Does anyone out there like those #SUDOKU puzzles? I used to think they were pure torture. I tried working on the one in our local paper a few times, guessing numbers to see if they worked, and then getting halfway finished only to discover my initial supposition was wrong. At that point, I simply gave up. More recently, I sat down with the paper and attacked the puzzle from a more logical standpoint. No guessing involved. I penciled in each possibility and went at it from a process of elimination. The strategy actually works! Now, I look forward to the puzzle in the Friday paper. Sure it distracts me from writing for an hour, but I feel like it's keeping my mind sharp. I also decided to extrapolate my strategy for SUDOKU to writing and marketing. I'm beginning to believe throwing out words without a plan and writing myself into an impasse might not be so smart. I also feel like floundering with marketing without a clear plan isn't productive. So, the following is what I've come up with.
My work in progress is moving rather slowly. I've had a lot of distractions lately. A good distraction has been my youngest home from college for a week and a half on spring break, which happened to include her birthday. It's been nice to have her around. But I can't seem to write productively when someone else is in the house. So, my word count has been hit and miss (mostly miss) and limited to when she's out with her friends. That got me to thinking about WHY I'm so easily distracted. I can edit like a champion with people around, but creating new content has been a challenge ever since I started this book. Basically, I've been moving forward like a turtle from one scene to the next, and when I finish the one I'm working on, I hope like heck it will suggest something new. I haven't written with an outline in quite a few books, but it may be time to rethink this strategy. Not a full-blown outline, mind you, but I need to sit my butt down and try to put together a coherent list of bullet points to see where this book is going. Then maybe I wouldn't have so much downtime between scenes while I ruminate over that ever important question, What happens next?
Then there's the whole promo thing to distract me. My latest plan is the Amazon Sponsored Products ad campaign I put together for one of my older self-published books. It actually was working pretty well. I was seeing a few sales and more borrows for WE'LL NEVER TELL. But the .99 cent sales price meant every click was seriously digging into my profits. Two things happened. I started getting sales on the other two books in the series. YAY! I wasn't sure exactly what the ad benefited until a reader reviewed all three SECRETS OF RAVENSWOOD books (the targeted series) on Goodreads, and then left a review for WILDE ONE, book one in a completely different series. So, yes, I'm getting crossover sales from the ad to all my suspense books. In the meantime, I'd done something incredibly stupid. I dropped my bid price from .25 cents to .20 cents, hoping to save a little money. I definitely saved because the clicks stopped completely, and impressions dropped tenfold. So, I just went back in to return my bid to .25 cents. We'll see if my momentum picks up again. Patience is a virtue with marketing. It takes a while for someone who buys the book to read it and then buy more books. Expecting too much too soon got me into trouble. You have to put in the time on a marketing strategy to see results. But, if your efforts continue to produce nothing, maybe it's time to make a change. Knowing when to draw the line and quit vs. changing tactics and sticking with it is a steep learning curve. I hope I'm making progress.
One final plug. Starting soon, WILDE ONE will be on sale for a limited time for .99 cents. If you haven't read it yet, now's a great time to start that series. Buy it on Kindle, Nook or Apple. Happy reading!
18 comments:
Oh my gosh, I was totally going to write about Sudoku in the next couple of posts! Too funny! Just like you, I avoided them for years, because, you know, they were filled with NUMBERS. I stuck with the crossword puzzles, which were safe for me. But when readers at the paper (where I work) started commenting about Sudoku, and I tried it one day on a whim. Now I'm a Sudoku-aholic! In fact, I just finished Saturday's 6-star (highest difficulty) puzzle, with a little help from the answer grid in today's paper. I find the more I do them, the more "tricks" I learn. And I agree, they help sharpen the brain, and they help my train my brain to look for alternate routes to a solution, which is so helpful for plotting (which we all know is my weak spot).
You're right about marketing, too. You have to have a long-term strategy. If something doesn't work, try plan B (like you have). I think you're on the right track. (I'm making notes for the point when I decide to develop my own strategy!) :-)
For those who haven't yet read Jannine's "WILDE" series, check out the 99-cent sale! It's a great deal (and a great series!).
No time for puzzles, but I'm glad you found an approach to Sudoku, Jannine. Also happy to hear that Amazon Sponsored Ads work for you. A writing trick that might work for you as it does for me...I purposefully don't finish a scene so I'm eager to come back and do so the next day...I know how I want to end it...I just stop... so the lure to return the next day and write is energizing.
