James Minter's Blog: Writers do it in Public..., page 5

You think you know your family but can you be sure ...

My Father, The Assassin by June Finnigan

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


As with any book the first few paragraphs / pages are crucial for hooking the reader. Known as the ‘honeymoon’ period, this is the time readers make up their mind to continue reading or throw in the towel. June handles this excellently – my first introduction to My Father, The Assassin, was via the Amazon Kindle Look Inside feature, she hooked me and I pressed the buy button. I wasn't disappointed. June builds the plot wonderfully. I guess we all think we know the people we are close to – parents, siblings, partners – really well. In this case, Joanna Wild thought she knew her father, but as June develops the story, she couldn't have been further from the truth. In the summer of 1995, at her home in Devon, England, Joanna’s life changed forever with the unexpected arrival of Prince Abdullah, a close friend and associate of her long deceased father.
Although it was nearly 25 years since her father had worked for Prince Abdullah consequences of his action where still being felt. Joanna’s meeting with the Prince reveals many aspects of her father’s life she, or her mother, had little or no knowledge of; the details of which the Prince revealed to her. As they say ‘the plot thickened,’ and June makes a great job of this.
From the start, June uses descriptions, not flat one-dimensional, but appeals to our 5 sense to paint pictures that are vivid in the mind’s eye. Simple but evocative: ‘I awoke in bed to the sound of heavy breathing and the urgent licking of a very wet tongue. The sun was already pouring through the curtains and I was desperate for a wee.’ This is an excellent example of show not tell – the stuff great writing is made of. Drawing your reader in, making them believe they are there. It easy to imagine Joanna has slept late and her dog and bladder are keen to let her know. This is typical of June’s writing prowess, and what makes this book a must read.
This is a pacey book with short chapters allowing you to reflect on the story and where it’s going; and going it is from Devon to the Far East. Not only does June take you across the world but the love interest draws you in to an emotional roller-coaster; a thoroughly good read.



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Don't do the same thing in the same way try a different approach to attracting readers ...

Reader Magnets: Build Your Author Platform and Sell more Books on Kindle by Nick Stephenson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Nick, thanks for your Reader Magnets: Build Your Author Platform and Sell more Books on Kindle book. It's very timely. I've 5 books (paperback and eBook) exclusively on Amazon. One thing I've learnt - do the same thing in the same way and you get the same results - for me the results are poor measured in sales. Good to great reviews but very limited sales. I believed it was all about writing more books (books 6 and 7 are in progress) but in 2015 this will change. I'm planning to follow your advice to the letter. I write in two genres English humour and for children (8 to 11 yr olds) it will be interesting to see how well your techniques work for me. But nothing ventured noting gained and if I see any increase in my average daily book sales I'll be very happy.

This is a must read for all self-published authors. Writing a book is (comparatively) easy, selling it is another very different matter. (My comment about writing a professional quality book being easy is a joke really but compared to successful sales/marketing it is.) Goodread readers as I'm sure you are aware writing a quality book with appeal is not easy. Thanks for your understanding.



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Not for the newbie author but well worth the read

WRITE-LIVELIHOOD: How to Craft a Writer's Business Plan by Ryan Petty

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


First, I fully concur with Petty on the need for self-publishers to create a business plan. Second, I’m a self-confessed “How to …” book junky – I’m very happy to ride on the back of others shared experiences. There is always too much to do and too little time to do it in. Any shortcuts are welcome. With a book of this type I always pick up a nugget or two or three. Third, much of what Petty says in his book resonated with me.
Petty shows great commitment, enthusiasm and self-belief to his idea, and is truly passionate about his proposal. But for me the book didn’t really start until chapter 5. I had the feeling he was spending along time packing for a journey before actually setting off. Most of what was said in chapters 1 to 4 inclusive were, in my mind, the background thought processes he need to go through before being able to put pen to paper. He chose to share them with his audience which to me felt a bit unnecessary. This book is not for the fainted hearted, newbie indie-author but for the more seasoned self-published writer who needs to move their career forward. A good example of know your audience.
The split between writer, self-publisher and business strategist is useful and allows you to look at what you’re doing with three different heads on. I do question Petty’s maths when he suggests, as an author, 80% of your time should be spent writing and then talks about 15 hours per week. Remember this book is aimed at the professional writer who is looking to earn a living from his/her outpourings. I’m in that position and spend at least 45 hours or more per week writing, editing and promoting. Actual writing for me is about one third -15 hours or 33% of my time.
Petty does believe in writing more content – books in all their guises – short stories, novellas, full novels- finished to a professional standard and not striving for perfection. I’m fully behind him since perfection doesn’t exist. As he says “you need clarity in your writing not luminosity,” so stop polishing and move on to your next book.
He does include a couple of useful exercises; in particular the Relative Merits Review, to get you thinking around which book you should be writing and deciding where to focus your efforts. What’s more, the tool is available to download from his website: very useful.
Chapter 19 on Financial Scenarios is very misleading. I wish what Petty is saying was even half true but his starting point – Amazon pay 70% royalty on eBooks just isn’t the case unless you are selling to Brazil, Japan, Mexico, and India (for more info look here: https://kdp.amazon.com/help?topicId=A... ) The truth is royalty payments are closer to 35% or half of what he is basing his financial scenarios on.
In conclusion, his style is evangelical and too wordy for me but he is on to a useful thing looking at the future direction of self-publishing and what “professional” writers need to become. Yes worth a read, yes worth following him and his ideas but they need distilling/refining for his intended audience.




