Round Up!

May 29^th. 2015

In the last two weeks
I’ve seen much of the countryside, blocked motorways, new family members and a
small rise in my book sales. We travelled up to Norfolk to meet up with our two
great-grandchildren, Harrison and Archer. Archer was born in February but we
hadn’t been able to see him because he lives in Cyprus. Harrison celebrated his
third birthday while we were in Norfolk, but we lived in Spain when he was
born, so this was a first time for the two little ones and me and Pat. It was a
great weekend which also included our eldest son, Vincent’s retirement from the
RAF. After the long weekend we travelled up to Ruskington in Lincoln to spend a
bit of time with our two friends Brian and Pauline. Oh, and the dog, Daisy,
their new Chihuahua. We brought them down here for a week and then drove back
home with them. On the way back the following day we crawled round the M25.
During the week we went to Arundel where some tosser clouted my car in the car
park. No telephone number left for me, just the prospect of a bill to get my
car repaired. Why are people like that?

I’ve kept a sneaky
eye on my book sales while we’ve been away and am pleased to see my average
just going over one a day. No big deal you might think, but a sale is a sale.
My subscriber list has grown steadily and at the time of writing has reached
145. I will begin promoting again, but first things first; I need to get on
with uploading a book jacket for Ingram Spark: they rejected the one I thought
would be fine. My ability with PhotoShop is limited, so that means a teeth
gnashing time trying to adjust the size of the jacket spine lettering to fit
the template.

I have been getting
on with some side issues with the author group, Chindi (Chichester Authors). I
picked up a display rack from a firm way out in the Hampshire countryside when
we were travelling back from Lincolnshire. The sign on the roadside said “Wriggley
Tin”. No, that wasn’t the name of the company, but it was the right farm track
we needed.

I’ve been giving a
great deal of thought about my writing process and the direction I’m going. My
instincts tell me to keep going; keep plugging away. But as time goes by I seem
to be losing the will to follow those instincts. A couple of weeks ago I spent
a bit of time with a bookshop owner in Petersfield. He used to work in
publishing and advised me not to drop my publisher in favour of self-publishing.
He said I was fortunate to have a publisher. And considering the time, effort
and cost of producing a paperback, I do wonder if it’s worth the effort. I can
produce an eBook no trouble at all, and it costs very little: beans in fact. If
I stay with my publisher, and providing she likes my next offering, she will
produce an eBook anyway. I can concentrate on my own paperbacks and hopefully
rely on sales of my traditionally published work on Amazon.

Looking ahead (but
not too far), we are off on our cruise round Alaska in three weeks’ time, then
a wedding in Norfolk early July. I should have a clear run until our visit to
Spain in October, so perhaps I will have something to offer my publisher. We’ll
see. Wish me luck!

There's got to be a book in there somewhere.

May 10^th. 2015

I’m still on that learning curve, but slowing down a
little. I know I will not make my own, self-imposed deadline of June to finish
my WIP, but that’s the way the cookie crumbles. I have so much to do alongside
the creative process, and not just promotion etc., but also work around the
house; trips out, essential business. All part of life’s rich pattern really.
Well, my life.

I’ve scheduled a book promotion for Monday 11^th.
This is for A
Covert War, which is picking up some good reviews
incidentally. It’s always a chore trying to choose a title to promote because I
feel they should all be promoted. I have tried to set myself a monthly budget
for advertising, but sometimes the price is too high. I have studied Facebook
advertising, and intend to use that sometime. The results can be good with FB,
but I need to make sure I know what I’m doing. I did think about advertising my
latest book, Past
Imperfect, but the price on eBooksToday was a
little high. The point about this book and promotion is that my publisher has
the rights still. If I promote, I’m not treading on anyone’s toes, but there’s
always the chance that my publisher is planning something. No, I don’t think
so, but you never know.

With my other hat on, I am putting something together for
the author group, CHINDI. This is to do with getting our books into a bookshop
during the Chichester Arts Festival in June. I have secured one shop, but
getting into others is like looking for hen’s teeth. I contacted four shops.
Two have failed to reply. One replied and said that self-published authors don’t
sell unless they have a promotion to back them up. One shop replied and showed
some interest. I will be calling in on the owner next week.

I did make a little progress with my WIP, but not a lot. I
had a problem with Scrivener that left me dangling a bit, but a word with their
support team and I received a reply from the designer himself. It’s more or
less sorted now, but these delays can be very frustrating, particularly when
you’ve found a window of time in which you can sit down and write.

On the family side, we spent a day with our second son, Terry.
He and his wife are buying a new-build up at Horsham; close to Gatwick airport
where he works (he’s a commercial airline pilot). Horsham is a lovely old town,
and it was nice to wander around with Terry and have lunch with him.

