I worked really hard on this one and pulled on a great deal of experience. Tried to make sure that any reader would constantly be led by the plot line. I just don’t know how I can get people to read it though. In process of changing cover to see if it will be a positive. It deals with a lot of the problems that today’s youth face. The main characters always come to a solution of integrity.
Can it be true that boys are a hard sell because of so much electronic entertainment? Jamie goes after this world in great detail in the novel.
Author: Jim Douglas
Leave it to Beaver
My grandson and I got this big fella last week. Beavers can help make great habitats for other animals, but when it comes at the cost of acres of farmland, well, farmers are none too happy.
My grandson is a handsome boy but I’m letting him keep his privacy.
I Hate Coyotes
Coyotes are a problem here in Lambton County. They are overpopulated and are attacking and killing livestock. They are also showing up on the outskirts of town, threatening pets.
Took this one out yesterday. It was like a sauna out in the creek bottoms.
Marketing
Marketing Takes Money and Work. Whether one likes it or not there isn’t much chance of selling very many books unless you are famous or fortunate. I wrote my first novel just expecting that people would see the title, like it and buy the product. It doesn’t work that way. My publisher, Dawn Stillwell, has enrolled me into an advertising program on FB. Thus far it has cost approximately a dollar for every two bucks worth of revenue that goes into my bank account. It might not sound like much but the result is positive enough to involve me in the process of stepping up the amount I pour into the program this fall. It’s good business to make one hundred percent on your investment. I’ll spend a thousand to get back two thousand any day of the week.
Targeting specific audiences is also crucial. If you want to sell a murder/mystery, it’s not really a brilliant move to promote it to people who only read romance novels.
I’ve learned in the scheme of life, that if I do not promote myself no one else will either. We all live with the dream that with every book we sell, someone with some clout will say, “I like it!”, and give us a hand getting our product to a bigger market. I’m sold on the rule that success will always come to those who work the hardest while never giving up. It’s also an absolute that one must have someone working with them when it comes to selling books, keeping web pages up to date, etc. Team work is so crucial in life.
Working on Sixth Book
I am working on my sixth book and then moving on to “Education: Through My Mothers Eyes”. Many truths will be revealed as she travels through time. I know her story and also know what she would want me to say. This book will be written in first person and will begin in 1910. There will be no bashing of teachers involved but just a brilliant woman watching and working with the changes in education and life as time has passed. Its entire content will be based on what I know her opinions and experiences would be. Wondering why “Vigilante Justice”, “Sharp Shooter” and “Straight from the Heart, Born to be Me” are getting no hits. Many readers say the Sharpshooter is the best of my books. I find that interesting. It deals with reality so I suppose this could be a good reason. Also learning how to blog because I’ve never done it before. Absolutely elated with this whole new phase in my life.
Spring beaver and muskrat trapping just around the corner. I need their furs to make cozies to keep summer drinks cool.
Interest In the Philipines
Just received some really positive reviews from the Phillipines. A friend of mine went there and gave some to people who would read them. It takes more than a days pay to buy one so the readers appreciated them. It’s just cool knowing that I now know my books are in five countries. I believe I’m an honest person and the research and plan for attracting an audience through positive interaction is difficult by times. Negativity turns readers off for good reason. I am convinced that the truth and the whole truth can be presented through interaction of characters who are willing to discuss rather than bash. Humour also helps. I’ve learned how important it is to put forth an all out effort into positivity rather than grumbling. It is a fact that I do not want to leave this world as a grumbltonian.