Summer Solstice
The summer solstice next week marks a new chapter in my writing journey. I am turning back the dial and letting things ride, in a way. I feel I have spent too much time trying to market and not enough time writing.
The first wave has crashed down, so I have delisted my prior books from Kobo and Nook, and my punk fiction works are only on Amazon (most in KDP Select) at this time. I am keeping my website up and running with my blog, but I have decided to end my e-mail list. Twitter is now my go-to social media site. I created a new account this year, as I had closed all my old social media accounts previously. Granted, it is a slow build, but it is more productive than culling a list with the enticement of a free book.
Algorithms are mostly out of reach in the wilds of the internet without advertising or a social media presence. Over the years, I started with MySpace (I really do miss having profile songs); moved onto Facebook and watched it devolve into something unseemly when all I wanted to do was catch up on friends in other places; tried Vero, but it was an empty echo chamber; got lost in the old angsty Twitter; and posted lots of pics on Instagram. None of these were particularly good for getting the word out about my writing, so I turned off the white noise. I did need something to connect with, and I chose one. Twitter is changing, and I am staying on as it slowly transforms into X.
In the past, I have also offered a free ebook (Where the Road Roams) at retailers, and it only seemed to feed itself and get a few sales of my other titles. Even dollar books (Anarchy) do not seem to be the way to get real traction. It seems more sensible to maintain a low but realistic price point.
Now, I am addressing my branding issue of what is punk fiction by taking down the alternative novella versions of the Wild Boys, as the optics do lean toward romance. I have left my past works at a lucky seven with: Modulator, Anarchy, Escape from Dolphin Street, The Trouble with Furries, Wild Boys, Dark Lands, and Where the Road Roams. Those titles and covers reflect my genre well enough.
Punk Fiction: A genre featuring crime, noir, horror, weird menace, dark fantasy, prison, western, sci-fi, and juvenile delinquent tropes through a lens of anarchy.
It is time to let the past ride. I have tweaked and changed my past works enough, and my unpublished manuscripts will eventually find a home. My focus is now on the future.
DS
