Review: 'Almost English' by Charlotte Mendelson

Almost English by Charlotte Mendelson




Shortlisted this novel may have been for the Orange prize, but it has been a warning to me as a writer. A warning that characters must be people readers like, empathise with, and so are willing to suspend disbelief and read on, wanting to know what happens to them.

I did my best to finish the book but gave up. Oh nothing wrong with the writing, Ms Mendelson is a skillful writer, she has a way with words and creates vivid settings. BUT her two MC women characters drove me nuts! I could not believe in a 17 year old student, Marina, aiming for Cambridge, so must have some brains, who is so bloody stupid that she believes a boy, a senior student at her school, who does not know her from Eve, but she has a crush on, will turn up at her home in London. He doesn't even live in London!

As for her wet, vacillating drip of a mother! Oh dear! Laura I found weak and just plain pathetic. The kind of person it is kindly said of that 'they do not know when to come in out of the rain.'

The London home, a flat belonging to the in-laws, is a vivid setting. Those Hungarian in-laws are larger than life characters and nicely 3D and comic, but the main characters...! Ah me! How can I empathsise with a woman who has remained living squeezed in to her in-laws' flat on a sofa bed because her husband disappeared some years ago. Her poor daughter she neglects and the pair of them droop and drip whilst their Hungarian in-laws stampede through life.

I am sure there will be lots of readers who roar with laughter as they read the novel and regard it as a literary 'Bridget Jone's Diary', another book I found unreadable. But I am sorry, I cannot feel for those MCs and the book is wasted on me.





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The Malice of Waves by Mark Douglas-Home

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Hurray, number three in the series and another intelligent read. The author doesn't just write a murder mystery of the 'Here's a body, find the murderer' school, he looks at consequences, causes and effects. This makes for a more thoughtful read, a more complex plot and characters worth reading about.

Cal McGill is now more heavily involved with being a pure Sea Detective and finding bodies and he is employed to find the body of a teenager, Max Wheeler, who disappeared from a tiny uninhabited island 5 years earlier. This happened in the Outer Hebrides and again the islands are very much characters in the story. Mr Wheeler is obsessed with finding his son, his daughters suffer, and the island population is sick of being regarded as an evil bunch who prefer to hide a murderer rather than speak the truth. A lot of cause and effect and its consequences. The police are involved again and so Cal meets up with and works with D.S. Helen Jamieson. It's a complex plot and a good read.

Mark Douglas-Home writes well and his prose is lucid and a pleasure to read. Readers don't need to start with the first novel as each novel stands alone but it does really add to reading pleasure to see how some of the things which happen tie back to earlier stories. If you haven't tried this series and enjoy a different kind of mystery this is one not to miss.



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Review of 'Down Among the Dead Men'

Down Among the Dead Men by Peter Lovesey

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Peter Lovesey has been writing good crime novels for many years, and they are good. He has some seriously prestigious awards for them.

'Down Among the Dead Men' is a British police procedural about one of his popular detectives, Peter Diamond. This time Diamond has to play spy in a neighbouring police force, checking on the claims of wrongful imprisonment and suppression of evidence. He does not want to do this but his commanding officer, Georgina Dallymore, has ordered him to accompany her on the job. Peter is even more reluctant when it seems that an old colleague and friend is the officer under investigation.

There's a nice brisk plot with lots of twists and turns, some interesting characters, and subplots which all tie in neatly at the end. It's a good read, not grim and gritty, but witty and clever. An excellent read for all those who like police procedurals and an excellent book for those who are new to the genre and want to see what a really good writer can do in the genre.



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Writer's Choice is up and off with two novels on their way to launching.

Into February already. Writer's Choice colleagues are steaming ahead with their books. So much preparation before the release. ‘Four Nails’ by G.J. Berger is launching first. Then Sharon Robards is launching her 'Playing With Fire'. Both are historicals but a thousand plus years apart. My own novel, 'Bittersweet' has a long way to go before May's launch. I have a whole rewrite to do. Who'd be a writer. Realistically I am looking at October but I would like to make May.

2016 has been, so far, much more peaceful and far less stressful. My rotten neighbour has had to pay me damages for his spraying my land with weed killer. The court case is over and the neighbour is moving out. Heaven help whoever he next becomes neighbour of for his foul mouth and interfering habits will not stop. Sad how some people waste their lives in spite and nastiness.

