Anyone write books?

[Derek Smith]

I was wondering if anyone writes books, for self-publishing or otherwise. Swop a few ideas, critique one-another's books, nominating a PH writer for the Booker Prize, that sort of thing.

[Derek Smith]

Zetec-S said:

I have a few ideas floating around for a book, a while back I started writing but have no more than a couple of pages down so far. Turns out that converting a basic idea in my head into a 300 page novel is actually quite hard

Hoping the winter months will be more conducive to writing and I can make a bit more progress. Might even have something to (self) publish at some point next year. Just to be clear I have no illusions of grandeur and don't expect to make any money out of it, it's just something I fancy having a go at in my spare time.

What stage are you at?

I've written half a dozen books, published on Kindle and on my website. I sell around 10-15 a month, so am thinking of buying a small island in the Caribbean.

The main trick with self publishing I reckon is advertising, and I'm not good at that. I get ideas, one which got me 40+ books sold in one day and 69 in two, but then I dropped back to my normal 'every other day'. (Cor, I remember every other day.)

There are some things I'm good at with writing so could help others (but mainly those who could help me of course.)

I thought that if we get enough on board, we could be the self-publishing wing of PH. Or something like that.

[Derek Smith]

Doofus said:

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=13...

That sort of died a natural, and this one is targeted slightly differently. This is more 'writers' circle' stuff, without being a writers' circle that meets up and talks about the cakes.

[Derek Smith]

Pub2Pub_Ben said:

I do a bit of writing, with two books out so far, both with a definite petrolhead slant - one self published and one which somehow fluked a publisher.

I'd be interested in getting involved with anything which comes from this thread, and to those who are toying with writing a book, my advice is simply to believe in yourself. The hardest part of writing anything is sitting there looking at the cursor blinking away on a blank screen, and having the self-belief to make a start. Once you've begun work on your masterpiece, aim to do five minutes a day (just five minutes, though you'll often find yourself getting into the flow and doing much more), and you'll find yourself with a finished book sometime in the future. My first book took nine months to write in exactly this manner, and I'm still using the same approach now, 20,000 words into book number three. Sometimes five minutes is five minutes; sometimes I'll get into the flow and stop 2,000 words later; the key is doing something every day...

I find writing easy. I can write 1000 words and revise them in 90 mins, with a cup of tea taken as well. That's the easy part. Working out what I want to write, now that's the difficult bit. Not only that, I've often written a whole chapter and then deleted it as it wasn't what I'd wanted.

I write 850 words and also 1500 words weekly. The former I have to pick the particular subject within a restricted range. I normally spend three or four hours trying to come up with ideas, sometimes longer. Once that's cracked, I can finish the copy in 90 mins, although I'll read it before sending it off a day or two later. The 1500 words, for which I get paid twice what I receive for the 850, is on a subject I am given. I'm also told what to cover in detail, in what paragraph etc. That takes me no longer than two hours to complete from the time I receive the brief to the time I save it, although again I read it before sending it. It's a ghost written a blog. Mind you, the former is more satisfying.

Writing is easy. The content is the bit that is frustrating.

I'm currently writing a little booklet. It's not going well. I've got the introduction but the first chapter is defeating me. I'll probably write one of the other chapters in order to get in the flow. It helps coming on PH and knocking out a couple of hundred words. That's why my posts can be rather long. It takes my mind off the subject, but keeps me writing.

[Derek Smith]

Sebring440 said:

Great post dandarez, big long post, great stuff. If if Kindle/self-publishing is not the way to go, what do you advise? I'm quite sure you have not mentioned the solution in your post?

Publish it yourself in pdf form and sell it online.

The trick, if trick it is, is that you need a reason for people to come to your website. If you are writing, for instance, sci-fi novels, then you could blog on sci-fi films, or TV programmes. Come on social media, such as FB, maybe a forum dedicated to the genre, or one that is more general, such as one with a subheading Books and Literature - can't think of one at the moment. Make yourself known, get yourself talked of, and get them onto your website. There's nothing stopping you selling via your own website as well as Kindle.

One of my books was recently criticised quite dramatically on Facebook. My reply was polite, factual and humerous. I sold 8 copies that day. All advertising and that.

I've written a book on the Merc SLK. When I was plugging it on forums and FB, it sold quite well. Since I've concentrated on other books, sales have more than halved. It takes application to keep sales up.

Whether Kindle is for you or not depends on what you want from it. I've published six books on Kindle and will probably sell 500 this year to April. The norm is that I sell one a day, although I sold 40 in one day and 57 in two days recently. I'm never going to survive in the harsh world on that level of sales without some other form of income, and as an RoI, it is lacking. Yet I write books, what I've always wanted to do. I get an income, which is easily surpassed by my writing for blogs and websites. I go to places for research and claim expenses. In essence, I get money off tickets to Goodwood FoS, Silverstone Classic, Hampton Court Classic, etc. Last year I got money off an update to my desktop - MB, processor, SSD - and this year there's my laptop.

I enjoy writing. I also enjoy creating the book in pdf. It's fun. And it pays. A little.

A better way of earning money from writing is articles. I once had 26 unsolicited manuscripts for articles published without a rejection. On top of that, editors came to me, fairly frequently, and asked for articles on specific subjects. I also illustrated the articles where I could. I got an average of around £100 for each unsolicited article, mostly around 1000 to 1500 words, and around 50% more when told what to write. If writing is your thing, then there's an opportunity there if non-fiction is what floats your boat. Mind you, it took a bit over 10 years for me to get noticed.

I had plenty of copy for a guide to a model of car. I put the idea to a number of publishers, and got one reply. I was told how many images, what copy to supply, what headings and more constraints. No fun at all.

