Say Hello to Amy C Fitzjohn, Author...

I first started blogging in 2013 – here’s my first ever blog post.

It was just a hello, with some sketches from an idea about a buzzing, clicking, squeaking robot that generates ideas in little puffs of smoke, grab them quick before they dissipate. 

My second blog was a snapshot, another random idea:

A Head Full of Popcorn 

Take a handful of popcorn corn, throw it into a pan and see it scatter.

 
Some of the corn will pop and settle.

 
Some will pop and fly out of the pan, forever lost down the back of the cooker.

 
Some will just smoulder and burn and smell bad.

 
Some will stubbornly refuse to do anything, no matter how many times you try to cook them. 

 
You can take a handful and enjoy it, but there will always be a few that taste funny or didn't pop properly.

 
That's how I would describe the way my brain works - I just have a head full of popcorn! 

 

What started as a way to explore ideas, evolved into a 365 ‘Operation Author’ project and later became:

Idea’ism = The syndrome of having too many ideas

My mewsings have been more and more writing related so it seems like the time to just call this what it is… this is the home of author, Amy C Fitzjohn.

I've come full circle, when I first started blogging it was in my guise as an author...

 

I’ve been writing all my life, ever since I was old enough to string a sentence together. 

I’ve always been a storyteller, and would make up stories to tell my younger brother and sister when we were kids. 

I officially started making money from my stories when I published The Bronze Box in 2013. 

Since then I’ve completed the Sheridan and Blake Adventure Series. 

I now have 4 fiction books published as Amy C Fitzjohn (my maiden name) and a growing portfolio of non-fiction business books in my married name Amy Morse.

I've taken all the lessons I've learned in the last three years of blogging and compiled them into my latest non-ficiton book:

Blogging for Business

I've just started writing my next fiction book 'Finding the Scream'.

I'll keep you updated on progress but for now, I've set up a Pinterest board to start collecting research links

18 Marketing Actions to Sell More Books

At the start of every month I set myself three goals to achieve. Every month the first goal on my list is: 

Sell more books

The vision for my business is to be able to live and work anywhere - that elusive location independence.

My long-term plan is to make enough passive income from selling fiction novels, non fiction books, business support services and other digital information products; but it takes time, even as a relatively prolific writer having published four novels in three years.

I'm trying to develop a habit of doing at least one marketing activity towards this goal every day.

I'm keeping a journal, and each day I make a note of the one action I've completed.

I'm sharing the activities completed in June, to inspire you with your own business, and also because sharing it means I'm accountable...

I started the journal part way through June and so far I have 18 activities on the list:

1. Published a short story blog HERE 
2. Left a mini manuscript at the Watershed
   
3. Left a manuscript in Long Long Ashton 
4. Left a manuscript in Boston Tea Party in Horfield
5. Went to a free writing club
6. Updated my Amazon sales tracking
7. Started writing a blogging book 
8. Updated my Amy C Fitzjohn Amazon Author Page 
9. Created an Amy Morse Amazon Author Page 
10. Shared my author pages on Facebook 
11. Started Amy's Book VIP Facebook Group
12. Updating the VIP group weekly
13. Scheduled Tweets regularly about my books etc.
14. Put a call out for guest bloggers (If you'd like to be my guest, Tweet me: @AmyMorse_Writer)
15. Wrote two guest blogs, 1 has been published: '5 Ways to Unravel Your Story'
16. Organised an interview with Radio Bristol - I'm on the Richard Lewis show on Wednesday 13th just after 12 noon - you don't have to be in the UK, you can listen online here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radiobristol
17. I'm in talks with Radio Oxford about an interview - waiting for them to get back to me with a date

Number 18 is the most exciting one...

I'm working with a film maker to create a book trailer for The Sheridan and Blake Adventure Series!

We've met a couple of times and Ros (who is trying to break into freelance film making, and I'm always keen to support a start up) has got some great ideas. So far, Ros is working up a story board and reading the books and I've put a call out for an actor to play Tom Sheridan and have a few guys lined up, and I've already got a friend of mine to play the part of Sasha Blake!

We're all excited about the project, I'll keep you posted on our progress! 

What marketing activities worked for you last month?

The Thing About Stories...

I was in M&S this week buying a birthday card for my brother. 

As I went to pay for my purchase, I saw the length of the queue. There was that quick internal dialogue about whether or not to bother, but in the end queuing was preferable to wandering around town to find a card as good as the one I'd picked up.

However, one of the great things about a queue is the other people in it.

For a brief moment, you join a community all with the same goal and you can eavesdrop on some great conversations.

I think being part of these snapshots of stories is what us Brits enjoy so much about queuing.

In this particular queue, a couple of young professional guys were chatting about the origin of common phrases used in the English language.

It reminded me of a content butterfly I've seen fluttering around the inter-webs on phrases we owe to Shakespeare.

Here are some of my favorites:

One day,  I'd love for some of the phrases I've created in my stories to be part of popular culture...

In much the same way that popular stories and movies have a way of nestling into our collective consciousness - phases like:

May the force be with you

To boldly go where no-one has gone before

Here's a few from my books:

The Bronze Box

 

Solomon's Secrets

Gabriel's Game

 

The queue in  M&S moved quickly, with friendly and efficient staff at the till, and I had that strange sensation of being both relieved to escape the queue, but also disappointed to have to leave and miss the rest of the story being shared behind me.

The thing about stories... they are everywhere, all around us - they are part of the rich tapestry of life. We are constantly, often subconsciously, creating, sharing and enjoying stories - I love being part of that.