KNOW YOUR READERSHIP by Bruce Atchison

There are only two ways of working effectively, harder or smarter. I learned the hard way that the subjects I thought were interesting are obviously not of interest to others. My three memoirs are an apt example of this.

When a Man Loves a Rabbit: Learning and Living With Bunnies sold well, particularly since it was a debut book. I knew many rabbit owners and having been their friend, they bought a total of  two-hundred-and-fifty copies.

My second memoir, Deliverance from Jericho: Six Years in a Blind School, did poorly. At first, I felt astonished. The fact that most people with perfect sight have no interest in accounts of life in that sort of institution did not occur to me when I wrote my memoir. Neither did I record any sensational stories of abuse in it. Only blind people wanted the book but I lacked the money to have it in an accessible format. As a result, I barely sold fifty print copies.

I assumed my third book would do better. How I Was Razed: A Journey from Cultism to Christianity has been out for less than a year but it also has done poorly. Though I promoted it on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Linked In, only a few copies sold.

I now realize that I should have done research on how well books on the subject of toxic churches sold. My second mistake was to assume that apologetics ministries would jump at the chance to promote my testimony of God's providential leading. Every ministry to which I sent a copy politely said "no" or failed to reply.

Though we writers find it difficult to step back from our creations and see potential pitfalls, it is possible. What we can do, and what I should have done, is enlist friends who we trust to give good suggestions on where would be the best places to plug our books or articles. Of course Googling can be of help but it does consume a lot of time. Writing groups which point the way instead of the finger are also good places for advice.

I certainly have learned my lesson. Like attracts like. My rabbit book sold well because my friends love to read about bunny antics. If I had my blind school memoir in an accessible format, I might have sold more copies to sight-impaired people. I'm now concentrating on  telling cult recovery organizations about my journey to biblical Christianity. Time will tell if I'm successful or not.

Bruce Atchison is a freelance writer and self-published author. His articles have appeared in a wide variety of magazines since the nineties. Atchison's first two books are available at Bruce Atchison's books while his latest memoir is at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Virtual bookworm publishers.

My Books Are Worth Buying - Bruce Atchison

Is there anything wrong in wanting to make a profit on one's work? As Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 5:18 (KJV), "For the scripture saith, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that breadth out the corn. And, The labourer is worthy of his reward." Is it evil to enjoy the fruit of one's work, whether it be writing or some physical task? Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes 2:24 (KJV) "There is nothing better for a man, than that he should eat and drink, and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labour. This also I saw, that it was from the hand of God."

I've noticed that many people tend to scorn anybody who peddles a product.  In my experience, Christians seemed the most critical of anybody trying to earn extra income. Yet the Bible has plenty to say about the value of work. The apostle Paul made tents and probably did other jobs to finance his missionary journeys. Most of the common folks were self-employed on farms or vineyards.

In our modern society, it's far more common to be hired by business people and large corporations. An increasing number of people are working for governments. Therefore, people appear to assume that wanting to earn extra money is a sign of greed.

Furthermore, because of home invasions and the alienation of citizens one from another, people are reluctant to open their doors.

Even with social networking, peddling one's wares is considered spam by some. Because of abuses by troublesome people, the public feels burned out and distrustful of everybody. This is a tragedy since it hurts honest folks who have valuable products and insights.

Since I'm not much good at anything but writing, I feel that my experiences can provide people with wisdom and an occasional good laugh. Because of this belief, I've written three memoirs. When a Man Loves a Rabbit: Learning and Living With Bunnies tells of the amazing things I learned while having house rabbits in my home. They also got into quite a bit of mischief and made me smile with their antics.

Deliverance from Jericho: Six Years in a Blind School shows the public what life was like in that infamous government-run institution. I also wrote about the mischief which my friends and I got into.

I believe my How I Was Razed: A Journey from Cultism to Christianity testimony is my most important work. It not only shows how easily I, a naive convert, was taken in by a false prophet but how kind the heavenly  Father was to lead me into the freedom of his love. The house church elders hurt me deeply with their criticisms. Now I know that my continuing poor vision wasn't because of hidden sin, lack of faith, ancestral sin, or lusting for good vision but so God's works can be manifest in me. I hope to comfort other wounded believers who had similar experiences and to glorify God through my testimony.

I post excerpts of my books on Wordpress and Blogspot pages. I also write about related topics and tie them to my memoirs. Not only am i entertaining readers but leading them to my book pages. Additionally, I treat customers as friends. This has led to many long-lasting friendships. Often times, these contacts give me a chance to talk about the Lord. Only he knows what will come of these mentions and compassionate replies to the troubles of others.

Bruce Atchison is a freelance writer and author of three memoirs. He's active on various social media sites. See what he's up to, or down to, on RebelMouse. He lives in Radway, Alberta with his house rabbit, Deborah.