Mixing it with books and people

October 25^th. 2015

An end to an eventful week in which I made some progress
with Ingram Spark, my current ‘work in progress’ (WIP) and more or less being
forced to buy a few copies of my latest paperback as a ‘fall back’ position.
I’m trying to achieve a successful upload for my paperback with Ingram Spark,
and I’m hoping I can use their print copies for my book launch in November.
Without going into details, I have had technical problems, which took a long
time to sort out, but now I am waiting for them to let me have a look at a
digital proof copy. If it looks OK, I can order one and, fingers crossed, get
more sent before November 13^th. If it looks unlikely, I’ll order a
quantity from CreateSpace in UK.

I have ordered postcards from Vista Print. These are the front and back
of my book. I’ll put these around the room when we have our book launch on the
13^th. Should be here this week. Tomorrow evening we have a rehearsal
for the book launch at Woodies in Chichester. That will be fun, but absolutely
necessary to make sure we get things right on the night. After last weekend
when we had the W4W event, I have more confidence in CHINDI’s efforts to
promote our books.

As for the WIP, I have edited about 2/3 of the MS. According to my
software programme, I have analysed 1.4 million words, although I have only
edited 62000 in reality. It feels like it sometimes, but with luck I will have
completed the edit by the end of this month, then I’ll print it out for Pat to
read through. I have also come up with an idea for a book jacket. Once I’ve
finished the WIP, I can begin on that. If I can crack all the minor problems, I
expect to be close to a book launch in January. By then I’m hoping to have
mastered advertising on Facebook, and will spend something on that. If I get it
right, it should give my sales a real boost.

Last Thursday I gave a book talk at our local, cancer drop-in centre at
Tavern House in Chichester. I sat with about six people and talked about books,
how to publish them and the problems that can be encountered as well as the
ease with which we can all become published writers these days. I like to think
I encouraged them. I know they were there because they wanted to listen to a
chat on writing. Three of them had actually put pen to paper but had never
believed they could get anything published, or that it was worth even trying. I
changed their minds on that score. I won’t be back at the centre for at least
eight or nine months, if I’m invited of course, so I’ll never hear how much I
influenced them. I did tell them about our OBL on the 13^th. A couple
of them seemed interested.

Tonight (and again next week), there will be a webinar with Mark Dawson
and Joanna Penn on Facebook advertising. If you can believe everything you hear
about FB advertising, then this time next year I’ll be a millionaire. Wish me
luck!

Happy Times

October 19^th. 2015

Three weeks now since I wrote my last blog entry and a lot of water has
passed under the bridge since then. Two weeks of those three we spent in Spain,
visiting our old haunts and seeing a lot of our old friends. The majority of
those were at Torrevieja Christian Fellowship (TCF), while others were close
friends of ours outside the church. It was great to see everybody and an
absolute joy to share our time with them all. I picked up a chest infection
while we were there, and am now on anti-biotics. Hopefully it will soon be
gone. When we got back it meant a lot of catching up to do on-line and dealing
with stuff that couldn’t be sorted in Spain. But a big event we had to look
forward to was a weekend raising money for the charity Words for the Wounded.

Words for the Wounded was founded about four years ago by the
best-selling author, Margaret Graham. Patrons of the charity include Julian
Fellowes (Downton Abbey) and Paddy Ashdown (former Liberal Democrat MP) The
idea behind it was to help authors publicise their work while raising money for
the wounded servicemen. The charity is fairly well established now, and almost
all the money raised goes to the servicemen.

The event kicked off at Woodies restaurant in Chichester where a lunch
was held together with the opportunity to buy books published by the Chichester
Independent Writers (CHINDI). All the authors donated a large percentage of
their sales to the charity. Margaret opened the meeting with a brief summary of
how she founded the W4W and also something about herself. There were about
fifty people there. After lunch the main speaker was introduced. This was
Elizabeth Buchan, a Sunday Times best-selling writer and a member of the Costa
Book Awards judging panel. Her talk was funny, entertaining and packed with one-
liners that resonated with all of us.

In the evening we had a party at a local pub in Chichester where more
money was raised with donated prizes being raffled. This was well attended. And
the following morning, Sunday, we had a ‘Book Swap’ breakfast at Carluccio’s in
Chichester. This went down really well and many of us managed to sell some
books, (me included!) The whole event raised £903 for the W4W charity: a
magnificent achievement and a feather in the cap of two of our CHINDI writers,
Jane and Chris for organising and managing the event.

