No Bragging Rights

Our theme this month is to brag about what we’ve accomplished in 2018. This is a hard one for me, because I don’t think I’ve accomplished much at all, at least in my writing. I started two books and finished neither. I've talked to fellow writers, listened to what they’re saying on social media, and find that many of us are in the same position. Sales have tanked for all but the star authors whose followers will buy their new books, no matter what.

The main branch of my city’s public library had a few special evenings with some of those star writers. Writers with top agents and big publishers who will kick in the necessary funds to send these bestselling authors on tours to different cities to plug their newest book. In all three cases, the publishers donated a hardcover or paperback to the attendees. Sandra Brown, a charming raconteur and top-selling romantic suspense author, kept us entertained for at least ninety minutes and generously signed books to the long line waiting. So did Karin Slaughter, a witty and approachable author of dark thrillers. She kept the audience laughing. The third author, Kristina McMorris, a new name to me, was equally entertaining.

So why am I telling you this?

Small press and indie authors like myself can’t really compete in the big time these days. Even some authors with big publishers who aren’t top producers have to foot some or all of their expenses to get their names out there, and more than likely their sales don’t make up for their expenses. One friend paid for a promotional consultant that took most of the profits she got from the promotion.

Conventions? Another way to connect, but it’s a drain on your purse to travel from one venue to another to schmooze with your fellow writers and become more than a face they know from writers’ organizations, Facebook, or Twitter.

If writers are lucky, they’re published by one of Amazon’s imprints, but that takes an agent because they don’t take open submissions. Being an Amazon author gets them promotion from their vast audience and gives exposure that only the famous authors get. I see names I don’t recognize with a thousand reviews, and sure enough, they’re an Amazon author with Thomas & Mercer, Union Lake, Montlake Romance, et al. I was lucky enough to win a Kindle Scout contract hoping I would get the same exposure, but that was not the case. That program has been discontinued. Some authors did better than others. I wasn’t one of them.

Not to criticize Amazon. They gave people like me the opportunity to publish their books in the first place when no one else would. What worked in the beginning of this decade―free and discounted books―turned into a monster that ate us all up with―wait for it―free and discounted books. Readers, our bread and butter, now have so many books on their ereaders that they don’t need to purchase anything for years to come. I am guilty of this myself.

I know many authors who are announcing that they’re putting their energies elsewhere other than writing novels. It takes many months, sometimes a year or more, to write a novel, and seeing sales dwindle to almost nothing is more than depressing. There are hundreds of good books out there that readers will never find. Awards seem to go to the same dozen or so authors with a new one maybe sneaking in every award season. Success in the industry is the brass ring, and without a good agent to guide a career, a supportive publisher to stand behind you (as long as you sell), and some personal finances to use for promotion and travel, writers will have to adjust to the new literary order. It’s particularly difficult for those of us far enough outside of a big city area to benefit from the interaction.

There was a time when I made good money writing, but as sales plummet, I am hearing less of writers saying things like, “I can’t not write,” or “I don’t know what I’d do with myself if I didn’t write,” and more of, “I can’t keep writing for pennies.” One well-known writer I know on social media actually said this, so it isn’t just me. Everyone who works hard, and that means in all fields, likes to be remunerated for their efforts. Passion does tend to dwindle when they aren’t. Am I grateful for the love of writing and the experience I’ve had doing it? You bet. I’ve made many friends in the writing community that I cherish.

Bottom line: I have won no awards, no nominations, no honorable mentions, and though I've racked up quite a few good reviews, that only matters to me. I have a few options. Do I read a good book, go to yoga class, watch a movie, or do I take my dog for a walk? Of course, I could finish one of my works in progress, but maybe not. If I do and like what I finish, I might go the traditional route to publication, but maybe not.

Polly Iyer is the author of nine novels: standalones Hooked, InSight, Murder Déjà Vu, Threads, and Indiscretion, and four books in the Diana Racine Psychic Suspense series, Mind Games, Goddess of the Moon, Backlash and The Scent of Murder. A Massachusetts native, she makes her home in the beautiful Piedmont region of South Carolina. You can visit her website for more on Polly and connect with her on Facebook and Twitter.