Quote:
Originally Posted by Steven Lyle Jordan
Judging by the number of views and lack of responses so far, I'd guess that a lot of people are looking for the secrets of indie success, but no one actually has any.
This fits with my observations that, at least at this time, indie success is pretty much a crapshoot. Or, maybe closer to accuracy, a lottery. It could happen to anyone; but it won't happen to many.
I've been selling ebooks online since 2006, myself, and I have yet to see or hear of an idea that all but guarantees indie success. So far most of the things I have seen (interviews in major media outlets, viral videos, public appearances of a unique nature) have worked mainly as a novelty for the first ones who tried it, then quickly lost their potency as more authors tried the same thing. And standard methods of promotion and advertising are pretty much shouted down by the promotional efforts of the major publishers and famous authors.
So it seems that, at the moment, novelty is the best tool for success in the ebook field.
Since I haven't thought of anything sufficiently novel to promote my books, I'm presently relying on what is probably the second-best tool for success: Patience. Continuing along with my efforts, concentrating on providing a quality product, garnering positive reviews, and searching for new places to spread those reviews, is creating a slow-growth business model that may eventually hit a self-perpetuating level and "take off" on its own.
Maybe.
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Sounds about right. You have to have a good product, and that product has to find it's way into the right places. Kind of a right place right time thing, I would have to think. But at the same time, if your writing stinks then it's probably not going to happen. Same as any creative type business, you've got to have talent, work hard, and then luck still plays a role.
But then again, what do I know.