Prepped and almost ready.

January
9^th. 2015

I’ve
just about finished my book jacket and expect to be publishing the book within
the next couple of weeks. I will be preparing a Facebook advert and fine tuning
it until I’m happy with the result. Then it’s a case of dove-tailing the
announcements and directing them to the right people and the right places to
“maximise” (love that word) the book’s potential. There are many tricks to this
advertising game, many of which I don’t know, but it’s all about key words,
categories, targeting the right audience and picking the right global spot to
find the market. Sounds like I’m doing some corporate thinking, right? No, just
using the buzz words I come across in all the advice I see on forums and
elsewhere. I’ve never been a marketing man, so it’s about to get interesting.

I
tried an experiment the other day: changed some keywords for my book, Hell’s Gate. Against the conventional
wisdom I aimed the book at the high end market where competition is fierce in
the African Adventure category. The book can’t do any worse than it has done
over the last year, so I’ve nothing to lose and maybe I’ll learn something. I’ll
have a better idea on sales for that particular title later in the month.

I
watched a video on book jacket design yesterday. It had two experts picking
over the jacket designs bravely submitted to them by half a dozen indie authors.
The books were all available on-line. All I learned from that 25 minute video
was that it’s all a matter of personal taste: what one person likes, another
may not. It helped me firm up my decision to go with the jacket I had designed
and produced using PhotoShop, so at least I did get something from it.

Last
week I sent a short message out to my subscribers telling them that I expected
to have my book ready fairly soon. I lost three subscribers. Not many, I know,
but every time I send out an e-mail (I don’t send out many) I think I jog some
people’s memories and they realise they had signed up to get my freebie, but no
longer wish to be involved. Perhaps I should stop sending e-mails to them. My
next will be the main announcement. Hopefully people will buy and not unsubscribe.

On
the domestic front, I had a pre-assessment check for eye surgery this morning
at Worthing hospital. It’s that time of the passing years that means a cataract
needs to be removed. Shouldn’t take long but I’ll have to buy new glasses. If I
sell a lot of books I’ll be able to afford designer specs. Maybe not. Wish me
luck!

Looking ahead into 2016

January 3^rd. 2016

And so it begins again: going into
a new year with hopes and schemes, plans and ambitions. Many of us have them
but few ever realise those dreams. I’m no different to most of us: I have high
hopes for the coming year and my own plans, but the feeling tends to water down
as time goes by. But looking back over 2015, I can’t complain; I’ve had plenty
of highs. But what now? Well, first let me wish you all a happy and prosperous
New Year. For myself I’m looking forward to the release of my latest book,
which is currently titled A Dangerous
Game. I still have the book jacket to finish, but I expect to have it ready
for launch before the end of the month. Prior to that I plan to advertise it on
Facebook, using the excellent reach that FB has. I will also be letting all my
subscribers know in the hope that they will buy a copy. At first it will sell at
low price of $0.99: probably for a month. After that I’ll raise the price.
Although my Kindle Scout campaign failed to deliver, there will be over 600
people contacted by Amazon about the launch. Could prove to be a good day!

On
a local level, I am looking into ways of spreading my name among readers in my
area. The book group I am with (CHINDI) have plans which include all our
members, but I will still push ahead with something a little more prosaic. To
that end I am planning a “Book Talk” at a local Arts and Craft shop. This will
simply be about books and how to publish. For a lot of people, the thought of
publishing a book is still lodged back in the dark ages when publishers and
literary agents held sway. Now, however, we are all writers, and it is fairly
straightforward to publish on Amazon and other outlets. Hopefully I will be
able to help those who want the advice and maybe sell a few books of my own in
the meantime. I will also be exploring the possibility of doing something
similar at our local libraries here around Bognor. I think it will depend on
how successful my “Book Talk” turns out.

I
am also renewing my acquaintance with an advertising and promotion course I
signed up to last year. It has been an eye-opener for me, and now that the
course has been revamped, I will begin the study again (I have already worked
my way through several of the videos). It has proved to be very successful for
some of the students, but probably because they put more time and effort into
following the advice.