The following day, yesterday, we were over at our third son’s
place to celebrate his wife’s birthday. Me and John played snooker. Pat and
Bryony shopped. We arrived home in time to watch the VE celebrations on TV.
Great day all round.

This morning we chatted with son number four (Stephen) in
Australia. Skype is a wonderful thing for families who are separated by
thousands of miles. Oh, and Pat spoke to our eldest boy, Vincent on the phone
too. So there you have it: all the boys in less than seventy two hours.

I don’t expect to be writing up a blog for a couple of
weeks now because of family commitments that will take us away for a couple of weeks.
Hopefully when I return and put pen to paper, I will have more to say about how
successful I have been with my promotion. Wish me luck!

Technical and all that

What's PDF/X-1a:2001 got to do with it? Read on.

May 2^nd. 2015

When it comes to a learning curve, most of us have to
struggle. But when the advice comes in unrecognisable instructions, the
struggle takes on an unseemly desperation to make an advance up the learning
curve, knowing you’re not going to make it. And so it was when I tried to
upload a book jacket to Ingram Spark. It was rejected because of colour issues
along with the need to select something like CYMX and ensure the image
resolution was 300 ppi etc. etc. But! All this could be resolved simply by
saving as a default setting of PDF/X-1a:2001. And that, as they say, was where
it all began. Sounds like the opening line of a mystery, doesn’t it?

So what did I do? I did what anyone in desperate need of
help: I Googled PDF/X-1a:2001. And there it was: an explanation as clear as
mud. Several in fact. So I floundered and tried other ways around my problem,
but to no avail. Then, quite without warming, and not in the mood to do battle,
I chanced upon something in Photoshop called Adobe Presets. What was this, I
wondered? Could it be? You bet it could. There, nestling in this drop down
window was the PDF/X-1a:2001 in the smallest of fonts as though it was afraid
to show itself. I did a quick scramble, whistled up my book jacket, saved it
with the default setting and successfully uploaded it to Ingram Spark. So why
didn’t they suggest that in the first place? Probably because we are all
expected to be computer savvy. Fat chance! But its another piece of the jigsaw
in place and another hurdle I should be able to get over without a second
thought. Fingers crossed.

I’ve had a busy week with a mixture of gardening,
publishing but no writing. Try as I might, I am still finding it increasingly
difficult to make any headway with my current novel. I have prepared North Slope and Shadow
of the Wolf for publication on Amazon. At the moment
both titles are available on Amazon, but under the publisher name of Acclaimed
Books (AB.c). I have asked Peter Lihou, the CEO at AB.c, to de-list those two,
which means I will then be free to publish them with me as publisher. This
brings all my seven titles under my account with Amazon. Now I can begin to
handle the books, change the pricing, promote etc., without having to ask Pete
to do this for me. This was a long standing arrangement: something I intended
to do once we had moved back to UK from Spain.

My e-mail subscription list is growing, and hopefully this
will help propel me to bigger and better things in the book world. For anyone
reading this blog who might want to download a free copy of The Devil’s
Trinity and join my subscription list, the link
to obtain your free copy is http://eepurl.com/bgYKMj

Apart from the literary world, I have dug up a quantity of
soil in our garden to remove the weeds so we can lay turf down. I purchased
this today, and also laid in some lawn edging to tidy up the lawn edges. I also
bought a patio set. I changed some light fittings for Pat and put up a couple
of hanging baskets. The garden will look great come the summer but I doubt
if  I’ll have my book finished by then.
Let’s hope so. Wish me luck!

The other side of the writing desk

As I make further inroads into self-publishing, I am
finding just how much I didn’t know about the game. Whereas everything had been
done for me during my time with Robert Hale Ltd., and then Acclaimed Books, I
have to consider all aspects of producing a quality book and realising that I
have a lot to learn. I received a proof copy of The Devil’s Trinity from Ingram
Spark this week, and was disappointed to see that the placement of Chapter One
was on a left hand page. My wife didn’t think it was a problem, but if a book
is to appear professionally done, I have to remember that the devil is in the
detail, as they say. I will probably have the book re-printed, which means more
work (and more money!).

I have also made some progress with my current novel;
reaching 54000 words but I still find myself wondering where I’m going to go
with it. I will finish the book, but I have to be sure it will be worth
spending some money on to produce a quality product. The twists and turns I am
creating within the story are beginning to confuse even me! So goodness knows
how I will resolve it all. But isn’t that the essence of a good thriller? One
where neither the reader nor the writer knows where its going? Well, maybe not.
I just have to keep the reader puzzled.

