Book writers of PH
Discussion
funkyrobot said:
Firstly, how is everyone getting on with their books?
I (eventually) started the first edit last week. I'm just over ten thousand words through (the first draft was just under a hundred).funkyrobot said:
Secondly, I have started writing my first book. Currently doing the first draft and have actually been able to let myself simply write. Its crap, but I can edit it later.
Good luck with it. In my opinion, you're going about it the right way. As long as it's all down, you can put it in order later. funkyrobot said:
Even managed to scare myself tonight as I wrote about an event in the dark. I then had to go down to the end of my garden an hour ago to get something out of the shed. Nearly pooped myself.
Get help.Joking - I can kind of understand that. There's a thoroughly miserable chapter in my first novel and writing it made me feel sorry for myself. Interesting process, isn't it?
evenflow said:
Hit 47,000 words in my non-fiction book last night. I reckon it'll be about 75,000 when complete. It's a painful, slow, enjoyable, satisfying and interesting experience!
After a hugely busy time at work, not much chance to do any large chunks of writing but have been chipping away. I've just finished the first draft (weighing in at 72,000 words). It's rough, but it's down on paper.Has anybody had any experience with Kindle publishing? Good, bad?
A genuine question for all you guys/girls writing your novels etc - do you think you are good at writing or is it that someone has told you that you are good at writing or is it simply that you know you are good at writing?
Or, is it just a cash cow motivation if it's published on kindle and the like?
The reason I ask is because I have always thought what's the point unless you are truly exceptional at mastering the printed word. Then again, as with any craft, it's likely a long, drawn out process that can lead to some great words later down the line even if you haven't written such great material earlier on.
I'm no writer myself at this stage but may give it a go later in life.
Or, is it just a cash cow motivation if it's published on kindle and the like?
The reason I ask is because I have always thought what's the point unless you are truly exceptional at mastering the printed word. Then again, as with any craft, it's likely a long, drawn out process that can lead to some great words later down the line even if you haven't written such great material earlier on.
I'm no writer myself at this stage but may give it a go later in life.
I wrote my first stuff for publication in 1981. Since then I've had over a hundred articles printed in UK and a few in the US and Australia . I've had two books published , even getting modest advances on both, and I've nearly finished my third .
Why do I do it? Because I love to write- simple as that . The bonus is also that a lot of people over the years have contacted me to tell me they enjoy my work, asked me to sign books for them etc, and that is hugely satisfying and rewarding . But writing a cash cow ? You must be bloody joking ! Very few people make any proper money out of writing either books or articles - don't fall into the trap of thinking we are all coining it a la JK Rowling or even Boris Johnson ...
Am I good at it ? If I didn't think so I wouldn't do it . But one penalty of being a writer is that when you read somebody as supremely gifted as , say Donna Tartt, Hemingway , Martin Amis or AA Gill , you bloody despair at your own efforts .
If you are thinking of writing then don't think 'Oh , I might bash out the odd book some time ' . Writing well is hard work and you need to develop your writing muscle. The rule of 10,000 hours which applies to many other skills certainly applies to writing . We are all a bit s
t we we start, and some stay st ...
And do please remember the joke about the two journalists meeting at some press bash -'My dear chap , so what are you up to these days ?' -'I'm writing a book actually' - 'Oh really ? Neither am I ....'
Don't believe that old tut about everybody having a book in them - they haven't ...
Why do I do it? Because I love to write- simple as that . The bonus is also that a lot of people over the years have contacted me to tell me they enjoy my work, asked me to sign books for them etc, and that is hugely satisfying and rewarding . But writing a cash cow ? You must be bloody joking ! Very few people make any proper money out of writing either books or articles - don't fall into the trap of thinking we are all coining it a la JK Rowling or even Boris Johnson ...
Am I good at it ? If I didn't think so I wouldn't do it . But one penalty of being a writer is that when you read somebody as supremely gifted as , say Donna Tartt, Hemingway , Martin Amis or AA Gill , you bloody despair at your own efforts .
If you are thinking of writing then don't think 'Oh , I might bash out the odd book some time ' . Writing well is hard work and you need to develop your writing muscle. The rule of 10,000 hours which applies to many other skills certainly applies to writing . We are all a bit s
t we we start, and some stay st ... And do please remember the joke about the two journalists meeting at some press bash -'My dear chap , so what are you up to these days ?' -'I'm writing a book actually' - 'Oh really ? Neither am I ....'
Don't believe that old tut about everybody having a book in them - they haven't ...
coppice said:
Don't believe that old tut about everybody having a book in them - they haven't ...
One phenomenon I have witnessed a couple of times (in my capacity as man-married-to-publisher) is authors coming along with all of their ideas for merchandising and movie rights "sorted out" and duly protected, but without having yet written the book from which these things are supposed to derive. Writing a book is hard – completing a book to a good standard is pretty amazing.Yertis said:
coppice said:
Don't believe that old tut about everybody having a book in them - they haven't ...
