Success on Amazon: Can I plan my Italian book tour now?

I've been to Italy twice now, once on a school trip in 1992, where I was mostly interested in eating gelato and eyeing up the good looking Italian boys, and then again last December, where I finally appreciated the abundance of art and culture which Italy is famous for. And I'm more than happy to go a third time, should the need arise.

After Painted was published in June this year, I could never have anticipated that of all the Amazon platforms, my horror novel would take off in Italy. Don't get me wrong, it has done well in the other Amazon markets, but the success in Italy has taken us by surprise.

The French translation rights for Painted have been negotiated, and I'm hopeful that the French version will be available in time for Christmas this year. Now it looks like we need an Italian translation. That's something we'll be working on in the coming weeks.

Launching a standalone book is so different to launching a series. When Fifteen Postcards and The Last Letter were published, I knew I was writing a series and that I could tempt people to follow me to hear about the next instalment. But what about writing standalone novels? How do you get people coming back for more? How do you keep the momentum going?

As a starter, we decided we could increase my reach by actively targeting smaller markets, and having Painted translated into different languages will achieve that. Greater reach equals more sales, which results in more reviews, which results in more sales. Hopefully.

Secondly, write a good book to start with and hope that people want to read the next one. That worked for Stephen King, and still does. There are horror writers out there who don't write series and they seem to manage it just fine.

And finally, write another book. Which I'm doing. Slowly. I'm 15,277 words into book #4 so far - another horror. Although I also have 60,000 words of The Ruination of Art sitting on my hard drive waiting for me to return to my Florentine based novel. That needs about another 60,000 words written. Probably now would be a good time to finish that one! I must have subconsciously known Italy was going to be good for me! I started The Ruination of Art after I finished writing The Last Letter, so it's been percolating for a while now.

The goal was to publish one book a year. We've decided to contract that slightly, and I'll aim for one book every ten months. With a husband, two children, and a cat who thinks that they are a puppy, ten months is a comfortable time frame, although I did manage to write Painted in the space of eight months, So maybe it'll be one book every eight months. We'll see. Should I be required to travel to Italy to run a promotional book tour for Painted, I'm sure my writing would speed up. It's amazing how many words I could do sitting at the window of a Tuscan farmhouse, sipping my chianti, admiring the landscape as I ponder how my next novel may end...

I've found a small villa for sale. It might be a little out of my price range this year, but next year, maybe, so I'd better get back to my writing...
https://www.prestigeproperty.co.uk/13-bed-villa-florence-tuscany-italy-199201