Back to the future. Where do we go from here?

This could be my last
blog entry for a while. This time next week we will be travelling up to Bilbao
to catch the boat back to England. Technically we’ll be homeless until we have
handed over the money for our Park Home at Pagham (West Sussex). It means no
Wi-Fi for a while, but like a lot of people of our age (me and Pat), we have
travelled thousands of miles over the years without Wi-Fi, mobile phones,
tablets, laptops and all that modern paraphernalia. We will still have our mobile
phones with us of course, so we won’t be completely isolated. Something we
noticed when we travelled to Australia a couple of years ago was the fast
disappearance of public call boxes. No doubt they will become a thing of the
past. As technology moves forward and leaves the past behind, a lot of us mourn
the passing of the old days but would probably not welcome them back. I would
not like to go back to writing novels on a typewriter, even with a correction
ribbon in place. And as for carbons: God forbid! But thinking back to the
tapping rhythm of the typewriter keys and the zip of the carriage return, I
harbour a kind of masochistic desire for those days. I think it’s because it
made the acceptance of a novel by the publisher a rewarding triumph after the
drudge of bashing away in a lonely corner somewhere. Modern indie writers
cannot possibly know that feeling: they can never live the sheer joy of
receiving the acceptance letter from the publisher. Publishing a novel now is a
fact of life that turns us all into writers. Anybody can pen a story, good or
bad, and publish it in Amazon. They become instant writers. Just add water and
stir. There’s a kind of metronomic output with some of the writers I’ve come
across on various forums. They promote their next series of first time novels
that they have yet to complete and invite readers to log on to their blog and
sign up for the newsletter, behaving like established writers. And it’s all
down to modern technology. So what’s the next step? Who knows? But the fun, the
joy and, (dare I say it?) the creativity needed to produce quality will be
missing, and this can only be to the detriment of the published word. One day
youngsters will seek instant gratification through apps on their mobiles and
tablets, apps that will be produced by wizard technology that probably doesn’t
exist yet, and books will confined to the dusty shelves of old houses and
bookshops. So when me and Pat are finally settled in our new home at Pagham, I
will get on with writing and publishing on Amazon because that’s the only way
to go for so many writers today. Unless I manage to get my novel finished and
accepted by my publisher! Wish me luck.

Amazon or traditional: which way?

Two weeks today and we’re off to UK. After all the
moving around over the years this will be our last move. (I won’t include the
ultimate one that we all have to go through). We will be settled in Pagham and
looking at a change in our lifestyle after seventeen years in Spain. Apart from
the small sacrifices that are necessary when moving house, one part of my
routine that is on hold at the moment is my writing. Although I still have
times during the day when I could sit down and write, I find my creative flow
is impeded because of other things on my mind. Some writers might say that this
is a poor excuse. If I was writing for a living I would agree, but I’m not;
it’s only a hobby. So the tools are put away and the ideas will continue to
germinate in my mind until they can take shape and form once I am back into a
routine.

I’ve been giving a lot of thought lately to the prospect
of my next book — the one I am supposed to be writing — and whether I should
offer it to my publisher of go straight to Amazon. The reason I am in a bit of
a quandary over this is because my next book, Past Imperfect, is due out in
January in hardback, and I am looking forward to holding it in my hand and
giving myself a gratuitous pat on the back. Having your work published by a
traditional publisher is still no mean feat these days, and it is still nice to
think of myself as being traditionally published.

But there’s another reason (maybe a ton of them) why I
am considering this. Because I am from the old school of writers who have gone
through the mill of finding a publisher or an agent — rare as hen’s teeth for
many wannabe writers — I have a soft spot for the old way. But as pleased as I
am for what I have on Amazon (eight titles), and have sold reasonably well, I
now feel that Amazon are moving the goalposts and making it more difficult for
writers like myself who do not have a series of books to offer in box form.
They have also introduced KDP Prime service for authors whereby they can have
up to ten books available at once on a loan basis. This shift in the way they
encourage readers means it offers quantity at a low price. I could say quantity
against quality, but that has to be the opinion of the people who buy books.

I have had some fun with my books on Amazon and enjoyed
good results from time to time, but my rankings almost always sink back to the
200,000 mark after a promotion. When I see my rankings shoot up, it brings a
huge smile to my face, but I know it’s only a sale of maybe one or two books.
If I have the quality that readers want, then my rankings would be a lot
higher, and in a more permanent position. The only way to do that is to build a
readership, which is an antediluvian concept from the time before Amazon and
the closure of many public libraries. I am failing to do that and wonder why I should
add another title to my list on Amazon. Would it make a heap of difference to
my position there? Probably not. So for that reason I think I would prefer to
see another hardback of mine sitting on the bookshelf next to my other nine
titles. My immediate problem of course is to finish the book and offer it to my
publisher. She may not like it, which means I will have to resort to self-publishing.
I will continue to battle against the odds of course. I will carry on promoting
and marketing my books and looking for ways to open the flood gates, but at the
moment I am swamped, like thousands of us, by the other indie writers all
competing for the same bit of space. Wish me luck!