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Finding an Editor

Currently I'm on book five of my writing journey – humorous fiction is my genre. To date I've used three point five different editors, with varying degrees of success.

Creating a fiction novel requires a writer to consider many things. No author can escape the need for an editor. From day one I was aware of the need to respect my readers and do justice to myself and my story telling. The way I write, my initial draft is made without regard for the rules of writing. A truism is, you cannot edit a blank sheet of paper, and therefore I work on just getting the story out of my head. Working with pen and paper and from a title, I quite literally write forward. I write in scenes only, no chapters. Once the bulk of the story is drafted I reflect on what I've written to identify themes, plots, twists and characters to see where they are with regards to my overall story. At this point I draw up an outline to facilitate the denouement. Everyone needs to end up at the right place at the right time, so my laissez faire approach is channelled towards a more definitive end point.

My manuscript thus far is a form of self-indulgence. I now have to give it up to a structural editor. She – all three point five I've used have been women – takes my prose, lock, stock and barrel, and I wait. I’ve changed editors because I've been through a learning process in terms of my own writing ability, understanding the art of storytelling, learning about the needs of readers and how the edit process works.

My first editor experience came from a casual conversation between my wife and the woman in question. My wife told me about her, that she was a nice person, lived near us and didn't charge an absurd fee. Not knowing any better, I submitted my 90,000 word manuscript to her in Microsoft Word. It came back several weeks later with an invoice for £400. The file had many tracked changes (a Word facility to see what’s been modified), which I then had a choice of accepting or rejecting. She found the things that weren't right mostly around punctuation, grammar, and word choice, but had said little about shifts in POV, tense slips (past simple to continuous or even future), and over writing, to name but a few. It was my first book. In my heart of hearts I knew I could do better but I was keen to get it up on Amazon and I accepted what she’d done since she was, after all, the professional.

A year passed, and with a first draft of Book Two ready, I needed another editor. This time I was far more aware of the shortcomings of editor number one and appreciated the difference between a copy edit and a structural edit – a significant learning. I wanted/needed the skills of a recognised professional editor. I contacted the Society for Editors and Proofreaders; downloaded their booklet ‘Editing Fiction – A Short Introduction’ before scouring their member database until I found one of their senior editors who worked in the humorous fiction genre area. Several weeks and £1,200 lighter I had a heavily red-penned MS, but with little regard for structural corrections. She had been thorough, but there was no conversation, no interaction, between us. I’d not learnt from the experience and felt disappointed. Learning number two: your editor must be someone with whom you can have a dialogue. There is no point in changes being made unless you understand why.

As a parallel activity I’d submitted 1,000 word sample to an on-line editor (my point five), a woman in Australia. She responded with extensive annotations and a variety of suggestions. In particular she discussed my hook, the use of conflict to drive the story, and point of view options. Basic stuff but aspects of writing upon which previous editors had not commented. She was the first to show me the power of the edit. Against each significant change she wrote a paragraph of explanation. Too late to use for my current book, I logged her as a possible for Book Three. At least now I had a real sense of what I was looking for in an editor. The learning was the realisation that an edit is not binary. It’s not a case of handing it over, have it unpicked word by word or line by line and that’s it. There are definitive corrections – the rights and wrongs - but so many shades of grey in between.

