Shark Tank – Revisiting An Old Friend

EVER WATCHED SHARK TANK?

In the UK, they call it Dragons Den. Basically the premise is that a bunch of rich investors are pitched a product or business idea by plucky entrepreneurs in the hope of securing investment.

Most are passed over. But a rare few manage to make a convincing case and receive the much needed funding and time investment from the experts.

Sometimes I feel like something similar happens in my head for my writing projects. Weird, eccentric characters knock on my door at all hours of the day and pitch an idea that is absolutely barmy. Most are usually easy to dismiss. I’m getting better at weeding out the time wasters.

Some of the characters make a very compelling case though. I sometimes see them reappear in another guise under a new project. They’re happy to bide their time.

But where to invest my time and money?

Like most investors and risk-takers, I favour a low-risk option. Consider the ROT Collection. I released it as a short story originally and after receiving good feedback it was a no-brainer converting it into a six-part series.

Total cost to me? $20.

For ROT, I decided not to hire an editor (rare for me). The covers? I bought the images from canva and then designed the covers myself. Critical feedback? I set up a review team to suggest edits, provide reviews and point out errors before publication.

To date it’s probably the only work that I’ve released that has actually generated a net profit! A massive 50% Return on Investment no less (sounds good eh? In reality that’s about 30 bucks).

However for my novels, I employ cover illustrators and editors. I don’t skimp on that. The investment is greater on my end, but so is the potential financial reward. Any author that tells you they aren’t interested in making money is a liar. If it’s not #1 priority, it’s certainly high on the list.

Getting paid (well) to do something you love…well, that’s the dream right there.

Which brings me to Tom Regan. Catholic Parish Priest.

He pitched an idea to me in 2015. Guess I was a little inexperienced – no filter.

His hook landed firmly in my cheek and he reeled me right in.

The ‘business’ didn’t exactly set the world alight in 2016. Don’t get me wrong. It had all the ingredients. We both conceded that perhaps, the timing was off.

For example, for the first five months of last year I sold the grand total of five copies of SIGIL. It had been on the shelves for eight months at that point.

But you can’t keep a good Priest down… In the past week alone I’ve sold seventy copies. I wish I knew what spurred the sudden interest. Perhaps the Amazon Gods looked down on me with pity and threw me a bone.

Now, Fr. Regan is knocking on my door. Bombarding me with calls. Texting me. Pinging me on social media… See! I told you! Now he has another idea. One that I half-listened to last year but wasn’t particularly motivated to chase. This time he says there’s a demand for it. He says the timing is right.

The next three weeks I’ll be channelling my inner priest to write and release the second part of his story in June. Tight turnaround. But Regan is nothing if not persistent.

Figure that’s the key to success in this endeavour. That and be selective about what voices you listen to.

What’s that? Yes, mother...
I will.
Mother says hi!