PC, Proofs and Publicity

I’m back with Andy MacNab after wasting time on other
‘polished’ thriller writers. MacNab’s writing is so clever that you forget that
he was basically a foot soldier who we tend to regard as brawn over brains. But
taking into consideration the considerable skills and bravery required to be a
member of the Special Forces (SAS), it makes you realise just how clever these
men are. With MacNab, he has added powerful storytelling to his CV. Imbedded in
his writing is the colloquial, non PC jargon of servicemen and women, probably
the world over; and it sits very comfortably with his style. I’ve just finished
Firewall and am now reading Aggressor. I have read two of his other titles.

I mention the non PC writing because the editor of my
next novel, Past Imperfect, took exception to the descriptions I used when referring
to a black character of West Indian origin in my book. Black skin, white teeth
in the dark kind of stuff. I was told that in today’s PC climate it would
probably be better to come up with another choice of words so as not to give
offence. I had no argument against that because changing a couple of phrases didn’t
impact on the story. But if I had been one of my publisher’s top authors,
someone like Andy MacNab, would it have made any difference? I don’t think I
would have been asked to change anything.

I’ve done virtually no work on my current WIP since my
last blog, and, no, I can’t blame Andy MacNab; it’s more to do with learning to
improve my social networking skills. I am currently learning a little more about
Pinterest and how to make good use of it. I still have a problem appreciating
just how powerful it can be, and do ask myself why isn’t everybody else on it
if it’s that good. But I’ll try. At least I have learned a new skill, and that
is making bookmark sized quotes for pinning. All I need to do now is find the
right targets. Ironically, I dismissed a young lady author several months ago
who explained on her website how she had made huge sales of her books simply by
using Pinterest. She explained how and offered to help anyone who was
interested. I couldn’t be bothered: for me it was just another Amanda Hocking
success story that only happens to the few. Perhaps I should have taken more
notice.

I did play around with my website (www.michaelparkerbooks.com),
looking to see if I could improve its appearance and attractiveness. Perhaps
give it a bit of zap. But that will come in time.

As we get closer to leaving Spain (three weeks today),
so my days are getting fuller leaving me little time to work on WIPs and social
networks. My wife is very busy arranging our ‘going away party’ at church (this
Wednesday), and naturally I am involved. She is doing the bulk of the planning
and cooking, while I chauffer her around and generally act as a sounding board
and general dogs body when needed. She feeds me too! We have different lunches
planned (too many for the waistline really), appointments to keep and important
processes to remember. The calendar is just about full and that more or less
puts paid to creative pursuits like writing and social networking. But why am I
keeping up with this blog? Well, it’s in the hope that one day someone other
than a spammer will read it and make a comment. It would be inspiring to know
that there are followers out there, even if it’s only a few.

My book sales are maintaining their one a day average,
which I have to admit is promising. Maybe one day I’ll have them up to two a
day. Then I’ll get really excited. If they went stratospheric I think I’d go
pop.

Oh yes; another strange one for me. My publisher
contacted me last week to say that the proofs would be sent to my West Sussex address
(we haven’t got there yet) and could I return them reasonably quickly. I had to
remind them that we haven’t moved yet, so in the end it was agreed to send the
proofs once we are back in UK. But physical proofs? I used to get galley proofs
years ago, but for a long while now it has been digital proofs, PDF style. I
must admit I prefer the idea of a physical copy; it makes it seem nearer the
day. So, something to look forward to on my return. Wish me luck!

Which Lottery are you in?

Life is a lottery, so
they say, and there’s no question that some people draw the winning ticket and
others do not. Sadly, most do not. What we have to look at, as Eric Idle’s song
tells us, is to always look on the bright side of life. So drawing away from
the daily horrors of this world; horrors that are constantly in our newspapers
and on out TV screens, I want to talk about another kind of lottery: producing
a best-seller; a book, naturally, seeing as my blog is connected to the written
word.

