My short story, 'A Legend of Flight' is short story of the month over at Seren Books. It's a free read, so head over there and enjoy!
"The night you didn’t answer.
I tried to call but each time your phone rang for a while, then went to voicemail. I didn’t leave a message. I’d already texted you twice."
Incidentally this is the story I won the 2016 Yeovil Prize with.
Wednesday 17 April 2019
Wednesday 10 April 2019
Thinking about Self Publishing
The time has come when I’m starting to think about self-publishing as a serious option for some of my novels.
I write what I love to write. I write the books I would like to read that I can’t find on the shelves. I know there’s no point in following trends and so I don’t. But I’m also aware that the market is very trend driven, and so there is a large element of luck involved – if you hit the right trend at the right time then your book will sell. If not it won’t.
Making the decision to self publish is a big commitment. I have to be prepared to put in the effort, to make sure the product I put into the market is as good as it possibly can be. And I have to be prepared to put in the time and money to do this.
I also know I’m unlikely to make any profit. Without the weight of the marketing and publicity departments of a trade publisher my reach will be small, unlikely to extend far beyond my own circle of contacts. I have to be prepared for that fact that it probably won’t sell.
I’m also aware that the best way to market a book is to bring out another book. For this reason I’m going to hold fire on self publishing for now. I’m going to wait for two things:
1. Having the time to dedicate myself to this project properly.
2. Having a portfolio of books to follow up with.
I’m not going to try to self publish my MG books. I’m going to go with my SF thrillers. I have one in a good complete state, one that needs some reworking and two that are in progress, but not very far.
So I need to get on with some writing, and get on with some research into what I need to do in order to give them the best chance I can.
Any tips or resources that you can share please do.
And I will share my progress with you on this blog.
I write what I love to write. I write the books I would like to read that I can’t find on the shelves. I know there’s no point in following trends and so I don’t. But I’m also aware that the market is very trend driven, and so there is a large element of luck involved – if you hit the right trend at the right time then your book will sell. If not it won’t.
Making the decision to self publish is a big commitment. I have to be prepared to put in the effort, to make sure the product I put into the market is as good as it possibly can be. And I have to be prepared to put in the time and money to do this.
I also know I’m unlikely to make any profit. Without the weight of the marketing and publicity departments of a trade publisher my reach will be small, unlikely to extend far beyond my own circle of contacts. I have to be prepared for that fact that it probably won’t sell.
I’m also aware that the best way to market a book is to bring out another book. For this reason I’m going to hold fire on self publishing for now. I’m going to wait for two things:
1. Having the time to dedicate myself to this project properly.
2. Having a portfolio of books to follow up with.
I’m not going to try to self publish my MG books. I’m going to go with my SF thrillers. I have one in a good complete state, one that needs some reworking and two that are in progress, but not very far.
So I need to get on with some writing, and get on with some research into what I need to do in order to give them the best chance I can.
Any tips or resources that you can share please do.
And I will share my progress with you on this blog.
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