Having almost reached the end of the year, CHINDI still has one more to
go: the One Big Launch (OBL). This will be another fun evening of entertainment
and books. Nine of us are launching our latest paperbacks. Should be fun. It
has been a massive learning curve for me and other members of the group. No
doubt we will have learned a great deal which should stand us in good stead for
next year. Meanwhile it’s back to reality and more writing. Wish me luck!

The good and bad of editing.

September 29^th.

Nothing last week, which was deliberate because I had little to say.
This time there’s more but then no more for a while because we are off to Spain
for a couple of weeks. The promotion for Roselli’s Gold with ENT went well. I
sold 87 copies on the day of the promotion, and a few more after that. Not a
huge amount, but at least the royalties will cover the cost of the promo. I
shall be going quiet while in Spain, but when I get back, there will be some
catching up needed. My permafree novel, The Eagle’s Covenant is still
attracting downloads, but the average is around sixteen a day. Still OK, but
could be better.

Last week I downloaded AutoCrit: a software editing programme. I find
it very useful and annoying at the same time because it points out all the
places in my narrative where I could improve. So far I am about one third of
the way through and have edited something like 30,000 words. The statistic
showing on the AutoCrit record says that I have examined over one million words
so far. It looks a lot, but imagine what figure it will have reached by the
time I finish the edit. Once that is done, I will print the manuscript off for
my lovely wife to read through. She will use her red pen to point out my errors
and I will then go through a final edit. Should be finished before Christmas.

I have had to jog the ear of Ingram Spark because they forgot to process
the file I uploaded to them. It is now in ‘premedia’ and I should know by the
end of the week that it’s ready for printing. I’ll be in Spain, but at least I
can order a copy so that it is here when we get back home. Once I’m happy, I’ll
order about twenty copies for the CHINDI’s One Big Launch in November.

I’ve been delivering brochures for our ‘Words for the Wounded’ event in
October. I’m looking forward to that because it will be a good opportunity to
be in a place where I can meet people who want to be there, listening to
authors and, hopefully, buying their books. Mine too! It will be helpful as
well, because if I sell more than just one book, it could give me an indication
of how many I will need in the run-up to Christmas.

For those of you who haven’t already done so, why not have a look at my
permafree book, The Eagle’s Covenant? http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LZRKJ4O/?tag There’s another
freebie inside. See you all when I come back from Spain.

A Good Week

September 12^th.

It has been a good week on both sides of the coin for me, both domestically
and literally (book-wise). Medical stuff started the week off for me on Monday:
dentist for a small filling in the morning, and in the afternoon my bi-monthly
visit to the hospital for my cancer maintenance jab. That evening I was at my
book writers group, CHINDI for a pretty full meeting. Two more new faces to
remember now and at least one of them will be joining the group permanently.

On Wednesday I went across to Petersfield for a book launch. The writer
was a local man, Ron Jameson, 93 years of age and proudly launching his second
novel. I met Ron a couple of months ago to talk about his experiences in Kenya.
He had written a novel set there, called Whistling Thorn, and I had written
Hell’s Gate which was set in the same place: the Rift Valley. It gave us common
ground and much to talk about. I also met two people who had been at the Monday
meeting. But one fairly important chat I had was with the owner of the bookshop
where the book launch party took place. He gave me an insight into the other
side of marketing and promotion from a book seller’s point of view.

Friday was an opportunity to spend a day at Goodwood in West Sussex. It
was the Goodwood Festival. It goes on for three days and is all about the
forties and fifties, classic motor racing, aeroplanes from World War Two, Rock
n Roll, and dressing up in the fashions of that era. It was a terrific day out
and good weather to boot. We will go again next year.

I made progress with my current WIP: actually finishing the first,
80,000 word draft. Next step is to complete the re-write, which I have started.
I made an important decision about that too. I have been giving a lot of
thought to the cost of proof reading, editing and jacket design, and wondering
if it really is worth the outlay. I would probably never recover the costs
anyway, and I’m basing that honestly on my track record as a self-published
writer. To produce a paperback book would cost about £1000. The sales return on
that would probably earn me a tenth in royalties. As for eBook sales, I would have
to pay promotion costs to achieve significant sales, so it wouldn’t be cost
effective either. You might say this means I have no faith in my ability, but
that isn’t true: I know I am a good writer, but so are hundreds of writers out
there competing against the likes of me! It’s all down to luck. And if I did
hit the big time, I wouldn’t give a second thought to the publication costs; I
would hand it over to the professionals straight away.

