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citrinesunsetAfter months of thinking about it, I decided to dive into self-publishing. I had a short story that I've been working on for a couple months, and I decided to put it out there.
It's exciting, but also super daunting. To be fair, I don't have huge expectations. I don't think I'm going to start a self-published gay BDSM erotica empire anytime soon. I have a feeling that keeping my expectations low will keep me sane. Or at least from getting too disappointed. But it's hard to realize just how much competition there is until you actually put something out there and realize that your story is just a tiny drop in a very big bucket. In terms of getting readership, I may be better off with free sites, actually. But I still like the thought of earning a little extra money, even if it's just enough for the occasional meal out or a video game here and there. I'm not exactly swimming in disposable income at the moment.
I am thinking of putting some stuff up for free in the not-too-distant future, so who knows? Maybe that will help build an audience. One can hope. :)
In the meantime, I'm trying to learn about self-promotion, which is daunting in its own right because I tend not to want to promote my own stuff. Especially when money is involved. It just feels...presumptuous to assume that something I write is worth money, even if it's less than a drink and pastry at Starbucks. And I always worry about my stuff not being good enough. I mean, I don't think I'm a horrendous writer, but I know there's room for improvement and that there are people who are much better than me. I'm realistic like that.
Nevertheless, I am excited to give it a try, even if I feel a bit in over my head at the moment.
It's exciting, but also super daunting. To be fair, I don't have huge expectations. I don't think I'm going to start a self-published gay BDSM erotica empire anytime soon. I have a feeling that keeping my expectations low will keep me sane. Or at least from getting too disappointed. But it's hard to realize just how much competition there is until you actually put something out there and realize that your story is just a tiny drop in a very big bucket. In terms of getting readership, I may be better off with free sites, actually. But I still like the thought of earning a little extra money, even if it's just enough for the occasional meal out or a video game here and there. I'm not exactly swimming in disposable income at the moment.
I am thinking of putting some stuff up for free in the not-too-distant future, so who knows? Maybe that will help build an audience. One can hope. :)
In the meantime, I'm trying to learn about self-promotion, which is daunting in its own right because I tend not to want to promote my own stuff. Especially when money is involved. It just feels...presumptuous to assume that something I write is worth money, even if it's less than a drink and pastry at Starbucks. And I always worry about my stuff not being good enough. I mean, I don't think I'm a horrendous writer, but I know there's room for improvement and that there are people who are much better than me. I'm realistic like that.
Nevertheless, I am excited to give it a try, even if I feel a bit in over my head at the moment.
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Date: 2014-12-01 10:17 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-12-03 05:59 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-12-01 01:38 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-12-03 06:00 am (UTC)Excellent news!
Date: 2014-12-03 02:17 am (UTC)All the best with your story and I hope it sells well and - more importantly - that you keep having fun writing your stories.
Stop putting yourself down THIS VERY MINUTE! You are a great writer - you don't compare Tolkien to Twain - each are fantastic in their own way and you, my dear, are doing superbly well.
I forbid you to put yourself or your great work down again like this ever again. Or I shall send Peter over to you. Then there shall be no hanky panky, just spanky spanky until you change your wicked ways!
See - now THAT is an example of terrible writing. LOL
Re: Excellent news!
Date: 2014-12-03 06:10 am (UTC)Having fun is what I want first and foremost. Yeah, it would be cool to make some money, but I still want to write stuff I enjoy and that I want to write. Which may limit profitability a little since I don't think my main interests are the biggest sellers, but that's okay.
LOL. The real challenge is knowing if something is hot enough. Though, I think I'll hopefully have an easier time with that going forward. The story I just published involves a gangbang, and I'd never even written a scenario like that before. So it was probably a daunting story to start with. I appreciate the vote of confidence, though. :)
Re: Excellent news!
Date: 2014-12-03 06:30 am (UTC)You wrote about a gan- *running to my happy place and hiding*
Hee hee. It's great to be able to still surprise ourselves, though. I never really liked alpha/omega stories but now I'm writing one for a challenge, and sweet mother of fudge, it has blown my mind - and completely out of proportion. Working on part four now... the muse is happy and so am I. :-)
Re: Excellent news!
Date: 2014-12-03 07:01 am (UTC)Heh. If you like the idea of gangbang erotica, I actually just posted a new entry with a coupon for a free copy on Smashwords. So if you're interested, you're welcome to give it a try! Hopefully if you do, it'll live up to your expectations.
Yeah, it's always good to try something else. I haven't stretched my kink-writing muscles as much lately as I used to. That's call about your alpha/omega story! It's always fun when something ends up being more fun to write than you expected. I don't read a ton of alpha/omega, but I do enjoy it a lot sometimes. So I may have to check out your fic.