Aj Elmore, Author

Happy Sunday, friends! Phew was this past a week a ride. And not a bad one. It was just a lot shoved into a few days. I got to see a couple faces I hadn’t seen in too many years, had a birthday, and participated in an author night at a local bookshop/VR arcade (huge thanks to Skull and Books for having me). And had work in between all of that. All in all, pretty awesome.

What now? Well, an editing job in its beginning stages, a bit of a break from certain social media while I assess some things, and a little mental down time. Oh, and I’m extremely pleased to announce I will be vending at the Florida Authors Book Fest in New Smyrna on September 11 and 12. It will be my first multi-day event, which is an exciting new horizon.

Let’s unpack. Editing. This job is my first repeat … client? It feels weird to say I have those, but I guess that’s what it boils down to. And considering I only edited for three people last year, I hold it as a good sign that I have a second book from one of them. I’m not seasoned enough to put a timeframe on how long it will take me to complete. Also, life likes to throw curveballs when I try to drive the bus myself, so I’ll just say I don’t think it will take as long as the first book I did for this particular author. Hopefully, anyway, because I have a beta read lined up directly after.

Social media. I’m looking directly at TikTok here. Every once in a while, I drift back to being annoyed by the whole socials game and grind. A couple days ago, I realized I was a little too invested in the fact that a post absolutely tanked, so I decided it’s time to step back. Ever since the platform shifted to American hands, the whole thing has been a mess, and what used to be a pretty cool thing became a chore. I’ve met some really awesome folks on the app but I’m not willing to make my involvement my entire personality. And, while my use of any of my socials is far from targeted marketing, I’ve realized that my audience might actually be somewhere under the umbrella of readers who like male-authored books like The Dresden Files, and who also enjoy books that read closer to classic fantasy. Not that I think I “write like a man,” but I don’t think I exactly “write like a woman” either. I might catch hell for this mentality. I’m not being sexist, I’m just being real. So, I need to figure out how to shift my reach to that kind of reader.

Lastly, mental down time. I am, at heart, an introvert. Sure, half my job is talking to people. Yes, I can elevator pitch my books at events. Then I need to recharge. I’ve reached a recharge time, so I’ll be staying home on my days off and keeping a low-key schedule for a little while. I also have several books that aren’t my own and aren’t work that I want to read, so I’ll probably have my nose buried in at least one some time very soon.

That’s all for now, I think. This post ended up being longer than I expected. Funny how we don’t realize we had so much to say sometimes. Anyway, I wish a great week to you all! Until next time!