Tuesday, September 5, 2017

I WANT to write more books. I NEED to write more books---BUT.....

Hi, friends. Thank you for reading the stories from Coastal Yarns. I posted the entire book of short stories because the book is out of print (although it would not be difficult to reissue it)

I would like to publish more books, but now that I do not work full-time, it has become very difficult for me to self-publish. I figure that, depending on the length of a book, the costs of a good 'production,' involving, 'high quality' proofreading-reading, editing, digital design, publicity ect, the cost can be north of NZ$15,000. Anything less, would not do the book justice, I have learned the hard way, that having a skilled team behind me is the only way to go.

I know that people think that it would be easier to have a publisher taking all the risks, but getting a publishing house on board is a quest that rarely results in success---that is finding one. I remember writing a huge historical novel about five years ago, getting it edited, but that was just the start of the process, but I gave up. Sons of Orpheus was a naive first attempt and I sent the script to many publishing houses, resulting in one offer that was 'spurious' to say the least. The book would probably be best if I separated it into three books. I now see the experience as one that helped me to 'learn the ropes,;' so I guess it has not been 'all for nothing!'

So---where to from here? Firstly, I still have two books out there, one as hard copy and download on Amazon ROSKILL) and TALK TO ME. It is easy to find hard copy in my town, Thames (Carsons, Paper Plus and The Kitchen (There are even a few copies of Coastal Yarns and Talk to me at The Kitchen---rare 'experimental' editions!)) I can also sell directly via my email, where the very best prices can be achieved. (neilcolemanauthor@gmail.com)

I have many ideas about new books and I want to write. I NEED to write because although blogging keeps my hand in, it is  NOT enough. I have mentioned crowd-funding in past posts and even indicated a few scenarios about the plots, but that damned 'wall' keeps sticking itself in the way. I can dig deeper and just get on with it. It's not as if I DON"T have the time, now that I have mostly retired.

I am thinking that I should start on several different books---stick up a few chapters and seek feedback as to which one is more likely to succeed. My feeling is that I should 'stay local,' reaching out into the wider area. That means, basing my books in Thames. Small pond, I know, but fish can swim! Given that my last book, TALK TO ME, was nominated for the Ngaio Marsh Crime Writer's Awards, I may well stay within the same genre, albeit a fairly 'creative' link to the field.

In the meantime, I need some sales and downloads for the two books that are still readily available online. Please go to my website (www.authorneilcoleman.com) and click on Neil's Books and follow the links. Contact me via my email for even better hard copy deals.

Feel free to share my post.
Thanks
Neil Coleman