Well, it appears that I have might have spoken a tad too soon. Truthfully, I’m still not that far off from my original theory, but I’ll adjust it since further evidence compels me. So, after a whole month of advertising, my book Blowing the Bridge (yes, I fully embrace self-promotion and don’t know the meaning of the word ‘shame’) has been advertised on Goodreads for over a month, and it has been viewed over 200,000 times…but it’s only been clicked a few dozen times. So, my fiancée hasn’t been proven wrong: Goodreads is not a site for an audience that wants to read contemporary satire. (Instead, it’s more of a site aimed at escapist literature, especially for middle-aged women.) However, my optimism towards Google Adwords was a tad misplaced. Despite having a higher percentage rate for clicks, my Google Adwords campaign only has 35,000 viewings after several weeks, and despite having hundred of clicks, there’s no indication that any sales can be attributed to it. At least with Goodreads, there have been a few people who have either read it or have marked it as ‘to-read’ for future consumption. So, at the very least, my declaration of Google Adwords as the clear winner…well…that might have been wrong. And that’s the most which you’re going to get from me! So put that in your pipe and smoke it!

In any case, one of my friends provided a suggestion that might be of some assistance. There’s an avid community of reviewers on prominent eBook sites (like Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc.), and their opinions carry a good deal of weight within the site’s community. In fact, some of them have blogs with a significant following. So, if you approach the right reviewers (i.e., ones who might actually appreciate your book), you could get a recommendation which broadcasts to an entire community of possible fans. It’s an idea worth checking out.

On a side note, that same friend from before had another suggestion. Being also of the “old-school” ways, he knew that I would eventually want a physical copy of my own book. He recommended CreateSpace, which is a subsidiary of Amazon. (At this point, what online company isn’t a subsidiary of Amazon?) Interestingly, since this company is a tentacle of the Cthulhu beast known as Amazon, I don’t know why this option wasn’t already integrated into the KDP publishing process…Nevertheless, it’s an interesting site. The site isn’t entirely straightforward, and there are some confusing parts to their submission process…but in the end, you supposedly get an affordable way to print your own book in bulk. I went ahead and ordered 5 proof copies, in order to check out the material. So far so good. However, I’ve learned already to be more cautious about making any pronouncements with only scant evidence. I still have the taste of crow in my mouth.