It has been nothing short of a whirlwind since I published Tess & The Ashes Catastrophe last year. Being a self-published author means I have to do everything myself: finding editors and proofreaders; commissioning a wonderful illustrator for my cover and inside drawings; marketing/promoting/advertising; setting up a website and keeping on top of social media posts; finding a local printing company to print hard copies of my book; trying to get copies of my book into bookshops; doing book signings; the list goes on and on… It’s hard work, but extremely rewarding when I hear wonderful comments from people who have read the book not to mention that moment when I saw Tess & Eddie sitting on a bookshop bookshelf!
The start of a new year means the start of Book 2 in the Tess & Eddie series. The planning and structure is done, the chapters are set and I can’t wait to write it. However, I’ve been a little distracted with booking in School Visits. Standing up in front of people is completely out of my comfort zone (I am happier behind a keyboard!!) but I tested the water with a talk at a local village school last year. I was so nervous but luckily I know a couple of teachers and students at the school so there were some friendly faces in the crowd. And I think it went well which has given me the confidence to put myself out there further and do some more school visits. World Book Week is coming up (how cute, and easy, would Tess and Eddie costumes be??) and I am beyond excited to have a school visit booked in on World Book Day – surely every writer’s dream – with another school booked in for April.
[This is where I should say I'm available for school visits so if you know a school who would be interested in having me come along for a talk, please do get in touch!!!]
Back to Book 2. As I said, the planning is done and February is my focus month for getting the first draft written. So, thank you to everyone who has bought a copy of Tess & The Ashes Catastrophe. I really appreciate your support and hope you enjoyed reading it. Please do leave a review on Amazon/Goodreads, tell your friends, etc etc as this will help me enormously.
I’m hoping to do regular blogs with updates on Book 2, but for now I best get writing…
Jenni
Comments