Mark Wilson's Blog, page 16

Amazon. Field leveller or overlord?

Amazon kindle select has been a useful tool for me in my first few months in the indie-publishing world. But has now run it’s course in being helpful and turned the corner to become a hindrance.

For those who don’t know what select is, essentially it’s a 90 day programme that authors sign their books up for. We make our ebooks exclusive to Amazon and their lending service for Premium Amazon members. This means we cannot sell our ebook through any other outlet, including on our own websites.

In return we get 5 days of 90 in which we can offer the book as a free promo. This is really useful for getting the book linked to other books in the genre, getting on sales charts, and therefore more visibility, and getting readers who will hopefully review the book or try another title from the same author.

The usefulness of this free promo has recently been hobbled somewhat but as I don’t do algorithms and stuff you can find out how so elsewhere.

I’ve found the select programme useful up until now but things have happened that are making me remove my books from the programme.

I want to distribute my novel Bobby’s Boy elsewhere. Smashwords, apple, Barnes & noble etc. amazon will not let me do this while in select. I could live with that in the short-term, say 12 months or so, but Amazon have shifted the goalposts twice over in recent weeks.

Firstly they’ve prohibited soliciting readers for any other. Yep, we’re not allowed any promo anywhere on Amazon for our books or we get told to remove it or they’ll remove us. The books that make Amazon themselves money? Not helpful.

Secondly I get email after email from the masters telling me to make sure the content in my book belongs to me or they’ll pull it from sale. Essentially, because I promo excerpts from my books on my own blogsite and others (remember I can’t promo on Amazon) their net scanners/snoopers email me accusing me of putting stuff from the net in my book. “no it’s the other way round you clods”. Still I have to notify them of every site I post excerpts on to prove the book’s authenticity.

Whilst I greatly appreciate the forum and outlet that amazon gives authors I hate being monitored in this way.

Thirdly, reviews from professional reviewing websites are now being prohibited on Amazon. Friends and family in unlimited numbers can post as many reviews as they like, but genuinely impartial reviewers are being blocked as they are “professionals”.

Lastly: I recently secured a deal to distribute my novel in every library in North Lanarkshire. A deal like this is huge for an indie-author but contravenes the Kindle Select agreement even though the books will be distributed for free by the library.

I want as many people as possible to read my books and a free outlet by the libraries is ideal.

So bye kindle select.

Filed under: book review, books, literature, media, popular culture, Reviews, writing Tagged: amazon, indie publishers, KDP, kindle select

Telling' Stories and Confessions

I read a book a few years back called "California Schemin'" by a Scottish guy called Gavin Bain. It was a hugely entertainingstory of a young rapper and his mate who conned the music industry, gaining a record deal and big advance in the process. It was also a true story.

Gavin's new band "Hopeless Heroic" were mentioned fleetingly at the need of the book so I decided to give them a wee try. They were awesome. I posted a comment on the FB page saying so and Gavin replied. We realised we had many interests incommon and have been friends since. However the first time I met the guy, I started telling him all my past and secrets for seemingly no reason. Bless him, Gav sat there with a knowing smile on his bearded wee face, nodding along and offering his own insights. I was far from the first person to do this I suspect.

Since I wrote Paddy's Daddy each new person I've met or old friend I've re-encountered after a few years has done exactly the same thing with me. I've been given others'  history, problems, worries, background and confidence. People have shared their own experience with depression either first-hand or of a partner. Sometimes I get stories shared with me that haven't been told to anyone more close to the individual in the person's life .

I do the same thing Gav did . I sit and nod. I feel for them, and am verygrateful that they'vefelt that they can trust me with their innermost thoughts.

I think we do this with people who've biographies we've read, subconsciously to even the score. I think we feel that we have the other person at a disadvantage because we know so much about their feelings, life and emotions, and we want to give them something of ourselves in return. I also think that there's something easy about confiding in someone who's been so open in their own life.

I hate my book Paddy's Daddy. I tell everyone that. It was difficult to write and I'll write some more of that story some day, but for now I never look at it. I don't understand why it seems to help people to read it, but I'm very grateful for every reader and friend who share their stories with me in response. Subconsciously or not.

