Monday, 30 December 2013

2014 - My Predictions as an Indie

Hi Guys,

Well 2014 is five hours away New Zealand time, and I think it's time to start guessing what the new year holds for us indies. So here are my predictions and if they prove to be slightly amiss I claim its due to the after effects of bad egg nog!

1. Free. For the past year we have seen Amazon moving away from free. To be fair the trend was always predictable, they were counting on free to boost sales of  kindles and perhaps bring other people into their book stores. But in 2012 they changed their algorhythms in a clear sign that free was costing them too much for too little revenue. In 2013 they introduced Countdown as an inducement to authors to discount rather than go free. And my prediction would be in 2014 the trend will continue. The days of free are not numbered but they are going to be restricted.

2. The big five / Barnes and Noble. Konrath has predicted that 2014 will be the year for bankruptcies / retrenchment for these players in the book world. I'm not so sure of that. Notwithstanding the fact that I haven't seen their books, I don't think these guys are going to simply roll over and play dead. They will fight. And my guess is that their fight will involve a number of strategies.

a) They'll start realising that book selling is turning into an electronic business more and more. So my thought is that their big sellers will be full priced, and that everything else will be more competitively priced on the various e media.

b) They're going to start using their stable of authors more and more heavily. This means not just looking for the next blockbuster, but also boosting their mid sellers. So their authors will be producing more books and getting them published quicker (after all editing and cover design doesn't have to take a year). This will be good news for trade published authors.

c) They're going to boost their stable of authors. More authors equates to more books to sell. So expect them to start hunting through the indies and their submissions looking for more prospective authors they can quickly publish at least in ebook format. This is good and bad news for indies as it means more chance of being picked up by a publisher, but also more competition.

3. The hybrid author. My thought is that 2014 will be the year the hybrid author (authors both trade and indie published) will really take off. Partly that will be driven by publishers. After all if they already have an author on their books and his back list, it's a very short process to republish the out of print issues, and it's a quick source of revenue. Partly this will be driven by the authors themselves, as more and more of them realise that they have the rights to their own back lists, and it's not that hard to publish them themselves as ebooks. And as the survey discussed previous showed, not all trade published authors are making a living from their writing.

4. The quality seal of approval. This is a topic that comes up in the indie world year after year. There is no doubt that authors and readers alike would benefit greatly from having some sort of standards body to help sort the wheat from the chaff. But my prediction however, is that despite all the calls for it, this will not come to pass any time soon. There are simply too many hurdles in the way.

5. Indie service providers. There is no doubt that the indie publishing world is a boom market. More and more books are being published by more and more authors. And all of those books need marketing, cover design, editing, not all of which can be done by the author. So as the industry booms, so too will the numbers of people providing services to indies. My prediction is that this trend will continue. This will include both the legitimate service providers, and the rip off merchants, vanity publishers and the like.

6. Sales. Sorry guys, this predictions a bit of a downer. More and more books are being published every year, and it's becoming harder and harder to get your new book noticed. So my thought is that while overall book sales will continue to increase, the average number of sales per author will decrease. And on top of that it will become more and more difficult for new authors to get a start. Those who do well will more likely be the better established authors with reputations and back catalogues, and those who know how to market.

7. Bricks and Mortar Bookstores. Yeah times are hard, stores are closing and more and more people are going on line for their reads. This trend will continue. Those stores that survive will have to innovate, and it likely will not be the smaller stores.

8. Me. Yes for me it will be a big year as I predict that I will finally sprout wings and go flying with the pigs down the road!

Happy new year to all, and as always, be good or don't get caught.

Cheers, Greg.

Monday, 16 December 2013

Writing For Money

Hi Guys,

Well I guess most of you have heard the news since it seems to be doing the rounds of the blogosphere. Digital Book World and Writers Digest just did a survey of how much writers earn and came up with some figures suggesting it isn't much. Jeremy Greenfield then did a review on the survey and came up with a summary.

In essence he says Indies have a median annual income of between 0 and $5,000, trade published authors have a median income of between $5,000 and $10,000, and hybrid authors between $10,000 and $15,000. (Median is used as a better indicator of the middle of a distribution when there are a few extreme outliers which could distort an average).

So what does this mean?

First, and this needs to be stressed time and again, in the days before self publishing the median income for indies would have been zero. So any way you look at it, this represents an improvement for the writing lives of millions of authors.

Second, and this is the thing that surprised me most, trade published authors typically aren't doing that well either. Less than $10,000 per anum - that's not enough to live on in most places.

As for hybrids doing the best, that doesn't surprise me. Hybrids with books in the trade publishing world and indie published world usually arrive in this situation in one of two ways. Most often they're established authors with extensive back catalogues who have gained the publishing rights to their old books and are putting them out themselves. Thus they have plenty of books for sale and perhaps more important - a name. Alternatively they become a hybrid from first being an Indie and then because of their success get picked up by an agent and publisher. So they already have success.

Now as to the numbers. Why are the numbers so low?

Well for indies, the reason is simple - there are an awful lot of books put out there that never sell at all. This may be for a variety of reasons, they're poorly edited, have poor covers and blurbs, aren't well marketed, are on topics that aren't popular, they may actually be thinly disguised ego trips or rants, and often enough the writer never intended to make any money from their book and so just gives them away. There's no shortage of reasons why a book won't sell. And unfortunately there's no shortage of indie authors who simply aren't willing to invest in their craft. It's simply a sad fact of life. Not every author cares.

However, if we take this chunk out of the equation and look only at indies who do take their writing seriously I believe we'd see a whole new picture. The median income for indies would rise and it might well rise to the point where it matched or surpassed the median income for trade published authors. Naturally I have no figures for this - it's all guesswork, but it's based on one very sound principle. Trade publishing, like it or lump it does do one thing. It provides an entry barrier to the industry, one that prevents this same group of people entering their part of the market. That has to boost the median incomes of the trade published authors. And when you take that together with the fact their median incomes aren't that much higher to begin with, it suggests it wouldn't take much for the two incomes to meet.