Yesterday, Amanda
Hocking’s name came up in a forum post. Amanda is a self-published author and
now a wealthy woman because she cracked it: broke the million sales on Amazon.
She did that within about two years I think, but don’t quote me on that. Today I
read in the Mail on Sunday of another writer, Andy Leeks, who has cracked it.
He has sold over 40,000 e-books and is quoted as saying it was easy to publish
an e-book. And he’s dead right about that: it is. But it isn’t easy to reach
sales figures that put you near the top of the Amazon best sellers list. Andy
was soon selling 500 books a day, but he didn’t manage this by luck; it meant
hard work after the book had been published. He handed out leaflets on his
train journey to work each day because his book was about commuters. It’s
called ‘As They Slept’.  How many of you
would be authors have done that? I haven’t, but my excuse is that I live in
Spain and none of the passengers would understand my leaflet. What a poor
excuse. But there’s a simple truth in the way in which Andy went about part of
his marketing: start local! If you have a book available on Amazon, make a
start with a Press release and get yourself in the local newspapers. Have some
bookmarks printed with your details on and leave them lying around at strategic
points. Ask the local library if you can do this. There must be many ways in
which you can begin a ‘local’ campaign.

You might be formulating
a question for me: if you’re so clever, how come you haven’t done this? Well,
living in Spain doesn’t help an English language writer like me, so I’ve had to
rely on promotions through the web. But next month we will be back in England
permanently, and I hope to begin a local campaign of my own, once we have
settled in. It will cost me time and money, but the length of time and the
amount of money I spend is down to me. Meanwhile I have another promotion
purchased for the month of November. This is for my thriller, The Devil’s
Trinity.

I am making slow progress
with my current WIP (work in progress). The working title is ‘The Gatekeeper’.
Whether I’ll keep that or not remains to be seen. But I have reached 50,000
words and can’t afford to give it up. I did it last year with this WIP, and
wrote a romance instead. That will be out in January, published by Robert Hale,
my London publisher. I won’t get much done now on my WIP because we are now
into the last four weeks of our tenure in Spain, and the social diary is
filling alongside the appointments we have with bureaucracy in order to legally
extricate ourselves from the Spanish authorities. All good fun. And I’m still
on medication for my cancer, but only medication; the chemo finished five
months ago. Wish me luck!

When a glut can spoil the whole barrel

I sense a slowing down of indie book sales; not just
here in the Parker household, but generally across the whole spectrum. I could
be wrong and way off beam, but I have read opinions on the web from people
working at both ends of the publishing industry. In the continuing battle
between Amazon and Hachette, a claim has been made that they are each trying to
eliminate the other. This sounds like one trying to gain a territorial
advantage over the other. The product, i.e. book sales, is being spread too
thinly. I also read yesterday of a publishing company laying off staff and
generally rearranging the furniture because of the sales drop off they are
experiencing. But their genre authors write mainly erotic romance, and it is
there that I suspect the underlying malaise in sales can be found. Since Fifty
Shades of Grey took the world by storm, a lot of writers (hacks?) jumped on the
bandwagon and wrote steamy novels. The result meant the genre was over
populated and effectively sewn up, leaving little room for writers who were
more or less mainstream in this area. Their world has been overtaken and their
market ruined.

It isn’t just the implied overstuffing of that genre
that leads me to think the indie business is going down the tubes for many, low
ranking authors: I believe most of the other genres are suffering too, and the
mainstream publishers are reasserting their dominance. They are responding to
the challenge and reducing their prices, offering quality against quantity; and
once again leaving the low cost indie writer, particularly writers without any
backing, floundering deep amongst the bottom feeders.

Another problem for the writers who publish a book and
hope to see it do well, is the advent of box sets. Just over a year ago I
purchased a box set of nine thrillers. Each one was purported to be a gem: top
of the genre stuff by established thriller writers. I think I read one, got
half-way through a second and realised I’d been sold a dummy. How much did I
pay? $0.99. I won’t buy any more and yet see a definite explosion of box sets
(and not just books by the way).

So what does the future hold? Which is the best way to
sell a book? Well, think about the old days when we had book stores and libraries.
You could go in, browse, flick through the pages and make up your mind. I know,
they exist still but not in the same quantities as they used to. And they exist
on line I hear you say. But how many allow you to browse the entire book? It
should be technologically possible to block several sections of the book while
it is being looked at. The Amazon ‘Look Inside’ facility comes close, but never
enough. So we need some entrepreneur to come up with an on-line library that
stocks quality authors in all genres giving the reader an opportunity to browse
and buy. Would it solve the indie road block? I don’t know, but I would like to
see some significant change where the good stuff comes to the top. An unanswerable
puzzle.

Five weeks to go now and me and Pat will be heading back
to England for good. I hope to reinvigorate my writing career and have some
ideas running around in my head. Finishing my current WIP would help. Wish me
luck! 

