Showing posts with label e-books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label e-books. Show all posts

Monday 25 November 2019

Reading, Writing, Learning and Improving...


Only a month to Christmas Day and I've just started thinking about all that I need to do.

Usually that's because November is busy with family birthdays so I don't think about the festive season until they're over.

I'm determined to get the Christmas cards into the post sooner rather than the last few posting days- which usually happens.

Since I received my readers report back from the RNA's New Writers' Scheme I've read it again and analysed what I need to concentrate on this time- I've identified my weak spots...

There are other aspects in the historical that need further thought, so while I resolve those, I'm going ahead with my original plan to do my contemporary romance idea for the 2020 NWS.

So, I've been learning more about character arcs which has helped me understand the issues with my historical romance protagonists- and for my contemporary where I'd gone astray in the first draft.

I've got a better understanding of beats in the three act structure, but need to work on the middle 50% of the story.

Our Uninvited Guests: The Secret Life of Britain's Country Houses 1939-45 by [Summers, Julie]
Image from
Amazon.co.uk
As I've been able to set the new story up on Scrivener from the start (rather than half way through) it's given me time to identify changes I hadn't considered before, but need.

The good news is the first 25% of this one is doing what it should do, so I've begun the rewrite on those chapters, while I continue the outstanding research items.

My current reading is Our Uninvited Guests by Julie Summers.

It was pure chance that a Google search led to a mention of it in an article; then I searched for it on Amazon to find the kindle e-book on offer for 99 pence- a definite sign I should buy it! (It's now £3.99.)

An interesting read too.

It does have relevance; indirectly...


Have you ever gone looking for a book and found it's on offer just when you need it for research?












Sunday 24 March 2019

How Much Will You Pay for an E-book?

Now I know that authors who are traditionally published have no say on what price the e-book of their novels is sold at. Of course there will be price promotions where readers can buy the e-book for 99 pence for a limited time.

Whereas with self-published e-books the price can vary, though I've heard £2.99 is the ideal price- maybe is is and maybe it isn't?

Of course there's always a selection at 99 pence; but just because they're a low price that doesn't necessarily reflect badly on their quality.

As writers we know the same amount of work has gone into the writing and production of the book whether it's on paper or a digital file.

But as a reader, what price is too high for you to buy an e-book?

Unlike a print book, an e-book- a digital file (while it can last for as long as the technology exists to read it and is available) is more like a rental with no defined end date.
Print or E-book
for the cost?

Plus e-books prices include VAT.

The provider can modify or remove an e-book, likewise if
an online provider has closed a person's account for some reason, the reader will lose access to those e-books they've purchased.

(So if you've got a favourite book it's always a good idea to get a print copy too.)

So back to price.

I recently saw a new  release by one of my many favourite writers (a hybrid author). I wasn't sure if I'd enjoy the story having read the blurb, so downloaded the sample. At this point the price was still £3+.

It was a couple of days before I read the sample and decided okay, it has potential I'll buy the e-book. But when I went to Amazon the new release price had gone up to £5+ and I decided no it wasn't worth it at that price...

That response surprised me.

It may just be that I wasn't so intrigued that I just had to read more instantly. Perhaps the author has just lost their edge, that sparkle that would have once guaranteed an immediate buy.

This time it was the price that made the difference between me saying okay I'll buy it- even if it seems not to be as good as previous novels. To saying no, it's not worth it at that price. I probably would have bought it at the £3+ price.

There are a few e-books that I've bought at the £5+ range, but generally I'd opt for a paperback version, as sometimes it can be better value.

I realised that for me, quality + price = value = buy.

So a couple of questions to you as a reader, rather than a writer.

Do you have a maximum price bar when buying e-books?

Or does it depend upon the particular e-book, author or some other combination?

I'm looking forward to reading your responses...




Image from Pixabay.com








Thursday 23 March 2017

Can You Have Too Many Books?

Now I know that's a silly question to ask any writer, but I have to face it, I do have a lot of books.

As a consequence of all those books I also have six IKEA Billy bookcases downstairs and they're full. Okay at least one of them has books my OH has bought or received, so it doesn't sound as obsessive... :D

A few books...
There's quite a TBR (to be read) list on my Kindle e-reader. E-readers have enabled me to buy more books without anyone knowing.

I still buy physical books, probably more non-fiction than fiction. But I do still buy paperback versions of the latest books by my favourite authors. It's also easier to find a place to slot them in on the shelves than it would be trying to fit 20+.

A few I do read more than once because I enjoy the story and the characters so much.

Even though some readers won't buy an e-book, preferring the sensory delights of a book made of paper- be it paperback or hardback; I'll admit there is something very tactile about old cloth-bound books.

When I'm travelling or attending an appointment my Kindle comes with me, so I can choose a book to suit my requirements and my mood- or the time available.

Sometimes I do give books to a charity shop, but there will always be one or two that end up staying behind...

Unfortunately the time is coming when I will have to be ruthless and part company with a number of the older paperbacks.