Now having said that, the median income for the trade published is still surprisingly low. There are two reasons for this in my view. First the return per book sale. As an indie I receive between 35% and 70% of the price of every ebook sale as income. (Paperbacks aren't nearly so good). Trade published authors receive far less as the publisher takes a massive cut. They have to rely on selling more books through having professionally edited and marketed books to make the same income.

The second reason though is more to do with the inefficiencies in the trade publishing system - specifically it's slow. Actually it's glacial. This year I published seven books. I can't think of one trade published author who could match this output. The reason is that every step along the trade publishing way is filled with people dragging chains. Cover design takes weeks and months. Editing goes through multiple phases and cycles and sometimes multiple editors. Publishing is set to hit certain marketing schedules, not the author's timetable. Yes sure, maybe this does result in a product of the highest possible quality (though there have been some shocking exceptions) but at some point you have to ask whether you're guilding a lily - or polishing a turd! Either way the ratio of the additional reward for the work being done is starting to slide - and not in the author's favour.

To put this in perspective, if you are a trade published author, and you are hampered by the system so that you can only put out one book per year compared to my seven, and your cut per book is say 10% compared to my 70%, you start off behind the eightball. To match my income - which isn't really that great - you have to sell forty nine times as many books.

So where does this leave us? More correctly where does it leave the industry?

For the indies the answer is obvious. If the median income for an indie is somewhere between 0 and $5000 per anum and we know that a vast chunk of other indies out there are producing unsaleable books, then you know you can make better money than this simply by putting effort into your work. I'm not saying you will get rich, but I am saying you can do far better than this figure would suggest.

For the trade published the answer is equally obvious. If you want to make more money go hybrid if you can. Get the publishing rights for your out of print books and learn a few new skills. What have you got to lose? Also, have a bit of a beat down on your publishers about their slowness. That does not work in your favour.

And for the publishers? Well much as I hate to give advice to the enemy (sort of) - guys lift your game. If you want to earn your authors more money and at the same time protect your market share against the tide of indies, you need to sell more books. That means if an author can write five books in a year you need to be able to publish them within the same sort of time span.

Anyway that's my take on the survey. I'm sure you can find many others.

Cheers, Greg.

Monday, 18 November 2013

Best Moments as a Writer

Hi Guys,

New topic this month. I thought I'd talk about some of the best moments I've had as an author in the last few years, and there have been a few really good ones.

My view is that in life, and especially in life as a writer, there are ups and downs, and the downs can be really crushing. That first one star drive by review for example can really knock the stuffing out of you - it did me. Being an author and publishing your books can be a very psychologically traumatic and bruising occupation. Despite what people dream there is no easy ride in this game, and there will be no shortage of pitfalls and pain. Because of that it's important to try and celebrate the good times. If you can't then this game may not be for you.

For me my first best moment was when I finished a book - not published just finished. When I got to the end of a book, wrote the last few sentences, and sudenly thought - this book is done! That was many years ago, the book has never been published since the very next day I decided it was lousy and needed a major rewrite, and so probably doesn't count as a shining success in my litarary career. And yet it is still an awesome triumph to me. It should be for other aspiring writers.

Many people say and even believe they can write a book, and probably most of them can. Making that book of publishable quality and then selling it is another matter. But even of those who can write a book, most if they sat down at a keyboard never would. They might get started, they might write five or ten thousand words, they might even be good words. But to actually write a book, an entire novel, takes more than just some talent and a few thousand words on a screen. It takes bloody minded perserverance. You have to be willing to sacrifice not just a few evenings but probably months and years. To think constantly about it to the exclusion of everything else. To live with your characters and the perils they face. And even dare I suggest it, to turn the telly off from time to time.

To get to the end of a novel and be able to say "it's done" is an achievement. Even if you don't publish and it never goes anywhere else, you have proven to yourself that you can write a novel. That is something you should remember and celebrate.

The next big thing for me was publishing. My first book out was Thief, and by the time it had made it out into the eworld it was already ten years old. Ten years where after doing the rounds of sending off letters and samples to agents and getting nothing back - if I was lucky - it had sat on a computer and basically died. Then along came Amazon, and sudenly the dead was returned to life. Being able to push that button - "publish" - and then a few days later seeing my book out there in the digital world, was a huge thing for me. I suspect it is for everyone. And even though the book has been taken down, re-editted, given a new cover and republished since, it's still a fond memory.

Naturally reviews and sales have had their impact on me as a writer. The first reviews (which were thankfully good) gave me a huge lift. And when my second book Maverick, started selling in significant numbers and reaching top one hundred categories etc, I was on cloud nine. Of course since then I've realised that things don't last. Maverick had a few good months, as in turn have some of my other books, but this is a fast moving journey. With a few exceptions you get only short term glory, and the only way to survive is to write more books. But still the fact that my books have done as well as they have even for a few short months is something to be savoured.

Earlier this year I discover a whole new high - and one I wasn't expecting. Late last year I finally decided to go paperback. To put out my books in a physical medium. Until then I'd been happy with digital alone, and there were significant hurdles involved in turning books into paper for me. It's a whole new learning curve. Still I finally did it and in March I think, I had the first copy of Maverick sitting in my hands. And that moment, standing there, holding my book in my hands and thinking - "This is mine, I did this" - will stay with me for a long time.

So I think that as my writing journey continues I need to hang on to those moments and enjoy them. I think that's the same for all of us who have chosen to take this path in life.

Cheers, Greg.

Monday, 21 October 2013

Writers and Responsibilities

Hi Guys,

New topic from me this time. Partly because I'm at a loose end having just finished the first draft of Guinea Pig and sent it off to be edited. And partly because this has been a question that's been popping up in several of the writing fora which I participate in. So in a nut shell it's simply - what are the responsibilities of a writer? And here of course I'm thinking of novelists particularly.

