Mind you, I've had to wait for it. I'd gone three days without selling and was beginning to think when would I ever get my 40th! But tonight it came, and hopefully somebody somehwere, I have no idea who, will be settling down with a good book tonight: my book.
I suddenly realised something earlier that I have never actually stated in all my blog entries since I began this blog in early August, what my book is really about and my reasons for writing it. And that thought occurred to me as a result of reading the opening couple of entries of a brand new blog by a fellow wannabe children's novelist, Martin Jones of Toronto, Canada, formerly from Lancashire.
Martin has been regularly following this blog and has now decided to set up his own to promote his book, They Shoot Birds Don't They? And straightaway, he's done something very sensible, which is to tell people what the book is actually about! Not a bad idea really. All I've done is sort of vaguely tell people that it's a children's adventure novel set in Abersoch and the Lleyn peninsula of North Wales and I don't think I've exactly given away much else of the plot whatsoever. Of course, there are links to my listings on Amazon but I perhaps could have allowed people more of an insight into Smugglers at Whistling Sands, and the characters who appear in it.
So, it being the weekend tomorrow, I will endeavour to do that. I'll write a blog entry or two letting all those of you, save the 40 who have been kind enough to purchase my book already, know a bit more about the novel. And I'll select a few passages for you all to have a sample read, and see what you think.
Meanwhile, don't just read my blog, read Martin's - you'll find a link to it on the right of your screen, or alternatively just press here and you'll also find out a bit more about his novel, which is largely written but still in the final stages of production.
Friday, September 30, 2011
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Good! I'm back in Amazon's bestseller list for children's adventure stories on Kindle
Another sale puts me back in the top 100 bestseller list for children's fiction, action & adventure category - at #83 (as of 4pm Sunday afternoon) with Abersoch-based Smugglers at Whistling Sands.
# Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #9,811 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
* #83 in Kindle Store > Books > Fiction > Children's Fiction > Literature > Action & Adventure
Really chuffed about this, since being on this list is an important part of getting one's book known about and acquiring more readers. Again, it is evidence that you don't have to virtually give your novel away just to get readers.
Well the sun is not far off setting on another weekend and I wish I could say that I have been furthering my writing ambitions these last two days. Unfortunately, the demands of being a dad to two young children and hosting a friend of my wife's who visited for the weekend have conspired against me.
Mind you, right now I have no excuse. My wife has given me a couple of hours' grace to disappear to the top floor where I have my office to do book-related stuff. And what I have been doing - reading rather than writing or promoting. I've been tucking into the No.1 bestseller in the Kindle store: The Alchemist's Secret by Scott Mariani.
The ebook version costs the not-very-princely sum of 49p, which rather disproves my theory that selling too cheap will discourage sales. Ok, but I will say this: Mariani is an excellent writer and this is by all accounts an excellent book. I would have been happier to pay a good pound or two more for it and for him to have been rewarded accordingly. Mind you, he has several books for sale on Amazon and most are for £1.99 and a couple for £2.99. If giving one or two away at 49p apiece helps win more readers for his other novels, good luck to him. Certainly, I am happy to plug The Alchemist's Secret - really gripped by it (not that Mariani is in any need of being plugged of course!).
* I've just tweeted to say that I have set a deadline of Sunday, October 9th, 2011 to notch up my 50th sale of Smugglers at Whistling Sands. If I have reached that milestone by then, I GUARANTEE to write a sequel, bringing siblings Jack, David, Emily and their friend Lou back to Abersoch for another exciting adventure! I am currently 14 short of that target and must sell an average of one book a day to achieve it. Fingers crossed! (If I don't reach that figure, I intend to start work on a wholly different book aimed primarily at adults rather than children.)
# Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #9,811 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
* #83 in Kindle Store > Books > Fiction > Children's Fiction > Literature > Action & Adventure
Really chuffed about this, since being on this list is an important part of getting one's book known about and acquiring more readers. Again, it is evidence that you don't have to virtually give your novel away just to get readers.
Well the sun is not far off setting on another weekend and I wish I could say that I have been furthering my writing ambitions these last two days. Unfortunately, the demands of being a dad to two young children and hosting a friend of my wife's who visited for the weekend have conspired against me.
Mind you, right now I have no excuse. My wife has given me a couple of hours' grace to disappear to the top floor where I have my office to do book-related stuff. And what I have been doing - reading rather than writing or promoting. I've been tucking into the No.1 bestseller in the Kindle store: The Alchemist's Secret by Scott Mariani.
The ebook version costs the not-very-princely sum of 49p, which rather disproves my theory that selling too cheap will discourage sales. Ok, but I will say this: Mariani is an excellent writer and this is by all accounts an excellent book. I would have been happier to pay a good pound or two more for it and for him to have been rewarded accordingly. Mind you, he has several books for sale on Amazon and most are for £1.99 and a couple for £2.99. If giving one or two away at 49p apiece helps win more readers for his other novels, good luck to him. Certainly, I am happy to plug The Alchemist's Secret - really gripped by it (not that Mariani is in any need of being plugged of course!).
* I've just tweeted to say that I have set a deadline of Sunday, October 9th, 2011 to notch up my 50th sale of Smugglers at Whistling Sands. If I have reached that milestone by then, I GUARANTEE to write a sequel, bringing siblings Jack, David, Emily and their friend Lou back to Abersoch for another exciting adventure! I am currently 14 short of that target and must sell an average of one book a day to achieve it. Fingers crossed! (If I don't reach that figure, I intend to start work on a wholly different book aimed primarily at adults rather than children.)
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Couple more sales and a really nice email is spurring me on to thoughts of a sequel
My decision to put the price of my novel Smugglers At Whistling Sands back up to £1.71 seems if anything to have increased sales. I've had a flurry of three over the last couple of days and an email from my latest buyer very pleased with the book.
Interestingly, she actually thought it was too cheap at £1.71. I don't agree - I don't intend to increase the price on my Amazon ebook any further. £1.71 (£1.49 plus VAT) is the lowest I can charge to qualify for the 70% royalty. At its previous price of 86p I only got a 35% royalty which equated to 26p profit per sale. But at £1.71 I get 99p and I think, for an ebook that is a perfectly reasonable cut. I do not understand why it is that major publishers feel the need to charge almost as much for an ebook as they do for the paper and ink version.
