November 7th. 2021
Looking through my previous blog post, I could see a sense of wanting to do more and get involved. Well, Robbie Burns had it right with his immortal words about the best laid plans of mice and men going “oft aglay”. I started with the best of intentions by beginning the Amazon Ads course again, changed my writing schedule to earlier in the day by making the most of a fresh mind, and left the domestic chores to the afternoon. It looked like it was working, but then I went down with a chest infection which needed antibiotics. The whole thing floored me and even two weeks after completing the course, I still haven’t got back to normal. So my plans went out of the window. I’m clawing my way back though, and to that end I decided to re-edit my pulp fiction thriller, Hunted, and offer it free to my email subscribers, plus anyone who comes across the link while it’s available. This is the link: https://BookHip.com/JNFFDBC. I have also made some progress on my current project; the fourth in my Marcus Blake series. This one will be set in Wyoming and will be a step up for Marcus in that he will have more of a Jack Reacher type role in this but will not be a Jack Reacher clone. There will be Indians.
Before going down with this infection, I felt my plan to open up was going well. I’d restarted my church House Group and was attending the Sunday services (albeit with a mask), visited both my granddaughters and managed a trip up to the Greenwich Maritime Museum and the Cutty Sark with my No.2 son, Terry and my grandson, Freddie. I’d even managed more Clavinova time. I’m also lined up for a couple of social events with my next door neighbour this month. Oh, and my plan to capitalise on the James Bond film release worked because I sold a dozen of my books of the same name during last month. Cost me a lot on Amazon Ads, but at least it put a smile on my face.
My idea last month to consider the Na-No-Wro-Mo writing exercise in November was a non-starter. It appealed to me briefly, but, the chest infection notwithstanding, I would never have been able to complete the task. And I don’t think there would be a pay-off either. The indie book world is now an overstuffed juggernaut that swallows self-published books, making them disappear for ever unless the writer wants to spend a lot of money advertising and hoping the potential readers take notice. I think the majority of us are probably better served by concentrating on a local market and hoping to expand from there. You may recall me writing about my romantic family saga, Past Imperfect, published last month in America? I looked at the ratings today. It is 3.7 million in the best seller ranks, and around 100,000 in the Romance genre. My publisher will not spend money promoting it; that’s down to me, but in the American market? No, not a cat in hell’s chance. Not to worry though; I will do some advertising, but I need to revisit the Amazon Ads course and think about where best to spend my money. Incidentally, I see that Robert Galbraith’s book (AKA J.K.Rowling), Troubled Blood, has a print length of 945 pages. Phew! Makes you think, eh? I don’t think my box set runs into that length. Perhaps I should stretch my latest Marcus Blake thriller into a 1000 pages. At my age I don’t think I would finish it!
So there you have it: a very brief synopsis of my life over the last four or five weeks. I could have mentioned walking my little dog, cutting down the lavender bush along the front border; washing, ironing, sneezing, coughing, and goodness knows what, but that would mirror most of your lives too. Oh, and something else I’ve learned too: Slan agus beannacht: (be safe & blessed).
Till next time.
Michael