Travelling the Australian Outback and ... The Fourth Industrial Revolution -- what does that mean to us? ... Selling your book on social media.

Hello, social media tragics. 

This is one of those hated long posts which I actually enjoy reading if there's something interesting going on. You choose. You don't have to read it. I start off with some travel bits, (I promised I'd be talking more about Oz), then I move on to the state of the digital world, then have a chat about selling books on social media. If none of that interests you...phew, I've saved you some time. Lots of other blogs a'waiting a visit.

I'm back from my road trip through the Australian Outback. I drove through western Queensland, western New South Wales, outback South Australia to Adelaide. Then on the way back to South-East Queensland where I live, I drove through Victoria, then the western plains of New South Wales, then back through western Queensland. 2,200 kilometres in all. I survived. And I have lots of stories to write for travel mags!

Love old churches. Saw lots of old churches in the bush. This one still had money in the collection plate and showed signs of use!

Architecture from an earlier era. So much better than most modern buildings.

Only in the middle of what we call Woop Woop would you find a coffee shop like this. 

Finally...after 1,200 kilometres I get to the beach -- Glenelg, an historic beach a tram ride from Adelaide, the capital of South Australia.

The times they are a'changing. Never more obvious than when you drive through the bush and see life how it used to be. Of course, the old ways are dying...sadly. What do you do when your country no longer manufactures goods in your little town?  Hello! Some of these little towns had printing presses! Go figure! But you move on. Leave the towns to die...sadly. Some towns are just hanging on...some are all but abandoned. 85% of Aussies live 50 kilometres from the coast. Not many hang out in the Dead Centre.

Sheep are still driven through towns once a year to be shorn at the shearing sheds. Caught this flock which held up the road for half and hour. Made for great video and photos. Thousands of the cute little woolly blighters.

But, we're living in pretty exciting times, depending on your point of view. Some think this world is moving along too fast and would like to go back to a gentler time, a time when people talked face-to-face more than phone-to-phone. When people wrote letters, not emails. When people had time to waste, (er, create), to ponder, to imagine. Sorry, but those days are gone unless you work for Google, where you bounce around on fitballs, throw outrageous ideas at each other until one sticks. Now we're all frantically tapping our phones, our laptops, instead of tapping each other on the shoulder, saying 'hi!' On my travels, half the time I didn't even have a mobile signal! Satellite phones are de rigeuer in the outback!

Don't you shake your head at the craziness of our modern world, a world where Boris Johnson, ex London mayor and now the UK Foreign Minister, gets turned away from the political love fest that was the Munich Security Conference because he forgot his ID? (Well, I guess it was a security conference.) My point is, that is a modern story. Once upon a time, a handshake was good enough.

I digress...how about this Fourth Industrial Revolution I keep reading about?

"We stand on the brink of a technological revolution that will fundamentally alter the way we live, work, and relate to one another. In its scale, scope, and complexity, the transformation will be unlike anything humankind has experienced before. We do not yet know just how it will unfold...

The First Industrial Revolution used water and steam power to mechanize production. The Second used electric power to create mass production. The Third used electronics and information technology to automate production. Now a Fourth Industrial Revolution is building on the Third, the digital revolution that has been occurring since the middle of the last century. It is characterized by a fusion of technologies that is blurring the lines between the physical, digital, and biological spheres."              Extract from the World Economic Forum, 2016.

So now, Luddites and others who have bleeding fingernails from clinging on to the 'old ways.' We're moving into the Fourth Industrial Revolution whether we like it or not, this one is all about technology. Already in this world where nothing is private, what we say online has a forever impact. And I'm not just talking the CIA, the NSA, WikiLeaks et al. Once you post on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, your blog and so forth, it's un-erasable. You might think if you click 'delete' your words are gone, but no, you just think they are. And, hello, it's been said that Facebook is the biggest spy agency in the world -- move over NSA. 

If you're using social media because you want to sell books, I've read that what you say on social media can have an impact on your success. There are right and wrong ways to go about it...apparently.

SOCIAL MEDIA IS NOT STATIC
Social media changes all the time. It morphs. I love to blog, but my favourite social media is Instagram. It's so undemanding. I love to travel, I love to take photos and I love to see others' photos. That's how Instagram started out. But now, many author/bloggers are discovering Instagram, and it's fast going the way of Facebook, Twitter and the blogs. It's becoming all about 'buy-my-book'.

Sadly.

I know you've got to go where the fish are, but people on Instagram are there to drool over pictures of food, Paris or Istanbul or some monastery on top of some unattainable mountain. Not to buy your book. Okay, if you have a book to sell (and who doesn't?), you have to learn to navigate the waters and throw your line in at the right place if you want to catch a fish.