That said, and maybe not everyone knows this, hard copies of books do not attract VAT - but ebooks do and Amazon - as the seller - must therefore apply 20% VAT to the £1.49 cost of my book, hence the VAT inclusive price of £1.71. But I still find it hard to stomach that an ebook, even of world-famous authors, should cost £6 or more. For me, £1.71 is just fine. A smallish sum for the buyer but a reasonable return for the author. Above all - and this is the key reason for dropping the 86p price tag - it is because it puts off more buyers than it attracts.
The sort of person keen to buy a children's novel like this, either as a nostalgic read for themselves or for their kids, aren't likely to need to be corralled into a purchase with an ultra-cheap price.
Anyway, it was great to have a few words of appreciation for the book because like most writers I am inherently insecure and love praise. And I am now seriously turning my mind to a possible sequel to Smugglers. I said I would start one for definite if I could reach a total of 50 sales by the end of September. I am 15 sales adrift so that might be pushing it - but when that milestone is reached, particularly if it's fairly soon, I will definitely consider it.
Interestingly, she actually thought it was too cheap at £1.71. I don't agree - I don't intend to increase the price on my Amazon ebook any further. £1.71 (£1.49 plus VAT) is the lowest I can charge to qualify for the 70% royalty. At its previous price of 86p I only got a 35% royalty which equated to 26p profit per sale. But at £1.71 I get 99p and I think, for an ebook that is a perfectly reasonable cut. I do not understand why it is that major publishers feel the need to charge almost as much for an ebook as they do for the paper and ink version.
That said, and maybe not everyone knows this, hard copies of books do not attract VAT - but ebooks do and Amazon - as the seller - must therefore apply 20% VAT to the £1.49 cost of my book, hence the VAT inclusive price of £1.71. But I still find it hard to stomach that an ebook, even of world-famous authors, should cost £6 or more. For me, £1.71 is just fine. A smallish sum for the buyer but a reasonable return for the author. Above all - and this is the key reason for dropping the 86p price tag - it is because it puts off more buyers than it attracts.
The sort of person keen to buy a children's novel like this, either as a nostalgic read for themselves or for their kids, aren't likely to need to be corralled into a purchase with an ultra-cheap price.
Anyway, it was great to have a few words of appreciation for the book because like most writers I am inherently insecure and love praise. And I am now seriously turning my mind to a possible sequel to Smugglers. I said I would start one for definite if I could reach a total of 50 sales by the end of September. I am 15 sales adrift so that might be pushing it - but when that milestone is reached, particularly if it's fairly soon, I will definitely consider it.
Monday, September 19, 2011
Have now dropped introductory price of 86p
I don't want to send the Retail Price Index through the roof but I have decided to drop my ultra-low price of 86p and leap back up to £1.71. Boo hiss!
There are a number of good reasons though, and I'll start with the obvious one: Amazon punish anyone selling their Kindle books for less than £1.71 (£1.49+VAT) by allowing them only a 35% royalty. Thus from an 86p sale, I would take only 26p - that is simply not enough of a return to reap an author a noticeable reward for his efforts unless he was lucky enough to sell huge quantities of books.
At £1.71 - I will take 70% royalty (minus an obscure 'delivery' charge introduced at this rate) which gives me 99p - a reasonable sum per book and one which I feel, can leave buyers with the satisfaction that they have paid a fair price for their ebook and the author has had his fair reward.
Of course, the priority for any fledgling novelist should be to acquire a readership - and not worry about trying to make money from it. I still hold to this principle so it may seem counter-intuitive on that basis to jack the price up, but I also feel that asking a mere 86p is sort of saying to people - "look my book may not be very good but come on, I only want 86p for it". In other words, by appearing not to value my own work, I may actually be losing sales.
Let's put it this way, if anyone reading this would like a copy of the book but doesn't want to risk £1.71 on it - then I will gladly send you a PDF of the thing for free - and you can pay for it afterwards if you like it!
Pleasingly, I have already had my first sale at the higher price - making a grand total of 35 sales. When you consider that some people struggle to get anyone buying their ebooks, I think that is a result which I ought to be reasonably happy with.
There are a number of good reasons though, and I'll start with the obvious one: Amazon punish anyone selling their Kindle books for less than £1.71 (£1.49+VAT) by allowing them only a 35% royalty. Thus from an 86p sale, I would take only 26p - that is simply not enough of a return to reap an author a noticeable reward for his efforts unless he was lucky enough to sell huge quantities of books.
At £1.71 - I will take 70% royalty (minus an obscure 'delivery' charge introduced at this rate) which gives me 99p - a reasonable sum per book and one which I feel, can leave buyers with the satisfaction that they have paid a fair price for their ebook and the author has had his fair reward.
Of course, the priority for any fledgling novelist should be to acquire a readership - and not worry about trying to make money from it. I still hold to this principle so it may seem counter-intuitive on that basis to jack the price up, but I also feel that asking a mere 86p is sort of saying to people - "look my book may not be very good but come on, I only want 86p for it". In other words, by appearing not to value my own work, I may actually be losing sales.
Let's put it this way, if anyone reading this would like a copy of the book but doesn't want to risk £1.71 on it - then I will gladly send you a PDF of the thing for free - and you can pay for it afterwards if you like it!
Pleasingly, I have already had my first sale at the higher price - making a grand total of 35 sales. When you consider that some people struggle to get anyone buying their ebooks, I think that is a result which I ought to be reasonably happy with.
Saturday, September 17, 2011
An annoying setback - but what can you do?
To my disappointment, someone has been on my Amazon listing and given the two excellent reviews I have received so far for Smugglers at Whistling Sands the thumbs down. Now, the first one is rated three people out of four find the review helpful, and the other that two out of three find it helpful.
I just find it annoying that someone, under the cloak of anonymity, should do that to me. Have they taken the trouble to leave their own review, explaining what they liked and presumbly what they did not? No, of course they haven't.
Have they commented on the two reviews I have received to date, explaining why they don't agree with them? No, of course they haven't. Instead they have just quietly, effortlessly used the thumbs down sign.
