Author Apps. Are They For You?

I'd jump on board! Wouldn't you?

I recently indulged in the latest marketing tool because I feel it’s the wave of the future. And what is that you ask? My very own app!

It sounds amazing. In fact, it sounds downright ‘best seller’ aye? I mean seriously, people live on their cell phones now. I know I do. Yep, guilty. In fact, if my cell phone is out of my reach for over an hour I start going all wild eyed.

Am I alone?

Somehow I doubt it. Since the creation of the iPhone and Android, the world has entered the next level of technology. Yee haw! Absolutely LOVE it. And still not sure how I survived my childhood in the Atari and DOS ‘80’s. *winks* (Lots of ‘Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego.’)

But we’ve arrived in an era in which I’m super thrilled to call my own. Things are going faster and faster. Every day there’s more and more. As far as tech goes, that’s just fine. A little overwhelming sometimes but still OMG’ish, right?

So now I have an author app. Yep, I took the digi plunge. Was it cheap? Not really. At an average of $400 a year, I’m hoping it will pay for itself. After all, people are starting to read books on their cell phones. In its own way an author app serves two purposes. The first, an instant Newsletter with daily status updates for fans AND a quick ‘click’ for readers to download your books while you’re on their minds. It’s all about quick turnover in this day and age. People want ‘right now quality’ and if it’s not a click away, they’re moving onto the next interesting thing. (No offense, I’m the same way. It just is what it is.)

My concern?

The mad crazy amount of apps out there. My husband looked at me when I started this venture and said, “You do know that there are billions of apps out there, right?”

“Sure,” I responded while secretly cringing.

Now I’m thinking, is this one more thing that needs to be overly promoted or does it fall into the category of ‘found easily by readers.’ Is everyone diving into the same pond at once? What makes an app survive? What makes an app drown?

I’d love to hear feedback on this topic from authors and readers alike. What do YOU think about author apps? Is it just too new to risk right now, writers? And readers, would you be thrilled to find that your favorite author had an app? Would you download it or would other apps take priority?

Feel free to check out my recently launched app on Android and iTunes.

I’m excited to see how it does. And, despite my reservations, I’m THRILLED to be part of the future. *grins*

Sky