Steven A. McKay's Blog, page 47

Self-published/ indie authors? What do you think of them and what can we do differently?

Question for you all: self-published/ indie authors – do you read them (other than me, obviously!)?

I must admit, although I’m one myself and I like to think my books are alright, I DO still feel pleasantly surprised when I read something by another indie and find that it kicks ass and isn’t riddled with childish spelling errors. It’s a stigma that is hopefully being eroded as people��like Kevin Ashman, Gordon Doherty and Mel Sherratt��sell increasing amounts of books, gain more critical acclaim and in some cases win deals with the likes of Amazon’s Thomas & Mercer, but it’s still definitely an issue for authors like me.

Mel Sherratt and myself at the London Book Fair in 2014.

I employ professional cover designers for my artwork and an incredible editor who’s worked with��people like Jilly Cooper, Bernard Cornwell and Ben Kane to try and make my books good value for money but for every indie that does that, there’s certainly��one or two��that don’t think it’s worth the money (or simply don’t HAVE the money to employ professionals) and just put their books out in what’s essentially an unfinished state. It makes all of us look bad.

Things are changing though – even traditionally published authors are starting to put out books on the side that their publishers maybe didn’t have a place for. Glyn Iliffe continued his fantastic Odysseus series without a trad-publisher, Douglas Jackson put out his��War Games��by��himself, and my favourite book of of 2014,��A Day of Fire,��was self-published by the authors.��It gives us all a real freedom to try things we might otherwise not have been able to��(my own novella��Knight of the Cross, for example,��was a fun spin-off I’m sure a traditional publisher would have had no time for).

Glyn Iliffe, author of the excellent Adventure of Odysseus series.

So…have you read any self-published books recently and if so – were they any good? Were they worth the money?

And most importantly…what can we, as authors, do to convince readers a self-published book is worth a punt?

Another Kindle All-Stars award!

Just had another email from Amazon saying I was one of their Kindle All-Stars again, this time for sales of my books in December! So a big thank you to everyone who bought one (or more) of them last month, I hope you’re enjoying them.

Matt Groves!

I had some spare time today so worked on Rise of the Wolf – it’s coming along nicely.

I like to listen to music when I’m writing and editing (and doing just about everything else in my life) and I thought it’d be nice to share some of the stuff that inspires my writing.

Anyone that’s read the first two Forest Lord books will recognize the name Matt Groves (the bastard!).  Well, this is where I got the name. Fairport Convention featuring the immortal Sandy Denny (who sang with Robert Plant on Zep’s ‘Battle of Evermore’).

Enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uK_7AqH1VGQ

Update on the new book

Just wanted to post a wee update on the next book, Rise of the Wolf. I’ve been struggling for spare (writing) time lately but I managed to come up with a nice new Friar Tuck scene last night and have plenty more things planned out ready to go. I’m still hopeful the book will be published early this year, so please stay tuned and continue to tell your friends if you enjoyed the first books!

Happy New Year 2015!

2014 has been one of the best years of my life. My small children (a son and a daughter) continue to make me the proudest dad in the world, while my writing has been a source of fun and very welcome income, not to mention the amazing week I had at the London Book Fair 2014 as part of the Amazon crew…Wow, just…wow, it’s been amazing! I can only thank you all, very humbly, for your support. You have no idea how much it means to me.

I was out working my day job today, New Year’s Eve, in the pissing rain, reading gas and electric meters around the outskirts of Glasgow, working out plot lines and ideas in my head for Robin, Little John, Tuck etc…. I am genuinely a working class man who’s been lucky enough to sell a few ebooks and it’s a dream come true – literally – and it’s ALL thanks to you, my readers!

I can only hope the next book, Rise of the Wolf, which will be out early next year, lives up to expectations and does as well as the other books.

I’ll raise a glass to you all for Hogmanay tonight, and again, thank you all sincerely for your support in 2014.

Have a great new year in 2015!

Want a signed copy of The Wolf & The Raven?

Want a signed copy of The Wolf & The Raven?.  Only one day to go!

The Wolf and the Raven audiobook out NOW!

The Wolf and the Raven is now available as an audiobook from Audible – it seems to be part of their Xmas sale too, so get it cheap now!

Wolf’s Head is also in the sale if you still haven’t heard that one.

http://www.audible.co.uk/pd/Fiction/The-Wolf-and-the-Raven-Audiobook/B00RC28FXS/

New interview with Indie B.R.A.G.

Take a quick look at the new Q&A I did with Indie B.R.A.G. who recently awarded The Wolf and the Raven their coveted medallion! Here’s a little taster of one of the questions:

Tell me a little about Sir Guy of Gisbourne.

Well, everyone has heard of Sir Guy – he appeared in the original ballads (unlike some of the other well-known characters like Maid Marian) as a man who had a fierce rivalry with Hood. I’ve kept that aspect of it alive and made him a charismatic, dangerous swordsman who’s vowed to bring about our hero’s destruction. In the original stories from hundreds of years ago there was a very violent clash between Sir Guy and Robin, where Robin actually killed him and mutilated his dead opponent’s face quite sadistically! I didn’t quite go as far as that, but, as always I do like to stick as close to the old tales as much as possible while adding a few new elements of my own…

http://layeredpages.com/2014/12/22/interview-with-b-r-a-g-medallion-honoree-author-steven-a-mckay/

Kindle All-Stars award

Just had an email from Amazon KDP to tell me I’m one of their Kindle All-Stars for November! Apparently I was one of the top 20 authors in the UK for that month in terms of sales and borrows from their Kindle library.

I’m really pleased and quite humbled. Lost for words actually!

Thank you to everyone that bought one of the books in November, I hope you enjoyed them. :-)

I’m working hard on the next Robin book, Rise of the Wolf,  so stay tuned for more news on that in the New Year. Hopefully people enjoy it as much as the first two….

Want a signed copy of The Wolf & The Raven?

To celebrate the imminent release of The Wolf & The Raven audiobook I’m giving away a couple of signed copies of the paperback version on Goodreads. Free to enter so click the link and good luck!

The audiobook has been completed, just waiting on it being approved so it should, all being well, be available from Audible and iTunes within the next few days!

https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/119664-the-wolf-and-the-raven