Have they even read the book? Who knows! It has crossed my mind whether it is from a rival author / publisher out there. Perhaps I shouldn't read too much into it, I just think when you go to the trouble of seeking to knock a fledgling novelist like me and imply that my book isn't even worth the 86p I'm asking for it - whoever it is might at least explain why.
Whether it will knock future sales I don't know - I've just got to hope others continue to buy it, and hopefully I will pick up some more reviews - not necessarily five star as my current two are - but honest crits, which hopefully will be more positive than negative.
My sales have now reached 33 - they definitely don't appear to be exactly taking off, but it is still early days yet and I am, frankly, doing next to nothing to promote my book - I really need to find the time to do so.
I just find it annoying that someone, under the cloak of anonymity, should do that to me. Have they taken the trouble to leave their own review, explaining what they liked and presumbly what they did not? No, of course they haven't.
Have they commented on the two reviews I have received to date, explaining why they don't agree with them? No, of course they haven't. Instead they have just quietly, effortlessly used the thumbs down sign.
Have they even read the book? Who knows! It has crossed my mind whether it is from a rival author / publisher out there. Perhaps I shouldn't read too much into it, I just think when you go to the trouble of seeking to knock a fledgling novelist like me and imply that my book isn't even worth the 86p I'm asking for it - whoever it is might at least explain why.
Whether it will knock future sales I don't know - I've just got to hope others continue to buy it, and hopefully I will pick up some more reviews - not necessarily five star as my current two are - but honest crits, which hopefully will be more positive than negative.
My sales have now reached 33 - they definitely don't appear to be exactly taking off, but it is still early days yet and I am, frankly, doing next to nothing to promote my book - I really need to find the time to do so.
Monday, September 12, 2011
A few more sales - just wish I could invest more time in pushing my book
Despite having done very little to promote my book - including failing to keep this blog up to date - I have continued to pick up slow but steady sales. In my last entry I had reached a milestone of 20 sales of Smugglers at Whistling Sands. This tally has now leaped to 31 - well I say leaped, it is after all nearly a fortnight since I wrote that entry!
On Saturday evening I had two sales and this afternoon I had another two, which pushed me up to #35 in the top 100 in children's fiction action & adventure category on Amazon's Kindle bookstore.
I badly need to start pushing the book again to build on this - selective use of Twitter and Facebook spring to mind, but it all takes time and I've been very busy with work and also family matters over the last few days.
My very first buyer, fellow fledgling novelist Martin Jones in Toronto, Canada, has done me an excellent analysis of the first chapter of my book, which I'm very grateful for. The value of having a fresh pair of eyes can be summed up in just one observation alone of his - something no-one else has spotted, including my wife! I was selling my ebook with one of the principal characters, 12-year-old Jack, referred to in the first chapter as "John".
John was his original name, but I changed it to Jack ages ago, and thought I had altered every single reference in the book - but clearly I missed one. As soon as I read this, I changed the hard copy of the novel in Word format on my desktop, converted it to ebook format and uploaded it to Amazon to over-write the original file. I am not happy that a good few people will have bought my book with that mistake contained in it - that said, it will create no more than a momentary confusion and I don't think anyone will be that furious with me. But certainly I feel a little furious with myself!
There are three or four other minor changes I intend to make arising from Martin's analysis. And a number of his suggestions I will reject and leave things as they are, grateful though I am for them. It's a sign of strength to listen to criticism and be willing to change your novel - but it's also a sign of strength to reject certain observations and say, "well, I'm the author, that's how I want it!"
I shall soon be sending Martin a little analysis of my own of his part-written book, and I expect him to do the same - maybe take on board some of what I say, and reject some of it. Talking of which, I think it's time I plugged his book in this blog which I am very much enjoying. I find it's whole basis is highly original and unusual. It's called They Shoot Birds Don't They? - and you can find a long extract from it on the writers' site Authonomy.com run by HarperCollins, under Martin's author name MP Jones. Click here to go directly to it. Martin's book is now ranked very highly by fellow members, up to 117 as I write this out of several thousand other books. So take a look!
Talking of which, the Authonomy website is very interesting, not had time to get my head round it properly yet, but looking forward to delving into it in more detail. And I promise not to leave it another fortnight before updating this blog!
On Saturday evening I had two sales and this afternoon I had another two, which pushed me up to #35 in the top 100 in children's fiction action & adventure category on Amazon's Kindle bookstore.
I badly need to start pushing the book again to build on this - selective use of Twitter and Facebook spring to mind, but it all takes time and I've been very busy with work and also family matters over the last few days.
My very first buyer, fellow fledgling novelist Martin Jones in Toronto, Canada, has done me an excellent analysis of the first chapter of my book, which I'm very grateful for. The value of having a fresh pair of eyes can be summed up in just one observation alone of his - something no-one else has spotted, including my wife! I was selling my ebook with one of the principal characters, 12-year-old Jack, referred to in the first chapter as "John".
John was his original name, but I changed it to Jack ages ago, and thought I had altered every single reference in the book - but clearly I missed one. As soon as I read this, I changed the hard copy of the novel in Word format on my desktop, converted it to ebook format and uploaded it to Amazon to over-write the original file. I am not happy that a good few people will have bought my book with that mistake contained in it - that said, it will create no more than a momentary confusion and I don't think anyone will be that furious with me. But certainly I feel a little furious with myself!
There are three or four other minor changes I intend to make arising from Martin's analysis. And a number of his suggestions I will reject and leave things as they are, grateful though I am for them. It's a sign of strength to listen to criticism and be willing to change your novel - but it's also a sign of strength to reject certain observations and say, "well, I'm the author, that's how I want it!"
I shall soon be sending Martin a little analysis of my own of his part-written book, and I expect him to do the same - maybe take on board some of what I say, and reject some of it. Talking of which, I think it's time I plugged his book in this blog which I am very much enjoying. I find it's whole basis is highly original and unusual. It's called They Shoot Birds Don't They? - and you can find a long extract from it on the writers' site Authonomy.com run by HarperCollins, under Martin's author name MP Jones. Click here to go directly to it. Martin's book is now ranked very highly by fellow members, up to 117 as I write this out of several thousand other books. So take a look!
Talking of which, the Authonomy website is very interesting, not had time to get my head round it properly yet, but looking forward to delving into it in more detail. And I promise not to leave it another fortnight before updating this blog!
