As I write more fiction I’m finding it increasingly difficult to focus on blogging (not that I ever did that much) and non-fiction projects. However I think, even as a diary style exercise I should blog more and mark the journey, so to speak.
Medium looks like it could be another way of reaching a bigger audience but if I’m going to increase the output I want to make sure there’s some kind of strategy in place rather than a half heartened reboot.
So onwards and upwards as the first half of 2016 approaches where have I ended up exactly?
Well, the fiction series is going well and we are hoping to finish the first in the new series this Spring. My main obstacle is finding the hours alongside a full-time job but I have a writing schedule that involves meeting up with a local group of writers on Sundays and some week evenings. We all work on our own projects and I also meet up with story collaborator and biz partner, JN, twice a week. This has been hugely helpful for keeping a consistent work count going and slowly pushing the book imprint forward.
I am really keen to get our publishing start up going but it seems like the chicken and egg scenario…without a considerable traction of the existing titles there doesn’t seem much point in putting a lot of time and money into marketing. But…a lesson learned from a previous business I was involved in – plan for success and it will more likely happen. Hence why I’m coming around to the idea of a Kickstarter (or Indiegogo) campaign to help pay for the editor and cover art. If everything goes to plan I will be hitting the road and won’t have the disposable income to put into these costs , as I have so far. Food for thought.
There’s a lot of things, like promotions that are not really working and this is causing a fair amount of frustration. We’re nowhere near having enough reviews to try and get an infamous Bookbub ad so getting reviews has been a slow process.
Facebook ads have brought in around 200 subscribers in the last year and a handful of sales but I’m a long way from actually getting it working on auto pilot!
2016 is all about content creation for me and although there will always be an ongoing marketing process going on until we have a good body of work it’s difficult to commit money to any big pushes. My ambitious target is to write and complete at least two full length fiction novels (the first one is 80% there) and at least one novella this year. It would be great to put out a non-fiction this year but we’ll have to see how it pans out. It may have to come in the form of a series of blog posts (now there’s an idea). In the spirit of re purposing content: build up a series of chapters from the blog posts then re-work them into a book and possibly an e-course. I believe Dean W Smith does this on his website.
Till next time.
