Hello, everyone.
It’s been a while dealing with the ever-changing landscape of social media and the megacorporations that seem to have taken over everything.
Gone are the days of organic reach, where whenever someone posted on an app, everyone was able to see it. It didn’t matter if you had 50,000 followers or 50. We all had a say, and we could be seen and heard.
Of course, you had spammers and bad actors. There will never be a situation where knuckleheads won’t show up. However, they had the freedom to be a knucklehead. We had the option to engage with them or simply block them. We had freedom, too.
Then came people who figured out quickly that they could produce personal products or use affiliate products that they didn’t necessarily believe in, but it was a way to earn a ton of money from home. In my opinion, they were geniuses. They understood the potential from the start and did well.
Of course, the heads of these social media companies saw this and then realized that they could take control. They claimed that because of spam, they would limit the reach of these influencers or potential influencers, unless they paid to promote. Pay to promote… You pay them monthly, and then they will do the spamming for you. But it’s their company, and when we sign up, we must play by their rules.
Then came the eBook. Early on, authors could earn a decent cut of the profit when a book was bought through an Amazon or Barnes & Noble.
But, of course, Amazon became greedy and geared the percentages to force you to price your book within a certain range that benefits them and the customer. If you’re outside of their range, you can only collect 35% of the revenue. Barnes & Noble has a fairer payout, but they are so incompetent that they will make you crazy.
Recently, I’d let a good-meaning friend convince me to join Amazon and Barnes & Noble again because of their reach. I’d been selling my books by word of mouth and through social media.
That reach was attractive. I begin to think back about ten years ago, when I was on both platforms. Time tends to fade your memory. So, I joined them both again.
And just like that, I began to remember the greed, the aggravation, and that sick feeling as if I’m just a mark to be used, abused, and taken advantage of. When you make deals with them, they pretty much own you. At least for as long as you’re signed up with them.
I also have a Patreon page where I write a series I call DOPE BOY CHRONICLES, which is doing well, but the recent changes to Patreon’s layout have everyone confused. It’s a hot mess. It’s now impossible for anyone to navigate it. Who’s going to give my page a chance when there are so many other forms of entertainment easily available?
The only way that you’re going to get a fair shake is to be totally independent and do for self.
Enter my new website.
This was a tough build, being that it’s not one of those free ones that you sign up for and simply upload your content. I have built a hosted site, and I now have the freedom to say any and everything I want without restrictions. I own this.
I’m now playing by my rules.
I’ll sell my books directly to readers as a PDF and collect through CashApp and Venmo, and there’s a crypto option coming soon.
Stay tuned!
Creole Gaudet