A message, from me to you. Wherever you might be.

Welcome back to another blog hop, with #OpenBook. Here’s this week’s prompt.

Don’t forget to click the link to see what everyone else has to say on this week’s subject. It’s at the end of my post.

Write a letter to your readers.

There were two ways this prompt could have been answered. I’ve rehearsed them both in my mind so many times.

In one, when I’m feeling at my lowest, I would write about why I can’t seem to get any traction with potential readers, asking where you all are and why you ignore the effort I put in to engage with you.

In the other letter, written when I’m having a good day, I would feel able to celebrate the success that I’ve had and thank you for taking notice of my work.

My only decision now is which of these two letters should I share with you.

Guess what, I decided to share both.

It seemed like the best way to show you how my mental state veers from one extreme to the other on a bewilderingly frequent basis.

Here’s the one from the bad day.

Dear readers,

Where are you all hiding? I’ve been searching for you for nearly twelve years. Looking in all the places I thought I’d find you. Where Sci-fi readers are supposed to hang out.

But only a few of you ever took any notice.

I’ve been trying to attract more attention. As well as my novels, I’ve written blog posts and newsletters. I’ve opened my life and told you tales about me and my creative process.

All to try and entice you into my worlds.

I’ve advertised and given books away.

If you saw them, you never showed much interest.

So, I tried other things. I wrote different stories, I broadened my appeal. I asked for advice and did what was suggested.

But it didn’t work. You stayed out of reach.

Was it because the stories weren’t very good? If nobody tells you, how do you know?

And now? Well, I don’t know where to look anymore.

WHERE ARE YOU?

And now, the letter that I would write on a good day.

Dear readers,

Thank you so much for the reviews and comments you’ve left me. Whether it’s on my blog, on a book review site, in response to an article on Medium or on social media.

It’s good to know that what I’m writing has resonated with you enough to make you want to engage. Even if you didn’t like what I said or how my characters behaved, that’s fair enough. At the end of the day, everything’s subjective.

I appreciate all feedback, it helps me to see what’s popular and what may be a little more controversial.

The one thing it won’t do is make me write differently, I don’t see it as my purpose to write bland content. I want to make waves and write Marmite (For the benefit of my US readers, you either love Marmite or hate it.).

You’ll be pleased to hear that, encouraged by your feedback, I’m writing lots of new stuff. As ever, I never know the genre when I start a story. Or where it’s going to lead.

Keep watch on my socials and newsletter for more details.

Happy reading.

What do you think about this week’s subject?

Let me know by leaving me a comment.

While you’re here, please click the InLinkz link to check out what my fellow writers have to say about this week’s topic.

Until next time.

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