Book stuff
I’m heading for a bit of a glorious conclusion with the book. I’ve literally just finished reading it to C, a process I really enjoyed … and which she seemed to persevere without too many moans. The good news is she liked it, and I managed to find a number of edits which I had previously missed. I know I may have said this before, but it’s a helluva thing, you know. Writing a book. More so, five of them. I follow a number of authors on Twitter and Instagram and so many of then are wrapped in self-doubt; many unable to finish their work. I see many five-star reviews posted by authors who are beside themselves with getting a decent review here and there. I know that the odd 5-star review does not translate into selling many books, so I have no idea how they manage to pay the bills if writing is the only thing they do. I suspect many hold down a second and a third job.
In that respect I am very lucky. We have set ourselves up so that I can just write – although, as you know, I do some work in schools. And I do get a lot of five-star reviews. I don’t mean to be boastful, but I have nearly 400 reviews on Amazon and Goodreads with an average rating of 4.2. I think that is good. But, like my fellow authors I don’t make anywhere near enough money selling books to live off. And whilst I’ve every intention of marketing hard in the autumn, I suspect I will never sell more than about 500 books a year. We shall see.
[image error]
the latest incarnation of the front page of On The Back Foot To Hell
Anyhow, as well as reading the script out loud I have been working on the worst of all jobs: the synopsis. This is a three-page resume of what happens and is never meant to be a pitch. Ignoring that, I started the synopsis of On The Back Foot To Hell like this:
+++++
On The Back Foot To Hell – Synopsis
This is a book about greed. And fear. It’s a book about tenacity. And mental health. In the end it’s a book that sees Sam Green, the unwilling star of four previous encounters with global antagonists, taken to the point from where she might never recover. It is more than a spy-thriller. It’s a story of PTSD. Of OCD and autism. It’s the story of a woman who has nothing left to live for, who finds herself at the point where even that is taken from her.
+++++
Doubtless, should I send it to an agent or publisher they won’t make it past the first paragraph, but as I’ve had no luck so far with anything other than self-publishing (OK, Fuelling The Fire was published by Kindle), what have I got to lose?
[image error]
Doris has been to the doctors to have new pads, a fuel filter and a new rear tyre. This is my attempt to change her oil and filter … but I couldn’t get the sump plug undone. Oh dear.
Moving on.
We’re a couple of days off from seeing Mum and Mary before we get on a plane to Korea. We should be excited … and we are. But since London it’s all been a bit of a blur. Doris has been in the doctors to get things sorted and we’ve been pottering about in ever decreasing circles seemingly achieving a lot, but on reflection, maybe not. Tomorrow is our last day at home and we’re not not completely sorted. I’m sure everything will be ok.
I’m sure it will …
