Avery K. Tingle, The Gamer Author

Fifteen years ago, I was an award-winning, top-level salesman for Centurylink Communications. I figured that would serve me well when it came to selling my own work.

I was wrong.

Nothing can prepare you for selling your own titles. This is especially true if you’re introverted and/or neurodivergent.
After ten years of trial and error, I have yet to achieve success on my terms, but I have moved through the fear of selling my work. I’ve also made enough mistakes to know what not to do, so without further ado, here you go.

1). Is Marketing Even Necessary?
If you’re not trying to build sustainable income with your writing, then no, marketing my not be for you. (and that’s okay). If you’re only writing as a hobby, and it’s not your ambition to make it a career, then marketing isn’t a concern for you. Know your goals, and save yourself a headache.

2). Let People Get To Know You.
Is there anything more annoying on twitter than that one guy you’re not even following who posts literally nothing but multiple variations of buy-my-book? Yeah, I used to be this guy. People hate this guy. People are right to hate this guy.
I people don’t at least some idea of who you are, why should they give a damn about what you’re trying to sell them? This doesn’t mean get out there and share every little detail about yourself. What are you passionate about? What makes you laugh? Who are you outside of writing? Whatever the answers to these questions are, chances are high that other people share them. I’m an introverted Star Wars fan who struggles with ADHD, anxiety, depression, and PTSD. I advocate for equal rights and I’ve managed to build a community of more than thirty thousand people on tiktok.

3). Know Your Keywords.
If there’s anything I wish I’d paid attention too in the beginning, it’s this. Your sales will live or die by your keywords. They determine how Amazon sorts your titles, and further determine how your titles stand up. I’ll go over keyword research in a future post. In the meantime, you can go over to Amazon and type the genre of your book into the search bar. This will at least give you a head start.

Marketing is an absolute monster, but that doesn’t mean you can’t tame it. I’ll make this a series so if there’s anything specific I can cover for you, let me know. Thanks for reading.

Avery K. Tingle is a scifi/fantasy author currently residing in the Pacific Northwest. Owned by two cats, he is passionate about social justice, Star Wars, and mental health. Connect to his award-winning writing and social media here.