Clare Macnaughton's Blog, page 28
June 4, 2014
Guest Post: Not just a man’s world: famous female drivers
If your idea of a girl’s day out is a million miles away from a spa-based snooze-fest, you’ve probably already got a Ferrari driving experience on your to-do list (if not, why not?). In case you didn’t know it, women have been competing at the same level as men in motorsport – and more often than not, beating them, since the year dot. Here are a few examples…
Dorothy Levitt
Women have been involved in motorsport right from the beginning and Dorothy Levitt was one of the early trailblazers. She actually started out in motor boats – having clocked up the first water speed record in 1903. By this time she had her sights set firmly on the motor racing world – coming top in the Southport Speed Trial in a Gladiator. She narrowly missed out on a gold medal in the Hereford 1000 mile trial and went on to compete internationally.
Odette Siko
The 24-Hours Le Mans race has seen a steady flow of female participants over the years and Odette Siko was the first. Along with Marguerite Mareuse, she was part of the first ever all-women crew in 1930 and finished seventh overall in a Bugatti Type 40. Two years later, Siko was back at Le Mans and finished fourth in an Alfa Romeo 8C.
Pat Moss
Sister of Stirling, Pat Moss was also a member of the British show jumping team. In 1954, she bought a Triumph TR2 and never looked back. She came fourth in the RAC Rally in 1958 and later achieved the same position in the Rome-Liege rally. Further success followed in the Coupe des Alpes, the East African Safari Rally, and the Rallye Deutschland. In 1961, she married fellow rally driver, Erik Carlsson and the pair went on to compete in 11 international rallies.
Michele Mouton
Without doubt the most successful female rally driver ever, the Frenchwoman clocked up a total of four World Championship rally wins, nine podium placings and 162 stage wins. Her career began in 1973 and she won three European Women’s Championship titles in a row in the mid-seventies. Mouton’s greatest triumphs occurred when she joined the Audi team. The first of her four World Championship wins came in 1981 in Sanremo. Three further victories came in 1982 – in addition to coming second in the RAC Rally, Portugal and Sweden. Michele Mouton currently heads the FIA’a Women & Motor Sport Commission, which aims to get more women involved in motorsport.
Lyn St James and Danica Patrick
While women are yet to make their mark on Formula 1, the same is not true of US motorsports. In 2008 for instance, Danica Patrick became the first female winner of a race in the IndyCar Series. A year later, she notched up the highest finish by a woman in the Indy 500 – coming third in the table overall. Lyn St. James was a big role model for aspiring female drivers in the 1990s. Two victories in the grueling 24 Hours of Daytona race and a win in the 12 Hours Sebring sportscar race was followed by five Indy Racing starts. St. James also competed in the Le Mans 24 Hours.
Susie Wolff and Simona de Silvestro
Are we about to see a woman take her place on the starting grid for a Grand Prix World Championship race? Only two have ever achieved this in the past: Lella Lombard in the 1970s and Maria Teresa de Filipis in the 1950s. Currently, there are two names to watch very closely. The 31 year-old Scot, Susie Wolf drives for Williams whereas de Silvestro, a 25 year-old from Switzerland has recently signed with Sauber after gaining plenty of IndyCar experience.
The four decade wait for a woman to take her seat at the top table of Formula 1 could be about to end.
The post Guest Post: Not just a man’s world: famous female drivers appeared first on Modern Military Mother .
May 28, 2014
Watches are the shoes of men
Hagar says that he loves watches like women love shoes and handbags. He definitely has a bit of a watch fetish as he flicks through the internet and covets the big, hard shiny timepieces.
He doesn’t need one. They are very expensive and in case you hadn’t noticed there’s a recession on. And yet magazines are brimming with adverts for power watches – and the industry goes from strength to strength.
Watches are big business these days. During the last ten years their has been growth in the sector. For example, the Swiss watch industry’s exports grew from £2.5bn in 1986 to £10bn in 2008. It doesn’t matter that the primary function of the watch – to tell the time – is obsolete by our obsessive phone use. So why are we still buying them?
Men are still buying and cherishing quality timepieces despite that fact that in the early 1970s, the watch industry thought its time, excuse the pun, had come. Technology hasn’t dealt a fatal blow to the watch. Men covet mobile phones as well as, not instead of, their timepieces. Watches are one of the few things that a man can wear that he believes display true character, a sign that he is a member of a certain club – whether it’s an Brietling or a Swatch – it is a male indulgence that can be done without, generally, drawing criticism. Watches are an ok piece of male jewellery: bangles can be weird, signet rings passé, ear studs noway and gold chains comedy. A Rolex or a Heuer Carrera, however, be it gold, platinum or stainless steel, is considered acceptable.
