Sue is Writing Solarpunk 🌞🌱
When I released my 1st novel in 2011, in that first wave of indies leaving the tradpub path & opting into a new kind of writing career, I thought "this will change not just how writers publish but what they write, what kind of careers they'll have".
That was more right than I knew at the time.
1/n
Sue is Writing Solarpunk 🌞🌱
But here's the thing for my fellow #writers that I beg you to hold lovingly in your hands & take into your heart:
People want your works. They want authentic human-made stories that move them, make them cry & laugh, comfort/challenge them.
THEY DO. They want it even more now, in the age of AI
Sue is Writing Solarpunk 🌞🌱
(I say this as someone who uses free promo extensively -- free promo works because it lowers the friction for that first try)
But publishing your books on your blog for free or whatever doesn't solve the main problem: discoverability.
Always true but more every day, esp with AI mucking things up.
Sue is Writing Solarpunk 🌞🌱
I've had people say "I don't care about money!" (as if it's a badge of honor) and then they set all their books free (or pub online) to have "widest access" and they think that's the way to get "the most" readers. But it's not. It assumes cost is the most important barrier, but it's really not.
Sue is Writing Solarpunk 🌞🌱
Of course every writer wants sales & readers! Money is complicated with books because you want to be read and you need $ to survive and those are connected but also: you mostly want people to read your works! But $ is often a way to access *more* readers. They're connected, intimately.
Sue is Writing Solarpunk 🌞🌱
THE GOOD: freedom to create, creatively publish, make a living at writing w/out gatekeepers or bookshelf limits
THE BAD: scammers, "minimum viable product" publishing & now fucking AI, both stealing our work & flooding the world with slop
#selfpublishing went from vanity to solid career option tho
Sue is Writing Solarpunk 🌞🌱
Something I think a lot of people miss: to be a "success" in tradpub, you have to *appeal* to a wider audience. Enough to make money for publishers and a living for yourself (or not) on slim royalties.
With selfpub, your audience can be more narrow, you can "succeed" w/fewer sales/readers.
Sue is Writing Solarpunk 🌞🌱
I deeply believe we're swinging into an Age of Authenticity, when people will crave the simple, the hand-made, the REAL even more.
So, yes, discoverability is hard (it's always been hard) but you are a creative...so get creative about how you help people find you. They need your stuff.
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