Good news for New Zealand writers, especially the Indies, is that the New Zealand Society of Authors plans a National Writers' Forum and indies are allowed. I am encouraging as many as possible to attend. It seems to me we might have a chance to get a few things sorted out. Every month I receive an SOS from some poor new writer who has written a book and wants to publish it or have it published. There is no useful information about publishing at the NZSA website, just very general stuff, not many useful links, and not much help unless you pay your fee and sign up for one of their few mentoring slots. Indies are very good about helping each other so I think we need to get the NZSA aware of what we have and do. That will take some doing.

More Tips from the Helpful

I love all the advice from Shawn and RJ but I want to know why when I do all these things I still cannot get one person to sign up for my email newsletter which goes out (or will when I have readers!) once a year!!!!!!
Seems to me there is a magic wand involved and something else which no one can name but the lucky ones have.

Well I will persist in my efforts but I do wonder.

Here are the tips for gaining a list of readers and a hint about why we all need beta readers.


Shawn & R.J. from Book Marketing Tools
http://bookmarketingtools.com

We all know the story: you write a book, find an agent, get rejected, get signed with a publisher, excitement! Joy! Then they ask, "Send us all of the people in your audience, so we can get the word out." Some publishers won't even give you a book deal unless you already have a built-in audience. That is what has made self-publishing so appealing for many authors. But, the need for an audience is still there, no matter which publishing path you take.

We here at Book Marketing Tools have told you... "Build a list..." But we say now, "Build an audience and own that audience."

There are subtle, but major differences between those two approaches...


A list is just a group of people represented by emails.

An audience are those same people, but who get engaged and who are highly interested in you and your books.

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A list can be passive with little conversation between you and them, usually in one direction (from you to them).

An audience is the group of people who you are highly engaged with, those you talk with and those that talk back.

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A list is numbers.

An audience is real people.

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The reason you should build and own an audience over just building a list is because those who own audiences have more leverage and have the ability to sell books at will.

I said that right, "sell books at will!"

Think of brands and people that own their audience: Apple, Oprah, Coke, Zappos, Stephen King, Amazon, etc. when they sell their latest widget, book, product, or service it's not a question of who will buy, but how much... They are selling at will.

Ok, so you've learned how to build a list, but how do you build and own an audience, so you can sell at will...

Here are some basic tips to help you get started:
• get your list more engaged by asking for their input. At BMT we have begun to do this by regularly asking our audience / list what they think about things. This one act has created a stronger audience than when we first started just building a list.
• ask your list to be part of what you are doing for project and books. I was shocked to see the response when we did this at BMT. Every 6 months we ask all those that have been on our list for at least 6 months to be part of our guest blogging program, this has allowed our list to contribute to our growing blog and it has given them visibility among their peers.

How can you do the same?

We'd love to hear what you think would be good ways to get your list engaged with you, contributing ideas and feedback in your business, with your books, etc.


BETA READERS?


Believe me, we know all too well how hard it can be to share your work. You created these vulnerable characters; you built this fantasy world. What if the readers don’t like it? What if they do? What if they think you are terrible/amazing/stupid/mediocre? As long as your story remains tucked away in the confines of your laptop, it is safe.

But surely that misses the point of writing. We write because we have something to say. We believed in our ideas enough to spend all that time writing and editing; now we need to believe in them enough to share them with others.

A good first step for a lot of writers is to find a community of beta readers. These are real people from around the world who love reading and love giving feedback to writers. They are not professional proofreaders or editors; rather, they relish in setting their eyes on fresh writing and being the first to find the gems.



There are a number of online communities that exist to help writers find beta readers, including Wattpad and Scribophile. We also like a new app called Penned, which allows you to read and share stories right from your phone.

So go on. Be brave. Put it out there and see what happens!

If only...

I have been enjoying the brilliance, clarity and sheer genius of Dr Philip Ball. The Doctor is 'a freelance science writer, broadcaster and lecturer who's particularly interested in the interactions of the sciences, the arts, and the wider culture.' That sounds somewhat abstruse. In fact Ball makes it all so fascinating I'm in despair.

In May he was one of the guests invited to New Zealand for the Auckland Writers Festival. He gave two talks - the first 'Bright Earth: the Invention of Colour' was recorded at Te Papa in Wellington. The second ‘Invisibility: A Cultural History’ was recorded at St Margaret’s College in Christchurch and both were gobsmackingly brilliant and utterly depressed me. He is one of those incredible people who can link unlikely things and make connections which pull parts together and give the listener a great Eureka moment.

