Tag: Facebook

Learning by Doing

~ Steve Fendt ~ 2 Comments

Baby steps in self-promotion

Self-promotion doesn’t come naturally to me. I am, after all, British by birth, and my natural inclination is to mumble disparagingly about my accomplishments.

‘I … err … write the odd short story from time to time … Nothing much, and you probably wouldn’t be interested … but if one day you don’t have anything better to do, then maybe … ?’

This is a recipe for not getting read until I am dead. In my obituary I will be hailed as a literary genius and riches will be showered on my bemused heirs. Heirs, I might add, who never showed the faintest interest in a darned thing I wrote …

Meanwhile, in the real world: I’m not a literary genius, but I am a half-decent teller of short stories (laying British modesty aside), and it is something that I enjoy doing.

I’ve come to the conclusion that I enjoy it more, though, if someone actually reads my stuff. If they’re not my wife or my mum and I haven’t had to employ emotional blackmail – bonus points!

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Getting Read

~ Steve Fendt ~ 2 Comments

My output of stories has been prolific over the past months. Clearly, a world-record series of lockdowns here in Victoria has been good for something!

However, ‘Write it and they will come’ isn’t proving to be a sensible way of getting my writing to readers.

I ruefully recognise that I only started reading some of my favourite contemporary authors after an obituary in the media. That’s a little long-term for this writer. I’d rather be read alive than dead.

So, how to get eyes on pages?

Here are some thoughts:

Continue reading “Getting Read” →