It wasn’t so very long ago that I removed all my old books from Amazon and decided that my publishing days were behind me. Upon reflection, it was a hastily made decision but still one that I don’t really regret. Once I decided to return to Amazon and self-publishing, the decision was made to leave all my old books in my Buy Me A Coffee store, while the Zon books would be my new chapter. There was one title, though, that niggled at me, so let me tell you the story of The Hollow-Eyed Girl.
This was a story where the title came to me first, almost from out of nowhere. I had zero idea what to do with it until I bought my daughter a Christmas gift. It was one of those games where they mail you out a bunch of clues, and you have to solve a horror mystery. Suddenly, the title I had in my head felt like a good fit for one of those games.
I set about writing it as usual, and when I was done, I sent it in to my publisher. They suggested that it might be a good fit for a box set of books that was about to go on a run to try and land in the USA Today Bestseller List. The idea of having that title above my author name seemed appealing, so I accepted the offer, which also meant delaying the release of the book for about one year.
You see, a list run is not something that happens quickly. You essentially spend a year of your life promoting the set and trying all kinds of things to get people to pre-order. The goal is that when that year is up and the book goes live, you will have sold enough units to land on the list. You also find out that not every author involved in such things is willing to put in the work required to get you there.
By the time release day was rolling around, my publisher felt confident. She had done this a few times before and the numbers were better than usual. Everything looked great, and then Dr Seuss happened. You might not remember this, but a few of his books were labeled problematic and were set to be pulled from the shelves. The internet overreacted and thought the good Doctor was being cancelled, so they went on a buying spree. Something like 5 or 6 of his books made the list, and we missed out.
It was a soul sucking experience, not to mention an expensive one, as being in these list runs comes at a cost. It almost spelled the end of my writing career, as I was totally disillusioned, mostly because of the few authors who did nothing during the run. Had they put in the effort, we might well have succeeded.
Anyway, a while after the fact, I released The Hollow-Eyed Girl as a standalone to little fanfare. My regular readers had already bought the set, and while some nabbed the paperback, the book totally tanked. I probably sold less than 10 copies, which I thought was an unfair end for a little book that I really liked. It became my forgotten title, until now.
The more I thought about it, the more I believed that this story deserved a second chance. Some of it is because it is a fun read, but another part is that the main characters are named after my kids. I loved the idea of putting them in this adventure, using parts of their real personality within the characters.
So, with the decision made, The Hollow-Eyed Gorl is getting a rebirth. I have put the eBook up for pre-order at just 99 cents, although that will jump to $2.99 on release day, which is September 29. The paperback will be available on that day, too. I am not much of a sales pitch type of guy, but I hope you will give this book the life I thought it deserved.
Be sure to niggle us with a note on the 29th. I want the paperback! Good luck.
As the Romans used to say, "habent sua fata libelli" — books have their own destinies. Sometimes a book that failed commercially simply hasn’t reached the end of its story yet. Best of luck with the rebirth of "The Hollow-Eyed Girl"!