My far-from-Blue Monday

Tags

Jaffareadstoo, marketing, Portraits of Pretence, promotion, review

What a day!  It has quite restored my faith in humanity and – perhaps more usefully – my faith in plodding on with book marketing (of which more in the next post: I’ve found some new ideas and will let you know how they go).  You remember that a while ago (at the end of November) I moaned about writing in to an airline magazine with an idea and not hearing back?  Well, today I had this lovely email out of the blue (airline magazine reference – geddit?): “Thanks very much for your email – somehow I hadn’t read it or realised what it was!  Please could you supply a hi-res profile pic of yourself that we could use in the magazine?  I think we may be able to use your ‘Inspiration Time’ page in our April issue.”  No promises, obviously, and the poor woman may be quite put off by a hi-res photo of a gurning Grossey and fear that it will cause panic in the aisles, but you never know.  If anyone is travelling anywhere with FlyBe in April, you’ll have to check for me.

And that’s as if the day wasn’t marvellous enough already, with the appearance this morning of the latest (get me: not the first, not the only, but the latest) five-star review of “Portraits of Pretence”.  Jo Barton, who blogs under the name JaffaReadsToo, has been a stalwart supporter of Sam from the outset but she is a professional book reviewer and blogger, so I know she won’t be complimentary just for the sake of it.  The terror of writing a series (much outweighed by the joys, but still, a genuine terror) is that the new one won’t measure up to the old ones.  )If you’ve been following the recent excoriation of the latest “Sherlock” episodes, you will know what I mean.)  But HUGE sigh of relief: Jo reckons that “Portraits” sits as it should alongside the other Planks.

The sound of silence

Tags

Books on the Underground, London, marketing, review, Samuel Plank, self-publishing, Tube

Happy new year to you all – may 2017 be a sight better than 2016.

When people say that in order to succeed (or even survive) in any public endeavour you need to be thick-skinned, I assumed that they meant in order to be able to withstand criticism.  I count writing for publication as a public endeavour – the clue is in the word “publication” – and so I gave myself and my skin a good talking-to.  But it turns out that the most difficult thing to withstand is not criticism, but silence.  That Oscar Wilde really knew his onions when he said that “there is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about”.

I’m not particularly upset about not being noticed – I’ve made my peace on that score.  After all, with millions of books being published every year, I can quite understand how the majority of the world’s readers fail to spot my Plankish one.  But what does depress me is being ignored after I have made contact with someone.  I know, I know: we’re all ferociously busy these days, but if someone contacts you out of the blue with a reasonably-worded communication and plainly isn’t a moonling (that’s Regency slang for a simpleton), is it more than the work of a minute to reply with a polite “thanks, but no thanks”?  I am reasonably well-known in my day job, and several times a week I get these sorts of approaches, from students looking for guidance and from software developers looking for input, and I always but always reply – because I remember when I was a student looking for guidance.

But in recent months I have sent review requests – to reviewers who state clearly that they are accepting submissions in Plank genres – and article requests (remember the airline magazine – I even sent them a whole sample article) and other marketing suggestions, and the silence, as they say, is deafening.

This is on my mind because I have heard of an interesting initiative, designed to promote reading by leaving books on the Tube in London.  (I think it started on the subway in America.)  It’s called Books on the Underground, and although they have a particular day on which they make a concerted push, you (as a publisher or even an author) can do it independently whenever you like.  You get their stickers – which, in essence, say “Please take this free book, enjoy it and then leave it for someone else” – to put on your books, and then leave them on the Tube.  I like the idea very much, I have been sent a dozen stickers, but I’m just not quite sure that I can bring myself to abandon Sam on the Tube, perhaps to end up in cleaners’ bin bags at the end of the day.  And although the stickers encourage readers to Tweet about their finds, and of course to review the books, I’m not sure I am quite strong enough to invite more silence.  My husband says that instead I should spot passengers who are reading similar books, and actually offer them a free books – thus increasing my chances of Sam ending up in the right hands (and perhaps my own chances of being thumped).  What think you?

