A Great Two Days, Marketing, And Baltimore
So I have a good feeling about things. Lots of small bits of good news have relieved some of the stress of trying to be an author, follow dreams, be a good patner and friend and most importantly a good father. I would also like to be a good son as my parents have always been behind my schemes. Well most of the legal ones anyway.
The last two days on Inkshares have seen more than double the number of pre-orders. It was a small number to begin with but the marketing is reaching friends of friends now. I couldn't be happier about that. It is also putting me back in touch with old friends as well. I should have done this years ago lol.
I still feel lost when it comes to self promotion, though. In many ways Inkshares and crowd funding are a better bet. You are literally paying for the books you want to be published. Now do not get me wrong, even with all the trials of traditional publishing I am not going to knock anyone involved. I get that its a process and there has to be a hurricane of submitted work on a daily basis. Still, as my first book I think if Wicked Boys makes it (and it will) that this will open doors for me and for that I am eternally grateful.
Yet it is still difficult for me to ask for money from friends, let alone strangers. Asking them to bet on my head is such a double edged sword that anyone who won't, I totally understand. People want to see results, much the way people want to see the Hawks make it out of the second round of the NBA playoffs before giving them too much credit.
So as some of you may know, I grew up in Maryland. I never lived directly in Baltimore but I did live on the outskirts and visited the city more than a few times. I feel like I need to say something, but I am not sure what yet. I feel very caught in the middle about the whole thing. All I will say is that I am not surprised this happened, though I am saddened that it happened. And by "it" I mean from the death of Freddie Gray through the riots. The entire process bottom to top has been unfurtunate and yes, I know that is an understatement.
Soon. I will write about it soon. Right now I just don't feel ready.
~SMH