If the price is £50 or £5,000, men check the watch in the same way a women might note of another’s shoes. It’s their thing. And the watch industry is chuffed about it. Father’s Day is June 15th pop over to The Watch Hut and maybe a nice timepiece will do the trick this year.
The post Watches are the shoes of men appeared first on Modern Military Mother .
Who wants to be a millionaire?
Cole Porter sang, ” who wants to be a millionaire?” and the reply was ‘I do’. What do women want? If you had a Millionaire Genie what wishes would you have granted. Aladdin may have needed a magic lamp to grant his wishes, but you could also try the Millionaire Genie slots game at 888ladies because he knows what women want!
Obviously, after ‘world peace’ and ‘ending poverty’ I would clearly want to eat as much as I want not get fat. Right now, in the wet weather that is the summer half term and the kids are slowly unravelling my house if money was no object I would have a housekeeper and p.a so that I wouldn’t feel like my life is snowballing out of control to help my file, tidy, wash and keep sanitary the aftermath of muddy people. Then I would have a gardener, to keep my lawns trim and help me make my raised beds, teach me about planting seasons and help me harvest in the autumn so that I can prepare my jars of jam, homemade pickles and preserves, juices, cider and wine. I would energise my house with renewable energy solutions, install a wood burner and stock up on coal and wood for the winter. Then I would whisk my family off on an adventure holiday where the sun shone every day and it was fun, fun, fun in the sun.
This is just me. What would your dreams be? Maybe you’d have your house re-decorated, a new bathroom, a new kitchen or maybe you spend some time at the spa and anoint yourself in creams and potions to detoxify the tiredness. New nails, hair, shoes and maybe some new outfits. Dinner out at a Michelin star restaurant with the love of your life. Champagne every day? Or maybe just a few pints down the pub? How about a vintage VW so you could have away day adventures by the sea. Dreams can come true so maybe it’s time to start building a wish list.
The post Who wants to be a millionaire? appeared first on Modern Military Mother .
May 22, 2014
Real life: Word Up – this is what’s going down in my hood
When I say ‘hood’ it may conjure up images of an urban ghetto, but the truth is I live in the heart of the countryside, surrounded by a mix of awfully, awfully nice people and others who like to stretch our words with ‘rrrrrs‘. So my mantra has been for the last year ‘work where I live’because I want to be able to earn money but remain flexible enough to be there for my children as and when they need me. With The Grenade, now 10 years old and 11 just around the corner, and The Menace, aged 6 years old, settled into the local state school, it’s time to build my business empire amongst the local community. Although I have to tell you I am dreading it! My local community is run by older men and women, who don’t like change at a pace they can’t handle. There is a heirarchy and rules, earned positions and deference that I will have to proffer; a cast characters which reads like it’s straight out of an Alan Ayckbourne play. Maybe I should think of it as business whispering and tread softly in, observing and working out how each mechanism ticks? I have time to tread slowly forwards because I think it needs a gentle approach.
I am not sure why, but it seems that doing one thing at a time for me is not enough.
Here’s the list of my crazy, hair brained, keep as many balls in the air as I can at any one time:
Coming soon to Amazon - Je Deteste Le Menage et autre articles
The French translated version of Tales from the Domestic Frontline with a snazzy new cover designed by my old mucker Simeon Brand – he’s a great designer and you can find him here - http://www.ess-brand.co.uk/
Coming soon to Amazon
A LOCAL LIFE – WARMINSTER edition
I am the new managing editor of A Local Life, a free, A5, independent, lifestyle magazine; distributed to Warminster and the surrounding villages
A Local Life due to launch in Warminster Sept/Oct 2014
Us Trois
I have formed a business partnership with another mum, and friend, Teresa Poolman. We have launched a local event business, hosting locally based, fun, cost effective events.
