So, it’s out there.  

My book is running free in the vastness that is KDP. 

Amy Grace: Payne is out there (Kindle, Paperback & Hardback). 

If writing a book is hard (and it can be), marketing is most definitely a struggle on another level.

The cover was/is a deliberate attempt to stand out in thumbnail scanning, the lack of a title on the front and the cropping away of Amy’s face all deliberate too. 

The face – that’s easy, I wanted the reader to let their imagination create a face for Amy.

The lack of a title on the cover – again this was a deliberate attempt to let the image talk to the reader, the overly simplified art my attempt to give free reign to the imagination of the turner of pages – maybe it works, possibly it doesn’t, but that’s why I did what I did. 

Critique only works AFTER the event, first you must do, and only then can you review. 

Maybe I’ve taken the ‘Man in the Arena’ too much to heart… 

Back to the plot.     

To publicise my work, I’m hamstrung on many levels, not least in that I have a small social media presence AND I have zero in the budget to pay for highly skilled marketing folk to assist me.

The answer?

I don’t know. 

I wish I did, but I don’t.

Does my book have a USP that would help it stand out; help it jostle in such a crowded marketplace for attention?

Yes, I think it does, but again how do we let folk know?

Amy IS an interesting character, she has strengths, she has weaknesses, she is flawed, she is human. 

She is gay, do we lead with that? 

I haven’t because (in my mind) it’s just who she is, one facet of her life – it creates situations, but so too does her diminutive stature at 5’2” tall.   

I wrote Amy as a gay character, for no other reason than in my mind as I was typing away it just seemed to be the right thing for her – no political point scoring, not coattail, no attempting to ride the rainbow, she’s gay, but mostly she’s in pain, she’s suffering and attempting to come to terms with the events of chapter one. 

Amy is driven, she is singular in her focus to seek a redress, and for this she suffers and she struggles – that’s the story, that’s the tale I’m attempting to tell. 

Trauma isn’t neat, you don’t simply ‘get over it,’ for some it consumes with a ravenous appetite that destroys everything and screams loudly that ONLY vengeance will give it peace – it is a liar.

And then we have the villain, we have Thomas.

He has growth, he seeks redemption after finding love, but his character arc cannot be neat and clean, all Hollywood soft focus, because life just isn’t like that.

Hopefully, the reader (when they appear) will appreciate the human conflict that both Amy and Thomas experience – I hope they do.

The book, for whatever faults it has, is an attempt to be sympathetic to all in the tale, maybe that’s the USP.

So, how do we let the world know, how do we let the reviews and the stars decide the success of my attempt to tell a tall tale?

In a perfect world one of my many unsuccessful attempts to land a ‘literary agent’ would have been successful and skilled assistance would manifest… 

Ah, so many shots fired, and all failing to hit the mark.

So, as we hit week two of the book being available will the opening book of the adventures of Miss Amy Grace be a slow burn?

Will organic word of mouth succeed?

Do I need a gimmick?

Such are the trials and tribulations of a writer such as me.

Hug those you love, hug them for no other reason than right here and right now you can, tell them of the love you have for them, and in a topsy-turvy world do your very best to remain sane!