Simon Whaley's Business of Writing Newsletter: January 2023
Welcome to the first newsletter of 2023! If it’s not too late to say so, Happy New Year! (Mind you, it’s the end of January already - where is the year going? 😱)
My month began with a lot of fatigue left over from my bout of pre-Christmas Covid, and it wasn’t until last weekend (22nd January) that I finally had the energy to climb one of my local hills, Caer Caradoc. For the past couple of years, this has been my New Year’s Day route, but on 1st January 2023 I just didn’t have the energy to climb to the top of this 1,506 feet tall lump of rock.
But as I look back over the Christmas and New Year period, Covid was not necessarily a “Bad Thing”. It has allowed me to get back into my novel (the third one in my Marquess of Mortiforde Mystery series). My manuscript had been languishing around the 25,000-word mark before Covid, but I’ve just hit 60,000 words as I write this.
Obviously, having experienced Covid-brain for a lot of that time, I’m not expecting them to be the greatest words, but that doesn’t matter. As we all know, the real writing happens during the editing stage.
TikTok BookTok
Are you on TikTok? I’m not. Well, I am but I’m not. I have an account, but I haven’t posted anything yet. If I’m honest, having yet another social media channel fills me with dread, but for the next piece in my Business of Writing column, I’ve been looking at how TikTok and its associated hashtag BookTok has been changing writers lives.
As this BBC News piece explains, some authors have seen book sales explode, thanks to the videos authors are posting.
As part of my research, I chatted with Sci Fi/Fantasy author Adam Beswick, who writes under the name of A P Beswick. Since joining the platform, he’s posted over a thousand videos, and they’re working well for him. His sales growth last year generated a six-figure income, and in a few months’ time he leave his career as a nurse and become a full time author.
His advice for anyone thinking of going on TikTok is:
“Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there. TikTok is about engagement so if people comment on your posts asking questions try and to respond to as many as you can. Those initial followers will soon become your super fans. People like cheering on people chasing their dreams. Remember every time you post, that’s fresh eyes seeing your work for the first time. Whether it be ten views or a thousand. You can reach new readers every day with every video you post at no cost. From a marketing point of view, that is incredible!”
I’m not sure the world is ready for my face on TikTok, but from the research I’ve been doing, it’s possible to come up with several ideas that don’t involve shoving our mobile phone cameras in our faces.
Here’s an example of one of Adam’s first TikTok postings:
Not a face in sight! And here’s another one where he shows the next batch of books he’s sending out to lucky readers:
Who knows? It could be possible to do something on TikTok without looking a complete idiot! 🤣. Perhaps I’ll see you over there some time.
The Business of Writing: Volume 4
I can’t believe I’ve been writing the Business of Writing column for so long in Writing Magazine, that I’ve just published the fourth (yes, the fourth!) collection of articles in book format.
Volume 4 covers the articles that appeared in Writing Magazine between 2021 and the start of 2023.
I’m offering newsletter subscribers a free PDF copy of the book. You can download it here.
Volumes 1 to 3 were only available on Amazon, but I’ve now distributed them wide, so they can now be bought from most ebook platforms (Kobo, Barnes and Noble, Scribd, Apple, etc).
Until next month … Happy Writing!
Simon