I had a small promotion last Thursday for The Eagle’s
Covenant and got some good results from it. This is my permafree book; the one
in which there is an opportunity to sign up to my e-mail list and obtain another
free book. You can go to my landing page for the free offer by clicking the
link: http://eepurl.com/bgYKMj.
I am still picking up subscribers, and have reached fifty six so far. Big oak
trees from little acorns grow, so they say, and I hope my subscription list
will continue to grow too.

I had an interesting chat with the manager of our local,
Waterstones bookshop in West Street in Chichester this week. It was all about
trying to get a display of books from the Chichester Independent Writers Group
(CHINDI) into the store during the Chichester Arts Festival in June. She was
very helpful but not able to do much at for us; although she has promised to
see what she can come up with. One of the interesting parts of the conversation
was that she is a self-published author and hasn’t been able to get her book
into the store. Company policy etc. It doesn’t look too good for us amateurs,
then, does it?

I was also in touch with Matador Books and the prospect of
having my work published with them. This would only be for the back-list of my titles
which are published by CreateSpace. I want to have them available in UK
bookshops, but for that they need Nielsen registered ISBNs.  I have those, and the first was used on the
The Devil’s Trinity. Nine more to go. Matador use their own ISBNs but will
accept those provided by the publisher. Trouble is; they won’t provide
marketing and promotion services with those numbers. See what I mean about
having to learn all kinds of stuff about self-publishing?

Wednesday was a pleasant change from our day to day routines
etc. Two friends of ours from Spain came by. Ray and Lynn were on their way up
to Manchester, and having docked at Portsmouth they thought it would be nice to
drop in before continuing their journey north. We had a nice pub lunch in the
Walnut Tree just along the road. The weather was good and kind of set the day
up nicely for us. It’s great to have friends who are willing to put themselves
out like that. Now I need readers who are willing to put themselves out and buy
my books. Wish me luck!

Mixing it in the book world

April 17^th. 2015

My trip to the London Book Fair last Wednesday was something
of an eye-opener. I’ve never been to a book event, probably because we lived in
Spain for seventeen years and the cost was prohibitive when taking into account
travel and lodgings etc. I’m pleased I went although the book fair is really
for Trade. I did at least meet my publisher, Gill Jackson of Robert Hale Ltd.,
so in that respect the trip was worth it. She was busy and had people buzzing
around her; but she was able to spend some time with me chatting about — well,
books!

After speaking with Gill, I dropped in at Matador Books. The
reason for that was because two of the CHINDI group I am with have had books
published with Matador. I saw a copy of The Farie Tree by Jane Cable on their
stand. So I took a photograph and sent it to Jane. If I’d seen any of my books
up like that, I would have been over the moon. I like to think that Jane was
pleased too.

I wandered around Olympia, amazed at the number of publishers’
stands. It was good to see that the book world hasn’t been destroyed by Amazon.
They had a stand there too. I chatted to a guy about audio books; then found out
he was there to sell to publishers, not authors. But it was good to talk, as
they say. All in all it was an experience, but not one that I will repeat
unless I’m invited to give a talk about my work. I live in hope!

Last Monday was the monthly meeting of the Chindi authors (www.chindi-authors.co.uk). It’s
interesting to see how independent, self-published authors achieve their hopes
and ambitions. Because I’ve been traditionally published, I haven’t learned too
much about the go-it-alone path. Working with Acclaimed Books (www.acclaimedbooks.com) was easy
because most of the work was done for me at no cost. Now I am looking to
self-publish as a stand-alone writer (by choice), I see I have a lot to learn.
My first attempt is a paperback with Ingram Spark, which shouldn’t be a problem
because it has already been published by CreateSpace. The test comes when I
finish my current work-in-progress (WIP) and set about having it edited,
proofread and published. I suspect that’s where Matador may come in added to
the advice I get from the Chindi group.

My WIP is now at a half-way stage. I putting it on
Scrivener and am within a few thousand words of finishing the upload. Once that’s
done I will begin writing again. It will seem strange because I haven’t put pen
to paper in a serious way for such a long time. Now it’s all about discipline,
getting the brain cells working and finishing the book.

My e-mail subscription campaign is building slowly but
positively. I am selling about one book a day, probably because of the interest
generate by the campaign, and also by small promotions I’m running. The longer
this goes on and the more I delve into the book world, the more I see how much
involvement is required — after the book is finished — by the author. If I was
a best-selling writer, it wouldn’t need much more than to attend signing
sessions and attend TV interviews. Do I want that? One half of me says yes, the
other half says, well, maybe. But whatever happens; wish me luck!

