We've all seen these familiar posts on X, Insta, and FB. I've even posted a few with the hopes it would raise some kind of awareness to
my work. If you're not familiar, this is a screenshot of a KDP (Kindle Direct
Publishing) sales dashboard, and it currently reads zero sales. A social media
post with this image is usually accompanied by: "How's your month
going?" or "After all my hard work, this is what I have to show for
it." Or my personal favorite: "Who will save me from this ugly set of
ovals?"
What is your first instinct when you see a post like this?
Do you feel sorry for the author? Does it make you feel inclined to buy a copy
of the author's book, as if your one purchase will make the author feel validated?
Or do you make a snap judgment about the book, or the author's ability to write
based on the number of sales? Maybe you just ignore the post. Maybe a
completely different thought?
To be clear, Yes, I will take all the pity sales anyone
wants to give me. But in my heart, I'd really rather someone bought my book
because it was something they're interested in. I sometimes wonder how many
"pity patrons" actually read the book they purchased, or if the book
just sits in the back of their kindle queue to be forgotten about. I'm certain
I am making a lot of unfair judgements here, but if you read between the lines,
you'll realize I'm writing this post out of my own experience. Yes, I have purchased
books out of pity for an author, hoping to raise their spirits. Also, yes, I
have let the book sit in the back of my kindle queue with nearly zero
intentions to read it. And if you really want me to be honest, the pity purchases
I've attempted to read unfortunately don't hold my interest and they end up on
another dreadful list: My "Did Not Finish" list.
These are just my first thoughts on "pity
patrons", we haven't even touched on what these types of sales do to the
amazon algorithm. If a "pity patron" buys a copy of one of my mystery
novels books but the patron is traditionally a romance reader, suddenly the
Amazon algorithm gets the idea that my mystery novel fits in with the romance
genre. Okay, this may not happen after one purchase, but if something like this
happens enough, my book could be shown in the suggestion window to romance
readers, which are not my target audience. Finding an audience for your writing
can be extremely challenging. I don't need something like a confused algorithm
slowing me down on top of everything else.
I'm probably dousing the flames of the supportive writing
community right now (or maybe I'm throwing gas on it). I realize I'm making some
assumptions that other people's buying habits are similar to mine. Or perhaps
I'm way off, and some of these sales are from people who had been meaning to
buy a book for some time but just forgot about it. Maybe the patron's interests
do align with the author's writing, and they want to take a chance on the book.
Either way, I stand by my point: what good are we doing if we buy books from
authors who simply beg for the sale. It kind of feels like we're just dropping
a few bucks into a hat. At the very least, maybe we’re increasing their Amazon
sales rank for a few days. As an author, I would rather have true organic
readers/patrons. I want patrons who buy my book because something about the tag
line caught their attention—or maybe there was something about the cover.
Better yet, I'd love a patron who buys my book because they had previously enjoyed
something else I wrote. These are the best kind of patrons because they're no
longer just patrons, they're fans! My main goal as an author is not to sell the
most copies of my book, it’s to find my audience. Once I do that, sales are likely
to follow.
There are so many other and better ways to support writers,
and it costs you nothing! A simple like and share of an author’s post goes a
long way. If you want to go the extra mile, leave a positive comment about the
book to give it relevance to other people. Sure, you may be a fantasy reader,
but maybe you have some followers/friends who read hard crime. Recommend the
book to a book club who reads the genre of the book being promoted. And of
course, if you have generally read an author's book and enjoyed it, share a
review.
As I'm writing this, I realize this might be something I
will want to delete later. I have this nagging feeling that someone is going to
read this and think I'm calling them or out, or that I'm stepping on their
supportive toes. I hope not, because that’s not my intention, and I apologize
if I’ve upset you. If you are a "pity patron," I want you to know you
are still very much appreciated. I'm sure your intentions are good, and I don't
know for certain that your efforts are not worth the action. These are just my
own thoughts I'm firing away with. I welcome any of your thoughts on this as
well so we can have a respectable discussion on this. I don't think I have all
the answers, and I'm certainly not perfect, because as I said at the beginning
of this post, I will take all the pity sales anyone wants to give me!
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