My
current sales have dropped to a low level; probably because of the time of
year, or maybe my readers have finished reading my books. My permafree book is
still being downloaded, and my e-mail subscription list grows daily, almost
certainly because of the free offer I have inside the covers of my permafree
novel. For those of you who might like to download the free book I’m offering (The Devil’s Trinity), you can obtain a
copy by subscribing. Click the link: http://eepurl.com/bgYKMj

So for me it’s now a case of head
down, pen in hand and push on. Hopefully I will see an upward movement in my
sales and big increase in my subscribers. Wish me luck!

Wrapping up.

6
December 2015

Three
weeks to go and Christmas Day will be a memory. For the majority of us a happy
one, but for many around the world it will be the opposite. Hopefully those of
us who can will bring some light into the dark world of the less fortunate. We
are halfway through putting up the lights in our house. It’s amazing what
baubles you find when dragging the decorations out of the loft or wherever else
they are stowed for the year. But how do you choose a suitable present for the
person who has everything (so they say!)? A gift voucher seems like a good
idea: a little impersonal, but practical. Or a book. Now that’s an excellent
idea. And you can buy Amazon gift vouchers for that very purpose. Not that I’m
extolling the virtues of Amazon here, but it might help to give my books a lift
in sales.

So
what have I been up to on the book front? Well, yesterday I was in Chichester
at 6.30 am helping to set up our Christmas Market stall. This was for the
Chichester Independent Writers (CHINDI). We got off to a good start for day
one, selling about forty books. We’ll be there for five days. If we could hit
forty a day, that’s a lot of books. Pity we can’t have a permanent stall in the
city.

Last
week my wife and I did a kind of round-robin, travelling up to Norfolk and
Lincolnshire: getting the visits in before we ran out of time. In the meantime
I had ordered a few more books, including my ‘early years’ life story. That’ll
be fun. I have also been keeping an eye on my Facebook advertising campaign. It’s
interesting to see how the click rate varies between ads (I had two). I’m down
to one ad now: that’s the Kindle Scout campaign. If you want to nominate my
entry, please click the link https://kindlescout.amazon.com/p/1TW0QYIN2N95B

I’m
in a ‘flat’ period as far as my writing goes, mainly because I’m waiting for the KS campaign to run
its course. After December 13^th. I’ll know. I plan to launch the
title in January, and in the meantime I’m figuring out a new jacket and
practising my Photoshop skills. There will be no more blog entries now until
January unless something totally unexpected turns up, but meanwhile I wish all
my readers a Happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year.

Days and times to remember

November 22, 2015

I’ve just typed the date in and realised it’s the day my
father died in 1955. (22-11-55). I was fourteen at the time. I sometimes wonder
what affect it had on me as a teenager. I do remember one night, it was late,
and me and my mates were slowly making our way home from somewhere, when one of
them said: “My old man will kill me when I get home.” My immediate thought was
that I had no “old man” to go home to. I know my time at school was affected by
his death because I went downhill, academically, after that. Got into a lot of
trouble along with the bunch of school mates I hung around with. We were always
getting caned by the headmaster. I dropped four class grades from A down to D.
I wanted to leave school so I could help my mum with the finances, but the
headmaster talked her out of it. So I stayed on and failed all my GCE exams,
leaving school with no prospects and little to offer any employer when it came
to brains. But like a lot of youngsters, the brains were there: they just
needed stimulation. I found that in reading and writing. It’s a great way to
educate yourself, particularly if you can learn from life’s experiences too.
And so I went on to become a happily married man with a lovely wife, four sons,
ten grandchildren, two great-grandchildren and a writing hobby that has so far
produced ten books. I have not achieved financial success through my writing,
but success is not necessarily measured in financial rewards. When I look back
over the last twelve months, my writing has occupied a great deal of my time
and brought me a lot of pleasure. There has been some angst in there too, with
which my wife would agree, but as we approach the end of the year, I believe I
can see a clearer path for my books.

Last week I enjoyed the CHINDI writers’ OBL at Chichester
and know that we have events in the pipeline for next year. I have almost
mastered the art of self-publishing. By that I mean the submission of book
jackets and interior files to Amazon etc. I don’t have the artistic skills to
create dazzling jackets, but I can accomplish an element of creativity by perseverance
and unlocking the potential I had as a sixteen year old leaving school. Failing
that I can always twist my son’s arm and get him to do the jackets for me.