Now obviously we can all think of a few absolute no no's. For example let's not copy wholesale other people's books - someone is always bound to notice and then start jumping up and down. That however hasn't stopped people trying, and I know of at least one author on Kindle who has been doing this (or I suppose now who was doing this). Those of you on Kindle Boards will know the same example.

Another good one is don't defame people. And this is a question that keeps being asked. - I've written a book about my neighbour / friend / business partner etc and it's not flattering - can I just put up front a standard disclaimer that the work is one of complete fiction? Well unfortunately no. If a person can be identified from your work then the disclaimer won't hold any water. After that your two standard defences would either be that the work is true and you can prove it, or that no reasonable reader could assume that the work is about said person. If you were a comedian and the book is one about a public figure then you can claim that it's satire, but that may still need to be tested in a court.

But probably the one that will matter to most writers is the idea that their work will lead to nothing less than the decline of Western Civilisation (A claim as old as Western Civilisation!). And in particular that it promotes unhealthy values - eg violence, pornography etc. Or it may lead to impressionable people doing unfortunate things.

And against this we have the old arguments of freedom of expression in its various forms. Authors I think are very keen to claim this. Certainly I would be if Western Civilisation sudenly fell over and it was put down to my work. And there is no doubt that it is an important defence. But I do sometimes wonder if some take this right to freedom of expression too far.

In part I think this is because many writers - and again here I'm thinking mostly of novelists - tend to be a little removed from society. It takes days, months and sometimes years of hard work and reflection to write a novel, and you don't generally do it in an office surrounded by other people. Writing can be a very lonely profession. In part I suspect it will also depend on the nature of the writing itself. If you get negative feedback about a jounal article which took you all of an hour to write then it's not going to be as personally traumatic as will be the negative feedback about a novel that took six months of intense creative thought.

Having said this I think that there is a responsibility upon all of us to be mindful of our neighbour's wellbeing. And there are laws put in place in all parts of our lives to reflect this responsibility. These include everything from speed limits so that hopefully we won't run our neighbours over, to the passive smoking legislation. And in the same vein there are laws that limit freedom of speech. For example yelling "Fire" in a crowded theatre will land you in a lot of trouble.

In the end I think it's important for writers to be considerate of what their books glorify, advocate or promote, whether they're works of fiction or not. And the golden rule would surely have to be that if your work promotes harm to others, think twice about how it's written and what it says. I'm not saying don't write it, but I am saying that as a writer you need to recognise that you do have a responsibility to others - your readers in particular.

I think it's also the duty of every writer to mke certain he or she spends plenty of time with friends and family, out in the real world. It may help your writing, but it's probably even more important for your own mental well-being.

Cheers, Greg.

Wednesday, 9 October 2013

Pleasure and Pain - Publishing

Hi Guys,

As you'll have noticed I've returned to my old ways and not put out a blog for a while. But this time I think you'll agree the wait was worth it since I just published Wildling - my first new traditional fantasy novel in a while. I'm really pleased with it by the way, and with the cover. But that's probably the same with every author and their latest book.

I did think I'd share with you a little of what it's like to publish a book for me. It may be of particular interest to those of you thinking of taking that plunge.

The first thing I'd say is that - Yes - while publishing is I think an essential part of a writer's life and we should all strive for that goal, it is a heady journey. There are highs and lows along the way.

For me publishing begins with the end of the first draft. Up until then I've been writing, tapping away on my keyboard, but for me and me alone. The books I write until that stage are the books I want to write and to read. Even though there's a lot of editing during that process, there is never any real consideration of what other people might think of them. But publishing is when that all changes.

It all begins when I finish the first draft, take a deep breath, and send the completed draft to my editor - who happens to be my wonderful baby sister Lucy. That's a big step for me. For two reasons. The first is that in taking it I have committed myself to the publishing process - a brand new change in focus. And the second is that like all authors I suspect, my work is my baby. So handing it over to someone else to paw through, comment on and criticise is a very hard thing.

After that comes the waiting. That's hard. Not just because my sister is very thorough and detailed and therefore slow, but because for all that time I'm sitting there waiting for the report. It's like waiting for your exam results. And during this time I find it hard to think about anything else. I barely write at all.

Then comes the return and the piles and piles of red pixels. At once I feel incredible relief to have my book back, and shock and horror at seeing how many mistakes she's found. And a lot of them are mistakes. It's a sad thing to have to admit, but I'm not perfect and neither is my work. It's not the typos and the grammatical errors that trouble me so much - I could never spell so I can live with them. It's the issues with language and plot that cause me consternation. These are the story telling part of the work, and the parts that I do think I do well.

From there the process is methodical and sadly more pain than pleasure. It's about going through the edited draft bit by bit, and seeing what she's found and then arguing with myself about whether they are fair. But of course by then I am committed to the publishing process, so I will work all the hours that I can, sometimes falling asleep in front of the computer, to get things in order.

All the way through as the writer I am torn with doubt. Asking myself the same questions I'm sure every author has at this stage. Is she right? Was there not sufficient narrative before to explain this event? Let the reader understand? Is it really right that I can't use the English language this particular way when it sounds so right in my head? Is this truly my "voice" that she's striking out or just bad English?

Editing for all of you intending to go through the process, is a difficult process. A lengthy conversation between you and your editor that will test you. And the most difficult part - that you have to go through it several times for each book. So my first redraft after the editing, goes back to my sister and then returns in due course for a second run etc.

Eventually - and though it probably only takes a month or so all up - it will come to an end. And at that point a switch is flipped on for me at least. The text is done, now it's about publishing. But that involves more work. There is of course the format edit, setting the text out so that it looks good on a page, chucking in things like chapter numbers and a front end - title, dedication etc. The cover -though usually I will have created that long before - needs to be completed. And then worst of all for me - the blurb. I don't know why but those one to two hundred words are the most difficult to write.

All up here I'm talking three or four days without sleep and most of my supply of coffee and diet coke. But the switch has been turned on and it becomes an all out rush. It has to be done.