Not more Sudoku fans. Me too. I shied away from them in favor of the 'well within my realm of knowledge' crossword puzzle. Until my accountant son-in-law dropped the gloves in challenge. Although I haven't done either in a very long time. As you know, Jannine, I, too, jumped on the Amazon Sponsored Product bandwagon with two self pubbed titles last week and have already seen sales results in one of them and a couple of my traditionally published titles. Who knew? Although I will admit, it took me a long, long time to fully understand the whole concept/implementation thing. (Thanks for hanging in there with me JG!) We're getting there! Happy birthday to Kristen! (Same as my oldest!) Now to get on my latest wip. No more stalling.
Thanks for the plug on the WILDES, Leah! We only have 4 star puzzles in our once a week (down from two) paper. I like those because I can do it without cheating and without guessing. My elimination strategy works, which is what I'm applying to marketing these days. An update in the 3 days since I wrote this post. Since my blow it move on the bid, I've seen little action on my ad, despite raising the price back up. I'm still getting buys on the second two books, though. But, if damn Amazon doesn't start showing my ad to people again, this is going to be dead in the water!
That's a great strategy, Rolynn. I used to do it all the time. I wonder why I quit? I need to use it again!
I'm glad the ad thing is starting to work for you, Margo! What's funny is I suck at crossword puzzles. My husband is better at it than me, and he is NOT a word guy. Too many stupid clues, and too much temptation to look everything up online. I tend to get the harder, esoteric questions since I have a decent store of useless info in my brain, but I'm not good at the simple (used all the time in puzzles) clues. I guess I don't do them enough.
I've never been a puzzle person, Jannine. Any kind of puzzle. I've worked an occasional crossword but that's it. I have to have a plan on my books now too. Pantsing just won't work for suspense plots for me. Love your strategy, Rolynn.
I used to do full outlines, Brenda. Then I found I could write novellas without them because the plots weren't as complex. When I went back to full length, I stuck with that strategy. But at this point, with my plots seeming to become more complex with each book, I'm floundering. I did get ideas down for the next several chapters after writing this post, so I feel like I have a direction again.
I've always envied pantsters. I can't even start without an outline. I don't always stick to them, and new ideas continue to arise, but at least I have something. It's my first line of defense against writer's block. When I have writer's block, there's another cause. As for marketing, your AMS experience sounds familiar. I get quite a few crossover sales, and I expect even more one the third book comes out. I also tried reducing my bid price. I figured, I only spend $.16 - $.18 cents, so why should I bid $.25? It made a huge difference in my impressions. Live and learn.
I like the 4-star puzzles the best, too, Jannine. They're enough of a challenge without making me rip my hair out. (I don't like guessing either. What's the fun in that?) I must say your completed Sudoku is a lot neater than any of mine! I have notes and scribbles all over the margins, not to mention corrections. :-)
Alison, did your impressions rebound after changing the price back on your ad? Mine hasn't. I feel like Amazon put me in a corner and slapped my hands for being bad...
Leah, I write light pencil notes in the margin for each row combo and erase after I put the possibles in the box (also in light pencil). Once I get a "for sure" number, I put it in dark and erase whatever I can as a result. I'm something of a neat freak! LOL
Sudoku is not my thing. I tried. I'm a word person not a numbers person. Good for you guys who enjoy it. I'm amazed at the things you try, Jannine. I'm glad they work for you.
I thought I was a word person, too, Diane. Turns out SUDOKU is more about systematic logic than numbers. I'm trying to be systematic in my approach to writing and marketing, too. "Working" would be a stretch, but I'm learning what not to do.
Great post, but I'm not going to try the SUDOKU thing. Just the word hurts my brain. I agree about Amazon ads. I found them very beneficial. How many key words did you use? It's important to use several. And, they say it's beneficial to change them from time to time. Also, for the more common key words, go up to 50 cents a click. The higher priced clicks are favored and if you have a cap, you're not going to spend more than you planned anyway. As for the outline, they are a must for me. I'm like Alison. I don't strickly adhere to them, but I MUST have one before I begin. best of luck!
Ally, my ad died an agonizing death. 75 key words. Now I’m only getting 30 impressions a day. I don’t know what went wrong. đ
Jannine is this the ad for a self-published book? Lisa at TWRP told me anything but published through Amazon gets so buried that it's almost useless to try. Mine also died completely.
Yes, self published, Brenda. It worked for a week before the impressions died completely. It's been working for Alison and Alicia on self-published books. I don't know what happened to mine.
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