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Final Ramble of 2022

Lee Hall 1 Comment

And as 2022 faces the final curtain I shall use these words to reflect on what has been a difficult but rewarding time that I’ll remember for many things.

From starting January with 20,000 Twitter followers and my mental health in the drain, to getting married and seeing lots of my friends and family that I hadn’t since before the pandemic. A truly wonderful personal moment for me and for the one I love the most. Love matters to me, it always will.

Anxiety was a theme throughout my 2022 and it was very much comparable to a rollercoaster for some time until recently it subsided. Perhaps reflection has put things into perspective or I’ve just learned to cope with it. Maybe it was reaching the 40,000 Twitter follower milestone. The human mind can be a complex and wonderful thing. I’m incredibly protective of mine, most writers are.

My books selling regularly and consistently brought me constant hope and reminders to keep going. The wonderful people I have connected with through so many ways, like the amazing authors who graced my life with their books to those reviewing mine. To those who took a chance on my relaunched Patreon, watch this space, more is coming in 2023. To the doubters who I might have convinced and of course to everyone who has helped push this humble blogging operation to over a thousand followers.

There were even those who voted in huge numbers for me to win actual awards – a first for me in life.

Thank you everyone.

Farewell 2022, you were many things but above all, I survived you. Until next year, dear followers.

Weekly Ramble #162

Lee Hall 2 Comments

And so with the final days of a difficult year comes the opportunity for reflection. For everything that has happened this year, 2022 – the year of good, bad and indifferent, it certainly has kept me jumping through hoops but it also represents an enduring journey of ultimately decent outcomes.

This journey as an online creative in the social media age has been rewarding as well as frustrating on occasion but much like life, these things eventually balance themselves out. The constant has been me, a person who has never given up and has taken every opportunity to learn while keeping everything going. On that path I might have found you, wonderful reader and maybe a fellow creative, our type should stick by one another, creativity is better for it.

Let me be proof to anyone out there who is struggling to be seen or get read or even find sales because good things like that are possible for anyone. I’ve found them but it has taken me years to get to where I am today and those years have been well-spent laying the ground for what is to come. Sometimes you’ve just got trust the process and believe in yourself. Through the dark and the light, be the constant, the variables will come and go but you are what matters the most.

As for me, I’m doing fine. 2022 has taught me a lot of things and above all, never giving up matters the most.

Weekly Ramble #161

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The final month of 2022 is here and I’ve still got a stack of things to do. In all truth, I’m always busy and I kind of function that way. This year has thrown me an abundance of curveballs and also some really awesome unexpected moments. After all that has happened I’m happy with the outcome.

Finding peace in any endeavour is a hard thing to do sometimes and reflection of self is a huge part of that. Knowing that there is plenty left to do this year alone will keep me going all the way until the close of what has been a hugely significant time. There are still so many cool things I intend to achieve sooner or later and so as always I’ll keep going. Through the good, bad or indifferent consistency is the key.

You can expect a plethora of content this month on here and Patreon. Stay tuned.

Weekly Ramble #160

Lee Hall 2 Comments

Crossing $1000 in book royalties for the first time in a calendar year is a special and pinnacle moment for me. I’ve never been one to chase the money in my writing or content creating but as someone who aspires to do this some day as a primary occupation, it gives me hope. It also gives me a wonderful sense of value.

Running this deal like a functioning business might have once been a distant dream just a few years back but now, it might be a possibility eventually. This year in particular I have done my best to try and run book promotion advertising with a view of making the money back in sales. For the most part I have succeeded and although there are so many other ways to invest or measure success in this journey, getting a positive monetary outcome tells me that I might be on the right path.

Of course like all moments of success I have shared on social media, I have tried to share them with tact and inclusion because quite simply, if I can achieve these things then so can others. For all the things that social media is at the moment, sharing good moments and including others will always have an awesome outcome. People will always be drawn to moments of hope and I guess this is mine.

All I have ever done is kept working and kept going, now the rewards are starting to get bigger so I guess there is one thing I have to do and that is carry on.

Weekly Ramble #159

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Consistency. No matter the trends or events happening, Consistency will always rule. And the results might not always be instant or even obvious but those who do keep going will find them.

I don’t consider my writing or work to have any level of finesse but I work hard and I keep going to make that writing my very best. It isn’t really up to me to say whether or not it is any good and perhaps that’s the real beauty and thrill of being a creative in the social media arena. Readers decide and interpret things in their own ways.

For all the things my journey has represented this year, enduring is the word I’ll use to describe it. Through the strange but mostly wonderful social media interactions to the huge numbers of reviews, sales, follows and even royalties. Things have endured, I have endured and I am still standing after whatever forces, good or bad were thrown my way.

The future is a concept I look to with excitement and possibility but I also know the time is actually now. Every day is an opportunity to shape our future and make it a good one.

I am one with the journey and the journey is one with me.

Weekly Ramble #135

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January is a long month. This is handy because it is also a busy month and in between outside of non writing things and writing things, I’ve got a lot of things done, but there’s still a way to go.

