A new approach for a new year
2014 saw me begin a new life in Slovenia, and it's been a year of uncertainty. Financially, medical illustration work allowed me to make the transition, and I put writing to one side. It's now time to pick it up again. I am not earning enough to live on, so I might as well spend my time doing what I enjoy.
I have never understood Facebook -- for some reason it behaves in ways I do not expect, and so I have avoided it. Sarah maintains my facebook page, but from January 2015 it will be me at the helm. Same with Twitter. I shall Twit.
What you will see from me in 2015 is a concerted attempt to write, to become visible, to become a name people associate with the written word. That's a massive undertaking, but worth the effort, I think.
To that end, I have looked at the web site and decided that I need more than just my Slovenia Blog. I often have things to say, but these things do not fit neatly into the narrative of my new life. To solve that, I've created a new blog called "From the Hip," a place for spontaneous outpourings on any subject the appeals to me at that particular moment.
Another venture is Audio. Some years ago, after self-publishing The wonderful World of Linus Bailey, I made an audio recording of it, and posted it for free download on a site called Podiobooks. The recording was not very good, and yet the 9 episodes have now been downloaded over 19,000 times. I produced a better recording and put it up for sale on Audible.com. The sales have been disappointing because I think Audible priced it too high.
I am now making an audio version of The Midlife of Dudley Chalk. Perhaps giving it away for free on Podiobooks will generate a buzz that selling it will fail to achieve.
A goal for 2015 is to learn how to narrate and produce audiobooks well enough to produce them for other authors. Audible's ACX platform allows authors and narrators to get together. I want to try it.
The main thrust for 2015 is going to be writing, and telling people about it. I have the ability to make a living from it. Let's see if we can make that happen.
I have never understood Facebook -- for some reason it behaves in ways I do not expect, and so I have avoided it. Sarah maintains my facebook page, but from January 2015 it will be me at the helm. Same with Twitter. I shall Twit.
What you will see from me in 2015 is a concerted attempt to write, to become visible, to become a name people associate with the written word. That's a massive undertaking, but worth the effort, I think.
To that end, I have looked at the web site and decided that I need more than just my Slovenia Blog. I often have things to say, but these things do not fit neatly into the narrative of my new life. To solve that, I've created a new blog called "From the Hip," a place for spontaneous outpourings on any subject the appeals to me at that particular moment.
Another venture is Audio. Some years ago, after self-publishing The wonderful World of Linus Bailey, I made an audio recording of it, and posted it for free download on a site called Podiobooks. The recording was not very good, and yet the 9 episodes have now been downloaded over 19,000 times. I produced a better recording and put it up for sale on Audible.com. The sales have been disappointing because I think Audible priced it too high.
I am now making an audio version of The Midlife of Dudley Chalk. Perhaps giving it away for free on Podiobooks will generate a buzz that selling it will fail to achieve.
A goal for 2015 is to learn how to narrate and produce audiobooks well enough to produce them for other authors. Audible's ACX platform allows authors and narrators to get together. I want to try it.
The main thrust for 2015 is going to be writing, and telling people about it. I have the ability to make a living from it. Let's see if we can make that happen.