We've got to have some work done inside the house this summer so it will mean temporarily moving furniture- and bookcases into store; hard decision will have to be made on what I'm keeping, and what will go to good causes- or friends.

So now it's over to you. Are you a book hoarder? Or do you pass on books after you've read them?




Sunday 11 December 2016

Not Long To Go...

A gem of a book...

Not long to go has a few meanings.

Christmas is of course fast approaching, and this coming Wednesday it's Awards Night at the writers' club.

I may have a few photos I can share next week...

College and Uni finish this coming Friday so I'll have a houseful from next weekend until early New Year. As much as I love my brood, it does mean any quiet time to write is reduced to a dripping tap that quickly gets fixed.

So there will only be a couple more posts until after Christmas.

Meanwhile I've been considering ideas for both my blog and Serena's.

I've also been catching up on my reading while I've had a spare ten minutes, or while waiting for appointments...

One of my recommended reads that would make an ideal Christmas present is From Story Idea to Reader by Patsy Collins and Rosemary J. Kind. And it's not because I know the authors.

This is a book I wish had been around when I first started writing, as it has a friendly and very comfortable and clear style; but there are sections more experienced writers can dip into that inspire me, and (new to me) techniques to try out. It's available on Kindle and as a paperback via Createspace, either from Alfie Dog (see link below) or Amazon.

I haven't finished reading it yet as I've not had enough free-time, so that's another delight to come over the holidays.

Earlier this year Patsy guest posted about using Createspace to turn her e-book novels and short story collections into paperbacks; and Rosemary is the owner and editor of Alfie Dog Fiction.

If you're in the UK and are signed up to Goodreads then there's an opportunity to win a copy. Click here.

I still have a number of photos to finish sorting and labelling up too, and I want to get a few blog posts written up for those busy times...

More soon...



Thursday 22 September 2016

Motivation...

Admittedly, first thing in the morning my motivation is poor, but once I've had breakfast, and my muscles have warmed up properly, my motivation gets going.

As I've been editing a story for a club competition, I could see what I needed to cut, and asked myself, what was my character's motivation for what they're doing.
Getting Motivated...

I think I've got to the core of the problem.

I'm going to write down the motivations for my main characters in my Nottinghamshire story. Although I think I know what they are, I've never actually written them down.

Reading this useful post on the Writers Helping Writers site, it got me thinking about my current hero and heroine's motivations, and those of my 'villain' too. So I'll be taking time to check that I've not missed any of the points mentioned in that Character Motivation post...

Like any writer I have a few essential (writing) reference books that get regular use: a dictionary and my Cassell Dictionary of Word Histories; and when I'm trying to grasp particular aspects of my characters, but I'm unsure of whether one is more suitable than the other, then I will dip into The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide to Character Expression, or The Negative Trait Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide to Character Flaws.

I have the Kindle version of Emotion Amplifiers too- it's a free e-book.

But however useful these books are, it still comes down to me, sitting down at my desk and tapping away at the keyboard to get the stories written.

So I'm off to get on with finishing the short story- motivation on full throttle...









image courtesy of supakitmod & www.freedigitalphotos.net








Thursday 14 April 2016

Patsy Collins Returns- E-books to Print Part 2

Welcome back to part 2 of e-book to print for the self-publisher. Today it's the useful 'how to' post.

(I'm taking notes for the future.)

Over to you again, Patsy.

Thanks for having me back again Carol, despite the cheeky way I mentioned my new short story collection, Through The Garden Gate and how the kindle version is currently on sale for 99p! (Gosh, but I'm subtle!)

It's also available as a paperback version, which is available now for £6.60

How I did it.

There are a variety of companies which allow you to self publish your own books. I use Createspace, which is a print on demand (POD) service. It's part of Amazon, which means the distribution is taken care of. There's nothing to pay in advance as they take their money from the sale price. If you don't sell any, you don't pay a penny.


Available now...
The work involved.

Createspace provide useful articles on every step of the process. For example, here's one on formatting. I suggest having a quick read of those first. There's also a forum where you can ask questions if you get stuck.

Everything you need to do the formatting is available in most of the software packages you're likely to have used to write the book. Word, OpenOffice and NeoOffice will all do the job.

1. You'll probably want to add page numbers and might want to include your name and the title in page headers. It looks best to start each chapter on a new page. Use section breaks for that.

2. You should select 'mirroring' for the page set up, so there's a slightly wider margin for the inside edge of each page than the outside one. Pages should also be sized appropriately for the book size.

3. If it's a short story collection or non fiction work, you'll want to include the page numbers in the table of contents, or index, if you're using one.

4. It's a good idea to use an ISBN. Createspace will provide this for free if you select that option and you may wish to add this to the front matter of your book - that's the bit where you put copyright notices, disclaimers and that kind of thing. Just copy and paste.

5. Once you're happy with the document, save it as a pdf. You're now ready to upload it. Select the 'guided' option and you'll be guided through each stage.

6. Once uploaded, you can view a digital proof online. Look through this carefully and if there's anything you're not happy with, adjust the document and upload the new version. Repeat until it's perfect.