For my next book – A Tunnel is Only a Hole on its Side - I sought an editor based on my experiences. Via a small advert in a local magazine, I had the good fortune to meet Fiona Joyce (Dunscombe) - http://writeoutonalimb.com/ - a prize winning literary fiction writer who also excels at editing, teaching creative writing, and coaching. She has moved me forward in my writing career beyond all measure. She believes in me, encourages me, but most of all pulls no punches. Submit your work to her and she produces a detailed report including why something is not working, or points out where a POV is breached, and/or any of the other myriad things you as a writer can fall foul of. I’m in sponge mode wanting to learn, improve, and develop as a writer so take it all in the spirit intended. For example, like anyone who’s spent time crafting a story, when she deleted over 2,000 words of a 10k short story I felt pain. The payoff is I know my story is the better for it.

To all authors, remember a structural editor is an essential part of your writing toolkit so choose wisely:
• Appreciate the difference between a copy edit and a structural edit.
• Understand the edit process is as important as the writing process and can take months.
• Like a puppy, an editor is for life. Look for a person with whom you can have an open and honest relationship.
• Realise you are always in learning mode; be prepared for the worst and aim for the best. Develop a thick skin.
• Remember, as a writer you have your own voice, a unique way of expressing yourself, and your editor needs to appreciate this.
• A copy edit is the last thing you do to a MS otherwise you are wasting your money.
• Editing is essential, not cheap, and the way to raise yourself above the crowd. The only way to get to the top of your game is to have crafted, honed and polished material.

As a by the way, I re-read my first book and was so embarrassed by it I virtually rewrote the complete story.
 
Finding an Editor
I write humorous fiction and to date I’ve used three point five different editors, with varying degrees of success.x

No author can escape the need for an editor. From day one I was aware of the need to respect my readers and the need to do justice to myself and my story telling. The way I write, my initial manuscriptx draft is done made without regard for the rules of writing. A truism is, you cannot edit a blank sheet of paper, and therefore I work on just getting the story out of my head. Once the bulk of the story is drafted I start to reflect on what I’ve written to identify themes, plots, twists and characters to see where they are with regards to my overall story and draw up an outline to facilitate the denouement.

My manuscript thus far are is a form of self-indulgence. I now have to give it up to a structural editor. She – all three point five I’ve used have been women – take my prose, lock, stock and barrel, and I wait. I’ve changed editors because I’ve been through a learning process in terms of my own writing ability, understanding the art of story-telling, learning about the needs of readers and how the edit process works.

My first editor experience came from a casual conversation between my wife and the woman in question. My wife told me about her, and that she was a nice person, lived nearx us and didn’t charge an absurd fee. Not knowing any better, I submitted my 90,000 word manuscript to her. It came back several weeks later with an invoice for £400. She found the things that weren’t right mostly around punctuation, grammar, and word choice, but had done said littlex on the about things that I could have done better – shifts in POV, tense slips (past simple to continuous of or even future), and over writing, to name but a few. It was myx first book. In my heart of hearts I knew I could do better but I was keen to get it up on Amazon. I accepted what she’d done since she was, after all, the professional.

A year passed; my book two draft manuscript was ‘complete’ , and with a first draft of Book Two ready, I needed another editor. This time I was far more aware of the shortcomings of editor number one and appreciated the difference between a copy edit and a structural edit – a significant learning. I needed the skills of a recognised professional editor. I contacted the Society for Editors and Proofreaders; downloaded their booklet ‘Editing Fiction – A Short Introduction’ before scouring their members database until I found one of their senior editors who worked in the humourous fiction genre area. Several weeks and £1,200 lighter I had a heavily red-penned MS, but with little regard for structuralx corrections. She had been through thorough, but there was no conversation, not no interaction, between us. I’d not learnt from the experience and felt disappointed. Learningx number two: your editor must be someone you can with whom you can have a dialogue.x with. There is no point in changes being made unless you understand the why.

As a parallel activity I’d submitted 1,000 word sample to an on-line editor (my point five). She came back with an extensively annotated response with responded with extensive annotations and a variety of suggestions. In particular she discussed my hook in the opening paragraph, the use of conflict to drive the story, and my point of view (POV) options. All aspects of writing upon which previous editors had not commented. She was the first to show me to the power of the edit. Against each significant change she had written wrote a paragraph of explanation. Too late to use for my current book, I logged her as a possible for Book Three. At least now I had a real sense of what I was looking for in an editor. The learning was the realisation that an edit is not binary. It’s not a case of handing it over, have it unpicked word by word or line by line and then that’s was it. There are definitive corrections – the rights and wrongs - but there are so many shades of grey in between.

