A book cover is like a door to a hidden world

A book cover is like a door to a hidden world – open that door and peep inside, but be careful – a book has the power to draw you inside and never let you go…

If you open that book and find it to be empty, then you must be the one who is meant to fill that book – fill it with something amazing…

Is a true story harder than fiction...?

I did it, I found a little chunk of time between looking after animals, and stuff to do, to get some writing done - ah that feels better.

I'm writing a true story at the moment, which ought to be easier than writing fiction, but I'm finding it harder than fiction, maybe because fiction is just me and my imagination flying off wherever it needs to go. True stories involve other people, and an obligation to get it right...

But time is short - not like the puppy who is far from short these days, and needing more and more exercise to keep him happy - time for a walk I think...

#LostinaBook #amwriting 

Ideas have no sense of timing or order...

Ideas have no sense of timing or order - they just spring into one's head and start running around like unruly puppies. And I should know, I currently have ideas and an unruly puppy to fit into my already busy days.

Why is it that while I was in the final stages of finishing my book, I was brimming with all sorts of ideas to launch and promote it – I even wrote some of them down... somewhere.

Yet now when I need all those ideas they seem to have fled - and ideas for my next book are rampaging around in my head... I guess I’m a writer not a promoter...

So here it is, you know, if you're fancying a new book: 

 

#LostinaBook 

Feeding the monsters in the kitchen... or just letting an imagination run wild...?

Write about what you know - well I know that there's something in the corner that has developed an attitude and is making some very strange noises - what sort of monster can it be - there I go, writing about  monsters again when I know people are too scared to buy the stories... First it was the monster under the bed, and now it's the monster in the corner of the kitchen.

The monster in the corner of the kitchen has an actual physical presence, it's of an era when it was decided that such appliances should have intelligence... it didn't need intelligence, it just needed to do as it was told, and now it's having some sort of brain storm. It's got more water in it than usual, and it's making some funky noises,as if it's trying to digest the clothes that it's meant  to be washing... if it ever gets to the spin cycle it may well set off across the floor and attack the tumble drier, or maybe join forces with it. The drier chews things and the washer sounds like it's digesting them... maybe I should stop feeding these monsters... or maybe... I should get some work done and stop letting my imagination run away with itself - but where's the fun in that?

Let the books come to you - from Lost in a Book

January at Lost in a Book:

Time to read, time to write and time to get the paints out and make some mess...!

It's snowing at last! Yes that's right, I love the snow, though it does look a bit wet... no snowman today :(

Anyway, make sure you wipe your feet on the virtual doormat on your way into my online shop, we don't want the floor turning into a skating rink...!

So what's the big idea at Lost in a Book this week? Well since it's snowing, and it is ski season - A Face Full of Snow is my big promotion this week - it's in the shop window on my homepage, where you can read an excerpt, and at the top of my online bookshop 

So come on in and browse around - pop along and have a chat on my facebook page - I'll be happy to drop everything and rush a book into the post for you...

  

Book marketing, it's not all about first editions

Book marketing:

Attacking it from every angle...

The signed first edition: Yes I have first editions, some signed, some waiting to be signed and personalised. My latest book is not only first edition and signed, but it's also a small first print run of just 100 books, all of which will be numbered - so they're pretty special books all round.

And why are they such a short print run? Well, when I get inspired for a new book, practicalities don't come into it. If my idea works best  with lots of colour pictures, then I just run with it and work it out later. But at some point, as a self publisher I have to decide how my latest project is going to be financially viable. That's the point when I tell the printer all the details and hold my breath waiting for the quote to come through...

Then it's number crunching time, and my brain doesn't run well on numbers - it's a bit like putting diesel in a petrol engine, my brain runs much better on words than numbers. Anyway, it has t be done, even if it gives me a headache... and in the case of Outnumbered by Cats I decided I couldn't edit out any more colour photos of cats and kittens, so I went with the exclusive angle, cut my profit margin and went for a small print run, pricing the books at £9.99 per copy.

But it's not all about first editions

Putting books into little hands: Most of my books are for children, and the most satisfying sales are to children who choose their own book, and then get it handed to them in their pushchair, or walk away reading it, because I know that their parents understand the value of a book, it's not about keeping books pristine, it's about giving books to children of all ages and letting them enjoy them, because a shabby book is a loved book - just like a favourite teddy bear...

How not to write a blurb...

So my task of the day is to write a blurb for my forthcoming book...

I made a start, I made some notes, then I remembered that there is a formula for writing blurbs - buzz words, and ways of making a blurb stand out, so I googled it...

I read some advice about how to go about it, the best one seemed to be to read the blurbs from similar books to get inspiration, which lead me to a well known on line book seller, and that's when inspiration turned to distraction - after reading some blurbs, I then progressed to the 'look inside' option, and I was soon totally absorbed in reading some first chapters, and now have a short list of 3 books that I simply have to read...  so what now - well maybe I should analyse what took me from market research to need to buy... or maybe I should just get my head down and write my blurb...