Updates!
I’m still figuring out social media. I’ve this blog, a Facebook page, a monthly newsletter, and ad hoc accounts on Mastodon, Dreamwidth, tumblr. New authors are told to get on social media and build a following, but I’ve been focused on getting the next book out! I’m terrible with memes and posting ad hoc thoughts. I update Facebook monthly, have slacked off on Mastodon, but have had a good run with the monthly newsletter. After some initial wibbling around content, I’ve settled on some in-character microfics, and links to an ongoing serial.
I’ll probably keep the monthly updates and newsletter going for now, maybe try to do some more in-depth engagement around launch time. I want to prioritise my blog over Facebook, so I’ll give a longer update here than what I gave there. The next Lukie book is in copy editing and line editing: a sharp shift from the creative side to the technical. I’m also working in the first draft of book 3. I have a vague outline, but my first drafts are a discovery process.
The first time I tried doing overlapping book projects, I nearly melted, but now I’m cool with copyediting book A, drafting book B, and doing another chapter of serialised book C. They say writing is like running a marathon—you work at it to build your production stamina. Also, having an office job helps, I guess.
Alpha readers have the new book (those brave enough to work through the pre-copy edited version), and the feedback is good. A few more story tweaks, editing and then I hand the book back to my editor for proofing at the end of the month. Then beta reading, and hopefully tidying up for this release.
So book 2 is on track for this year, and more updates on the other projects later.
I know I should publish to a schedule, but I don’t what that is yet! In my last post, I called the Revenant Records my learn-to-drive series. The idea is to write a solid series, making each book more awesome, and then get some data on how long I take to write a book! It’ll be awhile before I quit the day job, so my current focus is on building a backlist, and reaching new readers and improving my craft. Not very exciting, but that’s the goal. Slow and steady, and all that.
I mentioned a roleplaying game—I keep writing it, taking it apart, and trying new mechanics. I’m trying to get something together, but for a different urban fantasy setting than the one I set my novels in. Trying to develop a system, and an intricate setting at the same time, was tough, but I’ve been making better progress by switching gears. I did that for my novels, as well—the first novel I worked on (which isn’t out yet) stalled for various reasons, but I had Lukie #1 book ready to go, and that’s become my focus for this first series. I hope to visit the other characters later. The idea for the Vestiges of Magic setting is to have several short-ish series set in the same world with different characters rather than one central series.
I’m trying to get back into reading again. To manage a current bout of insomnia, I’ve had to stop writing an hour before bedtime (sniff), and start reading. And there’s a reading challenge I’d like to do. Might try something this year. That’s it for this month! I have ideas for cool blog articles, but don’t want to over-promise on social stuff and under-deliver. (Maybe in the old days of LiveJournal you could get by with blogging as your primary social media, but it’s different nowadays—where do you connect with authors you want to follow?
Or am I over thinking this, and does your store (Kobo, Amazon etc) tell you when something is out that you like?