Follow us on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/UsTrois
Coming soon to Amazon – I Hate Housework by Clare Macnaughton
I am compiling a book based on all of my writing since I was 12 years old. It will also incorporate in it Tales from The Domestic Frontline but hopefully give the shorter book more context and meaning. All the names will be changed because the majority of people in it are alive and some are still my friends on Facebook – although they may not be for long afterwards! I am in the process of approaching them individually and getting clearance. It’s agony having to read through all the angst of my teenage years, but it’s also hilarious. All the ranty boring bits are being edited out and I am hoping that it will be a rollercoaster read. It’s not just about me; it’s a window on the lives of others too and some of it is fiction. Everything I wrote I wrote it live at the time of happening so in a away it reflects, the language, culture and experiences of that time amongst me and my peers. I am not sure if my experiences are reflective of others in my peer group. I make no valuable contribution to existence. We are not particularly charitable or selfless. I find that in itself interesting that I grew up in a selfish, hedonistic time and I am absolutely a product of that. It also contains some very amusing comedy porn stories that I wrote for my friends to entertain us on those boring cashless, nights when we sat smoking in each others bedroom and I made up fictional scenarios where they had sex with boys they fancied or even more amusingly mingers they didn’t. It’s also making me realise what a dork I am. Clothes, fashion and beauty particularly were not important to me and as I go back through my old photos and diaries this becomes patently obvious and also amusing. I was make up free and furry, with bushy eyebrows and gallons of hair, wearing sensible comfy shoes! I have to say it’s not much different now, although I am definitely not as hirsuite and since I have greyed I now have multi-coloured hair! I still wear stupid clothes. Ask aunty Pat – she’ll verify the weird outfits!
There are no words for what I was thinking when I decided to throw this little outfit on!
And finally:
Happy 4th Birthday to my blog
Hurrah! #Blowstrumpets
The blog is still here after four years and I am still loving it. It has given me so much freedom, a place to grow my writing, meet some fantastic, inspirational people and I have made some amazing friends. I may not be one of the most interactive, inner sanctum bloggers, but I watch other bloggers success with pride and envy. They inspire me to carry on living my dreams, following my path because I know that blogging can help shape your life how you want your life to be shaped and it can also deliver some wonderful surprises along the way too. Thank you blog – I love you so much. You rock. And bloggers – you rock too – keep on changing the world in the wonderful ways that you do.
The post Real life: Word Up – this is what’s going down in my hood appeared first on Modern Military Mother .
May 8, 2014
#BrandsStopExploitingBloggers Working For Money – Join the cause!
There is nothing that grits my shit more than getting PR calls from blogger outreach executives and PR account managers asking me to work on behalf of their client for free.
A BLOGGER IS NOT A JOURNALIST
A BLOGGER IS A PUBLISHER
For example, the Andy Coulson would not approach Rupert Murdoch and ask him if he would support the Conservatives just because it’s in the best interest of the people. No! He says if you support the Conservatives I will incentivise you with some first class political corruption with the BSKYB deal. Sorry, I digress. By the way, it’s possible that did not happen. It’s conjecture or is it hearsay?
My point is this brands have marketing budget for advertising and PR and they are not allocating it to bloggers but instead are expecting them to endorse and support their products without a fee. Time is money. Every dumbass, fuckwit PR that rings me is getting paid to waste my time but I am not being paid to listen.
The way forward is ‘Brand Ambassador’ programmes where bloggers are incentivised brand champions and they can have dialogue with the brand about their blogging journey, especially if they hit ‘negative obstacles’ on the way. It creates dialogue and builds relationships and provides agreed incentives or perameters for bloggers to authentically champion the brand.
Bloggers are your customers and they have direct, intimate relationships with the audience brands may be looking to court. They also storyboard their brand journey via twitter, instagram, facebook and their blog. A relationship with a blogger raises awareness in a more intimate way then straightforward advertising or editorial. It sets the tones, paves the way and leads the conservation in a way that mainstream media lacks the resource, creativity or flexibility to do so.
You know it’s not just me who is pissed off these bloggers are too:
and
Are you a blogger? Does this piss you off?
Use the #BrandsStopExploitingBloggers – write the post and link us all together. Let’s get this show on the road.
Soon the blogger will have to publicly name and shame brands and agencies – let’s face it we are talking £100s not £1000s – how much is reputation worth?
The post #BrandsStopExploitingBloggers Working For Money – Join the cause! appeared first on Modern Military Mother .
May 1, 2014
Real Life: Shortlisted for the Brilliance in Blogging Brit Mums Innovate Award #BIBS2014
A Modern Military Mother has been shortlisted for the Brilliance in Blogging Awards 2014. It came as a massive shock to me because I had decided that I was done with pimping my arse out all the time and so thought fuck it I am not going to enter this year and I was thinking about not even going. And then knock me down with a cotton picking feather I only bloody well go and get shortlisted anyway! So there we have it – destiny and now obviously I have to go!