I'm hoping to buy his latest book: 'Bright Earth: Art and the Invention of Colour', published by the University of Chicago Press, ISBN: 9780226036281. I learnt so much not only about colour and art but about people, history and chemistry. But it was his talk, ‘Invisibility: A Cultural History’ which has had me going back to Radio New Zealand to listen and I still haven't got half of it sorted in my head.

What I wonder about is where Dr Philip Ball got the ideas and how he could see that they stretched across all the things he linked so sensibly? This kind of intelligence and ability to see beyond surfaces and basic ideas stuns me. I do not feel capable of doing this myself and know that I need to do it in order to write the things I want to write. Hence the depression and frustration as the novel refuses to make sense and won't go where it ought to in order for me to finish it. Listening to the talks simply leaves me feeling perhaps I should not waste my time trying to write because I won't be able to write anything worth much anyway.

This is mid-novel blues and time to call on the strength of my colleagues in Writer's Choice and get mutual support, sympathetic groans and some bracing advice. It seems to me that writers on their own need to make sure they have a support system for those agonising days, weeks and even months. I wonder what Dr Philip Ball could make of this creative depression and what he might connect it to. I would love to know in the hope of preventing the dread depression next time I hit the mid-novel blues.

A really useful place for Indie Writers

I've been working with two wonderful new writers. Full of enthusiasm, grit, stickability and thousands of story ideas these two newbies put the writers' group to shame.

Moaning about not getting published via the traditional route this writers' group wouldn't even consider being independent and forming a co-op to help each other publish. Too much hard work and they couldn't sell their books, it was too difficult.

Sigh!

Might I recommend to all Indies new or established that they join up or even just check out the Author Marketing Club.com? Full of useful advice from successful Indies, and PR experts there are videos and podcasts, transcripts of the same, and the wonderful check list. http://authormarketingclub.com/members/checklist/

There is a free basic service and a paid (not too expensive either) premium service.

My newbie novelist is determined to have the novel out in kindle and then paperback by year's end. Naturally she is eagerly reading all the advice she can find and agrees that the Author Marketing Club check list is the best yet.

Indies take note and go and read it.

Emails and the Book Fair

Why life gets in the way of writing is something we writers all moan about. I note that the men moan less. They usually have wives to do the cooking, cleaning and child rearing for them. I need a wife, or housekeeper or a good WWOOFer to do all the chores, manage the telephone and let me write. Life has been intrusive for months with that stupid neighbour, and the court case, insurance problems, medical problems, penguin protection problems and the need to do these water exercises to keep walking. I'd rather write, preferably on a desert island with a ready supply of fruit and nuts.

April and May have been extra hellish for trying to chase up the problem with my emails being blocked. I haven't heard from my Writer's Choice colleagues for a month. I know they will be cross. I have a possible new member with a novel nearly ready to go, but it will take a lot of thought and discussion to include her. Can't do that without email working. My invoices for next month's income never arrived. I missed the deadlines! Financially next month will be difficult. 'Fascinating' as Mr Spock would say.

Email problems can render one paranoid. Why does the normal stuff get through but every vital, important, financial or writerly email not arrive? Who is reading my email and destroying it? No idea. Which writer out there took offence at my review? At least I can laugh about it all.

It has been particularly difficult without email trying to get the Indie Book Fair organised. It is in Auckland and you have to book a table and space, pay for it and then organise a place to sleep, never mind about bouncing all over the internet trying to catch really cheap flights which are flashed up once a day. It has taken two months to make contact, pay and register.

Indies have to be active. I wish Kiwi Indies would wake up to the book fair. Last year I carried some twenty odd South island writers' books on my stand. The naiveties of most of those writers worried me. Sitting with 500 or 1,000 books in their garage you'd think they would welcome the Book Fair. Not if they had to pay money to go! Not if they had to pay a part share of the space. Not if they had to supply a couple of free books as a giveaway. Sigh.

Someone who sells a lot of his Indies books online and at fairs said that in order to sell a writer needs to be where his readers are. The Indies Book Fair is crowded with readers looking for interesting and different books. Surely it's a good place to be if you want to sell a few books. Wake up Kiwi Indies and start thinking.

Useful Advice for Indies about Twitter.

I am always grateful for places like IndiesUnlimited because of the sound, practical and useful advice I find there. I am nearly sure these extracts come from there. I am now thinking more kindly about Twitter. See what you think.


'Why would Google want tweets? Twitter has become the first line of communication in breaking events. If an event occurs on the other side of the world, tweets are relaying that information in nearly real time. If Google has access to that information (called the Twitter Firehose) then it can include it in search results immediately and it doesn’t have to rely on crawlers to acquire info.