Gardening, prose then Dave and Rose

April 10^th. 2015

This week began with a slight change in activity for me:
gardening! The sun came out, so out came the gardening equipment. My wife, Pat,
loves it. I can’t say I’m a fan, but I do try to do my bit. I help wherever I
can by digging, lifting the heavy stuff and wading into thorny bushes without
protective clothing. More fool me, eh? But we are getting there and I know the
garden will look splendid by the time summer arrives. The gardening has been
interspersed with trips down to the council rubbish tip, the garden centre and
the good old, reliable D-I-Y store. We’re all experts now, eh?

I achieved a couple of significant steps in my literary
work. Scrivener is now under control and I am copying my part finished WIP on
to the programme. I do this like a seasoned pro. No doubt there will be a
gremlin in the works soon. There often is. The other significant step is that I
finally have a paperback safely uploaded to Ingram Spark. I’m waiting for the
review copy to arrive before I start clapping my hands. The significance of this
one is that it has a Nielsen registered ISBN number. This means that it can be
made available through the high street bookshops. I intend having all of my
seven titles available in this way. At the moment they are published by
CreateSpace.

I received an e-mail from a lady in America (through my
website contact page) saying she couldn’t download my free book because she
only had snail mail and limited access to the school computer. I sent her an
apology and explained that my free offers were for electronic download only. I
posted this on a private Facebook forum. The replies were enlightening;
suggesting this could be a scam to get more than something for nothing. One
writer said she had responded to a similar request from a schoolgirl in the Czech
Republic and sent a print copy. She was subsequently flooded with requests from
loads of schoolgirls over there.

I added a domain e-mail address to my ‘collection’, which
was something suggested by Nick Stephenson with whom I am learning a great deal
about promotion and marketing. Trouble is: I have no idea how to access my
inbox. When I ask a question on the Wix website, I am faced with instructions,
or explanations that would challenge Professor Stephen Dawkins. Or is it me?

This weekend I will be Wi-Fi free as me and Pat are going
over to the Isle of Wight for a weekend. We’ll be seeing two friends of ours
from Spain. Next week sees a lot of medical appointments on the calendar for me
and Pat, but I should make some progress with my book. No doubt the sun will
continue to shine and that means more gardening for yours truly. Wish me luck!

Family Fun

April 4, 2015

Having survived the April
fool gags and not fallen for any of them, I am now looking forward to making
real progress in my own ‘fool’s paradise’ of promotion, publishing and
marketing. I managed to upload a book jacket and interior file to Ingram Spark
— this was for The Devil’s Trinity — and thought I’d done this successfully,
only to be knocked back when my cover jacket was rejected because of a size
problem. But fortunately (I hope), we had a family gathering here yesterday,
and our number two son, Terry, who designed all my book jackets, was on hand to
help me fit the jacket into the Ingram Spark template. Why are easy things so
complicated? I won’t know yet how successful that’s been, but I’ve already
spent money without seeing a final result.

The family gathering was
lovely: three of our sons, two of their wives and our eldest grand-daughter.
Fitting eight people round our small dining table was a little problem, but we
overcame that and spent a few hours chatting, eating, drinking and generally
enjoying each other’s company. Our youngest son couldn’t be there because he
lives in Australia, but we did think of him. One thing I always enjoy when our
boys got together is the banter between them. When they start reminiscing about
their youth, they reveal secrets that youngsters don’t share with their
parents. Me and Pat have big smiles on our faces while it all goes on. We join
in of course, but sometimes it’s difficult to get a word in edgeways. After
living in Spain for seventeen years and being limited when it came to family
gatherings, it was an absolute joy to have them all here.

But now they have all
departed and it’s back to some sort of normality, and for me that means more
writing and learning. I’m pleased with the gradual increase in my e-mail
subscription list. I’m picking up at least one a day and have reached 31 so
far. I know it doesn’t seem a big deal, but two weeks ago I didn’t have a
subscription list. I’m hoping the growth will be exponential, and I can enjoy
having a big list. One day maybe.

Another glimmer of light
in the long tunnel is I am picking up followers every day on Twitter, and two
or three a week on Pinterest. I am also seeing a slight shift upward in my
sales figures: nothing spectacular; but encouraging signs for me. The free
downloads of The Eagle’s Covenant continue, and have reached about 5000 now. I
think this may be where I am getting the interest developing in my other
titles, and also picking up the subscribers because of the offer I make at the
front and back of the book. Anyone reading this blog who may want to see what
the offer is can actually see it using the “Look inside” facility on Amazon. In
fact, you could click the link without downloading the book. But to save you
the trouble, here’s the link: http://eepurl.com/bgYKMj.
If you click on that, you’ll be straight on to my offer.

So what next? I am in the process of reviving my Scrivener
project for my next novel. I’m using an instructional video by Jason Hough on
You Tube. It’s called Scrivener Boot Camp, and well worth a look for wannabe
writers. Perhaps I will get my novel finished before the end of summer. Wish me
luck!