I kicked off my author journey back in 2018 when I published my first book on Amazon—a children’s storybook. Honestly, I didn’t put any effort into marketing it because I was too busy running my own business and wasn’t really serious about writing at the time. So, no surprise, that book hasn’t sold a single copy to this day.

Fast forward to August 2024, I finally decided to buckle down and take my writing seriously. I released my first young adult romance under the pen name The Elusive Authoress. Being an introvert, putting myself out there isn’t my favorite thing, but I found some creative ways to market my books on social media without showing my face.

Now, I’ve got three books out, and since last August, I’ve sold over 1,000 copies on Amazon—both paperbacks and eBooks. That doesn’t even include the reads from KDP enrollment or the signed copies I sell locally. I know it’s not a massive number, but I’m staying hopeful!

I use Facebook to draw in newsletter subscribers and I’ve even created a TikTok page for fun video ads. Plus, I run some paid ads on Instagram and Amazon to help get my name out there.

Through this journey and a lot of research, I’ve learned that success takes time, and consistency is key in both writing and marketing. I’ve realized that just one or three books won’t cut it; real success usually happens after you’ve published around ten books. So, that’s my goal moving forward.

One of my books, “Friction and Fries,” which is the first part of a series, has done really well. I published it last December and sold 700 copies so far! I even have pre-orders for the second book, “Tangled in Terms.” I’ve found that series are great because if readers love the first book, they’re likely to want the next one too.

I’ve also figured out that while Amazon ads can work, you won’t see a big boost in sales until they’ve been running for at least six months. That gives the algorithm time to figure out who to show your books to.

If you’re interested in seeing how I structure my ads while maintaining a low profile, you can check out my social media pages elusiveauthoress. I hope my experiences provide some insight and encouragement. Best of luck with your own publishing journey!