Highs and Lows of my November

How quickly time flies. Here we are, just four weeks from Christmas, and it’s time to get the decorations out, write and post the Christmas cards, and come up with what and how you want to spend the time. But this blog post isn’t about my plans, but how I’ve got through the four weeks of November, and whether I’m on the road to becoming a best-selling author. That last part is a given: there’s no way I’ll hit those heady heights, but I will keep trying.

I had the misfortune to be scammed (Catfished?) by a crooked publicist. It was very skilfully done over several weeks, leading me to think I was being helped along the way to achieving those dreams most authors have. It was quite by chance that I cottoned on and managed to extricate myself from their clutches. I use the plural here because I believe it was not the work of one person. The result of being caught is that you feel violated, and it brings home the fact that these people are very good at what they do. I think I can promise myself that it won’t happen again.

The highlight of the month was the publication of the sequel to my WW2 novel, Shadow Over Paris. The title of the sequel is Shadow Over Paris — Beyond Midnight. I published the book on the 12^th, one year and a day after the Shadow Over Paris. I have just posted a campaign on Facebook, so it’s early days to say whether the sequel will be as successful as the first. So far, I’ve sold sixteen copies and notched up just over 4000 page reads, so at least readers are catching on. Shadow Over Paris sold 1200 copies and notched up 800,000 page reads, so it looks like the sequel has got some catching up to do.

Although I said that was the highlight of the month, there was another, and that was Amazon (KDP) getting in touch with me to say I had been successful in the draw for a book promotion, and they will be promoting Shadow Over Paris during December. The price will be $1.99 in Canada and the United States. Amazon will run the promotion, and it won’t cost me a penny.

When I check how well my books sales are selling, KDP provides all the information very clearly and easily accessible. It gives me the opportunity to see a snapshot of everything. One thing that surprised me when looking at November’s sales figures, the third highest country for the book was India. I never would have expected that. The wise gurus will tell me to advertise more, specifically in India, to capitalise on that market. It would make sense, but it would probably cost me more in advertising than I would earn through sales. I still have to concentrate on the UK and the United States, though. But it has crossed my mind to push my Emma Carney Romances. It’s a huge market, but one in which it would be unlikely for me to make much of an impact.

I have no plans to write anymore; I think I’ve reached the end of the road in that respect. I know you can say, “Never say never”, but I just cannot see any way in which I would be inspired. It occurred to me that those readers who wanted me to write a sequel would want me to write a third book, so I would have a Trilogy of WW2 stories. Well, the truth is, I already have a trilogy — Shadow of the Wolf is set in 1943, so that makes a trilogy, although not in the proper sense, I have to admit.

So, what now for Michael Parker? Next weekend I will be in Prague to help my grandson, Adam, celebrate his 40^th birthday. He doesn’t live there, but that’s where the family are going for the birthday bash, and they are coming from England, Scotland, Canada, USA and Australia. Should be fun. Then Christmas to look forward to. I hope all you who read this blog post will have a happy, enjoyable Christmas, with much to look forward to in the New Year. I plan to.

Wish me luck!

On a Wing and a Prayer

Writing a monthly blog post isn’t something I look forward to each month because it is probably the least productive of anything I do that’s connected with the written word. If I had thousands of ardent fans who hung on my every word, it would be different, but the truth is, it’s only family and friends, maybe some neighbours, who actually read my blog. But it is what it is, so I press on and try to deliver something meaningful and interesting.

Looking back through my diary, there are the usual suspects: walking the dog, hoovering, washing, making the bed, etc. Going to church, attending an Alpha Course, which is something for new and non-Christians, really, but something I thought I needed to help me get to know a few more people. I did meet someone, not on the course, but in a roundabout way, because of it. She was someone Pat and I knew from our earlier years here on Mill Farm. She came round for tea, and we were able to chat about the ups and downs we’d been through.  After listening to her, I told her she had a story to tell (a good one), but she was reluctant to consider it.

Which brings me, conveniently, to the written word. I completed the sequel to my WW2 story, Shadow Over Paris, and sent the manuscript to my son, John, after going through it myself. John did a great job, almost like a professional, and sent back his observations and complaints. I dealt with them and posted it on Amazon for a Proof Copy. This came, which I went through with a red pen. Once I was satisfied (will I ever be?), I ordered a book jacket from Nat at the Booktypsetters.com. I posted the final edit and am now waiting for another Proof Copy, which I expect to receive in a few days; time. The title is Shadow Over Paris – Beyond Midnight.

Writing the sequel was not something I can honestly say I enjoyed doing. And that bothered me because I felt I wouldn’t be able to tell the story and achieve the success I had with the first book. Time will tell, of course; all it needs is for me to spend money on promotion and marketing (more of that later).

I did make an effort to get myself known on TikTok. I posted a few videos of me at the piano, playing a tune and talking about my book, hoping that the video would go viral and I would sell thousands of books. I’m still waiting…

So, what about Promotion and Marketing? Well, I can tell you that a good P&M expert, one who isn’t out to scam or con you, would set you back about $4000 (£3500) for their services (no, they don’t come cheap). I promoted my book, first on Amazon Ads, and sold about six or seven books. Then I tried Facebook. Overall cost to me? For six months, I lost roughly £20 a week (not a fortune). I spent $2500 on FB and earned $2000 in royalties. I sold just over 1000 books (Shadow Over Paris) and had over 700,000 page reads. For me, that was a success. I stopped advertising because the ad was running out of steam. But I hadn’t given up, which is where Lila Rose comes in. No, she isn’t a character in my next novel; Lila is a book publicist, and boy, have we tussled over the last six weeks.