For my next book I sought an editor based on my experiences. Via a small advert in a local magazine, I had the good fortune to meet Fiona Joyce (Dunscombe), a prize winning literary fiction writer who also excels at editing, teaching creative writing, and coaching. She hasx moved me forward in my writing career beyond all measure. She believes in me, encourages me, but most of all pulls no punches. Submit your work to her and she produces a detailedx report incuding why something is not working, or points out where a POV is breached,and/ or any of the many other myriad of things you as a writer can fall foul of. I’m in sponge mode wanting to learn, improve, and develop as a writer so take it all in the spirit intended. For example, like anyone who’s spent time crafting a story, when she deleted over 2,000x words of a 10k short story I too felt pain. The payoff is I know my story is the better for it.

To all authors, remember you a structural editor is an essential part of your writing toolkit so choose wisely:
• Really Appreciate the difference between a copy edit and a structural edit.
• Understand the edit process is as important as the writing process and can take months.
• Like a puppy, an editor is for life. Look for a person with whom you can have an open and honest relationship with.
• Realise you are always in learning mode; be prepared for the worst and aim for the best. Develop a thick skin.
• Remember, as a writer you have a your own voice, a unique way of expressing yourself, and your editor needs to appreciate this.x
• A copy edit is the last thing you do to a MS otherwise you are wasting your money.
• Editing is essential, not cheap, and the way you to raise yourself above the crowd. The only way to get to the top of your game is to have crafted, honed and polished material.

As a by the way, I re-read my first book and was so embarrassed by it I virtually rewrote the complete story.

Hiring a Book Cover Illustrator

No one doubts the importance of eye-catching covers for both print and eBooks. We are visual creatures; we are drawn to shapes and colours, and how they combine to form appealing images (or shocking, revolting, calming) depending on the emotion the author is trying to elicit. My books are in the British humour / satire genre and in particular in the style of Tom Sharpe. His covers always appealed to me. He uses caricatures of his protagonist with significant other cast members, plus buildings or settings drawn from the story to form a montage. His covers are meaningless but draw you in. As the plot unfolds, their relevance becomes obvious. So he hooks you with an intriguing image – in effect to lift the book from the shelf, before using the back cover blurb to entice you to buy. His approach worked for me - I’ve read most of his books - so I wanted to find someone who could replicate this method.

In my mind there are two types of artist – those that copy, and those that draw on their imagination to create unique images. I sought the latter. Knowing I needed a great cover, and knowing I liked Tom Sharpe’s - his illustrator, Paul Simple, did a masterful job and one I wanted to emulate – my search was on.

To find my Paul Simple I Googled for illustrators: I found www.freelanceuk.com. Having placed a free advert I received 30 plus emails from potential candidates within a couple of days. I now had a new problem: how to choose one from all these responses. I had to define a way of filtering out who was right for me. Of course all respondents said how great they were and what a great job they could do, and included a link to their website and examples of their work. Overwhelmed, I viewed some pretty amazing drawings – futuristic creatures, settings, beings with swirls of colour, bazar features and haunting looks. But I was no further forward just in awe of these very talented people. I felt out of my depth; not qualified to say one was better than another in any way other than gut feel. I felt this was a shortcoming on my part; I’m not qualified to critically evaluate their work. I write not draw.

I wanted to be fair to them and me. I constructed a single response email to be sent to each candidate with an extract of a number of key paragraphs/scenes from my manuscript. In addition, I added a synopsis of the story, time and financial constraints – I was looking to publish in a couple of months and I’m a poor self-published author – and I wanted a CV of similar/relevant work. In the body of the email, I made it clear this wasn’t a one-off, and I was looking to work with my illustrator for the longer term; to build a relationship.

I fired off all responses on the same day with the aim of seeing who would come back to me, how long they took, the care they put into their response, their charges, and of course, how they’d interpreted the manuscript sample in their example sketches.

This was a very telling exercise – my initial 30 dropped to four responses within a week of my request – my cut-off point. It was then a case of comparing like for like. They’d all had the same brief which made it easier for me to compare and contrast their illustration skills, ability to interpret my story, their communication skills and charges.