Now I need to you to please sodding well vote me:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/BiBs2014Shortlist
I haven’t been blogging in the way that I used to. These daily updates on the evolution and progress of the children and my life. People are always asking me are you and Hagar back together. And the answer is ‘no’. But we are working together to raise our children so I guess we sit in a no man’s land where we can only slowly move forward but we can’t go back. Our children on the other hand are blossoming! And that makes it all worthwhile for me. Every step of the way when I see my children happy and secure I know that I have made the right choices and decisions for them. It is for them that we are united and agreed.
The Menace turned 6 years old yesterday – can you Adam and Eve it? She was only 2 years old when I started blogging. She loves her birthday. It is the highlight of her year, second only to Christmas. She is still a Menace and is stealthily creating havoc and mahem. She likes to pick holes in the wall plaster, put lipstick on her lips and kiss the walls and twice she has cut her own fringe to Audrey Tatou levels of shortness. But she is adorable and has a very cute little lisp. She is a girly, girl and for her birthday she had a prayers answered with a Barbie Jeep, a Monster High scooter, some purple doll thing, a doll with a dolphin and surf board, unicorn stuffer cushion, a Minnie Mouse school bag and Frozen jigsaw puzzles. Then to school armed with a sweetie cake. After school was her first ever haircut at a salon where it was washed, cut and blow dried. I had crossed the threshold where we could get away with an £8 hatchet job at the Blue Banana barber and also we had to somehow resolve the self cut fringe.
Then off we shopped to buy her a new hamster.
The new hamster has been a while coming. Especially as the previous hamster met an untimely demise after the Menace and her friend played a game of ‘bounce the hamster’ unbeknownst to me. It has been hugely contentious as has actually cost me one of my oldest friendships when she posted on Facebook details comparing the Menace to a sociopath and then connecting her to the killers of Jamie Bulger – there is no coming back from that and I see it now as a sign to move on. And so after lots of tears and lots of investigation, we were able to determine that it was in fact a genuine mistake and not some first foray into animal torture. This incident occurred before Christmas and we are confident that 5 months on the Menace is ready to care for another hamster. Welcome Sammy!
The Grenade, who is now 10 years old, has settled well into the local school and is looking forward to moving on to my old school next year. I can’t believe that he is going to the same school as me. In a gazillion years I never would have had me back in Wiltshire but here I am and I love it. I aiming to stay put for a while. It’s great knowing that I won’t be moving around anymore. It’s time to build my empire and let the kids make some friends.
I am releasing the French version of A Modern Military Mother – Tales of the Domestic Frontline in about two weeks – it coincides with Hagar departing on Execrcise Rochambeau – a joint exercise with the French that takes place in the Champagne region for two weeks. It’s lots of tanks and soldiers.
After this I will be preparing the release of my second book – ‘I Hate Housework’ by Clare Macnaughton. Initially it was going to be an extension of Tales from the Domestic Frontline but now I have decided to just publish all of the unpublished pieces of work that I have written over the years, which presents this very unique autobiographical look at my life. Weird shit happens in my life and it hasn’t been dull. I was sat with a good friend who had just discovered that her husband was a philandering mother fucker and we were both trying to work out when our lives transitioned into episodes of a soap opera. It was never part of the plan. But so you have it – my life is a soap opera and since I was 2 years old there has been something written on it’s evolution and so now I am putting it together and publishing it. I can bring this material to you because of my wordpress blog, which is now nearly 4 years old and the Great Sith Lord Amazon that facilitates Independent Publishing.
There is not a publishing house on the planet that would publish ‘I Hate Housework’ and I no longer care. I have an audience that wants to read it and it may not be in the thousands but it’s better than leaving it all unread. Watch this space – it’s taking time because I have to transcribe from handwritten notes!! Yes, that is how old the copy is I actually wrote it with a pen!
The post Real Life: Shortlisted for the Brilliance in Blogging Brit Mums Innovate Award #BIBS2014 appeared first on Modern Military Mother .
April 30, 2014
Steal their style: The best celebrity mum looks
There are always those mums who just look effortless, no matter what time you bump into them, whether it’s at the school gates, the summer fete or at the park. While most of the time, it’s easiest just to throw on a pair of boyfriend jeans, a slouchy tee and a pair of biker boots or Converse before running out of the door, making sure you’ve got homework, PE kits and packed lunch with you, there are some celebrity mum wardrobes that it’s impossible not to covet. Here are just some of the star mums with styles it’s easy to steal.
