Paula R.C. Readman's Blog, page 29

On An Ever-spinning Reel

I’m not sure how to start this post. In all honesty, I should be excited at seeing my fifth book launched today, but the excitement is wearing a bit thin now. Don’t get me wrong, I love the writing, and enjoy the pleasure of knowing others are taking the time to read my books, even a reader who leaves only a one star review adds to my enjoyment.

So why the disappointment?

Let me explain. Marketing kills the excitement I feel. Not knowing whether the money I’m investing in promoting my books works, or not.

Do I think my books are worth investing in?

Yes, of course I do, and I’m willing to spend my husband’s hard earned cash to do it, but how do I know whether I’m investing the money wisely. It’s all a gamble whichever way I try.

Today sees the launch of my fifth book. Stone Angels, Seeking the Dark and The Phoenix Hour novels ( the other two books were a novella and a singles collection of short stories) have all been a huge learning curve while I served a writing apprenticeship. I wanted to learn every aspect of writing, from the writing itself, to understanding the publishing process i.e. submitting, rejection, and finally seeing my work in print. Building my confidence was the most important thing for me. On seeing my fifth book published, I finally feel like I’m at the stage where I know what I’m doing at last.

Here’s an interesting review on The Funeral Birds
(Can you spot a mistake the reviewer has made? Though, you’ll only know what it is, if you’ve read the book)

In September, I will start focusing all my thoughts and energy into working on the Granny Wenlock novel. This book will be the start of my real writing career now I’ve mastered the art of writing, experiencing being published, grown a thick skin while dealing with one star reviews, and most importantly learning about marketing. Hopefully, in the not too distant future, I will have a book that sells well enough to start covering the cost of marketing my novels.

Please check out The Phoenix Hour, and thank you for your continuing support.

Dear Mr Facebook… I’m sorry…

I’m sorry to say I’m falling out of love with Mr Facebook. He’s behaving badly towards me, keeps accusing me of things I haven’t done. I tried winning him over by paying for book advertisements as I signed up to his business account, but this hasn’t helped. Okay, so he tells me, I’ve reached over two thousand accounts and have had thirteen clicks on one of my ads. While opening my FB business account, I had to create two new Facebook pages. If I add these to my other social media sites that I have to keep updating it means less time writing my new novel, as I have to come up with interesting posts to keep my followers entertained.

On top of all of this I am finding I’m being accused of spamming and have been thrown into Facebook Jail. The other day, I got very confused after I posted a event notice on my village site under my personal site name, and not my FB author’s page name. A FB notice popped up to say I had been spamming and I’m in Facebook jail for 29 days.

29 days in FB Jail! All I had done was to share an article in my writing group about a writing competition! At first, I got very annoyed. What was Mr FB going on about, that’s what I wanted to know.

I had stopped sharing my nature photos and walking videos across my local village FB sites after receiving a warning from FB about spamming. I’ve reduced the number of promotional Facebook groups I belonged to because many of them were swamped with spammers promoting paid book reviewing services, something Amazon frowns upon deeply. I’ve always been careful about what I share, and when. I don’t like flooding any social media site with news of my books simply because people can become bored of hearing about it. Marketing is all about getting the balance right.

It’s why I love Twitter so much. I can direct my promoting to people asking for books. You are able to locate readers on the site. A simple hashtag can let someone know you have a #newbook. It’s the same on Instagram, but so far I don’t feel the connection to the site as I do with Twitter. Instagram feels like a dating app with the number of “Hi Beautiful” messages I received as soon as I accept a man to my page. I delete them as soon as I received a notification from them.

Have they looked closely at my profile? I don’t think so. Granny Wenlock is too long in the fangs to fall for their charms.

I’ve been busy mastering ‘Canva’.com an online marketing site that allows you to create ads for free. I believe simplicity is the best. Keep it simple and direct and people will get the message.

Here’s a couple of ads I created for my new book The Phoenix Hour.

No sound to this one only because I didn’t realise I could add it.
This one has music

Ideas and happiness & Where they come from.

