Richard Godfray-Hoare's Blog, page 3

Let the naked dreams commence...

So, my second book, If I Had Died Last Summer, has just been released, and for some reason, I am feeling much more anxious than when I released my debut, Echoes of a Boy, last year.

Don't get me wrong; I am happy with the book itself, but for some reason, I am much more nervous about what others may think this time. Perhaps because the overwhelming amount of feedback on Echoes was positive, there is added pressure to live up to expectations. The dreaded second album syndrome!

Now, if you have read my first book or indeed follow my Instagram account, you could be forgiven for thinking I am not exactly the shy and retiring type. The book is candid in all areas, and it is not uncommon for Instagram to feature my underwear or even a naked buttock or two! Don't be fooled; I am a shy boy at heart, honest!

Fortunately, despite obviously being nervous, I do not suffer greatly from stress. Or at least not in a way that physically impacts me. Sleepless nights etc... But what I do suffer from, when I am worried about what people may think about me, are the naked dreams of this blog title. Invariably I will be at work or in the high street, initially confidently strolling around in the buff, until eyes start to fall on me, and I become increasingly conscious that the onlookers may be less than impressed.

Anyway, if you would like to review my literary nudity, there is a link below. Or for full-on, full-frontal nakedness, you'll have to catch me in a dream sometime soon.

http:/ ,/mybook.to/IfIHadDiedLastSummer

My First Magazine Interview

Today I am celebrating a small milestone with the publication of my first magazine interview in the acclaimed Hanborough Herald (certainly acclaimed by me now I am in it!)

I have mentioned in previous blog posts that the marketing of your book once published is far more challenging than the writing process itself. Or at least that has been how I have found my personal self-publication journey. No complaints, though. I am loving every aspect of it.

Social media continues to be my main focus, attempting to grow my profile on Instagram, which remains my platform of choice, although I am dabbling with others. But I also sent out some feelers with local publications to see if anyone was interested in writing an article on a local author and his debut book. The response was underwhelming.

Let me clarify. I am not talking about national publications here. I reached out to the local village magazines and papers, the ones where you can check your bin collections or what time the car boot sale starts. Unfortunately, two did not acknowledge my enquiry at all, and my most local was disappointingly dismissive.

However, as you research the trials and tribulations of writing, whether self-published or traditionally published, you learn rejection is the norm. Nevertheless, you must not be deterred, and on the heels of failure comes success.

Enter the Hanborough Herald, who enthusiastically engaged and put together a two-page spread in their March edition. Thanks so much to them. They will forever be my first. Read below (page 26/27).

https://hanboroughcommunity.co.uk/HHerald/No_445_March_2022.pdf

Cover Reveal!

So, I am not quite there with my second book yet, but I have decided it is time to do the cover reveal. There are two main reasons for this. Firstly, I am finding the marketing elements of self-publishing a bit of a mission, and there is a lot of advice to build some suspense before the release. So, a cover reveal with a 'coming soon' message on social media ticks that box.

Secondly, I haven't actually finished the book, so I am hoping this will inspire me to get it across the line. There isn't much more to do, but the closer I get to the end, the slower time seems to go. One more story to finish, a final edit, and then I will be good to go. Although my marketing strategy (Googling tips) tells me I also need to put it on pre-sale to further build the tension.

With regard to the cover itself, I am pretty pleased with it. It is a picture I took myself in my home town of Burford, Oxfordshire. It is a view through the trees from Swan Lane and overlooks Burford's wonderful church. I have also incorporated the picture into the title story If I Had Died Last Summer, so keep an eye out for that if you decide to read it at some point in the future.

I have mentioned before that I have chosen to create my own covers at this stage, so I can claim to be fully self-sufficient in this whole process. My writing process also seems to find me having a vision for the cover quite early on, hence why I am able to reveal it before the whole book is complete. I am happy with it but always happy to take feedback.

Happy New Year!

So here we are, venturing out into a new year — 2022, no less. COVID is still very much with us but seemingly less virulent in its current Omicron form. But the new year will see what more or fewer restrictions may be required. Selfishly, I am happy to remain working from home if that helps.

2021 was a good year for me. I have mentioned in other scribblings that I have been blessed to have avoided any direct loss through this pandemic, and lockdowns and remote working have benefited my work/life balance. But the most significant achievement was the publication of my debut book, Echoes of a Boy.

I had harboured ambitions to be a writer from a young age, and the book I’ve published was in large part written all those years ago. Lockdown afforded me some spare time to reimagine the piece, and I was very proud and emotional to publish it last August.

The challenge for 2022 is maintaining momentum and getting a second book out there. Something different but sympathetic to the style I discovered while writing Echoes of a Boy. I’m not too far away from completing the first draft, so fingers crossed it will be available soon. Rest assured, you will know when it is.

Happy New Year, everyone, and may we all stay safe, happy and achieving our dreams, however big or small.

The audiobook has landed...

So, my journey through self-publication has taken another step with the launch of the audiobook, and I am very excited to have completed the Echoes of a Boy project with the release of this final format.

I thought long and hard before deciding to put it up for auction on the Amazon ACX platform, as the audio format requires some financial investment rather than just the time commitment to publish through KDP.

So very pleased I did, though, and I had such a great result finding Scott Fleming to narrate it for me. He has done such a fantastic job and has helped guide me through the process. I did consider doing it myself, but it didn't take much googling to convince me this was not a good idea.

