Francesca Astraea's Blog, page 6

Starting (continuing officially?) a street team!

Hello lovely readers,

I've been mulling over how best to approach the beast that is being self published and the eternal struggle of my work reaching people who haven't heard of it but might like it. I remember the days of street teams, when fans of books or bands would literally go outside and hand out leaflets for their Fave Thing, or phone into radio shows asking for a song to be played, or request the book at their local library. Now days I suppose it's more online-only, where people will share graphics on social media or suchlike. Different medium, same concept.

And I thought: quite a few of you are already doing that for my work, something for which I am eternally grateful. So why not have a go of making it official?

Being a Francesca's Words Street Team Human

What it involves:

Requesting copies of my work to your local library
'Shelving' my work on Goodreads, Storygraph or your book review site of choice
Sharing graphics or book photos to your social media (bonus points if you do this on Tiktok, which I cannot get along with personally and on which I have no presence)
Telling your mates about my work, suggesting my books in your reading group, generalised sharing
Here's how long it lasts:

However long you want, although expect lots of cool stuff to look at and share when I'm publishing work, and quiet periods when I'm working on new things
Here's what you'd get:

So for you lovely humans here, I can't actually offer you more than I already do. All paying members of the No. 1 Readers' Club get early access to everything, including order links, events and signings, plus your letters and postcards. I would dearly love to offer more, but at present I lack the resources (time and money-wise).

For anyone not a member of Patreon (aka this is the part you can tell your mates): I can add you to a spreadsheet of Street Team Humans and ensure that you too get early access links, plus freebies as I can offer them (please note to make it worth my time, you'll have to show evidence of taking part).
If you're interested, please sign up here: https://francescaburke.us12.list-mana...

If you have any questions, just ask! If it doesn't work, no harm no foul.

Look after yourselves,

Francesca

Breaking Down How Different Forms of Support Help Indie Creators (and why it’s all genuinely helpful)

Hello!

I’ve been tidying up my Patreon page, because Patreon’s done that thing where they’ve redesigned the website and now the page looks different and I thought I’d better check it’s still easy for people to find information. It got me thinking about how Patreon factors into my working life, and how grateful I am that during a cost of living crisis, people are continually happy to financially support my work. I thought, I wonder if the wider universe is aware of how independent creators use...

Read, If You Like: Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

A few weeks ago a friend and I swapped books for the summer. I leant them my favourite series, they leant me theirs. We solemnly swore to never, ever mention it if we disliked the other’s. It’s a risky business, loaning someone a book you adore. If the other person hates it, will your friendship fizzle out? Are you incompatible on a molecular level? Is this the friendship equivalent of one of you wanting children and the other not? (Yes.)

It turns out we both have excellent taste in books. Th...

Friday evening soup thoughts

Hello lovely humans,

It has been so long since I’ve written here that WordPress just tried to give me a tour of the post-builder. Bit personal, that. Anyway I find myself with zero desire to think about anything academic or worsky, but very little desire to just scroll Am I The Asshole, so I thought popping in here is a good compromise because you all, unlike the folks of AITA, are top notch.

It’s a bit awkward that I didn’t prepare anything to actually write, though. I’m mulling over a lo...

New short story: 'Beachcombing'

Hello!

I've shared a new little story with the No. 1 Readers' Club, 'Beachcombing.' It was in response to the prompt 'bones' and is about... bones.

https://www.patreon.com/posts/beachco...

ENJOY

Summoning you all a calm and fruitful new financial year, because that is something we should all wish each other if we can’t kill capitalism before our rent is due.

Happy new financial year! Do you have any plans? Maybe make a money jar and say a prayer to the gods of the stock market?

I’m kidding. I’d never make a spiritual offering to the forces guiding free market capitalism. The money jar is tempting though, as despite Karl Marx’s best efforts we are still relying on money to access goods and services. And I wish for you all to have a stress-free, fruitful financial year! If we’re stuck relying on hard cash and good credit for the foreseeable, I want...

Hello from definitely-springtime

So last I wrote I was excited for spring AND THEN IT SNOWED.

But the frost has gone for good this year I think, replaced by torrential rain that times an appearance for just as you’re putting the bins out. I am extremely excited for springtime, more than usual. Mostly because this year I know which plants on campus set off my hayfever and I’ve prepared.

from Screencrush

Also, I have two shows in my diary between now and August, plus two entire trips out of the country. One is a holiday ...

Hello from almost-springtime

Hello!

I realised that after moaning that January lasted approximately eighteen thousand years, I blinked and it’s nearly March. Which also lasts eighteen thousand years. I blame the 2020 Covid madness which descended that March. I’ve got a March hatred hangover.

How are we all? Is anyone doing Lent? I’m not – last year I tried giving up chocolate and in retrospect I reckon I should give up things I already don’t like doing instead of depriving myself of one of the few foodstuffs I can sti...

In which it is still fkn January

Hello!

I am on a break from my assignments (aka if I look at any of the relevant documents again today I might cry because I keep working on them but they aren’t getting any closer to being finished and it’s so horrible it’s crossed back round into being funny) so I thought I’d do something I like for the rest of the day, aka read Private Eye and say hi to you all. How has January been? Here is a brief summary of mine so far:

Finally watched that pirate show and I get what all the fuss is...

Princess and the Dragon is 99p on Google Books!

Hello!

The Princess and the Dragon and Other Stories About Unlikely Heroes is only 99p on Google Books until the 3rd January.

I hope you're having a good winter break and I can't wait to show you what I'm working on in 2023!