Winging it!

I’m up to my neck in muck and bullets as I write my pulp fiction thriller for Mark Dawson. It’s a bit of fun really; this is not the kind of thriller I would normally write, but I’m winging it and have reached 16000+ words on day 16, so I’m still on target. Looking at my daily word count over those last sixteen days, I see that I underachieved on eight of those days. Thank goodness I was able to make up for it by going over my target on the other eight. By focusing my mind on the daily target, I find myself taking advantage of those moments when I usually twiddle my thumbs in front of the TV and actually write. It’s just not me!

Another project that’s currently taking up some of my time is changing the book jacket for my political thriller, The Boy from Berlin. I’ve had a new jacket designed for it by Paul Casselle. It was the result of a small promotion I did for Paul, a subsequent free comp and the offer of a heavily discounted jacket design job. I asked him to re-design the jacket and I’m in the process of changing that on KDP.

And yet another project. This time it is a book jacket for my Romance, Past Imperfect. I’m using Christine Hammacott, a professional designer, and one of our Chindi members. We spent half an hour on the phone yesterday going over the changes I asked for. Christine had already provided eight jackets, six of which I sent to my boys and a couple of the Chindi writers. As a result of trying to explain by email what I wanted, we thought it best to chat in real time and have finalised a jacket. It will probably need minor adjustments. We’ll see. Most of those who plumped for ‘The White One’ may be surprised with the jacket I’ve chosen.

Now some of you who read my blog might wonder how I can find time for all this when I’m looking after Pat. Well, I have to squeeze it in, and it’s not as if I have to go out of the house to do this; I can always drop what I’m doing if Pat needs me. We’ve had two trips to the hospital this week for consultations with specialists, which has proved a bit tiring for Pat. She is managing to do a little more at home because the swelling in her leg is slowly going down, so psychologically she is in a better place. We are hoping Pat will start her chemo next week sometime once some final results have arrived from Southampton hospital.

I am seeing marginal improvements in my book sales on Amazon through my AMS ads. I still have a long way to go, but once I find some more time, I’ll set about tweaking my ads and maybe adding something. My BookBub ads are not doing well at all, but at least they have started moving.

The Chindi group are winding themselves up for a busy year, with lots in the pipeline. We are spreading further afield and have today welcomed an indie author from Australia. I won’t be able to give much time to the group because of my commitment to Pat, but I’ll be able to promote the Chindi events here and through Facebook.

It’s Pat’s birthday on Monday and we will be seeing our No. 2 son, Terry, our grand-daughter, Gemma and our No.3 Great-grandson, Orin. Should be bedlam! At least I don’t have to cook for them (Vegans and vegetarians!); we’re going out to lunch. Should be fun. Wish me luck!

On a Roll

First of all let me wish all my readers a very happy New Year. I hope 2019 holds some really good stuff for you all. My year has got off to a good start with my current WIP, but more of that in a short while. Pat has had her lung biopsy and we now wait for the results which we expect will be in about three or four days’ time. I’m also having two (yes — two!) book jackets designed for me. Christine Hammacott has taken on my Romance, Past Imperfect, and a writer by the name of Paul Casselle is doing The Boy from Berlin. Christine has been in the graphic design business for a good number of years, and has already produced six jackets for me to consider. Meanwhile, Paul has also produced the same number. I decided to try Paul because he offered a major discount as a result of a competition of his I entered. I’ll show the jackets later in the month when I have them finalised.

My current WIP is now the 60,000 word novel I’m writing for Mark Dawson, although truth be told I’m writing it for myself. Mark has already warned me that the plot is not suitable for his main character, John Milton, but still wants to see the end result. So with that in mind, I decided to write 1000 words a day which will take me up to the end of February. If Mark doesn’t want it, I’ll publish the book myself. I am currently on 9565 words on day 9, so I’m still on target. The plot was something I wrote fifty years ago. My sister Joyce typed it for me, but it never saw the light of day until a couple of years ago when Joyce moved into sheltered accommodation. It was rubbish (the story, not Joyce’s accommodation!). However, it was 60,000 words long, so I shook the dust off it and am re-writing furiously. It looks in better shape now than it did a couple of years ago.

My other WIP, the one I’ve been struggling with, has taken a temporary back seat, but I intend finishing it and plan to release it this year, but not as a full length, 90,000 word thriller. I’ll probably settle for the shorter length. It may look like a cop-out, but it’s the only way I can see me getting through it.

