I Should Have Seen It Coming! : Victoria Watson

Today I have a special author friend doing a guest post here. Why? Simply because she had an amazing journey to publication through Trestle Press. She shares with us the reemergence of short stories in the form of digital short stories or in other words, ebooks and the role Twitter can play in promoting an author's work!
Welcome Victoria! 

Just over a week ago, my first e-book ‘I Should Have Seen it Coming’ was released thanks to the wonderful folks at Trestle Press. The amazing thing is that a month ago, I had no publisher and a backlog of short stories sitting on my computer with nowhere to go.

Sounds like a quick turnaround, doesn’t it?

After having done a lot of reviewing for the local newspaper (Evening Chronicle) a couple of years ago, I decided earlier this year to set up my own blog, http://elementaryvwatson.wordpress.com. My blog doesn’t concentrate solely on reviews but the majority of the posts are about books I’ve read. Alongside my blog, I started using Twitter. I set up a Twitter account in 2009 but never really got to grips with it but this year, I really got into it. In all honesty, I was initially interested in reading about celebs but my network of friends began to grow.

I met one guy, the talented Darren Sant, who invited me to become a guest blogger on Close to the Bone (www.craigrobertdouglas.com). Through Darren I widened my friends further and started doing reviews for a few Trestle Press writers. It was through Twitter that I found our illustrious leader, Giovanni Gelati who then asked me if I might have some stories for Trestle. Trestle are always on the lookout for new authors, it’s great for new authors to help make their mark.

I cannot emphasise how instrumental Twitter has been in my journey as a writer. It helps me make connections with people – from publishers to agents to other writers. It also is a great tool for promoting things like your blog or your books. Of course, other social networking sites like Google+ and Facebook are equally great in building networks and self-promotion. By building up a group of friends, you not only get to meet some fab people – like Shilpa – but you also get the opportunity to reach a wider audience. Sites like Goodreads are cracking for getting to know book lovers. It is really easy to become a Goodreads author once you’ve had a piece of work published.

So what’s this e-book malarkey all about then?

The e-book is a great idea, particularly for short stories. Sadly, the short story has witnessed a decline over the last few years in paper form but, thanks to the emergence of e-readers like the Kindle, Nook et al, publishers like Trestle Press get to showcase some really great talent at very reasonable prices. Sometimes, they give e-books away for free but even if you’re paying for them, they’re often around the $1.34 mark. It’s win/win! You get a cracking little story without breaking the bank.

Her e-book ‘I Should Have Seen it Coming’ is available for $1.34 (99p in the UK) and is about a woman who, after being made redundant, cynically begins a new career as a medium. What she doesn’t realise, though, are how far-reaching the consequences of her actions will be.