I'll bear you in mind as a beta reader when I finally get back to "Premium Delivery to the Centre of the Earth".




It's a different situation with work-for-hire because there is afer more regulation and usually one isn't allowed to make an changes to the status quo. The same is somewhat true when writing established characters like Sherlock Holmes. It's a different discipline and on the whole one I find a bit more difficult.

I suppose whn I'm writing on-spec or when I'm given carte blanche I can play my "natural game", and who doesn't enjoy that?







It was partly enjoyable. Editors that analyse your structural as well as grammatical weakness are discomfiting sometimes.







I suspect this is what agents are for.




You're welcome to have a go, of course.

This year I mean to take a serious look at marketing at least one work of mine. I'm currently "holding" a Chillwater Press novel called Labours of Hercules (which is what it says, a mythical adventure story) until I have the capacity to give it a proper launch push. Either that or TTC vol 2 if I get it written sometime will be "the one" I go for it with.

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One thing I have also seen which has worked is offering a teaser - the first chapter (or book in a series) for free at the Kindle store - or something like that. Get them in. Rope them up.

Amazon does offer the options of "read the first bit free" and "look inside" which I regularly authorise. Sometimes I also but samples up on my webpage, e.g. http://www.chillwater.org.uk/writing/robin%201%20chapter%201.htm

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3. The actual purpose of those books (apart from the fun of writing them) is to bulk out my portfolio.

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Makes sense. Thanks for sharing these behind-the-scenes stories. It's interesting to see.

I also ran into the best friend of best-selling SF writer and screenplay author Ian Watson, who was delighted at the possibility of "getting the two Ians together onstage". I am now hiding.