Robert Scott-Norton's Blog, page 5
November 10, 2014
Hibiscus Fruit - Alison Gray
After reading Alison’s first book ‘Out of the Tower’, I was very keen to try the first in her new series featuring DS Abby Foulkes. And this didn’t let me down.
I love a good crime mystery but that would mean nothing without a strong believable lead character. DS Abbey Foulkes is well rounded, fallible, and believable.
There are two strands to this mystery and Alison has done well to keep interest in both strands going throughout. Abbey is very much out of her comfort zone in this novel and that helps bring out a vulnerable side to her.
At the end I’m left wondering what kind of a life Abbey is going to have. Still grieving, is she strong enough to raise her family and fight through the next case? I really hope so.
You can pick up a copy from Amazon.
Or visit Alison's blog Thriller and Crime.
November 8, 2014
Keeping busy with Nanowrimo
It's been a while since I've mentioned any of my actual writing. Since The Face Stealer I guess a lot of my posts have been book reviews and running posts. You might think I've stopped doing any writing at all.
But no. You might think that. But that would not be true.
I've just completed the first draft of my next novel, tentatively called The Remnant Keepers, a sci-fi thriller, due to be published in Spring 2015.
I've also busy at work on a new novella in a new series. This is being written as part of Nanowrimo so I'm aiming to have a first draft ready at the end of November. Plus, there is already a novella I wrote last year that needs to be edited.
So, come December I'll have 3 novels all ready for editing. The next few months are going to be testing my editing prowess to the max and that means that next year I'll have a lot more to publish.
I can't wait.
But no. You might think that. But that would not be true.
I've just completed the first draft of my next novel, tentatively called The Remnant Keepers, a sci-fi thriller, due to be published in Spring 2015.
I've also busy at work on a new novella in a new series. This is being written as part of Nanowrimo so I'm aiming to have a first draft ready at the end of November. Plus, there is already a novella I wrote last year that needs to be edited.
So, come December I'll have 3 novels all ready for editing. The next few months are going to be testing my editing prowess to the max and that means that next year I'll have a lot more to publish.
I can't wait.
November 3, 2014
Write. Publish. Repeat. - Sean Platt, Johnny B. Truant, with David Wright
I wish I'd read this book years ago. Shame these talented guys only published it this year. But, to be fair to them, they've been pretty busy following their own advice. If you've never heard from them before, check them out on the Self-publishing Podcast.
I can't remember how I came across them, but it was probably via the podcast. I'm so glad I did though. I self-published my first novel The Face Stealer in late 2013 and since then have been working on new novels. Being an Indie Author though, is a relatively new phenomenon and quite how you're supposed to go from being an unknown writer, to one with readers and earning money, is somewhat of a mystery. There are plenty of people out there claiming to have all the answers; they know how to get an instant readership, become successful overnight, earn millions from one book. But, basically they're all full of it. The true secrets of becoming a successful Indie Author are contained in this book.
Actually, that's a lie. The true secret is emblazoned boldly on the cover.
There are no secrets to self-publishing success and anyone who doesn't want to work at it, is going to be pretty miserable. This book is a guide from being that naive author just starting out, to being a successful author. It's doable, if you're willing to put the hours in.
This book has been one of two I've read recently that has changed my attitude to being an Indie Author and I'm happy to recommend it to anyone wanting to turn a writing hobby, into a career.
October 12, 2014
Knowing a little about ebook publishing
by melenita2012 You know that saying about never volunteering for anything? Well, I wish I'd listen to that a little more. It would have saved me having to prepare to talk to my writer's group on a subject I thought I knew more about than I actually did.
It started with me talking authoritatively in the group about ebook publishing. This was easy to do as when I'm comfortable, I can turn on the talk and make myself sound clever. I was in a confident mood that night and I suggested to give a talk to the group. I've published on Amazon and Smashwords so know the gig. It's not difficult. Giving a talk on the subject would be child's play.