And then finally there's the battle with Amazon - which never goes smoothly - not for me. I have never once managed to upload and publish a book within the promised hour. Admittedly I'm on dial up which slows things down. But still sometimes it's days as things fall over, the computer won't upload etc etc. (This time however it was incredibly quick though there were still hiccups. And Amazon a huge thank you to you and the Kindle team for putting those changes in to require automatic saves throughout the process. The number of times before this that I've lost everything and had to start again from scratch is beyond belief.)

Then comes the publish button. The moment where I push it and can finally go to bed.

You'd think this would be a victory - a triumph of sometimes seemingly biblical proportions. And it is. But it's also a moment when everything ends and for me, a huge sadness. The book is finished, my baby has left the nest, an as well as exhausted and relieved there is something incredibly difficult about that moment. So difficult that after having done it I actually feel as though I never want to see that book again. It's over, finished, gone.

Maybe that's just me. But for me the easiest thing to do then is start something new. The hardest thing to do is go back into what's done.

Anyway that's my publishing process. I expect you will all have your own experiences of it.

Cheers, Greg.

Thursday, 5 September 2013

The Future Of Self Publishing

Hi Guys,

This time I think it's time for me to apologise for a whole new mistake - posting blogs too often! (Yeah I know - it's never happened before and it probably won't happen again!)


However I felt inspired by a number of questions that have been asked on some of the writing fora to which I belong, and I thought I might take a stab at answering them. Or mostly just answering one question - where is self publishing going in the next few years?

Obviously trying to guess what's going to happen in even the next five years in this field is rather like trying to shoot a moving target with a bow and arrow while blind folded, but still it occurs to me that there are some trends that we can see happening already.

1. The first of them is that the age of the free ebooks, and perhaps even the 99c ones is probably going to come to if not an end then a slow down.

The reason for this is simple marketing. For a couple of years now Amazon has been happy to have books sold for nix. To take a minor hit on each sale. And the reason for this is simple. They want to sell their ebook reader, the Kindle. The loss they take on giving away books has been more than offset by the additional kindle sales. However this can't last.

Already we saw earlier this year the change in the Amazon algorhythms such that every free book 'sale' counted for only one tenth as much of a bump in the sales / author rankings as before. While dearer books gained an increased bump. The reason for this? Amazon makes money from selling books for money, not giving them away. And at some point they clearly decided that the value they were getting from the giveaways in terms of kindle sales was losing out to the losses they were taking in terms of gaining no revenue from the freebies and the hits they were taking when readers chose free books over ones they had to pay for.

My thought is that this trend will continue. Freebies will still exist in some form or another, and certainly on other sites, but the big online retailers will continue to move away from them. In the end there are only so many kindles you can sell, and when Amazon's competition for ebook readers includes not just other ebook readers but pads, laptops and now phones, that limit will be reached.

2. My next prediction is that there will be a rise in the numbers of people and organisations providing services for indie authors. It is inevitable that as more and more people realise that they can write books and publish them, the demand for these services will increase. So that's editors, cover artists, promoters, reviewers etc.

But to balance the good with the bad, as well as these there will also be those rip off artists I mentioned in a previous post - the vanity publishers as they were once known. (And probably still are.) As more and more people discover that they can write a book and then become desperate to publish them, the sharks will find more to feed on.

And I urge you all to remember the golden rule, as an author the money should always flow to you. You should never have to pay to be published. If someone says they will publish your book for x dollars, walk away.

3. The numbers of both authors and books both will increase. This is inevitable as more people decide that they can write a book and publish it, and those already in the business write and publish more, while at the same time everything that's digitally published remains out there for potentially centuries.

So what does this mean for those who want to write? It means more competition. More books out there in the same genre's competing with whatever they put out. It means that average incomes for indie authors (and trade published authors) will sooner or later fall. They have to as readers spend more money across a wider range of books, the amount that goes on each will decrease. There is only so much money to spend after all.

And what does it mean for readers? Greater choice than ever before - which is great. But at the same time greater difficulty finding books worth reading.

The solution for both however is the same. Those authors who want to sell more will have to concentrate on producing better quality books. This means better editing, better cover design, more professional formatting etc. More and more quality will have to become the indie author's byword. And the hope is that those authors who produce works of higher quality will find greater readership and gain a fan base.

The days I think when marketing campaigns, adds in various media etc, dropping prices and dumping huge loads of spam in peoples' in boxes will bring in large jumps in sales are numbered. In the end you can't sell a turd. (Although from Mythbusters we now know that you can polish one!) Already we are seeing that the numbers of pick ups of free books are declining. Readers are starting to realise that even free is sometimes too high a price to pay for a book. Readers are smart and it would be a foolish author who forgets that and tries to publish something that isn't ready.

Anyhow, those are my predictions.

Cheers, Greg.

Friday, 16 August 2013

Another Month - Another Book.

Hi Guys,

As usual an apology for posting so seldom to this blog, but also as usual, another excuse! This time no - the dog did not eat my post. Instead on the 14th of July I felt somewhat inspired and began a new book. A week ago 82,000 words were typed and sent off for editing. Which is I think pretty fast for a first draft. However from the comments already heard back, there may be some extensive rewriting required! Bugger!

However Doorways is at least drafted and I'm grateful for that. While I am able to write very quickly when the muse takes hold, it does come at a cost. Little things like sleep, most tv shows and dvds and fairly much everything else that takes up my normal days have to be drastically cut back.

For those of you who may be interested it's a science fiction novel but contains the one thing that has been severely lacking in sci fi until now - elves! (High tech elves of course! - And they're quite mean too!)

It's a parallel world story which I based in part in the city where I grew up - Wellington. Which for those of you thinking about basing your writing on cities you grew up in, has unexpectedly become a minor headache. It turns out that while I know Wellington of the 1980's and early 1990's quite well, Wellington 2013 is apparently quite different. Updating my knowledge through my family and Google has been a challenge.

Still it has been done and I hope to have it published in another month - which will be a huge relief since I'd like to go back to blobbing out in front of the idiot box for a while! Sleeping would also be a welcome activity.

