#IWSG post -- March 1 Question: Have you ever pulled out a really old story and reworked it? Did it work out?

Here we are again! Another month, another security or insecurity. How this year is flying by!

It's always a good way to mark the beginning of the month by posting/reading for the IWSG. My head is full of other things this month, like heading off on a road trip through outback Australia -- 2.054 kilometres (1.276  miles) each way.

I leave today, March 1st.



Thanks to Alex's awesome co-hosts for the March 1 IWSG: Tamara Narayan,Patsy Collins, M.J. Fifield, and Nicohle Christopherson!

Today I'll go with the question:

Have you ever pulled out a really old story and reworked it?

Well, sort of. But the 'really old story' I'm talking about is my vampire novella. 'Under the Tuscan Moon' was my indulgence published in 2015 - written with an ancient slant to the language as it was more likely spoken in the 16th century. Some readers found the language off putting, others thought it was exquisite. Commercial viability has won, and after doing two posts on self-publishing I've used some of the feedback to kick start my sales. Probably the most important advice was to think about my target audience (thanks L Diane Wolfe). So I've done this, and have come up with a new title, new author name, and most importantly, new cover, so there's no doubt what lies inside the pages. Currently, I'm re-writing the whole story, galloping along in modern English at a much faster pace.

Along with my good friend Lynda Young, I attended a Joanna Penn lecture/discussion on self-publishing yesterday (basically, why would you do anything else, she asks?) Joanna is a great proponent of reworking her books -- new covers, fixing anything a reader may have pointed out etc etc. She staggered us by saying she does this monthly! Egad!

So, yes, I believe in reworking stories. I'll let you know how it goes when I re-publish.

Hope you have as much fun as I intend to this month!

And thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule to visit little 'ole me. Looking forward to visiting you as wifi and travel miles allow.

10 Ways to break #Twitter etiquette. #IWSG...and WEP winners announced!

10 Ways to Break Twitter Etiquette.

Okay, we're told that we have to be on as many social media platforms as we can manage (or mismanage). I joined Twitter when there were (only) 42 million accounts, while there are now 974 million. Seeing I'm practically a founding member, why is it just lately I've started using my Twitter account more than sporadically? Well:

• it's a quick and easy way to send the odd promo WEP message, 
• it's a great way to support other writers with a quick RT (Retweet), 
• you can reply instantly to people when you're online at the same time.
• you can join online discussions/groups of like-minded twits,
• you can create your own hashtag (#) so all these messages are sorted for you...like we created #wepff so anyone can pop in and read entries for our challenges.

But like all the unwritten rules about social media--Bloggers--you should reciprocate when people comment--Facebook--you should 'like' everything you, well, like (or don't like)--Instagram--don't stop with the food pics, we live for them!! 

So, just in case I wasn't, er, insecure enough already about all the rules I'm breaking left, right and centre, I just read a post by Frances Cabello, an author and social media strategist and manager for writers who filled we twits in on the best way not to make a hash of Twitter. 

  

I nodded along to Frances' stringent list...uh oh, uh oh. I've paraphrased her list and added my own words dipped in golden pen (sorry Michael!). So if you see anything that makes you gasp, it's probably my words.

Here's the rules twits are breaking:

1. Not uploading a picture of ourselves as our avatar. We all love eggheads, cats, dogs, book covers, oceans and rivers, don't we? Well, Frances doesn't. She says: Your avatar needs to be a professionally taken picture of you, or if you're a little short of the mun, call a friend! Then don’t make a funny face.
2. Leaving the header image blank. Fill in the blanks, twit! There's any variety of free applications, such as Canva, PicMonkey (my fave), or Pixlr. So go create a header image for your account. You can add your book covers, announce the publication of a new book, or use an image that reflects a scene in your book. You can download a free image from Unsplash or Pixabay or upload  your own picture. (I checked these out--awesome free photo-sharing sites). I  need to do a LOT of work here!
3. Writing a senseless bio. Frances asks whether your bio is littered with #cappuccino #frappuccino #kittens #puppies #writer #reader #blogger? Write a professional bio! Your Twitter avatar and bio are searchable on the Internet, so use your Twitter profile to advance your author brand/business. Check out Joanna Penn’s header image and bio below. Pretty perfect for supporting her brand, promoting her books, and establishing her as a professional author.
4. Using all 140 characters available to you. Keep your tweets ideally to 110 and no more than 120 characters. Using fewer than 140 characters will give others a chance to retweet you without having to reconfigure your message.
5. #Doing #this #with #your #hashtags. Are you using more than three hashtags in your tweets? Naughty!
6. Not interacting socially with other writers. It’s important to be friendly on Twitter, meet other authors – even those who write in your genre (perhaps especially those authors) – and promote other authors. The more authors you meet and promote, the more they will suggest your books to their readers. I have a friend who blocks twits who promote their own books. A tad harsh?
7. Spamming new followers with direct messages. It’s because of all the spam in DMs that a lot of people on Twitter (including me) stop reading them. It's sudden twitter death to ask a new follower to read your blog, buy your book or visit your website in a DM. Attract them with your writing and content.
8. Retweeting tweets that praise you or your book. I once read somewhere that retweets of praise are like laughing at your own jokes. Promoting yourself in this manner is akin to bragging. Whoopsies!
9. Announcing how many people you followed/unfollowed. Apps such as Tweepi love for you to announce to your followers that you just used their app to unfollow 201 people, but you know what? Who cares?  Is this the type of content you want to become known for? Yukko, I hate those vindictive type of tweets!
10. Ignoring the 80/20 rule. Guess what? It’s not all about you. It’s not even all about me. Or your most treasured colleague. Make sure that 80 percent of your content comes from a variety of sources and that you restrict your own content to 20 percent.

Even if you stopped reading when I passed the 300-word IWSG rule, I hope you learned a little about the twitterverse today. 

BTW, the Twitter hashtag for IWSG is #IWSG.

• What uses have you found/not found for Twitter?

Thanks for calling.Thanks Alex and the team for hosting today's challenge.

Alex's awesome co-hosts for this posting of the IWSG are Julie Flanders,Murees Dupé, Dolorah at Book Lover, Christine Rains, and Heather Gardner! 

Go here to read more IWSG posts!

And the winners of the WEP Spectacular Settings are announced today. Choosing 3 from 44 was a torture, but we just got to read several spectacular entries several times. Go visit WEP and congratulate the winners! Could be someone you know, or would like to know!