Self-publishing
Due to numerous suggestions, I have changed the title of "Hell Happens" to "Freed", changed the intro of the story, removed most of the profanity, and changed the size of the novel as well as the cover art.
For those of you who are thinking of self-publishing your novel, I have a bit of advice that I hope you take into consideration. When self-publishing, places like Create Space and Kindle direct publishing don't care if your novel is even print worthy nor do they care if you sale a single copy. They know you as the author are going to want copies of your novel, and that's where they make their money with you.
You can find literally thousands of poorly written novels on Amazon, so for most of the public who have wasted a considerable amount of money purchasing nothing more than incredible disappointments, chances are they won't purchase yours. Here's why: They see that you are a new author and that you are an indie no less, then automatically assume that your work will be just as poorly written. You can't blame them either. Most of the time, they won't even chance a look at the blurb on the back, especially if you are new and have NO reviews yet. You can try to find people willing to give you a review, but you still need a high number of good reviews to make the cut and be searchable on Amazon. Even then, your novel may still not show up for several pages. The only way to show up on the first page is to get a high number of sales and let's face it, to do that you have to get your book seen and then to get those viewers to be interested enough to purchase your novel. Another good way to get sales is if you know a lot of people willing to purchase and review your novel as well as tell numerous other people about your novel. Word of mouth advertising is amazing, just look at "Fifty shades of grey". I would have NEVER known about the steamy novels had I not been told about them. No, I've never read any of them, but I've heard enough to make me blush fifty shades of red and that's enough for me.
Personally, I have followed ALL the suggestions given on so many sites and to no avail. I still have yet to get my novel seen and therefore purchased. No one is ever going to purchase what they don't know exists. I actually can't even find "Freed" when searching for it's EXACT title (I think it may show up on page 60 or so). Try searching that title and see what pops up..."Fifty shades of grey." Yup, that's what shows up when you search for my novel.
I even gave several copies of my novel away for free in hopes of receiving a few reviews, whether favorable or not. So far I have received nothing and it's been months. I've been told that my story is really good, yet none of those people took the time to say that in a review on Amazon. Well, that's a bummer.
My point is this, if you think you have a great story and want the world to read it, then send a query package to as many literary agents in your Genre as you can. Try to get a REAL publisher to represent your work. If your novel is as good as you think it is, then eventually you will land an agent who can easily get you reviews and make it so the public knows your novel is there.
Of course, there are those rare occasions when a self-published novel makes it to the top, but this isn't likely for most indie writers. You can't expect to get the same results and you more than likely won't. So, by all means stay clear of self-publishing unless you only want a few copies for family and friends. Keep contacting literary agents and keep writing. Expect rejection letters but don't let them drop your spirits. Keep going and never give up.
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