I've been back three weeks now and I think this is the longest I've kept a writing resolution (apart from when I was writing my book!) I'm really enjoying making time to write or work on my website every day, and taking time out from the daily grind to think creatively, rather than have a brain blocked with mundane To Do lists. Those To Do lists are still lingering, but they aren't the be all and end all. I didn't believe what the writing professionals said about habits, yet give it a try and it does actually work (with a little discipline thrown in for good measure of course). I thank Twitter for my success. It's keeping me in touch with the publishing world thus helping me feel closer to what I love. Isn't technology wonderful! And thanks Steve Jobs for my iPhone 4 - I absolutely love having everything at my fingertips. What an invention.
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I'm feeling random tonight so here are a couple of misc thoughts for you all:
Just did a mega double take - one person bought my book on Amazon and Little Child jumped one million - YES, ONE MILLION - places in the Amazon Top Bestseller ranking!! Seriously?! Does that really happen, or did they miss a digit? Now for a great quote from the legendary horror writer Stephen King: “I try to create sympathy for my characters, then turn the monsters loose.” Such a clever concept. Here's a great example to illustrate my point about luxuries in the industry and how they vary depending on who you sign a contract with: my publisher emailed me yesterday and said I could invest £299 and create a bespoke cover design for my book. Now, if I had been with a traditional, big name publisher, I would have got a cover like that as par for the course.
See the difference? I've also been reading up on the debates that came out of the London Book Fair in April this year. One of them is you don't need a publisher anymore, you need a publicist - especially fitting if you choose to self publish. Ok, it would come at a price, but if they generate lots of press for your book - wouldn't it be a worthwhile investment? Certainly they would hold more sway with the Press than little old me. Unless you're a debut author with a film franchise hot on your heels, be prepared for the publisher (Traditional or Independent) to bat back the marketing of your book as your responsibility. What am I talking about? Fiction of course! Did you know Katie Price has regularly outsold the entire Booker Prize shortlist (and probably other entire award shortlists as well) with her various "celebrity" biographies over the years? Not bad work for somebody who didn't write the stuff herself, put in all those long hours and and and... No, I'm not bitter ;)
I've been looking forward to writing this blog post for a while because I've really had my eyes opened over the last six months or so with regards to the publishing industry - getting published and being published - that whole journey.
I like to think of my experience as an experiment. Some of it was how I expected things to play out, much of it wasn't - but that's because the industry is going through a period of discontent, more of which will be the subject of another blog session. It's worth pointing out here that I was made two very succinct promises when I signed those contracts: 1) Little Child would get published 2) Little Child would be available worldwide online BOTH were extremely important to me and I'm very happy to say BOTH did happen. If I had been snapped up by a big traditional Publisher, I know my experience would have been completely different. I would've had those luxuries, but maybe lost the book's integrity. The funny thing is, I may not have sold many more copies. The exposure would've been different, however, not necessarily generated more sales. Currently my online presence is spot on, but I don't feature in any book shops. A traditional Publisher would get you into the stores but they don't believe in / like / want to acknowledge (delete where applicable) the eBook thing so I wouldn't have been on Amazon, not immediately anyway. There are lots of these "vicky verky" scenarios to consider. To sum up my experience for today's post, I'd say this: being published by an Independent is pretty much like flying with a no frills airline - they'll get you to where you're going, but don't expect any luxuries along the way (unless you want to pay for them!) And be prepared to work really really really hard because no one else will do it for you. I'm still no closer to finding the only book I never finished. I remember I was reading Randy Powell's "Is Kissing A Girl Who Smokes Like Licking An Ashtray?" just before so I thought maybe he did a collaboration with his wife, but I can't find anything to suggest he did. Then the name Melvin sprung to mind again so I checked out another teen fiction writer I was into at the time - Melvin Burgess. Now I'm convinced it was a collaboration he wrote with someone but I've had no luck with that theory yet. I've even searched for books he may have wrote with Randy - but nothing. So the hunt continues...
Wow, nearly as long as I've lived and the best British comedy sitcom of all time rocks on! Hardly a day goes by without a bit of Del Boy and Rodders in this household. I only ever watched the very last one of Only Fools & Horses as it was being broadcast - Christmas 2003, the rest I've watched as re-runs or from our beloved boxset (which I honestly couldn't live without!) Not only is John Sullivan's scriptwriting absolute genius, but there are heartwarming, touching moments too. I tried to narrow these down to my Top 5 - and couldn't - so here's my 7:
The wartime recollections by Grandad and Uncle Albert in "The Russians Are Coming" and "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Uncle" When Rodney leaves Del for his honeymoon - Simply Red's "Holding Back The Years" plays out and Del takes the male figurine off the top of the wedding cake as if he's losing Rodney When they become millionaires - the pub scene gets me every time when all their friends stand up and clap Cassie's miscarriage When Del Boy is talking to his mum holding his son for the first time Grandad's funeral - when Del is trying to deal with his loss and Rodney doesn't understand his coping mechanism Now back to the comedy moments - my all time favourite scene has to be in "Modern Men" where Rodney applies for his own job and has to say "I love you" to Ivor Hardy! Cracks me up a treat. Other favourite episodes are "The Miami Twice" movie where Del plays a Don as well as himself, and "The Jolly Boys' Outing" because I have family in Margate. Cheers OFAH - you keep us laughing! And RIP to a legend writer John Sullivan who died earlier this year. Now I shall enjoy the sunshine on the hottest Oct 1st in over 100 years apparently. 27 / 28 degrees today! |
AuthorBlogging is an amazing concept so here I am giving it a whirl. You'll get words. You'll get pics. Sometimes a vid or two. You'll get tongue in cheek, the odd humble opinion and an honest insight into my travels and writing life. Maybe even a few gems along the way. I'll be musing on home turf as I see more and more of the UK and sharing my experiences further afield on holidays and adventurous trips across the globe. Archives
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