Season’s greetings from Sam

Tags

Fatal Forgery, Martha Plank, Nielsen, review, Samuel Plank, Worm in the Blossom

In common with half the world, I use this rather peculiar time of year to reflect on what I have done in the last twelve months and what I hope to do in the next.  I will admit that I have been slightly cast down by the slow sales figures for the Sam Plank books; just between you and me, I am always hoping for that Big Break, for someone influential to stumble across Sam and declare, “Why – this character is magnificent!  I shall ensure that he will star in his own Sunday evening period drama series, with endless money thrown at production values!”.  It might yet happen, but we’re four books in and no-one influential is doing much stumbling.

But at this time of good cheer and so on, it is perhaps better to remind myself of how much Sam is liked by those who have discovered him.  Looking at my recent reviews on Amazon, I see that Mr L Moss was keen on “Worm in the Blossom”: “The two previous books in this series were excellent but this, the third, was even better – before I reached the end of page one I was hooked.”  Continuing the angling metaphor, someone called ‘Hooked on Books’ has been working his/her way through the series, starting with “Fatal Forgery”: “I struggled to put down my Kindle, and found myself contemplating the plot in my head whilst nodding off.  Very gripping read and now on to the next in the series.”  And on Twitter, ‘Leigh (on the left)’ thrillingly declared “Worm in the Blossom” to be his “best read of 2016”.

So what plans for 2017?  I am – as ever – thinking of new ways to promote Sam, and I’m on the trail of a couple of ideas, including giving him away on the Tube…  And on the technical side of things, I have registered with Nielsen’s as a small publisher.  Nielsen’s are the people who fulfil orders for bookshops, so once my titles are listed with them – it’s a rather Byzantine process, but we’re getting there – then any bookshop in the land will be able to order the Sam books through the Nielsen website/phone-line.  And they will send the order to me, and I will fulfil it.  Of course, if I get hundreds of orders, I’ll be in trouble – and with postage costs, mightily out of pocket – but I thought it was worth trying the system to see how it works.  As ever, I’ll keep you posted, as I know other self-published authors like to know these things.

I am taking a short break from blogging and Tweeting – but not, of course, from Sam and Martha, as we’re in the middle of researching Caribbean poisonous plants – and so may I wish you all a merry Christmas and a happy and peaceful new year.

A week in marketing

Tags

audiobook, Heffers, marketing, Portraits of Pretence, promotion, review, The Man in the Canary Waistcoat

As foreseen, this is a rather peculiar time – I’m promoting one book, overseeing the audio-fication of another, and starting to research and write yet another.  Of course “proper” authors do this all the time, and so have I in past years, but now that I have decided to really put my back into marketing, the dislocation seems much more obvious.  That said, my determination to shove “Portraits of Pretence” under the nose of anyone I can think of is paying (very small) dividends.

Next month I am going down to London for a tour around the Pennington Street vaults, which feature significantly in “Portraits” – finding the right person has taken some persistence, but she’s happy to see me and wants to read the book as well.  And of course I get to walk in the very underground caverns where Sam and his customs officer friend Ben Sharpe… ah, but I can’t tell you what happens there in case it spoils the story for you.

There is a chance that I might be taking part in a workshop about self-publishing as part of the alumnae celebrations at my old university college next September.  It’s many months away, but planning is already underway, and I am going the week after next to see the woman who is in charge of the event programme.

Yesterday I called in to one of the Cambridge bookshops stocking my titles, and the manager of the crime department asked whether I had been on the radio, as there had been “a run” on my books – two sold that very day!  And while I was there, I was invited to take part in their annual Christmas crime event – “Murder Under the Mistletoe” – which is a fabulous opportunity to entice new readers, and a lovely, convivial way to catch up with other (mostly local) authors.

So I think the grand plan is working: slow, constant marketing pressure is needed, and not just a launch blitz.  If only I didn’t have a day job as well…

Oh, and my lovely reviewer “Hooked on Books” is back, with a five-star appraisal of “The Man in the Canary Waistcoat”.  Turns out that she’s a vintage jeweller, so she’s going to love “Portraits” when she gets there!

