So I’ve had my book out there for about a month now, and I’ve sold a grand total of eight copies. Because the novel is also part of the Kindle Unlimited program (which is like “Netflix for Kindle books”), I can also see reports on how many pages its members have read (roughly 80 since May 1st).
I’m not worried because my marketing for the book has been about as minimal as it can be. I’ve shared it on my personal Facebook page between three and five times, announced it on my blog’s Facebook page once or twice, positioned a dedicated link to it on the top-right corner of the blog, and paid $35 for an advertisement in a literary newsletter sent to roughly 100,000 email addresses, each of which belongs to a self-described fan of contemporary literature. I think I also mentioned it once on Twitter.
Finally, I shared it with a Facebook group titled, 2VR: Second Vermont Republic, which is an unofficial organization representing the Vermont secession movement. Over the years, they’ve co-sponsored national conferences on the topic of secession (which got them into some hot water thanks to an unfortunate collaboration with “the white supremacist League of the South”), conducted at least one public debate on the topic (which I attended), been written about in TIME magazine, and worked hard to keep the topic lively even during the Vermont’s less secession-interested Obama years.
About a week ago, I received a message from the organizer of the 2nd Vermont Republic, asking if he could receive a review copy of the book. After going back and forth with him about his preferred format, I sent him a Word document of the manuscript.
A few days later, he sent me another message, telling me that while he hadn’t finished the book, he was enjoying it, and he wanted to know if I was interested in coming on his show, Plan V-TV, which broadcasts on his website, Vermont Independent.
Why the hell not?
We found a time that would work (in June), and well, so that’s what I’ve got coming up, that and preparing the paperback version of the book (thanks to the help of my awesome English-teacher wife, who is currently proofreading it for me). If possible I’d love to get the paperback out before I go on the show.
I have no idea what kind of viewership Plan-V TV has or what its audience size might be, but a recent episode is a 45-minute conversation with a man the host first met when he needed some help butchering a yak and whom he only seems to have invited onto the show thanks to a coincident visit to a barber shop, where they somehow found themselves talking about 5G technology.
The guest demonstrated some serious concern about the technology, based not only on his readings of certain reports but also his own hard work of climbing mountains and measuring the microwaves emanating from various cell towers.
Talking about this in a barbershop, the man from Plan-V TV says, “Hey, you should come on my show.” And voila! The YouTube video of their conversation has had (as of this writing) 48 views, one of which was mine.
Even if the experience of going on Plan-V TV does not sell a single copy of my book, I do think it will be fun. It’ll be a lengthy conversation with an intriguing host who is genuinely interested in Vermont secession, and who, at least at the moment, says he’s enjoying my book.
I do hope you’ll watch.