Naomi Watt’s Breton-striped top
Breton stripes are always a staple, adding an air of nonchalant classic style, whether you’re on the French Riviera or just heading off to do the weekly food shop. And, they’ve gained even greater popularity of late, as Kate Middleton has donned a succession of these striped pieces during her official trip to New Zealand. One of Kate’s tops was from Me+Em, although you might find it has sold out now, as with everything the Duchess wears in the public eye. There are lots of similar pieces for sale across the high end and the high street though.
Claudia Schiffer’s checked shirt
It’s probably hard to have a day when you don’t look good if you’re one of the original supermodels. But Claudia Schiffer’s style is actually one of the easiest to steal for us mere mortals. To get a cooler look for summer, opting for a sleeveless style gives the same feel for warmer weather. Team with high-waisted jeans and a pair of tan sandals and you’re good to go.
Jessica Alba’s chinos
A pair of chinos are a great alternative to jeans for a casual day look. If you’re doing the school run, you could team with a pair of white Converse or Vans. Then, if you’re heading straight into work, it’s easy to swap for a pair of courts and don a blazer so you’re smart enough for the office. Dockers are the iconic all-American brand for chinos, and this pair is ideal for turning up at the hemline to get an on-trend look.
Victoria Beckham’s hem-drop dress
While Spice Girl-turned designer Victoria Beckham is usually known for wearing body-skimming styles and skyscraper heels, she’s been dressing more casually of late, and her spring/summer collection is testament to that. While she would never dress down as such, her drop-hem dresses are a playful way to get her style. La Redoute’s three-quarter length dropped-hem dress is a much more wearable piece than Victoria’s, which swamps her tiny frame. It’s also in the must-have shade of the season, a mustard yellow. You could wear with tan brogues and a satchel bag for the school run or a shopping trip.
Stella McCartney’s cute summer dress
Designer Stella McCartney has previously described herself as “embarrassing” to her kids when she does the school run. But, she’s anything but, given that she tends to stick to a tried and tested wardrobe of jeans tucked into boots for the winter and pretty floral or striped dresses for summer. Fever Designs has a good selection of pretty tea dresses, including this one with white and yellow flowers against a navy background.
They’re all very covetable, but very wearable, pieces that just go to show you don’t have to be a celebrity to let a little bit of their style rub off on your day-to-day wardrobe.
The post Steal their style: The best celebrity mum looks appeared first on Modern Military Mother .
April 28, 2014
High Flight – Rest in Peace #RIP
High Flight
Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of earth,
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I’ve climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds, –and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of –Wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov’ring there
I’ve chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air…
Up, up the long, delirious, burning blue
I’ve topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace
Where never lark or even eagle flew –
And, while with silent lifting mind I‘ve trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.
By
Pilot Officer John Gillespie Magee, Jr
On Saturday we received the terrible news that a Lynx helicopter had crashed with five fatalities. The news hung over Hagar and I, this weekend, as the story unravelled. It’s a chilling reminder of the fragility of our lives. Within the community the news of the fallen hits us hard. Especially when it touches us so closely. Hagar was stationed at RAF Odiham for 7 years. He knew the pilot. Not well, but they had worked together on occasion. On Sunday, Hagar posted High Flight by John Gillespie Magee, Jr on his Facebook page in loving memory. It is a beautiful response to the tragedy. It’s always hard to confront the reality of losing colleagues, friends, peers; especially for those who fly and face the daily dangers. I sit on the sidelines and watch; but I feel it too in some way. All the years of holding my breath, waiting for the danger to safely pass. Each trip and each safe landing brings internal relief that we can move forward through another day. Always living life, one day, even one step at a time. My thoughts are with the friends and families of those men killed in the Lynx on Saturday.
May they rest in peace.
Capt Thomas Clarke
WO2 Spencer Faulkner
Cpl James Walters
L/Cpl Oliver Thomas
Flt Lt Rakesh Chauhan
The post High Flight – Rest in Peace #RIP appeared first on Modern Military Mother .
April 24, 2014
Hilarious Nutty Noah at Sarum Academy, Salisbury, Wiltshire 3rd May, 11am Book Now
Us Trois Presents
Hilarious Children’s Entertainer & Proud Pant Wearer Nutty Noah
‘Magic, Music & Mayhem!’
at Sarum Academy, Salisbury, Wiltshire
11am 3rd May 2014
Tickets £6 on the door
Local event company, Us Trois set up by two mums, Teresa Poolman and me are pleased to present hilarious children’s entertainer and proud pant wearer, Nutty Noah, at the performance hall of the multi-million pound refurbished Salisbury school Sarum Academy, Salisbury, Westwood Rd, Salisbury, Wiltshire SP2 9HS.
