June 17 2015
Tomorrow we are off
to Alaska for a seven night cruise, flying from Heathrow to Seattle. Three
nights in Seattle and then board the Ruby Princess on Sunday. Am I looking
forward to it? Well, it’s a long way to go for a week’s cruising, but I’m sure
the trip will be enjoyable. Not so sure about the 13 hour flight. We’ve done
the 24 hour flight to Australia, which was a pain. Always is when you fly
economy. We did fly business class once. What a difference, eh? Can’t do that
again unless I sell more books or win the lottery. But selling books is
something of a lottery: some writers crack it, others don’t. My sales have
increased slightly to about 3 a day. The average is probably slightly below
that, but who’s going to argue? Since starting my subscriber campaign with
MailChimp on March 14th. I have seen a steady increase in the
subscription rate and the daily sales. I now have about 216 subscribers, and
all the time that figure keeps increasing, I can expect, hopefully, an increase
in my sales. But how do I keep the faith with all of them? There is a great
deal of advice on how to sell and increase your reviews out there on the web.
The trick is to pick the right one. When we get back from our holiday (we also
have to travel up to Norfolk for a wedding) I hope to be able to knuckle down
and start promoting as well as finishing my current WIP. I have reached 63,000
words and am now at that big hurdle known as writer’s block. The problem isn’t
really finishing the story, but making it as intriguing and fast paced as you
can without just tapering off to a kind of ho-hum so what ending. I’ve managed
to put three of my characters into a situation that I never intended should
happen, and that has kind of thrown me a curved ball: where do I go from here
and what do I do to get these characters back in line? Ah, but I’m the creator
of this intriguing piece of fiction, so I should have no trouble continuing
with the story and taking any path I choose. I could even re-write the whole
thing, but would that solve my problem? Believe it or, I began this book in
2011 — four years ago. In that time I have shelved it, written a full length
novel (Past Imperfect) which was published in hardback and Kindle this year,
had cancer, gone through chemo therapy, sold our house in Spain, moved into rented
accommodation and finally arrived back in England eight months ago. And now I’m
struggling with a WIP that my common sense tells me I should have thrown in the
bin four years ago. But writers aren’t sensible people, otherwise they wouldn’t
write. So why do I do it? Because I’m a romantic; I’m a story teller. I’m still
a kid who makes up stories. And that’s the rub: I can’t stop myself. I will
carry on until I drag myself over the finishing line with a completed novel in
my hand and wonder why I ever doubted the process. Wish me luck! See you all in
about a month’s time.
to Alaska for a seven night cruise, flying from Heathrow to Seattle. Three
nights in Seattle and then board the Ruby Princess on Sunday. Am I looking
forward to it? Well, it’s a long way to go for a week’s cruising, but I’m sure
the trip will be enjoyable. Not so sure about the 13 hour flight. We’ve done
the 24 hour flight to Australia, which was a pain. Always is when you fly
economy. We did fly business class once. What a difference, eh? Can’t do that
again unless I sell more books or win the lottery. But selling books is
something of a lottery: some writers crack it, others don’t. My sales have
increased slightly to about 3 a day. The average is probably slightly below
that, but who’s going to argue? Since starting my subscriber campaign with
MailChimp on March 14th. I have seen a steady increase in the
subscription rate and the daily sales. I now have about 216 subscribers, and
all the time that figure keeps increasing, I can expect, hopefully, an increase
in my sales. But how do I keep the faith with all of them? There is a great
deal of advice on how to sell and increase your reviews out there on the web.
The trick is to pick the right one. When we get back from our holiday (we also
have to travel up to Norfolk for a wedding) I hope to be able to knuckle down
and start promoting as well as finishing my current WIP. I have reached 63,000
words and am now at that big hurdle known as writer’s block. The problem isn’t
really finishing the story, but making it as intriguing and fast paced as you
can without just tapering off to a kind of ho-hum so what ending. I’ve managed
to put three of my characters into a situation that I never intended should
happen, and that has kind of thrown me a curved ball: where do I go from here
and what do I do to get these characters back in line? Ah, but I’m the creator
of this intriguing piece of fiction, so I should have no trouble continuing
with the story and taking any path I choose. I could even re-write the whole
thing, but would that solve my problem? Believe it or, I began this book in
2011 — four years ago. In that time I have shelved it, written a full length
novel (Past Imperfect) which was published in hardback and Kindle this year,
had cancer, gone through chemo therapy, sold our house in Spain, moved into rented
accommodation and finally arrived back in England eight months ago. And now I’m
struggling with a WIP that my common sense tells me I should have thrown in the
bin four years ago. But writers aren’t sensible people, otherwise they wouldn’t
write. So why do I do it? Because I’m a romantic; I’m a story teller. I’m still
a kid who makes up stories. And that’s the rub: I can’t stop myself. I will
carry on until I drag myself over the finishing line with a completed novel in
my hand and wonder why I ever doubted the process. Wish me luck! See you all in
about a month’s time.
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