When I wrote When the King is Evil, I had a story to tell. I loved it and wanted everyone to read it. My conversations with other first-time novelists, though, led me to an enormous disappointing truth: a new author can have a wonderful story with beautiful prose but, without a social media presence, he’s unlikely to find a publisher. (I learned the opposite is also true: a social media star with a million followers, without a compelling manuscript, won’t find a publisher either.)

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Nearly a year after attending the writers’ conference where I first heard this publishing world reality, I’ve remained disappointed with it. I didn’t then (and I still don’t) want to accept this is the way things are. Truthfully, if I’d understood this, I don’t think I would’ve even begun to write my book. However, I’ve continued to revise it because I love the story. Yet I’ve asked myself nearly every day whether it’s worth it because of the social media thing.

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I look at the situation now as one of those things where you just have to bear down and do it, so I began a Facebook page. I started an Instagram account and I recently created an X account. This is when the internal conflict started whenever I work on revising my story.

You should be working on social media. No, social media is pointless if I don’t have a novel.

The novel is important, but connecting with your potential audience is more important.

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I started an author’s website because every writer needs one even if he’s unpublished. Since I don’t have a book, I create weekly blog entries so readers can get to know me and gain a sense of my writing style. I blog about writing, my new woodshop, my family and my faith. I like to write the blog entries but they distract me from my main goal: revising my novel.

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On my author’s page, there’s a summary of each of the books in the trilogy, there are even first draft excerpts for those who subscribe to my site. To date, I have fewer than a dozen subscribers, but Google analytics tells me many more have engaged with my site, some even in foreign countries. (That’s pretty cool.) To gain subscribers, I’ve been encouraged to do a give-away of some kind. My idea is to create a serialized short story and offer it to subscribers on a monthly basis. I’ll begin with a 500 word introduction and then distribute four pages each month for six months – but only to subscribers. Surely a few readers will subscribe just to read the short story.

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I read, create, outline, write, edit, revise while I work to build a social media presence. Some days, it’s frustrating. It’s hard and other authors just getting started ought to know. Maybe a day will come when my staff do my social media. Until then, would you subscribe to my website? Thanks. You’re the best.

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