I have just approved the latest upload of my paperback, Past Imperfect,
to CreateSpace. I received a copy of my earlier attempt, and although I couldn’t
fault CS, I wasn’t happy with the finished product: hence the upload. That
should be available in about four days’ time. I’ll order a copy, see what it
looks like and, if I’m satisfied, I’ll order another twenty copies or so for my
book launch party in November with the CHINDI group.

And to finish off a good week, I e-mailed all my subscribers to let
them know Roselli’s Gold was available at a low price for a promotion, and sold
seventeen copies. When I see an average of two a day, that figure of seventeen
is like a huge leap. It certainly put a smile on my face. Hopefully the
promotion on eReaderNews tomorrow will bring me an even bigger result. Wish me
luck!

Down to the Roots

September 5^th.

I look at my diary for the past week, and the pages are
blank. I sit here and wonder what exactly I did during those blank days. Well,
the truth isn’t always revealed in the empty pages of a journal; my week was
full and, in some way, successful. My sales continue to hold up on Amazon, and
the downloads for my permafree title continue averaging around 30 per day, and
my subscribers list increases daily. I finished my paperback, Past Imperfect and uploaded it to
CreateSpace. Today I ordered a copy
and, hopefully, I will be happy with it. I was also able to make great strides
with my WIP. I’m inching closer to finishing the first draft. Once that’s done
I can do a complete edit, re-write and have the manuscript ready for Pat to do
the first read through. I wish I could do that as quickly as I wrote those
words, but it’s likely to take me very close to Christmas before I can say I’m
happy with the finished article. Oh, are we ever
happy with the finished article?

On the domestic front I was able to get out into the garden
and cut the lawn because the rain had held off for a day. We had two friends;
Sandra and Ken, from Spain visit us on Wednesday evening. Had a lovely time talking
about all sorts of things, including Jesus and Christian fellowship. They left
about midnight. I told Pat I would wash the dishes before we went to bed. She
stayed up with me and it took us about half an hour before we were done. I
suppose we should have sat down and had a glass of wine then, but the evidence
of the empty bottles and the lateness of the hour made us decide against that.
Lovely evening though.

Back on the book front, I have spent a few more dollars on a
book promotion. This time it’s for Roselli’s
Gold. It’s always something of a dilemma for me: choosing which book to
promote. But I should look at all my titles with the same view: they are all
worth promoting. Being a member of about three writing groups on-line, I see
all sorts of advice about promotion and marketing. Some
are spurious while some appear to achieve seriously good results. And
then you consider the minutiae and realise that the success is generally in the one or two per cent of the group, while the
rest of us still struggle to get our heads above the parapet.

I began watching a video on how to sell, promote and market
your indie book, and make money. Everything I see and read is like wandering
over old ground: I’ve done it all and am still doing it, but my results pale
into insignificance compared to the statistics published by some of these
successful writers. I don’t doubt the claims because often they are backed up
with total sales figures, but the implication is always there that you can do
exactly the same. How I wish that was true, but it won’t stop me from trying.

Back to another kind of reality: my wife has just asked me to help her
with the weeding; so I’ve spent the last hour out in the garden.

One dilemma I have is what to do with the book I’m writing at the
moment. I’m not contracted to my publisher now, but I do have direct access to
her, and can send her the MS for her consideration. If she is happy with it, it
will go into hardback and I won’t have to bear the cost of jacket design, proof
reading and editing. But I won’t have the rights to the e-book either, and it
will take about fifteen months before it is published and reaches the on-line
outlets. On the other hand; if I publish the book myself, I can have it on-line
within a matter of weeks once I am happy with the finished article, and
possibly start earning royalties. But then I would have bear the cost of
editing etc. My gut feeling is to go with the latter, so whatever I do: wish me
luck!

Pillars of the Earth and other works

Looking back over the week, I can see I’ve been busy but I can also
remember how much rain there has been. Monday was torrential. Tuesday we went
on a coach trip to Salisbury and it rained there as well, all day. We went into
the cathedral. It was the first time for me, but this is the 800^th year
of the signing of the Magna Carta (1215), and I wanted to go into the cathedral
and get a sense of the history behind our heritage. While I was in there
admiring the huge structure, I thought of Ken Follet’s book, Pillars of the
Earth. It took about 38 years to build the central section of the building so
it could be consecrated and used, but about another 60 years to complete the
whole thing. Absolutely magnificent.