What does this mean for us? Well, first off, it’s probably a good idea to get on Twitter if you are not already. Does this mean that if you tweet about your book fifty times a day, people will start to see you book show up on Google? No. However, if you are active on Twitter, and you can align yourself with good content, there is a better chance that Google will lend credibility to your tweets.'

Makes sense doesn't it? And Google certainly is aiming to take over the internet world.

Another consideration is current events. If you write spy novels that involve stolen information from the government and today a rogue agent is busted for that in real life, then start tweeting. The more you connect your writing to current events (if possible) the better chance you’ll get visibility. The other day I saw an article about human trafficking in our region and thought of DV Berkom and her book Bad Traffick. With a few tweets and a link to the article, bam, you’ve just brought awareness to this tragic scourge on society and linked yourself to the cause. Meanwhile, you just might end up in a search as people turn to Google for more information.

I’m not suggesting spamming Twitter with tons of promos for your books. I’m suggesting that you now have a chance to connect yourself to issues that are important to you through means that might not have been available before. Please don’t take this as a holy grail.

Nice example and worth thinking about fellow writers?

We struggle every day as authors to get the word out about what we do. It’s important to be firing on all cylinders. The agreement between Google and Twitter might help us in that endeavor. So, if you aren’t active on Twitter, maybe now is the time to reconsider. It will take a few months before the effect is noticed on Google, as the best estimate of the functionality taking place is sometime in the first half of the year. Happy tweeting!

Reviews. We Indies really need them. This advice is simple, easy to follow and comes from one of those nice author marketing groups whose name I cannot remember!

Here is how to find book reviewers on Twitter:
1. Load up Twitter, and using the search form, search "book reviewer" "book blogger" "(your genre) reviews" and other topics like that. Be creative! I don't want everyone contacting the same exact reviewers!
2. This will show you a list of Tweets. Scroll and find the "People" box, and click "View All". You will then find all profiles related to your search topic.
3. Click on each profile and make sure they are a) active with a fairly recent tweet and b) they have at least 100 followers (the more the better).
4. Then, identify possible matches, click through the Website listed on their Twitter profile, and find their rules for review submissions.
5. If your book is within the confines of their rules, then submit your book for review!
That's it! You should be able to find quite a few people willing to review your book! They will have some reach on social media, and they will increase exposure of your book!

The Writer's Choice members are split between those who use Twitter and those who won't. I've found it useful for spreading the word about eco and political things I care about and for sharing markets and tips for writers. I do not spend time there. I cheat. Most sites I visit, or the emails which groups send me, have a Twitter button and a ready made tweet to send. I use those to keep my presence out there. And I limit any marketing to things like Hurray. My novel Tizzie made the short list in the M.M. Bennett Historical fiction comp.

Why be an Indie author?

1. To have your work read, and read by as many readers as possible. Self-publishing is the best way to achieve this.

2. You can publish a book that looks professional and compares well with a traditionally published book. So do it!

3. You can update, correct and add to your books very quickly.

4. You earn more of the money. 40% -70% is a lot more than trad publishers offer.

5. You can privately, and definitely behind closed doors, cock a snook at the agents and trad publishers who 'loved' your book but couldn't sell it, especially when it is selling nicely in both e-book and print forms.

Gloat privately, but just sometimes it does feel good to see that 5 star review and know some kind reader admires your writing skills and story telling ability.

BRAVE NEW NOVELIST'S WORLD.

If you are an Indie writer struggling to make sense of the Brave New World of the novelist then you soon find that some people help and others don't!

As I wade through the swamps of 'Buy this package we guarantee will sell your novel.' and into the thorny thickets of self-help I have found that there is a lot of sensible common-sense provide by www.indiesunlimited. Definitely a place Indies should spend time at reading all those helpful articles.

Another useful site, although they do sell you things if they can, is Book Marketing Tools - find them at www.bookmarketingtools.com. They have a newsletter which drops valuable advice into your inbox. I have much to learn and am discovering how much more I have to learn every time there is a new email from them.

Here's a sample of their advice on building e-mail lists.

