Welcome to Story Matters
My new place to keep in touch with readers - beginning with news of a treasure hunt!
WELCOME, my friends! This is my first post sent out to readers from the Substack platform, and because many of you have moved here from my MailChimp newsletter I’m going to add a little intro to Substack at the end of this post. But before that, I have a lot to tell you, because When She Was Gone is on its final countdown to launch (1st April in the US/Canada, 2nd April in Aus/New Zealand), and there is a lot going on!
If you haven’t preordered yet and you’d like an early copy, the button below will take you to the various options via my website. Preorders are really important for authors to ensure retailers know there is interest in the book, and I’d love you to be one of the first to read and help spread the word!
The #findlou #whenshewasgone treasure hunt
Keep an eye on my Facebook and Instagram over the next few days as I’m heading down to the southwest of WA, where my new book is set, and doing a treasure hunt book drop at 15 very exciting locations. All will be revealed as I go along, but if you’re in the area and you would like to join in, please follow the hashtags #findlou and #whenshewasgone. It’s going to be a lot of fun, and I’m so thrilled and grateful for the support from local businesses and tourist venues in the area.
The #BigWABookHunt and the #BigBigBookHunt
On Thursday 20 March I’ll be launching the #BigWABookHunt and the #BigBigBookHunt - to encourage more authors to join in the fun! Instructions for authors and for book hunters will be live on my website on Thursday (and I’ll be sending another post to all the authors subscribed to The Resilient Author, encouraging them to join in). The idea is pretty simple. Authors will sign and wrap books for readers to find, and give location hints on their socials. Follow the hashtags from Thursday to see who is hiding books - authors can also add more hashtags to indicate where books are hidden and which books you can find.
Events to celebrate When She Was Gone!
I’m doing some brilliant events to help launch When She Was Gone - I’ll be speaking in a council chambers, a brewery, bars, libraries and bookshops - and I can’t wait to catch up with all my readers! See the list of my April events in WA below - and I’ll be doing more events in May in WA and Sydney, so check out my website for full details and ticket links. Hope to see you there!
Introducing Substack - my experience so far
Many authors are turning to Substack as a platform from which to send their newsletters, as it’s very accessible and easy to use, and it gives us lots of opportunities to share in different ways.
If you’re not interested in investigating Substack any further, you don’t need to do anything, and Substack can simply be the platform that I use to deliver newsletters to your inbox. However, if you’re new to Substack and curious about the platform, I strongly suggest you download the app and have a look around. I’ve been an avid writer and reader on Substack for eighteen months now - and I love it. Whatever you enjoy, from cooking to craft to current affairs, there are writers here for you.
Substack writers send out regular posts to their subscribers, which are delivered straight to email inboxes. However, inboxes can easily get overcrowded because there are so many fascinating people to follow. Therefore, if you prefer, you can join Substack and get a profile, then ‘follow’ people instead of subscribing. That way you will see their posts when you go on the app, while saving your inbox from a deluge!
Many newsletters also offer an optional paid option (I have a paid subscription on the Resilient Author, for writers who want more, but this newsletter is free and will remain so). You are never obligated to sign up to paid subscriptions for anyone's newsletters - there is plenty on offer for free. Paid subscriptions simply give you the opportunity to connect more with the writers you love and support their work.
Finally, there are Substack Notes - which looks a bit like a social media feed (because it is a bit like that!). However, it’s much nicer than any other socials feed I’ve been on and full of little gems that add more interest to the day. So far I have only been trolled a couple of times, a few months ago, and a quick block fixed it and it’s never happened again.
If you’ve already joined Substack, let me know what you think of it!
Thanks for reading
That’s it for my very first Story Matters newsletter. I’m excited to bring you lots more from this new platform - I’ll be writing to you whenever I have things to share. In my next newsletter I’ll round up the treasure hunt, and there will be a giveaway offer for When She Was Gone.
Happy reading, and have a great week!
PS I always love hearing from readers, so drop me a comment at any time and I’ll be sure to reply.
