On a Roll

First of all let me wish all my readers a very happy New Year. I hope 2019 holds some really good stuff for you all. My year has got off to a good start with my current WIP, but more of that in a short while. Pat has had her lung biopsy and we now wait for the results which we expect will be in about three or four days’ time. I’m also having two (yes — two!) book jackets designed for me. Christine Hammacott has taken on my Romance, Past Imperfect, and a writer by the name of Paul Casselle is doing The Boy from Berlin. Christine has been in the graphic design business for a good number of years, and has already produced six jackets for me to consider. Meanwhile, Paul has also produced the same number. I decided to try Paul because he offered a major discount as a result of a competition of his I entered. I’ll show the jackets later in the month when I have them finalised.

My current WIP is now the 60,000 word novel I’m writing for Mark Dawson, although truth be told I’m writing it for myself. Mark has already warned me that the plot is not suitable for his main character, John Milton, but still wants to see the end result. So with that in mind, I decided to write 1000 words a day which will take me up to the end of February. If Mark doesn’t want it, I’ll publish the book myself. I am currently on 9565 words on day 9, so I’m still on target. The plot was something I wrote fifty years ago. My sister Joyce typed it for me, but it never saw the light of day until a couple of years ago when Joyce moved into sheltered accommodation. It was rubbish (the story, not Joyce’s accommodation!). However, it was 60,000 words long, so I shook the dust off it and am re-writing furiously. It looks in better shape now than it did a couple of years ago.

My other WIP, the one I’ve been struggling with, has taken a temporary back seat, but I intend finishing it and plan to release it this year, but not as a full length, 90,000 word thriller. I’ll probably settle for the shorter length. It may look like a cop-out, but it’s the only way I can see me getting through it.

I find writing to a target and with a plot already planned out certainly reinforces the mind and makes you focus on the job in hand. I’m already getting annoyed when I think I might miss the hour or so I need to knock out 1000 words, but I know I will see days when I can’t get on with it. I’m thinking of the times I’ll be caring for Pat and shoving everything else to the back of my mind. I might even find my emotions getting the better of me and giving in. I hope not, because Pat has encouraged me to go for the Mark Dawson project. If he likes it, he pays.

I am seeing a steady (very steady) growth in sales on Amazon. Most are for Roselli’s Gold (https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00S9SPMXA), but I’m also picking up a few for my other books. I even sold a Roselli’s Gold paperback yesterday, and that’s unheard of with my account. Now I need to keep an eye on my AMS ads and try to keep the balls in the air. On the other side of the coin, my BookBub ads are not performing at all, so I need to address that problem. Oh, I think the reason my sales through AMS are working is because I used 500 keywords on the campaign. It should have been 1000, but in my technical ignorance, I made a balls-up of the ad. Still, I will go back soon and copy the ad and use 1000 keywords. For those of you who are wondering how I managed to come up with all those keywords, the answer is, I didn’t; it was Brian Berni of Authorstech. He had a very low Christmas offer: 1000 keywords for $27. I don’t often go for these kind of ‘cold-call invitations’ from entrepreneurs, but I’ve been associated with Brian for a while, so I took up his offer.

So now I need to calm down, focus on my priorities, and Pat will be No.1: everything else must come second. Hope you all have your sights set on some intriguing goals this year, as I have. Wish me luck.

Changing and Challenging Times

December 22nd. 2018

I expect this will be my last blog post this year. I would like to say that 2018 has been a tremendous year from the book point of view, but what began with me in high hopes has practically ended as a damp squib. On the domestic front of course, the main focus is now Pat’s cancer diagnosis: not so much a damp squib; more like a bombshell. However, let’s talk books for a moment.

As readers of my blog will know, I have been struggling with my WIP and failing to get to grips with something I’ve been pretty useful at for some time now: writing. I came up with the idea of introducing another character into the story, and that has helped. But yesterday, while mulling over something else, I decided I would bring the WIP to an end and publish it as a novella. It sounds like a cop-out, but there’s little point in stretching the story and making it weaker. So, one novella coming up (maybe!).

Another direction for me is the prospect of ghost writing. Most of you know I am a member of the Mark Dawson group. Mark has asked the thriller writers of the group if they would be interested in a project he’s working on. I threw my hat into the ring, as did many of us, so much so that he’s swamped with interested parties. He knew he would be. I made Mark’s short list with a small submission and as a result he spelt out the details of what was to be expected. Although I made the short list, he will only run with two or three ghost writers. If I’m selected, it will mean a lot of intense writing with a kind of self-imposed deadline. The only kudos for me would be the fee: quite generous too. Other than that, there will be no acknowledgement of the ghost’s input, which is understandable. I have a kind of thin plot to hand which needs a lot of work, and once I’ve buffed it up and lifted it to the standard Mark requires, I’ll submit it to him. If it’s a go, I’ll be happy. If it’s a no, I’ll publish it myself: another novella!

