Twitter

[Darcy]

Any of you guys have it figured out? I was told it was a great platform to promote myself, maybe sell some novels. World travelling, military contractor pilot, photography, writer, some gear shit, reTweet the odd cool post, but over a year in, I'm pissing in the wind. RYP has got a solid following. Maybe I should go after Instagram, isn't that what everyone is on now? Twitter seems to be a bunch of (mostly) ill-informed opinionated twats with the odd cute cat post. Seems Musk has breathed some life into it lately. I just wanna sell some books.

[Kurt]

Any of you guys have it figured out? I was told it was a great platform to promote myself, maybe sell some novels. World travelling, military contractor pilot, photography, writer, some gear shit, reTweet the odd cool post, but over a year in, I'm pissing in the wind. RYP has got a solid following. Maybe I should go after Instagram, isn't that what everyone is on now? Twitter seems to be a bunch of (mostly) ill-informed opinionated twats with the odd cute cat post. Seems Musk has breathed some life into it lately. I just wanna sell some books.

Man, I wish I could help you.

I have been on since 2015 when I exposed a IT security guy who was also running a cybercrime clearing house. But I think I have 40 followers and most of those came from live tweeting pithy comments during a season of Masterchef.

So get on there, follow me only for the sake of learning by doing the exact opposite of what I do.

[Darcy]

What's your Twitter? I'll follow you. I may not understand it but I'll "like" it.....

I've mostly been promoting myself as recommended, which honestly feels a little grimy.

I do find it handy to follow numerous news feeds, and where the forest fires are developing, what certain industries are up to...

I'm at https://twitter.com/darcyhoover16 btw

[ROB]

Go on Podcasts and radio and get interviewed.

There are even services that will find podcasts interviewers who want to talk to you.

Extra tip: Conservative types (heading towards the direction of Alex Jones type conservatives) can sell a lot of books. Especially if you push the mil contractor angle.

[Kurt]

Go on Podcasts and radio and get interviewed.

There are even services that will find podcasts interviewers who want to talk to you.

Extra tip: Conservative types (heading towards the direction of Alex Jones type conservatives) can sell a lot of books. Especially if you push the mil contractor angle.

Yah, I think this would work. Serious. Not sarcastic either.

I would advise to watch out for those people who may be future Plutonium (as in don't touch or you are contaminated) but no one has ever gone broke giving fragile men something to strive towards or live vicariously through.

[Darcy]

Thanks Guys! Really appreciate the guidance.

I write fiction, as to be completely honest, I usually don't dig those "there I was" books, and there are so many out there that have done cooler shit, but some street cred could sell some novels and get some followers.

Novel 2 has been done a long while, but publishing has been held up with a very slow editor, among other things. Here's my very lame first draft trying to promote the thing, work in progress:

A collection of narratives follows two different pilots around the globe; Jacques, a womanizing rascal, and Jed, a young lad finding his way. While trouble finds Jacques easily enough, Jed slowly seeps into the criminal underworld in his quest for money. Saddled with love for a mobster's wife, Jed plunders ever deeper into events that threaten his moral fibre, while Jacques galavants around the globe loving life. Follow the two men from the forests of Manitoba to the deserts of Somalia, from the Black Sea Coast to the beaches of Gabon, from Azerbaijan to the depths of Tangiers, from the jungles of Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago and Colombia, back to Canada’s East Coast. Their lives become intertwined, their fate inescapable.

Publishers want more of a story breakdown on a submission (not for the book cover) but it goes something like this:

Part One alternates between the stories of two men. In Part Two their stories become intertwined.
Jed, our main protagonist, is a young man beginning his career. Questionable opportunities present themselves, and the major thread of the novel is Jed’s slow drift into decadence.
As a young pilot in northern Canada he beds a married First Nations woman whose husband has ties to organized crime. The husband’s brother extorts money from the young man so he abandons Canada for a life of contracts around the world. He is tempted by illegal activity in each international destination. The brother pursues mob ties to locate him, so this keeps him on the move. With each chapter Jed delves deeper into illegal activity: embezzlement, smuggling, aiding migrants into Europe, the illicit sex-trade, counterfeit aircraft parts…
Throughout Jed’s journey I’ve interspersed snipits of Jacques. He is a womanizing rascal with a tendency towards philosophy while drunk.
The stories follow the two men from northern Manitoba to the deserts of Somalia, from the Turkish and Romanian Black Sea Coast to the beaches of Gabon, from Baku to Tangiers, Trinidad & Tobago to Suriname, Kenya, etc., All places I am intimate with.
In Part Two Jed and Jacques meet and become friends but in the end Jed’s illegal activities cause Jacque’s death. This throws Jed into a final meeting with the wife’s husband.

[Darcy]

Anyone who wishes to give the draft copy a read, drop me a PM

[el3so]

I've mostly been promoting myself as recommended, which honestly feels a little grimy.

Publisher doesn't have a publicist? j/k

Other than collabs maybe doing the clickbait thing might work. I'd focus on playing up what makes you different as writer, the very part that makes others would want to live vicarious through whatever you bring to the sales table. The book writing vs being a chopper jockey with a gazillion hours of experience, it's what makes you different from other writers, IMO you should try to turn that into leverage as in, get internet famous so your books gets famous.

It'll always feel a bit dirty to try to convert the product of your creative processes into money.

[Darcy]

Thanks Guys. Excellent advice all around.

I had a few podcast interviews lined up then I disappeared into the void for a few months and lost the plot. I'll see if I can get that going again.