Discoverability is Hard
A writer friend of mine was lamenting the challenges of discoverability. This is about how readers find your book. It does presume you have a book written and published (via traditional hybrid or self-publishing).
How do you get the word out? This is where sales and marketing come in, and there are a million different ways to do that. It could be building your author platform (in whatever form that looks like to you) or it could be social media ads, or it could be organizing in-person events, or it could be connecting with readers in online communities.
But it’s all marketing. Sales. Publicity. Discoverability is about getting your product into the hands of the consumer.
Discoverability is not about writing. It’s not about the creative act. It’s not about getting words on the page. It’s not about whether you have a great book or a bad one. It’s not about you as a writer.
Which means, if you’re at this stage and you’re struggling, please remember it’s not about you or the quality of your writing.
And if you find you’re not getting the traction you want, you have two choices: you try new strategies or you stop. Neither is wrong. Just consider where your time is best spent. Is it about trying to keep connecting with readers through the book you already have? Or do you want to write a new one?
Put your energies where you’re going to be most satisfied.