I am a week into my 17th year of teaching university, and as usual, the stress level lessens a great deal after week one. I am teaching four classes plus an independent study, and everything has flowed pretty good this week, so I am happy. One of those classes is brand new, and since it revolves around teaching software (Photoshop), I was a little worried. But I got the logistics of making sure computers and hard drives work, and making sure students have their subscriptions to Lynda.com taken care of. So things should be running more smoothly by next week. If so, I will be getting back into my work on my next novel.
A couple of other things have happened this week. One, based on the recommendation of a friend whose wife is exploring indie publishing, I am exploring and examining books on marketing for indie authors. I’ve read through one with mixed response, am halfway through another, and have about two more that I think I will be reading. When I am through, I will tell you what I think. There are so MANY books on indie marketing, and it’s really hard to know which one will be most effective. There’s a ton of advice out there; trouble is, what advice will be right for you? So I will share my review in a week or two.
One development that came out of that first book is a call for me to write a manifesto. I have been doing indie publishing since the beginning of 2012, and have pretty much followed my own muse, writing whatever I felt like writing. But I have wondered if I should be doing that, or specializing in a particular genre. A manifesto is the first step in deciding what I want, what I am trying to say, and how I should be saying it. So I will work on that this weekend and will be sharing it (along with some explanation, I would suspect) very soon.
Finally, Celeste perrino Walker, a good friend and a very accomplished Christian writer, asked me a couple of days ago if I would agree to an interview on what she is calling the “indie Christian” genre. Since my advice is always free, I agreed and answered her questions. She’ll be posting it soon, and I will be sure to link it here. I don’t know if anything I said was profound, but I will let you be the judge of that. Celeste is also working on her next book, entitled The Shaking, so we will keep you posted on that.
Anyway, this is the first year that the University has observed Labor Day, so surprise of surprises, I have Monday off! Hope you do too, but if you don’t, try to enjoy the weekend anyway.
The Great Adventure 