In a nutshell, JK Rowling has released more teasers at a crime literary festival about her next crime novel under her pseudonym Robert Galbraith. She told an audience she was already half way through her third novel, and would go on well past the seven books she first expected to write.
Rowling's pseudonym was dramatically unmasked earlier this year and her book was criticized. Many people consider this another marketing ploy.
The writer spent ten years trying to raise some interest in her books until at last a publisher took her on. The rest is history as the Harry Potter series of novels went on to become best sellers and made into movies.
With so many writers releasing books on their own cognizance, the market place is flooded with many novels of poor quality. It's very hard for any of us to sell books.
And that leads to my situation.
#StillRockWater: a paranormal coming of age fantasy for a mother who wears an ancient ring with surprising properties.
#TidalSurge: a battle over good and evil between mother and daughter via ancient jewelry. (Click on either link for Amazon.)
And my marketing ploy: write a daily blog so readers will appreciate the quality of my writing and enjoy the way I present stories.
Okay—it hasn't worked. I've written a daily blog of views on news for one and a half years. A tremendous number of people read them every day, which brings satisfaction but no earnings. I'm knocking myself out for nothing.
Every morning, I read news stories for about half an hour before I select one I can relate to. It takes at least another hour to write the story and select accompanying pictures. Then, I market the blog on social sites—another hour. By the time I'm done, there's no time for novel writing before lunch.
I want to write. I want to share my experiences: the joy of youth, the heartache of mental abuse, motherhood, escape, adventure, finding a job in a new country, meeting a new man, the death of children, aging in a caring society—there's nothing I haven't undergone.
Now, I'm supported by a loving husband.
But I won't live forever—nobody does. My time for writing will run out. I want people to enjoy my novels, to think, to dream of possibilities, and to tell other people about them. Without the fame of JK Rowling, nobody will hear about them otherwise.
Here is some of the advice I received:
Get a domain name to link everything I do.
Use another blogger host and give it an appropriate title.
Views on news is entirely different from the fantasy books I write. Link them more.
Tour independent bookshops promoting my work.
Life is too short for people to read every book on the market.
A published book is an achievement in itself.
Publish a book one chapter at a time on my blog. Many readers will get impatient and buy the novel.
The fisherman's dilemma of fish and bait. Write first thing in the morning, blog later.
If something inspires me after I've written more of the novel, blog about that.
Blog 2-3 times a week instead of daily. That leaves more free time.
Which pastime do I want to denote the best part of my day?
Blogs are gone soon. A book lasts forever.
And my own thoughts:
My blog is incredibly popular. Sometimes, I can't believe how many people read my daily post. I'd be mad to back out of an activity that works.
If I was selling another product like fish hooks alongside a street full of people peddling the same ware, I'd find something else to do. The same applies to books.
One other piece of advice I received was that I am establishing my name through my blog.