7. It's a good idea to look at a physical proof too. You can order it at this stage.
This is one place I don't follow the Createspace guidelines as their proof is expensive and it'll take a long time to come through. Instead, I publish the book, buy one copy and immediately un-publish again. 

8. If you already have a kindle cover image this will need some tweaking. The resolution needs to be higher and you'll have to allow for 'bleed' - that's the bit which will probably be trimmed off when the physical cover is formed. The precise requirements are clearly given when you get to that stage.

9. Selecting categories, sales channels, adding the blurb and pricing are all explained and almost identical to doing this for an ebook. Again you'll be guided through. 

Top Tip

Allow plenty of time for formatting and uploading your book. It's better to do it a step at a time over several days than try to do it all in one mad rush. There's also a wait of several hours, or sometimes days, from when you click the confirm button to it appearing for sale.

Go on then – What are you waiting for?

Sunday 10 April 2016

Coming Up on Tuesday- My Guest Takes the Next Step...

As I've had a very heavy day with computer updates, I'm a little late in sharing some very exciting news.

This week both posts will be courtesy of my guest, blogger Patsy Collins.

Patsy is a wonderful writer with numerous short stories (and collections) to her credit, and a number of novels, including her most recent, (it features a hunky fireman) Firestarter.

It was Patsy who encouraged me to finish and send off my cake-related short story to one of the women's magazines- more about that in the summer.

Patsy Collins
Patsy Collins
Patsy is also my writing buddy, and the purple-loving writer behind the very useful womagwriter's blog.

On Tuesday, Patsy will be discussing the advantages/disadvantages of taking your self-published work beyond the kindle e-book and into print, using Createspace.

Then on Thursday, you can discover more about the actual process, with useful tips and links to help you take that next step.

You'll still have to do all the work, but Patsy's experience may help you decide whether it's for you...

And to top it all off there's an offer you won't be able to resist.

So pop back on Tuesday to find out more...


Sunday 8 November 2015

A Little Help from Your Friends...

The great thing about writers is that they are not only fun friends to have, but they are willing to share their knowledge to new and developing writers.

I know I wouldn't have improved without the generosity of experience of many current writers, and those who are no longer with us.

One of my roles at the writers' club is Prose Secretary; I find judges for our assorted competitions held throughout the year. The valuable comments each entry receives back helps the writers continue to develop their skills, and highlight where they may be going wrong- as well as what they are doing right.

So when I was tasked with finding a judge for the 2016 Nottingham Writers' Club, National Short Story Competition, I had a few potential people in mind.

I'm very glad to say that my first choice, a successful short story writer and novelist agreed to the job.

Admittedly, Patsy Collins sprung to mind due to her short story pedigree, plus the 2016 theme which is 'Fire'. Patsy just so happens to have released a new book- a few days ago- called 'Firestarter'. I have it ready to read on my Kindle.

I'm assured there's a hunky fireman involved... :D

You can find out more about Patsy's latest novel over on her blog Words about writing...

The club's national competition usually opens on the first day of the New Year, but for 2016 we're holding the submission period during February. And as next year is a leap year, there will be 29 days to submit entries, either online or by post.

PLEASE NOTE that only entries from writers residing in the UK can be accepted.

There are a few rules of course, so do read and follow them. Often newer and less experienced writers are put off entering competitions by the thought of competing against 'professionals'.

So the main criteria for anyone considering entry: if you've earned £300 or more from short story writing during 2015 please don't enter.

For more details about the 2016 competition, pop along to the page on the Nottingham Writers' Club website.

Firestarter- the new novel
from Patsy Collins







Sunday 5 July 2015

Scribd and Kindle Changes- Good or Bad?

The week just gone has seen a couple of changes relating to e-books that have implications for both writers and readers.

The unsettling announcements came days apart, so concerns and questions will depend upon which service is your priority...

I'd heard of Scribd, a subscription service for e-books, but never looked into it further.
I can see that if you're travelling every day then reading a book on your mobile device would be a good way to pass the time, and you could get through a number of books in a month, before you add on the number you could read at other times. So a one-off cost each month would be cost effective.

For the writer it's another sales avenue that doesn't rely on Amazon only, and gets their books out to more potential readers. But now it seems many romance writers will find their books delisted- though free offerings are being kept.

Smashwords who provide many self-published books to the service have an extensive post on their blog, and highlight the few advantages the culling of titles will bring- less competition being no.1, nice if your paying titles are kept, not so good if they've been removed...

For anyone who is unfamiliar with the news, here's a few links to find out more: Smashwords blog and the Guardian books section. And the Bookseller. Obviously there will be some duplication of content, but each has something different to say on the subject.

Now to the Kindle changes.

For those authors who have books in the KDP Select and the Kindle Owner's Lending Library, they will now be paid by the page read. This will be referred to as KENPC- Kindle Edition Normalized Page Count, so no matter how you've formatted it, it will be calculated to a standardized form that they've worked out.

There's a good explanation of how the money side works in this Bookseller article.

