Why do I write when my books are a drop in the ocean?

 Why do I write when my books are a drop in the ocean?

According to Worldometer- and I don’t know how accurate this is, there were almost 3 million books published in 2021. If one copy of each was piled up it would be a 55km tall tower of books. That’s a lot of books to read. 

Over 50,000 new releases have been published in the last month on amazon.com in fiction and literature. 

Today I peeked at book numbers available on Amazon.com for the categories I have published in and discovered-

Colours of Rain  - there are 360 books in myths and fairy tales for 9-12 year olds – not such bad odds but in action and adventure there are 50,000. 

The Finder – there are 4,000 books in YA fiction girl coming of age, and fantasy had 8,000

Intimate Lines – there are 20,000 books in Woman’s contemporary fiction – I couldn’t remove the romance books.

These numbers are scary numbers, and my books really are a drop in a very large ocean.

I am not disheartened though, honest, and I’ll tell you why.

Competition is fierce and yet I have never been competitive, not against others., although I do love to play board games that require strategy as well as luck.

I am competitive against myself. I strive to be a better person, creative, gardener, wife, daughter, sister, mum, and writer every day.

I’ve researched marketing an Indie-published book, (as you may know if you’ve read all my blogs) set up a subscription list with exclusive freebies on my website, tried going wide and then went back to amazon exclusive because people do read on kindle unlimited and download free kindle versions, I write a blog most weeks and have a podcast, trying to reach as many people as possible, and yet my social circle is tiny and I’m aware of saying the same thing to the same people over and over, although in different ways.

None of this has increased my sales or subscriber numbers.

Paying for adverts to market a book has escalated in price as the traditional publishers are using the same tactics as Indie writers and I have not ventured down this avenue. 

Most of the books I ‘sell’ are freebies, kindle versions.

Word of mouth is not working as I cannot reach enough eyes or mouths!

All this could make me doubt my writing, but it doesn’t. 

People who do read my books like them and say they are well written (I have learnt so very much about the craft of writing over the last few years.)

My podcast is rarely listened to, but those who do say I speak well. 

Some of my blogs are read and often are commented on. Not on my site but on Facebook, and that’s okay.

I know part of my ability (or lack of) to market effectively is writing in different genres so I cannot target specific readers as such, but I don’t want to change who I am. I have always dabbled in a variety of creative pursuits rather than sticking to one and this is reflected in my writing. Even my blog is about writing, gardening, wildlife, personal experiences, cycle rides and poems. Hum. There is that eclectic nature again.

Another aspect of my ineffective marketing is I do not have a wide social circle, I live in a country that reads books in a different language to the one I write in, and I am not good at singing my own praises. And that’s okay too, because it’s who I am and I no longer want to try to be anyone different, I like being me. 

I am lucky I do not need to make a living from selling books, but I do need to write books for me. 

So, to answer the question is that I write books because I love writing. 

Writing releases those brain chemicals we introverts love, is an intellectual personal challenge, relieves my mind of a few ideas and thoughts swirling around, is an outlet for my creativity, gives me a time out space from the real world, it’s a way of expressing my thoughts and feelings that I cannot do when speaking and I have so many books waiting to be written stacked high in my head. 

And if a few other people get some enjoyment from reading my writing, then that is a bonus.

Going forward into 2022 I am thinking about -

Stopping my monthly newsletter and subscriptions to my website.

Opening my secret library to anyone who visits my website and wants to have something extra for free.

Subscribing to editing software rather than spending thousands on editors, but I am determined to keep quality high on my agenda, and the occasional editor may be paid to copy edit or proof-read.

Continuing to inform my social circle of new books, my blogs, and podcast.

Continuing my podcast until my recording room has been created and then I’ll start making my books into audio books and maybe start a new podcast once these are finished.

Researching and considering book events in Switzerland and the UK when travel, health, and time permits. 

If you are a writer or creative what changes are you planning on making this year?