One phenomenon I have witnessed a couple of times (in my capacity as man-married-to-publisher) is authors coming along with all of their ideas for merchandising and movie rights "sorted out" and duly protected, but without having yet written the book from which these things are supposed to derive. Writing a book is hard – completing a book to a good standard is pretty amazing.It's not easy, that's for sure.
coppice said:
I wrote my first stuff for publication in 1981. Since then I've had over a hundred articles printed in UK and a few in the US and Australia . I've had two books published , even getting modest advances on both, and I've nearly finished my third .
Why do I do it? Because I love to write- simple as that . The bonus is also that a lot of people over the years have contacted me to tell me they enjoy my work, asked me to sign books for them etc, and that is hugely satisfying and rewarding . But writing a cash cow ? You must be bloody joking ! Very few people make any proper money out of writing either books or articles - don't fall into the trap of thinking we are all coining it a la JK Rowling or even Boris Johnson ...
Am I good at it ? If I didn't think so I wouldn't do it . But one penalty of being a writer is that when you read somebody as supremely gifted as , say Donna Tartt, Hemingway , Martin Amis or AA Gill , you bloody despair at your own efforts .
If you are thinking of writing then don't think 'Oh , I might bash out the odd book some time ' . Writing well is hard work and you need to develop your writing muscle. The rule of 10,000 hours which applies to many other skills certainly applies to writing . We are all a bit st we we start, and some stay st ...
And do please remember the joke about the two journalists meeting at some press bash -'My dear chap , so what are you up to these days ?' -'I'm writing a book actually' - 'Oh really ? Neither am I ....'
Don't believe that old tut about everybody having a book in them - they haven't ...
I've written most of my adult life, mainly articles with the occasional short story. I first received payment in 1971 for a motoring based article and slowly developed from there. I don't do it for the money. Writing is my hobby in the same way that painting, rugby or motor racing is for others. If I'm not doing anything, out comes the notebook and I scribble away. Why do I do it? Because I love to write- simple as that . The bonus is also that a lot of people over the years have contacted me to tell me they enjoy my work, asked me to sign books for them etc, and that is hugely satisfying and rewarding . But writing a cash cow ? You must be bloody joking ! Very few people make any proper money out of writing either books or articles - don't fall into the trap of thinking we are all coining it a la JK Rowling or even Boris Johnson ...
Am I good at it ? If I didn't think so I wouldn't do it . But one penalty of being a writer is that when you read somebody as supremely gifted as , say Donna Tartt, Hemingway , Martin Amis or AA Gill , you bloody despair at your own efforts .
If you are thinking of writing then don't think 'Oh , I might bash out the odd book some time ' . Writing well is hard work and you need to develop your writing muscle. The rule of 10,000 hours which applies to many other skills certainly applies to writing . We are all a bit s
t we we start, and some stay st ... And do please remember the joke about the two journalists meeting at some press bash -'My dear chap , so what are you up to these days ?' -'I'm writing a book actually' - 'Oh really ? Neither am I ....'
Don't believe that old tut about everybody having a book in them - they haven't ...
I once had 26 consecutive uncommissioned articles published without a single refusal. I thought I'd cracked it. Of the next four, three were sent back. That was my lowest point.
I've written one novel four times, each time changing it to cope with comments from those 'in the trade', twice having paid for it. The rejections got more polite, but it was still rejected. I'm on the fifth rewrite and have been since 2012. Is there was a Car SOS for novelists, I'd be in the frame.
I've continued to write articles over the years, about 3/4 commissioned. I now get a bit surprised if an uncommissioned one gets rejected and normally I can find someone else to take it. Over the last 5 years I've only had two that I could not sell, and both of these were errors of targeting on my behalf.
I've had trips abroad and to local exciting places paid for and I claim a decent bit back on tax.
I am currently on a go slow but even so last year (16-17) I topped £7,000 which is the lowest for some time, half that of two years ago. I've a daughter-in-law who writes for a living and whilst I don't know how much she earns, I was told that she comfortably beats my son (if you see what I mean) and he's on above average wages. She gets free trips abroad four or five times a year and she expects this to increase. Their honeymoon hotel gave them free gourmet meals. She's rather good though.
I've written four books that are on Kindle and sell steadily but not well. I've got another which I sell via my website. I'll bring out a new edition of the last one in a couple of months and I've got another book out in the summer.
Whilst I get £1k+ pa for my books, I make nothing on them. In fact they've cost me. The hours I spend on them I could be writing articles, so take away about £35 per hour. Then there's the costs of travel, phone etc which all adds up. I get some refunded in tax but not enough to counter the losses.