Cheers, and as always - be good or don't get caught.


Saturday, 13 July 2013

Does a Serious Writer Have To Publish?

Hi guys,

Busy month for me as I've been writing and turning another ebook into a paperback on CreateSpace. But the finished product looks great I'm pleased to say, and I can't wait until a copy is in my hands.

Still this process, not to mention the pile of paperbacks I just received in the post all written by my favourite author - ME!!!, got me thinking. Why go to all this trouble? Do I really need to in order to be a writer? And then a related question came up on one of my writing forums and so this blog was born.

So I thought that this time I'd turn my attention to the role of publishing in a writer's life. And here I'm not just talking about the transition from writer to author here, I'm talking about the advancement of the writer in his craft.

First let me say that I agree that there is a time for publishing and you can do it too early. And self publishing is not something that should be just an automatic reflex. Whether you self publish, put your work out in blogs, or go the trde publishing route, as an author you have to constantly strive to produce the best work you can before publishing. I think too many people see self publishing as an easy road. It's not. It's far harder than having an agent and a trade publication deal. There are so many skills to master for the self publisher that the traditionally published author never learns.

So to those of you thinking of taking this road, do not think of it as quick and easy. To quote Dogma (one of my favourite movies) "Prepare Thyself."

But I think everyone who considers themselves a serious writer needs to be aiming always at getting his writing out there to be judged by an audience. And when I say aiming, I mean more than just dreaming, wishing and hoping. I mean that you as a writer you have a plan and you have resolved to complete it. Writing is in the end a communicative art, and if you don't get your work out there somehow you're not communicating. It's like a painter sitting in his room painting only for himself. Or an actor practicing his craft eternally by himself, but never going on stage. Until you do that, until you put your work out there for others to read, you're not just not an author, you're also not really a full writer. There is something missing.

So my advice to all serious authors is that you have to commit yourself to publishing, however you can. And for many of us that will be by self publishing. But for those of you who decry the self publishing route, I say never say never. Every author needs to have an audience and spending year after year amassing piles of "Dear Sir, Thank you but -" letters is not getting yourself an audience. It's not helping you to advance your craft.

Then once you've published "Prepare Thyself" all over again for the roller coaster that will follow.

Once you've got your work out there, in whatever manner you can, then your entire world changes. Before you even published, but after you'd truly committed yourself to the journey, there were all the things you probably as a writer writing a story didn't think so seriously about. Editing, covers, formating, marketing. Knowing that you're going to take that step pushes you to master these things. And do not underestimate the amount of work that that will take. For some of us, me again, learning to create a cover was like a fish learning to fly. Still is actually, and though I'm pleased with what I can produce these days, I can't wait to see what I'll be able to create in say - ten years.

But that's only the begining. Then come's the feedback. Sure it's not all good and I've had my fair share of hit and runs, but in the end it's what you need. The good the bad and the strange. That feedback even when it rubs you the wrong way and leaves you bleeding on the floor, will help you to lift your game in a way that nothing else can.

Sitting at home sending out query letter after query letter, most of which will never be answered, and working on your next book can't do the same thing for you. In fact it can even become disabling. There is a certain comfort in being able to send out letters and have them come back 'no' or not at all with no explanation. It's safe. It's a rut which you can get stuck in. It's never nice getting a 'Dear Sir thank you but' letter, but after a while you get used to it and you can return to your dreaming about when one day you will be published instead of biting the bullet and actually putting your work out there.

So yes, my advice is that if you want to be a serious writer you have to always know it will be published and will see an audience. You need a plan, and one with achievable goals that you know you will achieve. You can't allow yourself the luxury of simply writing whatever you feel like forever and dreaming about 'one day'. That is a certain road to never becoming a serious writer.

Cheers, Greg.

Wednesday, 19 June 2013

Why Self Publish? Who benefits?

Hi Guys,

This time I thought I'd turn my attention to one of the never ending questions that seems to plague the world of self publishing - Why?

This week we've all heard the news about Jasinda Wild, a husband and wife writing team who have sold a million books in a year through self publishing, and somehow written twenty books in six months - to my mind an even more impressive achievement. My hat is off to them for that.

And in terms of the question why well it's easy enough to see that in their case. A year ago they were in desperate financial straights and self publishing gave them a way out for them and their family. That's not to say that they couldn't have achieved similar success through trade publishing - I'm sure they could have. But I'm equally sure that they could not have achieved that success in the same short period of time.

However, in considering this question it occurred to me that when people ask this question - and then end up arguing (often stridently) about the merits of self publishing versus trade publishing - they overlook the reader. Now here we have an example of a writing team who have achieved huge success and provided for their family etc. And that's as it should be. But here we also have an example of a million people sitting down to read self published fiction.

So lets move past what this impressive achievement means for these writers and their family, and the merits in the wider world of publishing, and consider the reader. Consider a million readers. Self publishing has benefitted them since they get to read books that they might not have been able to read at all before, or if it did finally get published through traditional means, not for probably years to come.

That's something that I think gets lost in the arguments. Self publishing benefits the readers as well as the authors.

The reader gets access to a wider range of books, some dross (not mine of course!) some good. They get to read things that would never have seen the light of day through trade publishing, because agents and publishers acted as gatekeepers, and essentially decided for readers what they wanted to read. And they get to do it at a generally far more reasonable price, partly because it's often digital books we're talking about, but partly because all the monies that were going to publishers, editors, agents, marketers etc, now go straight back to the author, who then doesn't have to charge so much.

So hats off to Jasinda Wild. But hats off also to the million readers who purchased their books and hopefully were entertained as they wanted to be.

Cheers, Greg.

Sunday, 19 May 2013

Writing, rip offs and boutique publishing.

Hi Guys,

New topic this time - writing, and more specifically rip offs.

