Struggling and budding writers

16th. Sept. 2017 No progress on the literary front for me this week, simply because I’m being persuaded that my current WIP is not a good idea. I have seen figures (statistics) that support the premise that ‘series’ novels outsell ‘cross-genre’ novels by something like 80% to 20%. Having now published two thrillers with Marcus Blake as the main character, it makes sense for me to go for a third book with Marcus leading the way. But this puts me into the literary straight-jacket I’ve mentioned before, knowing I have to follow that line to improve my potential readership. I need a good plot for Marcus, and at the moment I’m more likely to win the lottery than I am to find a good plot. I’ll just keep my fingers crossed that something turns up. We were at a family wedding last night. My niece, Sarah, was marrying her partner, Simon who she has lived with for about ten years. They have a daughter called Jasmine and a son, Hugh. Jasmine was very keen to meet me because she was amazed to discover some time ago that there was an author in the family. And not just that, but her Uncle Matthew had been mentioned in the credits to one of the books. She even took the book into school for a “Show and Tell”. Jasmine has already written a story: a five page story. She also played the Wedding March on the keyboard for her mum and dad as they walked up the aisle. Certainly a very talented little girl. We had to meet. Jasmine told me she would like to write another story, so I asked her to come up with a 20 page book this time, and I will see if I can get it published for her. I would use CreateSpace if it’s possible, or maybe Lulu, but I would love to able to do this for her. I’ve no idea if I can produce a book that small, or even if CS will accept my account with Jasmine as the author. Time will tell though. It was lovely talking to Jasmine: she seemed so shy, and perhaps a little intimidated by my ‘reputation’. On the subject of being the author for a title: I had to persuade CS that my re-sized paperback, Roselli’s Gold, was really my book. I sent the required proof to them and have since received the new book. Right size too. Tomorrow we are off on a five day break. I’ve hired a motor-home and we’ll drive to Dorset and Devon. It’s a ‘try-out’ for us. I’ve never driven a motor-home before, so it looks like it could be fun. We’re not hiring a Winnebago, just a 2 berth Chausson. We’re taking the dog with us. I have downloaded a book on Facebook advertising after seeking advice on one of the forums I use. In response to the question about audience relevance, I was told that anything below 9 is a waste of time. The book I downloaded is called ‘HELP, my Facebook ads suck!’ by Michael Cooper. At a cost of under £4, it isn’t money wasted. And when you consider my relevance on UK is 4, and on USA it’s 7, then I need help. The author of the book has an impressive CV, and the author who suggested the book has never dropped below a relevance of 9 since he bought the book. So here goes, maybe I’ll crack this FB advertising lark and see some improvement in my ROI. And maybe I’ll unearth a decent plot for Marcus Blake. Wish me luck.