The brilliant thing about KDP was that there was finally a place to publish novellas- something many mainstream publishers didn't want. Every story has its own length, and not every one will be novel length, so authors of shorter works could suffer under this new regime- it depends on whether the amount they get per page equates to what they would have received under the previous system...

Writers who have been able to build up a readership over a number of books, probably have more choices available to them, plus the statistics to help them.

Likewise. those who have e-books with a mainstream publisher are in a different position to self-publishers.

Anyone just starting the self-publishing process needs to step-back for a moment and look at all the options available to them before they make a decision.

Yes, Amazon will triumph because they have the largest share of the e-reading market, and any writer who ignores that fact does so at their own peril. The option of which service you sign up to will be the difference...

It will be interesting to see what effect the Scribd and Kindle changes make, to both writers and readers of e-books, for the remainder of the year.








Wednesday 15 April 2015

Kobo, Mills and Boon and W H Smith Romance Writing Life Competition...

April seems to be the month for competition announcements.

Following on from my Sunday post, about Choc Lit, there's now another opportunity for writers of romance in the UK, Canada, and the United States, announced today.

The winning writer receives a publishing contract with Mills and Boon, which includes print and digital release; plus it will be "jointly promoted" by all three names: Kobo, Mills&Boon, and W H Smith.

There's a prize for second and third place- a Kobo Glo HD.

Now to take part, you must have an active Kobo Writing Life account to enter, and they do give you a helpful link.

The first of many?
Their link takes you to a page, but you need the create an account via the link on the bottom left (in light blue/green) and you can then proceed to sign up to Kobo Writing Life as an author.

Now that bit is the off-putting part of the process- I'd assume they class signing up as being the active bit...

So what do you need to submit?

A maximum 500 word synopsis, and the first chapter of your romance manuscript, no longer than 5,000 words. These will be "reviewed by a judging panel".

(I'm sure I don't need to remind you, but just in case, give the ending on the synopsis...)

They're including all romance genres, and while saying it's not limited to their existing categories, I do wonder how much that will play a part.

And for those who want to submit a title they've self-published - you're in luck.

The deadline for entries is the 14th July- but you might want to check whether that is UK time, or US.

As the successful writer will be announced a month later, 14th August, the winner will need their complete manuscript ready for submitting to Mills and Boon in September-with the release date of the winning entry in early 2016.

And the manuscript needs to be 70,000 words, or more...

For full details pop along to the Kobo Writing Life page. It has all the links you need, including the one for the application form- make a note of how they want your manuscript put together before you click submit...

If you enter, good luck.






Image courtesy of Danilo Rizzuti and http://freedigitalphotos.net



Sunday 29 March 2015

My Day at the Writing Conference - Part 1...

I'm finally recovered enough to share my review of Saturday's writing conference. Yes, it was busy, and it was a few hours before the 'buzz' faded; probably the best way to describe it is a low level of background adrenalin that lasted beyond the conference, but didn't make dinner time. By 8 pm I was yawning- despite telling myself it was a bit too early for bed...

(In the U.K the clocks also had to be put forward an hour, so my Sunday lie-in didn't help any!)

Where to begin? I'll do this in two parts because the day covered so many subjects, but even so they will only be snippets from each session.

Generally I've paraphrased, but where I've used quote marks that's exactly what was said by the named person.

On arrival delegates received a Writing East Midlands (WEM) cotton goody bag- WEM had organised the event and had support from a number of other organisations, ALCS, The Writers' Guild, Writing Magazine, the Arts Council and others.

Each bag contained a variety of literary related promotional flyers, a neat little booklet detailing all of this year's Arvon writing courses, a copy of the April issue of Writing Magazine and a book- my bag had a copy of Sue Moorcroft's 'All That Mullarkey'. Another writer friend had a poetry book in her bag, so it was pot-luck what you received.

The keynote speakers were both brilliant, Maureen Duffy, and Kerry Young. And I was fortunate to attend a few of the panels that Maureen Duffy was taking part in and sharing her considerable experience from her long writing career.

Onto the panels: I started with Finding Your Place in the Writing Community. Each panel only had 45 minutes in total, so it was more about the writing community that various social media sources can provide. The editor of Writing Magazine, Jonathan Telfer, emphasised that writers should be themselves, and don't be " a spam monkey". He suggested that a 10 to 1 strategy was useful; for every ten constructive posts, have one sales pitch.

While Aly Stoneman (Poetry Editor at LeftLion Magazine) suggested once a year take an overnight trip to another festival, or a workshop, as it helps expand your network, and also find out what's happening elsewhere, or what magazine/publishing opportunities there may be. Join writing organisations, and support other writers who in turn may support you.

After a 30 minute break- more coffee, tea, fruit juices, and biscuits, we moved on to the next session...

I went to, Myth Busting- Self-Publishing Be Damned: Maureen Duffy shared her experiences of the changing attitudes of publishing that she herself has experienced, and has, with the help of her agent, self-published. She emphasised the importance of a good cover design. To sum up she said you need to "dedicate yourself to it to make it work."

