The late Georgian and Regency era saw some of the most exciting times witnessed on the stage. Theatre was an important part of the entertainment scene in London 200 years ago.
I will be posting regularly about the many fascinating characters to be found in the theatre scene at this period of time. Many of these people figure in my first novel, An Actress of Repute.
It isn’t an area that I really thought about when embarking on my writing journey, but to be a successful writer these days requires a great degree of self-promotion.
I have to admit that I am not at my most comfortable putting myself in the spotlight. For some, this might be no problem whatsoever. Social media has helped to make the job of self-promotion easier. However, I don’t feel that I have an Instagram ready face and I feel a bit uncomfortable at the prospect being under further scrutiny. However, I know from following my favourite authors on twitter that it can be a real pleasure to engage with those who are writing books that interest you. And it gives authors the opportunity to reach out to those who share their interests -their readers. As a self-published author, you cannot rely on anyone else to do the promoting for you. It is all down to you – so it is sink or swim time. Let’s take the plunge!It is important to try to avoid being daunted by social media and try to embrace it. It provides an opportunity to write about other topics of interest. In my case, I get the chance to write about my favourite era in history. With Pinterest and tumblr, I can share my favourite visuals. On YouTube I will get the chance to share my favourite locations to help my readers get a better sense of the places they are reading about in my book. On twitter, I can ask historians for their input on any problematic areas of research that I have encountered. And facebook is an all around great platform for engaging with others. We will see if I can maintain the positive attitude over the next few months! I will be happy to report back what I discover in the world of social media and self-promotion.
Ronan Beckman 