Memories

January 19^th. 2019

Today, me and Pat are celebrating our 59^th Wedding anniversary. Fifty nine years where we’ve shared all the decision making. Pat made the easy ones, I made the hard ones. Funny thing is, I don’t remember having to make any hard decisions, but everything got done! (Hmm?). We are at that stage in our lives when anniversaries aren’t celebrated in the same was as they used to be; we’re not fit and agile enough. However, today we’re going out for lunch and then to the pictures to see Mary Queen of Scots. Looking forward to it.

I’m making reasonable progress with my pulp fiction thriller. Yesterday I’d completed almost 27000 words, which means I’m nearly two thousand words ahead of my target. But today being different of course, I doubt if I’ll get any further ahead, although I might grab some time later this evening: there’s nothing on the box for me after the football’s finished, so perhaps I’ll write (perhaps!).

I am seeing constant sales on Amazon as a result of my AMS ads, but nowhere near as much as I would like. I am just keeping ahead of one sale a day, but that includes D2D, which is on the low side. But when I see a sale on my KDP graph, and it’s for Roselli’s Gold, I know my ads are at least hitting some targets. My ROI is terrible, but for me that isn’t the objective at the moment. My ads have cost me about $160 so far, and my sales have grossed about $70. And of course, my royalties will be 70% of that figure. For me it’s about getting my work out there among the reading public.

Another thing I’m looking into is advertising on Amazon.co.uk. I contacted Amazon about the fact that my AMS ads only reach USA, but I want to advertise here in UK. They sent me a link through which I can set up an account. There are several options, one of which is the Pro account. £25 up front and then £25 per month. I’m still debating over that because there is no guarantee that my sales in UK will be any better than they are in USA. That would make my ROI terrible.

I watched part of a Mark Dawson podcast yesterday on the value of maintaining links with subscribers. I gave up watching in the end because I just can’t see my way to developing a weekly ‘to and fro’ between me and my subscribers. Each time I send an email, (once a month), I get about ten unsubs and an open rate of about 3%. I will persevere, but I don’t hold out much hope.

I received the new book jacket for my thriller, The Boy from Berlin, and uploaded it to KDP. The paperback arrived yesterday but the reproduced colours means it needs more work. This is not the jacket that Christine Hammacott is producing; that’s still to come and is a completely different work of art. I contacted the designer and he will address the problem. The book itself is fine: feels nice, looks nice, but just a pity it needs a little more work.

Pat is still waiting for news from the hospital about her treatment. It’s now ten weeks since the X-ray revealed the shadow in her lung. We are expecting a call from the hospital on Tuesday with the prognosis and an appointment for treatment to start. We’re not happy!

On the subject of anniversaries; my elder brother Jim was eighty years old three days ago. I remember sending him a birthday card on his 65^th birthday when he was lying in hospital after having suffered a heart attack. When I spoke to him, we had a laugh about it. He said if it wasn’t for the skills of the doctors, the stents and the pills, he wouldn’t have got this far. We all need some kind of prop to keep us going. I’m a couple of years behind my brother, but with luck I’ll still be writing (and selling) when I reach my eightieth. Wish me luck!