1
Use a Paid Method – Using Facebook, Google, Linkedin, Twitter, etc to push targeted traffic to your offer. I have used FB Influence to help me learn all about Facebook marketing.
2
Organic – This is all about writing content on your website or blog that is based on the wants of searchers online. Does someone in your target reader group search for “Free Mystery eBooks”, then why not write a post about your free mystery eBook giveaway when you run your next promotion? Use the Google AdWords Keyword Planner Tool to get more ideas.
3
Social – Not only have we been active on Google Plus, but we have had amazing results on Twitter as well, so make sure, when you are trying to drive traffic, you pick the one or two places that will help you the most. Not sure which to pick? Pick one and try it, then analyze a month or two later to see if you should continue or not.
4
New Media Collaboration – You might have noticed I said, New Media Collaboration. What I mean by this is, why not partner up with one or two other writers in the same genre and start your own YouTube, Itunes or Google HOA show? Instead of having to learn all this technology solo, work together and not only will you learn it, it will be with others that you can brainstorm on making something worth engaging on. Don’t be afraid to collaborate in 2015!

The offer you create is the gateway for someone moving into your sales funnel. Without something to offer them, you are banking on the idea that just because you built a platform and have a subscribe button, people will want to give you their email address. That’s a wrong and faulty assumption. It doesn’t work that way.

A good offer will have the following principle and components present:
1
The offer is exclusive – I didn't say the offer was unique, because let’s face it, everything has been created before… but the offer must be exclusively given to people via your mailing list. Therefore, the books you sell on amazon should not be the offer. The free list you have on a blog post is not the offer. Anything that is available publicly is not the offer. You make it exclusive, by making it exclusive.
2
The offer is interesting – You need to make the offer something that isn't just interesting to you, but interesting to the consumer, the readers you are trying to connect with. You should have a clear idea of the biggest pain that your readers have and the real need that they want. Fiction readers might not have a pain you can observe, so you have to ask. Why do people read my fiction book? Escape… freedom… getting lost. Create an offer that helps them to escape!
3
As a fiction author, maybe you can share a secret chapter in your book that you write just for your mailing list. Maybe you provide the private details about the creation of your story that your readers are dying to know. You can also create a short novella as a prequel or with the back story for your main books. It must be what they want, not what you think they want.
4
For non-fiction authors, giving someone a checklist, a resource guide or collating information for your readers is always valuable. If you don’t know what the offer should be, then ask your readers and if you don’t have readers, go back to last week’s social media post and find some.
5
The offer is simple – Rather than making a 50-page guide on something that your readers will never get through, why not give them something that is easy to digest that still hold value in their minds, that they can read in 1 hour. Give them a clear story about your story, so they connect with you.
6
The offer must be real – When marketing your offer, you want to be sure that you are not making promises about the offer that are hyped up just as a marketing gimmick. The Ultimate Author Checklist that we create is pretty, well, ultimate and it gives you what you need to know to market your book. If we billed it any other way and it didn't deliver, people would not stick around.

Interesting stuff. Is this really what a novelist must do to sell books? Don't writers write?
AND
How on earth do you find the time to do all this?

I do not know, nor do I have the answers. But for some people this has worked. I am trying to find out what will work for me and my Writer's Choice colleagues. It seems to me this might well be part of the new world for novelists.

New Zealand Indie Writers' Month

March, all stops are out for March. March 27th for me actually but the whole month has been taken over by the Indies writers. It used to be New Zealand Book Month but the organisers suddenly changed it to August, leaving quite a few writers' groups and libraries with plans already underway for March. I'm launching my novel, 'Tizzie', promoting my Writer's Choice colleagues' newest novels and selling our already published books at a launch in the library. It will be fun as I'm being supported by the friends of the library to help with food and service and we will enjoy a party atmosphere. I hope! Roll on March 27th.

It seems to me that sales only come if you put in the work, not on social media, but with people. I hate getting tweets about buying someone's books. I'd rather chat. I hate my LinkedIn messages to buy a book. I hate blog tours and bloggers where it's all about 'My Wonderful Book'! I've been talking about Writer's Choice a lot and people are interested in the group and why we are doing what we do as Indie publishers. It's easier to do that than push my novels. This way people don't feel pressured and I also have my colleagues' books with mine and am delighted to chat about them too as a reader, so it's gains all round. I've sold quite a few for them.

And the KiwiReads group grows. We are behind the NZ Indie Writers' Month and are pushing our books into public notice in a good way. So far the website is our main weapon. Tui Allen is working hard to get a perfect site for readers to finds New Zealand books.
We are still stuck on the quality bit. How do you choose without becoming like the agents and traditional publishers? It seem unsolvable.