Paul Shinn of www.paulshinndraws.com fulfilled my requirements. He had worked full-time as an in-house Designer at a book publisher in London, producing page layouts and cover designs for a range of art books and exhibition catalogues. He’d been working there for four years since graduating with a BA in Typography & Graphic Design. Wanting to pursue something more creative, he left to do a full-time MA course in Illustration before start work as a freelance Illustrator. For me, he has publishing experience, technical knowledge of typography and graphic design, is well educated in his craft, can draw from his imagination and, as he was starting out on his own, hungry for work. He got the job. Paul has now done four covers for me, and each time the process is the same. Once I have a reasonable draft, I email it to him – I’ve never met Paul; all our dealings are over email. He reads and extracts what he believes are the salient images from the story, then drafts the different elements as pencil sketches before emailing back to me. Following email ping-pong we arrive at a working cover. He prepares all the artwork for the printer understanding things like bleeds, colour separation, image resolution, jpegs, tiffs and pdf formats, so making my life much easier.

Book Awards for Self-publishers

Discoverability is the word on every indie author’s lips. Book awards are part of your arsenal to achieve discoverability. For example, I live in the centre of one of the oldest wine growing regions in France. There are many small local growers who all produce quality wines and who all vie for my euros. I haven’t the time to buy, sample and compare each and every wine on offer. So when I go shopping for wine, rather than trust to luck, I seek out ones which have achieved an award in a local or regional or national competition. The judges know wines far better than I ever will. I’m drawn towards those displaying a prize sticker.
In this fiercely competitive and teeming book world where readers are overwhelmed with choice, it’s obvious to say, a book with an award immediately stands out from the crowd. It’s all about discoverability. And awards increase your discoverability. Learn from wine producers; make gaining awards a central part of your book marketing strategy.
Awards have a number of benefits:

1. They create interest in your book. This leads to more sales or other opportunities.
2. A book displaying an award may cause someone to pick up your book while browsing.
3. A book award will give you an edge and may be all the difference needed to propel your book into bestseller territory.
4. When you win or get placed, you can say you are an "award winning author." It sounds and is great, and gives the book a magic lift that comes from a third party endorsement.
5. Book awards give your book a seal of excellence unequalled by other forms of media exposure. No reviews, nor articles, nor TV or radio interviews can compete with having an "Award Winning Book," selected from hundreds of competing titles by experienced and professionally-trained judges.

Awards absolutely do matter. They add credibility and give readers / reviewers / reporters / agents / publishers the assurance the book is worthwhile. It takes the risk out of the equation.

About the award list:
These fifty five awards represent a range of competitions from ones that are on-going to monthly, annual or bi-annual for a variety of genres and book types. The details of the competitions are many and varied – submission criterion, deadlines, award dates, prizes, entry fees etc. but they all have one thing in common; they are open to self-publishers. They are listed here – in part thanks to Joel Friedlander – for convenience and are not endorsed by me or the Alliance. As ever on the internet, be scam savvy; check out the writers beware site http://www.sfwa.org/ since competition fees can be quite hefty.
Finally, this list is not definitive. If you know of more awards please email me so I can add them to the list. Personally I’ve entered / am entering eight awards for 2014/15. Good luck.
 
1 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award
https://www.createspace.com/abna?ref=...

2 Axiom Business Book Awards
http://www.axiomawards.com/

3 Beach Book Festival
http://www.beachbookfestival.com/

4 Beverly Hills Book Awards
http://www.beverlyhillsbookawards.com...

5 Book Designer – Monthly eBook Cover Design Award
http://www.thebookdesigner.com/2011/0...
6 Bookstore Without Borders’ LYRA Contest
http://www.bookstorewithoutborders.co...
7 Book Festivals is a way of entering several competitions at the same time.
http://bookfestivals.com/

8 CIPA EVVY Awards
http://www.cipacatalog.com/pages/CIPA...

9 Darrell Awards
http://freepages.rootsweb.ancestry.co...
10 Digital Book Awards
http://www.digitalbookworld.com/the-d...

11 eLit Book Awards
http://www.elitawards.com/

12 EPIC eBook Competition
http://epicorg.org/competitions/epic-...

13 Eric Hoffer Award
http://www.hofferaward.com/

14 First Page Competition 2014
http://www.wordswithjam.co.uk/p/compe...

15 ForeWord Reviews - the Book of the Year Awards.
http://www.forewordreviews.com

16 Global eBook Awards
http://globalebookawards.com/

17 Green Book Festival
http://www.greenbookfestival.com/

18 Guardian Legend Self-published book of the month
http://www.theguardian.com/books/seri...
19 Harry Bowling Prize for Flash Fiction
http://www.harrybowlingprize.co.uk/ab...