Author of the romantic-comedy 'No-one Ever Has Sex on Tuesday',Tracy Bloom, explained how even having an agent doesn't guarantee success, despite foreign rights selling well, a decision made by Tesco in 2012 not to stock new authors, made self-publishing viable for the book- which went on to sell 200,000 copies. But she did emphasise that a book does need to be good enough - to "have a level of quality."

Key points: covers need to stand out when they are a THUMNAIL size; blurb- snappy, catches the attention and leaps out, as you only have seconds to capture the readers attention. Book bloggers, you could send individual emails to individual bloggers. Don't forget local media, as they want local stories, so give them a local hook.

And "is it the right thing for you.'

There was a lot more from the other panel members, but at the end of the session Maureen Duffy mentioned that books should be accessible for the visually impaired too. E-books need to be produced in the e-pub3 format to be easily convertible for those with visual impairment, but at the moment producers like Amazon and others do not yet use it, so readers have a limited choice of books available.

Then it was time for lunch; to eat and absorb the first half of the day...

I'll post part 2 in a couple of days, which covers the panels on earning a living as a writer, and why having an agent is important...





Sunday 11 January 2015

Being More Productive - Otherwise Known as Stop Wasting Time...

Trying to be more productive is the operative phrase for me at the moment.

I've found a writing system that seems to fit me, and now I just need to improve my word count...

Sadly life- or actually other people, over whom I have no control, can and will get in the way.

So to cut down on the opportunities for procrastination and make the most of the time I do have I'm going to keep a desk diary, not just a bag diary.

My printer gives me access to lots of online templates and they have printable diaries. I know I could set a desktop one, but I wouldn't see that once my browser is open, so I'm going to try a paper one that can be stuck up within my eye line.

No idea how it will work, but it will certainly help by reminding me sooner that I have appointments coming up, and not agreeing to do other things the same week I'm already busy- which is happening at the moment.

And if you need ideas on how to be more productive then I can certainly recommend 'Give Up Ironing - A Writer's Guide to Time Management' by Kathleen McGurl.

I certainly recognised a few elements I could improve on- box sets, in my case NCIS, I will say no more... :(

Anything you can recommend to improve writing output?




Sunday 19 October 2014

What Has Happened to Historical Romance Novels?

In the 30+ years I've been reading historical romance novels, there has been a lot of change.

But...I don't believe the change has been as wide-ranging in the UK as it has been in the US over that time.

If you're in the UK and not familiar with the US romance market, then you might find this Huff Post Books article 'What Happened to the Historical Romance Novel?' by author Maya Rodale an interesting read - although it is long- but it will help to read it all.

I do buy and read contemporary romances, but if you looked in my bookcases you'd notice that at least 75% of the contents are historical.

Once I'd moved beyond Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer I wanted more, but the choice was limited. They never seemed to have enough time to develop the sub-plots, and even the main story line seemed to be limited to a certain level of intensity- because anything more wouldn't have fitted the pre-set length the publisher required; and of course everything stopped at the bedroom door...

For some years I was able to get my historical romance fix by getting imported US editions from Waterstones or second hand copies from a book stall, whenever I came across them.

Then for a while it picked up. Some of my favourite authors began to have their latest books in a UK edition- usually with a completely different cover, much more artistic and restrained.

With the emergence of Kindle and e-books, readers now have instant access to any type of romance novel they might want, and the wider author base means even more books to choose from.

I've got no problem if an historical romance author writes a traditional no-sex romance, as their characters might be the 'wait until we're married' type; I've read a number like that, and it would have been quite out of place for those characters to have done anything different.

These traditional style stories haven't been any less enjoyable, or lacked depth and intensity.

I certainly noticed more sex scenes in novels (by a few of my favourite authors) a couple of years ago, but that trend seems to have reversed and they've returned to how they were before with one or two such scenes being the norm. Perhaps that was more to do with the 50 Shades of Grey effect...

Personally I think historical romances published in the UK have adapted slightly, but they're a long way from their American cousins. Whether that's good or bad is for each author/reader to decide...

There are now a lot of smaller publishers printing romance novels too...

Contemporary romance heroines certainly don't have the issues that their historical sisters have to deal with...

Whatever your preference, the good news is that romance is thriving, so that's good for every writer, and for their readers.





Monday 6 October 2014

Book Formats- Any Preference?

Books have been around for a long time, and I think we'll still have them in one form or another for a long time to come.

Yet every reader will have a preference: hardback, paperback, audio or e-book. Maybe even a mixture of them all.

Book reading and buying has undergone massive changes, and no doubt there will be more in the future.

The history of reading still visible - above a modern store
in Milsom Street, Bath, Somerset
Different formats co-exist and the reader can choose them all, if they want to.

Perhaps the more forms of technology we have the more our book purchases get diluted (as far as the various gathered statistics are concerned); so maybe the decline in purchases in one format or other is due to what the data covers.

Before the arrival of e-books it was a simple choice: hardback or paperback?

While audio books existed in some form they weren't covering mainstream fiction until the late 1980's. I still have (somewhere) cassette tapes of poetry from the 1970's...

