So, I’m making the plunge. I’ve joined BookFunnel and I’ll be running a giveaway for e-copies of the “The Sniper” starting pretty soon. The trick now will be to get as much visibility for the giveaway as I can. So, I’ll publicize it here (of course) and I’ll put up a post on X and I’ll tell everybody I can think of that likes this kind of story. My plan, such as it is, is to use the giveaway to garner as many reviews as I can and try to get the book more attention. And after that I’ll put it up on Kindle Unlimited to tempt the general public that tests out its fiction one page at a time.
Will it work? Well, I certainly hope it will but I’ll find out for sure whether I can interest the world at large. I was listening to the Critical Drinker interview Andy Weir about the success of two of his books being turned into movies. But I was just as interested in his story about self-publishing. His “The Martian” was self-published on Amazon and struggled to find an audience in the beginning. So, it’s kind of that one in a million-success story that inspires the other 999,999 writers out there toiling away in obscurity. So just to clear the air ahead of time, for the movie version of “The Sniper,” I want Adam Baldwin to play Bogey and Gary Oldman to play Cutter. Nick Searcy would make a good Chastain. As for Connors, I haven’t made up my mind. And the other parts are also up for grabs but definitely no Hollywood weirdos; that’s for sure. I think Christopher Walken would make a good President Miller. He’s always able to provide a memorably psychopathic character when required. Of course I’m hoping to get myself a bit part. Sort of like how Stan Lee always got a cameo in the Marvel superhero movies. Maybe I can be one of the clerks at the airport in Baghdad. I think I could really handle the part with style and finesse. Sort of a latter-day Olivier.
But I will say it is a little discouraging to see just how much grunt work there is in navigating the world of self-publishing. The experts don’t really seem to know that much more than the people wandering around in the dark like me. Sure, they have a sense of things like keywords and how to attach to other books that are already popular but it doesn’t seem like they can tap into any magic formula for shining a spotlight on a new book. It reminds me of that Glenn Campbell song “Rhinestone Cowboy,” “Where hustle’s the name of the game and nice guys get washed away by the snow and the rain.” Of course, that’s a little dramatic because I’m doing this from the comfort of my dining room where it’s relatively warm and dry. But metaphorically I’m pounding that digital pavement so I can sing the blues along with Mr. Campbell.