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This is going to be a short post because it’s more of a rant.
So, I used to set up interviews with my characters. I did this two ways in the past:
- One version was me posting about the character and people would ask questions in the comments. This was to make it real-time interactive. It worked for a while then dwindled to nothing.
- Then I came up with setting up a weekend post for people to leave questions and I would answer them in the actual interview post. This didn’t work as well as the original concept and failed rather quickly.
The biggest issue I had as my series progressed is that most people weren’t reading the books. So, nobody felt like they should or could ask a question. I repeatedly said that they can ask a general question since this was to get people curious enough to buy and read the books. Only a handful did so. I had other people say they were just waiting to see what others said. In other words, my attempt to get interaction crashed and burned.
This hit me kind of hard back in the day because it came off as people not finding the characters interesting. Not outside of their stories, which meant my goal to make them relatable was a failure. A notable exception was Ichabod Brooks who always garnered questions, but rarely got book sales. That was a rather rough failure to accept since I couldn’t figure out why he was popular and still never sold much.
I’ve noticed for a long time that blogging isn’t as interactive as it once was. So, I doubt character interviews will do any better. Considering trying to put myself out there for questions, which I’ve done in the past. Doubt it will go any better.
All of this makes me realize how much authors, regardless of their hermit-like lifestyle, typically require some interactions. Whether it be with fans or other authors, we do need some type of book-based interaction to make us feel like we are connecting. It can’t always be the sales and reviews of books. Most people don’t review books and sales barely exist for most indies these days. Blog interactions are probably the best way to go, but I feel like blogging is a shadow of itself.
You can tell I’m frustrated and wishing I had some idea on what I could do to garner any attention. Not just for sales, but writing in general. I don’t get to talk to anyone about my stories. Can’t promote the ‘Slumberlord’ books since I don’t have cover art, money, or time to publish. Given that it’s a core Windemere book, I refuse to make it a blog story like I did with ‘Bedlam’. Maybe the day I get to publish Darwin & the Fate Bracelet will be when I can revive the interactions, but I need something in the meantime.
Anyway, this was a little rant about an old tactic that part of my keeps considering bringing back. Almost like a bit of masochism. Maybe I’ll try a ‘ask the author’ thing next Tuesday.
Legends of Windemere 
Do ask the author, Charles. My writing gets a push with my critique group – they are so supportive and creative!
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Thanks. I’ll give it a shot at some point.
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Your frustration is understandable. Characters are like children–you want people to speak well of them and engage with them. I agree with noelleg44 about ask the author.
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Very true.
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I’m right there with you. I also can’t afford cover art for one of mine. I see blogging the same way you do, a shadow of its former self. I am looking to make some changes in 2026.
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Sad thing is that blogging doesn’t seem to have been replaced by anything. Maybe author skits on social media.
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Something like that. Maybe I need AI Lisa Burton to talk on TikTok for me.
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Some bloggers tried podcasting, but that doesn’t seem to work for most writers.
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True. I feel like that requires a lot of expensive equipment to get anywhere too.
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Will wait to see what you do.
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👍
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There are too many people who read blogs but don’t seem to want to interact. Some will click ‘like’ to show they visited, but not all of those will have actually read the post. Of those who respond, many just give a meaningless response, such as ‘Great post’!
I think you should try ‘Ask the author’. Maybe give an idea as to the subject you are going to answer questions on that week. People aren’t always good at thinking up what they would like to know.
Also, with character interviews, try posing the questions yourself, as if you were a TV interviewer sitting down with a celebrity in a studio, rather than asking people to pose questions.
I agree about blogging not selling books, though. The posts I make when I showcase one of my poems always get the most views. I always say which book the poem came from and post a link, but although people like my poetry, they don’t buy the books.
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I’m noticing. I’ll admit that being on the receiving end of that has caused me to recede. Add the fact that I rarely get time to wander blogs ever since the divorce.
I’ve tried to be the interviewer with my characters, but it never works. I know everything and can’t figure out any good questions. Whenever I tried, they came off as empty promos b
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How to reach new readers is the eternal question! I think it can’t help that the main Windemere series completed several years ago, so the faithful readers have already had their questions answered.
In some ways my blog and author site are there to be available for curious readers, but not necessarily for direct book sales. I do get some regulars who reply to my posts. And every so often a new follower!
But the landscape definitely is changing. Like a lot of the literary world, so-called “AI” is flooding the Internet with repetitive posts. What can you do besides try to be original and true to yourself?
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The ‘questions answered’ part is what gets to me. I always made it clear Legends was the first series I’m Windemere. Even in the books, I noted that more heroes will appear in the future. Then, most readers bailed and didn’t even check out the spin-off. It’s aggravating to me when I was trying to create an entire world of stories. If I kept up with just the Champions, I’d have lost readers to the staleness.
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