Getting my priorities straight

Tags

ALLi, Alliance of Independent Authors, independent publishing, indie publishing, MailChimp, mailing list, marketing, promotion, publicity, self-publishing, Society of Authors

I find myself in limbo.  I have a full-time job (although I do work for myself and therefore have more flexibility in my working pattern than do traditional employees) and my main hobby during my free time is writing historical fiction.  But writing is no longer the solitary and focussed activity it once was.  The advent of self-publishing (which is gradually renaming itself “independent publishing” – I suppose to remove the suggestion of vanity and self-indulgence) means that those of us who fail to find an agent and traditional publisher can still publish our books, but this leads inevitably to a vary crowded marketplace.  Even taking as a tiny and unscientific sample the “indie authors” whom I “know” through my own membership of the Society of Authors and the Alliance of Independent Authors, hundreds of books a day are being published.  It’s marvellous, in that there is going to be the perfect book for every reader, but as an author, how do we elbow our way to the front and shout, “Here it is, your perfect book – it’s the one I’ve written!”?

And this is really the nub of my post today: how can the hobbyist author – as opposed to the full-time professional – find time to do what is necessary to stay afloat and visible in the publishing world?  Before you get out your notepad, I should confess that I don’t have the answer – or at least, nothing more revolutionary than “you just have to find the time – as with most human endeavour, effort in will lead to results out”.  For myself, I concentrate on my monthly Sam Plank update distributed via Mailchimp to my mailing list of (I’ve just checked) 43 subscribers.  It works for me because (a) I’m doing the research anyway and it’s fun to distil some of it into an update, and (b) all the received wisdom about book marketing says that a mailing list of loyal readers is more important than anything.  But I know I’m dabbling in an amateur fashion, and when I see what full-time authors can do – probably ably supported by publicists and publishers – I am green with envy and mournful with inadequacy.

In my darker, more envious moments I remind myself of two things.  One: when I retire from full-time work (hah!) I will be able to do all this publishing and promotion properly.  And two: if I have an hour or two to devote to the author side of my life, I should spend it on writing and not on worrying about publicity and marketing.  After all, I could have the slickest sales campaign in the world, glitzy enough to make John Grisham weep into his inkwell, and it would be worth nothing without having the words between the covers, ready to sell.  So that’s my moan for today, and I’m off to write a scene where poor Wilson has to tell a mother that her son has died.  Cheery.

Learning from the best

Tags

Plank 7, plotting, Samuel Plank, Society of Authors, tutorial, writing

I write this in an advanced stage of melting – despite a tropical upbringing I am really not suited to hot weather and am slumped over my desk like something out of a Dalí painting.  I thought I should let you know that changing my mind and returning to Sam was the Right Decision; the plot is already taking shape and I am hearing Sam in my head as I do the book-specific research that I need.  (Very small spoiler: I’m reading a great deal about an entrepreneurial fishmonger-turned-casino owner called William Crockford.)

However, in an attempt to professionalise myself as an author, I am also investing time in learning my craft.  Of course writing courses and retreats are off the menu for the time being, but I have enjoyed enormously a series of ten Youtube tutorials published (is that the word? issued? released?) by the successful author Joanne Harris.  You all remember “Chocolat”, I am sure.  But Joanne is not only an author who manages to make a living from writing (no small achievement): she is also a vocal advocate for authors’ rights (she spearheaded a campaign for book festivals to – shock horror –pay their speakers) and Chair of the Management Committee of the Society of Authors.  And – judging from her tutorials – she has a terrific collection of mugs.  She has a book coming out called “Ten Things About Writing” and – in common with nearly everyone I have encountered in the writing world – is phenomenally generous when it comes to sharing advice, guidance, wisdom and warnings.  Each tutorial covers a topic such as plotting, or characters, or (very handy, this one) “for those days when you just can’t”, and lasts a maximum of twenty minutes.  I have filled pages and pages with notes, and I commend the series to you.

Now I’m off to stick my head in the freezer.

