February 7, 2015
It’s been quite a week,
one way or another. The highlight though was attending the meeting in London of
the International Thriller Writers (ITW). This was for the European members,
and hopefully it will be the forerunner of many more. The ITW is really an
American organisation, and all the emphasis with regard to meetings and
“Thriller Fests” has always been American orientated. Now the European arm
finally has a real voice.
one way or another. The highlight though was attending the meeting in London of
the International Thriller Writers (ITW). This was for the European members,
and hopefully it will be the forerunner of many more. The ITW is really an
American organisation, and all the emphasis with regard to meetings and
“Thriller Fests” has always been American orientated. Now the European arm
finally has a real voice.
For a writer like myself:
virtually unknown and with very low sales, it meant a great deal to rub
shoulders with the big hitters on this side of the Atlantic. I used to be a
contributing editor for ITW: something I volunteered to do in the hope it might
raise my profile. It didn’t work, although I contributed about seven interviews
including C.J.Carver, one of ITW’s higher profile members. She was there on
Wednesday, and I was able to have a few minutes chat with her.
virtually unknown and with very low sales, it meant a great deal to rub
shoulders with the big hitters on this side of the Atlantic. I used to be a
contributing editor for ITW: something I volunteered to do in the hope it might
raise my profile. It didn’t work, although I contributed about seven interviews
including C.J.Carver, one of ITW’s higher profile members. She was there on
Wednesday, and I was able to have a few minutes chat with her.
The meeting was organised
by J.T.Penn (Joanna), and Simon Toyne. Both best-selling authors. Joanna will
be one of the guests at the New York Thriller Fest this year. The other
speakers were Nick Stephenson, an Amazon top ten author, and Erin Kelly. Erin
won the Richard & Judy top book award (big here in UK), and is now working
with BBC to novelise the hit TV series ‘Broadchurch’. She currently has four,
best-selling novels to her credit. There were other writers there who have
achieved much in the book world, and I was able to speak to a couple of them.
by J.T.Penn (Joanna), and Simon Toyne. Both best-selling authors. Joanna will
be one of the guests at the New York Thriller Fest this year. The other
speakers were Nick Stephenson, an Amazon top ten author, and Erin Kelly. Erin
won the Richard & Judy top book award (big here in UK), and is now working
with BBC to novelise the hit TV series ‘Broadchurch’. She currently has four,
best-selling novels to her credit. There were other writers there who have
achieved much in the book world, and I was able to speak to a couple of them.
The meeting was not about
glad handing and paying homage to the big guns: it was more of a celebration;
being able to meet as a European contingent. And there was a great deal of
information and help from the presenters on how to look at the way in which books
are marketed and promoted, and some eye-opening stuff about advertising and
promoting. I’m sure people like me came away from the meeting filled with ideas
of how to change direction with regard to ‘selling’ ourselves and hence our
books.
glad handing and paying homage to the big guns: it was more of a celebration;
being able to meet as a European contingent. And there was a great deal of
information and help from the presenters on how to look at the way in which books
are marketed and promoted, and some eye-opening stuff about advertising and
promoting. I’m sure people like me came away from the meeting filled with ideas
of how to change direction with regard to ‘selling’ ourselves and hence our
books.
Nick Stephenson has a
free, on-line tutorial about raising your profile and readership levels. I had
signed up for this free course of tutorials a week ago. Imagine my surprise
when I saw Nick sitting in front of me at the meeting. Naturally I grabbed the
opportunity to talk to him. And because he was one of the presenters, I knew I
was on safe ground with his tutorial.
free, on-line tutorial about raising your profile and readership levels. I had
signed up for this free course of tutorials a week ago. Imagine my surprise
when I saw Nick sitting in front of me at the meeting. Naturally I grabbed the
opportunity to talk to him. And because he was one of the presenters, I knew I
was on safe ground with his tutorial.
All in all the meeting
was a resounding success for more than just my own reasons. And as a bonus to my
good week; I had an interview published in the local newspaper about my latest
book, Past Imperfect. One of the
pieces of advice I have taken on board is to try and build a reader platform by
starting an e-mail subscription list. I will begin by offering one of my
e-books free (permafree), and build from there. Perhaps readers of this blog
will keep an eye out for my first offer and sign up. I hope so. Whether this
will work as effectively as other writers who have found success this way, I
have no idea, but I am going to give it a go. Wish me luck.
was a resounding success for more than just my own reasons. And as a bonus to my
good week; I had an interview published in the local newspaper about my latest
book, Past Imperfect. One of the
pieces of advice I have taken on board is to try and build a reader platform by
starting an e-mail subscription list. I will begin by offering one of my
e-books free (permafree), and build from there. Perhaps readers of this blog
will keep an eye out for my first offer and sign up. I hope so. Whether this
will work as effectively as other writers who have found success this way, I
have no idea, but I am going to give it a go. Wish me luck.
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