There is always the question, how much is enough or how much is too much especially in the Indie publishing world.

I can say from experience that nothing is never enough when you are self employed. It is a good many long hours and longer nights! There is also the many sudden glitches and magically make all your work go away and the added pleasure of all the little bugs that come along in most software programs.

So what is enough? Well, I think there has to be a reality check in it all. We all would love to have best selling books and have a lovely soft income coming in, however that isn't always the case! At least not until the research is done and the steps put into place to make that happen.

And what is that other old say?"Time is money". Well, in this day and age it is! There is no way around it. In these crazy times with inflation is spiralling out of control and every day you wonder if you are not going to wake up to a new pandemic, seriously, how can time not be money?

When so many people are looking to just pay their bills and stay afloat, what is really going to help right now what is going on in the world. What is really important?

If you are a Buddhist like myself, then you know you took a vow to do no harm, and if you go one step farther you take a vow to help...so what can one person do in this sea of uncertainty and growing despair for the place the world is in?

Is making more money the answer? I know some very rich and very unhappy people. I know for a fact it isn't the end all and be all to have a lot of money in your bank account. Unless your a sociopath and don't care at whose expense you got that money, in many cases, there are a good many wealthy people who know they don't have clear consciences and have to live with that. Rather them than me.

As an artist, I always used to wonder what was the point of being one? i was born an artist. I didn't really ask to be, it is just where many of my strengths like in the same way someone is really good at math. With this, I have always had a very practical side and wondered what is the point of doing that painting or making that sculpture or carving, or doing that piece of writing? What difference does it make?

As I get older however, I can see the difference it makes. I can look at that painting and be reminded of something or be stirred to feel something. Something that takes me away from the daily grind. I may be living in a bloody apartment (something I never did until very recently) and even though I am surrounded by concrete, I can look at that painting and be transported to a beautiful place that I may or may not have visited. In the same way, I know a really good book can take you away and transport you to somewhere else and right now, I think a lot of people are looking for that cheap virtual reality fix!

There is also the investment value. They say put your money in gold (and if you look at the value of some coins being minted right now), you know folks are taking it seriously! I also know someone who put two buckets in the ground equally over 3/4 of a million dollars and it disappeared! I also know my elderly widowed uncle like all those on his side, lived through the depression and had a secret stash that went missing around the same time his neighbour who helped him out, bought a new truck with cash! So seriously, it isn't as easy as you think to keep money safe.

So seriously, what is the one thing that has always been associated with the part of humanity that separates us from the apes?

Our art. Did VanGogh think his paintings would sell for as much as they do or be on display somewhere? He may have hoped, however I think by the time the lead paint and the alcohol got to him he really didn't care. My point is however, smart investors invest in two things besides gold: real estate (after all it is called REAL estate for a reason, they are not making any more of it!!!) and art.

Any investment is a gamble, however investing in artists is possibly the easy investment to make. Property has to be improved or at least maintained to increase in value unless you hold onto it for a while, gold, well that is always a risk to keep safe, however art is the easiest to manipulate.

Do you think some of the great writers and painters and sculptors out there now just became famous? No, of course not. As someone who worked for a leading Inuit Art dealer first as her employee in her top Inuit Art Gallery (her and James her husband literally started the Inuit Art Movement!), I know that artists are not made, but their reputation and popularity are!

Alma Houston took more than one artist, worked promoting and selling not the artist's art, but the artist and made them. I loved going around visiting artists with her because she was passionate and cared about the artist she supported in her gallery. It wasn't a display case, it was a show case, two very different things.

So in thinking about it, no matter how I look at it, in these difficult times, we need artists, we need hope, we need new ideas and passion for something more than survival. Artists can be the canary in the coal mine; they often bring into focus things that need to be seen. That is the creative way. There is no way around it.  Inspiration comes from something so universal and at the same time so archaic that we, as human beings can try, but never really deny it.

So what is enough as an artist? Frankly, whatever you do is enough while at the same time, not enough. All you writers and poets and artists out there NEED to be here and are always going to be needed! We are what keeps humanity human.

As I mentioned before many writers suggest having your marketing plan all figured out before you even start at writing. I suggest having an idea of your target audience however not everyone can gear their writing to a specific market or understand the different aspects of the things involved to get their book out there. Hell thinking of a story with all the other aspects of what it takes to make a good story is difficult enough!
 
It seems the days of being proud to produce a book is a thing of the past. Covid has given many people the time and discipline to actually write a book, and now there are so many places where you can hire someone to edit and produce your book, or sites that give you access to apps that are so easy, anyone and their dog can create a book.
 
So, with that sort of flooding of the market, it seems impossible to get your book found in the sea of other half-ass books.
 
