My week is being consumed by preparing TikTok videos and trying to crack the Facebook ad system. Why? Because I published my book on Amazon today. Actually, I was going to publish it yesterday, but apparently, you can’t cancel a pre-order. I wanted to cancel because, from what I’ve read, pre-orders aren’t great for a debut; it’s better to just go live immediately. I chose today because Tuesdays and Thursdays supposedly yield better results… ugh… I feel like I’m going to throw up.
Since this is self-published, the marketing is all on me. I posted a piece introducing the book, but it feels too formal, it doesn’t feel like me. It explains the book well, so I didn’t delete it. Instead, I want to add a piece describing the existential crisis (is that too dramatic?) I went through during the publishing process.
My plan for the week was simple: publish the book, use Amazon ads, and focus on writing the next one. But as they say, “When creators make plans, the algorithm laughs.” I stumbled upon a post on Reddit by an author explaining how they marketed their book. They talked about Facebook ads, social media strategies, ARC teams and their sub-branches, also TikTok slides… I can’t even form a sentence right now. I need coffee.
I made chamomile tea. I’ve already had two cups of filter coffee today, plus an energy drink with lunch.
While preparing TikTok videos, I thought, “What do people with short attention spans want with a book?” But the reality is different. “BookTok” is a real thing where people discover new reads. It’s a great example of using social media productively. The only problem: most books there are romance. Mine is sci-fi and philosophy. What am I supposed to share? That’s another issue: writing for the market versus writing what you want.
Back to the ads. I’ve always been on the side that sees the ads. I never researched them. I had some vague knowledge, like how YouTubers change their thumbnails and titles after a video goes live. It’s similar with books. Once I dove in, I realized that instead of curing cancer, the world’s wealthiest minds have focused on advertising, and it’s reached incredible levels. When creating Facebook ads, it asks for multiple images, headlines, and descriptions. Then it finds potential customers and calculates which description will satisfy which customer, or which image fits which demographic. Wow.
By the way, in my “fictional” book, I took this a step further. In the story, corporations own virtual copies of us because apps demand access to every bit of data. We give them everything, from our grocery lists to our heart rates (for “research purposes,” of course, right?). With this data, companies simulate more than just ads. Considering brain-implant technology, you don’t need to be a prophet to see where this is going. We’ll talk about that in another post.
I wrote this book years ago. I tried publishing it on Amazon back then, and it failed. I followed Amazon’s suggestions and lowered the price. Still failed. Then I made it free. One person “bought” it. About a year later, I heard about a contest on Wattpad. I polished the book and posted it there. Then an email came. I didn’t read it. I was sure I had lost. At the time, I was entering short story contests and getting nowhere. I was living at a relative’s house, working a soul-crushing job with the title “engineer,” but the work was literal slavery. Because I was so cynical, I didn’t open the email, thinking, “I definitely failed.”
THAT WAS INCREDIBLY STUPID. PLEASE, NEVER DO THAT.
A few days later, when I finally had the energy to open it, I saw that I was a finalist and had to reply. If I didn’t reply by the deadline, I’d lose my chance. I only had two days left.
Anyway, I passed the finals and won the 2022 Wattys Sci-Fi Award. It was incredible. I wanted to be a writer, and as a “nobody,” I had entered a contest and won. Someone liked my writing, they even gave it an award. That was the motivation I needed. It was the first step toward becoming a world-famous author. Nothing could stop me now.
Except the algorithm.
After the award, the reads increased slightly, maybe by 1k. Then I started getting messages from “support groups.” They had daily lists where people would leave templated comments and likes on specific books to boost them. They were inflating engagement to trick the algorithm. Incredible! I refused. I had won an award; wasn’t that enough?
Apparently not. The algorithm and marketing are everything.
Years passed, and I focused on other stories and my blog. When I was fired recently, I was able to focus more on writing. I realized I want to be a writer, not an engineer. So, I took the book off the dusty shelf.
This time, I wanted to do a professional job. I spent days improving it. For example, I reduced overused words, replaced them with alternatives, or turned them into action. It was incredibly hard. There were so many “very”s in the book that Mark Twain would have been very angry with me. Or he would have been foaming at the mouth with rage.
I went over the book so many times that I became alienated from it. When you spend too long inside a story, you lose the ability to see it from the outside. It’s like trying to smell the scent of your own home.
I took a long break. Then I sat down for the final edit. I took another break, waiting to “forget” the book. When I tried to read it again, it was hard. The book looked good, but even opening the cover felt exhausting. I told myself, “Whatever happens, happens,” and decided to publish. I had messaged plenty of literary agents before, but that’s a total lottery. I didn’t want to wait anymore. So, I self-published. Now, I’m dealing with the ads.
I didn’t join those “support” groups. I’m marketing on my blog, Medium, Discord groups, Facebook Ads, Amazon Ads, and TikTok (why not?). Because what I need are genuine reviews. A real audience. People who actually like my book. Reasons to keep writing, and all that.
Anyway, let me introduce the book a bit. If you want to read the detailed intro, click here.
First off, “The Principle of Indecision” doesn’t fit perfectly into any one genre. It’s sci-fi, but also noir, philosophical fiction, and a bit of a detective story. It appeals to fans of Philip K. Dick and Blade Runner.
Set in a near future scorched by global warming, far from the neon-lit sci-fi architecture we know, the story follows Stanley, a depressed detective. While investigating a robot’s suicide, he finds himself debating free will with an advanced robot named William. William argues from a robot’s perspective that humans and robots are the same, and that free will is an illusion. But this robot isn’t a missionary for determinism. If the novel were just philosophical debates, the author would be Plato. This robot and the company that built him have much deeper plans. Because according to determinism, this is exactly how it’s supposed to be.
By the way, the name Stanley comes from the game The Stanley Parable, which deals with similar themes.
The book is on Amazon Kindle. The Principle of Indecision by Dom Adao. $4.99. You can read it for free with KU. In most countries, it’s cheaper than a bad cup of coffee, and at least this book has robots. If you “choose” to read it of your own free will, please don’t forget to leave a review. You know… the algorithm.
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