OK. Rob, you should learn to keep your mouth shut.
Ebook publishing isn't simple. Preparing a talk on the subject made me look at what it means in a wider context. The kind of things you need to do before you even have a publishable manuscript. And there are lots. It's not something you can comprehensively cover in half an hour.
You need to think about:
editingcoverpricingwhether it's part of a serieswhat platformsAnd that's just using pithy bullet points to cover whole arenas of thought.
I self-published on Amazon and learnt loads from doing it. That was over a year ago, and some of those lessons are still sinking in. What I wanted to get across in the talk was that ebook publishing isn't just having a manuscript and clicking that upload button. That is one step in a process that will take you from an aspiring author to being the CEO of your author business.
Once you click Upload, your work is there for the world to see and that's when most authors realise they don't have a business plan.
Publishing isn't the end of your author journey: it's only the start.
For far better advice on the subject of running your author business, check out Joanna Penn's recent work Business for Authors. It's a fantastic read and I wish she'd written it a year earlier so I could have benefited from it.
Business for Authors - Joanna Penn
I’m a writer. I bought this book because I’ve been reading Joanna’s blog posts for a while and listening to her excellent podcasts. This woman may not have coined the phrase indie author but everything in this book demonstrates that she is far more than an indie author; she is as she explains, an author entrepreneur.
And this book is a neatly contained package of advice for other writers looking to follow a similar path.
Joanna’s writing style is friendly and honest. She holds her hands up about mistakes she’s made in the past in an effort to help us avoid similar methods. Her pragmatism and sheer enthusiasm for her author business makes her a force of nature in the publishing world. If you ever doubt that you are a legitimate author because you want to self-publish read this book and cast those doubts aside.
My next step is to take a look through Joanna’s downloads and start work on a business plan and a production schedule. This kind of practical focus on the business side is exactly what I need.
You can check out Joanna's page for the book here, or take a look at Amazon UK.
September 24, 2014
Donate for Galloway's Society for the Blind
by eschipul Where on earth did the last few months go?
On Sunday 28 September I'm running the Seaside 10K. I've signed up to support Galloway's Society for the Blind.
We are a local charity based in the North West of England that supports people living with blindness or a visual impairment. Operating out of our four regional centres we provide vital help and services including: specialist equipment and advice, talking newspapers, training and support groups as well as escorted holidays and outdoor activities.If you'd like to support Galloway's visit http://www.bmycharity.com/robscottnorton.
Rather excitingly (for me perhaps), routes around the Marine Lake. For anyone who's read 'The Face Stealer', this lake is rather central to the whole plot (think Torchwood and Roald Dahl Plas) so it will be nice to remind myself why I wanted to include such a Southport landmark in my writing.
Training has been going steady so I'm fairly confident that I'll run it in under an hour (but probably not much under).
August 31, 2014
Six Mistakes to Avoid When Self-Publishing
When my first novel, The Face Stealer, was ready to publish I did what any struggling young author would do: I sought out the easiest path to publishing and ran with it.
This in turn led to a number of mistakes, which on their own were certainly not disastrous, but together generated a considerable amount of effort later.
Here are my mistakes, try not to make these:
Publish on Kindle and join the KDP programme.
This 90 day exclusivity period meant I'd get a fraction of the collective pot should anyone borrow my book. But, just think—90 days. Three whole months where you can ONLY sell on Amazon. No Barns and Noble, no Smashwords, no Apple bookstore.
The situation may well be different for an established author but a new author starting out needs all the publicity and selling channels they can get. Why limit your markets?
Maintain a shoddy looking blog
We all know how important a good base on the Internet is. For many writers, that shelter from the storm is likely to be a blog. It's where you're going to direct much of your audience and potential readers. Why wouldn't you want it looking awesome before your book goes live?
And this blog doesn't have to be Wordpress (despite many vocal authors suggesting it should). The website you're reading now is all Blogger, with a few simple formatting tweaks (to remove image borders and improve font colours).
