If We Just Keep Doing Good Work - Is It Enough?

If We Just Keep Doing Good Work - Is It Enough? That is a serious question because we live in a world of information inudation. having a platform often counts more the the quality coming out in certain types of work. I placed my latest book on a free promo 3 days ago and have almost 1,500 downloads over 3 days and 3 reviews have come in:

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent September 15, 2013
By LaShay
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
Wow this book was off the hook! I loved it from start to finish. I'm glad she got her man....and everything worked out. The sad part is some of this preachers are doing just what he did but they are still married for real.
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4.0 out of 5 stars A Good Read September 15, 2013
By Anna Douglas
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
A good book with an interesting plot and a twist that will throw you for a complete loop. Hold onto your seats when you read this one!
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5.0 out of 5 stars To funny September 13, 2013
By Kenya
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
I liked this book. It had me cracking up. I like how it explained how people be in the church.

All I can do is create the content and market it as best I can, but does it matter that people like what they are reading or is there such an avalanche of material out there today that it takes a lightning strike to break through?

The publishing world is changing. Writers have more opportunities than ever before. Expectations are elevated when a few self-published authors find success. They are the exception not the rule. A substantial number of self-published authors have seen a rise in sales that are not sustainable and eventually fall to modest sales. If you are willing to persist, you might break through in the long term. I found that it was too time-consuming and I could not justify the long hours spent to produce just a few sales.

Agree with what Shelagh said.

Saturday night I went to a "premier" in Naples, Florida for the Hallmark television movie shown Saturday and rerun Sunday, Garage Sale Stalker.  Suzy Weinert, novel author,  is a member of the Naples Press Club in which I am a member.  She attended the NPC writer's conference in Naples that I attended. 

She handed her manuscript to a friend in the club to read (all vetted journalists and authors).  At the next writer's conference, Weinert pitched her corrected manuscript to a local, vanity press, Barringer Publishing, with an excellent reputation for not publishing junk.  Once published, her friend got it to the right contacts for Hallmark who took from 2011 to last Saturday night to finish the screen play and movie. 

The author, the editor and the publisher all share in an elevated status and have been well compensated.  Suzi has just published the second book in the now series, Garage Sale Diamonds, with the same characters - still with Barringer Publishing.  There is some talk that Hallmark may produce a series with her characters that are each inspired by a garage sale find with a mystery and even murder and mayhem (though Hallmark cut that part from Suzy's book).

Suzy wrote the one book, and would have given up if her friend said it wasn't worth publishing.  She went straight to a vanity press and paid to get it published.  The book's success took off as the talk of a movie began and once under contract for the movie, that info could be added to the cover and publicity.

I enjoyed the movie.  Typical Hallmark.

The steps in the process from publishing with Barringer Publishing to being picked up for the movie are quite hush hush with some rumor that it included a connection among friends, but doesn't it always?

So, I move in the right circles and rubbing elbows with success - if a television movie means success.  It would be to be.  It will give her second book a boost as well.  She has a formula now to churn them out.

I have not deviated from my original premise - it's who you know and who knows you that gives you the edge.  You must have some quality to the work - but that isn't even necessary if it is exploited by the right contact or celebrity - for a movie they just write it over again anyway.

DT -it sounds like you're having success w/ your books. That Microwave Fiction tagline is genius. Maybe you ought to expand and solicit shorts from other authors, too, really build up that brand.

DK -I disagree about who you know being required. I'm sure it is for some things, and it may have been for the Garage Sale lady. But I didn't know anyone and still got my books published by large commercial publishers and continue to do so. Until there are more stories like hers, I will consider her as much an anomoly as the runaway best-selling self-published authors.