I saw this on Kristen Lamb's blog:

"Whenever we decide we might one day sell our book, we are making a decision to be a professional. Being a professional comes with certain rules that don't generally apply to regular people."

And about that...we don't really know what the rules are. At least I don't. I suspect many authors with a book to sell are trying this, trying that, hoping something will stick. Who has the answers to book promotion? Most of us have found out what doesn't work. Who can tell us what does?

SOME SOCIAL MEDIA HINTS IF YOU'RE USING IT TO SELL BOOKS -- or 'what turns me off'...
A simple fact. People buy books from people they know and I guess everyone is trying to get known on the blogs and other social media. Sure, we can easily surf Amazon, but I still love going to bricks and mortar book stores (we still have plenty in Australia--we are backward Down Under, after all) -- and 'surfing the shelves' and supporting hard-working booksellers gives me a buzz I don't get on Amazon. Does my favourite author have a new book out? How did I miss this one? It's in the bag.

However, if you're thinking, darn it, she'll never buy my book, it's only digital on Amazon, my eye is occasionally captured by a book on social media such as Twitter and I'll find out more about it and usually buy it. 

But this is the thing. People probably won't buy a book from someone who's been ranting and raving on Twitter or Facebook, unless they like that particular rant and rave. I read comments on posts on FB. Do you? People are not going to buy books from nasty people who berate anyone with a different opinion, or call them names. No. No. No. Social media is supposed to be social and is governed by the same social rules as any non-digital get-together. Be polite. Be friendly. It's not all about me-me-me or you-you-you.

THE GREAT UN-FOLLOWERS ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Don't you hate those posts on FB where people threaten to unfollow you (silly word) if you don't obey what they're telling you to do? (((sniff))) (((sniff))) Go ahead. Unfollow me. I care about the Syrians and Iraqis getting blown to bits and the famines in Somalia and the Sudan, oh, and global warming, but I don't care who unfollows me on FB. If someone annoys me too much, I just unfriend/unfollow/block...whatever...quietly, no fuss, no fanfare. I don't have to tell anyone about it. Not in my space. Each of us has a right to set our own boundaries.

I don't mind political rants especially when I can laugh at them, being a political animal myself, and there's just so much political  nonsense to laugh about at the moment, but I hate when the comments turn nasty. I know. Life is tough. We're so easily offended or outraged these days. Let's reclaim the calm.

Try one of the old, pre-Fourth Industrial Revolution quirky things...

Read the Bible or another spiritual tome.

Meditate.

Do yoga.

Do Tai-Chi

Sit at the beach.

Climb to the top of a mountain.

Travel, immerse yourself in another culture then you'll probably appreciate yours more.

Listen to a beautiful audio book if that's your bag.

Oh, that sounds like I'm a Luddite. Funny that so many people are pushing back, trying to reclaim the calm in this screaming world. 

Being calm is a big ask in our world's very strange, dangerous, unpredictable political climate, especially when plenty of people are using social media to stir up their followers, to incite them to activism, but let's be a part of the solution, not the problem.

Want people to buy your books? Play nice. Buy other author's books. Read them right through. Write reviews. Tell everyone when you finish an excellent book.

Okay, I'm currently reading Forbidden by Judy Feather Stone blogger. A great cross-cultural romance. Bit of the Amazon blurb:

Year 2047, City of Samarra, capital of the Republic of Islamic Provinces & Territories

Fifteen American travelers have vanished.
And what do you know...the CIA is involved!

Catch you next time!

What are you reading? Or just finished? Tell us about it...

#IWSG--Where I see myself and my writing in five years' time, God willing.

Hello visitors!

I didn't think I'd get to post for the IWSG this month, but, cliche alert, where there's a will, there's a way. So I'm flying down to Sydney and the Hunter Valley tomorrow (Monday) and in between throwing a few clothes and toiletries in my bag, I'm penning my post. Usually I come up with my own ideas, but in the interests of time, I'm going with the official question--

In terms of your writing career, where do you see yourself five years from now, and what’s your plan to get there?

So, people, let’s rock the neurotic writing world! Let's post away and tweet on @TheIWSG and hashtag #IWSG

Alex's awesome co-hosts for the December 7 posting of the IWSG are Jennifer Hawes,Jen Chandler, Nick Wilford, Juneta Key, JH Moncrieff, Diane Burton, and MJ Fifield!

So, that half-full luggage bag is waiting while I  ponder the question.

Five years? 

