That Grinding Noise You Hear is Work in Progress – Joseph Courtemanche
There is a misapprehension about writers that needs to be dealt with as soon as possible: They write books and that’s their focus.
I’ll grant you part of that – the main focus needs to be about the book. Because without a really good book to present to a reader you’ll be wasting your time. But what about all the steps that take you to the shelves in the store or the author page on Amazon?
I’m at that magic point in my writing career where I only work for free. I have been advised, by experts in the field, that you need to gather an audience before you can sell them a book. And what, I asked in my innocence, does gathering an audience consist of in your opinion?
There are days I’m sorry I asked that question. Today is one of them. Not that it isn’t fun to write on Eddie’s blog, but I have a new novel I want to start and until I get the “other stuff” out of the way I can’t sit down and do that little bit that is the main goal – actually writing the novel.
Instead of writing, this morning will be taken up by doing my Facebook obligations. First I must exchange “likes” with all of the other authors who have been so kind as to do the same for me in the past 24 hours. Then I must write pithy responses to people who have tagged me in posts. I should probably generate at least one original post this week on my author page at www.facebook.com/josephcourtemancheau... so that the people who follow me don’t feel cheated.
Immediately following Facebook I must write my own blog at www.commotioninthepews.com. I have 20,000 people who drop by every month to read my feverish ranting, look at pictures of the dogs, and see what I’m giving away in my latest deranged contest. Some of them actually write me emails and post comments. I need to take the time to respond to those as well.
Twitter pretty much take care of itself, every blog post generates a tweet @joecourtemanche. But it’s new and my audience is still growing. (It’s so new my mom doesn’t even subscribe – yet.) Some day soon, however, I’ll dazzle the world with sandwich and carwash updates just like @brittany or pictures of my dog like @ParisHilton. Then again, hopefully not.
The actual writing? It seems to be going well, won a few prizes (Genesis 2012 semi-finalist, Runner Up Athanatos Christian Ministries Novel Contest, Faith 900 Essay Contest 3rd place,) met some agents and editors, but no sales yet. There’s that pesky detail of having a book worthy of publishing once you’ve got the audience assembled. I guess I’d better get back to Facebook and launch that career.
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Joseph Courtemanche is a former police officer and certified Middle East, North Africa analyst. He is a distinguished veteran of the Naval Security Group of the United States Navy and is a former Arabic linguist. His linguistic and intelligence experience provide the background that’s crucial to his writing in the Action/Thriller genre. He is a graduate of The University of Minnesota, Minneapolis and holds degrees from two other colleges.
Joseph writes his novels from a Christian perspective with the gritty realism that modern readers demand. His as-yet-unpublished Assault on Saint Agnes won Second Place in the prestigious Athanatos Christian Ministries 2013 Christian Novel Contest. (Link http://christianwritingcontest.com/contest2013/2013-christian-novel-contest-winners/197.htm)
Joseph and his wife live in Saint Paul, Minnesota with their two Shetland Sheepdogs in an old Victorian home. He blogs several times a week at: http://www.commotioninthepews.com. His writing covers every topic from old music videos to current political events – all with a Christian world view. You can follow him on Facebook at www.facebook.com/josephcourtemancheauthor and his twitter feed is @joecourtemanche.
His writing motto is: Biblical-Strength Heroes for a Modern World