As some of you will know I contribute to a number of writing fora, partly out of interest and partly to learn a little more of my craft. And on these fora I often find myself fascinated by what other writers have come across in their journeys. In particular a week or so ago I came across a post in which a new writer had decided to take his first steps into the world of publishing through a boutique POD publisher, all for the one off price of $2000.

Now this is not a new thing. Prior to the advent of Amazon's Kindle many people used to use vanity publishers as they were called, desperate to get into print any way they could. And it almost never worked. They got a few bound copies of their book, the book never went anywhere near a bookstore, no one ever heard of them, and their pockets got lightened. I have actually heard horror stories of people paying a lot more than this guy.

However, I have to wonder how these companies still operate, and more importantly, why people still use them.

It seems to me that these companies basically prey on the vulnerabilities of people. That they offer services to those who are desperate to see their books in print and too gullible to realise that they can now do everything for themselves for free. In short they prey on the same people they always have. But the question is, why are these people still unaware of self publishing? Or as an alternative, if they are aware of what they can do, why do they feel they need someone else to do the publishing for them? Is it just timidness? Lack of confidence?

My thought is that in the last few years the world of writing has changed significantly. Self publishing has taken hold and an entire new universe of written words has appeared on our computer screens and smart phones. And while many people may pour scorn on the self publisher for not having a traditional deal with an agent etc, it does not change the fact that a great many new books have arrived which would never have been seen without it. Sure some of it may be crap, much of it may not be up to the standards of a trade published work, but there's a trade off. For a long time agents and publishers have been gate keepers to the world of what people read. They decided what people could read, because lets face it, if they thought a work wasn't commercial, they didn't publish it. Those days are gone and I think that's a good thing.

However to return to the topic at hand and boutique POD publishing, I'm guessing that not everyone has caught up with the writing revolution. And I'm also guessing that the world being what it is, there will always be desperate people, aching with every fibre of their being to see their book in print. I understand this, and prior to the self publishing revolution I was one of them, just thankfully a little too smart to fall for the sharks out there. (Though I did get a couple of letters from one such shark early on.)

So my message to all those out there desperate to see their work in print (or on a digital screen) is don't fall for this. The golden rule for all writers when publishing must be that you are the writer. It's your work. The money should always flow to you. It doesn't matter whether its a lot or a little, you don't pay. So if an agent comes back at you with a "reading fee", don't go there. Chances are he's not legit. If a publisher offers to print your book for a few thousand bucks, definitely don't go there.

And if you don't really understand the world of publishing, don't know what to do, and are frightened of taking that plunge half arsed, just keep these words in mind - You Can Do It.

It may require some new skills, editing and cover design being top of the list for any self publisher, but these are things you can do. Skills you can gain for a little effort. Or if you are truly desperate and don't have any friends or family with the ability, skills you can hire as you need them. And usually for a lot less than a POD publisher will charge.

Also, join some writing fora. They are invaluable.

Cheers, Greg.

Saturday, 20 April 2013

Life Isn't Like A Video Game - Bugger!

Hi Guys,

Once more apologies for the delay in posting - but this time I have a legitimate excuse. I'm on dial up and something went badly wrong with the line a couple of weeks ago. As usual I blame the electric fence of the farmer next door, though the telecom man didn't seem so sure. Either way the upshot is that having had a repair done I'm now on a temporary patch, there's noise on the line, and an already diabolically slow connection has slowed to a crawl. (You don't want to know how long it will take to post this post!)

Anyway progress is being made elsewhere. Of Dark Elves and Dragons has been put out in paperback through CreateSpace, and while I'm pleased with it I'm in two minds about the cover. To my eyes it looks great, especially the text, but that's in full size. As a thumbnail the text looks blurry simply because the shadow I added to the text is unable to be seen clearly. So I have a decision to make I guess. Whether to sacrifice a text effect that adds punch to a full size cover or to accept that the effect will make the thumbnail sized text look out of focus. - The trials of self publishing! (I'll bet Terry Pratchett never has to worry about these things!)

The next book to go through the process of editing in preparation for printing to paper is Dragon, which is already with my sister.

In the meantime I've found myself with a little free time these past few days, and have fallen back into bad habits - otherwise known as playing RPG's. (Mostly Skyrim and Neverwinter Nights, but also some Arcanum - a brilliant game that doesn't seem to run too well on any OS more recent than 98.) And while playing and watching my fingers getting shorter from all the button mashing, I suddenly realised that I wish life should be more like some of these games. Maybe not the monsters, but there are some brilliant ideas in gaming that are lacking in real life. Things that I think we need to start working on.

First of course, and here I speak as a red blooded male, why do we not have a lot more highly attractive babes in tight fitting, skimpy leather outfits walking down the streets? For me at least this would be a welcome improvement in reality. Of course I may not be the most photogenic of people myself, and I doubt anyone would want to see me in a skimpy, body hugging leather outfit! - Not even me!

Then there's the health potions. Here I get sick I have to see a doctor, take pills, maybe have an operation, spend lots of time recovering etc. How much simpler would it be to just drink a health potion and be done with it! Come on scientists get inventing - we need this.

Naturally there's the superhuman aspects of your characters. In real life I doubt I could even crawl up a mountain. In Skyrim I can just run up one. I love that. And I love the long floating jumps you can make as you sail off walls and staircases. It's not flying but if someone could invent that for real it'd be almost as good.

Roller skating monsters - players of the Neverwinter series of games will know what I mean. Not that I want monsters in real life, but seriously how cool is it to watch an orc simply roller skating towards you, axe in hand.

Disintegration! Grief any magic would be awesome, but of all the spells this one from Arcanum is the coolest in my view. Simply watching your PC standing there, the circle of light forming around his feet, running along the ground, and then zapping your enemy so that there's nothing left - it's brilliant. Of course if I had this spell I'm not sure I could be trusted not to use it every so often - so brilliant for me, not so much for everyone else!

Playing with weapons. In real life they're heavy and I'm clumsy, not to mention completely untrained in swinging a sword. But anyone whose played Dungeon Siege will now how impressive it is to simply be able to pick up say a quarterstaff and swing it around like a martial artist with the push of a button. No training or fitness required. I so want to be able to do that, but I don't want to spend years training to do it.