Don't bother getting your own domain
Because it's a load of hassle and costs a bomb and anyway what the hell do I know about computers and stuff?
But really, it doesn't cost that much at all and although redirecting to your blog isn't quite as easy as falling off a log, it shouldn't take you more than a hour or two to get right. And there's loads of tutorials to help you do this (not the falling of a log part—you're going to have to manage that part on your own).
If you don't do this now, when you get to be at least moderately successful, you're going to want to direct people to a nice clean sounding website: not one with blogspot or wordpress as part of your URL. Why not do it now so you don't risk confusing your readers further down the line?
I bought my domain through 1&1 Internet and apparently this isn't as easy to get to play nice with Blogger as some other domain providers, but it is doable (and I did it in an hour). I also help look after a family business website and we used GoDaddy for that. My advice would be to decide on your blog platform, check out a couple of internet domain registrars and look for instructions on using your custom domain with the blogging platform you've decided.
Don't worry about Facebook, I've already got a Facebook account
Except your Facebook account is probably your personal account with pictures of cats and ice bucket challenge videos. Why put your readers through that?
You probably don't want to use your personal profile page to promote your brand. But luckily, it's quick and simple to set up a Facebook page and use that instead. That way, you're always going to have some little safe haven on the Internet where you don't have to be 'on brand' and can just chill out with your family and laugh at cat videos...
Panic about social media
It's easy to feel overwhelmed but you really don't need to be. Social media can help get the word out about your books but it's also there to support you in writing. I've found some great groups on G+ including this one, that offer so much advice it's embarrassing.
And if you don't have time to use social media there are tools to help with that (unfortunately not a time machine, although that would be beyond cool, obviously). I use Buffer to help me schedule my twitter and facebook posts for a few days at a time. Using this tool I'm able to keep an online presence even when I'm preoccupied with other things—like writing that next book.
Knock up your own cover, because you know how to use Photoshop right?
All the best.
I spent a total of 2 hours making my first cover for The Face Stealer. I did this because I obviously know how to use Photoshop (I'm not a moron ;) ) and getting a nice cover costs money that I just wasn't going to spend. I'm not a designer but I figured I'd get a good cover looking at others for inspiration.
Here it is. Don't laugh.
And here's my new cover by Nessgraphica.
A bit of a difference there.
The feedback on this cover has been phenomenal and always generates positive reactions on social media. I'm gutted I left the cover as an afterthought. If I had this cover in place when I first launched the book, and with those first couple of weeks of heady sales, it might have been enough to get it noticed and start pulling its own weight.
As it was, the initial cover did nothing but imply that the book's content was amateur. Now, I'm having to work extra hard in marketing to try and get it noticed again, and this is time I'd rather be spending writing.
What lessons did you learn when you published your first book?
If this has been helpful, please share.
This in turn led to a number of mistakes, which on their own were certainly not disastrous, but together generated a considerable amount of effort later.
Here are my mistakes, try not to make these:
Publish on Kindle and join the KDP programme.
This 90 day exclusivity period meant I'd get a fraction of the collective pot should anyone borrow my book. But, just think—90 days. Three whole months where you can ONLY sell on Amazon. No Barns and Noble, no Smashwords, no Apple bookstore.
The situation may well be different for an established author but a new author starting out needs all the publicity and selling channels they can get. Why limit your markets?
Maintain a shoddy looking blog
We all know how important a good base on the Internet is. For many writers, that shelter from the storm is likely to be a blog. It's where you're going to direct much of your audience and potential readers. Why wouldn't you want it looking awesome before your book goes live?
And this blog doesn't have to be Wordpress (despite many vocal authors suggesting it should). The website you're reading now is all Blogger, with a few simple formatting tweaks (to remove image borders and improve font colours).
Don't bother getting your own domain
Because it's a load of hassle and costs a bomb and anyway what the hell do I know about computers and stuff?
