If you want to be a successful writer, you have to build a fan base. The sooner, the better. Preferably before you even publish a word. It's common knowledge in the writing community. Worse yet, it's expected by publishers. With this in mind, a few years back, I set up my website, my YouTube Channel, my Facebook fan page, Twitter, etc. Even the blog you're reading right now.
I started with good intentions and high hopes. Unfortunately, somewhere along the way, I got lost. My good intentions fell by the wayside as I got wrapped up in the dream of being famous for fame's sake. I started worrying more about my YouTube views than the books I was supposedly writing. I would focus on what I was going to talk about in my next video or in my next blog post rather than focusing on the next chapter.
What's worse, I let the fact that my number of subscribers wasn't growing the way I'd hoped affect my mental health. Of course, it wasn't the only cause, but it has been a big contributing factor when I've slipped into my semi-frequent bouts of anxiety and depression.
Recently, I've come to realize that it's too difficult to market something you haven't written yet. I know some people have managed to do it. Jenna Moreci, for one, had people clamoring for her book before she'd even finished writing it. Then again, she has a background in marketing. I don't.
So I'm sure you have an idea where this is going. Don't worry. I'm not going to shut down my blog or my YouTube channel. I'll still post to my various social media pages as well. I'm just going to stop letting it take up so much of the time I should be devoting to writing.
First off, Fiction Friday isn't going anywhere. I've come to enjoy sharing the quick, off-the-cuff, stories I post there. I can't promise I'll post every week, but I'll try. It's still writing, which I still believe is what I'm really meant to do. (I sure as hell hope it is, because I can't see myself doing anything else.) Eventually, I hope to have enough Fiction Friday stories to put into a collection along with a few of my unpublished shorts.
I'll still be posting What's Up Wednesday, but it definitely won't be every week. I'll be honest, at this point, my life just isn't exciting enough to have a real update every week. In fact, most weeks consist of, "I went to work, I wrote, and I slept." Lather, Rinse, Repeat. Someday, I hope to have a more exciting life, but for most writers, there just isn't much to tell.
The same goes for my YouTube channel. I just don't have enough to talk about. I'd intended for it to be a writing advice channel, but right now, while I have plenty of opinions, I don't feel like I'm enough of an authority to give writing advice. Besides, typically the audience for a writing advice channel is other writers when I'm really trying to reach readers. (Not that writers aren't inherently readers as well, but I'm trying to reach a larger audience.)
I know I've been teasing this for a long time, but I think I'm going to finally start doing a series of videos called Story Time Saturday in which I read stories I've posted for Fiction Friday. I'm still not sure how that sort of video will go over but it's worth a try. I'd really love to hear your thoughts on that sort of video so please leave a comment telling me your opinion.
Finally, I'm going to start submitting more short stories to magazines and anthologies. I tried it a while back and got frustrated after just a handful of rejections. Stephen King would be ashamed of me. He had enough rejections to rip the nail he hung them on out of the wall from the sheer weight. There were a lot more magazines that accepted fiction back then too, so the competition wasn't as fierce.
The bottom line is, I've decided that I need to focus on actually finishing something before I worry too much about marketing myself.
One last thing. I want to thank the true fans who have been with me from the start. Actually, something just occurred to me. I don't even know who my fans are. Sometimes I even question whether I have any in the first place. So if you're a fan of my work, leave me a comment and let me know. (yes, I know it's a blatant call for an ego boost, but I could use one right now.)
Anyway, that's it for this time. I'll see you on Friday. Until then...
Don’t forget to stalk me online.
Check me out on Facebook
My Amazon page, in case you want to read more
On Goodreads
And on YouTube
I also post a copy of this blog on Tumblr
You can now help support my writing on Patreon
And, of course, please buy my debut short story, Blood Moon
You can find my Amazon influencer page here. https://www.amazon.com/shop/justinmkellywriter
And my blog on Steemit. If you really want to help me out, go there and drop a like or a comment. I get paid if you do and it doesn’t cost you anything.
Posted from my blog JustinMKelly.com/blogSteemPress : http://www.justinmkelly.com/blog/whats-up-wednesday/whats-up-wednesday-back-to-basics/