I have also made pen friends with people around the world: Antipodes, the Orient, countries ending in -stan, other European countries, Africa and both ends of America. I've got readers all around the world, including Russia. I've eased my way into India, Indonesia, Malaysia and one or two others around there, but China seems to reject me. I'm an author. I'm a writer. I enjoy the role.

It's easy enough to set up a website. I use free Wordpress software, with £40pa hosting. The storefront is Ecwid, free for 10 products. Oddly, people comes to the site, go onto a page for a specific book, then click through to Kindle and pay a little more for it there. Strange.

Kindle might not be, as some suggest, proper publishing, but it is publishing. You will, if you push it a bit, get a bit of money. People will read your books. You will be an author. Unfortunately, like the overwhelming majority of authors, Kindle or printed, you will not make much money out of it. You won't get anywhere near minimum wage even if you are fairly successful.

If you want to make any money writing, then go along the article route. Magazines are crying out for copy. The ones down the lower end of the scale don't pay much, and in the initial stages you might have to go pro bono. Once you get going, you'll get better at it. Bung in a few images, and your acceptance rate will quadruple. (A bit of a slap in the face for a writer, but what the hell. It gets the copy accepted.) You'll be on first name terms with an editor or three, and when you get a phone call from one, you'll know it'll pay for a 4-star hotel in London for the night even before you have spoken to the person.

My daughter-in-law is a writer. She runs two blogs, one on travel, and is an influencer. She was asked to be part of a state-sponsored travel video to Puerto Rico. When on honeymoon, she and my son went to pay for a meal, and the proprietor refused payment, thanking them for coming. My son asked how they knew they were honeymooners. The Maitre d' said that he didn't. He'd recognised my d-i-l as the writer. How cool is that? She makes a very good income from writing, more than, for instance, a Met inspector. Mind you, she's very good at her job. I've written for years, and she's just another level. Very impressive. But she wasn't always. She went via the common route of rejections.

Lots of opportunities for writers. Pick your type, and go for it. Those who tried and failed, didn't really try.

[Derek Smith]

Doofus said:

Derek Smith said:

Those who tried and failed, didn't really try.

You just lost one potential reader, right there.

I love aphorisms. They give all the appearance of wisdom without any of that tedious thinking.

It's meant to give hope; a sort of flash way of saying, 'If you want it enough, you can do it. But it's hard graft.'

The disappointments can be soul destroying. Produce 1500 words that you know are perfect, and it'll be rejected. The best you can hope for is to rewrite it for plebs, or use sentences and phrases in other articles. You've got to make every rejection a learning exercise, but it is difficult. I used to edit a magazine and I was forever rejecting articles for reasons of space, that someone else did it better, or supplied better images.

I made the mistake of giving feedback, but they thought I was instigating a dialogue. If I felt it didn't fit, it didn't fit. Don't tell me I'm wrong.

It's never the editor's error. It is always yours. Having it accepted by another magazine proves nothing, although I was sent that info from someone I rejected. It's not personal.

[Derek Smith]

velocemitch said:

Good posts Derek.

I’m still struggling along as sales and marketing director of Emma Sharp incorporated...... !
Currently spending slightly more on adverts than making in sales!.

I think Fiction writing might be harder to get a toehold in than non Fiction as it’s just swamped.

She’s got a comedy book on the way about life through the eyes of ( our) French Bulldog Puppy, hoping the current craze for these will help sales.

I will keep pushing.

For animals, YouTube is great for promotions.

I've got a YT channel that is showing 49,979 views. I'm going to video some sled dogs tomorrow. I bet they get more hits than my car videos.

I accept what you say about fiction. The animal-based genre is more open.

[Derek Smith]

funkyrobot said:

How do you write articles and where do you get your subject matter from? Is it experience based or do you research a topic then write about it?

Sorry for the delay in replying. Been a bit ill over the holidays.

For unsolicited stuff, I choose the subject matter according to the particular magazine. When submitting the article/draft/idea I normally put in why I think they will want it. "It develops the premise that was the subject of the main article for the February 2018 issue . . ." That sort of stuff. It shows you've read their magazine and, more importantly, have a reason for the article.

I tend to stick to motoring and police work subjects; mostly the former nowadays. It's a massive subject and often I spend three or four times as long on research as writing despite concentrating on it for years. It is best to acknowledge from the beginning that your memory is faulty - I've written two articles on that subject - and always, but always, check the details. I was after a big contract on HGV driving and didn't know enough on the subject so researched, researched and researched again. In the first submission I included links to research from universities in Canada, Australia (x2) and the USA on driver tiredness and sensible steps to combat it for long distance drivers.

The article was accurate. It was rejected as the customer checked the conclusions I came to (ie those of the universities) with BRAKE and the chap was told what I'd said was rubbish and would cause accidents. That was around 60 hrs of work wasted. I'm still bitter. It would have been a nice earner. It's no good being right, and being able to prove it, if pressure groups, ill-informed or not, are against you.

I was into graphic design as a kid and have written a number of articles on the subject despite being incompetent at it. I've worked with real artists, one bordering genius, and nothing rubbed off. I was merely sales. However, my love for it seems to come through, and my articles are normally accepted without problem. I started working in design when the Krohne VW adverts were still coming out regularly. People have nearly forgotten them, but once they read an article on them, they want more. https://vimeo.com/177880740

For solicited work that requires research, it is essential that you take the time into consideration. Even with the internet, you need to cross-reference everything. It's been pointed out, rather harshly, that it was not a G27 I'd photographed, but a G33.