The truth is, I am always doing something, I’m like that bunny with the batteries, I just keep going and that’s because there is always something to achieve on this journey. It might be a carousel in some aspects but the ride becomes all the more rewarding as it spins while also going up and down. Twitter appears to be growing stronger and stronger by the day. Tonight I will be a guest on an indie book podcast talking about my efforts which in very recent times have become the best ever on the platform. You’ll be hearing more about that soon.

Time has been my friend on this path and whether it is the nine year anniversary of being on Twitter which I just crossed to the many years I have held onto this writing dream. Things do get better for those who do keep moving forward eventually. New content and even old content serves as a pillar that can hold your presence up online. Like I always say, just got to keep going.

Weekly Ramble #130

Lee Hall 1 Comment

What an incredible year 2021 has been. Although challenging at times the past twelve months could be described by many words but for me as an author, I’m going to use potential.

Potential because the results I have seen for my efforts has convinced me this journey is worthwhile and has potential to go a lot further than I am right now. Of course the support I have received by you on here or across the platforms has fuelled me to reach higher and further than ever. I’ve achieved so many wonderful things this year and that tells me I can go on and get even better things. From having my book downloaded 10,000 times in a single day to tripling my Twitter following from 5k to nearly 18k, damn, things have really gone from strength to strength, I have even made money from selling books.

I’ve never been one to boast and while my statistics are awesome let them be the greatest advert for what you can achieve because I know there are so many creatives who follow me and who are just like me. If I can get these awesome things then you certainly can, for me, the next chapter is around the corner and so is yours. All I have ever done is never given up and kept going. From figuring out what my following enjoys seeing to the wider aspects of selling books and myself as a brand. The truth is, I want others to achieve what I have done, you’ll see from the plethora of guides I have churned out this year because helping others helps me, helping others builds trust and friendships, helping others is also incredibly rewarding. If you can find just one aspect of a journey to be rewarding then it makes the whole thing way more worthwhile. I’ve left my mark this year and potential is what drives me every day to keep leaving it.

Weekly Ramble #128

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Constantly chasing higher numbers on social media can be draining. Especially when you think you’ve figured out the answers, they go ahead and change the questions. Who are they? The platforms and their algorithms which to me are kind of like a gym membership – costly enough for you to return most weeks but also designed to cast the illusion that you are making progress but actually you are in the same place.

How do I cope with the constant mind fu** that this can all be? Quite simply, I take it one day at a time and honestly, I enjoy the challenge and the connections I make with others. Seeing faces or those behind the handles return everyday to face the same grind as me provides comfort because social media can be a lonely places sometimes, it can feel like you are drifting in space but there are good folks out there and together we make it bearable.

I’m doing my best to up my Twitter game because 20,000 follows is on the near horizon but it just feels like things have slowed on the platform and as someone who is experienced with it I know the problem probably sits with me. The times are moving on from the pandemic ‘everyone is always online’ era and a time where I managed to seize the opportunity. In the past 16 months I made the best of this blog, my author career and wider social media presence but now I’m going to need to adapt to this newer emerging world. But people will always take what you are offering, whether it be content or just your presence, remember that constantly chasing numbers can be a psychological minefield but on social media you get results near enough instantly. So for now I’ll keep chasing because bigger better things are coming.

Weekly Ramble #109

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10,000 Twitter followers is a huge achievement. That’s 10,000 reasons to keep going. 10,000 reasons to not give up. 10,000 reasons to be thankful for the support I have. While it is an exceptional and somewhat numbing moment, right now I feel as if a huge amount of pressure has been lifted. Having that many people behind you means that I no longer have to fight for attention or tolerate things that would effect my following if I reacted in a particular way. It has been a journey and it is now paying off.

Since even before my rise on Twitter I’ve been incredibly lucky to be supported by good people on here. The day-in day-outers who show up and click like on my posts, folks like me trying to make it in this world that is full of challenges. You guys were here before that and during it. I never forget those who have helped me and this celebration is just as much yours as it is mine. Inclusion has always been my mantra and probably why I am so successful at social media.

Sometimes the good guys win and sometimes it all just works out. I’m nothing special but what I stand for and those who stand beside me are exceptional. All I have ever done is carry on, regardless of bad results and being in the company of my old friend zero, I’ve kept going and the rewards are finally presenting themselves. Resilience in the face of adversity is probably the one thing I know, everything else I’ve just picked up along the way. If you do head over to twitter in recent times you’ll see a video at the top of my profile which outlines everything I feel right now. My determination to support and prove that indie authoring is viable, continues…

Got to Keep Going….

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All I know is that I got to keep going,

The destination I’m not knowing.

These writing seeds I’m constantly sowing,

Waiting for that wind of destiny to be blowing.

You’ll never know if you don’t try,

Rejection and it’s reasoning doesn’t matter why.

Closer than ever to success I cannot deny,

Anything less and I’ll be telling a lie.

Still this worthwhile journey bares some fruit,

Results inconclusive and not absolute.

The tree’s I’ve grown are strong at root,

Bolstered by good people and readers to boot.