Curry Zawa Kaoru's Creative Counseling - "Do I need to socialize to sell out my stock?" Socializing isn't the first step.
Article by Curry Zawa Kaoru
Do I really need to talk to people to sell all my goods?
The sudden statement about not having followers on pixiv and X came so out of nowhere that for a moment I was taken aback. Like, whoa?! But as someone who’s received a similar diagnosis, I sort of get what you’re trying to say. Presumably, because of those traits, you’ve caused people around you to react with "Whoa?!" in the past, leading to relationship troubles and intense stress.
If, based on those failures, you’ve cut off all interaction in your creative work to avoid trouble and stress, then that decision is the right one—and it’s admirable that you've taken thorough precautions based on that self-knowledge. People who can’t do this overestimate themselves no matter how many times they fail, repeat the same mistakes, and frustrate the people around them again and again.
It’s not uncommon for people to avoid socializing as much as possible in their hobbies to steer clear of unnecessary issues and anxiety. While this may be easier, many people admit that it does make them feel a twinge of loneliness. In particular, those involved with doujin activities—who might agonize over seeing after-party photos on social media right after an event ends—seem especially prone to falling into the dilemma of balancing the hassle of socializing with feelings of loneliness.
In that regard, since you don’t feel any longing for human connection and seem to feel lonely solely because your books aren’t selling, it’s easier to solve your worries than it is for someone who doesn't want to socialize but feels lonely not being invited to after-parties or anthologies. At the very least, it’s a lower-karma question.
Why is it easier? Because the answer to “Do you have to socialize to sell your work?” is “NO.”
So, does that mean your work isn’t selling because what you write is boring? That could be it, but it’s not the whole story. Doujinshi in novel form are especially hard to sell, and on top of that, their sales fluctuate greatly depending on the current popularity of the original work. That means there are various reasons why your work won't sell.
I expect that you might be the kind of person who feels some relief to hear you just have to write something more interesting (no matter how snidely) rather than being told, “No matter how well you write, you’ll never sell unless you socialize.”
In other words, congratulations! There are many things you can do before tackling the daunting challenge of socializing!
First advertising, then marketing
No matter how many strategies you try, your book might still not sell, and networking might be your only remaining option. Even then, keep in mind that deciding that you'd rather not sell a single copy than have to network is by no means the wrong choice.
↑ Feel free to send your troubles in languages other than Japanese, too.
This column was made into a book!
Hello, Curry Zawa. It’s nice to meet you. I’m currently struggling with a serious problem.
I love making books—or rather, bookbinding—and I even sell novels. However, because I have ASD, I have zero followers on pixiv. On X, I only post to myself, so I have zero followers there as well. Since I live in a rural area, I can’t attend events, so my only current distribution channel is through bookstore consignment.
With bookstore consignment, while other authors’ books are constantly selling out and restocking, my stock barely moves at all. It's painful. At first, I thought it was okay if it took a few months as long as my book reached the people who liked it, but I can't handle it anymore—I’ve lost heart.
Even if I print just 10 copies, I want to sell every single one. Do I really have to interact with people to do that?