Everything will conspire to keep you away from writing

My ebook 'Compliance is Futile' is now out on the kindle. I got a kindle for Christmas and it was the first book I downloaded. There was a certain satisfaction in doing that.

The link to the Amazon page is: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Compliance-is-Futile-ebook/dp/B006LKWQR8

Now I need to get back to work on my novel. At the moment it is going quite slowly, I've got to about 20,000 words, but I keep editing away huge chunks of the story and I need to weave the sequences together and carry on with the writing itself. Finding time to do so is the hardest thing. Everything seems to distract me.

Everything will conspire to keep you away from writing.

I have the end in mind already, it's just a matter of trying to stop being distracted and getting down to the task.

It may take some time.

Marketing Mania

I've been spending time working on my first novel and trying to market my poetry anthology 'Compliance is Futile'.

It's a frustrating business. I've managed to get a couple of press releases into local papers:

This is a story from a press release I sent to the local free paper 'The Chase Post'.

And this is the story written for The Sentinel, for which I was interviewed over the phone following a press release.

The rest has been internet marketing. I've learned a few things. The main lesson is that marketing is a frustrating business and every writer really could do with an agent to do it for him or her.

The novel is coming on very slowly. I've got the basic plot, theme and characters. It is simply a matter of writing it all out now. And that may take some time.

In the meantime I have to consider everything else as research.

Voices

Finally my book is available as a paperback from Amazon.com.
http://www.amazon.com/Compliance-Futile-Nick-White/dp/1463721811/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1312460968&sr=1-1

I was interviewed by a newspaper from my home town, The Sentinel.
You can read the story online at:
http://www.thisisstaffordshire.co.uk/Poetry-helps-heal-Nick-s-pain/story-13062298-detail/story.html

It was strange being on the other end of the interviewing. The interviewer got my age wrong and knocked off six years (better that way round). During the phone interview I said:

"I once came into the Sentinel on work experience."
"That's what I'm doing here now," admitted the budding reporter. I imagine that she will do well because she was thorough and direct in her questioning. All through the interview I wanted to say: "Just make everyone a cup of tea or coffee - they like that."

The recent phone hacking scandal has had the usual effect on the perception of journalists. Any trust gained has been set back years because of the invasion of privacy of a few. Almost every rule from the NUJ code of conduct was broken. And the whole profession is about as popular as when Princess Diana died.

It is all about the way in which writers and broadcasters treat their readers and contacts. If readers and contacts are treated in a condescending and uncaring way then there is something wrong with the journalist. The writer has to listen.

So, over the past few months I've been thinking about the way I treat my readers (yes, that's you faithful reader!). I've realised that, even though I've never been involved in phone hacking or anything unlawful, I've not always had my readers' best interests at heart. Even if I don't have that many readers, I still think I could be more considerate. So, I'm sorry.

I draw the line at offering compensation.

Compliance is Futile

We live in an instant world and suddenly the world of publishing seems to be relatively instant too. I made my first venture into the world of self-publishing yesterday. Determined to get my first book published I opted for Smashwords as a publishing platform and I now have an ebook.

The whole process took me about a day (the poetry collection itself took place over years). By midnight I had clicked the 'publish' button. Strangely my upload was in a queue of about 400 other works (it was day-time in America where Smashwords are based).

I wrote the blurb and picked a cover image (a sculpture of Joan of Arc at the Louvre in Paris 'listening to her voices'). I played around with the picture a little and uploaded the finished result. Then I got my free ISBN number.

The whole process was free and that was what I liked about it. Sometimes it seems as if the entire world of writing and publishing is there to make money from writers. There are so many scams out there for writers that it is necessary to be very careful.

But now I have an ebook of poetry published (finally) and I am ridiculously pleased with the whole thing. The finished product is available as an ebook in different formats for devices ranging from the Kindle to the PC. It is poetry rich in metaphor and simile and it is written for everyone.

If you want to see a sample of the book or even buy it (for $0.99), then you can see my Smashwords page at:

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/73333.