Paddy's Daddy is available now on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Paddys-Daddy-...

Gavin's book has been retitled "Straight  outta' Scotland and is available on amazon:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Straight-Outt...

That Difficult First Novel?

Uh....Not really..No

It’s been an interesting process, writing my first book, but a fantastic one as well. I began writing as a way of emptying my cluttered brain. Bobby's Boy began life as a short story titled “The Rusted Key” in October 2011. The story was based around a simple concept, inspired by a graphic novel called “Stray Bullets by David Lapham (I won’t divulge the concept here as it would act as a spoiler for anyone who hasn’t read the book).

The short story grew so I started calling it a Novella and kept writing. The Novella began to gain momentum and slowly became my first novel. I made little progress over the next few months, finding myself short of time, and even shorter of discipline. Then January came.

January 2012 was a turnaround month for the novel. I decided at the start of the month, under the advice of my best friend and Jack White (via an interview he did on keeping creativity flowing), to dedicate at least an hour every day to writing the novel. At the end of Janaury I renamed the book “Bobby’s Boy” as the previous name just didn’t work anymore.

1000 words a day was my target. According to Mr White, you’ve got to work your creative muscles like any other and use them every day. To an ex-gym addict it struck the right note.

Some days it’ll be shite that you write (like that wee bit of poetry I slipped in there), others you’ll produce work that’ll make you wonder where the hell it came from when you re-read. I take the rough with the smooth. The important thing is to keep the story moving continuously and to not “wait for the rays of the sun to shine on your keyboard, ‘cos you’ll rust your ideas”.

Some-days I managed more words than I’d targeted, a lot more, but I never fell below at least 1000 words a day. My new “working ethos” helped me jump from 22.500 words on January 7th, to 75000 words in the completed novel on February 14th. I’m not saying that these words were all brilliant, some most definitely were not, but they did moving the story on, and were re-written on another day. Not bad for having a full-time job teaching high school kids and my three year old son (my top priority) to keep me busy also.

Invariably I would sit each session with a destination in mind for where the story would go, but no idea what words would come to get my main character where he was going. It was fun to discover the story as it came onto the page.

The discipline worked and the ideas and words just keep flowing. I truly didn’t have the time to make use of all the ideas my brain was bringing to the surface. Some were utter bollocks, some were quite good. I note everything down, every idea and quirk of thought in the hope of finding a few hours sometime to explore them.

For me, books, movies and music have always been connected. The themes, emotions and character development that make or break a good story hold true for all three media. I've been a bit exasperated recently at the endless flow of vampires/detectives/spies/franchises, written to formula music, film and books. I miss good stories that develop characters over the course of one novel, making you care for, hate or love them in the process.

Ordinary people dealing with extraordinary situations have always been the best stories for me, the most engaging whether in film, music or print; the best way to expose people's humour, goodness, evil, courage, fear and basic humanity. Books like To kill a mockingbird, and characters like Boo Radley I try to populate my books with people of this sort.

There a saying in the music industry that should relate to the literary world also. " work hard enou and become your own favourite band." I'm a distance behind my favourite authors, but theirs is the standard I'm reaching for.

I’ve re-visited some really dark experiences during the writing of this novel and in the construction of my characters and story. Some of these I’d forgotten about for decades. Other memories have resurfaced that I’ve enjoyed remembering for the first time in many years. I had fantastic fun writing my first novel, and resent deeply the gap I have to enforce to market and Promo the book. I just want to start my next project, but books don’t get themselves noticed.

I've very much enjoyed putting Tom (my main character) out into the world to be interacted with or ignored, what-ever the fates may bring. I’ll be sad to leave him and will miss writing about this cool, lucky, happy, tragic and a little damaged wee guy every day. Still, onto the next one, with gusto.



My next book is part one of a trilogy titled "Nae'body's Hero" and is a tale of heroism from three unlikely characters. A Scottish laddie with a gift, an American lady-agent, tasked with hunting terrorists and a British-born Pakistani lad who joins Al-Queda.

