Weird Post~

Hi!

So, I'm still on my Forced Vacation Time (There's only three Sleepy Birds right now, but they conspired together, and now I have three days off in a row. Today is the last of those, so expect a buncha chapters tomorrow at the stroke of midnight... well, I'll start writing them then, but like, soon after?) and... yeah, been a little bored?

Mostly I've been playing Old School Runescape and some Helldivers 2 and... thinking?

I'm not good at thinking much, but yeah.

Anyway, sorry, I get rambly!

Recently I've been looking into the future of my 'career' as a writer, and I realize that a ton of it hinges on something that I lowkey kinda hate?

I need to advertise.

Every new reader that picks up one of my stories has the potential to be someone that likes my stories, and that makes my brain fill up with the happy juices and on some occasions it makes my wallet fill a bit too (which lets me buy food, the other sources of happy juices).

In the long term, like the very long term, I want to be a successful author.

I don't know what that means, exactly, but I feel like the definition for that takes into account two things:

A successful author must write good
A successful author must be popular within their genre

I'm... working on the first one. Like, legit, I'm trying new things, practicing, listening to videos and documentaries and online classes, talking with others, and practicing more.

I'm... not working on the latter.

Okay, so, the crux of this whole post is this: I need to learn how to sell my stuff to people. Like, not literally? I like having most of my stories for free. Free is good. Free removes a lot of the pressure on me, and I hope on the reader as well.

What I mostly mean is that I need to advertise my stuff. Tell people about it.

I've run ads on RR, and they're not bad, but I feel like most of the RR regulars have seen my stories by now and made a choice about them already. I've tried to do ads elsewhere, but it never works well.

Aaaaahhhh

Sorry, rambly. I should sleep.

Anyway!

I need an image of Broccoli begging...

ANYWAY!

Uh, this whole post has been about this: Can you help?

Like, you literally are helping already if you're here, but I kinda need more help? I need to advertise my stuff more, and the only advertisement that consistently works on me is word-of-mouth (and funny meme ads). Basically, if you have the time, and happen to have friends that like reading, maybe give them a copy of a story? I have epubs if you need them!

Like, don't push a story onto someone who wouldn't like it. Your octogenarian grandpa probably isn't the target audience for Stray Cat Strut, but if you have a friend who's into cyberpunk and likes big explosions and cute gays, then maybe...

Urgh, I don't know how this works and now I'm feeling second-wing embarrassment from even writing this post.

A N Y W A Y!

I didn't do any writing other than like, discord messages and this thing in two days, and I still have an entire day to go, so I'm going a bit spare. Can't wait for this tortuous time off to be over.

Uh...

Keep warm; stay cool,

-Raven