Too many writers, too many readers and not enough ways to link the two in a sympathetic way. Or is it that there are enough readers for all the writers but we have yet to learn how to connect to the readers who will like our particular books?
I'm working on it!

Well I did it again! Missed blogging. It's summer! The nights are short it's light until 10 p.m. The farm work is never ending, and that Kiwiread website and its PR is eating up time. The new novel is wanting more writing time and the characters are getting insistent. Blogging falls off the list again!

One of the things which is now cropping up and concerns my colleagues at Writer's Choice and my colleagues working for Kiwireads is this quality control of Indie books so that readers don't pay money for writing which needs a lot of copy editing and and a good rewrite.

We all agree that quality control is necessary, but how do we do it? Readers want a good read, but how do you define that?

My romance writing friends will wave romance novels at me telling me the prizes they won and what good reads they are. I personally find the plots/characters unrealistic and can't stand the endings. So as a reader I wouldn't want to call them quality reads, but other readers love them.

I can't stand horror or serial killer mysteries. Does that mean there aren't quality reads out there for those who like 'em?

It's fairly easy to pick out a badly presented and edited book and say that isn't quality. How do you judge the content though as quality?

And with the Kiwireads site which is for quality indie fiction how does one tell authors that their book is grammatically and presentation wise perfect, but the content is boring, unoriginal and not worth reading? ANd who are we to judge?

Many of us are Indie authors because we didn't like the gatekeepers to traditional publishing and their 'money is the only thing which matters' attitude. We like the fact that our not easy to label work can be published. We like the control we have. So what do we do about these groups of writers springing up and insisting that they can tell quality from rubbish in content?

It's readers who want quality reads. Perhaps readers should be sorting them out and passing on the good word. I don't know, but it seems to me that groups of writers setting up a quality mark for quality fiction, and asking for money to do it are in danger of becoming as bad as the trad publishing sharks who preyed on new writers.

One year on.

It's October. And this time last year we were just launching Writer's Choice. I'm now organising a birthday party to celebrate a successful first year.

We had no idea, last year, that we could beat the gloom and doom sayers, that we could take on the role of publisher of our own books and make it work. For me in New Zealand, where literary snobbism is rife and indie publishers like us are regarded as degrading the standard of New Zealand literature overseas - that's a quote from the NZSA person heard on National Radio - it was a real risk. I do quite a bit of tutoring of writers and it is hard to get that tutoring work when you are branded as a failure because you don't have a 'proper publisher.'

But I aim to stand tall in our library at the birthday celebration and skite - boast - about our successes. We published three novels in our first year and G.J. Berger's 'South of Burnt Rocks West of the Moon' has sold steadily. It also won the San Diego Book Awards first prize for historical novels. Superb success and a real boost to our moral. Then Sharon Robard's 'A Woman Transported' began a sales climb on Amazon which put it way up in the top fifty (and eventually higher) historical novels landing a delighted Sharon in the midst of well known historical novelists. My 'Jacob's Ladder', because of a publishing problem which only saw the print version released in September, has just begun to collect positive reviews and is about to be entered in a couple of competitions. I hope I can join in with my colleagues' successes.

Whether I do or not, their successes do reinforce our Quality Fiction claim, and my next novel, 'Tizzie', will be launched on February 13th 2014. I've a better idea of how to and where to do PR this time round and hope the book reaches a lot of readers. It's quite different from the 17thC 'Jacob's Ladder', as it's set in 1887 in the Yorkshire Dales.

I am still involved with the indies group under Tui Allen. we are hoping to work with the Book Council who have gone on line with their newsletter and are trying to be less elitist. It will take some work. For all my short story publications in respected journals and magazine around the world I was not allowed to be registered on their author's list because my novels were 'self published.' Never mind the fact that Writer's Choice was a writers' publishing co-operative and our books were selected or rejected, edited properly and well designed. Nope, I didn't have a 'proper publisher'. Tui and our group has a long way to go.

Ah me! This blogging lark never gets the priority I am told it should. Life throws up more important things, like trying to get New Zealand Indie authors somewhere to showcase their books and sell them.

The Kiwi Readers group from GoodReads have a large contingent of writers who are independently published and want sales. Tui came up with a very nice idea for linking Kiwi Indies up with the various writerly groups and trad publishing groups in New Zealand. We are busy discussing this at LinkedIn but it seems that one good suggestion after another is objected to by one set of opinions or another.