20 Harry Bowling Prize for New Writing (bi-annual)
http://www.harrybowlingprize.co.uk/

21 Historical Novel Society Indie Award
http://ofhistoryandkings.blogspot.co....

22 Historical Novel Society International Award
http://historicalnovelsociety.org/hns...
23 Hollywood Book Festival
http://www.hollywoodbookfestival.com/...

24 IACP Cookbook Awards
http://www.iacp.com/award/more/2014_i...
25 Independent Book Publishers Association – Benjamin Franklin Awards
http://ibpabenjaminfranklinawards.com/

26 IndieReader Discovery Awards
http://indiereader.com/the-indiereade...

27 International Book Awards
http://www.internationalbookawards.co...

28 International Rubery Book Award
http://www.ruberybookaward.com/index....

29 International Thriller Writers
http://thrillerwriters.org/programs/t...
30 IPPY Awards
http://www.independentpublisher.com/i...

31 Jerwood Fiction Uncovered Prize
http://www.fictionuncovered.co.uk/
32 Kindle Book Review’s 2014 Kindle Book Awards
https://www.thekindlebookreview.net/2...
33 Kirkus Indie Best of List 2014
https://www.kirkusreviews.com/

34 London Book Festival
http://lo29ndonbookfestival.com/portal/

35 Mom’s Choice Awards
http://www.momschoiceawards.com/
36 Moonbeam Children’s Book Awards
http://www.moonbeamawards.com/

37 National Indie Excellence Book Awards
http://www.indieexcellence.com/

38 National Literacy Trust Children's Author Prize
http://www.literacytrust.org.uk/autho...
39 Nautilus Book Awards
http://www.nautilusbookawards.com/

40 New England Book Festival
http://www.newenglandbookfestival.com/

41 New York Book Festival
http://www.newyorkbookfestival.com/

42 Next Big Author Opening Chapter
http://www.thenextbigauthor.com/

43 Next Generation Indie Book Awards
http://www.indiebookawards.com/

44 Paris Book Festival
http://www.parisbookfestival.com/

45 Quagga Prize for Literary Fiction (paper books only)
http://www.quaggabooks.net

46 Reader Views Literary Awards (Multiple awards)
http://readerviews.com/literaryawards/

47 Readers Favourite Contest
http://readersfavorite.com/annual-boo...

48 San Francisco Book Festival
http://www.sanfranciscobookfestival.com/

49 Shelf Unbound Writing Competition for Best Self-Published Book
http://www.shelfmediagroup.com/pages/...

50 Shirley You Jest Awards
http://www.shirley-you-jest.net/#!

51 The Living Now Book Awards
http://www.livingnowawards.com/index.php

52 UK Arts Council Funded: YouWriteOn Book of the Year Awards
http://www.youwriteon.com/info/compet...

53 USA “Best Books” Awards
http://www.usabooknews.com/2014usabes...

54 WISHING SHELF Independent Book Awards [UK]
http://www.thewsa.co.uk/

55 Writer’s Digest Self Published Book Awards
http://www.writersdigest.com/selfpubl...

Creating a DIY Promo Video using a Smartphone

By: James Minter
As part of my book marketing strategy, I took a lead from Joanna Penn's book, ‘How to Market a Book for Authors from an Author’, and opted to go down the video route. Acutely aware that writers are financial poor, time strapped and not necessarily very technical, I’ve put this blog post together to help cut through the video making minefield yet maintain quality. Nothing turns off prospective readers more than a poor quality video.

My experience is based around using an iPhone 4s and an iPad. The iPhone has two cameras. By using the front camera you capture the image and see yourself on the phone’s screen at the same time. That way, as you are working by yourself, you can see how well framed you are in the picture.

IPhone Setup:
Taking video is resource intensive. There are several things you need to do to your iPhone before your start to shoot video:
1) In Settings switch to Airplane mode
2) In Settings go to General, scroll down to Auto-Lock and set to Never.
3) In Setting go to General, then Usage and check how much available storage is on the iPhone. You’ll need a minimum of 1 gigabyte (GB).
4) Kill all other apps running on the iPhone in the background.
Your iPhone is now ready to go.

A stable shot is paramount. Wobble video will turn your viewer off very quickly. To enable you to take steady footage, you’ll need a mount for the iPhone so it can be fixed to a tripod. On any Amazon site, you’ll find a host of affordable mounts such as Photo Plus Mobile Phone Tripod Mount or the Big Bargain Universal Bracket Adapter Mount for a few dollars or pounds. They both attach to any existing tripod you may have. Remember, the camera lens needs to be at the same height as your eye line.

