Well, I didn’t see that coming.
When I prepared to announce the completion of my first draft on Wednesday, things did not look good. Facebook decided that, of all days, it would choose Wednesday as the day for my annual profile maintenance, leaving me in a terrified state of suspense as to whether I’d accidentally spammed a status around 493054 times, thus scaring off the majority of my target audience before I even got the chance to lure them in.
Fortunately, all went well, and as things stand, the Facebook page is growing very nicely indeed. I want to say a sincere thanks to everybody who has liked or shared the page. I really did not expect such a positive response at such an early stage, so it means so much to me to know that I have you on board.
However, I understand that now I’ve got you on board, the task is to try to keep you. I see many authors on Twitter spamming my feed with tweet after tweet about their novel, at a rate of one tweet per minute, or so. I do not believe that this is the right approach. Perhaps I’m naive, being a first time author, but I truly believe that trying to engage with fans is the best way of marketing a book. So, my first promise to you is a vow of minimal spam. Maybe I’ll be proven wrong, but for now, I’m running with it.
Blog schedule
I’ve spoken a few times about my plans for this blog, without ever really going into detail. Well, I suppose there really is no time like the present. This probably won’t be a rigid schedule, but I’m hoping to post every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
Monday Musings – could cover pretty much anything, writing or non-writing related. Watch me flourish in an improvisational role, or flounder, like an actor without his lines. I’m sure both outcomes would be suitably entertaining for you.
Wednesday Workshop – the one for fellow aspiring authors and writers. Although I am effectively still a toddler in authorial terms, I’ve picked up a few brilliant tips along the way. I’ve also stumbled into a few dead ends in my own work that inspired me to share, so that you can avoid the same traps. The first Wednesday Workshop will launch on Tuesday (not really, just checking that you’re paying attention), and focus on ways to conjure up a solid idea for a novel.
Focus Friday – Alan Gordon Partridge once said, ‘Let’s talk about me!’. Focus Friday is my opportunity to deliver a progress report. It won’t be totally self-centred though: I’ll be seeking a lot of feedback and looking at ways to get you involved.
An announcement…
Okay, so this was probably the part of the title that had you hooked. I have kind of teased you a little, though. This is the deal: next week, I’ll be starting the rewrite. I’ll also be giving you an opportunity to feature in the novel, not as a character, but… well, I’ll get into that next week. If you’ve already liked the Facebook page or followed @RyanCaseyBooks on Twitter, you’re already half way there. Until I announce full details, keep on spreading the word and being brilliant. It really is appreciated.
Thanks a lot, have a great weekend and I’ll see you on Monday!
Ryan