The Long Tail

I had been told to get on Facebook when I started writing. I did. I used to have an author page where I kept posting blog posts regularly at one time.

Then I was told to publish them on LinkedIn. I had never bought a book, especially fiction, after reading about it on LinkedIn. Or Facebook for that matter. But I still posted on LinkedIn.

Then they told me to get on Instagram. That lasted for less than a few months. I had more messages from book reviewers wanting to get paid for promoting my book than actual book readers. Even for an anti-social media person like me, lasting for a few months on Instagram was a surprise.

Then someone said try Substack. I didn’t venture down that path.

Then e-book platforms. Amazon Kindle was a no-brainer everyone said if you want to sell books. But then why tie yourself up to just one monopolistic player? What if they change their policies and the way they pay authors? (which they did over the years, by the way, and wasn’t bad logic for an author who writes books for a living)

So I got on to Apple Books, Google Play Store, Kobo, and dozen others. There was an aggregator who did it for me.

Why am I telling you all this? And why is this post called the Long Tail?

The reason is this. I realized after doing all these experiments over a few years that none of them actually work. Not for anyone. They work for a very small percentage of people. They are the ones who are at the top 1 or 2 or 5 percent of whatever they do. Whether it is writing books, publishing posts or making music or anything else in this new, digital world. They are the short head.

For the remaining 95-99% of the people who get on to these open platforms that claim to democratize their area (which they do, to a certain extent), it simply doesn’t work. Definitely not in the proportion to the efforts involved. They are the long tail.

I am in the long tail, and so is almost everyone else you and I know. Statistically, it is impossible to plan to be in the short head. Anyone who creates anything for these open systems is statistically likely to end up in the long tail.

If that is the reality, then what should I do? I thought about it when I realized this a few years back. What are the options?

Not many. But if you have the patience, one thing is clear. Don’t shift from platform to platform. Just stick to one – any one. It won’t really matter. You can go by whatever logic makes sense to you or you can toss the coin. It is best if you own the platform. Like this website or anything where you can reach readers directly. And own all your assets. Be consistent in whatever you produce.

Think hard for yourself why you write. Or produce whatever you do. Stick to that reason. Do it for the freedom it offers without depending on middlemen (or aggregator platforms!). Perfect the craft. Produce good work, consistently. At least produce what you think is good. And hope that your work gets noticed by others.

It will, if you aren’t too keen to be in the short head, and if you are not too gullible to end up in the long tail. Every artist or creator can find his own small audience for his body of work.

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