With iPhone mounted, you will want to get started, but alas there is more setup. First, is lighting: as the sensors in smartphone is small, they require good lighting to work efficiently. In low light your video will look gloomy, poor/flat colours and if playing on a big screen, grainy. Sitting near a window will help but if there’s bright sunshine streaming in you’ll have strong shadows on you face from your nose, around your eye sockets, and under your chin. Avoid all harsh lights. With the window you could hang a sheet over it to soften the glare. Reading lamps can be used: two are better set at 45 degrees left and right of you. Direct, straight on lights tend to flatten your features.

Second, sound: the internal microphone of the iPhone will record sound but does nothing to enhance your speaking voice. An external, affordable microphone found on Amazon will improve the sound significantly. The iRig Mic Handheld Microphone at $40/£26 is a good option or the Rode SMARTLAV Lavalier Microphone at $50/£35. However, both these plug into the mini-jack headphone socket of the iPhone rather than the 30 pin connector. The Samson Meteor USB Microphone at $75/£50 is very good but you need a USB to 30 pin converter, as well. With a good quality microphone, you can make audio samples of your books or complete audio books so spending $75/£50 on a microphone is a good investment.

Third: choosing what you wear, any make-up, the room location and what’s behind you impacts the “watchability” of the final video. On Google there are many tips on clothes, makeup and jewellery. The room you’re using needs to be quiet, away from traffic noise, family noise, TV/radio/computer games, and nature —no birds twittering or dogs barking. All these sounds will find their way into your video. Also keep children and pets out of the room, they are distracting to you and your viewers. Finally, locate yourself so over your shoulder is not too busy – you want simple lines, plain walls, no clutter. Because you are looking at the camera and cannot see what’s behind you it doesn’t mean the camera or your audience can’t.

Preparing to Read:
You are shooting a reading video so you need something to read. Reading from the actual book can be difficult because of page turning – noisy, distracting and the pages won’t behave by not wanting to lay flat but curl. The answer is to use an autocue or teleprompter like television news readers. There’s a free App for this: Teleprompter Pro Lite. Once you’ve installed it you will need to import your Word file of the scene you’ll be reading.

Tips on using the Teleprompter software:
• Set the speed control for the rolling text at 12 - you will need to practice
• Insert a countdown into your text i.e. type in 10, 9, 8, 7, etc. into the top of your file, one number per line. A countdown lets you press the record button on the camera and compose yourself before you start reading
• Limit the amount of text to around 1000 words or 5 minutes of reading
• Set the iPad on a table as close to the camera as possible but beneath the camera’s field of view. As you read, your eyes will naturally look at the teleprompter and not at the lens.

Framing yourself in shot is important. Make sure you mount the iPhone in landscape orientation with the home button on the left otherwise your image will be upside down. Position yourself according to the rule of thirds (checkout on Google). It makes your video more interesting and more importantly, it leaves space to the side of your head for a graphic object such as your book cover to be added in the editing process if desired.

Now go for a practice run: open the camera app, choose the front camera and lean back in your seat. Adjust the camera/your position for the best framing position, look for shadows, any speckles on your clothes, and check for glare reflecting from glasses if you wear them. Also, men thinning on top, reflect light – move yourself, move the light or apply some makeup until it’s no longer visible.

Before pressing the record button, there’s one last important setup action. The camera will want to automatically refocus as you move. Again moving will change the exposure (the amount of light coming into the lens) so the camera continually compensates. You need to set both, before turning these automatic functions off. To do this, sit where you will eventually be sat and stretch towards the iPhone screen (not the camera). Looking at your image, touch and hold the screen where you want the camera’s exposure/focus to be; usually your face. A yellow square is displayed which pulses after a second or two of holding. This tells you the camera has registered your preferences. Also, a small yellow banner appears on the bottom of the screen saying AE Lock.

Now press the record button (the big red blob) and the start button on your Teleprompter, sit back and compose yourself. Watch the countdown and wait to begin reading. Don’t start reading as the first line appears wait until its scrolled up a couple of lines otherwise you’ll run out of words to read. But this is a practice session, one of many I suggest until you get use to the setup and pace.

Reading aloud is different from reading in your head. It needs to be practiced, especially pacing, inflections and breathing. Now you’ve read your piece a dozen times you’re confident to go for a take.

