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The first Wednesday of every month is the Insecure Writer's Support Group. Posts go up the 1st Wednesday of every month. Check it out here and join if you need support with your writing. Don't forget to stop by and say hi to the co-hosts: SE White, Cathrina Constantine, Natalie Aguire, Joylene Nowell Butler, and Jacqui Murray!
This might be my last IWSG...at least for now. I'm not entirely sure. I love this group, after all. Multiple posts have been about how awesome the group is. You've lifted me up so many times, helped me out whenever I needed it, and celebrated with me. So, why stop? It's more like a pause. Not really from writing. That I'm fine with. No, I need a pause from the other part that comes with writing now-a-days: publishing. As of now, all my books are pulled. I've deleted some social media. This blog's days are probably numbered. It's all going away for the time. And before you say "You don't have to be THAT drastic." I know, but I also know if the books are sitting for sale I'll start thinking about things to try. "Maybe if I do this." "Maybe if I promote here." No. For the time being, I'm done. Now you might be asking, "Why? You're doing great. You've just published a book!" Look, my timing is god-awful, okay? Do you know how many times I have bought flour and then said, "I think I'll go gluten free."? A lot. Anyways, back the point. If I look at how many stories I finished, I've succeeded as a writer. But when it comes to success as a published author (aka finding an audience) I have failed miserably. The number has been going in the wrong direction. So, I'm pulling the plug and going dark to remove distractions so I can think. I've said many times that I don't really want to give up. I'm too stubborn for that, but we've all heard that quote about insanity right? The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. That's how I feel about publishing right now. I'm just bashing my head against the wall and being surprised when it hurts. It's time to rethink and reassess. I already know I want to go find some courses on SEO and advertising on Udemy (great site for learning new things.) I think that's my biggest thing right now. I just need to learn shit. Back when I started, anyone could jump in head first and be okay. Today is a different beast. You'll break your neck if you try that now. I'm not sure what that will mean for the books I've previously published. A few may never get read again and some might get rewritten. Other things might change as well. I may reappear with a new name one day. I've been thinking up ones and seeing how they look signed. LOL Or keep this one. I'm wishy-washy about it. Also, I have no desire to disappear from this group forever. I've legit made amazing friends, found amazing books, and I am for real getting teary-eyed thinking about all the support you have given me over the years. Sometimes I kept going just because you all had my back and I didn't want to disappoint. I'm still subscribed to your blogs, so I have ways to keep in touch and cheer you on when you need it. (Some of you I have your email.) But for now, it's goodbye. When I figure my shit out, I'll be sure to let you know. PS: Since some of you now have some dead links due to times you helped me out, sorry. If I could clean them up for you myself, I would. But I can't so it's up to you.
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The first Wednesday of every month is the Insecure Writer's Support Group. Posts go up the 1st Wednesday of every month. Check it out here and join if you need support with your writing. Don't forget to stop by and say hi to the co-hosts: Kim Elliott, Melissa Maygrove, Chemist Ken, Lee Lowery, and Nancy Gideon!
May 4 question - It's the best of times; it's the worst of times. What are your writer highs (the good times)? And what are your writer lows (the crappy times)? I'm going to skip this month's question because it requires trying to remember things and I just don't feel like doing that right now. It's called being lazy. 😋 Instead, I want to share with you how my foray into serialized fiction went with my novel, Deep Curse. I have a few paying supporters and a handful of followers more. Not much of an audience, but I had hoped maybe the free chapters would grow my supporters and followers. In the beginning, it worked. I got a new supporter and some followers. As the story progressed, the supporter/follower count did not. Kinda-sorta a success. While I enjoyed the process of releasing the story chapter by chapter, unsurprisingly, I didn't much care for the promotion part. I felt like I was beating a dead horse saying, "A new chapter is out. Go read the free chapters." Another thing that makes me hesitant to continue with serial fiction is being told by others that they really don't care to read a book that way. I'd rather read as much as I want, when I want. Which, honestly, that's how I feel too. I have zero desire to read a chapter per week. Let me buy the whole thing and read it in one setting if I want. I don't think serialized fiction has quite caught on like some authors hoped. More than likely, if I had a bigger audience, it would be worth keeping at. Since I don't have that audience, my efforts are best placed elsewhere. Would I do it again? Maybe with a short story, but for now I'm reassessing and rearranging where my energy needs to go in hopes of finding those elusive readers everyone tells me I need. Have you tried serial fiction? Any success? What are you author highs and lows? Is saying, "I'm lazy" a good excuse for everything? 🙃 I'm a giant wuss when it comes to scary stuff, so the fact that CD has gotten me to read any is a big feat. Well, I can handle scary books better than movies, but I am still a big wuss. And CD writes good books. And with a name like Revenge of the Space-Surfing Butt Monkeys how can I not be intrigued? EXCERPT: The truck was burned beyond recognition, but it was in better condition than its occupants. The two bodies inside the pickup truck were little more than piles of ash. Constable Bennett made retching sounds at the sight of them, and he had seen some pretty grotesque stuff last year. Tanguay felt a little sick herself.  Newfoundland, Canada, 1993. It's been a year since a handful of kids defeated the Psycho Hose Beast in the sleepy town of Gale Harbour, Newfoundland. Our heroes have entered into the era of rollerblades, Super Nintendo and oversized plaid shirts… unless you’re a goth, then it’s the era of Maybelline eyeliner, boots with too many buckles, and infected safety-pin piercings. Thirteen-year-old Niall O'Neil is navigating a blossoming relationship with his crush, Harper Jeddore. Unfortunately, the power that allowed them to defeat the monster from the deep is still within them, and they are no closer to understanding or controlling it. When just touching your girlfriend can kill innocent bystanders, it complicates the already precarious practice of teenage dating. But lurking in the backdrop of teenage romance, a sinister power is growing in Gale Harbour, and dangerous people are turning up in the small town with possibly deadly intentions. Will the kids defeat this new threat? What did the US Air Force leave in the abandoned Hansen Air Force base? What is a space-surfing butt monkey? And most importantly—will anyone get to touch a boob? GO BUY IT! AMAZON US: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09RKG6772 AMAZON CANADA: https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B09RKG6772 AMAZON UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B09RKG6772 Aboot* the Author  C.D. Gallant-King is a comic fantasy and horror writer currently based in Ottawa, Ontario, though he was born and raised in Newfoundland, in a town eerily similar to Gale Harbour. He has self-published four novels, including HELL COMES TO HOGTOWN, which was a semi-finalist in Mark Lawrence’s 2018 Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off. His short fiction has appeared in multiple anthologies by Mystery & Horror LLC and Dancing Lemur Press, as well as in The Weird and Whatnot magazine.
Contact Information: http://cdgallantking.ca https://twitter.com/CDGallantKing https://www.facebook.com/cdgallantking https://www.instagram.com/cdgallantking/ https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09RKG6772 https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60387932 *Did you see what I did there? |
