Andrew Toynbee's Blog, page 15
May 10, 2013
You are not a failure if you cannot live off your books.
Reblogged from Crissi Langwell:
"If you've FINISHED writing a novel you are amongst the elite!!! You ARE NOT A FAILURE IF YOU CANNOT LIVE OFF YOUR BOOKS. You only fail by NOT TRYING." - Nadia Cornier
I needed to read that quote today.
If you're a struggling author of your own book, I bet you needed to read that quote too.
Thing is, writing a book is an amazing feat in and of itself.
This is so true. Even though it's still early days, the idea that I may be able to retire sometime soon is still a distant dream. But it doesn't mean that I've failed...
May 8, 2013
Earl Grey hot
Reblogged from Adventures and Musings of a Hedgewitch:
Sorry everyone - I just HAD to share this!!!!
May 6, 2013
Mingling with the rich and famous
I happened across a link to webstatsdomain.com whilst Googling – and found my name and blog listed on the same page as a couple of rather well-known authors. 
Oh, the dizzy heights of fame…the glare of the spotlights…the disorientation of waking from a dream. 
Oh, and my blog has risen in value from $195 (see previous post ‘I’ve been judged…’) to $689.
This time next year I might be worth a thousand…
Bell curves
Reblogged from Adventures and Musings of a Hedgewitch:
I just had to reblog this - I ROFL'd and LMAO'd until I WMP'd.
(Wet My...no, you don't need to know that one)
May 5, 2013
Writing is not for the impatient
It’s now just over six months since I self-published my first novel, ‘A Construct of Angels’ and I have learned many a lesson in just that short time – and I know that I still have much to learn before I finally end up in a long wooden box.
The first lesson, as the title suggests, is to have patience.
L-o-t-s of p-a-t-i-e-n-c-e.
Writing is a long, slow process – even if you have just emerged, breathless, from a month-long NaNo sprint. Not only must you have patience in yourself in order to create that precious first draft, but you will have to watch and wait as your query letters flow first out, then back in as (hopefully) requests for the full MS or (more likely) rejection slips. There are many agents and publishers out there and the water must be tested with each one before moving onto the next. If you’re a nail-biter who doesn’t like to wait, then this will be a nervous time for you. Even if you choose to self-publish, then all the fun of formatting your book lies ahead. And boy, does that take some patience!
The second lesson is to keep, keep, keep plugging away at spreading the word. Unless your sole ambition is simply to see your poem / artwork / novel listed on-line and you have no further desire to engage with it, you owe your magnum opus (or opus minus if you are less confident in its greatness) some degree of dedication towards seeing it flourish even briefly within the publishing world. As much as you’d love to imagine the scenario, there will not be a stampede of global proportions for your newly-published works. Yes, there could be an initial (and quite encouraging) surge as your friends, followers and family click ‘purchase’, but that interest is finite and unless you are very lucky, your eBook could languish in the doldrums for some time, only picking up the odd sale here and there.
Patience, my friend…spread the word as thoroughly as you are able via word of mouth and your (essential) author platform. If you tell everyone that you meet about your book, then you can rest a little easier knowing that you are doing everything possible to encourage sales. Last week, for example, I managed to generate some interest amongst the Polish community in North West England – something that seemed counter-intuitive at the time – because reading English-language books helps to improve their written English skills.
The third is to absorb every piece of advice from other authors, editors and publishers that you can. You don’t have to use it all as not everything will be relevant to your situation, but take note anyway. You never know when your self-published book might get picked up by a publisher and you suddenly need to know about contracts, or you may suddenly decide to begin giving away swag and have to find a printer or jewellery / fridge magnet maker in a hurry. There are always new skills to learn and the number of published authors is ever-increasing…as is the wealth of experience out there. Many of us have made mistakes, spent money unnecessarily or gone with the wrong publisher. Some are happy to relate their experiences and we owe it to them to pay attention and do things better. But all these lessons cannot be learned in a single day – and they do not arrive on our doormat in a brown-paper-and-string parcel. This is where our author platform becomes an essential tool, connecting us to our peers and more experienced colleagues.
Your book might be listed on Amazon / Kobo / Smashwords / Scribd (delete as appropriate) but at this stage the process is far from over. As my driving instructor told me on the day I passed my test; ‘Now you can really begin to learn how to drive.’
And so it is with publishing. Many lessons lie ahead – but so do many adventures.
May 3, 2013
Instantaneous feedback – and some embarrassing praise.
This week, several events coincided and left me walking on air…
I was assigned, as part of my day job, to the sparkling town of Blackpool (you know, the Northern English town with its own version of the Eiffel Tower)
During my time at the sweet (candy) factory there, I found the largely Polish workforce to be very receptive to my book and I’ve already seen some sales from the bookmark handout, the concept of which I covered in several previous posts.
That might be the end of the sales run, but I’d like to think that the Polish community might pass the word around. After all, one of my minor characters DOES have a Polish Grandmother…
I also found a fan in a colleague who not only bought my eBook whilst we were working together, but took an active part in promoting it on my behalf, reinforcing my bookmark spiel with his own enthusiastic endorsements.
