Although I finished writing my novel on December 16th, 2023, I am still discovering ‘new’ events and firsts related to it. This is refreshing and stimulating even if they are a distraction from writing.
Last Saturday, I was part of a panel of ‘local’ authors discussing our writing journeys, habits and suggestions.
Me, sat on the right as you look, at the Burnham Book Festival.
The compere, Fiona Hulme, asked us questions, got us to do a reading and then opened it up to the small audience. I enjoyed listening to the other two authors talk about their processes and histories of writing and being published.
They had each published several novels, whereas I have only published The Poster. I did discuss my two other books in different development stages and how I researched their backgrounds.
I didn’t go to any other talks because I was limited in time, nor did I place my books on a stand in the hall. I’m not a sell-behind-a-desk type of person and the ten or so other authors who had stands didn’t seem to be selling much either.
I walked along the seafront, bought a portion of chips and dodged raindrops and seagulls.
Reviewed by Scott Bradfield
‘He can write.’ High praise from the Master Bather (review 3:41 into the video).
My regular reader may remember me mentioning Scott Bradfield’s YouTube channel before. Scott is an excellent essayist and writer and hosts a ‘ridiculous, pointless,’ show about reading good books.
By ‘good’ he means ‘enjoyable’ rather than conforming to the Literati.
Scott was kind enough to mention, ‘The Poster,’ in one of his recent videos. This was kind of him and, despite the fact he got my job wrong,' it was a good piece. If you are short of reading ideas, then watch Scott’s videos. No hype, no fads, just pure clean mountain water and the joy of reading.
After these two events, I am pleased to announce that they resulted in Zero (0) extra sales! This is an uncanny coincidence matching the same number of extra sales from my appearance on Radio Devon!
It appears that doing ‘Publicity,’ isn’t enough to sell copies. All three of these promotions were high quality and put me in front of new audiences. Unfortunately, hearing mention of a book once appears not to shift volumes. It will take repeated mentions and nudges until a spark ignites somewhere and a stranger buys my book.
Writing
I’m scrabbling for time to write my next novel because Life has once again created several obstacles. This includes intellectual and creative headspace due to a friend dying last week unexpectedly, and my uncle being in palliative care in a hospital.
Writing takes a back seat to these more important events but I am still doing something every day. The emotional toll has been high but, in the presence of death, living well seems even more important.
Thanks for reading and I hope you are in good health.