The next stage is post production, but if you've got everything right there should be no need. So now you can upload your video straight from your IPhone to the YouTube account you created earlier. Now tell the world its there…

Genetic Hemochromatosis - the Silent Killer

Genetic Hemochromatosis (GH) is a hereditary disorder causing the body to retain the trace mineral iron over and above its requirements. Without iron we couldn't survive – its instrumental in the transportation of oxygen around the body; but too much iron kill. As the body cannot expel excess iron, it deposits it around our organs — mainly in the liver, pancreas, heart, endocrine glands, and joints, where it turns into a poison.

The subject is close to my heart, having been diagnosed with Genetic Hemochromatosis 10 years ago. I decided to write a humorous spoof thriller to increase awareness, raise funds and bring humor; I believe laughter is the best medicine. ‘The Unexpected Consequences of Iron Overload,’ is a paranormal, romantic, spoof thriller, with 100% of profits being donated to the Hemochromatosis Society.

Jimmy has absorbed iron and is now magnet. After a significant event in which he saves Barbara, the woman of his dreams, from possible death Jimmy realises he can control his magnetism. His life is further complicated after coming to the attention of the KBG - they are interested in all things paranormal, and the CIA who are determined to stop the Russians. Sheila further complicates life for Jimmy. Her father is Irish though she was born in Australia. Unbeknownst to her she has Haemochromatosis and is magnetic but of course, from the Southern hemisphere her polarity is reversed.


For a disorder that few have heard of, it is surprisingly common. In Europe an estimated one in 200 have the genes linked to it — that’s 3.7 million people. The Hemochromatosis Society — a charity founded and chaired by Janet Fernau, MBE says “people are suffering from entirely preventable diseases and even facing premature death because of a lack of awareness and testing.”

Left untreated, this insidious condition causes individuals to develop life-threatening illnesses like diabetes, liver cirrhosis, cancer, arthritis, and heart disease. The treatment is simple and cheap. The only way to remove iron from the body is via the blood - venesection. Every pint removed takes with it 200mg of iron and lowers ferritin levels by 25 as the body starts to use the excess stored iron to make new red blood cells.

Hemochromatosis Society - www.haemochromatosis.org.uk – has as host of resources for people who have the condition.

The Unexpected Consequences of Iron Overload
The preface to The Unexpected Consequences of iron overload is a good layman’s introduction to the subject. In addition, a list of worldwide support groups/resources are included in my book.

We've all done it a one time or another ... oh have I said to much!

The Boy in the Dress by David Walliams

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Although aimed at 12 year olds it a fun read for adults. David is well known for his off the wall humour and dress wearing. He writes much like he speaks. My feeling is this is his book written by him for him; if others like it, so much the better. His ability to feel for his characters is what authors strive for and which he does so well. The absurdity of the situation doesn’t impact the story telling; itself done in a sensitive manner. He’s non-judgemental and an ambassador for belief of live and let live. His narrative style is very much ‘write and let write’ paying little attention to the ‘rules.’ I’m happy to recommend this to anyone who doesn't get hung up about ‘doing the right thing’ or only doing what’s expected of you. Parents of preteens ... you've seen David on TV and know his humour, don't buy this book for your 6/7/8/9/10 year olds and then complain about its content.



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A useful 'How to ...' addition for authors

Self-Publishing Books 101: A Step-by-Step Guide to Publishing Your Book in Multiple Formats by Shelley Hitz

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Despite what many writers think of publishing house – dinosaurs, commercially driven, old technology- they do many things for authors that, as a self-publisher, you have to do for yourself. Once you go down this path you soon realise to be successful you need a wide range of skills and depth of knowledge on subjects not normal encountered. To have an accessible guide based on hard won experience provided by a pair of successful writers is a real bonus for aspiring, new, recent and seasoned writers. The 'Self-Publishing Books 101: A Step-by-Step Guide’ is just that.

Shelley and Heather have a no nonsense approach to writing. The narrative is tight – no swaths of text to wade through; the information current as an eBook its kept up to date (This book was published in 2012 and heavily revised in 2014); included are many embedded links to useful websites and resources and it covers the whole process including multiple formats.

Personally I like ‘How to …’ books as it saves me time and brain strain trying to work something out or making frustrating mistakes. I've picked up several useful tips from this book particularly in the area of hardback books, oversized print books, audio books and foreign language translation. Okay these topics are on the periphery for many new or recent writers but as you grow your back catalogue you will want to reach more and more readers. This book is a great place to start.




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