Nae'body's Hero:Conflux will be released in December 2012.



Bobby's Boy is available on amazon kindle and as a paperback.

You can find me at: www.markwilsonbooks.com

On Twitter: @markwilsonbooks

And on Facebook: www.facebook.com/Bobbysboy

Positive Scots

Scots, for me, have become the whipping boys of the literature and film-making worlds in their seeming determination to present us with unintelligent, violent, and predictably inaccurate stereotypes of the people of my nation.

The British, generally, suffer in this regard but whilst the English stereotype in Hollywood is the evergreen, upper-class accented, moustache-twirling villain and/or cheeky chappy cockney, rarely is an English character presented as we would find the ordinary hard-working men and women of the midlands and Northern England for example, or the Welsh.

Only the Irish seem to have lucked into a more light hearted, twinkly-eyed, everyone’s best drinking buddy type of stereotype. Still hugely misrepresentative of their people though (mostly).

Whilst most Brits are represented in a ridiculous way, I do feel that Scots suffer most of all from the public perception which the media seems determined to portray us as. Almost invariably whenever Scots appear in books, TV or films they are presented as violent, usually drunk, often drug addicts, and incoherently stupid. It appears that the media’s view of Scots is of a nation perpetually in the pub/football stadium/ high/drunk/aggressive/loud, unintelligible and most of all, thick.

Very few forms of entertainment present us with a positive Scots’ role model, and the worst offenders are produced here in Scotland.

While we do have Inspector Rebus played brilliantly by Ken Stott, Amy Pond, great character, James Bond, an intelligent and proactive super-spy, Jack Parlabane, funny, human and clever (Brookmyre), we’re also victim to the “We’re just one of you” brigade of Scottish TV and actors like Elaine C Smith, with her Morningside accent for the interviews, and her Clyde side “Mary-Doll” for the plebs.

Even the brilliant Peter Mullen’s NEDS, focuses on this thug minority, albeit in an insightful and skilled manner.

I find it difficult to believe also that Hollywood can’t cast a Scottish actor in main roles when tackling very Scottish projects. Instead we get an Australian William Wallace, an Irish Rob Roy, never once a Scottish “Scotty” in Star Trek, a French Christophe Lambert Playing a Scottish Immortal in Highlander beside a Scottish Sean Connery playing a Spaniard.

Are Scots really so untalented that we can’t be used to represent our own nation. Pixar’s “Brave” appears to have taken a huge step in the right direction in this regard with it’s genuinely all-Scottish, very talented cast.

Its very difficult to pinpoint a good, honest portrayal of a Scotsman these days who isn’t a junky, a wee NED, talks through his/her nose or has anything positive or intelligent, or human to say. A character who reflects the ordinary people of his/her country would be a start.

The people of Scotland that I know are warm, good people. They’re clever (even the uneducated ones folks), they’re vital, funny as hell, resilient, hardy, and rough sometimes yes, but among the most decent people worldwide.

Let’s see some of that on the screen or in books. Lets see some truly gutsy, interesting Scottish characters in our media and ditch the Shortbread tin or smackhead/NED image we’re tarred with. Characters like Jack and Victor and all their entourage in Still Game who revel Scotland’s heart in their genuine characterisation of its people.

People like our handicapped superstar golfer in John Niven’s wonderful “The Amateurs”. Some real characters with real and current difficulties and victories like the ones that John Mackenzie gave us throughout his career, but most especially in “Just another Saturday”.

People who learn, make mistakes, change, care, and laugh and cry throughout their lives.

Proper story telling. Proper characterisation.

This is exactly what I need to see more of and why I populate my books with such characters. Flawed, funny, wilful, interesting. Just like peoples of all countries contain. People with something to say, with a story to tell, imperfect people with the capacity for goodness and badness. People with heart..

Ken loach can stick his “Angel’s Share” and its cheeky chappy, criminal wee NEDS-come-good up his arse. Social commentary for unemployed and disenfranchised youth? Maybe but representative of the majority of Scotland youth or its people generally.Absoultely not.