I've tried to suggest to the disparate parties that we look at the most simple version of what we need, which is a website where Indie authors can showcase their books and sell them. The problem is that a large number of us want quality control. But other writers don't want some form of assessment. Goodreads and AwesomeIndies, the Brag medallion, these sites all read and select. Amazon is just the great slush pile. So how do we showcase those Indie writers whose books have been edited, well designed, proof read and are as good as a trad publisher's books?

I wondered if we could simply allow all Indie Kiwi writers to post their covers and blurbs but have two sections. One section called Premier or Selected or some such title where all the books which have been edited, assessed and published like a trad published book can be displayed. Those Indie books which have not been through an editing assessment process by people other than the author go in the second section.

Still I can hear screams of rage from the newbie writers and the lunatic fringe who have yet to learn that their cherished novel's breathless prose is not creative genius but a book in need of editing.

Ah well. I support Tui in what she is doing and hope to goodness that all those differing opinions can get together so we can do something and have a place for Indie Kiwi writers which Kiwi readers can access happy in the knowledge that they will find their own culture's literature and a good read.

It seems to me that I had better accept that once a month is my blogging time!

I must also blog an apology to all those keen readers who won a copy of or who ordered a copy of my novel, 'Jacob's Ladder'. As a POD book it has to be ordered and then we wait for the copies to arrive. I have had the most unbelievable problems getting copies. First the cover was printed incorrectly. Couldn't send those copies out. Next I had to download a new cover as the POD people said it was the cover's fault it was bad. My cover artist fumed, we checked the specs and the cover was fine. We downloaded again and again and again as the company kept saying the cover was not correct. We had now reached July. Finally I get the big boss to sort out the muddle. Seems someone wasn't pressing the right buttons! Then I was told the print download wasn't good enough! Sigh. Back to my formatting expert who looked at the so-called new specs and said "But that's what we have!" She checked everything and downloaded for me with a stern message to the big boss. Finally I have copies being printed. Next time I do a giveaway offer and pre-publishing orders I will make sure I have the books in my hot little hand.

We Writer's Choice authors are still floating on a cloud of 'Wow! We did it' euphoria. Gj's 1st prize, historical novels, at the San Diego Book Awards came in June. Sharon's zoom up the Amazon sales list came in July but they both gave us a shot of confidence. We claimed to have quality fiction and now readers are endorsing that. And we've only been going for less than one year.

Trouble is though, that I feel I will have to pull another success out of the hat with my novel and I can't see how to do that right now. I have a couple of competitions lined up to enter, getting on a short list would be good! Sigh!
Selling millions would be better.

My second novel is due for a launch in October and GJ's 2nd will be coming close after that. Writer's Choice is demanding of our time and commitment but is definitely working out for us. Now all we have to do is get people to understand that Writer's Choice is not a poor relation to Harper Collins or Penguin but a better choice for writers.

Three down and One to go.

The Novel launch was fun. Only ten people (and 4 apologies) but they listened and laughed, asked lovely intelligent questions and bought the books. I had my colleagues' books to sell as well and did so with panache! Copies of my novel hadn't arrived -publisher's hitch at their end! - so that caused much laughter and gave the newspapers scope for an unusual story. Good PR actually!

Now all I have to do is get any new found or reader notified corrections into 'Jacob's Ladder' and order more books. Then I can get on with submitting 'Tizzie'. Once those past years writings are off my plate, out being read, then I can write novels again.

Writer's Choice has been a boon. The seal of approval, the comradeship of my Writer's Choice colleagues, the work we do together keeps me on my writer's toes and keeps me from despairing over the state of publishing and the appalling books which traditional publishers publish solely for money. I have been rereading, editing and tightening 'Tizzie' - to the novel's benefit - knowing that if I don't my Writer's Choice colleagues might well reject the novel. I want that Quality fiction seal. It is beginning to mean something to readers seeking ebooks or self published books worth buying.

What did I do without WWOOFers? They are wonderful. I get so much farm work done with them and all those little two people jobs I have had problems with myself are now accomplished. So satisfying to see my tidy shed with all the bird netting and frost cloth, and frost covers and garden netting neatly folded away instead of bundled. Takes up less space and looks good.

My life improves with writers booking retreats to finish their novel/thesis/biography/memoir. They pay and I can pay bills. This life of poverty is atrocious and five years of being jobless since I returned home have worn me down. The prospect of a small income from selling books and having writers visit is enticing. Here's hoping!

It seems to me that no matter how carefully one plans - and believe me we did plan - life throws the nastiest spanners it can find into the works. They are usually in human form, like District Council petty officials, or bosses, or cheating greedy workers. Thank God for all the little kindnesses which those rare but genuinely good people can offer to us. It's what keeps me sane!

