Dude! You have hit best seller rankings though! Best I've ever done is #64 in a narrow category. I don't know who I have to hold hostage to get/keep a ranking above #100 for more than 3 days. Not to mention having 6 to 12 times the reviews I can manage. From my POV after 7 years of writing, you're doing fantastic.
Addendum: I am convinced now the gatekeepers have left the publishing houses for the most part since indie publishing has rendered them moot. Instead, there seems to be a bit of a cabal the industry put together to gatekeep promotion and marketing from indies. Amazon has special deals to keep indies off the tops of charts. They suppress reviews which they use to gauge metrics giving bad data, weighted towards those who hire clickfarms and are industry insiders. So it's a rigged game that allows you to publish, but nearly guarantees that unless you find a chink in the armor, you will not be seen, which amounts to an evenmore insulting/frustrating version of being rejected at the slush pile.
I know you're right—I should look at the full half of the cup. It's frustrating to not meet your goals, especially when it's doable. A lot of money and effort seem wasted, etc. But I should enjoy the 15 minutes of fame rather than agonize about it missing expectations. I think you're right about the gatekeeping, too. We may not understand exactly how the algorithms work, but we can tell somebody's thumb is on the scale.
I'm so sorry to hear all this! Especially that Bookbub didn't work out. I think maybe it's the cover. In thumbnail, the girl is so small I can't make out much more than her outline, and I can't really tell what genre it's supposed to be.
Dude! You have hit best seller rankings though! Best I've ever done is #64 in a narrow category. I don't know who I have to hold hostage to get/keep a ranking above #100 for more than 3 days. Not to mention having 6 to 12 times the reviews I can manage. From my POV after 7 years of writing, you're doing fantastic.
Addendum: I am convinced now the gatekeepers have left the publishing houses for the most part since indie publishing has rendered them moot. Instead, there seems to be a bit of a cabal the industry put together to gatekeep promotion and marketing from indies. Amazon has special deals to keep indies off the tops of charts. They suppress reviews which they use to gauge metrics giving bad data, weighted towards those who hire clickfarms and are industry insiders. So it's a rigged game that allows you to publish, but nearly guarantees that unless you find a chink in the armor, you will not be seen, which amounts to an evenmore insulting/frustrating version of being rejected at the slush pile.
I know you're right—I should look at the full half of the cup. It's frustrating to not meet your goals, especially when it's doable. A lot of money and effort seem wasted, etc. But I should enjoy the 15 minutes of fame rather than agonize about it missing expectations. I think you're right about the gatekeeping, too. We may not understand exactly how the algorithms work, but we can tell somebody's thumb is on the scale.
Agreed and right there with ya, buddy.
I'm so sorry to hear all this! Especially that Bookbub didn't work out. I think maybe it's the cover. In thumbnail, the girl is so small I can't make out much more than her outline, and I can't really tell what genre it's supposed to be.
Hmm. Maybe. Thanks, K.M.