In life it is important to celebrate achievements, and today I have had a jam doughnut for elevenses because I have completed my draft of “The Notes of Change”. [As an aside, am I the only person who eats a jam doughnut by spearing it onto a fork and then eating it like a toffee apple? So much tidier than the doughnut-in-fingers method.] I realise that there will be more work to do, but for today – I’m happy. I have sent the file to my lovely beta reader Roy, to check for plot madnesses and general readability and likeability, and at the same time my husband will be close-reading it for spelling mistakes, poor punctuation, extra spaces and all the other typos that return to haunt us.
Meanwhile, I have been contacting the people who have kindly reviewed other Sam Plank novels, to ask whether they would like to take this one on as well. Other more organised authors would have blog tours and the like lined up, but I’ve just not managed that this time round. However, I have decided not to chastise myself too much for these promotional shortcomings – after all, I’ve written a whole book! By myself! And this “being an author” thing is meant to be fun.
That said, I do have plans. On the advice of several people, I am planning to get to grips – or at least within gripping distance of – Amazon ads: I have bought a couple of books on the subject (of course I have – when faced with any new endeavour, I will always buy a book) and will read them while I wait for comments on my draft. My other task in that hiatus is to apply to join the Crime Writers’ Association – it’s quite the application process, and acceptance is far from guaranteed, but as they have just opened their well-respected and much-coveted “Daggers” awards to self-published novels, I now have a real incentive to try. And just think: if they do accept me, it will be the perfect excuse for another doughnut!
Susan Grossey 