“It’s the good advice, that you just didn’t take
And who would’ve thought it figures?”
Alanis Morrissette

A year ago, my brother suggested that I make a Kindle version of my book Laund-o-mat at the End of the World. (The typo in the title is deliberate.)  It’s a collection of three of my one-act plays.  I had thought about it a few years before he suggested it. I wrote the book in 2014 but I didn’t get around to taking the extra steps to make a Kindle version at that time.

After some cajoling last year, I finally did it. It was incredibly simple.

Why did it take me so long to do it?

I don’t know…

In my mind’s eye, it was like doing my taxes. The possible effort it was going to take ballooned out of reasonable proportion and I just couldn’t get myself to take action. But it was significantly easier than doing my taxes. In the end, it only took me about 15 minutes to get it converted.

Now my brother has followed up with some advice to try to increase sales. And I haven’t gotten around to taking his advice.  (Even though I promised to take it almost two months ago!)

When I wrote Laund-o-mat, I pre-sold it to family and friends on Facebook. But I haven’t made any sales on Amazon since the book was published. And to be honest, I may never make any other sales… Part of me thinks that selling plays is a “hard sell”. Why would anyone want to buy plays? What was I thinking when I put together the book?

And so, I defeat myself before I get started.

But my brother’s advice doesn’t cost money. He’s suggesting that I reduce the price and update some of the key words and categories. It’s to generate interest in the book and hopefully get some reviews posted that will help other people “find” the book. I just haven’t been able to make myself do the work.

How did I get myself to take action last time my brother gave me advice that I wasn’t taking? I wrote a post about it and then felt some pressure to get it done.

And so, I’m putting it out there. I’m going to take my brother’s advice and make some of his recommended changes and see if it will generate some sales. And it’s not really about sales at this point. I wrote the book six years ago. I want to take my brother’s good advice and see if I can market my book beyond my family and friends.

I will keep you posted on my efforts. Gulp. It’s out there now…

© 2020 Peter Gruner