Lila found me in the usual way and contacted me. I immediately told her no thanks, and that was it, as far as I was concerned. But she persisted and always answered the questions I put to her. I did some research and even spoke to three New York Times best-selling authors with whom Lila had worked. Eventually, I agreed to part with my money, but in dribs and drabs. I’m still with Lila and may end up with egg on my face, but if Lila is all she claims to be, I could be looking at a profitable association with a professional marketing expert. All I can do is keep my fingers crossed and hope my investment proves worthwhile.

Of course, there is another way if your are Reece Witherspoon. She wanted to write a thriller, so she thought, why not give Harlan Coben a ring? So she did. And she had interviews alongside Harlan Coben on BBC News, Radio 2, Virgin radio, and no doubt half of America. Now she is a New York Times best-selling author. So that’s how you do it — ring Harlan Coben. I think I’ll follow Reece Witherspoon’s advice and kick Lila into touch. 

Wish me luck!                                                                     Michael Parker

Highs and lows, ups and downs

Once again I failed to produce a monthly blog post in July, but there were reasons for that; much to do with my state of mind and my state of health. My trip to Atlanta was an absolute joy, apart from the outward journey. Despite being in Virgin Upper Class, I found it boring, particularly as I was on my own. The return flight was an improvement because I was able to sleep full length, thanks to a lovely stewardess who made up my bed for me. But it wasn’t the flight that was the problem; it was the interminable delays which added hours to the trip.

My family met me at Atlanta airport of course, and from there it was a whirlwind period of activity and surprises, one of which was totally unexpected — the baby (the reason for the trip), ended up in ICU on his first birthday. Thankfully, the problem was dealt with, and baby was fine — he still is!). We’d celebrated Elliot’s first birthday three days before on the Saturday. It was held on that day, so friends and relatives did not have to take a day off work for the party.

During my stay, I was taken all over the place, including a Baseball game at the Atlanta Braves stadium. I enjoyed that. Then a trip round Atlanta, food halls, Coke World (Coca Cola), trip out to a country lake, rooftop BBQ, and experienced some delightful stuff and met new people.

Once I was back home, I had to prepare for my next big date, and that was travelling up to Lincolnshire to pick up my friend, Pauline, and bring her down here for a ten day stay. We managed to get around of course, but with a dog each it did rather limit us to what we could do and where we could go. Pauline enjoyed it though, which was the main reason for the trip.

After I’d taken Pauline home, my health started to deteriorate, affecting my legs and my general wellbeing. It had actually started before, but I hadn’t noticed. I took myself off to A&E because my hip was giving me jip. I was also suffering from leg problems, which affected my walking, and not just because of the hip. But as time went by and, following the advice of the A&E doctor, I gradually improved. But what all this revealed to me was that I’d overestimated what I could do at my age. And once I’d started going downhill, the recovery process was so much more difficult.

As far as my world of books is concerned, things are looking up. I began a Facebook campaign for my WW2 novel Shadow Over Paris in March, six months ago, and finished the campaign last week because it was falling away. But in that period, my sales and page reads climbed enormously. I sold over 600 eBooks and paperbacks, and my page reads went over 600,000. Even now, with no advertising, I’m selling about 50 books a week and continue to attract page reads. Another bonus is that some of my other books are being bought or read, The Devil’s Trinity probably more than most. All this puts a smile on my face, but I need to keep the balls in the air. Another FB campaign would probably not work for a while, perhaps closer to Christmas though.

Moving on from keeping those balls in the air, I’ve always known I needed professional help with my promotion and marketing, at which I suck. So, I have entered into a project with a professional book publicist who contacted me in the usual way, and one I completely ignored. It was a case of ‘thanks, but no thanks’. However, this lady didn’t give up, she contacted me again and eventually we began a discussion that resulted in an exchange of over 60 emails before I finally agreed to go along with her. I’m not going to say it’s been fun, in fact, I exchanged some fairly probing and pointed questions with her, but we managed to get through that, and now I’m committed. She did pass on the email addresses of three, NY Times bestselling authors with whom she has worked. I contacted them and all agreed that the woman was bone fide and a pleasure to work with. As it turned out, I had actually had an on line conversation with one of them a few weeks earlier on another subject, which for me was kind of like a ‘sign’, so I was happy.

So, where am I now? Well, I’ve finished the sequel to my WW2 story. It’s title is Shadow Over Paris — Beyond Midnight. After a discussion with my four boys, it was agreed that the Shadow Over Paris had to be kept as part of the title, so that readers would recognise it and, because of the subtitle, would know it was the sequel. I have sent the manuscript to my boy, John, who will read and edit it for me. The next step is to contact the jacket designer and ask him to come up with another fabulous jacket for me. I’m trying not to hurry this but would hope to have it finished and proofed before I launch it in time for Christmas (maybe earlier).

This now leaves me with a big hole in my daily routine: what do I do with the time I now have on my hands? Housework is about the only answer I can come up with, but that doesn’t exactly inspire me. Gardening? I have a gardener comes once a week for an hour, which gives me a reason/excuse not to do any gardening. Decisions, decisions, you see, and no inclination to do anything. But I must and I will. So, wish me luck. See you next month?