Last fall, my wife and I attended a writer's conference in Chicago that was all about the "marketing" and "branding" part of the business. Following that trip, I determined that I would use 2012 to work on building my platform as an author. To that end...
1. I launched an all-new quarterly author newsletter. (Get a FREE BOOK when you sign up here.) We put out a test issue a few months ago, but our first real-deal issue comes out in May. If I can work out the details, I hope to have a nice surprise for subscribers in that issue.
2. I launched a new audiobook series. I am narrating my own stories in a series of audiobook chapters. During this "figure it out" phase, we're serializing one of my short stories, the Booke Cases mystery "Don't Fall For That Trick." We have a fun summer replacement series scheduled, and then I'm hoping this fall to come back with an audiobook version of one of my novels—I just haven't decided yet which one.
3. And I'm working on making a variety of my books available in the coming months.
My Earl Walker mysteries are all making their way to your local e-readers in the coming weeks. A new edition of Nursing a Grudge is out already (and only 99-cents!); a new edition of Burying the Hatchet comes out in the next couple of weeks; and the finale, Knocking 'Em Dead, makes its world premiere by the end of April. We're also creating an inexpensive companion eBook, titled Digging Up Clues, which will include sample chapters and exclusive bonus materials. This series features "fair play" mysteries—where the readers get all the clues—populated by a variety of quirky characters.
Coming up this summer, we're working on bringing out my first three crime novels—Forgiving Solomon Long, Deliver Us From Evelyn, and the book that was published as Tribulation House—in brand-new eBook editions. As we get deeper into the process, I'm considering whether (or how much) to revise these books. These books are more shoot-em-ups with cops and mobsters and con men and all other types. These books also have quirky characters, but many of them are quirky and also quite dangerous.
And then I have a secret book that I am writing RIGHT THIS MINUTE. (Well, right about now.) The plan at this point is to go straight to eBook with that just to see what happens.
And then I have another novel that is in the hands of my agent. That book features the most bizarre angle I could come up for a protection racket. I look forward to it finding a good home.
So a lot of stuff going on. To stay up-to-date, please sign up for my newsletter. You can also like me on Facebook and follow me on Twitter.