That's a long  projection. Who knows if I'll even be alive by then? Hopefully I will dodge the Grim Reaper and I'll reach my publishing goals. I've turned a corner from 'dabbling' in writing, to being deadly serious. I've hardly ever submitted anything except to the lucrative magazine market, so I don't know much about rejection except from all the agonising posts I read. (I'll probably become quite well acquainted in the next five years!) I did have one from Harlequin awhile ago which hurt. They praised my pretty writing, but from what I've learned since then, publishers would rather a badly-written piece with a great storyline, lots of conflict, stressed-out characters, over pretty writing any day. Okay, I hear you squeal--no, no, you're wrong, but really, they do. I know enough editors (who actually edit) who say they can fix bad grammar, punctuation and clunky phraseology, but they're not into fixing a story which lacks conflict and page-turning-quality, exactly my weakness.

Now, my turn-around point was when I was pointed ('scuse the wordplay) to two critique partners who shared a Margie Lawson writing retreat with me. All three of us are 'romantic' writers, not so much 'romance' writers, (although one does lean in that direction) in that we have romantic elements, rather than the whole story revolving around the hero and heroine. Well, think Gone With the Wind (romantic elements with a lot happening other than the romance) compared to a Danielle Steele or a Barbara Cartland novel. Not that I'm dissing romance writers, just saying we're not that writer, at least on our current novels.

So, my two critique partners are relentless in helping me with my conflict, my plot...so many suggestions for making my story better. In five years' time, I hope I have several novels accepted by a publisher, who'll like my conflicts, my character motivations and my story AND my pretty writing.

My crit partners Tania and Sheila (a crazy American!) are such fun, even though they're relentless in pursuit of plot and structure.

Currently, I'm working on Carpe Diem, Art and Love in Paris. It will be my first published novel, I know it. I already have most of the second novel written. It's on a Paris cookery school. Yum.

So, aren't I an optimistic little writer? Why not? Otherwise, why bother? And my plan to get there--write every minute I can and listen to my critters and rewrite, rewrite, rewrite. (Margaret Mitchell rewrote her Chapter One of GWTW 60+ times, so the story goes...I'm sure I can outdo her~on that point, at least).

Now, instead of opening up my WIP, wondering which chapter I'll fiddle with each day, I'm powering on, rewriting and editing Carpe Diem. It's delicious.

Click HERE for more IWSG posts. 

GOOD NEWS!  I met one of the IWSG admin team in person two days' ago. The venerable Lynda Young has moved to Brisbane (as if you didn't know) and we finally managed a meet up at one of my fave Brisbane eateries, French Martini. What a lovely lunch. Here we are finishing our wine and about to sink our teeth into creme brulee. Afterwards, I gave Lynda a walking tour of more of my fave eateries on the South Bank and showed her my hallowed teaching room at the State Library. Finishing off with a boutique-brewed apple cider at The Charming Squire, it was a perfect day, if exceedingly hot. WELCOME to Brisbane, Lynda. 

.Thanks for coming by? I'll be interested to hear where you see yourself and your writing career in five years' time

• Meanwhile, I'm enjoying seeing the sights of Sydney and sampling the wines and great food in the Hunter Valley. I hope you're having fun, too. I'll come by and comment when I'm sober, LOL!

And in case you missed it, Write...Edit...Publish is rocking and rolling again. Final challenge for the year--Utopian Dreams. Please, if you have a moment or two, please join us. Not a bad sign up so far considering the time of year. Some new writers have joined us. I hope you'll come along and have some fun!

Thanks to Olga Godim for creating the WEP badges. 

Do you have goals bloghop. Novels, novellas, short stories, travel articles...how has June been for you?

Earlier this year I joined this regular monthly Friday bloghop hosted by Misha Gericke and Beth Fred. It's a steadily growing list as writers realise it's a good motivation.

The reason I joined this hop was to keep myself honest, and honestly, reflecting on my goals for the month is a good motivation to push myself. So here it's the last Friday of June, ridiculous, so it's time again...

You're more than welcome to join this bloghop. All you need to do is read and follow the guidelines then SIGN UP HERE...

Your goal is the link title. Not your name or your blog's. This is so we can keep track of who's doing what. 

I signed up as Number 13,  'publish a novel and submit short stories' this year. 

MY WRITING LIFE IN JUNE 2016

MY PARANORMAL ROMANCE NOVELLA, BOOK TWO - The Vendemmia (The Harvest)

I am into the sequel to the second story in my  series Under the Tuscan Moon. Sorry for taking so long for those of you who have asked where is the second novella, but the research is taking longer than I'd planned. I hate reading sequels that are rubbish, written under duress, so bear with me.