I think in the end, your book has to touch something in humanity that is universal…that something that makes what you do stand out and stand the test of time like any good song or painting.
 
Maybe this is a rationalization on my part to keep me plodding along learning new things, however [1] we all need something to keep us slugging away at something!
 
If you haven’t got a marketing plan because you haven’t had time with all that writing and learning you have been doing, I would suggest not beating yourself up about it. You are in control remember, that is why you are an Indie writer!
 
YOU decided when, if or how your books goes on the market. There are huge amount of decisions to make before this happens, however I also would suggest that before you rush out there to put your book on Amazon or anywhere else, you take the time to start learning more about the ins and outs of marketing.
 
There are tons of interesting books and You Tube videos out there to help you so don’t despair. The marketing is just as important as actually producing the books!
 
That is why there are literally THOUSANDS of books now on Amazon however how many have put out successful You Tube videos and blogs and books about how they did it?!?!??! Not many in ratio! It is because many folks think it is magic. Hell, I can type in my name, which has initials for the first two, which were filled in the spaces on the site HOWEVER IF YOU DO OR DO NOT PUT THE SPACE AFTER THOSE INITIALS, YOU WIL GET VERY DIFFERENT RESULTS! Live and learn right!!!
 
So don’t go trying to plant the seeds before you have fertilized it! Learn what you want to do to market, and no it isn’t all social media!!!!  THEN put your book out there so Amazon can see a steady increase in sales as your marketing starts to take effect. You don’t need to go to the top of the listings immediately however there shouldn’t be too much delay in the progress. I know!!!!
 
Good Luck!

 [1]

It took awhile and it meant learning a few more things but I finally got some money in the bank....I am so good at banking...oops, the account I WASN"T expecting it in however that is just me!!!!

I know a good many new Indie publishers expect to put a book on Amazon and immediately see the bucks flowing in. Well, I am not one of them. I figured if I could make it to two digits in sales I would be doing good!

I also knew if I didn't put anything into marketing, I wasn't going to get found! And nope, I am not easily found! that is ok. I will work on that when I have time however it is nice to see a little action!

Now the other thing I do know is that Amazon doesn't care if you have a high spike in sales immediately. They would rather see a steady incline and not petering off or declining where mine is heading.

Frankly, I am in the middle of starting a new job which is hard, moving into a new place...(don't they say moving is a life change similar to death as is a new job!?!?!?), well, frankly by day's end, I am exhausted, coffee or no coffee!!!

Oh the upside (or downside) the TV here is not set up and I do believe isn't all there and capable of being set up so I am not doing much in the evening, so I can rise early and get some writing in or whatever along with my practice...all things I MUST do for this new job, I can see it being the sort of job you need to have outlets with...just the way she goes!

My long term goal is still to retire with enough money coming in from sales to write full time and really put my murder mysteries series out there, so I am going to give myself a deadline to be slack to adjust to the new circumstances in my life, then I am going to make time to do what I need to do in the marketing department. I have researched key words and I shall get the hang of it all and use the money from sales to look into other avenues to get the books promoted...such as getting reviews. I held off this until I had made sure I had all the bugs worked out!!!!

Also, I am dickering to myself about the cost. The colouring books are ok, but with shipping, I am not sure about price of the shipping when it is included. I use Amazon Prime (for now) and sometimes buy for others, however that doesn't help my search engine.

The way it works as I understand it, Amazon has a printing fee which they take after they take 40 - 60% (maybe 45% now) of the book's price.

It isn't a great deal really however, I have noticed Amazon has grown to be one of the those ugly monsters of corporate greed like so many successful businesses. Instead of being satisfied, they just want more and more and more. Even so, compared to getting it done in a traditional way where you can expect soooo much less percentage wide on your sales, that it is still a better alternative.

If I had the means, I would go through someone who would list and push the book for me, however I have not been able to look into it enough yet. So far all the ones I have found have their own packages for getting it edited, illustrated, etc and I don't want that. Just published and promoted. I think I read it was around 11% after other fees. which, if that was to be Amazon, would be off the percent they are already taking leaving me about 34% depending.

However I remember working for a woman named Alma Houston who ran and Inuit Art Gallery.

I was there when she explained to new artists she had in her gallery how it worked...her explaination went like this:

What Alma said makes perfect sense and I am still thinking about it. The good news is, if they do their job well, they get paid more also so it is a win-win! It will take more research!

Keep plugging away! Eventually you will aquire all the skills and the profits will increase! Also,I know I am doing a series which means, even if I miss the window for marketing my current children's books, that I still can do it with the next three in the series I have well under way!

Good luck!