I agree its a good idea to promote the first chapter. Have you tried making a photo-gallery, one image per chapter? It will have an Instagram like feel to it, you can take relevant pictures from free sites like unsplash, pixpay, freepik, pexels, shotstash
I wrestled with the same question you did while writing my debrief post. It seems like the Royal Road-type reader who will binge a ton of chapters (or who come back and read a new chapter daily) is not yet on Substack.
I thought about offering portions of my book as an ebook to help people catch up (longer than the 7-chapter excerpt I use on BookFunnel) but the entire ebook is a benefit for paid subscribers only. I think I will take an idea from Mark and publish one of my short stories over several weeks as a break in between book 1 and book 2 and see if people react more to that.
Good stuff to think about. I have some thoughts on the marketing side... not sure if my ideas will be worth while but I have a plan for the next 4-6 months. I'm launching right now so we'll see. I'm still approaching this as a serious... hobby? Let's call it a side gig. This story has been something I needed to get out. And I don't really do hobbies. So, I'm hoping to make at least a few bucks a month. (Is a few hundred a stupid initial goal?) I've been reading up on platforms like Royal Road and some of these other approaches, like you just mentioned BookFunnel. How about the wacky NFT stuff and partnerships that Elle Griffin is talking about? Now that sounds like a lot of work and thought space to use up. But that's just me. I'm an amateur. A hobbyist. ;-)
Anyway, if anyone wants to chat about 'marketing' ideas I'm game.
I don't think a few hundred is stupid. It could take a while to build up to it, though. That said, it depends on so many factors it's hard to say, and will be different for everyone. I'm curious to see what happens on the paid end when I hit 1000 free subscribers, for instance. I've gained a few paid subscribers in the last week, since writing this article, which has been curious.
I'm a long way from my Substack income being useful financially, but that *anyone* chosing to pay me for my writing is a great motivator in itself. The best thing about the Substack route is that you own any successes or failures - you're not at the mercy of unknowable algorithms.
Elle is always up to fascinating things and I wish her the best of luck with it all. I follow her antics with great excitement. :) That said, I've yet to see anything about NFTs which excites me - the entire concept still feels like a peculiar fever-dream made up by super-rich people as a way to pass the time. It might not stay that way, and some of the tech might prove useful yet, but it's not something I'm going to be actively investing time (or money!) in.
Yes yes, agreed. She's an inspiration just for the creative approach and her promotional style. Part of this story I'm working on has to do with blockchain A.I. and so I was digging into some of Elle's NFT stuff with tangential interest. And others.
Your writing tips always give me hope! I dream of someday ditching mailchimp altogether and migrating my longer blog to substack either as RSS feed from my website or a separate substack. Currently on substack I write a weekly 100-word micro blog/newsletter/essay, and I’m focusing on that for a while. Eventual plans may include <gasp> a serialized micro novel ‘stack. I have learned to a from you! Thank you so much.
I agree, serial fiction is a hard sell, slow growth pursuit. My short fiction is far more popular. Although I just published a three-part fiction story that was among my most popular newsletters. But I don’t do much non-fiction, so it is hard to compare them.
I *really* need to get into doing some short fiction. If I can carve out some time for short one-offs (or limited runs like with your 3-parter) I think that could be a really effective way to introduce new readers to my fiction writing. Giving people short, enjoyable stories that they can read and finish in a single sitting, as a way to find out if they might like my longer form stuff.
I am not sure my short fiction has brought many new readers to my long fiction, but it does bring in more readers, so at least the possibility is there.
I agree its a good idea to promote the first chapter. Have you tried making a photo-gallery, one image per chapter? It will have an Instagram like feel to it, you can take relevant pictures from free sites like unsplash, pixpay, freepik, pexels, shotstash
I wrestled with the same question you did while writing my debrief post. It seems like the Royal Road-type reader who will binge a ton of chapters (or who come back and read a new chapter daily) is not yet on Substack.
I thought about offering portions of my book as an ebook to help people catch up (longer than the 7-chapter excerpt I use on BookFunnel) but the entire ebook is a benefit for paid subscribers only. I think I will take an idea from Mark and publish one of my short stories over several weeks as a break in between book 1 and book 2 and see if people react more to that.
Good stuff to think about. I have some thoughts on the marketing side... not sure if my ideas will be worth while but I have a plan for the next 4-6 months. I'm launching right now so we'll see. I'm still approaching this as a serious... hobby? Let's call it a side gig. This story has been something I needed to get out. And I don't really do hobbies. So, I'm hoping to make at least a few bucks a month. (Is a few hundred a stupid initial goal?) I've been reading up on platforms like Royal Road and some of these other approaches, like you just mentioned BookFunnel. How about the wacky NFT stuff and partnerships that Elle Griffin is talking about? Now that sounds like a lot of work and thought space to use up. But that's just me. I'm an amateur. A hobbyist. ;-)
Anyway, if anyone wants to chat about 'marketing' ideas I'm game.
I don't think a few hundred is stupid. It could take a while to build up to it, though. That said, it depends on so many factors it's hard to say, and will be different for everyone. I'm curious to see what happens on the paid end when I hit 1000 free subscribers, for instance. I've gained a few paid subscribers in the last week, since writing this article, which has been curious.
I'm a long way from my Substack income being useful financially, but that *anyone* chosing to pay me for my writing is a great motivator in itself. The best thing about the Substack route is that you own any successes or failures - you're not at the mercy of unknowable algorithms.
Elle is always up to fascinating things and I wish her the best of luck with it all. I follow her antics with great excitement. :) That said, I've yet to see anything about NFTs which excites me - the entire concept still feels like a peculiar fever-dream made up by super-rich people as a way to pass the time. It might not stay that way, and some of the tech might prove useful yet, but it's not something I'm going to be actively investing time (or money!) in.
Yes yes, agreed. She's an inspiration just for the creative approach and her promotional style. Part of this story I'm working on has to do with blockchain A.I. and so I was digging into some of Elle's NFT stuff with tangential interest. And others.
https://novainteritus.substack.com/p/nova-interitus-chapter-one
If you have time, please review or comment/critique my release. I'd be forever grateful.
BookFunnel. Who knew?
good innit
Your writing tips always give me hope! I dream of someday ditching mailchimp altogether and migrating my longer blog to substack either as RSS feed from my website or a separate substack. Currently on substack I write a weekly 100-word micro blog/newsletter/essay, and I’m focusing on that for a while. Eventual plans may include <gasp> a serialized micro novel ‘stack. I have learned to a from you! Thank you so much.
Ah, so glad to have been a bit useful! :) Let me know how it goes.
I parked my old blog once I properly switched to Substack. The blog was always an awkward fit for what I was actually writing.
I agree, serial fiction is a hard sell, slow growth pursuit. My short fiction is far more popular. Although I just published a three-part fiction story that was among my most popular newsletters. But I don’t do much non-fiction, so it is hard to compare them.
I *really* need to get into doing some short fiction. If I can carve out some time for short one-offs (or limited runs like with your 3-parter) I think that could be a really effective way to introduce new readers to my fiction writing. Giving people short, enjoyable stories that they can read and finish in a single sitting, as a way to find out if they might like my longer form stuff.
I am not sure my short fiction has brought many new readers to my long fiction, but it does bring in more readers, so at least the possibility is there.