Thursday, 28 June 2012

I sold my first book last night.  I printed some leaflets informing the people in the street where I live that I have had my first book published and they could get a copy from amazon if they wanted.  I included my mobile phone number and before I had delivered to both sides of the street my phone rang, to my utter amazement it was a customer.  They were so pleased to be able to buy a signed copy from me, they had loads of questions, it was good to think that people might be interested in what I do.  I'm expecting a couple more neighbours to come round to my house later to pick up a copy.   My book looks good on amazon and I can't resist but to have a look every day, how sad is that? :-)

Monday, 25 June 2012

My Amazon accounts went live today so now books can be purchased on-line using both .com and .co.uk, so it's available in the USA and Canada.
Just arranged a book signing at work for next Wednesday, loads of staff not invited to book launch want to get their hands on a copy so I thought cream cakes and book signing was the way to go.  An all staff e-mail went out today reminding them that I was featured in the staff magazine last month so hopefully the temptation of cakes will bring them out.

Sunday, 24 June 2012

I feel happier about my books now having asked several friends their opinion. They all agree that I am being picky with my first impressions, they also think that at £9.99 the price is right for a newly released book.  My mother is the first to have read it and even though she may well be a little biased, I'm sure she would have told me if the plot was not good.  She of course loved every word and can't wait for the next one.   The sequel may well be some months away, I have written the first chapter but have no plans to rush on with it.  I'm half way through something else and would rather finish that off first.  That's my current thinking but that might change!
Gearing up now for the book launch on 30th, people have been asking for a copy but I think we should wait until after next weekend before I start selling them off.
Amazon.com is showing details geared for the American market but as yet I can find no trace of it on Amazon.co.uk although my publisher assures me it's in the system.  I guess I will just have to be patient and wait for it to appear.

Thursday, 21 June 2012

Got my pile of books delivered from publisher today.  They look great but there is always something you would have liked to have changed.  Now they are in print I can see technical things that I would have done differently, however, apart from that and the inevitable odd typo that I and my publisher would have missed, they look good and I'm excited about the book launch next weekend.  I have a couple of other marketing ploys arranged too, and hope that at £9.99 I can convince people to buy one.  I have confidence in the story and once I've sold a few then no doubt I will feel a little better, probably relieved too!  The book has not yet appeared on Amazon so just send an e-mail off to publisher asking for clarification, hopefully it will be on there soon and people can start ordering and feeding back.

Tuesday, 19 June 2012



Meet Lizzie, she has been painted using a mono-chrome technique in acrylic.  Paines gray and white are the predominent shades with a little black mixed in.  Lizzie is an old friend having been created in 2008 on a box canvas measuring 500mmX500mm.  One day she might become a character in one of my novels.
My novel has now gone live, whatever that means.  I thought it would appear on Amazon, however, my publisher told me that might take a few days longer!  The print run bagan on Monday 18th and I should have a box of books for my book launch next week.  The venue has been booked and invites sent out, I am working on my speech but my wife has told me to keep it short!  I was looking forward to entertaining my audience with tales of writing and mad characters, but I will have to re-think or I'll be in trouble! :-)
I'm really looking forward to this as the book launch is the begining of my marketing plan and hopefully my guests will buy my book, signed of course, and tell all their friends.  This should generate sales on Amazon.

Thursday, 7 June 2012

Good news at last, light at the end of the tunnel and all those other cliches! My novel The Belgae Torc becomes live on 14th and the official book launch has been confirmed 30th June. Frantic arrangements are now underway with invitations being sent out and many other arrangements are now going ahead. It's been a long time in the planning but now all that hard work is about to come to fruition. Will post details of ISBN number soon so you can pick up a copy from Amazon.

Friday, 1 June 2012

The final PDF file arrived today with all the corrections done, have checked and it looks good. Just have to scan the whole thing to be sure its good to go then send acknowledgement back to publisher. My novel can then be finalised for printing then the process can begin. Hope to have a box of books in a couple of weeks and can now confirm venue and date for my book launch.