Last week I wrote a piece here about Kindle Scout. I felt
inspired but since then have come to realise it’s a little bit of a sales pitch
from Amazon and certainly akin to a lottery. The more tickets you buy (the more
nominations you get), the better the chance of winning the prize. I have read
of a couple of authors who are treating it as a massive campaign. One writer is
throwing the equivalent of a web party every day just to increase her chances
of getting a result. Me? I’m letting my FB advert do most of the work for me,
although I am plugging it on Twitter and FB. Here too, by the way. So why not
nominate me? The link is — https://kindlescout.amazon.com/p/1TW0QYIN2N95B

Once my Kindle Scout campaign
has finished, I will set about launching the book (A Dangerous Game) if it hasn’t been taken up by Amazon. I’ll be
offering it to my subscribers at a launch price of $0.99 (£0.75) for about one
week before putting the price up to the standard $2.99. I will also be using
Facebook to advertise it. And I hope to have the paperback ready as well,
although the jacket design may take a little bit of time. Then it’s back to the
pen and the beginning of another thriller. Wish me luck!

Two Events, two different outcomes

Looking at the last paragraph of my last blog, I mentioned the
Remembrance Day service and how killing should be confined to the pages of
fiction. On Friday well over a hundred, innocent people were murdered in Paris
by Isis jihadists claiming their right and responsibility is ordained by god. I
use the small case to spell god because my God is a God of love, and love
cannot harbour violence: He abhors it.

Back to the world of fiction. Last Friday our CHINDI group enjoyed its
One Big Launch — the OBL — at the Pallant Suite in Chichester. It was a great
evening where nine of us launched our latest books. We laid on entertainment, a
bar and a snack buffet. The evening was rounded off with a 30 minute gig from
Lara King: local singer and comedienne. We all sold books: some doing better
than others, but overall it was a good experience and encouraged us to think
and plan for next year. I had ordered books from Amazon, but they failed to
appear. Fortunately I had a few I was able to offer, backed up by some other
titles.

During the week I entered my latest, unpublished manuscript into a
Kindle Scout campaign. I have 30 days in which to persuade people to nominate
my book, A
Dangerous Game. If my campaign is
successful, I will win a contract with Amazon and all those people who
nominated me will receive a free copy (eBook) from Amazon before the launch.
The benefits outweigh the disadvantages in my case, but I have nothing to lose.
I hope I can persuade you to vote for me by clicking the link:

https://kindlescout.amazon.com/p/1TW0QYIN2N95B

I have sent
e-mails to all my subscribers, advertised on FB and Twitter, and hope to
achieve at least a reasonable pile of votes. If you click the link, I will be
eternally grateful. I’m up against some pretty stiff competition, but you never
know —  he who dares?

Having
completed the book and entered the competition, I am now in a kind of limbo. I
want to start my next novel, but I know I have to spend a little more time on
promotion and marketing for A Dangerous
Game. Whatever the outcome, I expect the launch to be early next year.

As we get
closer to the end of November, so the thought of Christmas becomes prevalent in
our minds and our planning. Our calendar is getting fuller and we will be
spending some time away on family visits, shopping trips and a few days in
London during the run-up to Christmas: which brings me back to those murdering
terrorists. It would be easy to cancel our London trip and the two shows we
have booked, but that would mean the murdering cowards are winning the battle.
Whatever the cost, we must not give in to them, and hope that our politicians,
the leaders we voted in, will have the guts to introduce measures that will
offer us more protection instead of the useless sound-bites they spout. We need
statesmen like Churchill and Roosevelt, and only then will we stand a chance of
defeating the enemy.

Ups and downs and a little poser

Nov. 8th. 2015

It’s been
ups and downs for me this week. I received my copy of Past Imperfect from
Ingram Spark and was very disappointed with the result (the jacket). Unfortunately
I didn’t keep a copy of the digital proof, so have to accept the final product
as my responsibility. I decided I couldn’t use the book for my launch on Friday
13^th, so I ordered 25 copies from CreateSpace. It’s now six days and
they haven’t e-mailed me to say the books are on their way. It’s unlikely they
will arrive by the end of the week now. I live in hopes but am expecting to go
to the launch party with eight copies. Hardly the stuff of competency.

