So many moving parts

This writing thing  has so many moving parts. Don’t get me wrong, the writing itself is fine. Eventually you will have a first draft. Pat on the back. Drinks all around. Even the second stage, the rounds of revisions and rewrites is all good. It’s writing. You can do it with a crayon. (Don’t do it with a crayon.)

But the complexities grows from there. I’m self publishing my books, so will be looking at alpha then beta readers, then proof readers and/or editors, then book covers for ebook and print versions. The inside layout I can manage with the right software. I think. I’m using Atticus as I use a PC, not a MAC.

Then there’s the marketing. Although, I shouldn’t say ‘then’ as the marketing needs to be switched on well before publication, and then that switch stays in the ‘on’ position. Forever. In case you hadn’t realized by now, this is that. The start of the marketing. Anything to point you, future reader, to my email list. This is the same for both indi and traditionally published authors.  

The good news is there is lots of help out there. The bad news is that everything – every-freek’n-thing – has a learning curve. 

TikTok is big for writers and all you need is a cellphone. I’m a writer and I have a cell phone. Gathering my courage, I took a deep breath and shot a 15 second video of a couple of favorite books. So far, so good.

After a few attempts to edit the video in TikTok on my phone, I decided my laptop had to be a better fit for my fingers. First step was getting the video from my phone to my computer. Eventually realized I  had already set it up so my photos and videos are automatically uploaded to OneDrive. And there they were.

Tried to edit the video with a couple of free apps, watched a lot of youtube videos, bought Adobe Rush (yay!) and after several hours and a lot of deleting, had something I wasn’t ashamed of. Seconds after making the final ubercute video public on TikTok, I realized there should have been hashtags involved. Somewhere. Watched more youtube videos. Deleted my video and uploaded it again, adding the hashtags this time. According to another youtube video, they weren’t the right hashtags. I went to bed.

The next morning, I realized I had actually enjoyed doing the TicTok video and looked forward to doing more of them. Not sure I’ll enjoy doing them at the rate that one expert (or at least, one opinioned person) said is needed to really build followers. Time (and panic as publication dates loom) will tell.

So, here it is:

@laurelannhickey

My two favorite books for writers #laurelannhickey #books #writing #LisaZeidnera #JessicaBrody #SavetheCat

♬ original sound - Laurel - Laurel