Finding the Right Fans

Finding the ones who have ever felt alone.

Finding the Right Audience

The winds of change appear to be blowing, and I need to take a different track here on Substack. That’s the first thing I can assure you: I intend to stay on Substack, but I need to accelerate my plans.

When I first started writing my book, I had a very specific target audience in mind: me. Immediately, I was sold. Writing this book has been an emotional journey. Some chapters exhausted me for the range of emotions I felt while writing them.

Then I spent years in a writer’s community learning and refining my writing skills. It was time well spent.

When I was wrapping up, I began planning how to sell it and share it. Part of that was finding the right audience. Since I’m a unique individual, apparently, I didn’t fit into any specific audience, nor did my book.

As I studied marketing books and various sites, I noticed that different sites attracted specific audiences. For example, I tried Wattpad for a bit. They have a huge number of readers. Even though Brooke isn’t a teen vampire seductress, I figured I might get a few reads. But all I got were comments like “Wow, you are an incredibly talented writer! Contact me if you want help to promote your book and get a better-designed cover.” All those readers on that site are spam bots.

Substack readers are not taken in by such nonsense. Intelligent writers produce amazing content here. Alas, I’ve come to see that here, the writer’s target audience are other writers. Having spent a couple of years in a writers’ community where we all supported each other, I realized that it is not representative of the real world. I’m not implying that we’re all quirky. Okay, I’m going to dig myself into a hole trying to explain that one.

I’ll be clear. I deeply appreciate the few who have read my content thus far. Your support has been inspiring.

But I believe my audience are book readers, not people looking for content to read on some website. Therefore, I took the next step and proudly present this:

Finding a Best Friend: the Book

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FGZGG7ZQ

Yes, I have published my book. That also means I’ve had a finished draft the whole time. I’ve been doing marketing research.

My book is also available on Apple Books, Kobo, B&N, and a dozen other platforms. I’ll eventually put it on Google Books. Please note that it is currently on pre-order and will be released on July 26. I’ll be releasing a print version on Amazon.

Changes To My Substack

What about Substack? I’ve posted 15 chapters, plus a prologue and an interlude, for a total of 17 posts. The book has 42 chapters. Quite a long way to go.

The first thing to address is paid vs. free. The book will be released on July 26. I plan to continue posting here through Part 2 (there are four parts). Then I will need to put up a paywall for everything after that. I will also include posts about my writing journey, insights into the characters, and other relevant content.

What will happen from now until the paywall goes up?

As I pointed out, Substack has been about writers supporting writers. What will sell the books is to put the books in front of the people who want to read them, not networking. Asking someone to read my book because they know me won’t net me many sales.

The Offer

So, I need reviews on Amazon, but I cannot bribe anyone. And I’m not asking for favors. If anyone genuinely wants to read the book before it's released on July 26, I’m willing to give a free ebook copy to any of my subscribers. Please send me a message, and we’ll make the arrangements. And I cannot ask you for a review, that’s your choice.

Why?

The fast pace of the internet appeals to people who want action, excitement, or seduction. Other people browse for quick, short, and interesting bits of information that they consume in small bites and then move on to other ideas.

People used to send letters and wait for replies. Emails replaced those with quick, easy communication. Now emails have been replaced by text messages.

People online don’t want a book about friendship, coping with depression, and grief. Kindle and ebooks fulfil that craving for books. To get any enjoyment from my book, you’d have to be in the mood to relax with an emotionally character-driven book.

My book has 355 pages and 91K words. That’s about the same size as the first Harry Potter book. Kindle appears to be the next place to search for my niche.

Thank you again for your support. My offer is good for anyone who genuinely wants to read the whole book.