Welcome to the next step of my social media presence! It’s not this blog, as this blog has been around in some form or other since at least 2011. I have a Facebook page that I try to keep up with, mostly posting links to the latest blog post on this website. I have an X/Twitter account, mainly because I was told it was part of a robust social media presence. Again, it’s mostly for tweeting out the link to my latest post here. In early 2024, I decided to start an Instagram author account, yet another thing I was told would offer a robust social media presence. Since much of the content I create doesn’t include pictures or videos, it sits mainly dormant. I prefer my face to not be in front of the camera, so photos and videos may be few and far between. Photos of my workspace, or the photos I use to put with posts are fun for only a short time. I’m not interested in Tik Tok, much for the same reason.
The final step in my social media journey has been to join Substack. It was part of my marketing and writing plan going into 2024. It took a while to get it set up, as I focused mainly on writing my novel. I avoided the big question: what does a typical fiction writer on Substack write about – and what should I write about? There are bunches of sites that focus on the craft or writing, or a user-friendly newsletter that’s not your boring list of articles laid out like a newspaper or traditional newsletter.
I didn’t want to start advertising my Substack until I had some content up. This included figuring out my theme: did I want to write about craft? Not really. Did I have a lot of “news” for a newsletter? No really. After examining some of the most popular writing-related and author-related sites, I came up with an idea: a newspaper for the fictional town where my novel is set. The Glass Creek Chronicles was born. The next step was to figure out content. The first several articles are introductions to the main characters, nuggets gleaned from the character biographies I’ve written for each.
Then came the news articles. News article reports on the deaths that are the inciting incident for the story. Town events, holidays, events at the school where my younger characters attend classes. A published interview with the senior detective tasked with solving these murders. Writing this as a town newspaper website has opened endless possibilities.
Now to the next step: Substack has paid and unpaid subscriptions. A paid subscription can get you special perks not afforded to unpaid subscribers. Those things could be anything the author deems to be limited access. Behind-the-scenes tours of writing spaces, special Vlogs, AMAs, podcasts, short stories, and more. Whatever they feel may add value to the content experience.
I’m still in the planning stages of some of this content, but it will be coming shortly. Once it does, you’ll be able to sign up for a paid subscription for just $5/month. Watch this blog and my other social media accounts for more announcements!