Audio books have continued to develop in the background while the 'battle' between paper and e-books has developed.
I've noticed there are less abridged versions available now- books that were abridged was the main aspect that put me off buying audio fiction in the past.

A recent survey by Nielsen's claims that paperback/hardback sales outsold e-books in the first half of 2014.

As this appeared on the Publishers Weekly website at the end of last month, I'm assuming this is sales in the US market. But it could be an indicator of the future situation in the UK in 12-18 months- only time and the book buying public can decide.

(And of course it doesn't cover self-published work which continues to grow.)

You can read the start of the Publishers Weekly article here.

Book buying is a very personal thing.

Whilst I buy quite a few e-books now, I do still buy paperbacks (my favourite authors) and the occasional hardback. I'll even admit to having bought a paperback copy of a few books after reading the e-books- though they tend to be reference books.

Space is a major issue. Homes are smaller, and I'm sure we'd all love to turn one room into our own personal library, but that just isn't possible for most readers. So we either buy e-books and limit solid copies to favourites (whatever your criteria of choice) or find other storage solutions.

 Many give books away when they've finished with them- go into any charity shop in the UK and you'll find lots of paperbacks for sale...

The most important thing is that readers are still buying books, and while people want books they'll need writers to write them.

So are you a digital convert, or a paper book stalwart? Or like me, a mixture of the two?


Wednesday 1 October 2014

Four Years Have Gone By...

A couple of days ago I realised that I'd been blogging four years- where has that time gone?

Persuaded by writer friends that I should try writing a blog- and if I didn't like it I could always delete it- it was with a big amount of trepidation that in September 2010, I set up Carol's Corner.

The appearance of my blog has undergone a few changes, and I'm going to be looking at adjusting a few minor things soon, but my blog will continue to be a mixed bag: my writing and research, my travels, along with book related news, and competitions of course.

I won't be changing the wallpaper either as I really like it. :D

Over the years my writing life has undergone a number of changes too.

Quite a few of my writing plans got disrupted by the accident I had just over three years ago, and it has resulted in my slowing down and re-evaluating how I'm going to handle my work-load in future.

I'm not going to say I'd never try for a publishing contract, but for the moment self-publishing is going to be my likely course.

I know it's a lot of work, but at least I'm in control and as anyone who knows me will tell you, I get a little bit edgy when I see stuff going wrong, but I can't do anything about it.

So, in these past four years:


  • I've won a couple of the annual competitions at the writers' club; most importantly the Romance Novel trophy, and in January this year, the Writer of the Year trophy to add to earlier successes: the Manuscript of the Year (a 250 word story voted by the audience on the competition night) and The Little Moe trophy for a Drama.


  • Four of my very short stories- 200 words each- originally written for the One Word Challenge competition on the Writers Online,Talkback forum- were published by small publisher Alfie Dog Fiction, in the 'One Word Anthology' as both an e-book, and a paperback via Amazon's Createspace.

  • I launched the existence of my pseudonym, Serena Lake.

  • I've read some of my short stories and flash fiction in front of the public at the Lowdham Book Festival's 'Fringe at The Ship' event.

  • A few months ago I heard that my short, 'A Tight Squeeze', will be in 'The Best of Cafe Lit 2014'.

  • I have the first draft of my historical romance novella completed.


  • A synopsis and first three chapters for my Dorset novel.


  • And the current WIP which is a contemporary romance, which I will eventually self publish.


  • Numerous other ideas, characters and notes for further stories.


  • I've found what works for me- at the moment.


  • I've been Chairman of my local writers' club- my three year term finishes in April 2015.


Best of all I've made new friendships both personally and professionally- thank you all. :)

So what are my plans for the rest of  2014 and into 2015?

'Just keep writing' is going to be my motto.

I've found life tends to throw curve-balls when I make too definite plans, so I'm going to be flexible and take up the challenges as they approach, and aim for getting one of my projects published sometime next year...

I hope you'll continue to pop in and read my posts- I'm certainly intending to read more blog posts by others too.

So do continue to leave comments as it's good to know you're there.

Meanwhile, full steam ahead... :D





Sunday 27 July 2014

Historic Houses Short Story Competition...

I've been busy getting on with my entry for the Mary Street Romance novel competition at the writers club, so I've been missing blog posts.

It's progressing well, but I don't know if it will be one for putting to one side and giving it time to develop, or just writing it and getting it out of my brain, then putting it away until I have time to redraft it...

I do want to get back to the first draft revision of my Nottinghamshire novella.

In the meantime I've come across a short story competition that opened for entries earlier this year in March, and closes to online submissions at 4 pm on the 26th September 2014.

The Historic Houses Association (HHA) has partnered with the publisher Corazon Books for this short story competition.

You can only submit one story between 1,500 and 2,500 words; the story must be set in or inspired by a historic house. You can enter whether you're published or unpublished. And entry is free.

Corazon state, "We are looking for a compelling tale with lots of atmosphere. It can take place in the past or present, in either a real or fictional setting, so writers can let their imagination take them, and us, whenever and wherever they wish!"