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Milestone of sorts as I reach 20 sales
Apologies for taking five whole days since I last updated this blog. It isn't a sign that my interest is waning in my book writing project. Quite the contrary in fact, I am raring to get stuck in, both in promoting my current book, and starting to get on with writing another.
I have not been selling well the last few days, there has been a definite slow down, but I think that is probably as much as anything to do with the fact that many people still simply do not know about my book, Smugglers at Whistling Sands.
But tonight I had my 17th sale on Amazon.co.uk and I have now had three sales on Amazon.com making 20 in total. When you consider that those sales have come in little over my first month I should not be too displeased. I am now, temporarily no doubt, back in the top 100 bestsellers in the category children's fiction, action and adventure on Amazon.co.uk - just - at #99.
I think I should mention as well, the power of Twitter - I searched on the key word Abersoch on Twitter at the weekend and a few tweets came up from people who had mentioned Abersoch. I sent a personalised tweet to one of them, the woman in question had already heard of my book, was delighted I had got in touch and promptly bought it, once I had explained how. She also told a friend of hers who has since been in touch via Twitter but who wants to wait until I bring out the hard copy of Smugglers (which I will at some stage).
I mentioned how keen I am to plunge myself into my novel writing ambitions. Unfortunately for me, I have been kept very busy at work recently, not only trying to keep up to speed with my own output of columns, leader columns and features, but having to cover for the farming correspondent who is currently off.
And the more work I have to do, the more I daydream about novel-writing and then take even longer getting stuff done. I need to have more self discipline, dear boy, I tell myself. Unfortunately, I don't always listen, not even to myself!
I have not been selling well the last few days, there has been a definite slow down, but I think that is probably as much as anything to do with the fact that many people still simply do not know about my book, Smugglers at Whistling Sands.
But tonight I had my 17th sale on Amazon.co.uk and I have now had three sales on Amazon.com making 20 in total. When you consider that those sales have come in little over my first month I should not be too displeased. I am now, temporarily no doubt, back in the top 100 bestsellers in the category children's fiction, action and adventure on Amazon.co.uk - just - at #99.
I think I should mention as well, the power of Twitter - I searched on the key word Abersoch on Twitter at the weekend and a few tweets came up from people who had mentioned Abersoch. I sent a personalised tweet to one of them, the woman in question had already heard of my book, was delighted I had got in touch and promptly bought it, once I had explained how. She also told a friend of hers who has since been in touch via Twitter but who wants to wait until I bring out the hard copy of Smugglers (which I will at some stage).
I mentioned how keen I am to plunge myself into my novel writing ambitions. Unfortunately for me, I have been kept very busy at work recently, not only trying to keep up to speed with my own output of columns, leader columns and features, but having to cover for the farming correspondent who is currently off.
And the more work I have to do, the more I daydream about novel-writing and then take even longer getting stuff done. I need to have more self discipline, dear boy, I tell myself. Unfortunately, I don't always listen, not even to myself!
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Another 5-star review . . . but sales dried up today (never mind)
Today I was very pleased to receive my second review - another five stars, from "Bart" who is a regular holidaymaker to Abersoch and loved the book, as did his young daughter. "Bart" is the guy who contacted me via Facebook and has now very kindly repeated his positive comments publicly on my Amazon listing.
Also pleasing, is the fact that someone has already marked it a "helpful" review so all this will help me with future sales.
Talking of which, I have now notched up 15 buyers, but I'm feeling a little disappointed today because I've not had any sales in the last 24 hours and have dropped from hovering just outside the top 5,000 best selling on Kindle to 18,000. You soon get punished if you don't sell books, your ranking drops swiftly, by around 500 an hour. But as I've said before, that is good because it shows that people are buying books on Kindle.
Ultimately, my book will keep selling if it's any good and sales will dry up if it isn't and that is the way it should be.
Also pleasing, is the fact that someone has already marked it a "helpful" review so all this will help me with future sales.
Talking of which, I have now notched up 15 buyers, but I'm feeling a little disappointed today because I've not had any sales in the last 24 hours and have dropped from hovering just outside the top 5,000 best selling on Kindle to 18,000. You soon get punished if you don't sell books, your ranking drops swiftly, by around 500 an hour. But as I've said before, that is good because it shows that people are buying books on Kindle.
Ultimately, my book will keep selling if it's any good and sales will dry up if it isn't and that is the way it should be.
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Fantastic message from a reader - makes it all worthwhile!
I won't give his name as his comments weren't posted on a public forum but somebody who has recently bought my book, Smugglers at Whistling Sands, has sent me a message via Facebook to say how much he enjoyed reading it - and also his 10-year-old daughter, who was particularly pleased and proud that she could relate to the photographs I have sprinkled throughout the book.
Furthermore, he stays in a place not too far from where I and my family stay while on holiday at Abersoch - and he's invited me to join him for a beer when I'm next up there. I have, of course, been only too happy to agree!
The buyer has also promised to spread the word about the book, based as you will know, at Abersoch. That sort of thing is crucial to my success as a fledgling novelist. Think of my book like a restaurant you've been to for the first time. If you don't like it, you won't recommend it - but if you do and you tell others about it, then word of mouth can work wonders. I've now had 13 sales and that's pleasing because it shows a steady trickle of orders.
Anyone reading this who are themselves fledgling novelists, do take a look at the site www.authonomy.com run by Harper Collins - it was recommended to me by a fellow writer. Absolutely excellent place to be for anyone seeking help, advice and feedback on their own writing. The only catch being, you need to dole it out to others. But one thing I am fast learning, is the sheer goodwill that exists in the writing community and towards writers.
As you may know, I am a journalist - and the reaction to that when I meet people socially for the first time can often be one of slight unease, curiosity, and a sense of wondering what sort of chap we have here.
No such qualms exist towards novelists, who are much loved by all. I'll raise a glass to that!
Furthermore, he stays in a place not too far from where I and my family stay while on holiday at Abersoch - and he's invited me to join him for a beer when I'm next up there. I have, of course, been only too happy to agree!
The buyer has also promised to spread the word about the book, based as you will know, at Abersoch. That sort of thing is crucial to my success as a fledgling novelist. Think of my book like a restaurant you've been to for the first time. If you don't like it, you won't recommend it - but if you do and you tell others about it, then word of mouth can work wonders. I've now had 13 sales and that's pleasing because it shows a steady trickle of orders.
