Graham Downs's Blog, page 38
November 12, 2013
Marketing Your Book for Holiday Sales
I read about this book in The Creative Penn's newsletter the other week. It's a free book published by Lulu.com, and it's all about how to market your book, just in time for the Christmas season. You can get it free at http://success.lulu.com/. Personally, it didn't really tell me anything I didn't already know. Some of these marketing tips I'm not yet doing, and some of them I am, but for the most part, it was a case of "same old, same old". There is one exception, though. One of the things the book advises you to do is to include a link or page on your website, to make it easy for potential reviewers to request review copies of your book. I think this is a wonderful idea, and although I haven't had time to do it yet, it's definitely something I'll be considering. Speaking of which, Heritage of Deceit is coming out on 1 December, and I'm looking for early reviewers. If you consider yourself an influentil reviewer of books, like thrillers, and are interested, pop me a mail to reviews@communicate.za.net!
November 5, 2013
Crossword Puzzle - October 2013 Answers
October 29, 2013
Crossword Puzzle - October 2013
Across1 A secret language (4)
5 Title used for a Lady (4)
9 Form of address to a superior (3)
10 contract between licensor and purchaser of software (4)
12 became accustomed (12)
16 what person (3)
17 involving violence (4)
18 before the present time (3)
19 low in fat or sugar (4)
21 six-stringed musical instrument, played with a bow (4)
22 romantic interlude (4)
24 great delight (4)
25 highest adult male voice (4)
28 boiled flour pudding (4)
32 Polynesian garland (3)
33 violent seizure of power (4)
36 travelled through, en route to (3)
37 site of a battle (12)
40 sixty minutes (4)
41 tool used for piercing holes (3)
42 church sale (4)
43 alcohol made with milk and honey (4)
Down
2 broad silk tie (5)
3 nothing (3)
4 the study of triangles (4)
5 legal obligation (4)
6 American boxer, surname (3)
7 pastoral people from Kenya (5)
8 two-masted sailing craft (4)
10 what you listen with (3)
11 something worshipped (4)
13 22nd letter of Greek alphabet (3)
14 watched in a cinema (5)
15 sense of self-importance (3)
20 therefore (4)
21 the Impaler (4)
23 remove errors (5)
25 Scottish Gaelic name for Scotland (4)
26 open, grassy area (3)
27 ten percent (5)
29 fleshy extension hanging above the throat (5)
30 on a fish's back (3)
31 become dim (4)
33 what this is (4)
34 over (3)
35 push a baby in it (4)
38 a toddler (3)
39 obliged to give (3)
October 22, 2013
Win a Copy of A Petition to Magic
October 15, 2013
Finishing a Book
I just got the cover image for my latest book, back from my cover artist. I won't talk about the details yet on my blog, but my newsletter subscribers will know what it is and when it's releasing. To subscribe to my newsletter, punch your e-mail address in the text box on the top right of this page (it's free). I'm also working on another, which you can also hear about through my newsletter, and yet a third, which I'm keeping very close to my chest. I've actually done a lot of writing, since the release of A Petition to Magic. The point is, when I finish a book, and it's out there, I don't feel any major sense of achievement. I don't even really feel much fear. Of course, the fear is there, "What will people think?" "Will I get sales?" "Will I get reviews?" etc. etc. But for me, the overriding emotion is sadness, because that story is done, the characters have said what they needed to say, and done what they needed to do, and there's nothing more to write about it. Sure, I could write another book featuring the same characters and setting, but that would be labouring the point, because the story is, in fact, over. Come to think of it, I feel the same way as a reader, when I'm finished reading a really good book. I just wish it would go on and on... So what do you think? As a writer, how do you feel after you've put your baby out into the world? As a reader, how do you feel after reading the last page of a book you really enjoyed? I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!
October 8, 2013
So You Want to Sell a Million Copies?