I am delighted with the end result, although I am sure, like the book, it won't be perfect. But you now have the choice of Kindle, Paperback, Hardback or Audiobook. All available on either Amazon, Audible or iTunes, and I am more than happy to take feedback through reviews. I am working away on book number two, and if I can learn something from feedback to make that a better product, I am all up for that.

Thanks so much again to Scott Fleming - https://www.spotlight.com/2219-7839-1381

Oh, the shame of it!

So I guess I was in the honeymoon period of five-star reviews from friends and family (although a few strangers too!) when a three-star rating popped up. Okay, no big deal, I can cope with that. It’s not going to be to everyone’s taste after all.

And then… the next rating posted was only one-star! Oh, the misery!

I had already read a few articles about not taking reviews to heart. Many of the best authors have also received poor reviews, but it's easier said than done. Some reports even suggest there are malicious forces at work, sabotaging you for rejecting their spam approaches on social media to help promote your work, for money, of course (another blog post in waiting).

The contributor did not leave a review, only a rating, so I cannot learn from their disappointment. Licking my wounds, but undeterred, I shall soldier on. And can I appeal to all that if a book, or film, or whatever initially appeals to you, then give it a try and form your own opinion. And, impressed or not, leave a review alongside your rating so the creator can at least have the choice to heed or ignore your opinion.

Finally, self-praise is no recommendation, but I still have a 4.5/5 average. So why not give mine a try for free on Kindle Unlimited and hopefully, you’ll enjoy it and can recover my wounded heart with faint praise.

Where do you get the inspiration for your stories?

I have recently been watching back over some old Stephen King interviews (he features several times as a reference point in my life and writing). I noticed that on repeated occasions when he is asked this question, his reply is usually along the lines of '...I don't know, and if I did, I wouldn't tell you...'

Not so for me. To date, I am pretty clear where my ideas have come from. They are simply drawn from my own experiences. Sure, they are embellished and elaborated, sometimes beyond recognition, but they are all rooted in a specific fact. I like to set scenes in locations I have visited. It makes it easier to include some accurate detail. Other times, the link may be so loose as writing a time-travelling story because I have such strong memories of watching Back to the Future as a teenager.

With regard to how I then develop these ideas, my mind is always racing. Even while I am writing, I am paragraphs, even chapters ahead of myself. Little thoughts pop into my head, and I capture them as notes in my Word document. The page ahead of whichever chapter I am writing always has bullet points of things I need to remember to include or go back and correct.

And yet, although everything originated in fact, with an anchor I can invariably recall, the end result is pure fiction (the Echoes of a Boy biographical parts aside). The names are people I have known, personalities and traits jumbled, of course. But everything has happened in one form or another. I have no magic formula.

How have you already got a book cover before you’ve written the book?

Another good question from somebody which I will attempt to explain in a few short paragraphs.

I am not ashamed to say I am a self-published author and when setting out on this path, I decided I would fully embrace the whole process. Admittedly this decision was primarily driven by a reluctance to spend too much money when I lacked confidence that any of this investment would be recuperated upon publication.

Against best advice, I self-edited with only the assistance of a few friends and the wonder of Grammarly. I did reach out for a professional quote, but the fee was almost £1,000 - that’s 600 copies I’d have to sell right there! I decided against it, and I will accept the consequences. ”…raw talent…” one review says. I’ll take that.

And I took the same decision when it came to designing a cover. KDP Cover Creator is a great little tool, and I love to take a picture or two, so I confidently decided to give it a go. I am delighted with the cover of Echoes, and I had settled upon it before the book was complete.

You will also see that I have covers for my following two projects, hence the question at the beginning of this post. This is my process:

I have the whole story in my head, and I toy with titles. Once the title is settled upon and I know the mood of the piece I am trying to write, I almost immediately imagine the imagery for the cover. It evolves, of course, but I put the effort in early because I find having a finished cover excellent motivation to finish the writing process. I am an impatient guy, and I am driven to get to the end so I can share.

Probably another reason I self-published. Who wants to wait for agents and publishers? Review, reject, repeat… how dull!

Why do I identify as a gay author?

I recently set up my author website, and as part of that process, I decided to label myself as a gay author. I didn't really give it much thought, I am gay, and I have written a book, gay author seemed an accurate description, but I have been asked recently why I felt the need to draw attention to it, so I have been giving that some thought.

I came out late in life, in my mid-thirties, and was previously married with a family, so it was quite a big deal for me emotionally. In fact, the whole process was pretty easy, and I was fully supported by family and friends throughout. I am not some tortured soul that is driven to fly the flag for gay rights per se. However, I am all too aware not everyone's coming out journey has been as simple. In some cases, in some countries, actually impossible, at the penalty of death.

There has, without a doubt, been progress through the years, although I have a mild concern some equalities seem to be stepping backwards in the current world climate. And it is wonderful that the younger generation does not feel the same need to congregate in gay bars, like the secret society of yesteryear, but I am an old fashioned soul. I personally love a gay bar, a gay holiday, surrounded by my rainbow friends.

I also don't particularly write gay stories. They are just stories. Some have gay characters in, some do not, and I think this will continue. My debut, Echoes of a Boy, is a mixture of fiction and biography, so it touches on this area of my life, but I do not feel it is specifically a gay interest book. I am conscious my self-labelling may turn some potential readers away, but I am okay with that.

In summary, I think what I am trying to say is although being gay does not define me, it is an important part of my story. And it is arguably even more important for others in less fortunate circumstances. So I will keep my label, and if that in and of itself brings my work to someone's attention, and in turn that in any way helps them on their own journey, I will be a happy man. Positively gay, in fact!