Anyone reading this who are themselves fledgling novelists, do take a look at the site www.authonomy.com run by Harper Collins - it was recommended to me by a fellow writer. Absolutely excellent place to be for anyone seeking help, advice and feedback on their own writing. The only catch being, you need to dole it out to others. But one thing I am fast learning, is the sheer goodwill that exists in the writing community and towards writers.
As you may know, I am a journalist - and the reaction to that when I meet people socially for the first time can often be one of slight unease, curiosity, and a sense of wondering what sort of chap we have here.
No such qualms exist towards novelists, who are much loved by all. I'll raise a glass to that!
Sunday, August 21, 2011
A five-star review for Smugglers on Amazon
My book picked up a fantastic review last night posted on my Amazon listing from Canadian buyer Martin Jones in Toronto - and it may well be no coincidence that I had two sales overnight, taking me to 9, of which 4 were in the last 12 hours. (Click the Amazon link to my book on the right hand side to see Martin's review and info about the book).
I was sort of dreading my first review so I was delighted to receive such a good one and a couple of criticisms made by Martin were delivered gently and constructively. Book reviews are in the hands of the reader and can be as harsh or as flattering as people wish to deliver them and that's the way it should be.
What particularly pleased me is that he clearly enjoyed Smugglers At Whistling Sands and felt that it had pace and was a page-turner - which is what I wanted. I hope other buyers will also find the time to post reviews and I really do hope I can keep getting the book out there and selling. I am not interested in acquiring riches - what I want is readers!
Martin described my book as "fantastic value" at 86p and said that its low price didn't reflect its quality. He felt it must be a marketing strategy on my part to set the price at that level. He is absolutely right - the marketing strategy is to maximise sales - ie. readers. My research tells me that setting the price low is important for unknown and self-published authors like me if we are to have any hope of readers taking a risk on us. At 86p I am hopefully worth a punt - but why should you pay £4.99 when you've never heard of me before?
Longer term, I would love to make money from writing novels for this very simple reason: if it paid the bills then producing creative fiction is where I want to be. The important point though, is to write for the love of it, and if it pays, it can become the day job. Until then, as the saying goes: don't give up the day job!
I was sort of dreading my first review so I was delighted to receive such a good one and a couple of criticisms made by Martin were delivered gently and constructively. Book reviews are in the hands of the reader and can be as harsh or as flattering as people wish to deliver them and that's the way it should be.
What particularly pleased me is that he clearly enjoyed Smugglers At Whistling Sands and felt that it had pace and was a page-turner - which is what I wanted. I hope other buyers will also find the time to post reviews and I really do hope I can keep getting the book out there and selling. I am not interested in acquiring riches - what I want is readers!
Martin described my book as "fantastic value" at 86p and said that its low price didn't reflect its quality. He felt it must be a marketing strategy on my part to set the price at that level. He is absolutely right - the marketing strategy is to maximise sales - ie. readers. My research tells me that setting the price low is important for unknown and self-published authors like me if we are to have any hope of readers taking a risk on us. At 86p I am hopefully worth a punt - but why should you pay £4.99 when you've never heard of me before?
Longer term, I would love to make money from writing novels for this very simple reason: if it paid the bills then producing creative fiction is where I want to be. The important point though, is to write for the love of it, and if it pays, it can become the day job. Until then, as the saying goes: don't give up the day job!
Saturday, August 20, 2011
A little more about my book based at Abersoch and the Llyn peninsula
A number of people are finding this blog from the Abersoch website www.abersoch.co.uk which is very pleasing and I'd like to give you a quick introduction to the book and its connections to Abersoch and the Llyn or the Lleyn as many people still spell it.
Abersoch and the surrounding area is in my blood - I love the place and have been going there on holiday all my life - so for 44 years to be precise! So when I decided to write a children's adventure novel, the part of the world which has such fond memories for me seemed the obvious location.
The title makes no reference to Abersoch of course, but instead refers to Whistling Sands as in "Smugglers At Whistling Sands". The youngsters who feature in this book are on holiday at Abersoch but they do not just stay put there. Their adventure takes them to a number of places including Whistling Sands obviously but also the St Tudwal's Islands, Aberdaron and Porth Ysgo - a remote beach nearby, and the hillside above. The owners of the Vaynol Arms public house in Abersoch might be pleased (I hope) to discover that their premises features in the novel.
The action centres around the Johnson children, Jack, David and Emily (aged 12, 11 and 10 respectively) and a headstrong girl called Lou whom they meet on the beach. It is she who is the catalyst for these rather dull Johnson siblings to spread their wings a bit. And what better time to do that than when they should happen across the activities of smugglers!
I don't wish to give too much away about the plot but there is quite a lot of realism in this story, for all the fact that it is a rather post-modern children's adventure owing some of its inspiration to Enid Blyton's novels which I enjoyed a great deal as a child.The activities of the smugglers are based on real life occurences and if you do a search on Google at the point when the children do their Google search, you might well come across references to real-life smuggling which was in part the raw material for the book.
My chief hope is that my novel will appeal to youngsters and indeed adults who either have a connection to the Abersoch / Llyn peninsula area or enjoy traditional Blytonesque adventure stories. There's a bit more info on the book's Amazon listing - you can find a link to it on the right hand side of this page.
Well I better close for now because I am still trying to hack the bamboo roots out at the front of the house and pretty difficult work it is too. Oh by the way, for those of you who have been following my blog and my efforts to actually sell my book, my sales tally has now risen majestically from four to . . . five! I don't care if that isn't very good, I'm pleased (and if I'm pleased, that's the main thing!).
Right, off to be bamboo-zled (groan).
Abersoch and the surrounding area is in my blood - I love the place and have been going there on holiday all my life - so for 44 years to be precise! So when I decided to write a children's adventure novel, the part of the world which has such fond memories for me seemed the obvious location.
The title makes no reference to Abersoch of course, but instead refers to Whistling Sands as in "Smugglers At Whistling Sands". The youngsters who feature in this book are on holiday at Abersoch but they do not just stay put there. Their adventure takes them to a number of places including Whistling Sands obviously but also the St Tudwal's Islands, Aberdaron and Porth Ysgo - a remote beach nearby, and the hillside above. The owners of the Vaynol Arms public house in Abersoch might be pleased (I hope) to discover that their premises features in the novel.
