Twitter is an authorial necessity, but it is no fun when you are starting out. I guess, once you’ve hit 10k followers it gets more fun, but at the beginning, book a therapist for the hard times. And don’t buy followers – unless you want a timeline full of Somalian Pirates who probably won’t be interested in buying your novel.
Facebook is a waste of time for a new writer: Facebook make you pay to reach new readers, and there isn’t a lot of money in Indie outside the top five percent, most of whom started pre-2010. It doesn’t matter if you are a magnificent writer, the natural heir to Fyodor Dosteovesky, or the twin sister to Muriel Spark, that may be the case, but letting people know that is the biggest challenge you will face as an Indie and unless you are level headed, it will drive you completely insane.
And writers are sneaky, a lot sneakier than I realised when I started. It is not a fair playing field and when it comes to sales, people will play any variation of the game to sell a few extra e-books a month. So don’t cry if your book doesn’t sell for a few months. You need to put in your fifty hours a week of hammering the networks first. The very best of luck with that, gang.
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What do you like to read?
Contemporary fiction and non-fiction, mostly history, especially military history.
What was your first favourite book?
The Shining by Stephen King. The former is one of the best books I have ever read, even now. It’s a masterpiece and great writing.