But really, it doesn't cost that much at all and although redirecting to your blog isn't quite as easy as falling off a log, it shouldn't take you more than a hour or two to get right. And there's loads of tutorials to help you do this (not the falling of a log part—you're going to have to manage that part on your own).
If you don't do this now, when you get to be at least moderately successful, you're going to want to direct people to a nice clean sounding website: not one with blogspot or wordpress as part of your URL. Why not do it now so you don't risk confusing your readers further down the line?
I bought my domain through 1&1 Internet and apparently this isn't as easy to get to play nice with Blogger as some other domain providers, but it is doable (and I did it in an hour). I also help look after a family business website and we used GoDaddy for that. My advice would be to decide on your blog platform, check out a couple of internet domain registrars and look for instructions on using your custom domain with the blogging platform you've decided.
Don't worry about Facebook, I've already got a Facebook account
Except your Facebook account is probably your personal account with pictures of cats and ice bucket challenge videos. Why put your readers through that?
You probably don't want to use your personal profile page to promote your brand. But luckily, it's quick and simple to set up a Facebook page and use that instead. That way, you're always going to have some little safe haven on the Internet where you don't have to be 'on brand' and can just chill out with your family and laugh at cat videos...
Panic about social media
It's easy to feel overwhelmed but you really don't need to be. Social media can help get the word out about your books but it's also there to support you in writing. I've found some great groups on G+ including this one, that offer so much advice it's embarrassing.
And if you don't have time to use social media there are tools to help with that (unfortunately not a time machine, although that would be beyond cool, obviously). I use Buffer to help me schedule my twitter and facebook posts for a few days at a time. Using this tool I'm able to keep an online presence even when I'm preoccupied with other things—like writing that next book.
Knock up your own cover, because you know how to use Photoshop right?
All the best.
I spent a total of 2 hours making my first cover for The Face Stealer. I did this because I obviously know how to use Photoshop (I'm not a moron ;) ) and getting a nice cover costs money that I just wasn't going to spend. I'm not a designer but I figured I'd get a good cover looking at others for inspiration.
Here it is. Don't laugh.
And here's my new cover by Nessgraphica.
A bit of a difference there.
The feedback on this cover has been phenomenal and always generates positive reactions on social media. I'm gutted I left the cover as an afterthought. If I had this cover in place when I first launched the book, and with those first couple of weeks of heady sales, it might have been enough to get it noticed and start pulling its own weight.
As it was, the initial cover did nothing but imply that the book's content was amateur. Now, I'm having to work extra hard in marketing to try and get it noticed again, and this is time I'd rather be spending writing.
What lessons did you learn when you published your first book?
If this has been helpful, please share.
Avoid these mistakes when publishing your first book
When my first novel, The Face Stealer, was ready to publish I did what any struggling young author would do: I sought out the easiest path to publishing and ran with it.
This in turn led to a number of mistakes, which on their own were certainly not disastrous, but together generated a considerable amount of effort later.
Here are my mistakes, try not to make these:
Publish on Kindle and join the KDP programme.
This 90 day exclusivity period meant I'd get a fraction of the collective pot should anyone borrow my book. But, just think—90 days. Three whole months where you can ONLY sell on Amazon. No Barns and Noble, no Smashwords, no Apple bookstore.
The situation may well be different for an established author but a new author starting out needs all the publicity and selling channels they can get. Why limit your markets?
Maintain a shoddy looking blog
We al know how important a good base on the Internet is. For many writers, that shelter from the storm is likely to be a blog. It's where you're going to direct much of your audience and potential readers. Why wouldn't you want it looking awesome before your book goes live?
And this blog doesn't have to be Wordpress (despite many vocal authors suggesting it should). The website you're reading now is all Blogger, with a few simple formatting tweaks (to remove image borders and improve font colours).
