What do historical fiction readers want?

Tags

blogging, Facebook, Helen Hollick, historical fiction, MK Tod, Twitter, writing

Do you ever feel that you’ve overstretched yourself?  I have two websites, two blogs, several Facebook pages and two Twitter feeds, and it’s still a mystery to me how, when and why they all link together.  So I apologise for doing this the wrong way.  But one of the blogs I follow avidly is written by fellow historical fiction writer Helen Hollick, and recently she posted an excellent interview with another author, MK Tod, on what it is that readers want from historical fiction.

Now I know that I should be able to link cleverly to this post, so that it shows here, but it’s all too much for me – I’m having to lie down in a darkened room with a plate of Jaffa Cakes to hand, and simply give you the link instead:  https://ofhistoryandkings.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/historical-fiction-what-do-readers-want.html

So big apologies to both Helen and MK for my technical duncery, but I do recommend it as an excellent read – I agree with every word.

A nest-full of tweets

Tags

financial crime, marketing, Martha Plank, Samuel Plank, self-publishing, Twitter

One of the hardest things about being a self-employed, self-published, self-starting author is the marketing of your books.  Guess who has to do that?  Yes: yourself.  And although I have run my own (non-writing) business for many years, and of course that has involved marketing to a certain extent, it turns out that authors and marketers need radically different skills.  In short, authors have to like their own company and be able to shut off from the world around them, while marketers have to be people people, friends with everyone and full of sociable beans.  Tricky.  So once a quarter – I know it should be more often, but that’s all I can face – I dedicate one of my Sam days to marketing rather than to writing, and today was one of those days.

For some time now, it has been bothering me that my Twitter profile serves both my work persona (anti-money laundering consultant) and my author persona.  And although there is some overlap – financial crime – they do tend to clutter each other, and I think it would be both more professional and more authorly to split them.  And it turns out that you can have as many Twitter-beings as you like, as long as each has its own email address.  So today I have set up a new Twitter account in the name “ConstablePlank”, and I intend to drive all Sam interest in that direction – so please do come along and follow him (well, me – and no doubt Martha will get involved too).  Alongside Twitter I also have blogs (one for work, one for Sam) and Facebook pages (one personal, one used very rarely for work, and one for Sam), as well as an Amazon Author Central profile and a GoodReads one, and so I have had to write a long list to make sure that they are all pointing at the right versions of each other.  Makes you long for the days when people simply wrote rather elegant letters to each other – or indeed to fictional detectives.

Am I too old to be an overnight success?

Tags

author, Fatal Forgery, marketing, publicity, review, Samuel Plank, Susan Grossey, tweeting, Twitter

I’m not much of a Twitterer (Tweeter?), but I do use it as part of my day job, to share links I find to money laundering related stories.  I have never really used it for my writing self, as I’m not sure how to (or indeed whether to), so I was absolutely delighted to get this notification today: https://twitter.com/DebbieYoungBN/status/456341479418372097

Debbie Young is an author and book reviewer (you can read all about her here) , and some weeks ago she very kindly agreed to take delivery of a copy of “Fatal Forgery” and consider writing a review of it.  Always a nervous moment for an author…  So I am thrilled beyond measure that she is (a) enjoying the book, and (b) telling all of her 6,228 followers that she is enjoying it.

And so the daydream starts…. (*wavy lines*)  Debbie Young’s Twitter followers include one of England’s most influential, hip and happening agents.  This agent’s interest is piqued by Debbie’s comment, and s/he orders a copy of “FF”.  S/he reads it at one sitting, unable to believe the fluency of the writing, the reliable detail of the historical setting, the sympathetic nature of the characters, until the twist in the tail makes him/her slump back in the chair, amazed at the experience.  S/he can barely wait for morning, to telephone three, no, six leading publishing houses, whose in-house readers are similarly impressed and immediately leap into a frenzied bidding war for the rights.  The agent, meanwhile, finds him/herself stuck in a lift with Steven Spielberg and Richard and/or Judy, and shows them the book: Steve immediately buys the film rights, and Richard and/or Judy begs to be allowed to recommend it as a summer read.  I retire from the day job, to spend the rest of my days, Colin Dexter-like, writing Sam Plank books and being feted.  The End.

Fledgling tweets

Tags

Fatal Forgery, financial crime, self-publishing, Susan Grossey, tweeting, Twitter

Although I am not short of things to say, I have so far resisted the lure of Twitter.  It’s partly because I don’t have a smartphone (I’m almost allergic to mobile phones and often leave my own – elderly, clam-style – one at home.)  And it’s partly because I fear that once I start I won’t be able to stop.  But every website, book, blog, article and programme about self-publishing says that tweeting is an essential activity for today’s author, so I am giving it a go.

I signed up at the weekend, and spent a happy two hours wandering around looking up authors I admire, friends and random famous people (did you know that the Pope now tweets?) to get an idea of what they tweet.  Apparently it is a big no-no to self-promote on Twitter, which leaves me somewhat at a loss as to why everyone recommends it so highly for self-published authors, but I gather that it is more subtle than that.  You put “helpful content” onto Twitter, gather a following about you, and then they might buy your book.  After a brief flirtation with what I thought was amusing content, which just left me wondering what was the point of it all, I had an epiphany: I shall just use Twitter as I use my existing work website and blog, i.e. to share information about money laundering and financial crime.  After all, that’s the topic of “Fatal Forgery”, and people who are interested in the topic might be tempted by the book.

It’s a bit like watching your gran trying to get to grips with a PlayStation, I know, but if you’re minded to take a look, my Twitter username is @susangrossey.