Communication – Two Tales, Miles & Months Apart By Ann Göth

Tale 1 is from my book “Volcanic Adventures in Tonga” (website). Imagine yourself stuck on a remote South Pacific island, without the comforts of Western civilisation but surrounded by friendly Polynesians. One telephone on the island, the social hub. When walking the short distance to the phone, one stops each time someone else walks the other way. Conversations are to be held about where and why one wanders, and many of those walking in the opposite direction now change course to follow you. A phone call is a social sensation, after all.

Not many calls are made on this tiny speck in the Pacific Ocean, and large crowds gather around the phone to listen in when you make a call. No headphones are used as one does not want to appear secretive in a community where everything is shared. The crowd laughs out loud when the caller laughs, comments on what is being said and advises on what should be said next. A group effort and communication in Tongan style!

Wind forward to Tale 2 about marketing this book on Instagram today. I feel like a fish in a glass bowl, watched by hundreds of reviewers with nets who promise to set me free in the wide ocean of recognition and increased sales. These fishers are lured to me by hashtags I dutifully add to my posts, like #bookstagrammer and #bookblogger. I am told there are no sales without good reviews, especially on Amazon and Goodreads.

Initially, I was naively flattered by such offers and likes. Now I would need to sell a stack of books higher than Mt. Everest if I wanted to pay all these reviewers. The English in those offers often features grammar mistakes, indicating that many fishers sit in non-English speaking countries hoping to get an extra income. Others offer, for pay, to post me as a featured author in their Instagram profile. Some want ‘only’ a paperback copy of the book for the review, which they sell on eBay afterwards. When writing reviews, they often just paraphrase the synopsis and have clearly not read the book. There is no way they could have read those hundreds of books they ‘review’ on their Instagram pages.

I only wish I could promote my book in Tongan style as a community effort, but I no longer live on an island and must succumb to using the internet. I know which one I’d rather prefer!

Written by Ann Göth