To be perfectly honest, I picked this book up because I was looking for something to blog about. But then, a lot of people find a lot of real gems that way. Reading this book won't make you sell a million copies of your book... but then I didn't expect it to, and I doubt anyone else would expect it to either. It's a wonderful motivational and instructional piece, in which the author gives candid, honest advice about what it's like to be a writer, as well as a marketer and networker. Using examples from her own life, and the process of submitting her own book to agents and publishers, she opens her life to her readers, letting them know that they're not alone. There's lots of advice on how to get published the traditional way. I'll admit, I only skimmed those bits, since traditional publishing isn't really something I'm interested in. Still, those sections offer valuable insights into how the publishing world works, and helps you to see things from different perspectives. I really enjoyed her section on joining or starting a writers group, though. Every writer needs other writers to bounce ideas off of, and who will rip your manuscripts to shreds and expect you to do the same as well. Joining such a group is definitely something I'm going to be strongly considering! The book ends with some simple writing exercises you can try if you're ever short of ideas or inspiration. I'm definitely going to try some of those! It's a wonderful book, in which the author poors her heart out on her sleeve; definitely just the inspiration I needed!
October 1, 2013
Crossword Puzzle - September 2013 Answers
Hope you got everything right. If not, better luck next month. Have a fabulous week!
September 24, 2013
Crossword Puzzle - September 2013
Across1 Speak nasally or through the nose (South African spelling) (8)
9 Extend beyond the main body of something (3)
10 Bit of wood with a phosphor tip (5)
12 Six sided shapes (8)
14 A low, steady, continuous sound (3)
15 The side away from the wind (3)
17 A collection of wild animals (3)
19 A piece of old cloth (3)
21 River valley in Missouri, name given to a tribe of Native Americans (5)
22 Give a smooth, shiny surface to something (5)
23 Supernatural creature (3)
25 Distinctive practice, system, or philosophy (3)
26 A long, wooden bench (3)
29 Fuss (3)
31 Citizen of this North African country (8)
34 Sacred song or hymn (5)
35 A billion years (3)
36 Outshines (8)
Down
2 Singer, Rolling in the Deep (5)
3 PSL team in Cape Town (4)
4 Box used for carrying fruit (3)
5 In terms of (3)
6 Emergency Medical Services (3)
7 The last in an unspecified series (3)
8 Unit of electrical resistance (3)
11 A country in the western West Indies (4)
13 Used to hang people (6)
15 As happily (4)
16 Having an intense or sharp quality (4)
18 Slowly seeping out (6)
19 What you do with what you sow (4)
20 Nibble persistently (4)
24 Brings to a finish (4)
27 Make someone ecstatic (5)
28 An inactive volcano in Sicily (4)
29 Large primate lacking a tale (3)
30 A tree bearing acorns (3)
31 Flightless bird from Australia (3)
32 In the affirmative (3)
33 It called the kettle black (3)
Also as per usual, I will be publishing the answers to this puzzle next week Tuesday, 1 October 2013. If you're the first to send me the answers before then, I will publish your name on this blog. You can print out the board, fill it in, and send me the scanned answers. Or you can simply send me the clue numbers and the answers. Or you can fill it in using an image editing program and send me the completed image. When you're done, Tweet me, or send me a message on my Facebook Page. Don't post your answers in the Comments box below, though - you'll ruin it for everyone! Happy hunting!
September 21, 2013
World Retina Week Promotion
September 17, 2013
My First Smashwords Interview
Last month, Smashwords announced a new feature on their site, called Author Interviews. They would ask a bunch of questions for authors to answer. I completed my first one, and it went live. Instantly, the views on "A Petition to Magic" sky-rocketed at Smashwords, and I'm very happy with the results! I decided to post my first interview here. I'll be updating it as I publish more books, so this will serve as a place to keep each interview I do. I hope you enjoy it!
Where did you grow up, and how did this influence your writing?
I grew up in Alberton, Guateng, in South Africa, in the 1980s and 1990s. The year I turned six, I went to Alberton Primary School, where my mom was a teacher, and I ended up in her Grade 1 class. From a very early age, she instilled in me a love of reading and speaking, and so by the end of my first year of schooling, I was reading a year ahead of other kids my age. Throughout Primary School I participated in various reading competitions, and graduated to public speaking and debating in High School. I believe that this helped to foster a strong and vivid imagination, and I've always yearned to tell the stories that were in my head because of it.
