Self-marketing - is there anything so depressing?
Yeah yeah, I am a journalist, I know the value of the instagram/twitter/facebook audience. I am no stranger to bigging myself up and advertising my skills. I work in television, for goodness' sake. It is neither new nor scary to me.
But boy, is it relentless.
After two months of writing, talking and publicising my first Young Adult urban fantasy novel Daughter of Kali: Awakening I have nine great reviews on Amazon and have reached the heady heights of number 25,000 (yes, 25-thousand!!) in the Bestseller rank.
Frankly, I wasn't aware you could be 25,000th in the ratings and still have it called a bestseller. I guess since it's out of around 800,000 books on Amazon, it counts for something. But it goes to show that having a book accepted for publishing is not the end of it, nor is it a guaranteed pathway to fame and fortune.
A couple of years ago, a report showed the average annual earnings for a UK author was just £12500 (that's $16300 in today's money) - well below the average national income. And just half of authors who were surveyed said they were able to make a living by writing books. I think it's safe to say I won't be giving up my day job.
If you haven't read Daughter of Kali: Awakening yet, do give it a go. Who knows, with your help I may reach the towering achievement of number 24,999 in the Amazon rankings. Click here to buy on Amazon UK or here for Amazon US - the kindle version is on a special discounted deal until mid-August.
Truth be told, I love writing. It is so different to what I do as a journalist. I'm happy to keep plugging away, even though I'm 100% sure it won't make me rich.
Recently, I submitted my second novel, Seeing Alfie, to my agent. It's something I've been working on for a year. It's not a sequel to Daughter of Kali. It is a stand-alone contemporary YA novel dealing with friendship, loss and grief. If that sounds a bit heavy-going, it truly isn't. It is meant to be heart-lifting. My agent may beg to differ - I am still waiting on his verdict.
And now, finally, I will start on part two of Daughter of Kali which was always intended to be a trilogy. My mum, at least, is desperate to see what happens next to my heroine Kaz.
The best times in writing a book are the day you start on Chapter 1 - and the day you finish with those magic words:
The End.
Yeah yeah, I am a journalist, I know the value of the instagram/twitter/facebook audience. I am no stranger to bigging myself up and advertising my skills. I work in television, for goodness' sake. It is neither new nor scary to me.
But boy, is it relentless.
After two months of writing, talking and publicising my first Young Adult urban fantasy novel Daughter of Kali: Awakening I have nine great reviews on Amazon and have reached the heady heights of number 25,000 (yes, 25-thousand!!) in the Bestseller rank.
Frankly, I wasn't aware you could be 25,000th in the ratings and still have it called a bestseller. I guess since it's out of around 800,000 books on Amazon, it counts for something. But it goes to show that having a book accepted for publishing is not the end of it, nor is it a guaranteed pathway to fame and fortune.
A couple of years ago, a report showed the average annual earnings for a UK author was just £12500 (that's $16300 in today's money) - well below the average national income. And just half of authors who were surveyed said they were able to make a living by writing books. I think it's safe to say I won't be giving up my day job.
If you haven't read Daughter of Kali: Awakening yet, do give it a go. Who knows, with your help I may reach the towering achievement of number 24,999 in the Amazon rankings. Click here to buy on Amazon UK or here for Amazon US - the kindle version is on a special discounted deal until mid-August.
Truth be told, I love writing. It is so different to what I do as a journalist. I'm happy to keep plugging away, even though I'm 100% sure it won't make me rich.
Recently, I submitted my second novel, Seeing Alfie, to my agent. It's something I've been working on for a year. It's not a sequel to Daughter of Kali. It is a stand-alone contemporary YA novel dealing with friendship, loss and grief. If that sounds a bit heavy-going, it truly isn't. It is meant to be heart-lifting. My agent may beg to differ - I am still waiting on his verdict.
And now, finally, I will start on part two of Daughter of Kali which was always intended to be a trilogy. My mum, at least, is desperate to see what happens next to my heroine Kaz.
The best times in writing a book are the day you start on Chapter 1 - and the day you finish with those magic words:
The End.