And then of course how simply wonderful would it be to wander down the streets and see elves and orcs and dwarves and gnomes walking the streets with you? Seriously someone needs to get to work on inventing these races for real!

So anyway, that's my short list of some of the things in RPGs that have real life beat. I'm sure you all have your own.

Cheers, Greg.

Tuesday, 2 April 2013

The Man Who Wasn't Anders Voss - The Idea.

Hi Guys,

To start April off with a bang I published a new book - The Man Who Wasn't Anders Voss and I thought I'd share something about the book with you. Mostly I thought I'd share where the concept for the book came from.

As a writer I sometimes get asked where I get my ideas from, and in this case it is - and I'm proud to admit it - Star Trek.

This book began with one of the unexplained and potentially unexplainable mysteries about the show - the transporter. How does it work, and more importantly if it does work how is it that the guy being transported, having his atoms scattered through space and reassembled somewhere else, survives?

As a trekkie this has been one of the questions that has puzled me for a very long time. I mean it's fairly obvious that if you disintigrate someone into their composite atoms, they die. But then somehow when the atoms get put back together somewhere else, they live again. And that of course leads to the next question - how do you know that the person assembled elsewhere is the same person that was dissassembled?

So my take on this was that they aren't. That the transporter in fact kills the person sent and a completely new person with the old person's memories and features is created. In short a copy.

Naturally this wouldn't make for a good story. Not if the copy was in fact completely convinced that he was the original. Then as far as he was concerned and the rest of the universe, he would be the original. Only the original woul know better and he of course would be dead.

So that lead to the next key idea in the book. What if the copy in fact knew he was the copy? Then we end up in a whole new world of possibilities and plot elements, and key among them, identity.

All of us are blessed with one certainty in life - we are who we are. It never occurs to us that we might in fact be someone else. Other works have touched on this idea, that we might in fact be someone other than the person we think we are. That we might have say been brainwashed, or had amnesia. But the transporter gave me a whole new vehicle to examine this possibility, and to look at the conflicts it creates.

Identity is crucial to us. It is who we think we are. It is the one thing we never consider we could be wrong about. But if we were a copy of a man, perfect in every way, and so every memory we have is of being the original, but at the same time we also have the additional memory of the original having died and of being created from his remains, what would that do to us? Could we call ourselves by the name of the original even though we know we aren't him? Can we consider his family as ours? What about his actions, both good and bad? Can we truly be held responsible for the crimes the original migt have committed? Can we accept the credit for the good things he did?

So in large part this book is an exploration of those questions. Of the struggle of a man to decide whether he is in fact the original or is a new man.

And then of course I threw in some aliens, a transporter that doesn't work perfectly, and a rather nasty scientist with a God complex!

So that's where the book goes, and I hope that those who read it will find themselves asking many of the same questions as I have in writing it.

Cheers and as always, be good or don't get caught! (And if one is ever invented do not step into a transporter!)

Sunday, 17 March 2013

CreateSpace and Me - The War of Words (And Images)

Hi Guys,

Thought I'd update you on how things are going in my quest for world domination (err - literary success?) Well the big news is that as of today two of my books have been approved for publishing in paper, Maverick and Alien Caller. And a third book Thief is now in the process.

It has been an epic battle getting the books through this process, in part because of my own limitations in all things computer related. But there have been some other problems arise which I did think I might mention for any of you considering taking this route.

1) PDF - CreateSpace demands PDF documents (or so I thought, however experience has proven that it ain't necessarily so). So because I don't have Acrobat, and really don't want to shell out the readies for the programme I went online to get a PDF conveter. The first one I found was Word to PDF by Abdio, which cost me forty bucks. It didn't work, producing documents that were poorly formatted and with great big gaps in words here and there. Naturally I wasn't impressed, especially when I sent off an e-mail asking for either a fix or my money back and heard nothing back. That, despite their promise to get back to me within 24 hours, was over a week ago. So that's my first DON'T of the process.

However it leads to my first DO as well. Or actually two DO's. The first is that when I reached out for help I went to the CreateSpace Community and got answers within hours. Useful answers. And the second is the answer itself a print program called Do - PDF, which was free and has worked absolutely faultlessly.

2) File sizes - for those of you like me the files you need to upload are not small, and conversion to PDF just makes them larger. Much larger. Word files doubled in size. Graphics files trebled and more through the conversion process. And if any of you are on dial up like me, that's a major pain. Fifteen megs, the size of the one piece file I created to do the book, takes an hour or so to upload. And then, as if to help me pull my hair out, CreateSpace itself kept logging me out after an hour and not saving the uploads. By the fourth time I really was screaming at the computer and threatening it with bodily harm.

However, again there is a solution, it's called cover creator. Initially I tried using it and it fell over and I couldn't understand why. It also didn't seem to have the layout I wanted, which was essentially only a bair template for the front cover, back cover and spine, all of which I had already prepared. But a more detailed search revealed that as you go through the available formats there are other layouts, and one of them 'PALM' was perfect for my needs. Better yet,the file sizes were already reduced since I could cut down my single large graphic into two pieces and throw away the spine since it was included as part of the template. And they were reduced even further because Cover Creator does not require the files to be in PDF format. JPEGs are fine. The result, one fifteen meg upload became two uploads of around two and a bit megs, and no logging out.

So for me the next DO - is cover creator.

3) There are of course fishooks in even this, and the main one is graphic sizes. With my layout being for a six by nine inch book and the requirements for the graphic being three DPI, I figured that the correct graphics should be 2700 by 1800 pixels. Silly me!

In fact the correct size for a six by nine cover is six and a quarter inches by nine and a half. They do mention this, but foolishly I ignored it. The upshot of course was that my graphics were slightly too small, and I didn't realise it. So my next DO is read the instructions for graphic file sizes and plan accordingly.

