The Trials Of An Indie Author: Trying New Things

THE TRIALS OF AN INDIE AUTHOR: TRYING NEW THINGS

One of the big things you have to always remember as an indie author (and probably trad too), is that things online change rapidly. The same can be said for real life too, but I've found it to be a whole lot quicker on things like social media and the like. One day something specific is working for reels and shorts, and then like 12 hours later that thing is now done, and even with others still posting they don't get told, they just get to watch the thing they've spend time, and sometimes money, doing plummet. It sucks, no one likes it, except maybe the algorithm, but no one knows about that either.

There are other facets of this, like when you write to market, it can work for a lot of indie authors, and for others it's like crickets, because they missed that particular trend by about 0.5 seconds. My point though is that as authors, we do need to be really careful and also on the ball, and that, that is exhausting! I can't tell you how many times I would have to rapidly pivot towards one thing and then find out that the thing is no longer the big thing.

In any job that deals with some kind of advertising, you will realise that trends come and go, and it's more about finding your audience, the people who will see your book and want that in particular. I have been an author for 21 years at this point. I write across a variety of different genres, and because they are all under one pen name, I have made my life harder. I could have, yes, done multiple different pen names. I didn't because who has the energy for that? Definitely not me! But also, I felt like those who liked the stories I tell, would maybe like that in a genre they have not read much or at all before. It doesn't always work, not by a long shot, but it has worked enough.

As it stands right now, I have a core group of readers who will, usually, be happy to skip around my usual genres. I will also get readers who want one genre only, and are happy when that's the one that comes up next. You don't have to do everything right, but you do have to have some idea of what you're trying to do, and that's where trying new things comes into it.

When I was first published I was already straddling two very different genres. My debut was crime/thriller, my second book was the first in a paranormal/mystery series. While some readers who like crime/mystery books will also be open to throwing in some paranormal, for others that is a giant no thanks. I messed up. I didn't do enough research, and for a time at the start, I call the Dying Thoughts series solely a crime/mystery. Can you see the issue there? I was so focused on having that same readership from my debut follow me into my first series that I just thought the shared genre was something that would appeal to all. It did not, it really did not.

Of course there was a correction later down the line, but it took me a while, and of course because of that, I lost people who might have liked other books that were straight up mystery. While there are many slip ups like that I could talk about, the point is that there will be times when you miss the bus on the newest viral post, and there will be times when you personally have thrown the bus away because you didn't make sure of things before trying to hop on board. The life of an indie author is about finding new ways to help yourself, and also to bring your books to the people who want, and need, to read them. So be ready to pivot, be ready to try new things, and be ready to keep pushing along. You've got this! 

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