Puzzles, chaos and planning.

n the midst of all this chaos is a writer trying to sell books. I have a book promotion running with Best Indie Books for my novel, HELL’S GATE, but how successful has it been up to now, or will it be? Well, it’s been running for a couple of weeks and I have sold zero. I suppose it all comes down to marketing again. Without a professional approach, or at least a pseudo professional approach, I suppose my sales will reflect my ability as a market man and not the quality of the book. So now it’s about a plan, and this is something I have to leave on the back-burner until we are settled in UK again. I need to bear in mind that the weeks leading up to Christmas, and the few days after, are a good time to promote. So once we have arrived in UK, and I can sneak into my room without my wife knowing, then I can bury my head in promotional work. But it’s not all about paying for an advert to appear on someone’s website: it’s also being able to get the best out of social media marketing. And if, like me, you are a bit of a web dummy, there will be plenty of hurdles to overcome, and most of them will have you calling for help. For example: I tried to download a social media app for my other website (www.michaelparkerbooks.com), hosted by Wix. The e-mail advertising the app came from Wix. When I was asked to enter my e-mail address in order to download the app, I was told that I wasn’t recognised on their system. So how did they manage to send me the e-mail in the first place? But it might be that I have misunderstood the process and hence the need for professional help. I’m waiting for a return message now from Wix.
My next difficulty is trying to upload a book jacket to CreateSpace for my title: The Eagle’s Covenant. This is a book that was available on Amazon kindle and Createspace, but because I have taken over the rights for this book, I have had to renew the files. So what’s the problem? I used the original jacket file; one that was used by Createspace, but now they tell me it is unacceptable because there is a bleed problem or something, and I have to adjust it. I’m struggling to do that, and no doubt will have to ask my son, who designed the original jacket, to help me out. All this takes time and often sees me sitting in front of my laptop for hours. And have you noticed how the experts respond when you ask for their help? If it isn’t a list of FAQs that they encourage you to search, it’s an explanation of how to achieve what you want that can only be deciphered by a university graduate or a ten year old grandson or grand-daughter. One day I will be master of all this. I may not be able to sell any books, but as sure as the sun rises I will be able to use the social media like a pro.
I often smile at my own disingenuousness (is that a word?) when it comes to competing with my fellow peers in the book world. I thought a blog tour would be a good idea and signed up for one until I discovered I had to read someone’s pornographic romance. I pulled out in the nick of time, particularly when I realised I would have to read the book, promote the author and only get a mention myself. So it has to be a case of back to the drawing board and think seriously about spending some money and giving books away. I’ll do that when I’m back in UK. Now, where was I? Oh yes; back to the plan. Wish me luck!

Hard work, talent and a lot of luck

Last week was quite an eventful one for me and Pat,
although not from a writing perspective. We purchased a park home at Pagham in
West Sussex, and will be returning to England on October 1^st. permanently.
We have seven weeks to go and I know my writing will take a back seat during
that time, even though I will make some inroads into it. The four days we spent
in England were hectic, but fruitful. Bit like bringing a manuscript to
fruition.

Someone spoke to me today saying she didn’t know I was a
writer: a real, live one at that. I told her that we are all writers now. All
that’s needed is a manuscript, converted to Kindle and published on Amazon. But
I’m about to put my foot into what might be a contentious point of view and say
that a lot of so-called writers don’t belong in that category. They are simply
filling Amazon’s store with a load of cheap dross. Amazon doesn’t care; after
all, they’re making money from those inferior books. Traditional publishers
will publish a poorly written book if it’s written by a top author because they
know they can clean up the manuscript and sell it. So where does that leave
writers like me who write for a hobby and believe they are worth a higher place
in the Amazon rankings? Living the dream, I suppose like the rest of them. I
can only increase my readership by promotion and marketing, and then hope that
those who read my books want to read the others. But a handful of people
wanting to read my books doesn’t mean I will soar up the rankings and become a
‘name’ overnight.

Over the last couple of years I have given away books on
Goodreads, promoted on Amazon and enjoyed some kind of success that has been a
direct result of the promotion. After that it has all died down. To continue
that moderate success I would need a permanent promotion and the money
necessary to keep the promotion going. But the truth is; my books only sell
while I’m pushing them. I have a plan though (we should all have a plan!). When
we are settled in England, I will try to build my readership from the inside
out. By that I mean I will try to spread my name around Pagham, perhaps by attending
writing groups, sourced through the local library; use local newspapers for
adverts perhaps at a low cost; sell my books at small, country fairs and
gradually expand that way. Or perhaps I could do it the quick way: I’ll murder
somebody and become infamous. I could even write the novel. Now there’s a
thought. So for any of you budding writers out there reading this blog, understand
that there is no easy way to become a best-selling author. It’s all about hard
work, talent and a lot of luck. Wish me tons of it!