Billips' Weekly Banter- 2-4-22
Welcome friends! I ended January on a really high note. Not only having completed my first Vella, The Catalyst, but also having more episodes read than ever before. I nearly quadrupled my read episodes. It made January a little more warm and fuzzy in this current snow-pocalyspe in Wisconsin. :) My newest story, Sway of the Sun, went live on February 1st. It hasn't received as much love as I thought, but I don't have a huge reader following anyway. I just need to keep plugging away, posting on social media, and learning how to add people to my subscription list. If you would like to check it out, click the picture below. First three episodes are free on Vella.
It can feel a little overwhelming and disheartening trying to create a reader base. I think that all the things one needs to learn in the self-publishing industry to 'make it' is a vast list. I try to take each element and do my best to weave it into what I've already got going. I wonder if authors like Jane Austen or Ernest Hemmingway had to publish in today's society what marketing strategy the would do. Can you picture Jane doing a booktok video calling out single men in possession of a good fortune? I'd watch that! The current struggle for me is gaining a following. I have been reading up on newsletters and how to had people. I am going to check out #bookfunnel and some of the site that offer help in that arena. I wanted to wait to have my story published as an ebook and paperback, but after reading some authors suggestions, it might be better to start now. Their point being that if you don't have a following, who will buy your book when it launches.
I am hoping to look back on this blog fondly. Take what I learned and help others starting out. If you're a writer, what advice would you give to your younger self? If you would like to subscribe to my newsletter please the subscribe button below.
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Thanks for reading! See you next week.
LK Billips