.
So, in 2024 I am planning to put my writing on hold while I come up to speed on Amazon Ads and will then market my books individually. Some of my planned books will be delayed. But, I need to adjust to the realities of self publishing.
Quora
As I write this, I have been on Quora for a little over a year. I have answered over 2,000 questions and have achieved over 150,000 views. I am pleased with that. However, the overwhelming benefit of Quora for me is that it provides daily writing practice. One of the most common pieces of writing advice is that you should write every day. Quora provides you with an opportunity to do that. It hasn't really affect my book sales much. But, when you are not focused on writing a particular book, Quora lets you keep writing on a daily basis which helps make you a better writer even if you are not currently working on another masterpiece.
Websites
Taking the Long View