“Where do you get your inspiration from?” Is one of the most commonly asked question at any talk given by a successful author. All writers will be asked this same question at some point in their writing career.

It’s quite a simple question, but the answer is more elusive. It’s a case of one idea developing into something else. If you’re expecting a quick, sure-fire answer like buy a certain book, or go online to a website to find great ideas all in one place, then you’ll be out of luck. Finding the right ideas which will guarantee your book will become a bestseller is like hunting for a needle in a haystack. It’s impossible.

Finding ideas is a bit like being happy. To be truly happy one has to work at it. You can’t buy happiness, or be gifted it. It comes from within. Just as finding the ultimate idea, which will guarantee you a bestselling novel, one has to work at it. It’s as though happiness and inspiration sit side by side on the same shelf, but in separate boxes.

Oh, you don’t believe me.

Oh, okay so I was joking

I found these herbal teas in my local health food shop, (other brand of teas were available) I can’t guarantee that drinking either one will bring you happiness or fresh inspiration. I found both had a pleasant taste and a wonderful quotation on each teabag string.

Things like: To be calm is the highest achievement of the self. Your strength is your own belief. If you let yourself be successful you shall be successful. We all know we have a destiny, and the one I like best, A relaxed mind is a creative mind.

A relaxed mind is a creative mind to me means your mind is more open to new ideas. Ah, see I knew you would catch up with my train of thought in the end. Ideas come from everywhere, but it’s what you do with the first initial idea that counts.

After reading a book about owls, what caught my attention was how other cultures relate to the bird. In the Arabic culture it is believed that owls carry the souls of murdered victims. This sparked an idea for me, but how to put it into a book. The Arabs called the owl, funeral birds. Oh, you’re ahead of me. Yep, this is the point when I tell you, its where I got the idea for my book called… That’s right.

But, there’s more to writing than just having an idea. It’s what you do with it. Just knowing the owl carry the souls of murdered people wasn’t enough to create an interesting story. The next stage was what type of story would be most suitable for the information to be used in. Well, of course it would be crime. Murdered victims.

Okay, so what next?

Who’s going to tell the story? Who is the victim? Where is the setting?

Slowly, the idea is taking on a life of its own as you find yourself asking more questions. At this point you might be able to create an outline of your story. This is the first step in developing your idea and taking it to the next level.

Happiness is the same. You have to build on it. When I was young I used to ask myself. Where do I want to be in ten years time? Of course now my life is heading down hill fast and I’m contented with my life because I’ve achieved far more than I could imagine when I was young. If I could talk to my younger self, I would say. You were right to keep believing anything is possible, if you stay strong in your self-belief.

When my marriage broke down, and I was on my own, with a young son, I worked full-time, on low wages, paying off a mortgage, a loan on a car and paying for a childminder. At times it was a real struggle and very worrying about how I was going to manage. As soon as the bank statement dropped through the door, my son knew he had to remain quiet while I checked that all the bills had gone out on time. I wouldn’t be happy until I had ticked everything off and saw what we had left to buy food with for the rest of the month. As long as there was a penny left in the bank, I was happy because I knew we weren’t overdrawn. Just knowing I had made it through another month without being in debt, brought me relief and piece of mind. If I had tuppence left in the bank I was rich and happy. Things could be very tight and there wasn’t any money for luxury goods, or special trips out. If money was really tight one month and there wasn’t enough money for the food I was able to magic up delicious meals out of nothing. With a few tin food from my store cupboard, and herbs and spices.

Okay, so my son might not agree with me. To this day he still hates marrows, but it has given him a wonderful memory. I managed to grow a few vegetables in the garden, mainly, potatoes, onions, beans, tomatoes, and marrows and I would make my own bread. At the end of the month when money was tight I could still put food on the table. This made me happy knowing I could provide healthy meals for my son.

So to find plot ideas and to be happy you need to start small and keep building on them.

I hope you found this post helpful.

Now I’m Seeing Stars

After the one star review for Stone Angels what did I find on Goodreads but this lovely review.
Which only serves to remind us that reading is all down to personal taste. I guess reading is like Marmite, either you love it, or you hate it…
Thank you, Sue for putting a smile on my face.