The more, the merrier

Tags

blogging, Jaffareadstoo, Portraits of Pretence, review, Samuel Plank, Victoria Blake

I really can’t get over the kindness of reviewers and other authors, who have rallied round to help me promote “Portraits of Pretence” in particular and the Sam Plank series in general.  Today, for instance, fellow historical author Victoria Blake has featured a Q&A with me on her blog.  When she suggested the idea and I had bitten her hand off, she sent me the questions and apologised for there being so many, and said that I could have a fortnight to reply to them.  Well, give me a chance to talk about Sam, and there’s no fortnight needed – she had her answers the same day.

It’s a fascinating thing, this writerly co-operation and mutual support.  I think what we all realise is that it’s not a zero sum game.  Yes, when someone is choosing what to read next, there is an element of competition and elimination: if they’re reading Victoria’s book, they’re not reading mine.  But the more good books there are out there, and the more variety there is, the more people will become readers.  And the more people read, the more capacity they seem to develop for reading.  I know myself that when I’m on a reading jag, I can gobble down a book a day.  So thank you Victoria, and thank you Jo, and thank you to all the reviewers and authors who have taken time from their own work to promote mine – I am so very grateful.

“Portraits” goes promotion potty!

Tags

Amazon, blogging, Fatal Forgery, Fitzwilliam Museum, Gold Dust, Jaffareadstoo, Portraits of Pretence, promotion, review, Toppings

This is turning into quite a day.  The lovely Toppings bookshop in Ely has agreed to stock “Portraits of Pretence” and so I planned a delivery run today.  Realising that this gives me the perfect excuse to celebrate (again!) the publication of the book in the very building where I first worked on the Sam Plank series (while I was enrolled on the Gold Dust mentoring programme, when “Fatal Forgery” was a twinkle in my eye, my mentor Jill Dawson and I would meet here for cake), I have booked lunch at the Old Fire Engine House.  But before that I had to cycle out to the Fitzwilliam Museum shop to drop off the three copies that they have agreed to try to sell – that’s two stockists in one day!

As if that wasn’t enough, I wandered over to Amazon this morning (three stockists in one day!) and spotted that I have two five-star reviews for “Portraits”.  With comments like “beautifully researched”, “immense charm” and “assured and entertaining”, my cup runneth over.

And then – and then! – my generous reviewer Jo (she of the delightful book blog Jaffareadstoo) has featured me and a chapter of “Portraits” on her blog today.  So far I have been a very selfish blogger; every post I have done has been written by me, and in essence has been about me.  This will change, as I can’t continue to benefit from all this kindness without reciprocating.  But for today, I am wallowing, wallowing I tell you, in “Portraits” promotion.  And you know what?  It’s made me start to miss Sam, and I know I have two years in which to write “Plank 5” but perhaps I’ll just write a few notes, and read up on the weather in 1828, and do some research on slavery in the Caribbean-but-not-the-places-you-think-of, and…

Big thanks to Hooked on Books

Tags

Amazon, Fatal Forgery, review

I’m aware that I have been a bit quiet recently – it’s probably because I’m not actually writing at the moment.  But there is plenty going on, and I’ll certainly keep you posted.

But for today, something lovely.  First thing this morning I looked at my books on Amazon – to be honest, I was checking to see if anyone had left a review for “Portraits of Pretence” – and I noticed that there was a new review for “Fatal Forgery”, by someone called Hooked on Books.  And it is a fabulous one – just read this:

I stumbled upon this author by chance whilst researching Sir Robert Peel, and so pleased I did.  I seem to gravitate towards novels based on Victorian London.  This, however, being the first regarding fraud.  Maybe today our bankers would think differently if capital punishment was still in place for such crimes.  However I deviate…. This was an expertly constructed novel. Susan knows her stuff of course.  Constable Plank is a pillar of the community and his wife Martha, such a lovely character.  You really get to know them both so well.  The accused – Fauntleroy, well I felt sorry for him in part up to a certain point.  But won’t say any more than that, as it would spoil it for those who wish to read this novel.  I struggled to put down my kindle, and found me contemplating over the plot in my head whilst nodding off.  Very gripping read and now on to the next in the series.

