Reviews and Reality

As I’ve said in my current newsletter, I’ve decided to try and start blogging again, putting a little more detail behind the outline flight plan. Final Approach has been out for nine months now and I’ve learnt a lot about what it means to have a book out there in the world. On the positive side, nothing can beat the feeling of having your book baby in your hands – I made that! It’s real! Also, that affirmation that comes from thinking that a publisher recognised its value and potential and committed to making it real – indeed, making it a better entity than it would have been without their input – principally the editing and design.

But the reality is that every week there are nearly 4,000 books published just in the UK, and that figure probably doesn’t include all the self-published ones that go under the radar. So that’s one hell of a crowded marketplace. Just having a book published doesn’t mean it will make it onto the shelves of high street bookshops, even if it has had good reviews, as Final Approach has. My book was released by an indie publisher (thank you, Claret Press!) but even if your work finds a home with a biggie like Penguin Random House it doesn’t necessarily mean your books will gain much exposure. I’ve spoken to two fellow authors recently who both have multiple book deals with the majors, and it seems they face the same challenges.

So what do you do about it? You have to sell your own book, that’s what. And for this you need a very different skillset from that required to put words on a page! Social media, marketing, book fairs – it could become a full-time job. But then, when would you actually do more writing?

I think you just have to find a balance, hoping there might be that one endorsement or piece of exposure which makes the difference. At the same time, making sure there is something else in the pipeline – happily, I do have some new short stories and other commissioned pieces coming onstream.

I’m also recording the audiobook of Final Approach, and that should be finished within the month; releasing that should give the book a new lease of life. Or not. Whatever, I’ll just keep plugging away.

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