Writer’s block. Lack of inspiration. Writer burnout. Passion dead.
They all cause a writer’s creativity to end. And often depression to set in.
There are some excellent articles and even books that deal with these issues. Possible causes, ways to work through it, ways to work around it…
What we’ll focus on today is involving oneself in a different creative endeavor. Other ways to express oneself creatively outside of writing. Ways that will take the pressure and guilt of not writing away while still feeding one’s creative needs.
And not only feeding but encouraging them! Let’s look at other creative outlets:
Photography
Painting
Paint Figurines
Adult Coloring Books
Drawing
Digital Artwork
Sculpting/Pottery
Woodworking
Making Ornaments/Figures/Statues
Floral Arrangements
Jewelry Making
Card Making
Decopage
Candle/Soap Making
Sewing/Knitting/Cross-stitch
Scrapbooking
Wreath-Making
Metal Working
Wood Burning/Carving
Origami
Jigsaw Puzzles
Model Building
Build Doll Houses
Doll Making
Fairy Gardens
Puppet Making
Gardening
Cooking & Baking
Charcuterie
Preserving
Cake Baking
Charcuterie
Playing/Writing Music
Dancing
Theater/Acting
Singing
Cosplay
Fashion Design
Pet Training
Learn New Language
Learn New Skill/Craft
Learn New Sport or Exercise
Learn to Play an Instrument
Designing _______
Collecting _______
Teaching ________
Researching
Volunteering
As you can see, there are a lot of creative options out there! Pursuing one or more might just be the incentive you need to rekindle the writing fire.
Have you ever put off doing something because of fear then, when you finally got the nerve to give it a try, you wished you’d done it sooner?
That was me and Amazon ads. I thought it would be complicated—and paying per-click without guaranteed sales was downright terrifying—so I put it off. Talk about regret... I wasted a lot of years not making nearly the money I could have.
Let me pause to give some caveats.
1. I’ve been running Amazon ads for a few years, but I am by no means an expert. The purpose of this article is to encourage you to try it and offer some basic instructions for setting one up.
2. Ads don’t work the same for everyone. There are a lot of variables. But they are worth trying, and they’re surprisingly $afe, so long as you set reasonable bids, daily limits, and keep an eye on your ad dashboard.
3. I’m located in the United States, so I’m writing from that perspective.
Some things to consider before setting up Amazon ads:
• Does your book have a professional cover and an enticing blurb? You’ll pay for ad clicks whether the customer buys the book or not, so you want the elements of the retail page to shine and entice them to buy.
• How long ago was your book published and how many reviews does it have? If it’s a new release, Amazon won’t have much to go on if you choose to auto-target. It’s probably best to run one or more manual-target ads first, so Amazon can gather data.
• Is the book first in a series? If so, you’ll get more bang for your advertising buck in the way of read-through if each book’s back matter links to the next book.
Things I wish I’d figured out sooner:
• For ads run in the US (.com), you can add a short bit of custom text to entice the customer to click on the ad. Below are two of mine.
• I wish I’d run ads in other English-speaking countries sooner (UK, Canada, Australia). I recently began getting organic sales in Germany. Since Germans are voracious readers, and many speak English, I decided to run an ad there. (At the time of the writing of this article, it’s too soon to know if it will be profitable.)
• I wish I’d run ads for the paperback version of my books. Just because I buy mostly e-books doesn’t mean everyone shops that way. I heard a best-selling author say he always attaches both the e-book and paperback versions of his books to his ads. I tried that, and my paperback sales began to increase.
How to set up ads:
There are many ad gurus out there to choose from. I found this video by the Kindlepreneur guy that gives good, step-by-step instructions for setting up ads. If you’re uber-visual, like me, you’ll love it.
Final thoughts:
It takes time for Amazon to gather data on a new ad and for that ad to start showing impressions. Don’t give up too soon. I let mine run for a month or so before deciding if it’s going to be a profitable ad.
You don’t have to set your bids high or at the amount Amazon suggests. Start low. You can go back and increase them later.
If you forget to add the paperback version of the book, you can edit the ad to include it without starting a new ad. (This was one of the reasons I put it off; I thought I’d have to create all new ads. LOL)
If Amazon has an event with greatly increased site traffic (e.g. Cyber Monday), or if you run a sale on a book attached to an ad, it can affect the number of clicks and thus your cost. Keep a closer eye on your dashboard during these times.
Most of all, don’t be afraid to try Amazon ads. You set the daily limit on ad spending (which Amazon almost never reaches), and you can adjust that limit anytime you wish. You can also turn an ad off immediately with the flip of a cyber switch.
You are in control.
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Native Texan Melissa Maygrove is a mother, nurse, freelance editor, and romance author. When she's not busy caring for her tiny NICU patients, she's hunched over her laptop, complicating the lives of her imaginary friends and playing matchmaker. Melissa loves books with unpretentious characters and unforgettable romance, and she strives to create those same kinds of stories for her readers.
It’s time for another group posting of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group! Time to release our fears to the world – or offer encouragement to those who are feeling neurotic. If you’d like to join us, click on the tab above and sign up. We post the first Wednesday of every month and encourage everyone to visit at least a dozen new blogs and leave a comment. Your words might be the encouragement someone needs.
