During my business career, I was mainly in marketing. Selling involves a lot of rejection. In order to make a sale you have to take a risk. The process involves a lot of very necessary motivational support. One of the ways I pushed myself was by keeping a myriad of statistics.
This habit has carried over into my writing. I have a massive spreadsheet that records statistics for my stories and books.
During the last three months, the over twenty books Doppler Press has published for me have received more total reviews than they received for the last over ten years.
I sure hope this translates into sales.
I've donated these books to Erin to produce revenue for this site. I don't receive any of the money from the sales.
My hope is that this apparent big increased interest in my online books has generated more revenue for Bog Closet, which will close the wide gap between what Erin receives in current donations and other revenues and what she actually needs to run this site.
Jill
Comments
That's interesting that you
That's interesting that you bring statistic gathering from your work experience to your stories. I'm a computer programmer, albeit as a hobby rather than a career. For bigger projects, especially video games, it is helpful to use flow charts to visualize branches in the code.
I have a story I'm working on that jumps through time periods, and I'm using a flow chart for that. For some reason, I didn't put two and two together to realize I'm taking from my experience until I read your blog post.
From your lips . . .
. . . to BCTS’s bank account!
— Emma
. . .To Our Hearts!
I've been spending the last few days with my month-old grandson. That's good cuddling. As if that's not enough, I have my two-year-old grandson to play with. Amazing.
I'm absolutely certain that without BCTS I would've thrown in the towel sometime over the last twenty years and missed all this.
Sure . . . there are disappointments. Like Angharad expressed the other day, it gets tedious giving it your all just to have people admit they're too busy to comment on a story. Authors aren't necessarily special people but BCTS has some special authors.
Can you imagine an author with more tenacity than Anharad? An author with more creativity than Laika. An author with more authenticity than Andrea? An author with more consistent output than Maryanne? An author with more humor than Bru? An author as able to write in as many genres as you do?
Without BCTS and the self-exploration it allows I would be horribly conflicted.
Without BCTS and the relationships it fosters, I would have missed knowing dozens of very special people.
An old friend, who was a philanthropist who gave away many millions, once explained to me how amazing it felt to truly make a gift. He said that those who do not reach out for help when they need it deprive their friends of the opportunity to feel that joy.
BCTS is the Little Engine That Could when it comes to dispensing happiness.
Jill
Angela Rasch (Jill M I)
You're an important part of that engine too hon.
BCTS wouldn't be BCTS without you, either.
Melanie E.
I wholeheartedly agree, Jill
The wealth of talent here is amazing. Not only the authors but the great souls that contribute such good will for the group through comments.
Enjoy your grandchildren. They grow so fast. Our oldest granddaughter graduated this weekend as a civil engineer. She is also an accomplished cellist. We have helped our children and grandchildren to embrace the complex and diverse nature of the human experiece. They will not fail.
Ron
Thank you
You are very kind!
Love, Andrea Lena
Amen, Jill!
I have connected with some truly amazing and wonderful people since my first log-in to BCTS. And, though I am unlikely to ever meet them in person, I feel closer to them than I am to most of the people I consider to be friends in the brick-and-mortar side of my life.
— Emma
Supporting BCTS through Doppler
Hi Jill,
I haven't donated my books to Doppler but (although I have self-published through Amazon before) I publish through Doppler as a way to support them as a way to support Erin and her team. I knw how hard she works and how she applies (limited) personal resources to keep our online community up and running.
Doppler's success is Big Closet's success, so please share your secrets with us.
In particular, how do you get all those reviews and comments?? You published your "Minnifer" in January and you have 12 reviews and 2 comments. I also published in January, but my ''Crimes#2" only got a single rating despite being higher than "Minnifer" on the bestselling list for LGBTG+ anthologies. You must a dedicated few who come through for you? Please reveal your secrets to other Doppler authors!
I really love feedback, which is why I am disappointed that my latest story posted here - "Uber Love" - despite getting 78 kudos from 820 hits has received zero comments.
But what Doppler really needs is help in your area of expertise - marketing. Amazon has a big market for TG fiction, but it seems to me that this market is awash in low value product, some of which I suspect is copied or AI generated.
From what I have seen of what Doppler offers on Amazon, our publisher is a notch above the rest. What we all need to do for Big Closet is to help to generate more sales.
I have talked with Erin about social media, but I hate that stuff and I am not a player. Although I think I know something about markets, I really know nothing about marketing. All I can do is keep writing and stick with Doppler so its share will help with funding our special place.
Do you have any ideas, Jill?
Maryanne
P.S. I hope I have this right and Bog Closet is not another site!
No Secrets
My first book was published on Amazon over eight years ago. That book has received about 175 reviews. I've had a half dozen other books on Amazon with about 100 reviews or more. At least one time I had five books on the top 100 sellers list -- at the same time. All I can say is that it takes a long time to attract a following.
Also -- you work in a very hard genre. Anthologies are notoriously hard to sell. Your writing is excellent. From a marketing aspect, I can offer one suggestion. Most of your stories have a protagonist in the 25 - 50 age range. Most of my best sellers have teenage protagonists.
I think Doppler Press does some secret sauce stuff. Three of my books were pirated. Those three books have been out here for years and have generated 5, 1, and 1 review.
"Bog Closet" is what happens when you spend too much time chatting with a two-year-old.
I once was a social media guru. That's an eon ago and what I know is practically worthless.
Angela Rasch (Jill M I)
Good Idea!
I will work on an anthology of teenage stories!
Hugs
Maryanne
Teen
I think I have a few teen themed books myself.
Melanie
Yours Sell. . .
. . .much better than mine.
Jill
Angela Rasch (Jill M I)