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Steven Lyle Jordan · 03-04-2012, 11:18 AM

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.

03-04-2012, 11:18 AM	#2
Steven Lyle Jordan Grand Sorcerer Posts: 8,478 Karma: 5171130 Join Date: Jan 2006 Device: none	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.