Every cloud has a silver lining.

Well, the excitement level went up in the Parker household this week, but it was all about my book world. More of that later. Last Monday Pat saw the specialist who said that her blood test showed that things were normal. This meant she could continue chemo, which would be next Monday. We were a little disappointed to think she had to wait a week, but the prescription for the chemo is made up at Worthing hospital, and takes about three days. She’s been a bit flat this week, but I can’t expect her to be jumping through hoops every day; living with cancer can be soul destroying.

Now, the excitement level. Readers of my blog will know I’ve just had the jacket of my romance, Past Imperfect, redesigned. I then began a tentative promotion campaign on Amazon, but so far that has only produced two sales. I was on the point of signing up for a different type of promotion with the company who did the jacket when I received an email, out of the blue, from Joffe Books (rhymes with coffee) wanting to ‘relaunch’ Past Imperfect. I can promise you that it had nothing to do with the redesigning of the jacket. Joffe Books bought all Robert Hale rights about a year ago from Crowood Press. I had two titles left over from Hale that belonged to Crowood but managed to get the rights back over a year ago; this meant I had no connection with any traditional publisher. Somehow, Joffe Books picked up on Past Imperfect and that’s why they got in touch with me.

So who are Joffe Books? They publish indie writers; mainly crime but do have an interest in other genres. They are one of the most successful indie publishers on Amazon, having sold 1.4 million books in 2017 and in 2018 held seventeen of the top 100 titles there. When they take on a writer, they do the lot: editing, proof reading, formatting, jacket design, and promotion. It costs the writer nothing. There’s no advance, and royalties are paid quarterly.

I first came across Jasper Joffe on a Mark Dawson podcast a couple of years ago, so I have a good understanding of how he works. I did submit a manuscript to him but heard nothing back. He usually takes on about one in a hundred submissions, so to be ‘picked up’ in this way is something of a game changer for me. I now have to wait for things to happen. They have everything they need from me, so hopefully I won’t have to wait too long before I see things moving.

The email from them took me back to the seventies when I received a letter from my agent to say that Macmillan had made an offer to publish my first book. I remember standing outside the chicken sheds where I’d been doing some electrical work for the chicken farmer, when Pat turned up in the car, our four boys with her, clutching the letter. We ended up dancing round the yard, me in my overalls and wellie boots, Pat clinging on for dear life and the chicken farmer wondering what the hell was going on. No, I didn’t do any of that when Joffe Books got in touch, but metaphorically I came pretty close. What now? I’ve just got to settle down, keep calm and hope I can look forward to a renewed career. Wish me luck!

Putting in the hard yards

It’s been quite a week, one way or another. Pat managed to get through the middle section of her chemo where she has tummy jabs over five days. It’s always a nervy time because of past experiences, both with Pat’s chemo last year and mine in Spain. But we’re through that and looking ahead now to her consultation prior to the next session of chemo on Monday. Hopefully we’ll hear positive news and she will be allowed to continue with the treatment.

On the book front, I’ve just finished collaborating with ‘ebookorprint.com’ for the new jacket to my romance Past Imperfect. It took an exchange of 33 emails, start to finish, before the final version was agreed. You can make your own minds up about it, but I really like it. I have the new copy to hand and have ordered a few more. I’m expecting to use this company again for another jacket change later in the year. I am also contemplating a promotion campaign with them but have to dot some eyes and cross some tees before signing up. It isn’t about Amazon or Facebook ads, but something entirely different. If I go ahead, you’ll get to know all about it, whether I fail or not.

I’ve been organising a family get-together for when our youngest son Stephen and his wife come over from Australia. It will be their first visit for fifteen years. I’ve booked a local hotel for a lunchtime bash in April. There should be 21 of us all told. There will be four Vegans, five vegetarians and the rest of us meat eaters. Ever tried organising something where there are different dietary requirements? It’s a nightmare.

My current reading is a crime thriller by J.D. Kirk called The Killing Code. I saw this author on an SPF podcast. He was a ghost writer for Random House, writing comics, Sci-Fi etc. Been doing it for years and making a living out of it. Now he’s writing for himself and making a better living out of it.

Last Wednesday I watched a webinar by Stuart Grant. It was about Instagram. I managed an hour before going to bed, but will be catching up later on the video that’s has been made available to the SPF Patreon group. From all accounts, using Instagram properly is the way to success. Aren’t they all though? I will try to follow Stuart’s excellent advice though; he seems to make it work.

I have managed to get some work done on my pulp fiction thriller. The word count is up to 12000 plus. It’s still a struggle though. And of course, almost all my screen time is now on the laptop in the front room so I can be with Pat. At the moment she’s watching a film on Amazon. It’s called The Fisherman’s Friend. I watched it a couple of weeks ago. Lovely film based on a true story.

So that’s where I am now: making plans and trying to sell books, but there’s precious little of that happening. Maybe my tie up with ‘ebookorprint’ might yield something. Wish me luck!

Back again

Well, I didn’t think I would be back this soon, but I’ve done a kind of ‘workaround’ to satisfy my own concerns with leaving Pat on her own. Followers of my blog will know Pat has been battling with cancer for almost fifteen months now, and to maintain my blog and my writing, it meant spending time in my room while Pat was on her own in the front room. It bothered me and seemed so unfair to her, which is why I called a halt. But now I am able to use my laptop, having transferred what I need, and I can be in the room with Pat while I write the blog. Hopefully I’ll be able to pick up my writing again. The desire never left me, but the inclination did. So, where are we with health and creativity issues?

Pat has begun chemo again and has now had her second dose. It’s different to the chemo that nearly killed her last year; this is a fortnightly session which will go on for four months. It seems to be more forgiving, but it is chemo, nonetheless. She did well with the first session, safely navigating the two weeks without any major dramas. I still have to give her tummy jabs in the middle section of the two weeks: this is to help her immune system, and it’s at this point in the chemo where she is at her most vulnerable to infection etc.

On the book front, I have written virtually nothing; just dribs and drabs. I tested out my ‘new’ way of writing — sitting in the front room with Pat, but it took some getting used to, and there were always distractions, but I need this kind of diversion to help cope with looking after Pat. As most writers understand; writing is a lonely occupation and needs to be done somewhere ‘safe’. A garret in an old town, maybe. But seriously, we all occupy that metaphorical garret when and wherever we sit down to write.

I’ve spent some money on advertising; not a lot, simply because I still have to understand the finer points of Amazon ads and how to drill down into the minutiae and sell books. I made one dreadful mistake a month ago. I started a campaign for one of my books and instead of bidding $0.30 (30 cents), I bid $30! I forgot to check where the decimal point was. Consequently, I received an email from Amazon to say my budget had been exceeded — I’d spent $150 in less than 24 hours! I won’t make that mistake again (hopefully).

I am in the process of having a new jacket designed for my romance Past Imperfect. Once I have it, I’ll promote it on AMS. The reason for the jacket change is simple: the old one just didn’t work. I sold three copies in twelve months because it has no appeal.

That’s about it for now. Oh, I stopped writing this an hour ago and took Pat out for a walk in her wheelchair. The sun was shining, no wind, and a lovely time to get her out. She loved it. Hopefully I’ll post a blog each week, but in my current situation, nothing is written in stone. Just keep an eye open and wish me luck!