Filed under: life, literature, media, music, popular culture, television, writing Tagged: Books, film, positive Scottish role models, Stereotypes

Positive Scots

Scots, for me, have become the whipping boys of the literature and film-making worlds in their seeming determination to present us with unintelligent, violent, and predictably inaccurate stereotypes of the people of my nation.

The British, generally, suffer in this regard but whilst the English stereotype in Hollywood is the evergreen, upper-class accented, moustache-twirling villain and/or cheeky chappy cockney, rarely is an English character presented as we would find the ordinary hard-working men and women of the midlands and Northern England for example, or the Welsh.
Only the Irish seem to have lucked into a more light hearted, twinkly-eyed, everyone’s best drinking buddy type of stereotype. Still hugely misrepresentative of their people though (mostly).

Whilst most Brits are represented in a ridiculous way, I do feel that Scots suffer most of all from the public perception which the media seems determined to portray us as. Almost invariably whenever Scots appear in books, TV or films they are presented as violent, usually drunk, often drug addicts, and incoherently stupid. It appears that the media’s view of Scots is of a nation perpetually in the pub/football stadium/ high/drunk/aggressive/loud, unintelligible and most of all, thick.

Very few forms of entertainment present us with a positive Scots’ role model, and the worst offenders are produced here in Scotland.

While we do have Inspector Rebus played brilliantly by Ken Stott, Amy Pond, great character, James Bond, an intelligent and proactive super-spy, Jack Parlabane, funny, human and clever (Brookmyre), we’re also victim to the “We’re just one of you” brigade of Scottish TV and actors like Elaine C Smith, with her Morningside accent for the interviews, and her Clyde side “Mary-Doll” for the plebs.
Even the brilliant Peter Mullen’s NEDS, focuses on this thug minority, albeit in an insightful and skilled manner.

I find it difficult to believe also that Hollywood can’t cast a Scottish actor in main roles when tackling very Scottish projects. Instead we get an Australian William Wallace, an Irish Rob Roy, never once a Scottish “Scotty” in Star Trek, a French Christophe Lambert Playing a Scottish Immortal in Highlander beside a Scottish Sean Connery playing a Spaniard.
Are Scots really so untalented that we can’t be used to represent our own nation. Pixar’s “Brave” appears to have taken a huge step in the right direction in this regard with it’s genuinely all-Scottish, very talented cast.

Its very difficult to pinpoint a good, honest portrayal of a Scotsman these days who isn’t a junky, a wee NED, talks through his/her nose or has anything positive or intelligent, or human to say. A character who reflects the ordinary people of his/her country would be a start.
The people of Scotland that I know are warm, good people. They’re clever (even the uneducated ones folks), they’re vital, funny as hell, resilient, hardy, and rough sometimes yes, but among the most decent people worldwide.

Let’s see some of that on the screen or in books. Lets see some truly gutsy, interesting Scottish characters in our media and ditch the Shortbread tin or smackhead/NED image we’re tarred with. Characters like Jack and Victor and all their entourage in Still Game who revel Scotland’s heart in their genuine characterisation of its people.
People like our handicapped superstar golfer in John Niven’s wonderful “The Amateurs”. Some real characters with real and current difficulties and victories like the ones that John Mackenzie gave us throughout his career, but most especially in “Just another Saturday”.
People who learn, make mistakes, change, care, and laugh and cry throughout their lives.
Proper story telling. Proper characterisation.

This is exactly what I need to see more of and why I populate my books with such characters. Flawed, funny, wilful, interesting. Just like peoples of all countries contain. People with something to say, with a story to tell, imperfect people with the capacity for goodness and badness. People with heart..

Ken loach can stick his “Angel’s Share” and its cheeky chappy, criminal wee NEDS-come-good up his arse. Social commentary for unemployed and disenfranchised youth? Maybe but representative of the majority of Scotland youth or its people generally.Absoultely not.

