Update!

Hello! I thought I’d drop in for a bit of an update on what’s been going on with my writing and my ongoing quest to become a world-renowned author.

So it turns out that once you go through all the trouble of writing and editing and self publishing a book, the next step is not $$PROFIT!$$. It’s getting people to buy and read and talk about your book. And since I’m self published, it’s all on me to do everything. Which sucks, because I just want to focus on saying witty things on podcasts. And writing.

With self promotion in mind, I’ve decided to get serious about building my brand, platform, fan base, etc. Just throwing out those buzzwords makes me want to through up a little, but I’ve learned from other authors that hustle is critical to success. Which is unfortunate for me, because I hustle like a sloth. When I was in 6th grade, I was on the basketball team. Because I’m tall and therefore I must be good at basketball. Hah. I would’ve been good at basketball if it didn’t require all that running back and forth. Y’all just go on ahead; I’ll wait here. Just pass the ball to me and I’ll make the shot.

So I’ve had to give myself a metaphorical prod in the butt to motivate myself. I took a big step a few weeks ago when I went to the Scares That Care AuthorCon II. I’ve never been to a convention as a vendor, and I didn’t know what to expect. I did have grandiose ideas about selling all my stock and just rolling in the money, but alas, it was not to be. I did end up selling four books, which I’ll take as a win.

Even more so than selling books, I wanted to meet people. I’m excited to say I met Gemma Amor, Hailey Piper, Wayne Fenlon, Bitter Karella and many other cool people. Also, Jessi Sharon, creator of The Other Happy Place, was able to stop by and I got to meet her. She bought my book. When a cool person buys your book, you get some secondary coolness. It rubs off, like glitter. That’s how coolness works, right?

Also, I’m planning to do some other conventions this year. Louisville PopCon is a comic convention in Louisville, KY. The convention runs June 16th-18th. I’m not sure if I’ll have any success selling books and prints, but I won’t find out until I try. Plus my boyfriend/assistant Wade just wants an excuse to go to the convention.

Also, I’m working on promoting my book more (Jubilation Grove and Other Nightmares, available here). I plan on doing some readings and making them available online. These will most likely be on YouTube because 1) I’m old and don’t understand TikTok, and 2) TikTok likes to ban content with bad words and I don’t like The Man stifling my creativity.

I’m also planning on posting more often on Instagram. Follow me there @superbfinch2000. I’m still on Twitter @superbfinch, and I plan on being there until they turn the lights out on me. I have a Tumblr, but for now I’m reserving that for Karl Heisenberg fanfic. I may start up a newsletter, once I figure out how to do that. Also, I’m going to try and post a new blog entry fortnightly. Notice how I say “planning” and trying”. Personal issues like health, stress, and depression may hinder my goals. But at least I’m going to put forth the effort.

In other news, I’ve finished my second short story collection tentatively titled “Nevertheless True: Fictions”. It’s finished inasmuch as I have all the stories written. I still need to edit it, then send it to a professional editor. I’m hoping this collection will get picked up by a press, but if not, I’ll self publish again. This collection has sinister hotels, tea parties from Hell, Cthulhu in a toilet, and former presidents on trail cams.

Overall, I’m excited for where my writing career is going. I’m also terrified, because I’m much more used to failure than success. But I’m going to stay out of my own way, beat the demons of self doubt, and continue on as best I can.