It’s the second day of official summer and it’s been pelting
it down with rain (it takes me a bit of time to get round to posting these
blogs). I don’t mind – it just adds to
more writing time. And there has been a
dramatic increase in writing time which I hope does not wane. The new regime is this: an hour in the loft
huddled on a pillow under the roof window while I write fiction until my
battery runs out. There are no internet,
TV, child or food distractions. No cat
jumping on my keyboard, no little nips to my phone. Just pure writing with the occasional play on
mahjong while I think about plot and structure between chapters.
I still
have editing and my nonfiction to write during the day but once the evenings
draw in, I smuggle my laptop upstairs while hubby watches an action film (I
catch the end or beginning with him).
1000 words a weekday, means in 60 working days, I’ll have a 60,000 word
novel.
Well, it’s
not everyday, I admit. And there are
some days when I just stare at the screen and try not to succumb to the pull of
the internet, which is like a black hole for my time.
Over the
past few weeks I’d been stuck in a lull – my motivation was a bit down and I
was thinking of properly giving up Seadrake, even without waiting until the end
of the financial year. I’d had a
rejection too. Funny thing is, I don’t
even remember what it was for. But then
I got payment for one of my knowonder stories and I realised that I just needed
a little spark of hope to keep me going. Now my writing is back in full force,
Seadrake is back into play (and with a whole new business plan and the new,
shiny, revamped website will go live before the end of the year which will
focus more on cast sterling rings and necklaces) and all is right in the world.
I think
it’s that way for most writers (not to mention jewellers). It’s hard times for fiction writers and even
the most established of writers are wondering if they’ll have to look for new
work and put down their pens (or just use their laptops for solitaire and candy
crush). Nobody seems to know the way
forward anymore, and it’s certainly not the main publishers – anyone who’s
attended the London Book Fair in the past five years would have noticed a
worrying trend of empty stalls. Nobody
seems to be buying books much anymore (unless it’s celebrity slush).
I’d love
(like all authors) to get a fab contract.
A three-book contract with six digit royalties… and it might even happen
to someone. I’m fairly certain it won’t
be me; I’m not mainstream enough. But I
can produce some beautiful reads. They
might be with indie publishers, they might be popped up on kindle or nook, but
they’ll be out there. Which I suppose,
for now, is enough. And on that note, I’m pleased to announce that Downtrodden
is very near the end and near completion.
My aim is to have it out on kindle before the end of the year and the
cover is being worked on too.
I am
wondering about having the book separated into quarters and having the first as
a free download, the second ‘instalment’ as a basic £1.50 download, etc. If it does well, it can continue as a
series. More things to think about.
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