As you can imagine, I am beaming all over the place.  It is all thrilling, but the very best bit is “I stumbled upon this author by chance”.  I don’t want to underestimate the importance of friends, family and other supporters who would buy – and talk up – any book, short story, poem or shopping list that you might write.  They keep you going during the long, dark days of writing and rewriting, and they form the bedrock of your sales.  But for anyone hoping to be a professional author (which I think I do, one day), strangers are the key.  You need people who have no interest in you as a person, or in your feelings, to pick up your book, read it, enjoy it and review it.  And for me, this might just have happened – unless it turns out that Hooked on Books is my mother-in-law in disguise…

Martha’s American fans

Tags

book group, Fatal Forgery, Martha Plank, OLLI, review, Samuel Plank, U3A, William Wilson

About a month ago, a retired high school teacher from America contacted me by email, saying that she teaches four groups a course called “History Through Mystery” [how much do you want to go on that course – me too] through an organisation called the Osher Lifelong Learning Institutes.  OLLIs offer courses and activities for older people through US universities – it sounds a bit like the UK’s University of the Third Age.  Anyway, this lady said that in June her four groups would be discussing “Fatal Forgery” because it “definitely evokes the feeling of the time without being tedious”.  I was thrilled to hear this, as you can imagine, and gladly supplied some background information, as the novel has no author notes, which reading groups like these days.  And then I waited nervously – it’s quite something to know that lots of well-informed, well-read people are discussing your novel.

And true to her word, this lovely lady emailed me again a couple of days ago, to say that the last of the four groups had just finished with Sam.  And their verdict?  “In every group, it has been one of the most favorite books.  Everyone loved your writing style and found that it was not only easy to read, but it draws the reader into the time period.  Yes, we all wanted more Martha, and a number of members have already read the next two Plank books (as have I) in which there is more Martha.  What a wonderful character.  She is such a great complement to Sam, and he is able to bounce ideas off her and get some very intelligent response.  The other thing which was appreciated is how you triangulated the narrator (Plank, Wilson and Martha) in order to give us a very complete picture of what was going on.”

As you can imagine, Sam and I – and especially Martha – are beaming.  He even says that he might be willing to overlook that little dust-up we all had in the 1770s, given the civilised nature of the resulting population.

Defending the indefensible

Tags

Historical Novel Society, research, review, Samuel Plank, The Man in the Canary Waistcoat, Worm in the Blossom

Just a short post today, as I wasn’t intending to write anything at all but events have overtaken me.

Last week a less-than-flattering review of “Worm in the Blossom” appeared on the website of the Historical Novel Society.  (I am a big fan of the HNS, as they very kindly shortlisted “The Man in the Canary Waistcoat” for their Indie Award 2016 – Sam didn’t make it onto the shortlist, but he’s very philosophical about these things.)  The gist of the review – read it here yourself – was that although the story was good and well-written, the premise was wrong: people would not have been outraged about child prostitution in 1826.

I asked Helen Hollick, the editor of the HNS website (although not my reviewer), if I could reply to the review, and she said that that wasn’t their way, but very kindly, in the interests of fairness, she asked whether I would like to put my position on her own blog – and my post has appeared on there today.

So there you go – thank goodness I keep such careful records of all my research!

“A superior time travelling machine”

Tags

Jaffareadstoo, review, Samuel Plank, Worm in the Blossom

Today did not start well: I slipped going down the stairs first thing, and now have a very large and painful bruise on my bottom.  And my dignity.  But then I heard from one of my reviewers, the lovely Jo at Jaffareadstoo, and she has written me the most wonderful review.  I’ll leave you to read it for yourself, but it is such a fillip to my spirits, and makes me determined to get back to Sam this very afternoon.  I’m beaming like a loon.