The Death of a Dream

I’m finding at this point that I really, really enjoy writing about the book promotion stuff that doesn’t turn out well. Why is this? Because, quite frankly, I love the idea that I’m helping other small-time authors avoid the numerous pitfalls of the book promotion business. There’s only one problem: I’m getting angrier with every new load of crap I sniff out. The deeper I sink into this hole, the more I realize it closely resembles a Sarlaac pit.

Plus, I’ve also noticed that many “successes” really don’t add up to much in book sales anyway.

So I spent a little X-Mas money to have the book mentioned in Publisher’s Weekly’s PW Select, which is a little booklet that comes with the regular Publisher’s Weekly and focuses on self-published and small press book releases. Some of the books are reviewed. Briefly. The rest are simply mentioned.

Now, I’m sure this isn’t always a waste of money, much like throwing $20 into a nickel slot machine isn’t always a waste of money. But I can tell you without a doubt that the only “response” of any sort I’ve received for this mention so far has been a wonderful email from a book promotion company. Apparently, one of their sales reps trolled the PW Select knowing full-well that he had 221 potential clients on his hands.

Now it just so happens Publisher’s Weekly is getting in the self-publishing game, too. Because, of course, they smell money. The self-publishing world is rife with suckers, myself occasionally included, and after having spent so much time dedicating itself to the printed word and eschewing digital books, PW is attempting to make up for lost time by charging a $149 fee that *might* include a review.

But … probably not. Keep that in mind.