Update for January '22

Here's to a productive '22

I've been busy this past month and very excited about the novel's immediate future. Here are the major updates, some of which I've mentioned in previous posts.

• I completely redid the lettering… all the speech balloons, text boxes, sound effects, etc. were redone using a brand new set of techniques. From what people have told me it's been a vast improvement. Click the pic to see the video.

• I improved the overall layout for the first three chapters. As I was redoing the lettering, I realized the layout could be improved at the same time. The changes to the layout aren't as obvious, but there are a few pages that stand out. Also click the pic to see the video.

• Chapters 4 & 5 are coming in January! As I was laying it out I realized that this chapter was way too long for one chapter, so I found a stopping point and now there are two.
• Zoom meeting with a mentor. Someone recommended a dude that will coach me through marketing and point out some other low hanging fruit. That meeting is in mid-January
• Printing! After my meeting I plan to do a professional run of 50 or so copies per issue. Prior to this I've been printing, cutting, folding and binding by hand.
• Website marketing funnel: that refers to how I attract and get new readers. Firstly, anyone can now read Chapter 1 without signing up. Chapter 2 is now free in exchange for your address and all subsequent chapters come with a half off code on the inside back cover.
• And if you noticed the link above, that's your signal to check out the new update to Chapter 1. I'm on a trial version of the viewing software, so to skip the ads for now, click on the full screen button on the bottom right.
• If you want to see Chapter 2, all you have to do is subscribe.

That last bit… about marketing. Anyone who's starting out will tell you that's the hard part. Unless you're a super famous person making a new release it's going to be a years-long grind to build an audience depending on what you have to offer.

I'm not a fan of daily posting to social media, but I do like making videos, podcasts and writing articles. I suppose you end up posting a lot of that to social media, so let me clarify… I'm not a fan of following the algorithms and posting ephemera as the means to engage an audience, because then what happens is you get reinforced to make eye-catching posts so people follow you so they can see more eye-catching posts, and no one wants anything more.

I'd rather post something more longform, get fewer hits, but out of those that do see the stuff a percentage might go, "I like what this guy says/does, what else has he done?" Whatever I produce for social media, I want it primarily to be a way of building credibility with a potential audience.

If you've come this far, you're the kind of reader I covet and admire. Thanks for reading!

♥ Todd