On Platforms

All my self-published books are free now. I’ve given up trying to sell them and I’ve given up trying to build a platform. Either they don’t sell and I have no readers and no money or I give them away and have some readers and no money. The latter seems the better option. Mostly, I’ve been paid for the stories in them already as they appeared in magazines. Either that or I couldn’t sell them so they’re worth nothing and so free.

But no more platform building. It takes too long and pays too little unless you’re good at it but I’m not and don’t like doing it. After nine months of blogging, tweeting, Linking, Facebooking, Instafreebing, Bookfunneling, Mailchimping and generally pestering the public, I give up. I’ve ‘sold’ 85 books and most of those were free. I doubt if my total royalties amount to £10.

By contrast, I have made some money (not much) selling short stories to magazines and anthologies, and some novellas, too. I take the publisher’s money and I’m done. They can blog. They can tweet. They can Facebook, Newsletter and otherwise publicize their products and I don’t have to. This is a huge weight off my shoulders. Obviously, I’m happy to mention the magazines here and there but the overall responsibility is theirs. I just need to keep writing fiction, which is what I want to do.

Statistically, I’m in the majority. Most self-publishers don’t make a bean. There are a few talented, competitive, productive go-getters who make a living or better. There are a few talented, competitive, productive go-getters who can do this in any field of endeavour and the myth is that ‘anyone can do it.’ If anyone could do it, everyone would.

So, hats off to successful self-publishers. I will still self-publish the odd collection of sold stories where I have the rights or unsold stories I want out there. I may even do a novella or two. But I won’t be desperately flogging them and they’ll all be free. Smashwords ‘sells’ 40 copies of each free book for 1 of every priced. Even cheaply priced. At least some of them get read.

Meanwhile, I’ll go and get a proper job and do this part-time. Art is much more fun if you don’t depend on it for a living.

P.S. My self-published free books aren’t on Amazon. Mobi files are available on Smashwords.