HAIL! ... and Farewell?

My thanks to you who have done me the honor of becoming “followers” of Write Away. May your New Year be filled with happiness, prosperity, and worthwhile reading.

Since embarking on my self-publishing adventure in 2009, I have sold some 147 copies of Storm Approaching, 62 of Gold and Glory, 41 of Resolution. Of Miscellanea, published in November, I have sold 4. Sales of AGT come to 265, but it was published in 2001. I have recovered about half of the cost of publishing and advertising these books. This is not very good.

I started this blog on Jan. 6, 2010, to share humorous essays and to generate interest in my books.

The counting mechanism that Blogspot thoughtfully provides says that Write Away has been favored by 3,459 visits, which averages almost ten per day. That does not sound too bad. But no one not previously known to me has left a comment or written. No one has ordered a book from me via the blog. (Even my lavish :-) offer of a free copy of Miscellanea, made at the end of the post on December 10, got no response.) I detect no blog-related sales at Amazon or B&N. So I fear that many of these visits have been the result of random clicking on some item buried deep in Google, or perhaps attempts to find out more about namesakes, such as the actor (in Shawshank Redemption and others) or the prolific photographer and commentator on city architecture and local sports in Portland, Oregon.

The tribulations of a self-published author are only to be expected; those expectations have been fulfilled. The difficulty of publicizing one’s works, the reluctance of those who learn of them to risk money on a product lacking the imprimatur of agent and publisher, are obvious. Additionally frustrating in my own case is that I did have a very good agent for Storm Approaching and I have evidence, from disinterested reviewers and impartial readers, that a great many people would enjoy the Mercenaries series and And Gladly Teach and Miscellanea.


A reasonable man must ask how long to pursue a chimera. My current intention is to leave this site up but, barring some discernible response, to add nothing further. It seems a bit too much like talking to myself, which I do enough already.

I shall probably publish The Free Lands, the fourth volume of Mercenaries, in the summer or fall; although it needs much editing, it would be a shame to leave it merely as a pile of paper (675 sheets) on my bookcase. After that perhaps I’ll take up quoits.

Still, hope springs eternal, etc. etc., so let me conclude, with as much objectivity as an interested party can display, that if you like humor and satire you would indeed enjoy And Gladly Teach and Miscellanea; and if you enjoy fantasy-adventure tales that are light on magic, heavy on things military written by one who has devoted decades to the study of military history, you would like the Mercenaries series. I invite you to explore this blog to find information on and excerpts from my books, and many amusing essays, too.

And please feel free to write or leave a comment – or even buy a book.

Brian A. Libby / Faribault, MN brnlbb@gmail.com