Unexpected publicity

Yesterday I appeared in Writers' Forum magazine, on a two-page spread alongside Naomi Foyle, talking about the role of women in science fiction.

Writers' Forum is one of the UK's two big writing magazines, well-respected, and with a worldwide circulation.  And the invitation for me to appear in this article came out of the blue, via a message on social media.  Phil Barrington, the writer who compiles the column, had read a blog post of mine, ranting about the lack of what I call FEM-SF, and had contacted me, asking me if I wanted to be part of an article on women in SF. 

The week before I was contacted by Nina Steele, who runs the nonparents website. Again, this was an approach on social media, asking if I'd like to do a blog post for her website. I wrote the article, and my blogs both received over a hundred extra page views the day it appeared.

This is the way the best publicity works,  the web of our words spreads out all around the world via the Internet, and some time later someone makes a connection with us.  The same thing happened to my short story collection Otherlives.  I put it out on Kindle over a year ago, well before I knew you had to publicise books.  I don't think I was even on Twitter at the time.  The book sat there for a year, totally unnoticed.  Then suddenly I had a flurry of views of my facebook page for the book, and the sales started, out of nowhere.

Every successful writer will say that luck played a part in their becoming a success.  Sometimes their stories can seem like Cinderella, with the Fairy Godmother appearing, waving her wand, and bringing instant fame.  But often the breaks come out of nowhere after a long bout of nothing, of months or years of total indifference by the world to what we do.

Through the ups and downs we have to keep working, keep putting content on social media, keep reminding that uncaring world that we exist.  Until, one day, something changes.  A switch flicks, and we're suddenly someone, instead of being nobody.

Wendy Metcalfe is the author of Panthera : Death Spiral and Panthera : Death Song and the short story collection Otherlives.  Find out more about her at www.wendymetcalfe.com