"It's Not Over Til You're Dead"

What are writers, even traditionally published ones, to do when sales don't materialize for a new book? I've read more than once that we should suck it up and move on, 'cause it is over.

Maybe that advice is outdated.

In 2012, author Lloyd Devereaux Richards published Stone Maidens with Thomas & Mercer, one of Amazon's imprints. (I have no idea how Amazon imprints work. Something to research in the future.) Evidently that was it. There was not much action as far as sales go.

Then his daughter created a TicTok account for the book eight days ago, with a video. Her call to action, and we're told all our promotional efforts should have a call to action, was, "I'd love for him to get some sales."

The book leaped to No. 1 on Amazon's Serial Killer Thriller list. The number of Amazon reviews has shot up, too. And there is talk of movie inquiries.

This may just be a random, wonderful fluke rather than some kind of hopeful model for other writers. But it does suggest that Jennifer Coolidge is right, and "It's not over til you're dead."