Last week I wrote a little less than 12K. Productivity is obviously not my problem (and never was), but I’m more and more weary about everything publishing. I do enjoy making mock covers, but that’s it. I don’t have the energy for much else and even this blog is less filled with things than it used to be.
I had the WordPress Newsletter plugin installed on the publisher page, but haven’t started studying it. Then someone suggested other services in alternative to Patreon and that might work both as newsletter and with paid content. So I’ve been checking both Subscribestar and Substack. I heard good things about switching from Patreon to Substack (although I’m no longer on Patreon).
But at the moment I don’t have the energy to set anything up. Even though this blog following keeps growing organically, nothing else is, so I don’t see why I should open another venue. My reacers (except Tori) don’t seem to want to interact with me anyway, so why bother? 😉
Even my giveaways get no takers, except the usual suspects… there’s still two available, in case you want to try my writing at no charge. This won’t put you on any mailing list, since Smashwords won’t tell me who downloaded the ebooks, so it’s pretty safe! 😉 And a special thank to the kind person who reviewed one of the two (yes, it’s you, Shafali)!
Maybe next year I’ll find the strength to do more marketing. Maybe when I manage to quit my day job, I can “recycle” myself as cover artist and proofreader and possibly translator. Maybe in the meantime Kickstarter will grow a writer-friendly community and I’ll have a project worthy of it.
I’m still behind with paperbacks production, but I hope to catch up in September, since I probably won’t be going anywhere. I hope Cartoomics will be held so I can visit friends in Milan, but maybe I won’t be able to go anywhere for the rest of the year (I did manage to grab a train ticket to be away around my birthday, but that’s it).
A couple of suggested titles. The first is fiction, and I have published some short stories in my curated anthos (plus more I have read at the anthology workshops) from this awesome guy, so check it out.
New novel out today!
Title: A Hero Named Pearl (Ultrahumans)
Genre: Superhero—–
Sixty-year veteran superhero Tamiko Miller—known worldwide for her elasticity—never thought she’d be suspended from hero work. All because of the recent militarized uniform policies.
On administrative leave, Tamiko treats it as a vacation. Relaxing with a strawberry margarita in Miami, a speeding, physics-defying van screeches plumes of smoke as it drifts onto Flagler Street. Heading her way.
Tamiko knows intervening in her old uniform will likely get her fired forfeiting her pension. Memos never explained why the new uniforms were so important and the true reason lies deeper than she dares snoop with her telepathy.
Preventing harm must be more important than outfits.
The van speeds toward her.
She must act.When integrity becomes old-fashioned, only true heroes spring into action. Join Tamiko as she proves principles and values are needed in these dark times now more than ever.
—–
Store links:
Amazon — https://amzn.to/2D9J47S
Others — https://books2read.com/u/3JjgyP
Patreon — https://www.patreon.com/posts/39991908
Direct — https://ezekieljamesboston.com/…/product/a-hero-named-pearl/
The second, from another friend of mine, is non-fiction, and if I ever make up my mind about the newsletter thingy, I’ll probably check it out myself.
I wrote this book because I saw so many authors on 20Books, SPF, and other forums struggling to get started with newsletters.
I spent a lot of time on trial and error with MailerLite, until I understood the options sufficiently to make my onboarding process and newsletter more streamlined and easy to use.
So, if you love Newsletter Ninja (like I do) but don’t know how to implement the really cools stuff it describes (like I didn’t), this book is your HOW TO guide – a strategic shortcut to setting up newsletters.
Available in KU and to buy on Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08F4G9WSP
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08F4G9WSP
https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B08F4G9WSP
https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B08F4G9WSP
(and all other Amazon stores too!)
Now I shall go back to my crossover between Future Earth Chronicles and Vampires Through the Centuries. Stay tuned for Book 6 coming soon and have a great week! 🙂
Barbara G.Tarn - writer 
Shafali
/ 05/08/2020Hey Barb, you are welcome. I loved the stories…and I do hope you find your readers. It’s a tough thing to be a writer in this world…and I respect you for your tenacity. The time will come, I’m sure…slow down, give yourself a break, but don’t quit.
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Barb
/ 05/08/2020I definitely won’t quit writing. Publishing? We’ll see. I do see the pirate sites that offer my books for free, you know… hopefully it’s just clickbaits! 😉
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Stuart Danker
/ 05/08/2020Yeah it can feel like you’re blogging into the void sometimes doesn’t it? Wishing you all the best with all things writerly still.
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Barb
/ 05/08/2020Definitely! Thank you so much for commenting (I’m guilty of NOT commenting on the blogs I read, but they probably get tonz of pingbacks, LOL!)! 🙂
Thank you and all the best to you!
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Victoria Zigler (@VictoriaZigler)
/ 05/08/2020I’ve got a couple of loyal commenters and readers, like you have, but mostly I feel like if I shouted, “Is anyone out there?” in to the void, all I’d get back is echoes. I’ll never quit, for as long as I still have the means to continue, but sometimes I wonder if anyone would care or notice if I did quit.
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Barb
/ 05/08/2020Same here… if we both vanish, who will notice? Let’s go hide some place together and see what happens! 😀
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Victoria Zigler (@VictoriaZigler)
/ 05/08/2020Yeah… We’ll stock up, and go hide some place cold. Check back next year and see if anyone noticed we were gone. 😉
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Barb
/ 05/08/2020LOL! Pity we can’t actually go anywhere yet… I was all set to explore where I want to move and… WHAM! No travel allowed! I guess we can try vanishing next year… 😉
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