Looking for the right way to go.

Tonight is bonfire night! Well, in UK anyway. Guy Fawkes tried to blow up the Houses of Parliament in 1605. 400 plus years later and our government is still under threat, but this time by those opposed to Brexit. There have been numerous re-writes since Guy Fawkes: different bodies of opinion trying to bring down the rulers (good or bad). It wouldn’t make a good novel though because there never seems to be an end to it all.

I reached a milestone this week: I finished the first draft of my novel. My word target was 80,000. I managed 79,940: almost a bulls eye. But it won’t last because I will be doing a re-write and expect to add more words to it. One of my CHINDI author friends has suggested I leave it for ten days before starting again. I can’t do that; I can’t get the re-write out of my mind.

One or two changes are definitely in the pipeline, and no doubt I’ll find more. One problem I had for a while was how to finish the book. I couldn’t come up with a satisfying finish, no matter how much I tried. In the end I did something most writers are advised to do when struggling — plough on! This I did and wrote the book into an ending which I hope will not need changing; I really like it.

One of the problems I encounter when dreaming up scenarios when I’m not writing (out shopping for example), is that I believe I’ve come up with a great idea, but eventually have to drop it or modify it, which I do with great reluctance. I nursed a beauty of an idea for a couple of weeks, and was looking forward to writing it in. Once it was there, I was happy, until I realised that it didn’t work, so it had to go. I modified it actually, but it meant changing the run in to the end, which is how I managed to come up with an ending that fitted perfectly.

Although I don’t expect to see the completed manuscript for several weeks, I am still struggling for a title. I have one in my head that will not go away — APOLLYON. No, it doesn’t mean ‘Devil’, but ‘Destroyer’. I can imagine the word on the cover and something — I don’t know what — behind it. I will work on the design myself, once the manuscript is with my wife for further editing. That will give me plenty of time to tear my hair out while battling with PhotoShop. Ah, the life of a struggling writer!

I’m looking forward to November 18th. That’s the night our CHINDI group have their annual party. Last year was a success, although planning wasn’t too spectacular. This year we are a little wiser, so hopefully it will be successful and gain us more readers.

My book sales and rankings are doing their usual trick, high and low. I’m not promoting anything at the moment, which is deliberate, although I’m getting inundated with offers to take advantage of the holiday season and an invitation to take up their splendid offers. It’s a bit like choosing a queue in the Post Office or the supermarket: you always pick the wrong one. I will probably do something before December, but not too sure which way to go: straight promotion for a ‘cheapie’ book on one of the more recognisable websites, or fall for the advertising charms of a lower level website.

Whatever I do with a promotion, I may have some highs, but I will also have lows; it’s the way things are at this level. Wish me luck!

Removing the unwanted bits.

I have now more or less broken the back of my first draft. I still have about 10,000 words to go before reaching my initial target of 80,000. When I have finished the re-write, I expect to raise this figure by about ten percent. If I was still under contract to my last publisher, now defunct, I would have been asked to trim the word count by a considerable margin. As an Indie writer, I can do as I please, although I have to remember that more words does not necessarily make it a better story. I find myself thinking of scenes I have written that day and realising that my timing is out, or that I just don’t like what I’ve written. It’s a gut feeling always, one I expect most writers have.

We are approaching the ‘holiday’ season according to the promoters who are trying to persuade us indie writers that now is the time to get out there and promote. No doubt there are statistics to back all this up — Thanksgiving and Christmas come to mind. For the promoters, it’s a golden opportunity to increase their profits as we succumb to the temptation and spend our money on promotions, the majority of which will stare bleakly into the abyss and do nothing for our book sales. But I have given in to one, and that is a Cross Promotion activity that will probably reach more potential readers than a direct advert. More bang for the buck as they say. If it works, I will let you know through these pages; just don’t hold your breath though.

On the domestic front, I successfully took a Rainbow Shark out of my aquarium and gave it back to the local garden centre where they accept fish that are no longer wanted. I had it for two weeks, and it would not leave my other fish alone. Sharks are territorial, which is not really helpful for the other residents in the tank. I replaced it with a couple of Mollies. The shark was only a wee one, nothing like Jaws!

Interesting article in today’s paper about the Man Booker prize winner, Ralph Beatty and his book, Sellout. Apparently he uses the word “nigger” about two hundred times (I can’t confirm that). When my romance, Past Imperfect, was with my publisher, my editor asked me to remove the word because it would be deemed offensive in today’s ‘climate’. I had used the word once! Perhaps if I had insisted on leaving it in, I might have generated some controversy and sold more books.

Yesterday we took our Cockapoo puppy, Tuppence, to be spayed. It seemed such a shame for a young one like that (she’s nine months old), but it was recommended by the vet. We did a lot of soul searching over this. Now we have a very docile little girl who needs some TLC. She’s eating OK and doing the business etc. but she should be back to her sock chasing, ball playing, love other dogs mode fairly soon. Wish me and Pat luck!

A Patchy Week (Apache?)

Looking at my diary for the previous seven days, it’s blank. Anyone would think I don’t do anything. I’ve managed to add about two thousand words to my WIP, but have had to interrupt the flow because of hospital appointments, a flu jab, and a trip to Specsavers. We also made a pointless journey to a garden centre to buy something they didn’t stock. We didn’t know that until we arrived. So, stayed there, had lunch and drove home. Sometimes the week is more or less pre-ordained and your plans fit together seamlessly. Other times there’s a kind of haphazard, flying by the seat of your pants period over which there is little or no control.

I received the hardback copy of A Dangerous Game from Ingram Spark. I was very pleased with the result. It cost nothing because of an offer from Ingram, but it has encouraged me to have my next book published in hardback too.

I looked at my Amazon rankings today (I do it every day), and saw a gradual rise over the last four weeks: nothing dramatic of course, but on September 22nd. I was at 177,000. Today I have moved up to 80,000. To some people, that might look quite poor, but any struggling writer reading this will understand that the rise is always pleasing to see, and means my books are still selling. There are highs and lows during that period of course, but a rise is a rise.

The planned #lovetoread CHINDI party on the 18th. November looks like it could be a great evening. There are some splendid raffle prizes being donated, including a bumper book hamper from Random House. All proceeds will go to Dislexia Action, a worthwhile charity. You can read more about this on our website at www.chindi-authors.co.uk

The six minute video of me reading an extract from my latest book, A Dangerous Game, has now been uploaded to my YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_pFFfhAKiw) and is also on my website www.michaelparkerbooks.com Thanks to Dan Jones, one of the CHINDI authors, for taking the time to record us all.

And who says men can’t multitask? At the moment I’m listening to SKY Sports Soccer Saturday and writing this blog. This morning, nothing to do with multi-tasking, I watched the Australian Speedway Grand Prix. It was the last one of the season which saw the American rider, Greg Hancock, crowned world champion for the fourth time. The Aussie rider, Chris Holder won the Grand Prix, which was great stuff — an Aussie winning the GP in his own country.

Next up for me? There are several things on the calendar, but hopefully I will make some solid progress on my WIP. Wish me luck!