I lecture people constantly about how writing is a business, but I'm not always very good at following through on that myself. The biggest case in point is the newsletter I send out to those on my email distro list. I'm supposed to use it to keep people up to date on what's going on...after I send them an initial email confirming that they're on my list. Of course, I haven't sent out one of these emails for at least six months.
It's not because I haven't had people sign up. Although not on the breakneck pace I achieved in the first months I started marketing my work, I still get a steady trickle of people asking to be on the early purchase list that saves about 25-ish% off the hardcover price. Unfortunately, I'm not very fastidious in sticking to sending out notes. I justified this at first by rationalizing that there weren't a bunch of new people on the list, so I needed to wait until I get a decent number of folks. That way, I wouldn't be sending out new emails every week to just a handful of people. Well, this is no longer a plausible explanation since it's been a long time.
Even worse is that I haven't sent anything out to the people already on my list. I need to do this so that they're updated about current events on my writing, most notably that the release date for my first novel, Akeldama, has been delayed for a year while I spend time on business in another country. It's almost to the point of neglect, and it's unacceptable.
The reason is sheer laziness...something I intend to rectify this week. If I can't even keep touch with the loyal few who've trusted me with their email addresses in the hopes they'd get a book, I don't really deserve the customers I seek. There's simply too much variety out there for me to not be on top of my game. Best to get back into it.
It's not because I haven't had people sign up. Although not on the breakneck pace I achieved in the first months I started marketing my work, I still get a steady trickle of people asking to be on the early purchase list that saves about 25-ish% off the hardcover price. Unfortunately, I'm not very fastidious in sticking to sending out notes. I justified this at first by rationalizing that there weren't a bunch of new people on the list, so I needed to wait until I get a decent number of folks. That way, I wouldn't be sending out new emails every week to just a handful of people. Well, this is no longer a plausible explanation since it's been a long time.
Even worse is that I haven't sent anything out to the people already on my list. I need to do this so that they're updated about current events on my writing, most notably that the release date for my first novel, Akeldama, has been delayed for a year while I spend time on business in another country. It's almost to the point of neglect, and it's unacceptable.
The reason is sheer laziness...something I intend to rectify this week. If I can't even keep touch with the loyal few who've trusted me with their email addresses in the hopes they'd get a book, I don't really deserve the customers I seek. There's simply too much variety out there for me to not be on top of my game. Best to get back into it.
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