In the sequel, my two 'loveable', ahem, vamps, Vipunin and Cuchulcain, have returned to Vipunin's castello where he lived before he was turned. Here Vipunin intends to be a very disruptive influence at harvest time. Ciassia and Sibon  are unaware they harbour a monster in their midst, a monster who will do anything to get what he wants...and he wants Ciassia. 

SHORT STORY UPDATE

Last time I gave an update on one of my Paris short stories, Carpe Diem, it was at 25,000 words. This story is lighting up my life and sending electricity through my fingertips as I type, so it is now at 30K+. So I figure my protagonists, Saskia and her lover Raphael, are demanding nothing less than novel length. When you meet these two, you'll know what I mean...

A quick mock up to give you the idea

Currently I'm sorting the chapters as there's a PAST and PRESENT element. I have a further motivation to get the structure right (even as I continue to write up their marriage in country France). I'm lucky to be attending a Margie Lawson immersion class in Brisbane in early August. I've worked through some of her online tutorials and this woman knows a thing or two about writing/editing.  As Margie says on her web page: "EXPECT to work for three full days (plus the afternoon and evening you arrive) dissecting, analyzing, and deep editing." I feel very blessed to have strong-armed my way into her seminar. I'm going to use Carpe Diem as my piece to work on with Margie.

WRITING ABOUT TRAVEL 

As regular visitors and blogger friends know, I wear a travel writer's hat. Well, I've been travelling again...to tropical North Queensland, so haven't achieved more than taking photos and making notes. No time to work on my travel articles, but it won't take long to rectify this now that I'm back home. 

MY PARIS COOKERY SCHOOL NOVEL

This is still waiting for November's NaNoWriMo. 

WRITE...EDIT...PUBLISH

Have done some guest posts, at Chrys Fey's in particular, in which I mention WEP's August challenge, GARDENS. I spent some time meandering around the Remembrance Gardens in Townsville. I felt a story coming on...Please join us in August if you love gardens--flash fiction, non-fiction, poetry, photographs, artwork...

WRAPPING UP...

So overall, June has been very low key as far as writing goes, but you've got to live your life. Major renovations at our beach house (next year our principal residence) are slowing me down writing-wise. I'm helping with the painting now. It'll be worth it when I can lock myself away in Den's Den which is about to be painted. Filling the bookshelves will be delightful.

READING 

I READ A LOT but haven't reviewed much this month. I'm concentrating on bloggers' books on my kindle. Just finished The House by the Lake by Ella Carey, an Aussie writer. Delightful! Already topped some of Amazon's best-seller lists. Set in Berlin and the US and follows her Paris Time Capsule based on the true story of an abandoned apartment in Paris. 

AIM HIGH

Any man who keeps working is not a failure. He may not be a great writer, but if he applies the old-fashioned virtues of hard, constant labor, he’ll eventually make some kind of career for himself as writer.– Ray Bradbury

How are you going with your 2016 goals? I'd love to hear from you. Please share in comments or join the hop.

Do you have goals bloghop. Novels, novellas, short stories, travel articles, monetising your blog...what are you writing?

Earlier this year I joined this regular monthly Friday bloghop hosted by Misha Gericke and Beth Fred. I was thinking of taking my name off the list because who gives a toss what I'm writing/not writing? But then I re-read the comments to my March post and found them quite kind and encouraging. 

The reason I joined this hop in the first place was to keep myself honest, and honestly, reflecting on my goals for the month is a good motivation to write more. So here it's the last Friday of May, ridiculous, so it's time again...

You're more than welcome to join this bloghop. All you need to do is read and follow the guidelines then SIGN UP HERE...

1) Beth and I Misha will be co-hosts of this list.
2) If you do enter your link into the list, please be supportive of the other entrants.
3) Keep us up to date with how you're doing. Update Day is on the last Friday of every month. Even if you don't think you achieved much or anything, write a quick post to say so. We can't encourage if we don't know. 
4) When you enter your blog's address write your goal as the link title. For example, my link's title will be "earn $7500 per month." Not your name or your blog's. This is so we can keep track of who's doing what. 

I signed up as Number 13,  'publish a novel and submit short stories' this year. Check out the participants at the bottom.

MY WRITING LIFE IN MAY 2016

MY PARANORMAL ROMANCE NOVELLA, BOOK TWO - The Vendemmia (The Harvest)

I am really into the sequel to the second story in my  series Under the Tuscan Moon. Sorry for taking so long for those of you who have asked where is the second novella, but the research took longer than I'd planned.

(SIDEBAR: If you've read Under the Tuscan Moon, I'd love a review. Thanks to the lovely people who have reviewed it on Amazon and Goodreads and given 4 and 5 stars! If you haven't read it and would like to, please drop 99 cents in my begging basket at Amazon and go for your life; if you don't want to spend that outrageous sum of money, please email me and I will send you a free kindle copy if you'd like to review it.) 