Hilarious clip of Nutty Noah show at Centerparcs. Book tickets NOW
Book tickets via Eventbrite – BUY HERE
The schools impressive facilities are available for commercial hire to people and business so newly formed event company, Us Trois, decided the fully equipped 308 seat performance theatre was the perfect venue to bring to the people of Salisbury the fantastic, hilarious, magician and entertainer, Nutty Noah.
Nutty Noah entertains families regularly at Longleat Forest Centerparcs, Warminster, Wiltshire, has appeared on Britain’s Got Talent and will soon be seen on CBBC’s The Slammer. His show in a Nutty Noah nutshell is a ton of ‘Magic, Music & Mayhem!’ There is lots of audience participation, magic tricks, balloon modelling, juggling, music, poetry and he sings some very funny songs about pants, poo, sick and sweets. Absolutely no educational content and that’s guaranteed!
Now all that needs to happen is for Us Trois to entice the marvelous families of West Wiltshire to come aboard Nutty Noah’s ark of ‘Magic, Music & Mayhem’.
Book today.
Tickets available on the door or in advance at:
Eventbrite.co.uk Nutty Noah@Sarum Academy
Email – clare@maccom.co.uk
Mobile: 07885 194188
Everyone is available for interviews.
About Nutty Noah
Noah (Nutty) Kelly a really funny children’s entertainer from Weston Super Mare.
Contact:
Website: http://www.nuttynoah.com/
Email: noah@nuttynoah.com
Tel: 01934 733830
Mob: 07595 183507
About Us Trois
A Wiltshire based event company set up by two mums, Clare Macnaughton and Teresa Poolman created to deliver cost effective, good value events for local people.
Contact:
Email: clare@maccom.co.uk
Mobile: 07885 194188
About Sarum Academy Lettings
Sarum Academy is a thriving Community & Sports venue 3 miles from the centre of Salisbury. The academy offers a wide selection of activities for all ages as well as a range of excellent facilities, which are available to hire at competitive prices. The lettings centre is run by a friendly and highly motivated team who are always ready to help. Sarum Academy has a wide range of facilities, which are available to hire during evenings, weekends and school holidays. Facilities include a Large Sports Hall, a Small Sports Hall, a magnificent 308 seat Performance Hall, a Hair and Beauty Salon, multimedia facilities, a Motor Mechanics Workshop, Art Studios, Drama Studio and an Activities Studio. A variety of new outdoor sports facilities for football, cricket, rugby, netball will be available later in 2014.
Contact:
Email: lettings@sarumacademy.org.uk
Telephone: 01722 342434
The post Hilarious Nutty Noah at Sarum Academy, Salisbury, Wiltshire 3rd May, 11am Book Now appeared first on Modern Military Mother .
April 9, 2014
Invest In Me
If I had £5000 to play with I would invest it in my next book ‘I Hate Housework’. A book is a business; a start up. I know that in order to drive sales and get the book into bookshops I need to be able to order a print run and invest in marketing.
It’s the law of speculate to accumulate. I know that if I had the funds I could pay a proofreader to ensure that it was error free, a graphic designer to deliver me an amazing cover. They say don’t judge a book by it’s cover but we do and a beautifully designed book cover makes a lasting impression.
I could buy my own ISBN and then perhaps persuade, Waterstones and other Independent bookshops to stock it. Perhaps, even a supermarket. Why not have big ambitions?
I could do a print run of over a thousand copies, which would mean that I could make a reasonable margin on each book sale. I could invest in some targeted advertising to raise awareness. Then the piece de la resistance is that I could arrange a book tour, where I get to engage directly with the customer and persuade them to buy into my book and I.
As I self published last year with Createspace and Amazon Kindle Direct I learnt so much about the business of publishing. As book sales plummet it’s a thankless ambition to be a writer. The medium of writing itself isn’t dying as digital content is still read but books and stories are being conveyed by different more popular visual mediums. The timeless trade of storytelling and writing has not yet died a death but it is fading away and so to ensure that my next book ‘I Hate Housework’ has a fighting chance really I need to invest some money into it but alas today, I don’t have the pennies I need so I may need to look at short term loan options such as those provided by Everyday Loans.
The post Invest In Me appeared first on Modern Military Mother .
