The learning curve

I have a steady gig writing blog articles for the clients of a website design and hosting firm in Denver, CO. These articles require some superficial research that, nonetheless, show me how much I don't know about home repair, hardwood floors, landscaping, personal injury law, and medical marijuana.

Yeah, weed. There's more to it than a smoking joint and a stoner's smile.

My latest blog article for hire dealt with social media marketing. I long since came to the conclusion that my skills in that arena leave much to be desired. Therefore, I hired Fire & Ice Book Tours to promote Russian Lullaby. It was an experiment more than anything else.

I calculated that I would need to sell about 60 copies at the introductory price of $0.99 to break even on my investment. Royalties are only about $0.34 per copy. I don't have the sales figures yet, but I can attest to the improvement in market penetration. Never has any of my books accumulated so many reviews and so quickly. I'm giddy knowing that the book is trending at 4.4 out of 5 stars. Come April 20 or 21, I'll know how many copies sold from March 20 to April 20. Better yet, some of the reviews stated that the readers who never knew Holly Bargo existed would now be happy to read more of my books.

Overall, it's been a pretty positive experience. I think I'll leave the "real" marketing to the pros, although I'll keep doing what I've been doing because that's better than nothing at all.

Anyway, the latest book, an epic fantasy, has just been released. In spite of appearances, I am not generating reams of content on a weekly basis. The Diamond Gate actually took years to write and nearly 18 months to edit. Not a fast process.

This book is more like the stories I used to write before my mind dropped into the gutter. It's an unapologetic wallow in swashbuckling and derring-do, an epic fantasy adventure with swords, sorcery, and a PG-rating. I hope you enjoy it.