Writing as a Business

 Okay, folks, it's been a while. Here's where we are:

• I joined Jericho Writers, a UK service to help new writers. Through them, I commissioned a developmental edit from a fellow mystery writer. This kind of edit looks at the overall structure of your story and identifies where it needs more work. It took me a couple of months to incorporate those changes, which included adding new chapters.
• I had a friend do a copyedit. More changes to incorporate.
• My final and harshest critic (hubby) is reading now.
• I continue to get excellent feedback from the Doncaster Writers Group, which I've been incorporating.
• As all these edits are being done, I'm watching videos and reading articles that I get as part of my Jericho Writers subscription, about how to market my work.
• I've been researching what services to use to created a website and email list, both of which are crucial for any sort of success.
• I've been writing a series of paranormal short stories, which I will self-publish through Amazon, just to get my feet wet and see how it works. Also designing my own cover for it using Canva.
• I've attended a one-day conference with Troubadour, a company that helps you self-publish by providing only the services you need. I'll be looking at getting their help to copyedit and print the book, and market it so I can get it into bookstores. Because I would really love to see my book in a bookstore, even if it's only one!
• I've been looking at cover designers for the murder mystery and figuring out how I want the cover to look by looking at others in the genre.
• I got my agent request letter and synopsis reviewed by the lovely folks at Jericho and also Sisters in Crime, who gave me great suggestions for improvement.
• I've had to change my characters names twice due to feedback and also someone published a similar mystery with the same character name! (The nerve!)

So, it's been busy! Add to that writing a short story to be published in a collection called Paths in September/October timeframe and a short story that I entered in the King Lear contest for writers over 60. Oh, and I got an honorable mention for a short story I did around Easter: https://crazycatstheatre.wixsite.com/ccats/easter-competition-2023 . 

What I'm learning is that writing is about so much more than just writing, it is a business, involving websites and ads and metadata and social media and so much more.

My next step is going to be sending out agent letters to UK agents, to see what happens, and probably also apply directly to the few publishers in the UK who allow that. But cozy mystery is a very competitive and full field, while most agents these days seem to be looking for the blockbuster psychological thriller. So while I will continue to leave my options open, I'm definitely coming around to the idea of self-publishing more. The timeline is quicker, the profits are better, and I'm fortunate enough to be able to afford the initial outlay to get things going. But it does mean becoming a marketing expert!

Once I get the website going, I hope you will all sign up to the mailing list, and this blog will most likely move there as well. I will be writing a novella to give away for those who join, and it will be a preview of the characters you'll meet fully in the first book of the mystery series.

Until then , stay tuned!