The action centres around the Johnson children, Jack, David and Emily (aged 12, 11 and 10 respectively) and a headstrong girl called Lou whom they meet on the beach. It is she who is the catalyst for these rather dull Johnson siblings to spread their wings a bit. And what better time to do that than when they should happen across the activities of smugglers!
I don't wish to give too much away about the plot but there is quite a lot of realism in this story, for all the fact that it is a rather post-modern children's adventure owing some of its inspiration to Enid Blyton's novels which I enjoyed a great deal as a child.The activities of the smugglers are based on real life occurences and if you do a search on Google at the point when the children do their Google search, you might well come across references to real-life smuggling which was in part the raw material for the book.
My chief hope is that my novel will appeal to youngsters and indeed adults who either have a connection to the Abersoch / Llyn peninsula area or enjoy traditional Blytonesque adventure stories. There's a bit more info on the book's Amazon listing - you can find a link to it on the right hand side of this page.
Well I better close for now because I am still trying to hack the bamboo roots out at the front of the house and pretty difficult work it is too. Oh by the way, for those of you who have been following my blog and my efforts to actually sell my book, my sales tally has now risen majestically from four to . . . five! I don't care if that isn't very good, I'm pleased (and if I'm pleased, that's the main thing!).
Right, off to be bamboo-zled (groan).
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Abersoch's top website tells the world about my book!
I'm delighted to say that www.abersoch.co.uk Abersoch's excellent no.1 website (literally no.1 - check Google) has just announced the existence of my ebook Smugglers At Whistling Sands to the world. They have done so far more effectively than I can.
Search Abersoch on Google, and this website comes up first and in its news section, you will now find a good write up on my book which is of course based at Abersoch and other locations along the Llyn peninsula. The news item contains links both to this blog and to the listing on Amazon.
I think it is a measure of how much I rate being publicsed by this site that I have given them the information about my book exclusively. I have not sought any newspaper publicity for it - I am happy to target it directly towards the two markets which really matter - the Abersoch / Llyn peninsula area and lovers of Enid Blyton's books.
I'll blog more very soon on my thoughts about targeted marketing for ebooks, but for now, I better get on with writing of a different kind - newspaper work (which is of course, what pays the bills!).
Search Abersoch on Google, and this website comes up first and in its news section, you will now find a good write up on my book which is of course based at Abersoch and other locations along the Llyn peninsula. The news item contains links both to this blog and to the listing on Amazon.
I think it is a measure of how much I rate being publicsed by this site that I have given them the information about my book exclusively. I have not sought any newspaper publicity for it - I am happy to target it directly towards the two markets which really matter - the Abersoch / Llyn peninsula area and lovers of Enid Blyton's books.
I'll blog more very soon on my thoughts about targeted marketing for ebooks, but for now, I better get on with writing of a different kind - newspaper work (which is of course, what pays the bills!).
Another sale, and my thoughts are turning to reviews . . .
I had the fourth sale of Smugglers this afternoon and it is a funny feeling to think that, with the exception of my first buyer, who hails from Canada, I have no idea who the other three are.
Could they be the next door neighbour but one, could it be a family member? A work colleague? The fact is, almost nobody knows about my ebook and all members of my family are under instructions not to buy it off Amazon which is currently the only place I have my it for sale. I simply want to feel that any purchase is a genuine one, ie. one made by a stranger or a sworn enemy or something - not my best mate, or a sympathetic neighbour, or a kindly in-law who feels I need a little encouragement.
And the other thing is, will the book get reviewed - I can be pretty sure one of those buyers will review it but not necessarily the others. I do feel a slight feeling of unease that anyone anywhere in the world can download my book and just read it for themselves. My first buyer, who is himself writing a book, expressed that very emotion in an email to me and it made me realise I feel the same way.
I suppose it is easy to be nervous about any possible criticism but it is through critical appraisal that we all learn and all fledgling novelists should remind themselves that the greatest writers in history have their critics and indeed, from Shakespeare through to the likes of Thomas Hardy, have stuff to their name that is, shall we say, not their best.
It's interesting that my favourite author, George Orwell, so disliked his early two novels A Clergyman's Daughter and Keep The Aspidistra Flying that after early print runs, he refused to allow them to be reprinted in his lifetime. I enjoyed reading both, but in particular, Keep The Aspidistra Flying - a harrowing tale of a struggling writer who could barely make ends meet and felt worthless in the process. There is some very powerful, and at times poetic language by Orwell and I only wish he had written more of this type of book.
Anyway, enough of Mr Orwell for one evening, it is already nearly half past midnight here in North Wales and I could go on about him all night, and after another tiring day on the paper (working from home today though, not the office) I probably ought to get to bed.
Could they be the next door neighbour but one, could it be a family member? A work colleague? The fact is, almost nobody knows about my ebook and all members of my family are under instructions not to buy it off Amazon which is currently the only place I have my it for sale. I simply want to feel that any purchase is a genuine one, ie. one made by a stranger or a sworn enemy or something - not my best mate, or a sympathetic neighbour, or a kindly in-law who feels I need a little encouragement.
And the other thing is, will the book get reviewed - I can be pretty sure one of those buyers will review it but not necessarily the others. I do feel a slight feeling of unease that anyone anywhere in the world can download my book and just read it for themselves. My first buyer, who is himself writing a book, expressed that very emotion in an email to me and it made me realise I feel the same way.
I suppose it is easy to be nervous about any possible criticism but it is through critical appraisal that we all learn and all fledgling novelists should remind themselves that the greatest writers in history have their critics and indeed, from Shakespeare through to the likes of Thomas Hardy, have stuff to their name that is, shall we say, not their best.
It's interesting that my favourite author, George Orwell, so disliked his early two novels A Clergyman's Daughter and Keep The Aspidistra Flying that after early print runs, he refused to allow them to be reprinted in his lifetime. I enjoyed reading both, but in particular, Keep The Aspidistra Flying - a harrowing tale of a struggling writer who could barely make ends meet and felt worthless in the process. There is some very powerful, and at times poetic language by Orwell and I only wish he had written more of this type of book.