I find writing to a target and with a plot already planned out certainly reinforces the mind and makes you focus on the job in hand. I’m already getting annoyed when I think I might miss the hour or so I need to knock out 1000 words, but I know I will see days when I can’t get on with it. I’m thinking of the times I’ll be caring for Pat and shoving everything else to the back of my mind. I might even find my emotions getting the better of me and giving in. I hope not, because Pat has encouraged me to go for the Mark Dawson project. If he likes it, he pays.

I am seeing a steady (very steady) growth in sales on Amazon. Most are for Roselli’s Gold (https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00S9SPMXA), but I’m also picking up a few for my other books. I even sold a Roselli’s Gold paperback yesterday, and that’s unheard of with my account. Now I need to keep an eye on my AMS ads and try to keep the balls in the air. On the other side of the coin, my BookBub ads are not performing at all, so I need to address that problem. Oh, I think the reason my sales through AMS are working is because I used 500 keywords on the campaign. It should have been 1000, but in my technical ignorance, I made a balls-up of the ad. Still, I will go back soon and copy the ad and use 1000 keywords. For those of you who are wondering how I managed to come up with all those keywords, the answer is, I didn’t; it was Brian Berni of Authorstech. He had a very low Christmas offer: 1000 keywords for $27. I don’t often go for these kind of ‘cold-call invitations’ from entrepreneurs, but I’ve been associated with Brian for a while, so I took up his offer.

So now I need to calm down, focus on my priorities, and Pat will be No.1: everything else must come second. Hope you all have your sights set on some intriguing goals this year, as I have. Wish me luck.

Changing and Challenging Times

December 22nd. 2018

I expect this will be my last blog post this year. I would like to say that 2018 has been a tremendous year from the book point of view, but what began with me in high hopes has practically ended as a damp squib. On the domestic front of course, the main focus is now Pat’s cancer diagnosis: not so much a damp squib; more like a bombshell. However, let’s talk books for a moment.

As readers of my blog will know, I have been struggling with my WIP and failing to get to grips with something I’ve been pretty useful at for some time now: writing. I came up with the idea of introducing another character into the story, and that has helped. But yesterday, while mulling over something else, I decided I would bring the WIP to an end and publish it as a novella. It sounds like a cop-out, but there’s little point in stretching the story and making it weaker. So, one novella coming up (maybe!).

Another direction for me is the prospect of ghost writing. Most of you know I am a member of the Mark Dawson group. Mark has asked the thriller writers of the group if they would be interested in a project he’s working on. I threw my hat into the ring, as did many of us, so much so that he’s swamped with interested parties. He knew he would be. I made Mark’s short list with a small submission and as a result he spelt out the details of what was to be expected. Although I made the short list, he will only run with two or three ghost writers. If I’m selected, it will mean a lot of intense writing with a kind of self-imposed deadline. The only kudos for me would be the fee: quite generous too. Other than that, there will be no acknowledgement of the ghost’s input, which is understandable. I have a kind of thin plot to hand which needs a lot of work, and once I’ve buffed it up and lifted it to the standard Mark requires, I’ll submit it to him. If it’s a go, I’ll be happy. If it’s a no, I’ll publish it myself: another novella!

On the subject of ghost writing; some years ago I came across a group of writers who called themselves The Curzon Group. They are still around and one of their luminaries is Jeffrey Archer. One of the group was a ghost writer for Random House. He wrote action stuff the kind of which Andy Macnab writes. No, he wasn’t writing Andy Macnab thrillers. But he had decided to give up ghost writing and write for himself. He admitted it would be a wrench because he was earning £100,000 per year as a ghost writer.

Incidentally, the Curzon Group are up in arms with what they call thriller factory books coming out of America. Writers like James Patterson, John Grisham, Dan Brown and David Baldacci employ other writers to help them churn out thrillers. They claimed that Patterson has eight writers working for him, which kind of dilutes the authenticity and style of the Patterson books. They believe thrillers should be more cerebral like John le Carre novels. Not sure I entirely agree, but those writers in America are simply writing to a market and selling books.

Back to thoughts much closer to home now. I took Pat to hospital last Wednesday, both of us expecting to hear how the tests went and when the treatment could be started, only to be told that neither of the tests were any good and would have to be done again. Pat was extremely upset. Me? I was just pissed off! I felt so sorry for Pat, but she has Hobson’s choice and has to go through the tests again. She had one yesterday and the other will be on the 3rd. January. It would have been next week, but Christmas got in the way. This is probably the only time I wish they could have cancelled Christmas. So instead of singing The First Noel, I’ll sing The First Novella, and see what comes up.

Happy Christmas everyone. I’ll see you in the New Year. Wish us both luck!