Kern Carter's Blog, page 62
January 24, 2022
My Story of Light and Darkness
Photo by Sean Sinclair on UnsplashThe black wolf of uncertainty snarls at me
Giving me a prelude to the never ending misery waiting for me
It gives me a treacherous smile everytime my plan fails
It comforts me with the discomfort of the unknown
Abondoned in the ocean of nowhere
The black wolf lashes at my every attempt to find a shore
The white wolf silently whispers at my ears — you’re being prepared for the best
Misery and unknown are only the state of mind
When your plan fails, know that the plan of universe is at work for something great
When your attempt to find a shore fails, know for sure that shore was harmful for you
For the universe has the best interest for you, even if you want to settle for anything but the best
We the mortal beings have our own finite knowledge to experience the feelings of life
When the circumstances fail to meet our self defined expectation we feel sad
But we fail to believe there is a higher energy at work for each one of us
And it has only the best interest for us
The harshness of the world may sometimes deplete our life force
Making us believe not to fall in love again
As the mere definition of love becomes unreal for our existence
What was one thought of as the most beautiful feeling of life
Turns out to be the unreal facet of mortal existence
All thanks to lessons learnt in life
The heart freezes like the winter snow
During cold winter days against all hope just as the sun rays bring unexpected warmth
The love that had once made the heart frozen has brought thin rays of hope
Out of nowhere the sun rays melt away the long frozen barren land of snow
And springs sprouts of life to fall in love again
The tiny leaves are shy to raise their heads after such a long fierce battle
But still they make an effort to gather courage and rise
And believe in love
The target which we had thought of as nearly impossible to achieve, now we feel greater enthusiasm and hope to give it another try
Again.
[image error]My Story of Light and Darkness was originally published in CRY Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
Call For Submissions—your head or your heart?
We all have decisions to make. How we spend every minute of every day is because of a number of continuous decisions, most minor, some major, and a whole lot that can fit somewhere in between.
Sometimes we make those major decisions based on our heart — on how we feel about the person or situation. Other times, we use logic. We use our heads to guide whatever decisions we make.
For this week’s writing prompt, tell us how you make decisions; with your head or your heart? More specifically, tell us about a time you made a major decision and whether you used your head or your heart to guide your choice.
Same rules still apply:You can submit to this or ANY of our past writing prompts. Just scroll through our previous newsletters. They’ll be marked “Call for Submissions.”If you’re already a writer for CRY, go ahead and submit.Be as creative as you want in your submissions. As long as you stick to the topic, we’ll consider it.Just because you submit doesn’t mean we’ll post. If you haven’t heard back from us in three days, consider that a pass.Please reach out if you have any questions at all.
[image error]Call For Submissions—your head or your heart? was originally published in CRY Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
January 22, 2022
What writers can learn from Billie Eilish
You know Billie Eilish, right? Megastar musician who's already sold millions of records, won Grammys and has solidified her place as Gen Zs Alanis Morissette. She’s also just turned 20, so theoretically her career is just getting started. But that’s not what we’re here to talk about.
In May of 2020, Billie Eilish put out a book. By the end of the year, that book only sold 60,000 copies. For us mere writers, that number would make us do cartwheels around the library, but for Eilish, who had over 90 million followers when her book came out, that 60,000 figure represents less than one percent of her audience. Far less than one percent.
So why wasn’t Billie Eilish able to sell more books? And what can we authors learn from her misstep? Let’s get into it.
She’s already given her fans a lotThe first thing I thought when I read Billie Eilish put out a book was why? My reaction wasn’t because of her capabilities as a writer. What I thought about was the documentary I watched on Eilish with my teenage daughter. It was so good that we watched it twice. The story detailed her upbringing as a home-schooled child with artistic parents who exposed both Billie and her brother to the world of music since they could walk, all the way to her performance at Coachella in 2019.
That documentary came out in February 2021. Her book would debut just a few months later in May. Do you see the problem? Eilish had already let her fans into her life through her music, her performance, and very intimately through her documentary. The book gave her fans nothing discernibly different than they hadn’t already seen.
Image of Billie Eilish book coverThe description of her book says,
“Now in this stunning visual narrative journey through her life, she is ready to share more with her devoted audience for the first time, including hundreds of never-before-seen photos.”
Now, why would fans of Billie Eilish care about photos? To make that the differentiator, the thing that’s supposed to make fans feel like they’re getting a new experience, wasn’t taking into account how much fans had already consumed Eilish’s life. And clearly, with only 60,000 book sales, her fans were not that interested.
Followers are not fans, are not readersThe other thing to think about is that followers are not fans, who are not readers. Fans need to be considered in a hierarchy, starting with followers who are the most casual fans you’ll have. They follow you on social media and like your posts. They’re not commenting or searching for your content. If you post something and it happens across their screen, they’ll give you a like. For followers, you’re just a curiosity.
Fans, on the other hand, will comment on your posts. They’ll send you emails about what your art means to them, and will purchase your core offering. For Billie Eilish, that’s her music. So fans in this part of the hierarchy will stream her songs, go to her shows, and watch her documentary.
Readers are entirely different life forms. Reading requires full attention. You can’t tweet and read, or read and listen to your favourite podcast or YouTuber. Readers need to be fully engaged for significant amounts of time. Where Billie Eilish and her team went wrong was underestimating what it takes to turn fans into readers. Especially fans who already had a full stuffing of their favourite artist.
What can writers learn from this?The main lesson from this Billie Eilish situation is to focus on cultivating readers. Don’t get caught up in the world of likes and retweets. What you need are people who are engaged with your content as a writer. They will most likely be the readers who buy your books or pay to subscribe to your newsletter.
A couple of years ago, I used to get so bummed out about not having enough followers on Instagram. But at the same time I was cursing the IG algorithm, my blog posts were racking up thousands and sometimes tens of thousands of views, with readers commenting and sharing my stuff. Why the heck was I so pressed about Instagram?
Once I got over my Insta obsession, I doubled down on my blog and cultivated that community. It’s paid off beautifully, and I am more connected with my readers than I’ve ever been. Plus, my readership has grown, which is really what I care about most. They read my books (I know because they tell me), read and comment on my posts, and are eager for more content. As a writer with a goal of making a living as a novelist, it’s a good position to be in.
So if you feel like you’re writing into the abyss right now, don’t worry. Take your time, find your tribe, and speak to them consistently. Your audience is wherever your audience is, and there’s nothing wrong with that. Readers are precious, so having ten reads and two comments on your post is a great place to start.
[image error]What writers can learn from Billie Eilish was originally published in CRY Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
January 21, 2022
How do I tell my best friend I am in love with him?
We have always been friends.Our friendship got stronger when both of us went through a life-changing state.
January 20, 2022
January 19, 2022
How Does One Get Happy Again?
How I am working on putting down things I am not even carrying anymore
January 18, 2022
Growth Does Not Excuse Pain - Acknowledging My Regrets
Sometimes we should acknowledge that we failed. Not everything is meant to be.