An A+ now that’s really special.

I always wanted an A+ on my school work, but sadly no matter how hard I worked I only managed to get D’s and C’s. My writing journey has been a long one, but at last I’m seeing results. I’m far from been where I want to be, but I’m heading in the right direction. A one star review won’t put me off trying to improve my writing, no more than the D’s and C’s did when I was at school. I can only make sure my next book is better than the last. Of course, it won’t ever stop the one star reviews because books are like a jar of Marmite, not to everyone’s taste.

A one star review is just one reader’s view.

In Ten Days Time the Clock Starts Ticking

My new book is released on 16th August. Can the past save the future…. Time is ticking down The Phoenix Hour

It’s a literary cross between The Children of Men by P.D. James, and H.G Well’s The Time Machine.

In 2055, humanity is on the brink of extinction after the misuse of an Intellectual Improvement drug.

Doctor Louise Brimstone is facing mounting pressure from Professor Davidson. She must find a way of creating genetically matching babies for the wealthy clientele at Hartley Research Centre of Excellence.

Louise wants to rectify the problem by the use of a time machine hidden in the cellar at the centre, but she is only able to travel back to the year 1900. In the past, Louise soon succumbs to the charms of Sir Charles Aldringham.

Aldringham’s mission to destroy two wealthy families who defrauded him is nearing completion, but first he draws Louise into his depraved blackmailing schemes – leaving her to dispose of the mutilated bodies of young women.

Will Louise discover the means to save the future by harvesting eggs from the past?

Time is ticking, but for whom?

Thank you for your support

Oh them crazy reviews…

The thing I worried most about when I had my first novel published was the reviews I might receive. Being dyslexic and depending on others to proofread my manuscript makes me even more nervous about grammar and punctuation, if overlooked by editors. Being a reader myself, I often read reviews on other author’s books and knew reviewers were fond of highlighting grammatical issues, typos, and punctuation, along with problems they came across with plot, characters, historical facts etc.

I knew friends would be kind in their honesty, as they wouldn’t want to disappoint me after knowing how hard I had been working to fulfil my dream. When I started receiving reviews for Stone Angels from people unknown to me my confidence grew. I was more than amazed to find out how much others enjoyed my first novel. I never expected to receive 5 stars, just honest reviews with some details which would give me an insight to my weaknesses, and maybe highlight some strengths too.

Of course, reading is such a personal thing and everyone’s taste is different. Reviews on Amazon and Goodreads aren’t for us writers and authors, but to let other readers know what the reviewer thought of the book. When I review a book, I like to say what I enjoyed about it. Whether it had a strong plot, engaging characters, whether it held my attention, etc. I don’t believe in giving too much of the plot away to other readers, but to give them an insight to what I enjoyed about it.

Today, I received a review on Stone Angels which took me by surprise. Okay, so I’m fully aware not everyone will enjoy the book. They might not like the characters, my style of writing, etc but to say the story started well, but got bogged down with a plodding script left me both amused and bewildered.

I suppose I should be happy that they were kind enough to leave a review, but I would’ve liked to understood quite what they meant by plodding script and sloppy writing. Mr Reviewer must have been so moved by my sloppy writing that he was driven to write his first review on Amazon. So I’m honour that I’m his first. I was hoping that he was on Goodreads too, so I could personally thank him for his insight into my novel.

I just hope I haven’t put him off reading any more books written by me, but there again, maybe after reading such a plodding script and sloppy writing, he won’t risk it, I’ve decided to be brave, and promote my wonderful one star review.

Do you think it might help my sales?

Be Proud, I say!

Have a great week,

Yours, Paula R C

On the Edge…

Back in March I got in contact with a local magazine called The Edge. It was first established in 1996 and has a readership of about 10k. The magazine is mainly based in the city of Chelmsford, Essex, in England, and covers local news, humour and current affairs along with advertising local businesses. The magazine is available in online via email or in hard copy in and around the city.

