Novels and Kindle.

Hope springs eternal, especially in the hearts of mid-listers. This week my novels ‘In Southern Waters’ and ‘The Battle for Dole Acre’ are republished for the Kindle, and hope insists that maybe this time they’ll go viral. It’s not the money, though that is always acceptable; it’s the readers I’d like.

‘In Southern Waters’ did alright, at least well enough that I got to have another crack at a novel, but ‘Dole Acre’ vanished without trace, has still yet to sell a thousand copies, and never made the transition from trade to mass-market paperback. It’s hard to understand why. One reason, I guess, is that my editor left Weidenfeld and Nicholson just before ‘Dole Acre’ came out, so it never really had a supporter within the firm. I’m not sure it does even now; I sent ’em an e-mail, to ask if I could add an appendix (the stuff that you can find here on the website), and nobody took the time to reply. Nobody has been in contact to update my biographical blurb, and you can bet your sweet ass that there will be no publicity other than this. And yet still this damned hope.

If you haven’t read them, and you have a Kindle, I honestly think they’re worth a go at £4.49. ‘Dole Acre’ in particular needs readers; few things hurt more than a book which nobody reads, and I think the pace will suit the Kindle. If you look on the tabs at the top of the website under My Books, and click on ‘Dole Acre’ rather than the pop ups ‘Curious Survivals’ or the ‘Pancester Plough Monday Play’, you can read me bleating on about it.

I was always unsure about the titles. I can’t pronounce ‘The Battle for Dole Acre’, and I always advise writers that at the very least that should be able to tell people what their book is called. ‘In Southern Waters’ was a working title, because it’s the title of the unpublishable history of Antarctic exploration that Blossom is writing in the book. I always assumed that publishing houses would have vast and efficient marketing departments who would come up with a great title. I was young (-ish). I was optimistic. I didn’t know that publishing houses regard marketing as alright for Martina Cole et al, but vulgar for everyone else.

In the meantime, I must try and live with the hope. Don’t worry. Give it a few weeks, and I’m sure it will have evaporated.