When did you first start writing?
When I was eleven, I think, I was very into game books, and my favourites were the Lone Wolf series by Joe Dever. I wrote a short game book on the family's first ever computer, about a secret agent. All I remember from it is a scene where the main character had to follow a trail of cigarette butts ("stompies", I called them in the story) to find someone. I would love to read it again, but unfortunately we never knew about backups back then, and the only place it now exists is in my hazy memory.
I was also a romantic at heart, and throughout High School I wrote letters. They were really bad, really soppy letters, to girls I liked, people I didn't like, my parents, and myself. I also used to blog on my little Bulletin Board System, before it was called blogging, and even wrote a couple of articles for a friend of mine's electronic Christian magazine, back in the day.
What's the story behind your latest book?
My latest book has yet to be published, so I can't give away too much. It's a novelette about a guy in an office who comes across what he believes to be a relic of a genocide that happened years ago. If he's right, the artefact is worth a ton of money and will give lots of people closure as they will finally know what happened to their families.
What motivated you to become an indie author?
Writing has always been my passion, and I've always wanted to tell stories. But I was always too scared of submitting my books to any of the big publishing houses - they were too short, anyway. I got the idea to write "A Petition to Magic" at the beginning of 2012. I always knew it would be a short story, and so Indie Publishing was really the only option that I ever saw.
Now, I think self- and independant publishing is truly the way of the future, and I can't see myself ever being interested in publishing anything the traditional way.
How has Smashwords contributed to your success?
Smashwords is great! I really love the idea of being able to upload it once and seeing it distributed everywhere. I also really like the reports they give. It is extremely motivating to log into my stats every day and see views and sample downloads from the day before. That helps me to see that people are actually interested in what I write, and drives me forward to write more and more. What is the greatest joy of writing for you? For me, it's sitting down and reading and re-reading a particular scene, and banging at it until I feel it describes exactly what I had in my head when I wrote it.
It's both joyous and a bit painful though, because I have to be extremely disciplined in cutting out scenes, sentences, words and paragraphs that don't add to the image I'm trying to create in the reader's mind.
What do your fans mean to you?
My fans mean everything to me. To see how someone purchased and downloaded my book, and to read what they thought is the most exhilarating feeling on the planet! Good reviews are great, bad reviews are sometimes even better if they offer me some constructive criticism.
When writing, as with anything in life, I guess, you're not always in the mood to do it, and sometimes wonder whether it's worth carrying on. When I see a new review of my work, or a new Twitter follower interested in my writing, I know it is!
What are you working on next?
Well, there's the story about the relic from the genocide, which I already mentioned. I will be working on marketing that for a long time to come.
After that one goes live, I'll be working on another short, a bit of a mashup between fantasy and science fiction, but I can't give any more details just yet.
Who are your favorite authors?
My favourite author of all time has got to be Terry Pratchett, but lately I've been enjoying Terry Goodkind and Stephen King.
Spot the odd one out, I know, but Stephen King writes the most evocative, descriptive words, and it's really something I think I can truly aspire to, one day.
What inspires you to get out of bed each day?
The thrill of a new day with new experiences, which I can draw upon and write about later. I store everything that I see, feel, hear and touch away. Maybe it will be a basis of a story I write one day!
Also, checking my reports on the various book retailers' sites, to see if I got any new downloads or reviews.
When you're not writing, how do you spend your time?
I'm a computer programmer by trade, and I do still love it. When I'm not writing, and not coding, I spend my time trawling the Internet looking for interesting things to share and write about. I also watch a lot of TV series' with my wife - any genres, really.
Oh and, naturally, I read. A lot. I don't think you can be a writer if you don't read. I read at least two books a month, in all genres and from all time periods. Just recently I've been revisiting the classics, like Treasure Island, A Tale of Two Cities, and Dracula.
The most up-to-date version of my Smashwords Interview can be found here.
