2022 for me was the year of Marketing. Particularly it was the year of both marketing my upcoming book of short fiction, "Bad Apps",  as well as my other work such as this blog. The problem with marketing one's work, especially if you're an indie author with a day job like me, is that you never get the book done. So, that's what 2022 was, a year of not getting "Bad Apps" done but marketing it. When I say “marketing”, I mean basically advertising your work. When I say “advertising”, I not only mean formally announcing your work for sale but also decorating that announcement to attract attention. I feel like I had done that too much last year and so, as I said in the Insecure Writer's Support Group for this month, I'm going to focus on writing my book more and same with my blog and newsletter. 

I spent so much time last year making my blog look good with the best illustrations and hunting down the best words for SEO so search engines would find it easily that it took up too much time that I should have spent on the writing itself, including revision. I did similar with my newsletters and social media posts. 

Yet, marketing your work is important especially if you're an indie writer like myself, day job or no day job. Now I sound like I'm contradiction myself, don't I? Well, I’m not really because there’s a certain way for us indie writers to market and that’s by talking about our work. Unless we can afford to hire a marketer, we don’t have time to do a lot of formal advertising and publicity. Many of us non-commercial artists are sickened by advertising to begin with. But we love to talk about what we love and that is both our own work as well as other people’s work. 

Myself: I am first and foremost a writer, a marketer last and least. I really don't care about advertising and making an impression on others primarily to sell something. I care about making my work and talking about it like I talk about other authors’ and artists’ work especially in science fiction and horror because I love those genres. 

So, my plan and resolution for 2023 is to talk about my work with my readers rather than advertise it with all the glamourous decor, and to write more. I'm going to have conversations with you, my readers and fellow artists. Those conversations will be here and in my author's newsletter, "Night Creatures' Call". In issues of this newsletter we'll talk about my work on "Bad Apps" and the work of other creators of science fiction and fantasy not talked about here. While I won't make my posts and newsletters barren of images, I'm going to focus less on making them look so fancy and more on the writing. So, this year, let's have a conversation here at A Far Out Fantastic Site, in issues of “Night Creatures' Call" and at my Facebook and Instagram pages. If you haven't subscribed to "Night Creatures' Call" you can do so for free here!

Fellow writers, do you "market" your books or do you talk about them? Readers, what helps you know if you might be interested in an author's new book--advertisement or discussion about it from the author? Please feel free to leave your answers and any other comments you might have in the box below.

Until next time . . .