Whenever I am introduced to people as a writer, I am usually greeted with something along the lines of, "Oh really? Published?" closely followed by, "How is it doing, sold any?"
That's a strange question to answer because selling books, as I have said before, is NOT what motivated me to write this book. I was motivated to help other people, especially women to overcome betrayal but actually I have been pleasantly surprised that the men who have purchased and read my book are tending to send me personal reviews of their enjoyment of the book, thank me for writing it and to comment on the main character, Fi. Fi is a sensitive but cheeky woman, she embraces her sadness but she is also hilarious, is casual in her appearance but can be damn sexy too but more importantly she has a core of kindness and fairness until people choose to betray her and then her feisty side emerges! Is it any wonder she appeals to male readers too?
I could answer the sales question by quoting the actual numbers, I could 'play the figures down' by trying to explain the slow start in sales or I could even 'big it up' by exaggerating the sales figures. BUT the sales figures are not what drives me to continue as a writer, otherwise I wouldn't be a writer for the right reasons. There is no question that I will be a writer forever. As I have said before, words have been in my veins since I was a small child. I am a writer.
So how do I answer the question?
Well writing is my passion and I have a flair for my craft according to my readers, many of whom have uttered the words, "can't wait for the next book," and as a matter of fact I too, believe I have a flair for writing. As with any passion that you wish to pursue, you have to practice and hone your skills. You hear of bands who have relentlessly toured the country, Europe or the globe, sleeping in a transit van and playing small gig after small gig before eventually emerging to have their music played on the radio, playing bigger and bigger venues and finally playing world renowned stadiums and festivals. Cold Play, REM et al come to mind. I have been honing my craft since I began studying again for my social care career, later as a court report writer in the probation service, by completing creative writing text book exercises sat at my desk, whilst sat on a beach years ago on Anglesey and even when sitting bolt upright in bed at 3am because an idea has been a part of a dream!
I am that band member in the back of the van. I am that athlete who has dedicated years of relentless practice before finally standing on that podium. The difference being, I don't collect medals and I don't hear the crowd singing back at me as I belt out their favourite tune. I do however, appear to be consistently collecting (via my email, Messenger, Facebook and Instagram accounts) very positive feedback from people who have bought my book, who have really enjoyed reading it and then taken the time to send me their thoughts via a review.
And so when people do ask me "How's it going, any sales?" My answer to the question is this, "I liken myself to the new band gigging in the pub at their first gig, or the runner out practicing in the pouring rain in the dark at the junior stages of his career. I am a self published writer dedicating my life to the marketing phase of getting my debut novel out there in the world."
Just as the band will have 3 people in a crowd and remember that gig as much as they will remember their first Glastonbury and the athlete will remember their first junior title as much as they will winning their first Olympic gold medal, I will remember all my emails, social media contact and face to face feedback that people so kindly convey to me about how my words have impacted upon them. I have made people laugh, I have made people cry, I have given people hope of a true and fulfilled love and I have people waiting for my next novel. That's not bad for a debut novelist.
How's it going? It's going great. So thank you for asking.
However, I won't lie and say I wouldn't like to break out into the big time! Just as the band member and the athlete does! But just like the athlete's who stood on the podium this past two weeks and told youngsters out their to follow their dreams and work hard for the gold medal, I too will continue to work very very hard to follow my dream of becoming an award winning author. And so I ask all of those who have read my book, please can you take the trouble to review it on Amazon, because 20-25 reviews means Amazon will include my book in their 'also bought' and 'you might like this' lists, which increases visibility on the site and may increase sales for an author. However, 50-70 reviews and Amazon then highlights the book for spotlight positions and it's newsletter feature, which could potentially mean a HUGE boost in sales for an author. Reviews really do help self published authors in particular to sell more books as part of their marketing strategy. And so this last paragraph was yet another 'music gig' or a 'pouring rain practice run' for me and I need the crowd to get behind me now!!
To purchase the book click the link or go to apple iBooks, Waterstones UK, Barnes and Noble or Amazon UK.
https://completelynovel.com/books/exactly-23-days
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