Thank you Peter!
His sister, Penny, has also bought a copy (on Peter’s recommendation) and she is peparing to read it as I write this. When he told Penny that he was sitting next to the author, she became curious as to my personality and asked him all about me – something that brought a warm glow to my insides.
Peter read through several chapters of ‘A Construct of Angels’ each evening, allowing us to discuss the events and characters as we worked through the next day, although I had to be very, very careful not to utter any spoilers. As he talked about the book, his obvious enthusiasm for my writing left me with a peculiar feeling of conflict; I was happy that he was enjoying the book and took some pride from the fact that I’d created something that had affected him in such a positive way.
And yet, I couldn’t help but feel slightly embarrassed when he offered praise. It’s a wonderful thing to receive and I ought to soak it up like a sponge as it’s a rare beast. However, being somewhat reclusive in nature I don’t feel at all comfortable when it comes my way - I really don’t know what to do with myself.
So, Peter, if I appeared to squirm and look mildly uncomfortable as you enthused, you were doing nothing wrong. It’s not you…it’s me.
And yes, please feel free to nag me regarding the sequel, ‘ A Vengeance of Angels’, which has fallen behind schedule due to other committments. I WILL endeavour to get it finished. Plus, you’re now on my beta readers list for when it’s completed.
McCaw #1:nag nag nag
McCaw#2: All right, all right, I’ll finish the book – I promise!
One other event that cause me to stare and utter the immortal phrase ‘No Way…’ was an abrupt and completely unexpected spike in the number of followers of my author page on Facebook. In the space of twenty-four hours, the followers rose from a rather sad 11 likes to a staggering (relatively speaking) 256 likes.
:O
There are two possible explanations for this unprecedented event: I’ve been part of two promotions this week. One was Cassandra Giovanni’s cover reveal - a reblog on my previous post (as well as being echoed on Facebook and Twitter) – and the other was ‘The Mega Giveaway’ on the ‘For the Love of Fiction’ Facebook page.
If you haven’t already seen this, please take a moment to check it out. Although if you are reading this on a re-run (i.e. after June ’13), the Giveaway may have ended. Still, you could always drop in and have a peek at my author page whilst you’re there.
All the events of this week illustrate the power of communicating effectively, whether it’s by word of mouth or by using the Interweb.
Stop Press; I’ve been told that it was ‘The Big Giveaway’ that boosted my author page. One of the requirements of entry via Rafflecopter is to ‘like’ the author’s page. That boost to 256 indicates a good response to the giveaway…
Write On!
April 30, 2013
Cassandra Giovanni's Just One Cup Cover Reveal
Reblogged from Candace Knoebel:
Hello once again, Readers!!! Today I stray away from a normal post to bestow you with a lovely gift. Okay, so maybe this doesn't come as a surprise considering the title pretty much gives it away, but hey, what can a girl do!? I'm trying to drum up some excitement here.
Hey you! Yeah, you! Get excited!!!
I digress.
So yes, onwards and upwards...or sidewards if you want to be silly.
May I join other authors in wishing Cassandra well for her New Adult Romance book 'Just One Cup' which launches on June 20th.
'Sticks and stones may break my bones, but your words...they'll destroy my soul.'
April 27, 2013
Introduce your villain competition
Bloomsbury have just launched a competition to describe your villain in 500 words and win a pair of signed books.
See http://www.writersandartists.co.uk/competitions for details!
April 23, 2013
Faith in the .99 Cent eBook
Reblogged from Legends of Windemere:
I've pondered my pricing for a long time. I did research long before I started formatting my novels for Amazon. One thing kept turning up. The same phrase again and again from people. At one point this phrase was even uttered to me:
"A .99 cent eBook means the author has no faith in the book."
Well . . . that's an interesting insight into the mind of the aspiring author.
Charles Yallowitz pitches his reasons for selling a debut novel at a low price to gain followers. I set mine at $2.99 (£1.96) for the same reason. $0.99 seemed a little low for me. What are your thoughts on this (long-term) marketing ploy?
April 21, 2013
Small tweaks for your posts
‘Leave a Reply..?’ That’s soooo last week!
If you’re bored with the ‘Leave a Reply’ box that appears at the bottom of your posts, have a little fun by changing it into a different language or replace it with a series of Lewis Carroll-esque Snarks and Boojums. Leave a custom message that suits the mood of your blog – if you’re of the Emo persuasion you might say ‘Say something – or don’t. I’m not really bothered.’ Or if you’re a fan of felines you could say;’ If you love cats, tell me all about it.’
Be frivolous and jokey or add different languages for overseas followers. Whatever takes your fancy. The sky is no longer the limit – just ask Buzz Aldrin!
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To replace the ‘Leave a Reply’, go to your dashboard and select ‘Settings’, then ‘Discussion.’ Scroll down and you should find…
…the ‘Prompt’. Here’s where you can tweak your comments box and be really creative!
Have fun!