The only drawback for the winner will be the cost of taking up the main part of the prize, unless you live close, or have friends you can stay with: the winning writer and their guest will receive a private tour and afternoon tea with the owners of Levens Hall in Cumbria, a cash prize of £150, and a double Friends membership for the HHA. 

There are two runner-up prizes of the double Friends membership of the HHA.

Corazon Books intend to publish an e-book anthology of the best entries, and the writers included will receive royalties for their published story. The author retains the copyright of their contribution.

There's a lot to read, and do make sure you follow the instructions on submitting your manuscript.

Royal Naval College Greenwich
(not part of the HHA)

So here's the links:

General information here.
Submission here.
Terms and conditions here.

You can find out more about the Historic Houses Association here.







Image courtesy of Robert Radford/http://freedigitalphotos.net

Sunday 8 June 2014

Asking Questions and Learning...

Asking questions and learning from the answers is fairly standard for writers at any level, but imagine that 10-20, 100 times over...

That was yesterday at the first day of the virtual Romance Festival (today-Sunday- concentrates on readers).

Everything kicked off at 2pm, and having checked out the programme first thing that morning, I'd decided to concentrate on the Facebook page- though I did pop in to have a quick look at the Twitter side #Romance14.

(At the time of writing this post, their blog has technical issues, so once it's back up and running you'll be able to access all the author Q&A blog posts at: romancefestival.wordpress.com so check it out later.)

Having the ability to ask questions of the guests, and at the same time discuss the subjects with fellow writers was good, as not all of those joining in were in the UK, so you got a different view. Add to that the guests were only there for 1 hour, you'll understand how active the page was- I had to refresh the page a few times to ensure I didn't miss anything.

The Facebook page started out with two novelists ( Anoushka Knight and Fionnuala Kearney) talking about their journey to publication.

3pm's book cover session was popular. This was with Mark Ecob, a cover designer, and there were discussion on fitting covers to genre,  typefaces that work, motifs and images, among the discussions.

All too soon it was over and another popular guest was introduced, agent Madeline Milburn. We all received answers to our questions, and there were useful tips on covering letters, and that she wanted to see a strong voice, and strong characters that hooked her into the story...

Probably the most valuable advice given was to research the agency's as much as possible, as she said there is a lot of information available on the web, especially with agent interviews and talks.

I liked the fact that she said she didn't represent specific genres, that she represented the author...

Moving on it was the turn of Mark Lefebvre from Kobo; he talked about Kobo Writing Life (the equivalent of Amazon's KDP) and you'll find links in some of his answers.

As you probably guessed Romance is one of their highest selling genres. I think we all wanted to know how others ranked. Well Erotica - "More Active Romance". :) was followed by Thriller/Mystery, then Fantasy and next, Sci-fi.

It was certainly an information filled session, so do have a look at it if you want to find out more.

The last couple of hours featured Harper Impulse authors chatting about 'What I've Learned In My First Year Of Being Published' and then author and journalist Tess Stimson who was talking about writing as a career.

I did pop over to Twitter to catch a few of agent Carole Blake's answers to questions, but by this time my head was buzzing and I needed food (amazing how using mental energy can make you hungry) so signed out.

Events like this enable writers and industry professionals to get-together without having to leave their desk (sofa, sun lounger or wherever they're accessing the web) and it benefits us all.

As great as it is to go to conferences and talks, it isn't always possible, or affordable when you add on transport and accommodation costs, so virtual events like this are fantastic.

Hope we can look forward to another weekend next year...

If you want to find out about today's programme, then look here.




Saturday 1 March 2014

Confused About Publishing to Kindle? You Need This New Book...

Kindle Direct Publishing For Absolute Beginners: A guide to publishing Kindle e-books for beginners
Available on Amazon platforms
(image from amazon.co.uk)
Unsure about creating a kindle e-book, then worry no more.

Kindle Direct Publishing for Absolute Beginners by Sally Jenkins.

I think this new book will sell very well, as it covers so many essential elements of the publishing to Kindle process.

You can read about how this new book came about on Sally's blog here.

This e-book doesn't cover formatting in detail- there is an e-book that covers that aspect that Sally recommends.

Her book goes into all those other essential areas that you need to understand and use, from the pre-publishing stage- what you need to consider and check for before you begin formatting, to the options for cover design, and more.

You will find out about the thorny issues of pricing, royalties and tax- the latter has always seemed to be the most confusing issue for UK writers who have sales in the US (30% withholding tax, and the US Tax identification number- and how to get one).

Then after your e-book is loaded and on sale, important issues like keywords, getting reviews and keeping track.

I've only been able to have a quick scan through my copy- I bought it last night, £1.53 on Amazon's UK site but the parts I have read for compiling this blog post, have convinced me.

I like the straightforward manner in the way each aspect of the process is addressed, and even those elements that always seemed quite unnerving are no longer scary, or headache inducing.

This e-book is a purchase you will not regret making.






Sunday 1 December 2013

The Great British Write Off Competition...