Anyway, enough of Mr Orwell for one evening, it is already nearly half past midnight here in North Wales and I could go on about him all night, and after another tiring day on the paper (working from home today though, not the office) I probably ought to get to bed.
Monday, August 15, 2011
Sales of my Abersoch based ebook triple!
Oh yes, you can prove anything with statistics, can't you! Mind you I'm easily pleased where my ebook Smugglers At Whistling Sands is concerned. I had my second sale yesterday and my third sale about an hour ago. That's right I've sold three copies (since July 21, 2011).
It's great news. I was thinking I was going to go down in history as the only person to write a book and have no sales at all. So I'm very chuffed that I have made this progress. Here's to sale number 4!
My prediction yesterday that I was to end up on enforced gardening leave all day, so to speak, proved accurate. I ended up chopping down the enormous runaway bamboo bush outside our dining room windows. It was becoming a bit of an eyesore and it looks a lot better now. Still got the roots to dig out though - I'm hoping bamboo roots don't go down too deep. And today I was back at work at my beloved newspaper, writing a personal column and a leader column and finishing off a double-page feature which should have been sorted on Friday but wasn't. It had to be finished today because it's going in tomorrow's paper - a deadline is a wonderful thing.
I was thinking of sketching out a bit of plot for another book I'm hoping to get started on on the train coming back but it was a bit packed, and I was a bit tired so I settled down to read Quentin Letts' 50 People Who Buggered Up Britain. Very amusing and apt it is too - particularly reading it in the wake of the riots which have buggered up Britain even more of course.
Quentin Letts is an excellent, fluid writer - I recommend him to those of you unacquainted with his skilful prose. That said, it's a pity he's not prime minister.
It's great news. I was thinking I was going to go down in history as the only person to write a book and have no sales at all. So I'm very chuffed that I have made this progress. Here's to sale number 4!
My prediction yesterday that I was to end up on enforced gardening leave all day, so to speak, proved accurate. I ended up chopping down the enormous runaway bamboo bush outside our dining room windows. It was becoming a bit of an eyesore and it looks a lot better now. Still got the roots to dig out though - I'm hoping bamboo roots don't go down too deep. And today I was back at work at my beloved newspaper, writing a personal column and a leader column and finishing off a double-page feature which should have been sorted on Friday but wasn't. It had to be finished today because it's going in tomorrow's paper - a deadline is a wonderful thing.
I was thinking of sketching out a bit of plot for another book I'm hoping to get started on on the train coming back but it was a bit packed, and I was a bit tired so I settled down to read Quentin Letts' 50 People Who Buggered Up Britain. Very amusing and apt it is too - particularly reading it in the wake of the riots which have buggered up Britain even more of course.
Quentin Letts is an excellent, fluid writer - I recommend him to those of you unacquainted with his skilful prose. That said, it's a pity he's not prime minister.
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Why I don't want to mow the lawn today
It's Sunday afternoon, 12.20pm (BST) and the smell of roast beef is wafting from the kitchen through to the lounge where I sit with my laptop on my knees typing this. But on pain of not getting any Sunday lunch my wife requires me to get out of my chair, into the garden and mow the lawn. After lunch, there will probably a number of other horticultural tasks available for me to do, in addition to helping look after our young kids aged 4 and 3.
At the risk of stating the obvious, I don't want to mow the ruddy lawn! I want to be working on book-related things. I have got a number of ideas for pushing my Smugglers children's book and I also want to be rolling up my sleeves thinking up ideas for book number two.
And yet, an afternoon in the garden beckons. Ok, that's not such a terrible chore, I'm just mindful of the fact that today is Sunday, I'm sailing through it fast, I spent all yesterday helping my parents who were taking part in Open Garden Day to raise money for their village church and tomorrow, I'm sorry to tell you, is MONDAY again.
When oh when will get some quality time to work at being a novelist? I just have to make time I suppose. And now my wife has summoned me to the kitchen to help prepare lunch. Oh well . . .
At the risk of stating the obvious, I don't want to mow the ruddy lawn! I want to be working on book-related things. I have got a number of ideas for pushing my Smugglers children's book and I also want to be rolling up my sleeves thinking up ideas for book number two.
And yet, an afternoon in the garden beckons. Ok, that's not such a terrible chore, I'm just mindful of the fact that today is Sunday, I'm sailing through it fast, I spent all yesterday helping my parents who were taking part in Open Garden Day to raise money for their village church and tomorrow, I'm sorry to tell you, is MONDAY again.
When oh when will get some quality time to work at being a novelist? I just have to make time I suppose. And now my wife has summoned me to the kitchen to help prepare lunch. Oh well . . .
The value of building friendships for aspiring and unknown novelists
As I am now finding out, trying to make it as a novelist when no-one knows you or what you've written is a tough battle. But it should be remembered that numerous others are also treading the same path and there is so much we can all learn from each other.
You could be negative about this and see it as unwanted competition but that's not my view. To me, other wannabe novelists are friends, not enemies. I am happy to help others to get their books out there in front of the reading public and happy also to tap into their advice..
As you'll know from my recent posts, I have acquired my first buyer for my Abersoch-based ebook Smugglers At Whistling Sands. He has also given me some excellent advice - namely the importance of making one's book or extracts of it available to online reviewers, many of whom will themselves be aspiring novelists - and receiving constructive advice and criticism from the community. Furthermore, that there are more avenues to explore than just selling one's ebook on Amazon.
Someone who has often been a source of inspiration for me to further my ambitions as a novelist is Keith Robinson, who is British but now lives in America and who has recently completed a trilogy of fantasy novels in his Island of Fog series about apparently normal youngsters who develop special powers and who can transform themselves into mythical creatures.
He is also the brains behind an excellent Enid Blyton tribute website, very much underpinned by his own love of Blyton's tales. Keith also writes a regular blog http://www.unearthlytales.com which tells of the ups and downs along his own road to become a recognised author - at this stage self-published but hopeful of winning a publishing deal one day.
Following on from a reply to one of his recent posts, Keith has invited me to plug my book on his Enid Blyton website http://www.EnidBlyton.net This will undoubtedly be a big help. Keith's site is hugely popular among Enid Blyton fans and as best-selling Kindle author John Locke points out, a key element to marketing your books is to know where that market is and target it. And my book is the sort that fans of Enid Blyton may well like (if I say so myself!).
