Stuck Again

Lovesick is like an old lawnmower: sometimes it fires up quickly and runs efficiently, other times it starts then coughs and splutters into silence, and on occasions it doesn't fire up at all. I'm stuck again at the moment, that is, nearly two weeks now with no time and nothing new to contribute, no spark of desire or imagination. When I eventually finish it, it will be my greatest triumph.

In other news, I had two short stories accepted for publication this week. One of my goals is to hit 50 short story publishing credits in 2015, and perhaps celebrating the milestone by publishing an anthology. What do you think?

Under exposure

When Ashmore Grief was released, my publisher organised a giveaway on Goodreads. Three copies were given to randomly selected people who marked it 'to read'. Just over 300 people entered the giveaway.

Fast forward one year and only four of those people have actually read it, and only two have reviewed it. So, inspired by an interview I read with Lee Childs, I decided to reach out to these people and try to encourage them to read Ashmore Grief.

My method is to send a friend request with an offer of a free digital copy in exchange for a review. (If you haven't read it, I now make the same offer to you. If you have, could could please write a short review.)

Thus far, and it takes time because Goodreads limits the number of friend requests you can send in a day, I have sent 200 requests. I started about six weeks ago. I have received 7 acceptances, and one lady has already posted her review Ashmore Grief reader reviews

This experiment clearly demonstrates once again the need for greater exposure. Less than 5% of the people to whom I offered a free copy have accepted. 5% of 2000 is a lot more people than 5% of 200, and 5% of 20000 is many more again. You see my point.

I'm still trying to break through and reach significantly greater numbers of people. I am under exposed. Writers...has any method proved particularly successful for you?

Premature reflection

It troubles me that I have not had a novel released this year, and will not. A Muddy Red River will be released next year, and my previous two novels were released in 2013, in January and September respectively. When I go full time I won't let that happen again. In fact I would like to release two books each year: one novel and one work of non fiction.

I've only had 8 short stories published this year so far, which although better than the 6 which were published in 2013, is still less than the glorious 18 in 2012. Mind you, I have not written a new short story since the as yet unpublished Dry Reach in December 2012. Maybe I should.

2014 has been a relatively quiet year for me as a writer so far, although personally it has been anything but quiet. Turbulent and intense. Maybe next year the tables will turn. Maybe they'll turn next month. Perhaps even today. Let's see.

More rejections

I received two more rejections this week. Although rejections are unwelcome and often unpleasant reminders of how hard it can be to find a publisher, I already have one so I don't really care. In case you missed the news, I signed with Rogue Phoenix Press.

preview my forthcoming novel here  A Muddy Red River

I still have 13 more emails to write to publishers from whom I have not heard.

Work

Spent part of the morning writing emails to inform the various publishers to whom I submitted either a query and sample, or the full manuscript of A Muddy Red River, that I have signed with another publisher. Thankfully they were all okay with simultaneous submissions which meant I could send out a lot of submissions in a relatively short period of time. It also means that now I need to, out of courtesy, let them all know. No problem. I may submit to them again in the future, who knows?

Breath of Encouragement

A very special friend of mine, who is also one of my greatest supporters, sent me a link to an interesting article. It was in my inbox this morning. The link is below if you want to read the whole article which is about the power of author branding, but here's what I took from it.

Lee Childs, the creator of the Jack Reacher series, has sold 475 000 books and been translated into 16 languages. In the early days, he recalls standing in a book store for 3 hours, and managing to sell 5 books and make some new friends.

I've been there and done that. Now I want to go where Lee Childs is now, and I believe I can. Thanks for the encouragement Delia.

the power of author branding

What next?

A Muddy Red River will be published by Rogue Phoenix Press next year. I'll have some work to do on the manuscript and cover, and will share the latter as soon as it is available, but it's time to think about the next project. It would be more accurate to say begin the next project rather than think about it, because I have already given it a lot of thought. Since I completed the manuscript, my efforts have been intensely focused on finding a publisher. With that box happily ticked, what will I do now? 

I will write and/or submit more short stories, particularly targeting writing competitions to try to raise my profile. I would like to hit 50 short story credits before my fourth novel is released. I will write another novel. I will try to find an agent. And I will get on with  my study as I'm still falling behind.

Lastly, I will enjoy my work and my play.

Publishing update

The latest rejection of A Muddy Red River said that the there was no problem with the quality of the manuscript but they had reservations about its marketability. We'll see about that. Here's the state of play re A Muddy Red River. I have accepted a contract so now it's time to advise all those other publishers who have been nursing the manuscript, or part thereof, in their laps, or on their desks or ignoring it in their inboxes, that A Muddy Red River is no longer available.

Six publishers liked the sample enough to request the full manuscript. Two of those subsequently offered me a publishing contract. I haven't heard from the others yet. I also received 5 joint venture/subsidy publishing offers which I declined although I am considering using one of them to re cover and re release my debut novel, Devolution, into a large, specific market of readers.

10 publishers rejected A Muddy Red River, and I have not heard anything from 47 others to whom I submitted the manuscript. It is to that 47 that I must now direct my correspondence.

Any of you writers have tales of great rejections? Either in number or character? Anything to share. If not, simply share my joy as my fourth novel goes into production.

Delightful Deliberations

I'm a creative and passionate person. I've been called a dreamer but I know, with apologies to John Lennon, that I am not the only one. I have tended to make things hard for myself throughout my life while simultaneously wishing for and espousing the virtues of simplicity. I may complain about problems, rail against the onslaught of various tribulations, but that is life, and I love life.

I'm on the verge of signing a contract for the publication of my fourth novel, A Muddy Red River. I don't like details and fine print because I'm a big picture kind of person but am I unhappy about having to go over the fine print of a publishing contract? Hell no!

Preview A Muddy Red River here

Anxious anticipation

With the manuscript for my fourth novel now complete to my satisfaction and ready to send, I have begun the dreaded querying process. There are a number of reasons why I don't look forward to, and I don't enjoy, this period of anxious anticipation, but the least of them is rejection. 

I've been writing for 16 years and I'm still wandering around in the forest of anonymity. I'm used to rejection. I've become very philosophical about it because I believe that I am a good writer. When an editor rejects my work, they are voicing their opinion, and that is all. If they offer some constructive criticism, which is rare, I take it on board, and then I send my work to someone else. If they say nothing, or offer some generic 'thanks, but no thanks', I send my work to someone else. I keep looking for the editor who 'gets' me. The one who reads my writing and says: 'I like this. This is good. This works for me.' I'm looking for that person right now.

No, it's not the rejection that bothers me as such. It's the process. Find a suitable publisher, read their submission guidelines, put together a submissions package to meet their requirements, send it, then wait. There are a few publishers who unfairly do not accept simultaneous submissions, but the majority understand that, given some quite long response times, it is reasonable for writers to reach out to as many publishers as possible, as quickly as possible. The query process is a rolling sales pitch.

It's time consuming, and somewhat annoying due to the diverse submissions criteria of various publishers. I understand why some of them are so exacting. With so many submissions coming in, they have to use whatever means available to sort the wheat from the chaff, and to make it as easy as possible for themselves.

Time consumed by querying, means less time for writing. I'm pretty confident of finding a publisher, but feel no less anxiety as I send each query off on a wing and a prayer. I wonder when. I wonder who. I wonder if this time, I will break free from the prison of obscurity. Wish me luck.