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bruce511HNSource authorAug 23

Business & incomeEditorial digest

Publishing is easier. Getting discovered is still work.

bruce511 describes a recurring pattern in creative markets: direct distribution lowers barriers, then a crowded market creates demand for guides and promoters. Their caution to creators is to separate enjoyment of making things from expectations of earning a living.

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“It's interesting how we seem to go through a cycle. a) There's a gate-keeper who picks winners, and charges money. Maybe book publising, maybe”
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Original discussionI set a trap for a book-marketing scammer (2025)

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boznzHNDec 8

Half my spam folder is currently from the same group of people, with similar sales pitches, though one also promised 25 five star Amazon reviews for $200 which is scary if true. The whole blog post just about sums up an indie writers journey, having to become a reluctant marketing person, and fighting the algorithm for recognition; the meme nailed it. Luckily I came to realise after my first book that writing was not about the sales (though that was the starting goal), but about finally putting all my ideas into a bunch of characters and having them live the life and fantasies I never could in a world I created. I got an email out of the blue…

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