Don't bother getting your own domain
Because it's a load of hassle and costs a bomb and anyway what the hell do I know about computers and stuff?
But really, it doesn't cost that much at all and although redirecting to your blog isn't quite as easy as falling off a log, it shouldn't take you more than a hour or two to get right. And there's loads of tutorials to help you do this (not the falling of a log part—you're going to have to manage that part on your own).
If you don't do this now, when you get to be at least moderately successful, you're going to want to direct people to a nice clean sounding website: not one with blogspot or wordpress as part of your URL. Why not do it now so you don't risk confusing your readers further down the line?
I bought my domain through 1&1 Internet and apparently this isn't as easy to get to play nice with Blogger as some other domain providers, but it is doable (and I did it in an hour). I also help look after a family business website and we used GoDaddy for that. My advice would be to decide on your blog platform, check out a couple of internet domain registrars and look for instructions on using your custom domain with the blogging platform you've decided.
Don't worry about Facebook, I've already got a Facebook account
Except your Facebook account is probably your personal account with pictures of cats and ice bucket challenge videos. Why put your readers through that?
You probably don't want to use your personal profile page to promote your brand. But luckily, it's quick and simple to set up a Facebook page and use that instead. That way, you're always going to have some little safe haven on the Internet where you don't have to be 'on brand' and can just chill out with your family and laugh at cat videos...
Panic about social media
It's easy to feel overwhelmed but you really don't need to be. Social media can help get the word out about your books but it's also there to support you in writing. I've found some great groups on G+ including this one, that offer so much advice it's embarrassing.
And if you don't have time to use social media there are tools to help with that (unfortunately not a time machine, although that would be beyond cool, obviously). I use Buffer to help me schedule my twitter and facebook posts for a few days at a time. Using this tool I'm able to keep an online presence even when I'm preoccupied with other things—like writing that next book.
Knock up your own cover, because you know how to use Photoshop right?
All the best.
I spent a total of 2 hours making my first cover for The Face Stealer. I did this because I obviously know how to use Photoshop (I'm not a moron ;) ) and getting a nice cover costs money that I just wasn't going to spend. I'm not a designer but I figured I'd get a good cover looking at others for inspiration.
Here it is. Don't laugh.
And here's my new cover by Nessgraphica.
A bit of a difference there.
The feedback on this cover has been phenomenal and always generates positive reactions on social media. I'm gutted I left the cover as an afterthought. If I had this cover in place when I first launched the book, and with those first couple of weeks of heady sales, it might have been enough to get it noticed and start pulling its own weight.
As it was, the initial cover did nothing but imply that the book's content was amateur. Now, I'm having to work extra hard in marketing to try and get it noticed again, and this is time I'd rather be spending writing.
What lessons did you learn when you published your first book?
If this has been helpful, please share.
This in turn led to a number of mistakes, which on their own were certainly not disastrous, but together generated a considerable amount of effort later.
Here are my mistakes, try not to make these:
Publish on Kindle and join the KDP programme.
This 90 day exclusivity period meant I'd get a fraction of the collective pot should anyone borrow my book. But, just think—90 days. Three whole months where you can ONLY sell on Amazon. No Barns and Noble, no Smashwords, no Apple bookstore.
The situation may well be different for an established author but a new author starting out needs all the publicity and selling channels they can get. Why limit your markets?
Maintain a shoddy looking blog
We al know how important a good base on the Internet is. For many writers, that shelter from the storm is likely to be a blog. It's where you're going to direct much of your audience and potential readers. Why wouldn't you want it looking awesome before your book goes live?
And this blog doesn't have to be Wordpress (despite many vocal authors suggesting it should). The website you're reading now is all Blogger, with a few simple formatting tweaks (to remove image borders and improve font colours).
Don't bother getting your own domain
Because it's a load of hassle and costs a bomb and anyway what the hell do I know about computers and stuff?
