World Building Wednesday: Fan Appreciation

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Hey Space Cadets, how’re you doing?  Things are moving along here, as soon as I write and post this review I’ll be deep into the weeds with the final battle of Operation Breakout.  It’s pretty amazing, if I say so myself.  It’ll only get better after my editing team works their magic.  I’m sitting at 62k words going into the final push, though it will grow from here.

 

Oh, and there’s this love note to my editors.  This one’s for you Corey!  And you too Thomas!

 

The GREAT EDITOR is my literary salvation; I shall not want.  He maketh me to lie down in grammatical pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters of proper punctuation.  He restoreth my mistyped prose: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s on the book too.  Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of editorial death, I will fear no adverb: for thou art with me; thy red pen of doom and thy manual of style they comfort me.  Thou preparest a glorious final draft before me in the presence of mine critics: thou anointest my head with oil that my one star reviews can’t touch me; my cup of creativity runneth over.  Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me, worming their way into the hearts of mine reviewers for all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the benevolent editor forever.

 

Now, onward to today’s topic!  Today I wanted to address a topic that is important to any author seeking to write long term.  If you want a long-lasting career, you really do have to be humble and remember that none of it happens without the fans.  Your readers become an extension of your digital family, your friends and sometimes your best PR Flunkies!  I’m still relatively new, so for now I will show my gratitude by continuing to put out the best product I can.  As my back catalog grows, I hope to be able to fit in some freebies.  Maybe a short story or two given away on the mailing list, or the blog. I’m still learning, so what do you suggest?  As either a reader or a writer, how do you reward your loyal fans?  Hopefully you found this to be a worthwhile discussion topic, and I look forward to reading your thoughts on the matter.

 

I would also like to take a special moment to thank my readers in the UK for putting my novel so high on their charts.  Seriously, thank you.  Right now, both of my novels are in the Top 10 in the Colonization and Space Marine categories of the Science Fiction charts!  Wow, it STILL feels like a dream!  And book three is seriously so close to completion that I almost don’t feel like a fraud claiming I’m an author!

 

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Until next time, stay frosty and don’t forget to keep your powder dry! 

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 JR

 

–> As usual, all images came from the Google’s “labeled for reuse” section or are fan art given to JR Handley for use on his blog.

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J.R. Handley

J.R. Handley is a pseudonym for a family writing team. He is a veteran infantry sergeant with the 101st Airborne Division and the 28th Infantry Division. His family is the kind of crazy that interprets his insanity into cogent English. He writes the sci-fi while they proofread it. The sergeant is a two-time combat veteran of the late unpleasantness in Mesopotamia where he was wounded, likely doing something stupid. He started writing military science fiction as part of a therapy program suggested by his doctor, and hopes to entertain you while he attempts to excise his demons through these creative endeavors. In addition to being just another dysfunctional veteran, he is a stay-at-home parent, avid reader and all-around nerd. Luckily for him, his family joins him in his fandom nerdalitry.

17 thoughts on “World Building Wednesday: Fan Appreciation”

  1. *laughs out loud* “Red Pen of Doom” is usually capitalized in this usage… 🙂

    The occasional free short story is a popular way to reward fans. It also allows the author to explore side plots that don’t quite fit into the novels, or give secondary characters a chance in the spotlight.

    Another common fan reward is a “sneak peek” from an upcoming novel.

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  3. Hahaha, that was cute :3 The further I’m away from Wattpad, the more I find I do appreciate my fans. I won’t lie, though, I was angry at my readers from Wattpad because I felt like I didn’t get support from them, but now I feel better and love my readers very much^^ Great post!

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        1. Someone from one of my local writing groups. Apparently there are issues with plagiarism etc from Wattpad? Also, the audience there is one who wants something for free. That works for fan fiction, but not if you want to publish it and sell it.

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  4. The fevered mind of J.R. Handley never ceases to make me laugh. I appreciate your humble prayers. Now, drink this Kool-Aid 🙂 I’m looking forward to seeing your manuscript here in the next week or so. I’m looking forward to it even more knowing Thomas will be in the wings waiting to swoop in and apply his RED PEN OF DOOM! Here’s to another addition to your series, keep up the amazing work.

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