What my wife has taught me about self publishing.

Consumer of Self Publlishing

My wife recently downloaded a number of Romance novels to her kindle. So, how did she decide which ones do download?

She chooses free novels. Because of the number of writers who are trying to promote their works, there is no shortage of free works to download.  My wife knows full well that if she wants to continue in the series, she will have to pay for the next volumes, but doesn't care. Since the first volume is free, there's nothing to lose. If it's no good, she simply switches to another free novel.

I have heard an interesting comment from her considering self-published works she's read. She has said she found a series she likes, if she can ignore the errors. Many authors can't or won't put out the money for editors. However, when the author publishes without an editor, it's very noticeable in the final product.

So, what are the lessons of her experiences?  First, since writers are so anxious to get their works to the forefront, they are willing to offer a part of their portfolio for free. It may be heart wrenching to work for a year on a novel just to give it away for free, but that may be the price of getting people to sample your works. More important, you need to find a way to get your novel noticed. Since the first things a prospective reader will see of your novel are the cover picture and the blurb, they have to be eye-catching. Your novel could be another Twilight or Harry Potter, but if you don't have the attractive cover or blurb, no one will want to read it. Finally, in order to stand out (or at least keep in line with professionally-published novels), it should be well edited. If not, it needs to be awfully good or the reader will have a tendency to quit for another of the legions of novels out there in self-published land.

My wife is only one of millions of Romance readers, but I don't think her consumption habits are different from most readers.  There's no easy route to success in publishing. Then again, if there were, everybody would be a novelist.

A Man in a Romance Author Group?

Somehow I have found myself one of the only male members of a local writer's group.  I didn't intend to do so. I was looking for a group to join and tried several out. This one showed itself to be exceptionally warm and accepting and I kept coming back.  Although this group calls itself Ozarks Romance Authors (which should have been my first clue it would be all women), they write and share works of all genres.  From reading their works, I have learned a lot about what the female gender thinks.

Admittedly, it feels very strange for me to spend Saturday mornings in a room full of women.  I had this fear that a man who hangs out with women will be regarded as, well, you know.  (Holds hand horizontally and wags it in a gay sign.)  However, I've found that once I got over the fear of what others  think about me being there, it's been a healthy experience for me as a writer.

I can't even begin to count the number of times in my life I've wondered how 'the other side' sees things.  I've spent the last nineteen years trying to understand how my wife thinks.  As to understanding my thirteen-year-old daughter, forget it. The odd thing is finding out what is in the opposite gender's head is as simple as reading what women write.

What's most surprising is, for the most part they really don't think that different from men.   A mystery or young adult story written by a woman reads much like a similar story written by a man. There is one difference, however.  Women seem to go for Romance stories with greater vigor. 

In reality, I don't think you have to be a woman to enjoy a good Romance.  The members of ORA have read several good Romance stories and I relate just as easily to the interaction between lovers as any woman.  I think the big turn-off for men is fear of being seen holding a book with a picture of a hunky man with a chest the size of a garage door and muscles bulging out from every square inch of his torso.  Once I got over that fear of being thought of as 'one of those', I found Romance stories quite enjoyable. 

I'm glad I decided to hang out with a bunch of women one Saturday morning a month.  Now that I can see the results of my experience, I would encourage everyone to step out of their comfort zone every now and then.  It's a great way to grow as a writer.