So my book The Twisty Passages of Time: Veer Left for Home got published on November 16th, 2020. It was so thrilling to announce this on my Facebook feed and get so many compliments. I even got some sales of the book as well. But now that the honeymoon phase of the release of my book has happened, I'm faced with a dark, uncertain future. Now what?
Before I go any further, you need to understand something about me. I don't look at art or writing as something that is somehow sacred and shouldn't be used to make money. That mindset has never made sense to me. I believe in the importance of taking care of my family. And spending a large portion of my time developing talents such as being an artist, programming, and writing is an investment. I feed, clothe, and put shelter over my family by using the talents God blessed me with. I don't subscribe to some's notion that using artistic talent to survive (ie, make money) is somehow a bad thing. This ideal seems mainly prevalent in art-minded people for some reason. Maybe if artists didn't put off the vibe that its a sin for them to make a living off their talents, we'd have less starving artists in the world. Heaven knows, business minded people love that mindset because they too often take advantage of those with natural talents with music and art. I've seen it for years in the video game industry.
I digress. So now I'm facing the next hurdle. How do I reach out to the cold, finicky world to get them to read my story? I don't entirely know. There are plenty of services out there that want to "help" me do this--for a fee. They get their pound of flesh, leaving me with usually just less cash and very little in return.
Many years ago, my parents and uncles had a business that was struggling and they eventually had to declare bankruptcy. They chose the kind of bankruptcy where they would eventually pay it back, but they needed protection against creditors. My grandpa told me some creditors came forward and said something to the effect, "I don't care about you people. I'd rather pick the meat off your carcasses than lose money."
That always stuck with me. I worry the same about marketing this book. Eager hands are out wanting me to fork over money, and they could really care less if it ends up being beneficial to me. Thats a cynical view, but definitely I must be cautious.
I'll report my journey as it unfolds.