ROB BARTLEY

In many ways, becoming an author has been less of a journey and more of an evolution. I feel pretty safe saying that I started as a reader. Being a Gen X’er, I grew up in the golden age of comic books, science fiction, and fantasy. I was blessed with access to a local bookstore and a great library, which I thoroughly utilized.

My next Evolution came when I discovered the game Dungeons and Dragons. To say that I dove into the deep end is an understatement. This is where I fell in love with the possibilities of story crafting and world building that creating your own homebrew adventures provided.

My final Evolution into an author came with COVID. Being in oil and gas, I was given an ‘essential worker’ designation on day one. Working during that time caused a lot of stress. What was worse, I couldn’t even play this incredible adventure I had crafted for my friends. So, one day I decided I didn’t want to lose the story I had in my head, plus I had a lot of free time, so I decided to turn it into a novel. Since that time, I have been writing two books a year, and I love it.

My favorite part of writing is that I often don’t know where I’m going. When you read a story I wrote, 90% of that is you discovering what happens, just like I did. I usually have a main character I start with, a general premise of what they’ll do and maybe a scene I want in mind. The rest comes as I’m writing.

I hit a flow state doing action or dialogue, and that gives me a pace like music. As I’m writing, there’s usually a moment where I’m like, “I need some action here” or “We need a twist here.” When those hit, I pick something to push the character, and I run with it. Occasionally, I’ll box myself into a corner, but I don’t mind. I try to stay true to the characters.

My least favorite thing is that my dyslexia plays hell with my writing. Aside from dealing with the occasional bouts of imposter syndrome, typos due to my dyslexia are my mortal enemy. I do a lot to try to edit, and I have people who help, but to be sure, that’s my kryptonite.

For every self-published author, this is typically the most significant question. I’m lucky in that my 9-to-5 allows me to fund my curious nature. As a result, I’ve done several campaigns on Amazon with little or no real success. I’ve paid for Google Ads, Facebook ads, Instagram ads, and even engaged a professional marketing site that manages your socials for you to drive engagement. All of those failed incredibly and not cheaply.

Is there a way to advertise where your costs justify the result enough to generate a positive ROI? I’m sure there is. Have I discovered it? No.

What I can tell you is that if you do a minimal, and I mean a dollar a day, ad on Amazon, that keeps you where people find you when they search for you.

However, where I have had success is doing book signings. Everywhere I set up a table and talk to people, I sell. What I realized is that people want passion. When I talk about my books, I’m passionate about the story. In the process, I become my own testimonial. As they speak to me and get to know me, they invest in me. The form of that is my books.

So, my advice is to get out in front of people and sell. Also, breweries are the best. Beer people love to talk and buzzed people buy books, plus it gives me an excuse to drink beer all day.

A few things come to mind really fast.

1. Write what you love. The reason AI books suck is that I wouldn’t want to read something that no one loved enough to write. If you want to become a pro, you’re going to need to love it. If you’re like me and you write because you have stories dying to get out, don’t smooth out that passion. Those are the things that attract readers.
2. Be honest with yourself about your expectations. I can honestly say I’d love to get traditionally published someday, but I doubt I ever will, and I’m okay with that. If I were committed to being published, I’d be writing Romance. The numbers tell us that it’s the most significant market, so it’s a number game. I’d play the odds.  If you want to sell to the masses, be McDonald’s. It is successful, scaled, efficient, and does an admirable service at scale. I, however, recognize I’m a BBQ man at heart. My books are like a brisket cooked slow and low. I take my time. Flavor is everything, and I know I’ll feed everyone who is interested in what I’ve done, and maybe a few outside that.
3. Be cautious. Right now, there are a lot of businesses and scams that prey on aspiring writers and trusting authors. They use our desire to be heard and our insecurities against us. It’s horrible, but it’s true. So, if you get approached, be wary.

In my case, I make people who want to partner with me jump through a few hoops. I research them. And I have people that I trust who keep me grounded about when a deal seems too good to be true.