A Hard Day's Week

November 20th. 2016 It’s been a very full week for me and my wife, which has impacted on the amount of editing I’ve been able to do. The first three days we were up in Lincolnshire visiting two close friends, one of whom is unwell. As I mentioned in last week’s blog, our grandson Adam came over and looked after Tuppence. I think they both enjoyed it. I know Tuppence kept looking for Adam after he had gone home. I managed to do some editing, snatching moments when I could. One conclusion I came to was that I was hurrying the process, and that leads to mistakes. It will need a third read through before I hand it over to my wife. That’s when the fun begins; she’ll wield her red pen with relish. Last Thursday it was me and the dog; Pat was out on a shopping trip. I did manage to feed myself, walk the dog and get a little editing done as well. One thing that has been on my mind for a while is a title. I can’t get the word Apollyon out of my head, but feel I need something else. The story is about a group of satanic worshippers, although this is not about demons and devils; it’s about a sinister group of powerful people who want control within the corridors of corporate and government power. It isn’t about the overthrow of a government or the downfall of huge companies, but more of uncovering the unexplained death of a cabinet minister and how the hunt leads to the guilty ones. It’s a mixture of crime and mystery. It isn’t about police work either. Moving on. Friday was the annual, CHINDI party at Chichester. This was in aid of the charity, Dyslexia in Action. I must confess I’d never heard of the charity, but I’m always pleased to be involved in this kind of fund raising. The event included a band, a host of raffle prizes donated by local companies, and readings from four of our author members. I sold a couple of books, which is par for the course really, but it’s good to be able to chat to people about your work and hopefully encourage them to part with their money. I know I must brush up on my sales technique though. One chap came up to my table (the authors shared tables, so no-one had a table to themselves) and opened his mobile phone, went on-line to Amazon, scrolled through and checked out my titles, then shut the phone. He told me the books were all there and he might download some. Then he walked away. As much as I would like to hope that he will be true to his word, I wish he hadn’t been so blatant: perhaps a little more discreet. Saturday morning and another table top sale, but this time in our local church raising money for the children’s ward at St.Richard’s hospital in Chichester. Another good cause. I began reading Lee Child’s book, Make Me. He’s an amazing author: writes the same story each time but in a different part of the USA. He gets away with it. I must admit that he is very good at what he does, and I usually enjoy his Jack Reacher books (does he do anything else?). Often we are told as writers that to learn our craft we should read other authors who write in our genre. But what could I learn from Lee Child? Answers on a postcard please…… So by the end of the week, both me and Pat felt we had put in a hard shift at work. It’s what comes of being retired. Now I will get on with the editing and should have it finished by the end of the week. Then another read through. All I need is a title! Wish me luck.

Pump up the Volume

November 12th. 2016 Mixing with a bunch of writers always helps to raise your spirits when talking about upcoming promotions etc. Our CHINDI party (www.chindi-authors.co.uk) takes place on Friday in Chichester. Last year’s was a success, and we hope for a repeat of the same. Table top sales aren’t always going to achieve high sales, but this event will include raffle prizes — all donated by local companies — nibbles, a band, and four of our authors launching new books. The publisher, Harper Collins, has donated a hamper of books, and the well-known celebrity Charlie Borman has tweeted about the party too. The reason we have been getting this kind of response is because we are supporting the charity, Dyslexia in Action. Hopefully we’ll be able to swell their coffers. The CHINDI group do try to promote themselves through fund raising activities, and it helps to have members who have connections. I know that I couldn’t achieve a quarter of that kind of outreach without their help. It’s all good. I’m making some progress on my re-write. Editing is a tricky business, particularly when you make a small change that has a knock-on effect throughout the story. That’s where I find Scrivener so helpful. Having all my scenes listed under their relevant chapters, and the ‘corkboard’ facility, makes it so much easier to jump to the place in the story where you need to make a change. I also keep track of the storyline through a timetable which I update after each scene edit. I find it crucial because it is so easy to have a character somewhere one morning and somewhere else in another scene at a different time. I read a quote last week from Jeffrey Archer: he said he does fourteen drafts before he is satisfied! Sooner him than me; but then, he’s a best-selling author. I’ve succumbed to the promotion pressure and paid for a single day, November 28th, for a bargain book deal. I chose Roselli’s Gold because it’s probably my best-selling book. I was tempted to promote A Dangerous Game, but I’ve pushed that most of the year and it hasn’t outsold Roselli’s Gold. It’s a dilemma trying to pick one of my titles to promote, although it shouldn’t matter if the promotion achieves better sales than usual. My wife and I are off for a few days on Monday visiting two friends in Lincolnshire. Our grandson, Adam, is coming over to look after the dog while we’re away. Adam has an amazing talent for drawing, and has a bunch of work to do for clients. Hopefully our Tuppence won’t distract him while he works. Wish him luck!

Changing Things

November 5th. 2016 Tonight is bonfire night! Well, in UK anyway. Guy Fawkes tried to blow up the Houses of Parliament in 1605. 400 plus years later and our government is still under threat, but this time by those opposed to Brexit. There have been numerous re-writes since Guy Fawkes: different bodies of opinion trying to bring down the rulers (good or bad). It wouldn’t make a good novel though because there never seems to be an end to it all. I reached a milestone this week: I finished the first draft of my novel. My word target was 80,000. I managed 79,940: almost a bullseye. But it won’t last because I will be doing a re-write and expect to add more words to it. One of my CHINDI author friends has suggested I leave it for ten days before starting again. I can’t do that; I can’t get the re-write out of my mind. One or two changes are definitely in the pipeline, and no doubt I’ll find more. One problem I had for a while was how to finish the book. I couldn’t come up with a satisfying finish, no matter how much I tried. In the end I did something most writers are advised to do when struggling — plough on! This I did and wrote the book into an ending which I hope will not need changing; I really like it. One of the problems I encounter when dreaming up scenarios when I’m not writing (out shopping for example), is that I believe I’ve come up with a great idea, but eventually have to drop it or modify it, which I do with great reluctance. I nursed a beauty of an idea for a couple of weeks, and was looking forward to writing it in. Once it was there, I was happy, until I realised that it didn’t work, so it had to go. I modified it actually, but it meant changing the run in to the end, which is how I managed to come up with an ending that fitted perfectly. Although I don’t expect to see the completed manuscript for several weeks, I am still struggling for a title. I have one in my head that will not go away — APOLLYON. No, it doesn’t mean ‘Devil’, but ‘Destroyer’. I can imagine the word on the cover and something — I don’t know what — behind it. I will work on the design myself, once the manuscript is with my wife for further editing. That will give me plenty of time to tear my hair out while battling with PhotoShop. Ah, the life of a struggling writer! I’m looking forward to November 18th. That’s the night our CHINDI group have their annual party. Last year was a success, although planning wasn’t too spectacular. This year we are a little wiser, so hopefully it will be successful and gain us more readers. My book sales and rankings are doing their usual trick, high and low. I’m not promoting anything at the moment, which is deliberate, although I’m getting inundated with offers to take advantage of the holiday season and an invitation to take up their splendid offers. It’s a bit like choosing a queue in the Post Office or the supermarket: you always pick the wrong one. I will probably do something before December, but not too sure which way to go: straight promotion for a ‘cheapie’ book on one of the more recognisable websites, or fall for the advertising charms of a lower level website. Whatever I do with a promotion, I may have some highs, but I will also have lows; it’s the way things are at this level. Wish me luck!