Why I'm Taking My Book Off Amazon - Miss Write

30/5/2013

Whenever I’m embarrassed by something I wrote and published a long time ago, I try to bury it by writing a whole bunch of other stuff. I figure readers will expect my writing to get better over time, and I’m a horrible judge of my own work anyway (especially whatever I’m working on right now).

Good luck, and don’t let it get you down!

Hi Joe – it’s definitely not getting me down, but it was a good prompt for my blog this week! Thanks for your comment x

I do understand how you feel. It is the one problem about taking a long time writing something like I am writing Deaf Not Daft. Every time I go back to it I can see weaknesses and fiddle with it. It’s called not putting it to bed I think.
However, what I want you to know is that I downloaded the ebook of Girl Meets Boys and was so enjoying it and then I lent my kindle to my grandson so have to wait to finish it. Baaaa
Good luck with Scrabble Pieces.

Thanks Di xx

Congratulations on completing the A-Z Challenge! Just cruisin’ by to say hello from the 2013 Post A-Z Road Trip.
<a href=”http://thoughtsofbeautyinthestillnessofdawn.blogspot.com/”>Thoughts Of Beauty In The Stillness Of Dawn…</a>

Thanks Andy – that’s one long URL you have there for your blog! All the best x

Just because you write better now doesn’t necessarily mean your first book is bad. If the first book still sells, it says you’ve done something right. Don’t fix what ain’t broken.

Besides, you can always update the novel. Those who bought the ebook version will be notified of the availability of the new copy and will download it for free. As for the paper copies, if someone likes your book, they’ll buy another copy.

Don’t mess with success. *g*

Thanks for your comment, Linda. I think you’re right to some degree… Maybe I’ll make it a free ebook when the 2nd novel comes out!

I was going to say the same thing—don’t pull it, update it. Books that sell well in the trad-pub industry often get a 2nd edition to fix things up a bit, since they’re going to reprint it anyway. You can do the same. Fix any typos you’ve run across, smooth out a few awkward passages, maybe freshen the cover, and see what happens.

Of course you’ll improve if you keep writing.

Good points, thanks Larry 🙂

Good insights. This is one of the things that being an independent does for you: gives you the control over your entire collection. Later on, you won’t have to worry about someone else re-releasing something you aren’t proud of.

Thanks Tony – great minds…!

Cualquier decisión que tomes en tu vida es un cambio, independiente de cual sea siempre y cuando lo nuevo que vayas a lograr lo hagas con todo tu mejor esfuerzo (dando lo mejor de ti), ya que como sabes eres muy talentosa e inteligente y, estoy muy seguro que al final, sea lo que sea que logres será simplemente: “Una obra maestra”.

Un mensaje precioso, muchas gracias. Gracias por tu apoyo xx

I’m a writer based in South Wales, with an unhealthy obsession with stationery and baking. I mainly blog for my own sanity, but I’m also working on a novel. Still.

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Why I’m Taking My Book Off Amazon

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I’ve decided to take my debut novel down from Amazon. ‘Girl Meets Boys’, my internet age rom com was published in Autumn of 2010 and I had the aim of having just one stranger buy a copy. The books have sold better than I ever expected on both ebook and in paperback and I’ve made a surprising amount of cash, but it’s time for the party to end.

“But why?!” I hear you exclaim.

There are several reasons why I’m going to stop selling my novel online.

I stopped promoting ‘Girl Meets Boys’ about 18 months ago, with the thought that I can’t go on about it perpetually. People would get sick of hearing about it, I was sure! The mini book tour of local libraries and book shops stopped. I didn’t do the weekly mention of it on my Facebook and Twitter pages. I removed copies on display in local shops.

The main reason I’m taking the book down is that I am no longer proud of the publication. Don’t get me wrong, I was overjoyed when I held my first printed copy of the first book I’d ever written. I was excited with every sales figure update and grateful for every cheque which followed. But I know I can do better now. I don’t want this book to be a reflection of my writing abilities, as I feel I have progressed a long way since the date ‘Girl Meets Boys’ was published.

Sure, if I kept it available online I would sell some more copies, but I think I’d prefer to treat it as an achievement and work even harder on my current novel – my Next Big Thing, working title ‘Scrabble Pieces’.

My blogs, both here and at Born To Be A Tourist, are booming with visitor numbers, with new people discovering content and commenting every month. My monthly MK Pulse column is still being accepted with open arms, for which I am very grateful, and I am still writing the odd short story. I think I have enough on my plate writing-wise, even without ‘Scrabble Pieces’ text slowly crawling onto the page. I’ll soon have something back on Amazon to show you, guys! I’ll be removing the book from Amazon in July, so if you do still want to order a copy, go for it (and thanks!) – you have a month or so to grab one.

‘Girl Meets Boys’ will always have a little place in my heart, being my first novel, but it’s time has come and gone. Goodbye, and thanks for all the fish.

Keep writing, and thanks for your on-going support for this blog.

Lou x

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Born To Be A Tourist