Once again the road to hell is paved with good intentions. It's been a month since I blogged! Tut! There are always good excuses.

I tell my writing students that when they haven't written. I have a sneaking suspicion that those would-be writers who don't write won't ever write seriously. They don't care enough to write. That's me and blogging. I'd rather write a story or add another chapter to the novel than blog when any writing time is so precious.

The court case brought by the police against my bad neighbour is this week and I'm nervous and not very happy about it. It's going to be a case of his word against mine and he has paid expensively for a young and cocky solicitor who has the reputation of winning his cases by fair means or foul. The police prosecutor says it will be a matter of who the judge chooses to believe. This being all men versus me I am not hopeful of any sympathy from the judge. I can 'see' the defence doing his best to portray me as a neurotic old lady and his bloke as a bit of a character. We shall see.

The WWOOFers keep writing for a week's work and stay. They all want to come at the same time. March is fully booked. I will have a full house almost every day. My friends from Australia came and went too quickly. It is always fun having Julie and Michael visit. Now my house is full of Father Paul and his writer friend. Then it will be French and German WWOOFers until April. At least I will get the driveway trees trimmed back. They had formed a perfect tunnel. Also I hope all the hazels weeded and mulched.

'Jacob's Ladder' is, at last, being set for POD printing and should be printing off 12 copies for the Goodreads giveaway and 10 copies to come to me in New Zealand for the launch in our local library. There's a lovely group of Kiwi readers at Goodreads who do read our books. My books are on their list to read. I am so pleased to have the novels out to readers and the encouragement from my Writer's Choice colleagues keeps me going through the PR hoops. I've now published my favourite and prize winning stories, my prize winning novel and the next novel,'Aunt Tizzie's Jubilee' is being edited to go. 'Tizzie' was too cross genre for the trad publishers. After all that time wasted with agents and publishers it feels good to get them out to be read. Once that's done, by June 1st I think, and I think I'm running to schedule, I can concentrate on the next novel and some more short stories. And more PR! I do find it hard to brag and skite about myself and my writing but it must be done.

The Launch.

Well, we've done it. We're off. The books are published - epublished - and available. We are Writer's Choice and now we need readers' words to sell our books.

The great experiment has provoked a great deal of comment in New Zealand since I've had PR articles in writers' magazines, online and in newspapers and on the radio.

Several people asked me I didn't wait for a 'real' publisher. Indeed there are people who said I should wait however long it takes. Having had cancer and coming very close to death I know how short life can be and how little time I have left. I know my work is publishable and marketable. My short stories have all been print published. My novel has been assessed and critiqued and agent/editor checked. It was short listed in three unpublished/first novel competitions. What more can I do?

Learn to write a selling query letter, someone else suggested. But why? Why do I have to beg an agent to take me on? Why do I have to wait on their whims and moods before I can reach a publisher?

Go with a Small Press, another person told me. But the marketing work is as much as if I had self published, and the ones I liked had long waiting lists.

Writer's Choice will support us in our ups and downs. We'll learn and perhaps, it seems to me, we'll do better financially. This, for one who is an overqualified, out of work, near starving and frustrated with the lack of employment person, is important. The government unemployment allowance is not even a bare minimum and any boost to near nothing will be gratefully welcomed.

Hurray for Writer's Choice!

Winter blahs, short dark days, so much to do, no money to do it with! Ah me, isn't life grand.

But with Writer's Choice getting closer to launch day things feel positive. My anthology is ready to go, George's novel is just about ready for formatting. Sharon is beavering away. Ann is still holidaying in the U.K. but promised to return with the novel perfected!

The website and blog are growing nicely. Friendly authors agree to be interviewed. The banner and logo are perfect. And I'm scared silly that all our work and effort will not be enough. Still, no use pothering about it, it's an experiment and I feel better knowing I have tried. It's no use sitting about moaning about bloody agents and traditional publishing, epublishing might just pay the bills!

I have been impressed by our covers though. We have a really good artist and she seems to know exactly what makes a good, eye catching ebook cover. I knew people bought by eye, but not how much it influences a book buyer.

I've been observing people and books in our library. This morning I spent time as I did my volunteer work shelving non-fiction and watched people picking up the new books and checking them out. Where the reader did not know the writer the cover played an important part in the choice. "It looks all right," they'd say if they decided to borrow the book. I am glad we have Dawn to create our covers.