I wrote a small article about growing up at Moulsham Mill and sent it in. After exchanging a few emails with the editor about a follow-up I heard no more. After receiving a couple of online copies of the magazine, and not finding my article, yesterday I contacted the editor only to find out it had been published in April. He then sent me a photo of my article and said he would put a copy in the post to me.

After chatting on Whatsapp, he asked about the follow-up article which I sent him. As it was just 500 words it didn’t take long to put together. Though, overall the magazine does call for humorous articles so I don’t think I’m really a suitable writer for The Edge.

I’m just happy to have had one article published in the magazine, and hopefully someone read it and enjoyed learning a bit about the old mill.

Have a great day,

Paula R. C.

Open For Business.

I’ve been busy learning about Facebook Business Suite as a means to promote my work. It’s a way of taking control of my books as I don’t need to cut my prices, or do free to download weekend as a means of finding new readers.

Free download weekends hasn’t brought me much in the way of reviews, or pages turned payments. Here’s a link to an article, Does Kindle Unlimited Pay Per Page Pay the Author Fairly? I found it online which explains how an author can earn payments from Kindle Unlimited subscriptions. Though, the article doesn’t say one way or the other that it is fair on the author. Most of the following comments on the article make it clear that it isn’t at all fair.

I have been hunting around for another way to market my books where I’m more in control. As I’m more or less one step up from self-publishing with my novels, as my publisher doesn’t do any marketing apart from Free Download Weekends. Even then it’s down to the authors to promote about their books being available for free at the weekend. To use any of the many promotional sites you have to pay to give your books away for free or at a discount. Once again, the author is losing money after paying out to promote their work.

With the Facebook or Meta business suite, as it is now called, links your Facebook and Instagram accounts together and allows you to monitor both your accounts and see how many people are viewing your posts. Of course, none of this comes for free, and I have to pay out to market my books, but I can set my limit, and it’s much cheaper than the promotional sites without giving your books away.

At the moment, it’s all still new to me. I’m still finding my way around the site, and trying to understand how all the different parts work. Luckily, my good friend Polly J Mordant kindly helped me out with my first ad for my gothic crime novel Stone Angels

Hopefully, it will attract new readers who are happy to pay for an eBook, or paperback. I shall keep you updated to how this new form of promoting goes. So fingers crossed.

Yours as always,

Paula R C.

Creating Characters: Choosing Names

Choosing names for your characters is a bit like naming a baby. Even though the baby has grown inside of you, and it is of your creation, you know nothing about it. It’s a blank canvas. You can only hope it will take on the best of your traits, but you may discover later on in its life, the only part of you your child possess is the name or names you imparted on them. The baby might be created from your gene pool, even have some similarities to you .i.e. in the colour of its hair, eyes, a certain way of looking, and then there’s that smile which has essence of its grandmother’s or maybe its father’s smile. Our children will grow into whoever they want to be, and be so unlike us in so many ways, we are surprised we actually gave birth to them. I know I found my son is nothing like me.

Unlike giving babies suitable names that they grow into, when giving our characters their names we have a far greater control over what sort of person they will be come. Though don’t be fool by that, like our own children your characters will surprise you by acting out of character. As we write our character’s profile giving them all sorts of interesting traits, hair colour, eyes, etc, and even down to the type of clothes and food they love best, but as the words flow they take on a life of their own, and who knows where they will take our story. They might even rewrite our plot for us.

When I wrote the Mourning Birds as an entry for the BBC Short Story Competition back in 2014, I already knew who my main characters were going to be. Dave and Joan are my neighbours and they were in their early seventies when I wrote the original story. They are a loving couple who make me laugh as their sense of humour is wonderful. Watching them interact with each other over the most simple of things, they bring a smile to my face. During the rewrite of the story I extended the length of the tale and changed the title to The Funeral Birds. Of course, the couple in the book are much younger too and I changed their surname to Cavendish.

Always carry your promotional cards with you.

Cavendish is a village in Suffolk and is famous for its thatched cottages and picturesque green, set against a backdrop of the historic Saint Mary’s Church and the Five Bells free house. It’s a quintessential English Village. When my son was young I used to take him to his father’s for the weekend, and we used to past by the turning for Cavendish, so one day we took a look at the village.

