The ho-hum life of being a writer

March 28, 2015

The clocks go forward tonight in the Northern Hemisphere which means very little to retirees like me who probably only get about five or six hours a night. I often find myself lying awake during the night thinking up plot lines or trying to figure out where I went wrong with planning my last promotion. Questions like: how do I get more readers and where are they? Seem to filter through my mind until I realise I don’t know why I’m asking myself that question because if I had the answer…… Well, you get my drift. I often tell myself that I mustn’t forget so and so, and in the morning have completely forgotten what it was I had to remember. So where do authors get their ideas and when? I have been giving some thought lately to the prospect of writing a series with one character permanently in each book. Something like Jack Reacher, the creation of Lee Child. I don’t mean to recreate him: nothing could be further from the truth, but to have a series which readers will follow. And there’s the rub: authors are generally instinctive. They hit upon an idea and build a story around it. That’s the way I write. I can’t sit down and chew the end of my pencil trying to think of a new idea. It has to drop into my mental lap like a seedling where it can germinate. A year later and the seedling has blossomed into a mature plant: another book. So why am I thinking of writing (trying to) a self-imposed style of authorship that is alien to me? Probably because I can see how successful those types of books are; whether they are historical, romance, crime or dystopian: readers seem to be waiting, and positively encouraging the author, until the next book in the series is published. I recently described myself as a “dinosaur” in the book world. I’m gradually becoming extinct. I’m from the old school of traditionally published writers who are finding themselves left behind in the new world of Amazon et al.

During the last week I managed to complete the uploading of two of my titles to Amazon and one title to Kobo. I also have a paperback in review with Ingram Spark, having successfully purchased ten ISBN numbers to cover my titles as they become available in paperback and registered with Nielsen Book Scan. This is something I have never had to do before, but it’s fun and I’m looking forward to seeing all my titles — those of which I have the rights to — being published with my name as publisher.

Part of my success during the week was to start my e-mailing list. It has grown to 20, and it is up to me to keep those subscribers on board and interested in what I’m up to. Hopefully the list will grow to much higher numbers, but the object will be the same: to encourage them to stick with me and buy my books. None of my subscribers will be pestered or plagued with e-mails from me, and from time to time I hope I can offer them something free, and also an opportunity to become part of a launch team which will have an opportunity to read any new books I complete before they are published. Sounds good? Then why not add your name to my list? Just click the link (http://eepurl.com/bgYKMj) and you will receive a free copy of The Devil’s Trinity.

Next week I hope to see a growth in my subscribers list and some progress with my next book. Wish me luck!