For three days only the Narratess Indie book sale will have a feast of Fantasy, Science Fiction and Horror books, either on sale or free! One of my books, The Arid Lands, is in the sale, available for only 99p/99c or equivalent depending on which country you are in. So don't miss out. Grab your copy now.
My latest self published SF novel, Permafrost, has been out in the world for a couple of months and I'm delighted to see how well it it being received. It is gathering some great reviews, both on Goodreads and Amazon, and then there's this one at the Popular Science Books Blog to add to those giving it 5 stars!
For the next seven days Dragons of Dunmoray will be part of the Epic Indie sale. You can grab yourself a copy for only 99c/99p.
So waste no more time - head over to the Epic Indie Website and check out all the amazing fantasy and Science Fiction which is either free or on sale.
I'm delighted to share with you that my short story, The Last Library, which appeared in New Myths Magazine back in 2020, will be reprinted in the forthcoming anthology from New Myths, Janus Gates, due sometime in 2026.
The Bournemouth Festival of Writing has released a whole load of photographs, courtesy of Solid Imagery, and so I have included a selection from my workshop, Let's Get Villainous, which was a huge success. But don't worry if you missed out. I hope to run this one again so watch this space.
The publishing industry is tough, and since the pandemic it has only got tougher. There was a time when agent submissions were almost guaranteed a reply, if only a form letter, but these day’s you’re lucky to get a reply at all, and that in itself can be so disheartening – it’s like sending your work into a black hole to be swallowed up and never heard from again.
Then if you are lucky enough to get published it’s no guarantee of future success. I’ve now been published twice. Firstly Red Rock with Curious Fox in 2013 and then in 2022 The Sleepers was published by Bloodhound Books.
Yet between these books, and before and after, I’ve never stopped writing. I’ve never stopped sending stuff out. I’ve never stopped receiving rejection after rejection.
So, here I am again. A new novel is complete and winging its way out into the world. I’m back researching agents, looking for publishers with open submission windows, eyeing up competitions that might help me achieve my goal. And maybe, just maybe, this one will be my third time lucky!
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| Wistman's Wood, Dartmoor |
For the past few years, in fact, ever since I received my rights back for Red Rock and dipped my toe into this alternative world, this alternative route for my books, I’ve been working my way through the Science Fiction backlist and self publishing those novels through Amazon under my SF author identity Kate Kelly.
It’s been an interesting project and the latest, and probably the last of these for a while is Permafrost which comes out officially today. Permafrost is a post apocalyptic SF thriller exploring themes of climate change and geoengineering. It’s a story I’ve very much enjoyed writing, and I’m glad to be sending it out into the world.
So what of self publishing in general? Well I’ve learned a lot. Firstly the actual production of the book is the easy part. Holding the book in your hands, flicking through the pages, looking at the cover you designed – it feels so satisfying.
But creating the book is only part of it. The really tough part, the bit I’m particularly useless at, is marketing. I’ve been experimenting with different things and for me, finding a community has been the most rewarding part. I’ve done this by participating in indie competitions such as SPSFC (Self Published Science Fiction Competition) which introduced me to the indie SF scene and I’ve met some great authors through this. I’ve taken part in group sales and Stuff Your Kindle events, and all these have helped shift a few copies of my books, but I have yet to truly find my readership.
And this is the key thing. Who are my readers? Where do they hang out? How do I make myself known to them?
If I ever manage to find the answers I’ll let you know. But in the meantime do check out Permafrost, and if you enjoy it please leave a review.