Stop start

Tags

Gregory Hardiman, research, Samuel Plank, Society of Authors, writing

Goodness, I had forgotten how slow it is writing historical fiction when you’re not already immersed in the time, place and characters.  After six Sam Plank books I was spoilt: I could hear his voice, I knew how his home and workplace and surroundings looked, sounded and smelled, and I had his entire history at my fingertips.  But with Gregory, heavens, what a difference!  I’m back to that painstaking sort of writing where every tiny comment needs checking.  He was an ostler – so what did an ostler wear?  Where did he live?  (Usually in an ostry, thanks for asking.)  In chapter two he walks from his workplace – the Hoop Inn – to visit a friend in Castle End, which meant he had to walk across what we now call Magdalene Bridge.  But in those days it was Great Bridge, and it was often collapsing thanks to poor maintenance, so was there scaffolding?  A toll-booth?  Would it have been busy at that time of day?  Sooooo many questions.

I am now back to my old habit (from the early days of Sam) of trying to keep the flow of the writing, such as it is, and not stopping to check details as I go but instead putting uncertainties in [[double square brackets]] for revisiting.  Chapter [[two]] now looks [[quite a bit]] [[like this]].

On an entirely cheerier and more positive note, I watched an excellent Society of Authors interview with Tracy Chevalier (“Girl with a Pearl Earring”, “A Single Thread”, etc.).  She’s an American living in London and just the most warm and encouraging person – I recommend the interview (and you’ll learn lots about her writing process).

Please send cake

Tags

audiobook, cover, e-book, paperback, royalty, self-publishing, Society of Authors, tax

It’s time for the annual totting-up, as I prepare my self-assessment tax return and work out whether being an author makes me any money at all, or whether I am in fact paying for the privilege.  (Incidentally, my top tip for filling in tax returns – and indeed any complex form – is this: if you don’t understand the question, the answer is no.)

First, some stats for you:

• I have self-published 21 non-fiction books (all about anti-money laundering, all in paperback only), five Sam Plank novels (all in paperback and various e-formats, and the first two as audiobooks as well), one collection of articles that I wrote for the local newspaper (paperback only) and one box-set of the first three Sam Plank novels (e-format only)
• I have also self-published a guide to the Sam Plank series, with the first chapter of each novel and a glossary of Regency terms, but that’s free and so it brings in no royalties
• In June 2015 my tax return revealed that I had made just under £1,500 from the writing side of my professional life
• In 2016 that disappeared into a net loss of £44.87
• In 2017 I increased my net loss to £288.71 – obviously too much spending and not enough writing
• In 2018 I bucked the trend and went into the black, making a net profit of £1,338

So what can I report this year – up or down?  Profit or loss?  In the period 6 April 2018 to 5 April 2019 (that’s the crazy English tax year for you), I made a net profit from my authorliness of £1,294.31.  In essence, that’s royalties and sales minus cover designs, promo materials and membership of the Society of Authors.  It works out at £24.89 per week.  At this rate, I’ll be lucky to afford even a modest garret.

Don’t forget to vote for the title of “Plank 6” – for £24.89 a week, I’m certainly not choosing my own titles.

(And in case you’re wondering, the blog title is from a letter my father sent to his mum from university in the 1950s, which we still have in the family archive and which reads, in its entirety: “Dear mum, Washing enclosed.  Please send cake. Pete.”)

Publication for the Modern Miss

Tags

Amazon, Authorgraph, blogging, Goodreads, Portraits of Pretence, Public Lending Right, self-publishing, Society of Authors

I imagine that the day before publication of one of his books, Charles Dickens’s to do list would say “Raise glass to self for having written another one”.  But the list for the modern self-published author – i.e. me – is much longer and less liquid.  Here it is:

• Update writing blog purchase link
• Update working blog purchase link
• Update working blog sidebar and purchase link
• Update email footer
• Update Public Lending Right dashboard
• Update Society of Authors profile
• Update Amazon Author Central profile
• Update Goodreads profile
• Update Authorgraph profile

All done now, so everything is poised – poised, I tell you – for official publication tomorrow morning.  That will be a low-key affair, with a posting on Facebook and a Tweet, and then me jumping around the room yelling, “Book four is done!  Book four is done!”.