On the up
side, Pat has finished the read through and I have completed my manuscript. I
knocked up a book jacket and sent it our four sons for their comments. I also
gave it a new title: A Dangerous Game. I expect to use
the jacket for the e-book, but will ask our son, Terry, to do the paperback for
me. That way I might avoid the problems I experienced with Ingram Spark. I hadn’t
made up my mind when to launch the book, but Amazon may have made up my mind
for me. I received an e-mail from them today inviting me to try Kindle Scout.
The idea is that I submit my MS plus jacket, blurb etc., to them. If they agree
to put it into the Kindle Scout project, I will go into a contract with them
with certain guarantees and get a $1500 advance. I will be given thirty days to
persuade all my social network contacts and friends to “select” my book. At the
end of 45 days I will either have a contract with Amazon or be on my own. And
because I had been thinking of a launch in January, the 45 day period fits in
nicely without really disturbing my plans.  So I could be going that route within the next
couple of days. I’ve nothing to lose anyway.

My permafree
title, The Eagle’s Covenant was on promotion last Tuesday with
Kboards, and I have seen an upswing in the downloads. Hopefully this will
increase my e-mail subscription list.

I have also placed
an advert on Facebook. This is more of a trial for me. I’m hoping to become
more proficient and release a decent advert in the New Year, perhaps to coincide
with the launch of A Dangerous Game. So far my advert has reached 10,000 people
and had 50 clicks. It doesn’t seem a lot, but it means that fifty people, since
last Monday, have looked at my website: that’s fifty more than might have done.
Maybe I’ll pick up more subscribers, more sales. Who knows? We all live in
hope.

And today we
went to a Remembrance Day service at our local church. We remember fallen
comrades and family members and know that for our tomorrow they gave their
today. It beggars belief that mankind has never learned from the horrors of war,
and will continue to go with the slaughter. Far better to confine the killing
to the pages of fiction. Would we be so lucky?

In my wife's hands now.

Nov. 2^nd. 2015

Well, I finally made it: finished the edit of my WIP and handed it to
my lovely, patient wife to read through. I printed the manuscript out double
spaced, which makes it easier for Pat to make her red line entries. She comes
up with some remarkable insights at times, and I’m beholden to her for taking
on the job. Next step will be to edit the MS again, before thinking about a
book launch. But before I can do that, I need a jacket. Fortunately I have
persuaded our son, Terry to take on that task. He designed all my other jackets,
so I’m confident I’m in good hands.

I had a problem last week with Lightning Source. After uploading my
corrected, interior file for Past Imperfect, I found a blank page in the
digital proof. Although IS wouldn’t acknowledge it at first, they eventually admitted
causing the problem by reloading the previous file: the one with the blank page
in it. I was finally able to approve the digital proof and order a copy last
Thursday. I am expecting it today. If it is better than the paperback I have
from CreateSpace, I will order twenty copies or so for my book launch on the 13^th.
I have several to hand but don’t expect to sell too many at the launch. But I’m
sweating on that single copy to turn up before I can do anything.

Since writing my last blog entry, I have sat in on a webinar with Mark
Dawson and Nick Stephenson, learning about Facebook advertising. Although the
facts and figures produced by these authors are mouth-watering, I still see
other authors complaining of their disastrous FB campaigns where very few books
are sold. I expect I will aim my advert at potential subscribers, and by that I
mean advertising my permafree novel, The
Eagle’s Covenant. If I can attract a large number, then they will benefit
from my second, free novel, The Devil’s
Trinity. And if any of you reading this blog have not looked into my offer,
why not do that now? By downloading the permafree book you will have a thriller
that has attracted plenty of reviews and is currently averaging 4 stars. Why
not try it now and pick up a second, free book?

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LZRKJ4O/?tag

This evening I am off to the CHINDI meeting where we’ll be planning our
One Big Launch and the Christmas market stall. There has already been an
invitation to produce a book event at Worthing Library next year, and we are
also planning an event with other writers’ groups. Plus we have an event
pencilled in for the Chichester Festival. I’m sure there will be more to come.
You can check out our website www.chindi-authors.co.uk
and learn more about what we do and where we’re at. So on the whole, I think
that with what’s coming and my own plans, the literary future looks a little
brighter. Wish me luck!