The Novel Is Out! So What Next?

 

 

A few of my friends have been sending me pictures of Niccolo out and about in the world. He's a cat, so this suits him--he hates to be confined!

I'm hoping he manages to find all kinds of new interesting places to hang out. And I promise he won't claw your furniture or barf up hairballs. But he is a predator, with natural feline lust for a kill. So you never know what he might be capable of. Could be quite disturbing.

I think a couple of very kind blog regulars have purchased a copy, and thank you SO MUCH for that! And the link is right here if anyone else has an inclination to check it out: Niccolo Would Like a Word on Amazon. It's free if you have Kindle Unlimited.

 

Adopt me please!

So I'm currently at that awkward stage where I've already arm-twisted all my friends to buy my book. I'm  now trying to persuade strangers to read it. But the odds are long, and competition is fierce, and it's a quirky book that does not fit neatly into the normal categories. It's not a book everyone will love. But it's a book some people will love, and the trick will be finding them.

It's been about 3 weeks now, and there have been some very positive developments! Also some disappointments. We'll see how it goes. Three weeks is not a long time in the life-cycle of a novel.

Oh and I've now got an author website,  Jan-Graham.com, where non-existent readers can go to find out more!

Perhaps some of these nonexistant people who land there will sign up for a newsletter that at some future date will announce a new novel. And in the meantime possibly giveaways, discounts, free beta-reading opportunities, or quite possibly, nothing! If you already signed up here in the upper right-hand corner for the Just Cranky newsletter, I'll include any updates there as well. Or what the hell, make it easy for me and sign up for both.

In any event, if you click on Jan-Graham.com to check out the site, this will begin to alert The Google that the site exists. I'd like people who have actually read the novel and want to google the author to end up at my site and not that of the Other Jan Graham who writes erotic BDSM fiction.

So, what's next on the agenda? 

Those of you who have watched my Online Identity Crisis unfold over these last months will probably be amused/annoyed that I can't seem to figure out what I'm doing here.

Fitness blog? Expat blog? Lifestyle blog? Miscellaneous Complaints blog? I've changed the name twice, flailing around, trying to recapture some of the fun and community we had here back in the Cranky Fitness days of yore.

I think the problem is that I'm writing for myself, and not for readers clamoring to go back to the old blogging days. I had a great excuse with the idea that it was "marketing" for an upcoming novel, but surprise, surprise: that didn't really work. And no reason it would! I didn't put in the kind of effort it would take to draw in new readers. Plus: blogging is not a Thing anymore. I knew that, but couldn't resist.

However, it's been so great to catch up with those of you who showed up, and I'm so glad I did it! 

Probaby what I'll do is keep the blog up, but update only occasionaly, just to see who's still around and what you all are up to. It's actually pretty weird just how special you are to me, even though most of us have never met in person. I have so loved hearing from you! And I'm so, so grateful. 

There's no point saying "goodbye," though. Because I seem to be incapable of killing this thing off completely. So I'm confident I'll be back every now and again.

Maybe I'll just say "hasta luego?" 

Take care everyone!