10 things I have learned since having my book published
1. Buying several copies of your own book from amazon.co.uk at strategic times does not have a significant effect on your ranking.
2. Interviews with the press can last for the best part of an hour, giving plenty of opportunity for sparkling anecdotes, charming asides and sharing of innermost thoughts. After all that, they end up using one throwaway line.
3. For every ten people who promise faithfully they're going to buy the book, one or two actually do.
4. Google is not the best search engine to find mentions and reviews. MSN is better.
5. You get mad emails from incarcerated defrocked priests who have written conspiracy-theory books and think you can help get them published.
6. Many reviewers don't actually read the books they're reviewing.
7. Even if you proofread the book a zillion times, mistakes still creep through.
8. It is impossible to convince people that not everything in e-luv happened to me in real life and that it just happened to a fictional character called Trevor in a book.
9. When you're convinced your book will be mainly bought by men in their forties, it is disconcerting to discover that teenage girls seem to be the ones buying it.
10. Bad reviews are nowhere near as upsetting as I thought they'd be. Mind you, I've only had one so far (thanks, Luica), so this could change.
2. Interviews with the press can last for the best part of an hour, giving plenty of opportunity for sparkling anecdotes, charming asides and sharing of innermost thoughts. After all that, they end up using one throwaway line.
3. For every ten people who promise faithfully they're going to buy the book, one or two actually do.
4. Google is not the best search engine to find mentions and reviews. MSN is better.
5. You get mad emails from incarcerated defrocked priests who have written conspiracy-theory books and think you can help get them published.
6. Many reviewers don't actually read the books they're reviewing.
7. Even if you proofread the book a zillion times, mistakes still creep through.
8. It is impossible to convince people that not everything in e-luv happened to me in real life and that it just happened to a fictional character called Trevor in a book.
9. When you're convinced your book will be mainly bought by men in their forties, it is disconcerting to discover that teenage girls seem to be the ones buying it.
10. Bad reviews are nowhere near as upsetting as I thought they'd be. Mind you, I've only had one so far (thanks, Luica), so this could change.
posted by Dave at 2:31 PM
8 Comments:
Okay, I'm always looking for a new book to read. After stumbling upon your blog (and then reading it from top to bottom, I admit) I think I shall go and buy it. Good Luck!! I've always wished that I had the patience to write a book...
: )
Wise wise words Dave.
I am finding numbes 5 and 8 most relevant at this moment in time!
Cx
Thanks for this one, really interesting - esp. for a wannabe like me!
Hey just to let you know I havent forgotten about you! I have been forced offline (trevor will know how that feels!) but I should be back now and I can get on with everything. Hope you're well.
Les mots justes: Number eleven should be -
"if you have written a light and fluffy book of inconsequential humour then Radio 5 live will put you on straight after the woman who had crippling post-natal depression and thought about killing her kids"
Mikey - you can't just leave it there - what tone did you adopt for the interview? what is the book called?
The book is called 'The Encyclopedia of Guilty Pleasures' and is available wherever good books are sold, and Asda.
There is also a handy little link to the book's site displayed rather too prominently on my blog
As an experienced media professional I thought the best tone to adopt for such a difficult interview would be 'flustered' and i must say I think it worked rather well.
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