Today while I was in a charity shop, the woman behind the counter was telling her colleague that she was from Cavendish.

“Such an interesting place,” I said, “that I used it as a surname for a character in my book.”

“A character in your book…So you write books. That’s such a difficult thing to do,” the lady from Cavendish said.

I pulled out one of my cards and gave it to her.

“Oh, I can’t believe you just walk around like it’s normal, and you write books. I shall be checking them out,” she said with such a bright smile.

So by choosing the name Cavendish for my character gave me a link to the lady from Cavendish which allowed me to hand her one of my book promotional card within a natural conversation. Hopefully, she will check my books out and enjoy reading them.

So choose your characters names wisely because you never know when it will open a conversation to help promote your work.

Happy writing,

In Martha’s World

I’ve immersed myself into 17th century England while writing about Martha Wenlock’s life and the back story leading up to her death in 1651. In my book, Martha’s father was a wool merchant, and her mother, a feather-headed woman who’s only desire in life is to return to her childhood’s home and continue going to dances. I’m trying to stay focused on getting the first draft down, but little things keep popping up nagging at me as I write. Things like, how many rooms did Martha’s parents have in their house? Would her father have a study, an office, or would it just be a small area off the withdrawing room, where he would keep his business records and conduct his business concerns. If the child Martha stood at the top of the stairs could she see where her parents were in the house.

I like to get things right. When I read a book, especially a historical novel I don’t fact-check the author. Obviously, if something is too modern it’ll jumps out at me. If the book was set in Anglo-Saxon Britain I might notice a detail which might be too modern for the era, but on the whole I will assume the author has done their homework and my job, as a reader, is to read and enjoy the book. As for writing the whole book in the language spoken in the 16th to 17th century the reader would have a problem understanding it. So it’s a case of giving the reader a flavour of the spoken language by using the common words we still use today or allow our characters to explain the words in some way so the reader will understand.

Unlike today things in Martha’s world moved at a slower pace. In Tudor Britain, house building entered a busy phase as wealthy landowners felt safer as the danger of civil war receded. They no longer wished to live in huge, dark, draughty ill-lit castles or fortified manor houses. The rich landowners and business men wanted a show home to entertain others while exhibiting their wealth. Large mansions of brick and stone began to appear all over Britain. These homes were glazed with substantial window areas.

Inside, they featured new spacious rooms like withdrawing rooms, and long galleries on an upper floor that often overlooked the gardens. Walls were often panelled with oak and ceilings covered with decorative plaster-work with intricate designs. Another major feature was a main staircase. No longer a cold, twisting stone affair, but beautifully crafted work of art, with wide wooden steps enclosed in a framework of carved posts and balustrades.

Shibden Hall, Halifax, interior (photograph taken by me in 2019)

By the Elizabethan times, house furniture first began to appear less like an assortment of functional items and more in keeping with the highly decorative homes. It wasn’t until the 14th century in England we had a single moveable chair. We used uncomfortable benches or stalls to sit on for long hours but now these began to be upholstered and chairs had such things as cushions. Sofas and day beds had padded mattresses and quantities of luxurious covers.

By the 1600’s, English towns was still no larger than they were in 1485. In most towns the buildings remained unchanged, with the familiar half-timber, first or second storeys projecting over the ground floor and they still had lattice windows. The streets were still narrow, uncleaned, smelly and cluttered with rubbish, carts, and animals. Most of the people still lived and worked in the countryside as they hadn’t started drifting to the towns yet for a better life.

The roads around England in the 17th century were just the same as they were during the Middle Ages. The letters and diaries written during this time expressed the anger of anyone trying to travel. It was the state of the roads which kept towns and villages isolated and stop the country from developing at a faster pace. A journey of 40 kilometres (25 miles) could take all day and be so uncomfortable as the carriages ran the risk of being submerged in mud, or overturned in ruts so you would have be better of walking.

As I uncover more I will post about it.