It seems I spend a lot of time explaining why I'm not keeping up with this blog. To be perfectly honest, when I deep in writer's mode, I forget this even exists. I'm sure I said in an earlier post that I much prefer writing to writing about writing, however...the world has turned, and things have changed. One can't simply toss a novel up on Amazon and hope for the best. There's too much competition out there, with millions of desperate authors clamoring for the attention of readers.
And so I return to the blog, so I can reach out to potential readers. Word on the street is, some traditional publishers won't even consider you unless you bring along a couple thousand devoted followers/subscribers with a healthy social media footprint. Okay, fine. As is usual for me, I started researching, and quickly learned that one ignores the BookTok world at one's peril. There are literally billions of users and millions of videos, and I don't know how many influencers out there reviewing books like crazy.
As of today, I've been on BookTok for 2 weeks. At first, making videos gave me unpleasant reminders of teaching remotely during the pandemic--not that it's technically very difficult, but it felt a lot like whistling in the wind, wondering if anyone was listening. I picked up a few likes, and a few followers...and then yesterday I commented on a video by indie author supporter A_Brew_Story, mentioning the difficulty I was having getting traction for I, Christine. She responded with, "Message me, dear," and we were off to the races!
She's going to promote my book to her 28,000 viewers, and she was kind enough to tell me about a few other indie authors in my area. I reached out to them, got some encouraging advice, and was put in touch with another indie promoter who will have me on her live feed in a week or so in front of her 20,000+ followers. We've gone from zero to 100 overnight! Yesterday I was about ready to give up and just write because I enjoy the intellectual exercise. Today, it's a whole new world.