So I am feeling very heartened by the response both from Keith and from my first buyer. Making friends and chatting with lke-minded "indie" authors can be hugely helpful and very rewarding.
You could be negative about this and see it as unwanted competition but that's not my view. To me, other wannabe novelists are friends, not enemies. I am happy to help others to get their books out there in front of the reading public and happy also to tap into their advice..
As you'll know from my recent posts, I have acquired my first buyer for my Abersoch-based ebook Smugglers At Whistling Sands. He has also given me some excellent advice - namely the importance of making one's book or extracts of it available to online reviewers, many of whom will themselves be aspiring novelists - and receiving constructive advice and criticism from the community. Furthermore, that there are more avenues to explore than just selling one's ebook on Amazon.
Someone who has often been a source of inspiration for me to further my ambitions as a novelist is Keith Robinson, who is British but now lives in America and who has recently completed a trilogy of fantasy novels in his Island of Fog series about apparently normal youngsters who develop special powers and who can transform themselves into mythical creatures.
He is also the brains behind an excellent Enid Blyton tribute website, very much underpinned by his own love of Blyton's tales. Keith also writes a regular blog http://www.unearthlytales.com which tells of the ups and downs along his own road to become a recognised author - at this stage self-published but hopeful of winning a publishing deal one day.
Following on from a reply to one of his recent posts, Keith has invited me to plug my book on his Enid Blyton website http://www.EnidBlyton.net This will undoubtedly be a big help. Keith's site is hugely popular among Enid Blyton fans and as best-selling Kindle author John Locke points out, a key element to marketing your books is to know where that market is and target it. And my book is the sort that fans of Enid Blyton may well like (if I say so myself!).
So I am feeling very heartened by the response both from Keith and from my first buyer. Making friends and chatting with lke-minded "indie" authors can be hugely helpful and very rewarding.
Friday, August 12, 2011
Hodder's modernised editions of Enid Blyton's Famous Five series
Call me a journalist! I can't believe that I have only just found out that Enid Blyton's wonderful Famous Five series has been relaunched by publishers Hodder with their language updated (and no doubt, any remaining political incorrectness excised).
This decision was taken a full year ago and hit the papers and I'm beginning to wonder which part of the moon I must have been holidaying on to have completely missed this. I loved the Famous Fives as a child, and frankly still do as an adult. They were in part the inspiration for my book, Smugglers At Whistling Sands which, you might feel, has a somewhat Blytonesque touch to it.
And yes, for sure, my dialogue is up to date and the kids calls their parents mum and dad not mother and father but then I wrote it in the 21st century. Why is it necessary to go back to books penned in the 1940s and 1950s and make such changes? Should we do the same to Dickens so that he can reach a more modern audience who perhaps struggle with the concept of a world before the motorcar was invented?
What Hodder's decision does show, however, loud and clear, is that there is still a market for the kind of wholesome, "normal" if I may use that word, children's adventure story. Personally I feel that many children's authors of today feel that such tales are hopelessly dated and old fashioned and that today's youngsters won't be interested unless some fire-breathing dragon hoves into view each chapter.
I have tried in my book to give children back the kind of adventure story that Blyton wrote for them - albeit I feel with an attempt at rather more realism than she strived for. Whether I have been successful or not is for others to judge, but that has been my aim.
Has anyone seen these new re-written Famous Five books? I would be interested in your opinion. I shall share my views when I have got hold of a couple of copies.
This decision was taken a full year ago and hit the papers and I'm beginning to wonder which part of the moon I must have been holidaying on to have completely missed this. I loved the Famous Fives as a child, and frankly still do as an adult. They were in part the inspiration for my book, Smugglers At Whistling Sands which, you might feel, has a somewhat Blytonesque touch to it.
And yes, for sure, my dialogue is up to date and the kids calls their parents mum and dad not mother and father but then I wrote it in the 21st century. Why is it necessary to go back to books penned in the 1940s and 1950s and make such changes? Should we do the same to Dickens so that he can reach a more modern audience who perhaps struggle with the concept of a world before the motorcar was invented?
What Hodder's decision does show, however, loud and clear, is that there is still a market for the kind of wholesome, "normal" if I may use that word, children's adventure story. Personally I feel that many children's authors of today feel that such tales are hopelessly dated and old fashioned and that today's youngsters won't be interested unless some fire-breathing dragon hoves into view each chapter.
I have tried in my book to give children back the kind of adventure story that Blyton wrote for them - albeit I feel with an attempt at rather more realism than she strived for. Whether I have been successful or not is for others to judge, but that has been my aim.
Has anyone seen these new re-written Famous Five books? I would be interested in your opinion. I shall share my views when I have got hold of a couple of copies.
I got it! My first sale
Yes! It's official, I've found out this morning that I have had my first sale! It's to a chap in Canada who is also writing his own children's novel and who's given me a couple of interesting ideas for getting the book read by people and reviewed. I enclose the evidence below from Amazon.co.uk:
Of course, you may be reading this and thinking, that it's pretty bad having only sold one book three weeks after publishing it. To that I would point out that the likes of John Locke had pretty poor sales at the start too. The first thing any unknown author needs to know loud and clear about succeeding, is that it is incredibly hard. The trick is not to give up - at least to give it a good go.
As I said in an early post, I am not that bothered whether I make it as a novelist, but I will be very bothered if I go through life feeling that I never tried. Now, I have a question for you: who is going to be my SECOND customer?
- Format: Kindle Edition
- File Size: 722 KB
- Publisher: Overton Press (21 July 2011)
- Sold by: Amazon Media EU S.à r.l.
- Language English
- ASIN: B005E0AK2O
- Average Customer Review: Be the first to review this item
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #10,985 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
Of course, you may be reading this and thinking, that it's pretty bad having only sold one book three weeks after publishing it. To that I would point out that the likes of John Locke had pretty poor sales at the start too. The first thing any unknown author needs to know loud and clear about succeeding, is that it is incredibly hard. The trick is not to give up - at least to give it a good go.
As I said in an early post, I am not that bothered whether I make it as a novelist, but I will be very bothered if I go through life feeling that I never tried. Now, I have a question for you: who is going to be my SECOND customer?
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