I had a couple of promotions on this week: Hell’s Gate and North Slope.
Unusually, I didn’t see much in the way of results. I had a small shift in
daily sales but the figures soon dropped.

I’m making progress with my WIP. I’m inching my way to a climactic
ending (hopefully). I can’t see me finishing the draft before I go to Spain in five
weeks’ time, although I could just about scramble it in. Then the hard work
begins again as I go through it with an editor’s pencil and re-write it. I’m
looking at Christmas as the target to finish.

I received my proof copy of Past Imperfect from CreateSpace. It took
about two weeks to arrive. It’s not bad, but I need to make a few changes. I
checked the jacket against the cover I had prepared, but for some reason it
doesn’t look the same. I went back to the digital proofer, and sure enough, the
jacket CreateSpace produced is the one I sent them. So I’m scratching my head
and wondering if I made the mistake. There are a couple of typos inside that
need sorting out, so I’ll get those finished and send the updated files away
for printing. Or I may just rely on the digital proofer. Once I’m happy with that,
I’ll have the files printed by Ingram Spark, but with the ISBN changed for the
Nielsen number.

I sent five copies of The Devil’s Trinity to the Legal Deposit as
required by law and a copy each of that and Hell’s Gate to the British Library.
It’s all pay! Hopefully I’ll earn some of that back in royalties.

My subscriber list continues to climb. I’m up to 364 now, having just
added ten new names. At my rate of increase, I would expect to hit the 1000
mark by this time next year! Hopefully the rise in names will increase more
rapidly and I’ll reach that figure by Christmas. I think the promotion I did
this week probably accounted for the increase of ten in one day; usually it’s
about two or three. I have read of spectacular rises among a few of the writers
I meet on a particular Facebook group I’m with. Amazing results achieved simply
by following the same advice I am following. One guy achieved 3000 subscribers
in about two months, and notched his sales up to around 100 a day from about
one or two a week before joining the group. My results could be said to mirror
his, but although they probably started out like that on day one, his figures
left me standing still. I am pleased for him and it gives me the encouragement
to press on and not panic; I’m sure it will come. Wish me luck!

Project planning

My week kicked off with another kind of project which meant a brief
survey and a trip to B&Q (our major, D-I-Y outlet in UK). We are planning
to change our kitchen round a bit and will have an electric cooker & hob
installed in place of our gas cooker. But because we have no dedicated circuit
for an electric cooker, yours truly has to put one in. It isn’t beyond my
technical capability, but physically I’m getting too old for what we often
referred to “house bashing” in the trade. B&Q couldn’t provide the right
materials, so I bought them from an electrical supplier. I’m halfway through
the installation, too old or not.

Monday evening was the night of our monthly CHINDI group meeting. We
managed to get through a great deal of planning, with quite a schedule leading
up to Christmas. I enjoy being part of this proactive group, even if it means
getting involved in a ‘hands-on’ way and bringing stuff to the table. We are
preparing for a charity event where we raise money for the charity,
“Words4Wounded”. I don’t have much involvement in that other than to turn up,
bring friends with money and my books.

We are also planning ahead for our ‘One Big Launch’. This will be a
book launch by eight of us in the group, bringing our latest, self-published
titles along. There will be a lot of time and effort invested in this, and
although we are only at the early planning stage, there is already a growing list
of things to do, including my own tasks.

On the home front, apart from crawling around beneath our Park Home
getting covered in cobwebs and banging my head, I have made real progress with
my book jacket. I have to admit though that I was going nowhere until our son,
Terry, got involved. Having designed all my paperback jackets he had decided to
leave this one to me. But when he realised I was struggling, he came up with
the goods. I am in the process of uploading the files to CreateSpace. I’m
holding back on the cover file for a day or so, just in case I want to make one
or two tweaks. Next week should see the finished article.

Another surprise during the week: I received an e-mail from the Legal
Deposit Libraries asking for five copies of The Devil’s Trinity. This is
something that is required by law and I have an obligation as the registered
publisher of the book to send them. I also have to send one to The British
Library. This will be a requirement for all the titles I self-publish with a
Nielsen registered ISBN number. Such is life in the book world.

So next week, hopefully, I will be able to knuckle down and crack on
with my WIP. This is something I promised myself (at the beginning of this
year), I would have completed by June. But other things just got in the way.
Wish me luck!