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Thursday, September 12, 2013

The Author Who Squeaks Loudest Gets the Grease

The bookstores are going away. On this we can agree. The book world has gone cyber and for authors the first thought this opened a boundless opportunity. But of course that has changed into the reality of the modern author who has to do everything and really cant. The truth is the conduit has changed and there is the information highway and authors must make as much noise as they can. You may wonder when authors become braggarts? Weren't they supposed to be squirreled away writing to emerge hollowed eyed with cigarettes and coffee on their breath...giving their  vision to the world? Ah...no.

That guy would never see the light of day now. The artist writer is all very well and good and I put myself in that category but if you have to sell you better start yelling from the rooftops how good you are and how good your book is and people should buy what you have to offer. Timidity is not wanted. And if you are timid there is an author who will shout you down so you might as well not open your mouth. You want trench warfare you got it. Go hang around the kindle boards some time and you will see the  marketing that is required now.

And some would say this is a good thing and that authors are empowered. But the truth is authors have just upped their burden to the where they are the bookstore now and they carry that on their back too. Forget writing. Who has time for it with all this marketing? And you never know if all your effort is in vain or not and there are authors who turn their back and say I cannot do this and return to writing. I understand. You could go mad and bloody eyed with thirteen hour days staring at your screen and watching those Amazon numbers.

But that is the way it is now. The author must shout and shout loudly if he or she wants to be heard. There are millions of authors out there I would presume and millions of buyers...but the squeaky wheel gets the grease and authors have to get used to squeaking very loudly indeed.

www.williamhazelgrove.com

 

Books by William Hazelgrove