Praise and Bruised Esteem

As a writer, it can be a strange old experience receiving feedback, comments or reviews on books you have written. Personally I always welcome feedback from people who have enjoyed my books. I’m also very grateful for readers who tell me about parts that left them unsatisfied or frustrated (my beta readers are great at this).

I’ve been fortunate to have been sent many good reviews and emails about sections of both books which people have identified with and kindly taken the time to tell me about their thoughts. Paddy's Daddy (a book I hated writing) in particular seems to encourage people who have had similar experiences to share them with me.

One problem. Every single positive comment makes me squirm inside. They physically hurt and serve to remind me how badly damaged I still am inside (despite my confident exterior and tremendous progress in staying on top of depression) because of childhood abuse and neglect.

In the past I would brush people’s kindness off with comments like “Na, It’s rubbish” when getting praised. I was trying to deflect the praise. What I meant was “I’m rubbish”. What they heard was “You’re a fool for liking it” or “I don’t appreciate what you’re saying”. I never do this anymore.

Now I bury and ignore the voice that tells me that I’m worthless and that everything I produce is crap, and simply say thank you, then offer them some insight into the section they liked in return and try to repay the compliment genuinely in some way. I’m new to it, this simple human exchange, but I’m learning. A small part of me is beginning to accept praise just a little and it’s a pretty good feeling.

Just a thought for today.

Paddy's Daddy

Book Competition – Free Paperback of Bobby’s Boy

To celebrate the release of Bobby’s Boy as a Paperback and thank everyone for their support, I’m giving away 5 signed copies. To enter visit the Facebook page and click like. Everyone who likes the FB page is entered in the draw. I’ll pick the 5 winners on Saturday 16th June and post their free copies to them. A handful of people who have helped me along the way will also recive a free copy each. I’ll contact everyone soon for addresses.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bobbys-Boy-Mr-Mark-Wilson/dp/1477532781/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1338829846&sr=1-1

http://www.facebook.com/BobbysBoy

Filed under: books, life, literature, media, popular culture, Uncategorized, writing Tagged: Bobby's Boy, Books, competition, debut novel, free paperback, indie author, Mark Wilson

The Raised by Allen Renfro – Review

The Raised by Allen Renfro is one hell of a book. I really struggled with it at first. I struggled to figure out: Who was narrating? Where and when was it set? What was all the tension? Why did I feel so damn itchy and uncomfortable when I read it?

I picked the book up, read for a bit, put it down in…..frustration I suppose. There were so many questions presented in the first few pages. So many threads. Then Renfro started weaving a truly fantastic tale from the seemingly random elements. Essentially, Allen makes a clean and flawless tapestry of a novel from those scraggy threads.

I suppose that with the last few busy years of being a new father spent squeezing in and reading unchallenging escapist type novels I’d grown used to formulaic, easy to read, spoon fed, unimaginative and derivative stories. Allen Renfro’s novel is none of these things. Allen unfolds a wonderfully textured story with all the skill and confidence of a seasoned novelist in the mould of Anne Rice. It seems effortless to the man.

In The Raised we are introduced to one of the most truly fucked-up families in fiction who lie, manipulate, murder and abuse each other throughout the book.  The story is told over years and through the viewpoint of several central characters, each impressing their own reactions to and interpretation of shared events. Depsite viewing this converging story from different characters’ POV and from different points in time, the story is never repetitive. Quite a feat when using this sort of mechanism.

Allen is a word-artist. He paints vivid and beautiful scenes with letters splashed on the page with seeming ease, but also with intent and precision. Whilst he describes scenes, settings, rooms and people with great accuracy and feeling, he never labours the point. Some writers have you skipping long monologues when trying to be descriptive. Renfro has such skill (the bastard) that he simply transports you right there to stand shoulder to shoulder with his protagonists.

