*Picture courtesy of Pixabay and is free for commercial use.
I originally started to write this in response to another user, @hayleyuk but decided to make it a post, because I think it's something that others would like to read. It's a few basic facts about publishing, publishing on the Demon-god platform, and how it will make or break you. Forgive me if this comes across as being preachy, I'm not trying to be, but I'm about to give out some of the lessons I've learned from the publishing world. I've learned a lot of this the hard way.
The Demon-god's subscription program only works for those that spend money on marketing. Facebook ads, google ads, even ads on Amazon are all marketing tools and it is a fine art I refuse to learn. I spent $10 on far less than I should have with my one and only FB ad because I don't know enough about it yet. I don't want to know, mainly because I really don't have the time to.
Demon-god's subscription program does NOT promote your book in any way for you. In fact, your book is only going to be in the spotlight for the first 12 hours or so, then it's up to you to market that book and get it in front of people's faces before it gets buried under all of the new ones. That's the part the demon-god won't tell you.
Even with some of these (traditional) publishing houses, YOU still have to pay for the marketing. Marketing is the keyword here, and you HAVE to learn it.
Joining FB groups that list free books gets you nowhere because they are full of other authors doing the same exact thing as you, promoting their books. The same goes for Twitter. You're going to get friend requests from every author on Twitter as they attempt to grow their follower lists.
If a book fails, and the cover is super-awesome, the content edited to within an inch of its life and highly entertaining, and the blurb exceptional, the problem is a lack of marketing. I've given away literally thousands of books, nothing works as well as having a back catalogue, and marketing.
I have no idea how you'd go about marketing a children's book, I write horror and paranormal romance so that's a totally different ball game, but there have to be ways of doing it.
Don't give up, if your books are good and people want them, then it's up to YOU to find them. Friends and family will only do so much, then they start to look at you funny because you (read as authors in general) never seem to shut up about them. At least to your near and dear ones. We talk about our books, we love our books, but our family and friends get really tired of hearing about our books.
The hardest part was acknowledging that I, me, and only me, was the only one that was going to really have my back. Everybody else slowly fades away and you start to feel like nobody takes you seriously. I'm no Anne Rice or Nora Roberts, but I'm making a decent living now. I don't ask anybody for help, if they offer I'll take them up on it, but I don't ask anymore. For any kind of help.
Build your back catalog, find out what works for your market by joining groups that target your market, and find out how to be your own best advocate. Whether you self-publish or go traditional, know your market, know how to target them, and do it. Nobody else is going to do it for you.
The Demon-god that is that beast created by the Bozo has only one numero uno, and it is them. Not you, not now, not ever. You have to beat them at their own game and maybe take your books out of the subscription program and look at other opportunities. I have a lot more OUT of the Demon-god's clutches now than in, and I plan to keep it that way. There are also emerging opportunities in the writing world that I think are exciting. Blockchain publishing is something I'm trying to keep an eye on, for instance.
As much as I hated to see it, to realize it, and to do it, I had to finally acknowledge that I had to do something more than create a website that might get 8 visitors a day, a FB page, and a Twitter. Mainly because the last two are only getting pinged by other authors in the hopes that I'd somehow promote their book for them.
Most of all, if you really want this to work, believe in yourself. Don't wait on others to validate you, don't wait for understanding, because it may not come from ANY front. I feel alone in this publishing world quite often. Also, be wise, wary, and careful about others. I've learned that lesson too, the hard way.
Keep trying. Keep writing. Keep believing in your self, most of all. Don't let others drag you down. Smile, too, that confuses people.
That's about all I have, as one lost self-publishing author to another. Explore your opportunities, explore the world, and find out what else there is you can do. Don't ever give up on your dreams, though, that would truly be a shame. Good luck, and I hope this gave you something new to look at, a new direction, in the very least.