The second fishook is not mine though, unless my eyesight is really that bad and I am going colour blind! So I went through the process uploade my undersized files and it told me they were undersized, 295 DPI instead of 300. But as you go through the process little buttons turn green as you complete each step, and those buttons did turn green. So I assumed the undersizing was of no matter.

Then of course you get to the end having uploaded and twittered around with everything, a process that might take an hour or so, and you hit the button that says submit cover for approval, and I clicked it with transcendant joy. Only to go directly to hell as my cover vanished and I was told by the programme that not all parts of the process had been completed and so it was start again. The message wouldn't even tell me which parts were incomplete and of course I had no clue. After all the seven buttons had seven green colours on them which said they were complete.

So I did it again - same result. It was about then I started to consider taking to the computer with an axe! However I digress.

It turned out after careful detailed study that in fact only five of the seven buttons were green. Two were yellow. Unfortunately green is actually greenish yellow in this programme while yellow is infact yellowish green. In short they look almost identical! I am so glad that these people did not have a hand in designing traffic lights!

After that however, somewhat balder than before and hoarse from screaming at an innocent computer, things went more smoothly. Which leads me to my last DO.

There is absolutely nothing like having a paper copy of your book in your hand, and that is an experience that no reader or tablet can give you. So my final DO.

DO absolutely get a proof copy of your book sent to you in the mail.

Cheers, Greg.

Monday, 4 March 2013

Maverick Going Paperback

Hi Guys,

Thought I'd let you know what I've been doing, which is mainly to start going through the process of converting Maverick now that its been edited, into a paperback through CreateSpace.

It has been an awesome process so far. Both brilliant to see the results as they come out, and frustrating as I have to wrap my head around all sorts of problems. All the things I never thought about as a simple ebook writer. For a start I'd never heard of things called bleed and gutters. (And now I almost wish I never had!)

I've chosen the size six by nine for the book since it's rather long. This is very slightly larger than a standard paperback of eight and a half by five, but when I did my first PDF conversion of the text it came out at 850 pages. In this new format it's only 550 pages, which makes a huge difference in price and the sheer size of the book.

Above you can see the first version of the cover, (reduced in size since I'm on dial up and the time to upload a four meg file is extraordinary - worse if the farmer across the way has his electric fence running!) I'm pleased with it, though will probably do some tweeking when the proof arrives in the mail. I'm a natural tweeker!

My plans for the coming weeks are to get the proof and finish the process for publishing Maverick, and also to put out Alien on the Kindle and then start the process of converting that to paper as well. Over the rest of the year most of my other novels should follow - though I may be bald by then.

Lastly a very bad fantasy joke: Did you hear the one about the wizard who turned his car into a garage?!

Cheers, Greg.

Saturday, 23 February 2013

Maverick Revised

Hi guys,

Just a short note to let you know what I've been doing these past few weeks. In a word editing. (Actually it's probably the most horrible word in any author's vocabulary! It is mine anyway.)

But the good news is that it comes with a purpose, and that purpose is to get some of my books into paper form (yes I know many of you younger people may not remember what that is any more!), through CreateSpace.

So so far this year both Thief and Maverick have been through extensive revisions and given new covers in preparation for the transition, and more will follow. However for those who've read them and want something new, currently my long suffering editor (sister) is working on the first edit of the next book off the blocks this year, Alien. I hope to have that out on the Kindle in the next few weeks.

In the mean time, because I may be the worst (most unreliable) blogger in history and feel the need to apologise - again, I'll leave you with an even worse joke.

A priest, a nun, a monk and a bishop walk into a bar.
The bartender looks up at them and says - 'This is a joke right?!'

Cheers, Greg.

Thursday, 31 January 2013

Update On Writing: Thief Re-edited.

Hi Guys,

Been a while since I posted last but I have an excuse - the dog ate my homework! Well maybe not, but I have been busy writing so I figure that has to count for something. Anyway since publishing the second Wizard at Law book in January (and February has only just begun), I've also re-edited and recovered my first novel - Thief.

I'm really quite pleased with the way the cover turned out. It's a million times better than the old one I think you'll agree, and it's another step in my master plan to take over the world! Or at least to get a few of my ebooks published on paper as well by the end of the year.

Next to go through this process is Maverick. It already has a new cover and is being edited as I type (thanks Lucy!). I've also started the CreateSpace process for it, but I have to admit that when it comes to all things computers, I am somewhat on the slow side.

As far as writing goes, I'm currently finishing off Alien, a sci fi romance adventure in which a retired agent with a personal enemy that would make Superman tremble is visited by an alien woman that funnily enough has her own enemies. Of course the real fun starts when their enemies get together!

This is a book that has been almost finished and sitting around as an untouched file on my computer for years, like so many others. So I'm quite pleased to be finally completing it. Of course that leaves maybe eighty more all awaiting the same attention!

Anyway, that's been my year so far and I'm quite pleased with how its gone. I hope you and yours are having an equally good one. Oh and I thought this was funny:

If wishes were horses I'd need a lot of pooper scoopers!

Cheers, Greg.

Saturday, 12 January 2013

Second Wizard At Law Book Published.

Hi Guys,

Happy new year and all.

Thought I'd let you know that the second Wizard at Law book - The Glimmering, has been published on the kindle. Here's the blurb:

It starts with a glimmer, and then it just glows!

Thomas Crow and his friends are back with another case.

Someone is busy turning the people of London bright yellow one by one and in the precess, threatening the exposure of the people and magic to the world.

Thomas must represent his client, one of the yellows as they've become known, a normal with no idea that magic exists or the people for that matter, and a man who really just wants a drink. And at the same time he has to keep lying to him, following the line of the Circle that it's just a disease and that the victims need to be quarantined. Helping to maintain the cover up that stops world wide exposure.

And then of course they have to find the caster that's creating the panic in the first place. Before the press finally get a picture of a yellow in all his glory and everything goes to hell.

Who'd be an advocate?!
So my years off to a good start, I hope yours are too.
Cheers, Greg.