If Colm Toibín’s Brooklyn had been written by a woman, would it have been a smash hit? Would anyone have cared one whit for a story about a young woman and her domestic struggles, if that young woman had been created and written by another woman? No. They wouldn’t.
Over the course of the last couple of years spent crunching numbers for this blog, surfing dodgy creative social media and keeping my eyes open (in the darker hours) I’ve come to the conclusion that there are two pieces of advice all authors would do well to live by. The first is to stay far away from tight undergarments. The second is never to…
Today is my 2nd blogiversary. On this day, 2 years ago, I published my first blog post, little knowing how many lives I was going to ruin. (Chiefly mine, because constantly thinking of things to give out about gives me very little time to do anything but eat unhealthy food, and make obscene gestures at…
I’ve been wondering about book pricing for a long time. Specifically, whether making your book free makes me bothered about reading it or not. And I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m not. Bothered, that is. But before you start weeping and wailing (yes – you in the back, there) this has to be taken in the context of…
I’ve been doing loads of giving out here, lately. It’s been lovely. Lambasting things like Twitter and terrible book marketing is more fun than reading cartoons whilst sipping champagne through a straw in a giant bathtub full of bubble wrap. The response has been enlightening, too. I expected lots of giving out in return. People taking offence at my offensiveness. I didn’t get…
Many bloggers have written many blog posts containing many points regarding the many things authors should not be doing on Twitter if they want to sell their books (there’s a mathematical formula in there somewhere). So, why should I add to it? Well. Because it’s quite obvious that nobody has been bloody listening; that’s why.…
Come with me now on a journey to explore a side of the Internet which is still driving me batty. I know you don’t want to be driven batty, but let’s face it, if you wanted peace, or even sense, you wouldn’t be reading this blog in the first place. Picture the scene. You’re at a party. You know nobody there, but you’ve…
This week’s post is brought to you by the letters “WTF” and the news that 5 out of the current Top Ten Amazon bestsellers are colouring books… for adults. Now, I’ve nothing against colouring books for adults: in fact, I think they’re a bloody marvellous idea. I first heard of them when I came across an…
Festivals are fabulous. In Ireland, we have 143 of them every week. Some of them are small, such as the little-known Toenail Clipping Festival, which takes place in a short field in Leitrim on the first Friday of February at 11 o’clock. Some are larger, such as the annual feast of St. Patrick, which has…
Originally posted on Nicholas C. Rossis:
Figuring out where to advertise your book is worse than standing in a betting shop, five minutes before a race. You have money in your pocket, but a limited amount of time in which to select a guaranteed winner, and the odds are not in your favor. I have…
