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Michael Cargill
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Michael Cargill - 2nd edition of Saying Goodbye to Warsaw
Oiy!Don't be posting our email addresses in here, Mike!
Yup, email addresses can be trawled by search engine bots which can mean that you get targeted for spam. Not a good idea.So the trick when giving email addresses over the internet is to disguise them a little, like taking out the @ symbol. That way humans can read them but bots can't.
I don't want my email made public in any form. Sheesh.
Understandable.We author types have to be a bit more adventurous. Email addresses are a part of the shop window. Mind you, that's why I have seven. And Will Once isn't my real name!
It's Will Twice - but that sounds like boasting... ;)
I thought he was maybe Will once, but isn't any more.
I don't think that kind of email harvesting is profitable any more, but I've removed them any way.Edit - Oh, Patti did it already!
Right, y'all should have received an email from me.
I have, thank you. I'll get on to it asap.
Finally started reading them. Just began the third.
I don't think I got back to you Michael.Give me a prod if I don't email you later today.
Tut! You can't get the staff, can you? ;)
Sorry Michael, things got a bit busy, I'll be starting it on my next day off on Tuesday.
No need to apologise, Claire, take your time.
I'm in the midst of 'Nurse'.Loving it.
Kindle sez 36 minutes left so I should finish before bedtime.
Authorly update time!The decision not to release the short stories bruised my ego quite a bit, so I ended up sulking in front of the Xbox for a few weeks until my testosterone levels recovered.
I decided to take a look at one of my first releases, Underneath, and found myself shocked (and maybe a little embarrassed) at how clunky and amateur it felt.
In fact, it read like a first draft that I hadn't yet done any editing on.
As such, I'm treating it like a first draft that hasn't had any editing, which means I'm effectively rewriting it. I've almost finished the first run through and will be giving it at least one more after that.
In a way this is a good thing as it shows how much I've improved over the last couple of years or so.
The story, plot, characters, etc. will be unchanged, but those who have already read it can expect an even more terrifying, angry, and dangerous Hugh to find his way onto your Kindle...
Good on ya, Mikey!I'm proud of you!
You're a damn fine writer, you know.
Good luck.I'm doing the same thing myself. Or rather I've taken some of my older stuff down while I decide whether to update/re-do it or just put it back into the drawer permanently.
Cheers.I've actually binned off two of the shorts I had up on Amazon back in the early days.
I'm thinking of getting rid of my short stories too, one of them is now the first few chapters of a new novel. I may do something similar with the others.What is irritating though is Goodreads not allowing you to take them down from here when you decide to unpublish. I can see why they think the way they do, though.
Forgot to give an update on this. The new version of Underneath has been uploaded to Amazon, Smashwords, and CreateSpace. Anyone who bought it on Kindle can (presumably) get the new edition direct from Amazon.Anyone else can just download it direct from here - http://michaelcargill.co.uk/
(Yes, I now have my own domain! No, I don't know what to do with it...)
Purchase links:
Amazon UK - http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1490451536
Amazon US - https://amzn.com/B008C3HIA2
Smashwords - https://www.smashwords.com/books/view...
Ha! Can't believe I missed that bit out.The new version of Underneath!
Link?Good grief, Mikey.
Do I need to lead you round by the nose?
I wasn't as optimistic about sales as you were, but I've now added the purchase links.
Michael Cargill wrote: "I wasn't as optimistic about sales as you were, but I've now added the purchase links."Patti has very exacting standards; best follow them.
This is why we get on so well, Alicia.You accept my megalomania.
Patti (baconater) wrote: "This is why we get on so well, Alicia.You accept my megalomania."
What megalomania? Standards are not megalomania; they are merely standards.
Okay.*sits back, smiling and stroking her cat*
Authorly update 1:A few weeks back I re-wrote Shades of Grey, my short story collection that was originally published way back in 2011.
The plots, characters, etc. are all the same but it now reads far better than it did.
You purchase a copy from Amazon UK and Amazon US, whilst reviewers can bag themselves a free copy from my website - http://www.michaelcargill.co.uk/
Authorly update 2:For as long as I can remember, I've had two potent ideas for a story bouncing around in my head - one was set in WWII and the other had a fantasy setting.
Today I fired up Microsoft Word and, after starting at a blank page for five minutes, finally settled on "Fantasy Story 2" as the working title.
As of right now the tale is a mere 211 words long and hasn't moved much beyond talking about birds and horses, but that will be changing soon.
Those of you who did some proof reading for me a while back may well remember a character called Alena from the fantasy story... well, this time around she is the main character in a completely new story.
Ooooooo!Email me a copy of Shades, dude. I wanna see what you've done with it.
Looking forward to seeing Alena again! She's a great character!
I've emailed you the mobi file for Shades to your Golden Yahoo address.It's good to see some fans of Alena! As it happens I didn't originally intend for her to be as strong a character as she turned out to be.
Did you revise 'Shades' 50 times?
Thanks, Mikey! I'll do the proofing thing on it, if you like?So, so pleased you've got something for me to read!
Ha! The chore of editing certainly makes it feel like I've revised it 50 times.Patti, feel free to do the proofing if you want but I'm certainly not expecting you to.
No worries. I'll do a half arsed job of it to make sure you don't feel you owe me money for it. ;)
I often find titles come late, don't stress it
Patti (baconater) wrote: "No worries. I'll do a half arsed job of it to make sure you don't feel you owe me money for it. ;)"Which half of your arse will you use?
Marc, as a proud pantser, I find that the entire story comes late...!
Gingerlily - Mistress Lantern wrote: "Patti (baconater) wrote: "No worries. I'll do a half arsed job of it to make sure you don't feel you owe me money for it. ;)"Which half of your arse will you use?"
I'm left arsed.
Michael Cargill wrote: "Marc, as a proud pantser, I find that the entire story comes late...!"Panster.
I have no clue what that means.
A plotter is a writer who writes out a plan for their story before starting on it.A pantser writes on the seat of their pants, essentially making it up as they go along.
You would have to have very big pants to write a novel on the seat of them!
Michael Cargill wrote: "Marc, as a proud pantser, I find that the entire story comes late...!"I hear ya buddy!
Hi all. I can't believe it's been nearly five years since I posted in here.The fantasy story I talked about back in 2016 hasn't been touched since 2017, and still lies at a mere 9k words long. The ideas are still there, and I think about it fairly regularly, but I just haven't sat down to put them to words yet.
I'm still hoping to get it written.
In more productive news, I've released a new edition of Saying Goodbye to Warsaw. The story is exactly as it was, but it reads much better now. I went through it three times:
On the 1st run, I didn't actually change all that much. There were loads of sections that annoyed me, but I seemed to be doing little more than replacing fullstops with semi-colons.
My 2nd run made me happier, as I managed to smashed open the annoying sections and piece them back together into something far more readable. I also undid most of the semi-colon work from my first run.
3rd run was a refinement of the previous two, and I was very pleased with the results.
According to the stats, this new edition is about 1.5k words shorter, but what remains is a far better and smoother reading experience.
I've got an idea for an extra half-chapter or so which would provide some closure for one of the minor characters, but decided against writing it. Although I consider this story to be the best of my work, the subject matter is grim and I always feel sad when going through it again.
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Books mentioned in this topic
Saying Goodbye to Warsaw (other topics)Shades of Grey (other topics)
Underneath (other topics)
We Go Again (other topics)
We Go Again (other topics)
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Tut. Can't remember my own email address. Admittedly, it is one of seven I use ...