You can lead a comfortable life as a writer if you forget books. Go for websites, magazines and such. There's a lot of work out there for writers of articles. A book is an indulgence. The odds against making any money, if you take all oncosts into consideration, are high. There are precious few Rowlings.
Article writing can be thoroughly enjoyable. You meet so many different people, you chat to them, they get to know you. For some strange reason, people treat you nicely. You get press passes. It is fun. You've got to enjoy the mental aspect and thrive on research. If that's you then ignore books until you've got some money behind you and some spare time.
I spoke with a magazine editor (50,000+ circulation) who obviously liked my work and asked him what I did that made me stand out to him. I expected praise on my clever word play, alliteration, the way I change tone to suit the reader, and my in-depth research. However all he said was: 'You hit the deadline, you hit the wordage, you write in English.' I was rather miffed at this but when I edited a magazine I discovered that anyone who could manage those three things was the perfect writer.
The richest writers write articles.
Two would be novelists meet up every year. First of all they discuss what they will write when they have the time. After some years the conversation changes to what they would have written had they had the time.
Doesn't happen with article writers.
evenflow said:
Well, my book is now live on the Kindle store, and the paperback version has been submitted for review (it can take up to 72 hours to go live, apparently).
Is it bad form to post a link and a little bit of description here?
I think if somebody was to do a "profile" of you, they'd learn all they needed.Is it bad form to post a link and a little bit of description here?
Doofus said:
evenflow said:
Well, my book is now live on the Kindle store, and the paperback version has been submitted for review (it can take up to 72 hours to go live, apparently).
Is it bad form to post a link and a little bit of description here?
I think if somebody was to do a "profile" of you, they'd learn all they needed.Is it bad form to post a link and a little bit of description here?
yes indeed...evenflow said:
Doofus said:
evenflow said:
Well, my book is now live on the Kindle store, and the paperback version has been submitted for review (it can take up to 72 hours to go live, apparently).
Is it bad form to post a link and a little bit of description here?
I think if somebody was to do a "profile" of you, they'd learn all they needed.Is it bad form to post a link and a little bit of description here?
yes indeed...evenflow said:
Well, my book is now live on the Kindle store, and the paperback version has been submitted for review (it can take up to 72 hours to go live, apparently).
Is it bad form to post a link and a little bit of description here?
I read the first two chapters last night as a sample. Really interesting start, quite easy reading but entertaining and insightful. Enough that I'll likely buy and read the rest once I've finished the current book ok on. Is it bad form to post a link and a little bit of description here?
If I was to be brutally honest I'd say you may have gone a bit overboard on the adjectives in places, but that may likely just be my isolated opinion as I tend to read fast and skim over things to get the main points so please don't take that as a negative.
WolfieBot said:
evenflow said:
Well, my book is now live on the Kindle store, and the paperback version has been submitted for review (it can take up to 72 hours to go live, apparently).
Is it bad form to post a link and a little bit of description here?
I read the first two chapters last night as a sample. Really interesting start, quite easy reading but entertaining and insightful. Enough that I'll likely buy and read the rest once I've finished the current book ok on. Is it bad form to post a link and a little bit of description here?
If I was to be brutally honest I'd say you may have gone a bit overboard on the adjectives in places, but that may likely just be my isolated opinion as I tend to read fast and skim over things to get the main points so please don't take that as a negative.
Firstly, thanks so much for trying a sample, and secondly for taking the time to post some feedback.
When I set out on this adventure, my aim was two-fold but simple: get someone who is not my mum to buy a copy, and to receive some not entirely negative feedback from that person. So, thank you!
I also really value the honesty, and I will definitely take it into account.
Cheers.
Hi all
Any hints and tips on promoting a self published book? I've set up the obligatory Twitter account and punted it around friends and family, but just want to get it "out there" more.
Have tweeted various websites and book reviewers but not getting too much traction.
Any ideas welcome - thanks.
Any hints and tips on promoting a self published book? I've set up the obligatory Twitter account and punted it around friends and family, but just want to get it "out there" more.
Have tweeted various websites and book reviewers but not getting too much traction.
Any ideas welcome - thanks.
Well , my book is doing OK even if PH didn't condescend to review it . I also seem to be liked in New Zealand and US , surprisingly. A full review of 'Driven , an Elegy to Cars Driving and Motorsport ' by John Aston and published by Veloce is on speedreaders.info
But it's hard work flogging a book now - this is my third and I found it so much easier to get publicity, local radio interviews and reviews for the first two. They were on a different subject- and I suspect people assume anyone doing the car thing is some knuckle dragging idiot - as a breed we don't have a good public image ..
But it's hard work flogging a book now - this is my third and I found it so much easier to get publicity, local radio interviews and reviews for the first two. They were on a different subject- and I suspect people assume anyone doing the car thing is some knuckle dragging idiot - as a breed we don't have a good public image ..
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