On the subject of ghost writing; some years ago I came across a group of writers who called themselves The Curzon Group. They are still around and one of their luminaries is Jeffrey Archer. One of the group was a ghost writer for Random House. He wrote action stuff the kind of which Andy Macnab writes. No, he wasn’t writing Andy Macnab thrillers. But he had decided to give up ghost writing and write for himself. He admitted it would be a wrench because he was earning £100,000 per year as a ghost writer.

Incidentally, the Curzon Group are up in arms with what they call thriller factory books coming out of America. Writers like James Patterson, John Grisham, Dan Brown and David Baldacci employ other writers to help them churn out thrillers. They claimed that Patterson has eight writers working for him, which kind of dilutes the authenticity and style of the Patterson books. They believe thrillers should be more cerebral like John le Carre novels. Not sure I entirely agree, but those writers in America are simply writing to a market and selling books.

Back to thoughts much closer to home now. I took Pat to hospital last Wednesday, both of us expecting to hear how the tests went and when the treatment could be started, only to be told that neither of the tests were any good and would have to be done again. Pat was extremely upset. Me? I was just pissed off! I felt so sorry for Pat, but she has Hobson’s choice and has to go through the tests again. She had one yesterday and the other will be on the 3rd. January. It would have been next week, but Christmas got in the way. This is probably the only time I wish they could have cancelled Christmas. So instead of singing The First Noel, I’ll sing The First Novella, and see what comes up.

Happy Christmas everyone. I’ll see you in the New Year. Wish us both luck!

Going through the valley

The old year is almost out and the new year about to begin. I’m looking ahead with a certain amount of doubt and uncertainty, but also with optimism. My doubt is that 2019 will not be a successful time in my literary life as I would like it to be, and the optimism is that Pat will come through her illness with flying colours. The reason I have doubts about my books is because I am beginning to see the reality of the burgeoning indie world. It’s often easy to look back and find excuses and reasons why things didn’t work out, and to immerse oneself in metaphorical self-harming, but the truth is, the world of indie publishing is metamorphosing into a giant that will soon rival, if not outstrip, traditional publishing, and the keys to the executive rooms will only be held by those who truly know how to play the long game.

So what brings me to this conclusion? Well, I see how I have trod the same path as other successful authors — been there, got the tee shirt — but without having a clue how to use the tools that were available to me to take me to the top. I have the plaudits like “Gifted narrator”; No.1 best seller; given away thousands of books; built an email list, picked up some cracking reviews and sold lots of books through BookBub featured deals, but I still can’t sell books in the usual way even though I spend money on advertising. Oh sure, I sell a few, but nowhere near enough to get my head over the parapet for other readers to see me. So what’s the answer to this conundrum? I must work harder. Simple. I think.

I am optimistic though because I will be releasing two books next year. My romance, Past Imperfect, should be ready to roll by the end of January. I intend spending some cash on promotion for that. I also expect to have my next Marcus Blake thriller ready by the Spring. It’s my current WIP, and although I’m struggling to stitch the plot together, I am making inroads. I admit that I prevaricate a lot: I find all kinds of reasons not to get my head down and write, but that’s an affliction many of us indie writers are familiar with. One good excuse is Christmas of course. I had to put time aside to sit down and write out the Christmas cards, wrap some presents for posting and spend time shopping. I’m still looking after Pat, so that’s another reason not to write, but the truth is, I do find time later in the day to sit in front of my computer and fall asleep!

I dug my digital voice recorder out the other day. I decided I had to keep it handy for those ideas that pop into my head when I’m out walking Tuppence on the beach (another excuse!). It’s infuriates me when I get a good idea that I can work into my plot only to forget what it was when I want to use it. I also have the unusual problem of running two plots in my head, two completely different stories, when I should only be concentrating on one. I’m constantly thinking of one of my characters, Conor Lenihan, who was a nasty piece of work in my thriller, The Eagle’s Covenant, and using him in a new book. Believe it or not, I’ve already written about 15,000 words for that, but they are stored in the dusty shelf of my PC.

Looking ahead then, I have to give a lot of consideration to Pat now because she should be starting her treatment in January. She had a lung biopsy earlier in the week (she wasn't happy; said it was like being shot!), and the diagnosis will be dealt with by the specialists next week. We have been told that nothing is likely to happen before Christmas, so we have to hope it will be very soon after. I will try not to let the workload I’m expecting with nursing Pat to swamp my own free time. The writing will definitely come second of course, but I know Pat will want me to snatch those moments when I can put pen to paper and try to keep sane. Wish me luck!