But really, it doesn't cost that much at all and although redirecting to your blog isn't quite as easy as falling off a log, it shouldn't take you more than a hour or two to get right. And there's loads of tutorials to help you do this (not the falling of a log part—you're going to have to manage that part on your own).
If you don't do this now, when you get to be at least moderately successful, you're going to want to direct people to a nice clean sounding website: not one with blogspot or wordpress as part of your URL. Why not do it now so you don't risk confusing your readers further down the line?
I bought my domain through 1&1 Internet and apparently this isn't as easy to get to play nice with Blogger as some other domain providers, but it is doable (and I did it in an hour). I also help look after a family business website and we used GoDaddy for that. My advice would be to decide on your blog platform, check out a couple of internet domain registrars and look for instructions on using your custom domain with the blogging platform you've decided.
Don't worry about Facebook, I've already got a Facebook account
Except your Facebook account is probably your personal account with pictures of cats and ice bucket challenge videos. Why put your readers through that?
You probably don't want to use your personal profile page to promote your brand. But luckily, it's quick and simple to set up a Facebook page and use that instead. That way, you're always going to have some little safe haven on the Internet where you don't have to be 'on brand' and can just chill out with your family and laugh at cat videos...
Panic about social media
It's easy to feel overwhelmed but you really don't need to be. Social media can help get the word out about your books but it's also there to support you in writing. I've found some great groups on G+ including this one, that offer so much advice it's embarrassing.
And if you don't have time to use social media there are tools to help with that (unfortunately not a time machine, although that would be beyond cool, obviously). I use Buffer to help me schedule my twitter and facebook posts for a few days at a time. Using this tool I'm able to keep an online presence even when I'm preoccupied with other things—like writing that next book.
Knock up your own cover, because you know how to use Photoshop right?
All the best.
I spent a total of 2 hours making my first cover for The Face Stealer. I did this because I obviously know how to use Photoshop (I'm not a moron ;) ) and getting a nice cover costs money that I just wasn't going to spend. I'm not a designer but I figured I'd get a good cover looking at others for inspiration.
Here it is. Don't laugh.
And here's my new cover by Nessgraphica.
A bit of a difference there.
The feedback on this cover has been phenomenal and always generates positive reactions on social media. I'm gutted I left the cover as an afterthought. If I had this cover in place when I first launched the book, and with those first couple of weeks of heady sales, it might have been enough to get it noticed and start pulling its own weight.
As it was, the initial cover did nothing but imply that the book's content was amateur. Now, I'm having to work extra hard in marketing to try and get it noticed again, and this is time I'd rather be spending writing.
What lessons did you learn when you published your first book?
If this has been helpful, please share.
August 18, 2014
The Face Stealer
So, after a little sneak peak last week, I’m pleased to reveal the new cover for The Face Stealer. I think it’s bloody marvellous, and I hope you do too.
This is all the hard work of Alexander von Ness, a book cover designer extraordinaire. His company Nessgraphica has the tagline ‘Book covers on steroids’ and if you check out the rest of his portfolio you can see that he means it.
I’ve updated my book on Amazon, but still have a fair bit to do to update the images on other sites. For now though, I’m happy just to bask in this gobsmacking design.
The Face Stealer at Amazon UK: http://goo.gl/agIIWu
The Face Stealer at Amazon.com: http://goo.gl/x4IN0f
Alex’s website: http://www.nessgraphica.com/
I am not Wil Wheaton
So, at an audition for The Chase last week, a fellow auditionee asked me if we'd met somewhere before.
"Have you ever been to Southport," I asked."No. Never.""Erm, some people have commented that I look like Wil Wheaton."
A look of delight crossed his face followed swiftly by a crushing disappointment as it sank in that he wasn't actually sat next to his idol auditioning for a gameshow.
Compounded by another auditionee chirping in with glee. "Yes, it's Wil Wheaton."
No. I'm afraid not. And as you can see from the photo above, there is absolutely no resemblance between Wil and myself.
