I haven’t been very much in evidence for the past two weeks or so. In the unlikely event that anyone is wondering why, it’s because I’ve been away on a work trip. I’ve just returned from accompanying a group of over fifty Italian teenagers on a trip to Brighton and, as you can no doubt… Continue reading Out on the Street
One of the worst things about being a self-published author is that you have to do everything. I mean bleedin’ everything, including all those clever, specialised things that normal people can’t even understand. You either have to learn to do them yourself, or pay through the nose to get someone else to do them for you.
If you’re reading these words, there’s a very good chance that you’re a writer. In these days of PoD, digital publishing, and free and instantly-available blogs, there’s also a good chance that you’re published in some form or another. Do you, like most writers, assert your copyright? Or do you distribute your works under the… Continue reading Blogs, Copyright, and Keeping your Nose Clean
I’m currently in the process of giving my books a facelift. I’m not reworking the actual contents (apart from clearing up a few minor typos and formatting problems), just trying to make them look more attractive and professional. The process so far has given me a thumping headache, and a renewed respect for publishers. Getting… Continue reading Front to Back
Recently, while tapping away at a work-in-progress, I hit the buffers. The ideas that once seemed fresh and exciting began to look dull, and the words that once seemed so alive suddenly became leaden, lifeless artefacts. Matters weren’t helped by the fact that I was beginning to sense a looming deadline – not, I should… Continue reading The Importance of Play
Well, quite a lot, it would seem… I was recently talking to a self-published author who said that she didn’t like the term “self-published”. To her, it reeked of the snobbery and disparagement that has often accompanied any debate about – er – self-publishing, and which accompanies it still. She’d heard it used as a… Continue reading What’s in a Name?
Historical novelist Jane Steen recently wrote this piece about the troubling question of ethics in the self-publishing arena. It’s a question that seems to me to get not nearly enough attention, and I’m glad that Steen has finally shone a light into some of self-publishing’s murkier corners. It’s about time.
Recently there’s been quite a lot of handwringing about the internet’s effect on “deep reading”, and about the so-called “ADHD Generation”, who supposedly can’t concentrate on anything longer than a tweet or Facebook update. If that is indeed so, then it’s obviously bad news for all authors – but is it true?
I’m beginning to feel that perhaps I was a tad harsh on publishers in Part 1 of this post. Publishers have to turn a profit, after all, so who can blame them for opting for the known and the safe? They aren’t psychic, and successes can be difficult to predict – who, ten years ago,… Continue reading Whatever Happened to the Mid-list?: Part 2
During a recent trip to the supermarket, I stopped to glance at the book aisle. I do, sometimes; what better or more enjoyable way to improve my Italian than with some relatively undemanding fiction? The selection, however, was not exactly inspiring. Dan Brown’s latest opus was much in evidence, as were books by Grisham, King,… Continue reading Whatever Happened to the Mid-list?: Part 1
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