All about books

I missed our Chindi author of the week spot last week for some reason, so I want to make amends for that now. I would like to introduce Susanne Haywood who is a cat lover. She joined Chindi recently but has been active in the literary world, penning such articles as the one at https://katzenworld.co.uk/2018/06/04/so-youve-decided-to-adopt-a-human/. Naturally we wish Susanne all the best with her furry friends and hope she’ll enjoy plenty of books sales.

Last Wednesday was a ‘book’ day for me. Will Patching came to see me in the morning, bringing the book I’d won in an on-line competition. I could say that Will came all the way from Thailand to hand me the book, but that would be the imaginative writer in me adding a little editorial licence to the truth. As a matter of fact, Will was visiting UK and staying in Bognor. His brother lives just round the corner from me, so it meant an enjoyable couple of hours talking about books. And Will had a great deal of useful information which he passed on. I’ve already acted on that and joined up with Dave Chesson of Kindlepreneur (www.kindlepreneur.com). Will has used it quite successfully. Hopefully it will help me with my promotion and marketing, and I suspect that in the long run I’ll make gains I can see, but how much and how many depends largely upon the effort and time I’m prepared to put into it.

Later in the day I was at The Steam packet pub in Littlehampton where I joined up with two Chindi authors, Isabella Muir and Helen Christmas, for a talk on writing crime novels. Supporting us there were Patricia Feinberg Stoner and Rosemary Noble. Patricia organised the evening, and Rosemary has been responsible for organising several events for the Littlehampton festival next month. The evening event at The Steam Packet was a kind of practice for us all. At first I thought we would struggle as we were put into a corner, but the whole pub paid attention as we got into our stride. The Landlady, Arletta, was a star; she looked after us really well and even bought a book off each of us. I’m sure the Chindi group will be invited back again. I hope so.

Last week I put my boxset into Kindle Select. I did this because I’ve sold about one in the two years the box set has been available. So imagine my surprise when I saw that within a day or so, I’d got just short of 1400 page reads. You can see the box set at https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01KYAOZZG. It’s called Michael Parker’s First Three Novels. The set is cheap to buy at £4.75 anyway, but I think I’ve made more from those pages than I have with the set sitting there for the last couple of years.

As a result of meeting up with Will Patching and being pointed in a sensible direction (more discipline), and also because of watching David Penny on an SPF podcast, I’ve decided to put my WIP on the back burner until I am reasonably happy with my promotion and marketing efforts. I still have a long way to go, but hopefully I’ll see the light at the end of that very long tunnel. Who knows? Wish me luck!

'Hims' ancient and modern

Well, I made it to my old school. Forty seven of us turned up. We were given stick-on name tags with our year. Mine was 1952. It meant I could reminisce with the other two old boys who were the same year as me. We didn’t know each other, which was to be expected. One of them became a scientist, while the other became a banker and went on to head up a global company as a Sales Executive in America. The oldest ‘old boy’ had 1948 on his label. The school was almost unrecognisable inside, whereas the frontage was exactly as I remembered it. Being a listed building, it couldn’t be changed. The school was founded by Sir Walter St. John in 1700. It was known as ‘Sinjuns’, but now it is St. Thomas’s. It’s in Battersea High Street, which has been smartened up since I saw it last. The visit brought back some happy memories, and a recall of funny stories. One chap spent some time looking for the initials he had carved on an oak panel in the school hall. He found more than his own.

I also picked up on my WIP: something that has been annoying me for some time. I can see a little more clearly now that other stuff has gone away. I’m reasonably happy with the way it’s going, but I still see some problems ahead. With luck I’ll have it finished by the end of the year.

I’m having fun and games republishing The Devil’s Trinity on Ingram Spark. Just when you think you’ve got it cracked, you receive that dreaded email to say there’s an error. My initial problem was in wanting to reduce the size, but I’d forgotten about the ISBN. Reducing the size meant starting again basically with a new ISBN. Fortunately I still have some which I purchased from Nielsen a few years ago. I will also publish the book on CreateSpace and upload a new eBook file for KDP.

Next week, Wednesday, I’ll be meeting the author, Will Patching. I’m looking forward to that. It’s always good to speak to writers who understand what it means to be a self-published author with all the difficulties that go with it; perhaps he can give me a few tips. That evening I’ll be at Littlehampton at The Steam Packet with fellow Chindi authors Isabella Muir and Helen Christmas. Rosemary Noble will be in control there so we don’t get carried away and spend too much time talking about ourselves! If you’re anywhere near the pub, why not drop in?

My book sales increased a little during last month. I think it’s down to my ads on BookBub. I will be putting up a new ad for June, but will use another title: possibly North Slope. I’m a bit reluctant to drop the price, but sometimes it’s inevitable if you want sales to increase. What I will have to do is see how the sales go with the current price of £2.99 and if it’s sluggish, then the price will have to come down. I am at least seeing sales with seven of my titles, which is good.

I’ve got a lot going on this month what with appointments, events, family visits etc., it’s a wonder I have any time to write and to catch up on the latest news and advice about promotion and marketing. Once I’ve sorted the puzzle out, I should soar. Wish me luck!

Meet and greet

There was no blog post from me last week because we spent a few days away: a couple up in Lincoln, then a weekend at our son’s place in Norfolk for a birthday party. His grandson, Harrison was six years old, and Harrison’s dad had moved into the thirties the day before. We had a great time, but it meant that there were things I needed to do that had to be put on the back burner; one of which was my WIP. In fact, it’s so far back I wonder it hasn’t gone up in flames.

The reasons I have neglected my book, apart from the short holiday, are because of trying to meet two deadlines: one for a reprint of my novel, The Devil’s Trinity, and the other to prepare a sermon for my church tonight at the evening service. Work on the ‘Trinity’ was necessary because Ingram Spark have a free offer to reprint, which must be met by May 31st. For me it was too good an opportunity to miss because I wanted to use a new jacket. It meant a lot of time on Photoshop playing around with layers and all the rigmarole that goes into that, seeking advice from my son, Terry, who designed most of my indie jackets, and also to proof read through the Word doc, making sure its as ‘clean’ as I can get it. I’m almost there, but have come up against a problem with page numbering. I can’t explain it here, but believe me, it’s a headache. If I can’t resolve it, I will have to edit again and risk missing the deadline.

I’ve finished my sermon. Its about loving your enemies: quite a hot potato, but from a Christian point of view, absolutely necessary. There are times when I would willingly wring someone’s neck, but have to temper that enthusiasm with Christian love. It can be difficult at times.

I received an unexpected email from author Will Patching to tell me I had won one of his books in a free draw. Naturally I thanked him and expected that to be that: simply wait for the book to turn up. But when he saw my address he contacted me again and said he would be in the area next month, so could deliver the book personally. In fact, it turns out his brother lives just round the corner from me, so he’s practically on my doorstep. I’m looking forward to having a hour or two with Will and picking his brains; I might learn something. In terms of success, Will is probably more successful than me. He is also a South Londoner, like me, so that gives us some common ground to talk about as well.

On the subject of south London, I’m off to my old school on Friday for a reunion. The school is in Battersea and used to be called Sir Walter St. John’s (Sinjuns). Now it’s called St. Thomas’s. It is also the school Prince George goes to. The reunion is more like a tour of the school for us old boys. I won’t know any of those who are attending, although I might have been a school mate of a couple. Who knows? I might even meet another successful author whose brains I can pick. Wish me luck!