Month: March 2024

It’s now only one week until the launch of Going Fourth. I’m sure you’ve all got the date marked and circled in the calendar, so I don’t need to tell you that, it’s more for my own peace of mind. To celebrate the milestone, I thought I’d write something for anyone that’s wanting to help to give some advice on the best things you can do! So, please read on for the 3 key ways to help:

1. Spread the word

One of the things that generates the most buzz of books is word of mouth. Just by telling someone you know someone who’s releasing a book, and telling them the title, you’re helping to drive more engagement with the book which will hopefully generate more readers who, again hopefully, will enjoy the book. Sharing far and wide is encouraged and appreciated. Remembering it’s a comedic fantasy is even better. Remembering the title is world class.

2. Buy the book

If you can afford to and have the interest, grab yourself a copy, the closer to the release date the better. I wrote the story to be enjoyed (admittedly, the first person I thought about enjoying it was me), so have a read and see if you like it. If you do, rest assured there’s more coming. There will be a kindle and a paperback version and, if I understand the amazon algorithms, the more sales are generated around launch, the more it will increase the visibility of the book, meaning a positive feedback loop.

3. Leave a Review

This is a big one. Once you’ve read the book, remember to leave a review, an honest one.

On Amazon: Going Fourth eBook : Dunn, G. J.: Amazon.co.uk: Kindle Store

And on Goodreads: Going Fourth by G.J. Dunn | Goodreads

More reviews drive more engagement drive more people to pick the book up.

In my opinion, those are the three big ones. If you can do any of those, please do, as it would massively help and be really appreciated.

Of course, there’s no need you need to stop at that.

Alternative ideas include writing to your local MP and asking them to mandate a change in law to enforce people to buy the book. You could also buy dozens of copies, get on a bus, and throw them out the window at unsuspecting strangers while yelling “ you have to read this book”. You could even buy several hundred copies, place them in a crate and bury it under ground. Write a map to the location and give it to a passing pirate.

How you help is up to you.

I’m just here to say thanks for your support.

Until next time,

GJD

I said it before, and I’ll say it again.

It.

Is.

Fire.

The cover is here:

Going Fourth is coming to an outlet near you on:

04/04/2024

What’s the story, you ask? Read on for a teaser:

When Brian starts hearing an incredibly mean voice in his head, his attempts to get rid of it set him on an adventure through a fairy tale world he won’t soon forget.

As it turns out, his voice is something called a Narra Torr, a bodyless storyteller from another world, and Brian is his Protagonist. Luckily for Brian, the Protagonist wants rid of him too. Journeying alongside the Cockney, a magical being who does not grant wishes, and a Princess that just wants to live her own life, Brian sets off on a journey to fix the Fourth Wall – the Wall that separates Brian’s world from that of the Narra Torr’s.

What adventures will they have? What disasters and triumphs will they find? Will Brian succeed in his goal of fixing the Fourth Wall? I’m not going to tell you. That would ruin the book.

Keep an eye out. Next week (hopefully) I’ll be talking about the ways you can help an author (read: me) sell their book!

Unti then,

GJD

Week 1

Well, February got off to a great start when my laptop (which contains the most recent versions of the NIP & soon-to-be-published Going Fourth) decided to stop charging. To make matters worse, I wasn’t informed before the battery died mid-sentence. On top of trying to sort that, the oven also stopped working and in the furor, I missed my first day of the 200 word a day challenge. I made up the word-count the day after, and have decided to award myself a streak freeze, but I’ll know. I’ll always know. The day job has also picked up slightly which, while interesting, usually leads to a bit more fatigue at the end of the day and less mental capacity for writing. On the bright side, the broken laptop did force me to start writing something entirely new from scratch, which is totally unlike what I normally write, so there’s some growth in there.

Week 2

As we moved into week 2, the new NIP reaches around 4000 words, with a bit of a bonus on some days as it’s something I’ve had in the back of my mind to write for some time. We also move into a week containing both valentine’s day and, the far superior Shrove Tuesday (pancake day, here in the UK), which meant the focus was drawn to seeing who could make the best pancake. At the weekend, I was embroiled in a rare-these-days Ultimate Frisbee tournament with some friends, which was great fun, but did, obviously, have an impact on the writing front. As a saving grace, it produced this photo, which I think we can all agree makes the entire debacle worthwhile.

Week 3

Or, The Return of the Laptop. After sending my laptop away, it arrived back to me in the 3rd week of February, allowing me to get back on with proofing & formatting on Going Fourth, as well as getting the edits back from my cover artist. I have to say, the cover art is way beyond anything I expected, so keep an eye out for the upcoming cover reveal in the near future – it’s not one you’ll want to miss. Nothing much else happened this week – I had a good amount of gaming to catch up on and, towards the end of the week, I was struck down with a cold which absolutely killed my productivity and resulted in my second 0 word day of the year. It was always more of a guideline really anyway, wasn’t it?

Week 4

Week 4 brought the final delivery after edits of the cover art and, I’ve got to emphasise this.

It.

Is.

Fire.

In more ways than one. After battling hard against the cold, I was also able to move again this week (something that was kind of prevented after the Ultimate Frisbee tournament – those things really take it out of you, for those that don’t know – so I started running again. There’s a half marathon in the schedule for March Week 4 and I’m behind on the training. As we move into March Week 1, I’ll be recovering from a Stag Do and (hopefully) getting Going Fourth ready for Advance Reader Copies. The formatting is all but done now, and the cover art is there, so we have a product that is all but ready for launch.

I just have to finish off this last proofing.

Watch this space.

Until next time,

GJD