I've managed to submit two books (one novel, one non-fiction) since Friday morning, so now I can turn my attention back to this blog - and related things. As recently as last June I was pleased to see that this blog had passed five million pageviews. Fast forward just over six months and the figure has reached seven and three quarters of a million. That's a huge increase, quite mind-blowing. As I said in June, there's no doubt that the number of visitors to this blog is on the rise; I know this is so, because of the number (plus the content) of genuine messages and emails I receive, which is now higher than ever. A leading crime writer who is a friend of mine and also very savvy about marketing has urged me to take advantage of this by taking paid adverts on the blog. It's sensible advice and tempting, but I've seen one or two good blogs disfigured by adverts and I don't want you to be put off by ads. (If you have any views for or against blog ads, do let me know).
In any case, although I'm no tech expert, far from it, I'm also convinced that there is a lot of AI piracy going on, which partly explains this explosion in the pageview numbers. AI can bring the world great benefits, but there are also great dangers, not least to creative workers worldwide. So what can I do about it?
First things first. I love writing this blog and getting your feedback, which is never less than interesting. So it will continue, in roughly the same way as before. Last January I started a free monthly newsletter on the Substack platform, and this has gone well. So that too will continue. I very much hope that anyone who likes this blog will subscribe to it. Here's the link to paste into your browser: https://substack.com/@martinedwardsbooks
Substack seems to be a robust platform - it was originally recommended to me by my daughter Catherine, who is much more knowledgeable about these things than I am, and is full of good ideas - and so I think the time has come to move to the next stage. This is an additional, paid subscription newsletter. I've been encouraged in the past year by the number of people from around the world who pledged to subscribe if I started one, and also by the reaction in the last few days, since I announced in my newsletter that I was going to start a paid newsletter.
This approach will give me the chance to write about specific topics in more depth. In recent years, the print market for in-depth articles about crime fiction has diminished (CADS is much missed) and although I write occasionally for the national press, they don't take many in-depth articles. But I know from your messages that a great many of you love to find out more about writers and writing, not only ‘forgotten authors’ and their books, but contemporary talents, some of them emerging, some famous, as well.
A paid subscription needs to offer value, and I’m
determined that The Life of Crime Premium will do just
that. Paid subscribers will receive (among other good things):
·
12 newsletters a year with a wide range of
exclusive content (e.g. breaking news, advance information, insights from
editors, agents, and leading authors); these will be sent out monthly;
·
12 supplementary newsletters, mainly dealing
with specific topics (e.g. exploring the work of forgotten authors and books
in-depth, exclusive insights into my writing projects including the Crime
Classics, and Q and As with leading writers that dig deeper than usual); these
will be sent out at (approximately) monthly intervals during the course of the
year.
·
Exclusive ‘Behind the scenes’ insights into the
world of crime writing, the Detection Club, book collecting, and the publishing
business
·
Exclusive images of rare books, letters, and
manuscripts, many of which have never been published before
·
Occasional exclusive reduced price offers and
discounts related to writing and books;
·
The opportunity to put specific questions to me
about any aspect of crime writing
One-to-one mentoring for aspiring writers.
Already I have amassed a lot of material that I'd like to share in this way, but I'd also welcome any thoughts you have, whether on the concept itself, or specifically what you feel would offer you great value in this context.
Two final points: first, when will it start? Next week, I hope, as long as I master the technology involved...
Second, how much will it cost? In the newsletter, I proposed £6 per month and £60 for an annual subscription. Everyone who has commented so far thinks this is in the right ball-park for a professional writer, but I'm keen to get as full a picture of opinion as possible. I know that there are plenty of people, in these cash-tight times who simply can't afford payment, which is why I want to make it clear that I've no intention of putting this blog behind a paywall, even if it would take it out of reach of the AI bots. Equally, as a professional writer, you'll understand that I like to be paid for most of my work, and this plan seems to offer a chance to combine the free stuff with paid-for material in a reasonable way.
So - I look forward to hearing from you!
Martin, I think subscription content is an excellent idea and £60 a year (£2.50 per mailing if you send 24 per annum) is good value for writing of your calibre. My concern, though, is that you’re committing to producing a never-ending stream of fresh material with short deadlines. In addition to that, you have this blog and - we all sincerely hope - more books! Obviously, you have a much better idea than I of the time you’ll need to devote to the newsletters, but I wonder whether your initial commitment should be to delivering a monthly newsletter and a quarterly special?
ReplyDeleteHi Colin. As always, your input is really helpful. Thanks for making this thoughtful point, which is a good one. You're right to say that it's quite a commitment and I will reflect. My thinking at present is this. I'm not a fan of deadline pressure, so my aim is always to try, if possible, to be ahead of the game. With this blog, for instance, at any one time I will typically have at least 30 posts in waiting so that if I'm ill or unavailable, there's no real hiatus. Similarly with the newsletter, my aim will be to create quite a lot of material in the next few weeks, before I need to focus mainly on the new novel. (What I do in practice is review and edit stockpiled material before it goes out, so as to make sure it's as fresh as possible). Comments from readers like you are really valuable in helping me to get my thinking and planning straight.
ReplyDelete