Wednesday, October 7, 2020

There's A Hose Beast On the Loose (#IWSG October 2020)


PSYCHO HOSE BEAST FROM OUTER SPACE has been live for just over a week. It's my third full-length, self-published novel, and the first one I've put out in over four years. I had the release built up a lot in my head, and I put a lot of work into the pre-launch, a lot more than I've put into previous books. So how is it going?

There certainly is a lot of "buzz." I've gotten lots of positive comments and feedback on social media, including thousands of views for my cheesy little video promo (big thanks to 80s Summer Camp for the help spreading that!):


Probably the best sign of success is that I've already received a bunch of reviews on Goodreads and Amazon (check it out!), all of which are glowing and positive. That's the result of many emails sent to many, many people in the pre-release period. There's still a few more I hope to see in the coming weeks, too.

Thank you SO MUCH to anyone reading this who has already taken the time to write a review. Your help and support is amazing.

Sales have been... okay. Better than HELL COMES TO HOGTOWN, but no where near as good as my first book, TEN THOUSAND DAYS, and certainly not commensurate to the amount of work and money I put into marketing (did I mention Amazon and Facebook ads? Because I did those too). I am still convinced that when I released my first book, I had a ton of friends and family jump on the bandwagon to support, only to discover that first book wasn't very good. Now I've burned all those readers and I'm having a heck of a time winning them back, even though I've improved tremendously since then (not to mention I've completely re-written and revised that first book, too!)

So it's been a roller coaster ride, for sure. I'm still constantly contacting people, looking for reviews. I'm planning and tweaking advertising, looking at some local bookstores back home to see if they'll carry the book, etc. I've been so busy I've had to put writing book two on hold for now, but that will come soon enough. Not to mention all the "real life" stuff going on, like getting the kids used to online school, and the day job, and the ever-present threat of the world falling apart at any moment. But hey, we still gotta sell books, right?

So how was your month?

Hugs & kisses,
-CDGK


21 comments:

Loni Townsend said...

Woot on the release, though :( for the low sales. I hope more people pick it up. Can you tell me, is there a lot of swearing? I know I had issues with the amount in Hell Comes to Hogtown.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Congratulations! Yeah, family and friends fickle out once they realize you are producing more books.

Rajani singh said...

Fabulous blog

Rajani singh said...

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C.D. Gallant-King said...

I actually went out of my way to make this one less obscene! :-) It's cleaner than most PG-13 movies, actually. There are no f-bombs and I think there are only two "shits," (because that's all I had left to give).

Steven Arellano Rose Jr. said...

Congratulations on publishing your novel! In my own experience, it's hard to measure your success when the majority of your book's readers is family and friends because it's hard to tell if they really wanted to buy your book because they were interested in it or because they want to support you. But with all the reviews you're getting on Good Reads your book sounds like it's doing really good. Keep up the good work!

Chrys Fey said...

Thousands of views? Wow! And that is an awesome amount of reviews to have right after release day. It's tough releasing a book this year, but it sounds like you're having a successful release. :)

Jennifer Lane said...

I totally resonate with your story, C.D. My debut novel received attention, sales, and reviews from kind readers, but it was full of adverb abuse and other errors. I've since rewritten it as well. I was proud of the writing in my last release, but the sales have been horrid. When was your first novel released? Mine was back in 2010, and I think a lot has changed since then regarding sales potential in a flooded market. But I'm glad you're doing all you can to get eyes on your fun cover and title! I really enjoyed your story in the IWSG masquerade anthology.

C.D. Gallant-King said...

They're Facebook views, so I don't know how legit they are, but 80s Summer Camp has about 10,000 active followers so it's quite possible.

S.E. White Books said...

Congratulations on the new release, and the reviews. Hopefully it will snowball as the reviews pile up and sales will also pick up. But still, a good release and that's encouraging! Happy IWSG day.

Fundy Blue said...

Your video was fun, and it got the job done, for sure! Good luck with your book, CD.

Steph W. said...

Well done writing and publishing. I admire anyone who works that hard!

Rebecca M. Douglass said...

Congrats on the release and on the sales, even if they aren’t what you might hope (are any of our sales ever what we’d like?). The reviews a definitely a great thing!

Beth Camp said...

Congratulations on your latest release -- and I'm in awe of your marketing and launch energy! Inspirational. I hope all your first-book readers come back to appreciate your story-telling (and marketing) skills. That video was short and sweet -- and it left me wondering what the new book is all about. Time to visit Amazon!

Ronel Janse van Vuuren said...

Congrats on your new release -- and having reviews!

Ronel visiting on IWSG day Revamp Your Backlist

Donna Hanton said...

Congratulations on the new release. The reviews are excellent!

Shannon Lawrence said...

It's a rough year to release a book. Hopefully you continue to find success.

A Hundred Quills said...

Congratulations. It all sounds terrific. You've put in a lot of hard work.
Sonia from https://soniadogra.com

Mary Aalgaard said...

Congratulations on the publication of your latest book and all the work you're putting in to promote it. It sounds like a fun read.

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Congratulations CD - it sounds like an interesting read ... and the more the better you can get published - it seems builds your name and brand. Good luck - take care - Hilary

Caitlin Coppola said...

This post makes me so happy. It really is encouraging, and I appreciate the candor about the success and quality of your first book! I think it's all part of the author process. Well, congratulations on publishing your THIRD novel!!! Woohoo!!!

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