There are all these things “authors” are SUPPOSED to do. Musts. The rule is that you will fail and end up picking potatoes in a frozen field somewhere if you don’t do all the required things. FACT. This is all long-established wisdom in publishing, especially in indie author publishing. These things work.
But I have some difficulty with coloring inside the lines, in most things in life. So I really can’t start doing that now. If they say “You must excerpt your book! Have a big ‘Cover Reveal’ event! Do blurbs, do teasers! Run contests. Put together a Street Team!” all I hear is “Your call cannot be completed as dialed.”
I discussed this with my dog. (Well, dog one anyway. There are two dogs. Dog 1, Dog 2.)
Me: Why can’t people just know, realize, find out, all on their own, that I did a stupid book?
Dog 1: No one has ever heard of you or your stupid book.
Me: They should be more aware of their surroundings, then. Situational awareness.
Dog 1: They’re busy.
Me: And I’m not? I have a phone app that’s been nagging me to do Tai Chi or something for months, and I have to delete it. That level of busy. Top that, Mister Sniff Around For Five Minutes Looking For Just The Right Place To Pee.
Street Team? If you don’t know what a “street team” is, it’s a bunch of fans, people who believe in you and love your writing, style, humor. They go running around the country telling strangers how great you are. At least I think that’s what they do. Pretty sure. I’ll look it up later.
My Street Team Wants A Word With You People™
Well, maybe soon. Right now my Street Team is too busy to even be interviewed for this post. Way too busy.
