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!

Building and making progress

More in the ho-hum life of being a writer.

March 28, 2015

The clocks go forward tonight in the Northern Hemisphere
which means very little to retirees like me who probably only get about five or
six hours a night. I often find myself lying awake during the night thinking up
plot lines or trying to figure out where I went wrong with planning my last
promotion. Questions like: how do I get more readers and where are they? Seem
to filter through my mind until I realise I don’t know why I’m asking myself
that question because if I had the answer…… Well, you get my drift. I often
tell myself that I mustn’t forget so and so, and in the morning have completely
forgotten what it was I had to remember. So where do authors get their ideas
and when? I have been giving some thought lately to the prospect of writing a
series with one character permanently in each book. Something like Jack
Reacher, the creation of Lee Child. I don’t mean to recreate him: nothing could
be further from the truth, but to have a series which readers will follow. And
there’s the rub: authors are generally instinctive. They hit upon an idea and
build a story around it. That’s the way I write. I can’t sit down and chew the
end of my pencil trying to think of a new idea. It has to drop into my mental
lap like a seedling where it can germinate. A year later and the seedling has
blossomed into a mature plant: another book. So why am I thinking of writing
(trying to) a self-imposed style of authorship that is alien to me? Probably
because I can see how successful those types of books are; whether they are
historical, romance, crime or dystopian: readers seem to be waiting, and
positively encouraging the author, until the next book in the series is published.
I recently described myself as a “dinosaur” in the book world. I’m gradually
becoming extinct. I’m from the old school of traditionally published writers
who are finding themselves left behind in the new world of Amazon et al.

During the last week I managed to complete the uploading
of two of my titles to Amazon and one title to Kobo. I also have a paperback in
review with Ingram Spark, having successfully purchased ten ISBN numbers to
cover my titles as they become available in paperback and registered with
Nielsen Book Scan. This is something I have never had to do before, but it’s
fun and I’m looking forward to seeing all my titles — those of which I have the
rights to — being published with my name as publisher.

Part of my success during the week was to start my
e-mailing list. It has grown to 20, and it is up to me to keep those subscribers
on board and interested in what I’m up to. Hopefully the list will grow to much
higher numbers, but the object will be the same: to encourage them to stick
with me and buy my books. None of my subscribers will be pestered or plagued
with e-mails from me, and from time to time I hope I can offer them something
free, and also an opportunity to become part of a launch team which will have
an opportunity to read any new books I complete before they are published.
Sounds good? Then why not add your name to my list? Just click the link (http://eepurl.com/bgYKMj) and you will receive a free copy of The Devil’s Trinity.

Next week I hope to see a growth in my subscribers list
and some progress with my next book. Wish me luck!

Getting over hurdles

March 21, 2015

As each week passes, I
find myself thinking what an eventful week it has been. But I suppose we can
all say that about our week. I did manage to pass one milestone in my promotion
and marketing efforts; and that was the opening of an e-mailing list. I always
assumed (stupidly) that subscription lists were for the prolific authors: those
who knocked out several books a year, but I have learned a great deal more
about the way forward. My biggest problem was setting up an e-mail list with
MailChimp and putting in place something to attract readers to my list. After
several doomed efforts and staring vacantly at my screen, I was able,
eventually, to put a service into place. I used two of my sons as guinea pigs;
just to ensure I had everything right, and I can now boast of actually having
people signing up. It’s a great feeling, and I need to make sure that I don’t
spoil everything by going overboard and bombarding my subscribers with e-mails.
One of the first steps I have taken is to include a page at the front and back
of my permafree book, The Eagle’s
Covenant, asking readers to subscribe. In return for this I am offering a
free copy of another of my books, The
Devil’s Trinity. Anyone can download the book and unsubscribe immediately
if they want, but I’m hoping they will wait and see what other offers I come up
with. At the moment I am in the process of securing seven of my titles. These
will all eventually be on-line under my name (as publisher), which will give me
control over pricing etc. I intend, from time to time, to drop the prices and
offer them to my subscribers. There will be other tid-bits of course, but what
I will not do is plague the lives out of people. I will also be posting the
subscription link wherever I can in the hope that I can build my list. And for
anyone reading this blog who might be interested, here’s the link: http://eepurl.com/bgYKMj

The important thing for
me is to persuade potential readers that I have a genuine talent for writing
thrillers and action stories. But no-one is going to believe the self-hype of a
writer, and the only way I can convince people is to offer them a chance to
read some of my stuff for free.

I will also let my
readers know how close I am to completing my next book. At the moment I have
had to shelve it so that I could establish a route into the marketing world;
something that has been beyond me. I hope to pick up my novel again fairly
soon, and, providing I don’t find any other excuses, I will do my level best to
have it ready before the end of summer. And one thing is certain: I will be
giving my subscribers an opportunity to purchase the book at an introductory
low price.

One of the biggest
hurdles for a writer like me is cracking the American market. I’ve seen reviews
of my books (not too many, I must admit) where the complaint is that I’m an
English writer writing about things American. I can understand that, but then
the review is about me rather than the content of the book. I never have a
problem reading American authors and their colloquialisms, the American
spelling etc. Let’s face it: we’ve been brought up on a diet of Hollywood and
American writers, so it doesn’t faze us. But not all my books are set in
America. Anyone looking at my author page on Amazon (http://amzn.to/1FTqgOx) will see there is quite a
variety.

So, why not sign up, pick
up a free book and hang in there for the ride? It could be fun. Hopefully my
e-mail list will grow. Wish me luck!

Free book

A short entry for now. My thriller, THE EAGLE'S COVENANT, (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LZRKJ4O/?tag) has been permafree for a while now, but I have added a "subscribe" link from where you can download a free copy of another thriller of mine. THE DEVIL'S TRINITY. For those of you who have already downloaded the permafree copy, the link to subscribe is http://eepurl.com/bgYKMj Enjoy!