The real strength that Allen Renfro possesses is in his understanding of and empathy with people and in his ability to convey these complex emotions to the reader. He deals with many complex relationships between his characters with ease, gradually making us hate/love/fear/pity these very real-feeling people. Allen has immense insight into the inner workings of what makes himans tick and an understanding of peoples’ emotions that only someone who had suffered, loved, or lost in some way would be able to identify and concey in the manner he does. In an age of two-dimensional characters littered throughout the literary, and movie media, Allen gives us properly human characters. Ones with many conflicting sides to them, who aren’t perfect, pouting demigods but truly flawed.

This type of book is really not in my usual genre, but on this occaission I was deeply relieved to take the detour and discover that an obviously lovely man is also such a gifted writer.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Raised-ebook/dp/B005SJSXYI/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1338569714&sr=1-1

http://www.amazon.com/The-Raised-ebook/dp/B005SJSXYI/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1338569769&sr=1-1

Filed under: book review, books, life, literature, media, popular culture, Reviews, writing Tagged: Allen Renfro, Bobby's Boy, Books, debut novel, ebook, ebook promo, Mark Wilson, Paddy's Daddy, The Raised review

Paddy’s Daddy now available as a paperback

Paddy’s Daddy, my non-fiction collection of short stories, describing my recover from 25 years of depression is now available as a paperback in the UK and in the US.

 

here’s what the readers have to say:

What the readers say:

“tears, laughter & sadness….Emotional rollercoaster of short stories….brilliant brilliant brilliant” – Liz

“Mark Wilson tugs on the heart strings in his book Paddy’s Daddy. Taking you on an emotional journey from beginning to end you WILL laugh you WILL cry. A heartfelt autobiographical novel on living in Scotland in the 21st century everyone should read this ” – Frank

“This writer had me in tears reading what I can only describe as an open page to his heart. He writes with passion and honesty, what a gift this man has. He rips memories from deep within and bares them for all to see.” Excellent -Kim

“Thought-provoking, heartbreaking & inspirational, Paddy’s Daddy tells us that unfortunately, not all children have the childhood they deserve. Mark Wilson has proven that with hard work & determination, the destructive cycle can be broken.” – Trish

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Paddys-Daddy-Determination-Mark-Wilson/dp/1475106114/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1338145254&sr=1-1

Filed under: book review, literature, media, popular culture, Reviews Tagged: Books, ebook promo, indie author, Mark Wilson, Paddy's Daddy

Parallel-The Awakening by Paul A Rice Book Review

This is not a book that I’d normally pick up, being in the genre that it is, but the author seemed a good bloke on twitter so I gave it a bash.

Within 2 chapters, I hated the book. I was confused as to what was happening and felt no real interest in the subject matter, but as I said, I’m in unfamiliar country with this genre and  something kept me reading, (namely the fact that this guy can write)  and boy I’m glad that I did.

Paul Rice brings humour, action, heart, pace and honest to God excitement to the reader with this novel. Paul describes scenes with no nonsense, succinct sentences, giving exactly what you need to paint an image of the scene, setting or character in your mind, and not a lick more.

Paul makes the two main characters in this book, Mike and Ken (never thought I’d read a story with an awesome hero called Kenneth in it, don’t they usually collect stamps or something those Kenneth-types?), real and vulnerable and the confusion they share about their predicament helped push me onwards.

The most visible villain of the piece, Red, is one nasty good ol’ boy, who’d be just at home in the gator-filled swamps of wherever, picking his teeth with the rib of an unidentified animal while gloating about what deep shit you were in. Loved this character. the fight scene with Red and Ken was fantastic and reminded me of the great sort of description you’d find in a Try Denning light sabre duel scene.

My only real beef with this book is that I wanted to know more about the characters, as not much of a backstory was supplied. Having said that, doing so may have affected the perfect pace of the book adversely. I’ll look forward, hopefully to meeting these guys again in later books and finding out a bit more about them.

The ending of the book (which I won’t spoil) was perfect, and as anyone who has read my own book will know is right up my street. Paul executes what could be a let down of an ending masterfully, and the tone is just perfect.

In lesser hands a book of this type in this genre would have lost me very quickly, not so with Paul Rice’s wonderfully book.  Sneaks up and grabs you by the gentleman regions.

Parallel – The Awakening: 2011 Edition