I went to a writing workshop a couple of weeks ago that talked about what to do once you finished writing your book if you wanted to get traditionally published in Australia. I’d kind of already decided to self-publish my next book, so I only went along because one of my critique partners was disappointed she couldn’t make it.
Anyway, it wasn’t quite what I expected, but only because I think it was targeting people who had little to no experience with the publishing industry – as in they had never written a query or researched agents or publishers online.
But one piece of advice that the speaker emphasised was the importance of maintaining your author ‘platform’ via a blog and social media. I already knew this, but I am not good at doing it. I deleted my author Facebook page a few months ago because I never posted anything on it, and I couldn’t think of anything that I felt other people would be interested in reading (I know, that sounds weird coming from a writer). I actually don’t really post on my personal Facebook page either, unless you count the odd photo of my kids or a link to my latest Bachelor blog.
I do have a Twitter account, but it is linked to my Bachelor alter-ego, and I really only post on that if I’m live tweeting during a show – which I can obviously only do during the Aussie seasons when it’s not daylight savings.
But! If you’re reading this, you are obviously aware that I have this author blog too, which I sort of post to every now and again. You will also see that I mostly just write book reviews, so I’ve decided I need to post other stuff too.
Apparently people like reading about other writers’ journeys and their triumphs / struggles. Whether they’re still interested in writers who aren’t mega-famous is something I’m yet to be convinced of, but I’m willing to give it a shot. So! Now that I’m writing almost full-time, I’m going to attempt to share the craziness that is my day-to-day life, and how I fit writing in around looking after two boys and the occasional web design job.
Stay tuned! And feel free to contact me if you want to share your own thoughts on anything writing related!