Buh Bye Zero Gains
If you haven’t already reserved your seat(s) for the book launch for Raising Kane, please do so at one of the links. Even though they are free events, it helps the venues prepare adequately when they have a rough idea of how many people are attending.
February 26th at Owl’s Nest (7-8:30pm): Reserve here
March 5th at Chapters Chinook (6-8pm) : Reserve here
Pre-order Kindle
Pre-order Kobo
Good morning friend,
A year ago, I decided to give Tok Tok a whirl. I had no plan and no strategy. I was going to give it six months. I started posting what I wanted, when I wanted. I created videos around my life, my observations, and my books. I was watching what gained traction. Any kind of shit-talking garnered big views. Anything with an intriguing cover image and text also did well. Content around my books? They languished like an earthworm on a sidewalk after the rain had long passed.
I checked my stats at the end of the summer. Not too shabby. Some videos were tagged as favourites and saved. I went from zero followers to almost 200. I decided to extend the experiment to the end of the year.
Last Tuesday, I deleted my account. I can say without hesitation that TikTok did nothing for my book sales. It provided me with another distraction, a time-wasting, mindless-scrolling outlet. Meh, I thought, I’d much rather be reading.
I thought I’d revisit Pinterest and see if I could gain some leverage over there. I started posting a miscellany of pins five months ago. The only one that performed well was a graphic I made of my book writing process.
I’ve decided to back off for now. I do not have the bandwidth to spend time on another platform I don’t enjoy. I’ll stick to the three I like: Facebook, Instagram, and Threads (links below if you aren’t already seeing my content on those platforms).
I have decided that 2026 will be the year I say NO to the things that eat my time with no reward. I’ve already unsubscribed from a bunch of newsletters I no longer want to read. I turned down an offer to do a school visit because they invited me to drive 45 minutes one way to read someone else’s book to three classes for 20 minutes. There was no offer of renumeration of some kind, either an honorarium or buying books.
Listen, I am 55 years old. I have seven published books in the world. It’s taken me this long to figure out that I have value and should not settle for anything less than my worth. I am officially waving buh-bye to anything with zero gains.
In that vein, I will be more selective about the markets for which I sign up. I kept track last year, so I now know exactly which ones were profitable. I made money at every market, but once I considered driving, setup, and my time at the table, the profit was often diluted almost into non-existence.
I guess this is a form of author self care. I want to protect my heart from disappointment. I want to nourish my relationship with my husband (and every weekend market in the summer starves us of time together). I want to lean into the things I love doing and that contribute to earning a living (the bookstore and working on book layouts for indie authors are top contenders).
I am fortunate to still love the craft of writing and I will continue working on the next novel, and the next, and the next. But I need to take better care of my author self. Right now, that means saying yes to the variety of things that pique my curiosity, fill my brain with dopamine, and bring a spring to my step.
xo Dana
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This week's bookstore story happened when I took my sons out for lunch. We were talking about friendships and friend groups when my 20yo confessed he needs some better skills in that area.
“I heard there's a book that can maybe help me with that,” he said.
I was already nodding my head. “That would be How to Win Friends and Influence People.”
He pointed across the table. “That's the one. Geez mom, you have really found your soul's home at the bookstore.”
An incredible warmth washed over and through me for two reasons. 1) he is right and, 2) he gives me goosebumps with his astute observations. My soul is indeed home.
I bought him the book that evening before my shift started.
I’m with you on this one, Dana. Knowing why we’re doing something is so important.
Love this attitude!