Now Every Night is a Friday Night!
Still Teasing Readers — A Year On
“Posy it’s me — May! Over here!”
I looked over the sea of bobbing heads at the busy train station, and there she was. My dear friend. We’ve only met in person once, but we have been messaging and talking to one another almost daily for five years.
Before I had time to notice that her hair had changed, or what she was wearing, I was wrapped in a friendly bear hug. At last, she was here and so was I. The trip we’d been planning for months was upon us. But we needed our third ‘Musketeer’.
“Let’s grab a taxi and find Marie!”
Marie’s flight had landed earlier, so she’d acted as ‘scout’, passing the time til our arrival in a cafe, and scoping out the bars and restaurants in the vicinity of our airbnb. We let go of our suitcases to greet each other; more hugs and squeals of “at last,” “finally,” and “you look well,” before May suggested, “Let’s celebrate with a drink!”
Well …. you can’t be in the Cocktail Club without toasting each other with a tipple when you eventually meet up!
Happy Birthday Teaser Tales — 1 year old this month, and to celebrate, my fellow editors Marie A. Rebelle, May More 💜 Tales and I are letting our enthusiasm bubble over. We’re even taking the brakes off another restriction.
When I say Every Night is Friday Night, I refer to having lifted our segregation between types of teasers.
Anytime you want to send us your teaser, we will schedule it to publish.
- A teaser that promotes a Medium-published piece of erotica.
- Teasers linking and so promoting a story or book from outside the Medium platform.
- Any teasers promoting a longer, non-erotic story on Medium.
Please remember you are welcome to promote fiction or non-fiction.
We don’t intend to put out more than three teasers a day, as all authors need their moment in the spotlight, even if it’s for a short tease! But this change allows us to cater for more writers and promote a wider range of work. Our submissions guidelines are here.
The Value of a Teaser
Have you ever bought a book without reading the ‘blurb’ on the back? Doubtful — a reader needs to know the genre of the tale within. Time is precious, and showing what to expect if we invest time in a story is a necessary part of marketing.
A Teaser Tale can help with that.
Use a Teaser as a flash story and grab new reader attention:
Engage your audience with a vivid related image and a title so they react, “Tell me more.”
Decide on Fiction or Non-Fiction:
Your short Teaser can be either, but it’s effective to give a new angle on your longer story or book, try writing:
- Background on a premise in the story
- The inspiration behind writing the longer work
- Prequel to the storyline
- Stand in a different character’s shoes to add depth or new intel
- Make a shock reveal, so the reader is curious how the plot got there
- Whet appetites with hints of the best bit(s) — like a film trailer
Recently Medium changed its ‘preview’ setting. Now many low word count stories are visible in their entirety without you earning from their read. Don’t despair, the Teaser’s value is not diffused. The Teaser is still on target if the reader clicks the link and follows through to the longer piece of work / book. The latest change might mean the Teaser itself qualifies as a ‘free read’ for non-members, but if you’ve hooked them to read more, it’s still a win.
Statistics
The changes in the dashboard make it harder for us to gather stats the way we used to, but according to Medium, below are the top 6 stories for engagement — from those published during the last 6 mths (May to end of Oct 2023)
I know he wants it as much as…
It happened last Saturday, and I still can’t process it.
I wanted Seb to be the one. I trusted…
Little did I know how that reunion was going to change everything.
Trapped Between Her Mother And A Hard Place
Check out some of our top-performing stories, they may give you an idea how best to shape or format your Teasers.
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Three chosen by me
Some fab teasers that I’d hate you to miss:
Writing About Not Writing Simone Francis
The desire to write builds within a writer, even when they are forced to stop
Secrets in the Attic Mark S R Sterling
The new governess is exposed to more than she bargained for
Peyton’s on the Hunt by Laura Knapke (Nap-Key)
Follow Peyton on her hot and steamy adventure. She is a young sexy business woman filled with desires that need to be fulfilled, and a longing for something more. 8 story mini-series.
Tagging a few regular writers, and those I think may be interested:
Alexander Martin Nikolaos Skordilis
Teresa Wymore 🏳️🌈 Jacques Gerard
“Until I feared I would lose it, I never loved to read. One does not love breathing.” ― Harper Lee
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