The subtitle of this one is The Vendemmia (Italian for The Harvest, in this case, the grape harvest). My two 'loveable', ahem, vamps, Vipunin and Cuchulcain, have returned to Vipunin's castello where he lived before he was turned. Here Vipunin intends to be a very disruptive influence at harvest time. Ciassia and Sibon  are unaware they harbour a monster in their midst, a monster who will do anything to get what he wants...and he wants Ciassia. 

SHORT STORY UPDATE

Last time I gave an update on one of my Paris short stories, Carpe Diem, it was at 12,000 words. This story is lighting up my life and sending electricity through my fingertips as I type, so it is now at 25,000 words. So I figure my protagonists, Saskia and Raphael, are demanding nothing less than novel length. When you meet Raphael, you'll know what I mean...

Currently the lovers have driven south-west of Paris to La France Profonde (deep in the country), to the tiny village of Les Salles Lavauguyon, so Saskia can meet Raphael's parents and plan their marriage in the glorious Romanesque church (after the civil ceremony of course). But what's with the parents? They are nothing like Raphael described them. 

As I said in my previous update on this story, it has grown from a 1,000 word flash fiction originally published for #fridayflash. It's been messing with my head for 5 years! So I have added flesh to the bones. And I have a French translator standing by waiting for me to finish! Now that's motivation!

What's with the motorbikes? Try this extract...

"With her arms around Raphael’s waist and her face pressed between his shoulder blades, her adrenaline soared as he roared into the Paris night, accelerating full throttle up the hill from Pigalle, past the windmills, then through the slick, dark streets of Montmartre. By the time he braked at the door of her 17^th century pension, revving the engine twice just for fun, she was in love."

WRITING ABOUT TRAVEL 
As regular visitors and blogger friends know, I wear a travel writer's hat. I have recently returned from a subsidised trip to China so that demands many articles.  For this China series, I am hoping to break into more online travel magazines to add to the print mags. So it's a wonder I've written any fiction at all, but I'm being honest when I say, except for NaNoWriMo, I've never written so much non-fiction or fiction in my life in a month.

MY PARIS COOKERY SCHOOL NOVEL

Sadly, I haven't been able to work on my Paris Cookery School novel and it languishes at 25,000 words. But look out when I get a chance. I may finish it this November. 

WRAPPING UP...

So overall, May has been a very successful, wonderful writing month even though as I said we embarked on major renovations at our beach house. I skedaddle off to the library and peace and quiet when the noise-makers are at work. I'll join them when we reach the painting stage. 

I rather liked my philosophical bent at the end of March's update, so being short of time, I'll leave it there and hopefully have time to get ever so clever next month!

And I READ A LOT but need a jolt to review what I read. I'm really trying! But I've read 50 books so far this year (most in January holidays) so when I get your book read, I'll do the right thing by you!!

AIM HIGH
It's always a good idea to set yourself achievable goals, but it's even better to use the turbo power of imagination to help you get there. For example, you may decide that you'd be happy to have your body in better shape. Instead of just thinking: 'I'm going to tone and trim my waistline', bring on the drama. Try rephrasing that into something like: 'I want to turn heads as I walk down the street and wow people when I walk into a room'. Remember, when you use colourful, vibrant imagery it will be easier to achieve your goal and turn your dream into reality.

So...when you dream of your finished story...instead of just wishing you could reach the finish line, add drama. 'I want to write the most riveting, amazing story that people will love so much they will say to everyone in their reviews on Amazon and Goodreads--'You've got to read this story!' Imagine that!

I'm sure this Shanghai migrant worker has a goal!

How are you going with your 2016 Writing Goals? I'd love to hear from you. Please share in comments or join the hop.

1.	... earn $7500 per month for a year	2.	Sell 500 Books per Month
3.	To get a novel finished and published	4.	create a publishing company setting standards for excellence.
5.	Write a million little words	6.	publish at least 2 novels in the next 4 years.
7.	Write and Publish 2-3 Books/Novellas and short works	8.	Publish two decent-selling book series
9.	Publish two books a year	10.	Complete and publish The Paper Duchess Series
11.	Accomplish My Goals By End of 2016	12.	Sell an average of seven books a day
13.	Publish a novel and submit short stories	14.	Publish The Missing Girls Series in 2016
15.	earn $2500 per month by December	16.	get rejected (by a editor or agent) 24 times this year
17.	Richard P Hughes	18.	Finish editing my novel before NaNoWriMo2016

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