Author: Clay

  • Day Thirteen

    The feelings of hopelessness are just beginning to set in. (Don’t end a sentence with a preposition.) Soon will come despair. It’s usually at that point that I give up with the marketing efforts. It takes a little bit of rationalization. But not a lot. It starts with the idea that many of the greatest…

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  • Day Twelve

    Didn’t think about work at all yesterday. I was teaching. Today I will spend time noodling, reading, imagining. I’m looking forward to the book festival in November. I’m excited to return to book stores here and there. This has always been a problem of managing dreams and expectations. I should do some of that too.…

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  • Day Eleven

    A new study came out citing the ills and popularity of social media. I am truly swimming against the tide. If I may take a moment to feel sorry myself, advertising is less effective than it used to be across the board. Several industries are less successful, especially entertainment industries. The new Superman movie made…

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  • Day Ten

    And I’ve reached the road block of Social Media. I’ve been here before. I’ve just forgotten. Conventional wisdom is the best most effective way to find the imaginary readers I’ve identified is on social media. Bookstagram and Booktok were repeatedly mentioned –mostly by posts on platforms owned by Meta and Bytedance. First, deep down in…

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  • Day Nine

    Wrote. Worked Out. Made Dinner. It was a good day. I did not do any additional marketing. But tomorrow is a new day. Today is a wash, today is a teaching day. Maybe I can sneak in some research. Or spend my time crafting my message. That should be distracting enough for me to ignore…

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  • Day Eight

    Okay, I’ve identified my ideal audience. I did not like the exercise. Next I have to locate them, craft a message for them, and then get that message too them. Doesn’t sound so hard. Also sounds like something I would normally procrastinate. We’ll see what happens this week.

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  • Day Seven

    A new week means new goals. It is time to be proactive, gear up, and do some things I don’t like doing. The first thing I have to do is identify, well, you. Who are you? At the moment you’re imaginary. But that’s okay. I have a great imagination. So who are my readers? My…

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  • Day Six

    Good Shabbas. Spent the morning cleaning windows and running errands. Not the holiest of activities. But very satisfying. Watching movies later. Got some seventy year old westerns. I find it weird to watch a film where all the people in it are dead. I do this often. I like old movies. But it’s still weird.…

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  • Day Five

    I feel like I’m being boring. I feel like I’m being boring probably because I am boring. I lead a very routine, rather milktoast, life. And I like that way. I spend a lot of energy making sure my Characters are not boring. Brix is not boring. Brix is awesome. But I am not Brix.…

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  • Day Four

    It bothers me that on day two, I switched from words to numerals –Day 2 instead of Day Two. Then I switched back on Day Three. I thought about going with Day 4 and claiming that even days would be numbers and odd days would be words. But naa. I generally try not to compound…

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