" Are you the next big women's fiction writer?"

Well if you think so, then have a look at this competition showing on the handbag.com website. They've teamed up with booksandthecity.co.uk and publisher Simon & Schuster UK.

They want to find and publish a debut women's fiction writer. Full details here.

"The plotline can be anything; the only requirement is that it must fall within the women's fiction genre."

Entrants are required to: " submit your short story, which should be a maximum of 2,500 words" (and this is done by copying and pasting into the entry form on the main page).

The closing date is 5.30pm on the 31st January 2014.

The winner will get some fantastic opportunities.


  • Publication of the winning e-book short story in April 2014.
  • An agent advice session with Lizzy Kremer, director of David Higham Associates.
  • An author mentoring session with Sunday Times bestselling author Milly Johnson.
  • And a book jacket and feature on Simon & Schuster's social media channels such as Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.
The winner gets a standard e-book contract.

(details from www.handbag.com)

You'll find full details, t&c's, and links you need on the main page- see my link at the top.

Apologies to overseas writers once more, this is only for UK residents aged over 18 years.

If you enter, good luck. 


APOLOGIES for the appearance of white blocks behind quoted text. I haven't been able to get rid of it. 

Friday 15 November 2013

Fun and Learning at The Festival of Romance...

I finally have time to share a few snippets from my visit to Bedford last weekend for The Festival of Romance.

I had to write a piece about my trip to the festival for the Nottingham Writers' Club magazine, with the deadline of yesterday (Thursday).

I also ended up writing a couple of other items for inclusion in the forthcoming issue, in between appointments.

Next time I go, I will keep the week following, clear...

So what did I learn?

So much. From being able to talk to other writers, listen to them reading their work aloud, and on the Sunday from the editors of the various romance publishers talking about what they're doing currently, to what they're looking for in submissions - and encouragement to submit.

There were one to ones available, but I wasn't ready for that this year, so didn't put in a request when the opportunity was offered a few weeks prior to the festival.

After an evening of readings, from authors in historical dress, set against a background of drawings and paintings by the pre-Raphaelite artists in the art gallery on the Friday night, I was glad of a good night's sleep before Saturday's events.

There was the Romance Fair where you could buy a wide selection of books by various authors attending the festival. I moved onto the Coffee and Cake to listen to more authors reading excerpts from their novels.

I did the 3 hour workshop in the library run by Sue Moorcroft and Christina Courtney on 'Irresistible Heroes'. I learnt a bit more about one of my heroes in waiting, Hugo, during the practical sessions.

And following that the talk, How to Stand Out, Get Published and Stay Published, given by author Miranda Dickinson and her HarperCollins editor, Sammia Rafique. Miranda described her journey to publication, while Sammia explained her role in the author’s books. 
There was a very useful question and answer session. I wanted to know the current length they required, and for their books it’s at least 90,000 up to 120,000. (Other publishers have their own specifications.)

I can actually be seen at the Ball (on Table 4 in purple and glasses) in the video of the after dinner entertainment- I'm in the background for a while; amazing I was still wide awake as that was at 11pm and I'd been up since 7am that morning...

http://vimeo.com/icundell/professorelemental

Sunday was conference day, with an early start of 9.30am.

Spread throughout the day there were author led panels, including one on building an author platform.

The presence of editors from the main romance publishers was keenly anticipated.

Mills and Boon covered the 5 UK acquired series they deal with: Modern/Presents, Cherish, Historical, and Medical. Guidelines can be found on their website.

I've read their historical novels on and off over the years, and they have changed a lot in that time- length has increased too, they're now at 70,000.

Piatkus Entice is a digital first imprint at Piatkus Fiction.

The important message that came over was that stories needed to be a commercial proposition. And like all the other publishers they wanted 'voices' - fresh, engaging and consistent.

Carina UK - this is an imprint of Harlequin UK. They are a digital first publisher, with their first print title due out early 2014. They talked about their interest in trans-media projects, a different method of reaching readers...

And the good news is that they don't just publish romance. They're seeking, women's fiction, new adult, contemporary young adult, and erotica. And if you happen to have a WW1 romance ( considering next year's anniversary of 100 years since the outbreak of war) it could find a home.

Mira publish Women's Fiction and Crime, aimed at the older reader. Heroines 40+, well written, a hook, and commercial were important words, and they will accept unagented submissions.

Harper Impulse, another digital first publisher. Again like other digital first publishers length is not an issue. You could send a 1,000 word short story that could be read on a phone. They like to get a full manuscript, covering letter and short synopsis.

Generally: They all had a presence on Twitter. Many of the editors can be followed on Twitter; and writers having a social media presence was very useful.

Just as with any publisher, they want good stories, and fresh voices, stories that will sell.

But again and again the editors kept saying submit it! Don't worry if it's not perfect, or you're not sure it's quite right for them, just submit it.

There was so much useful information, that it was hard to take it all in. That's why I made good use of my notebook.

I learnt a lot, and have started putting into action the elements that I was missing- in social media.

But most reassuring was that my writing seems to be going in the right direction...