I hope you’re ready for another barrage of articles about the new Stieg-Larsson-Not-Stieg-Larsson, because they’re queuing up like full bladders at a music festival Portaloo. But first, at the risk of incontinence, I would myself like to discuss the marketing phenomenon that is ‘Continuation Fiction’.* In the world of Continuation Fiction, the characters live on, even if the authors don’t. Or indeed,…
Tag: books
EL James Murdered Your Children And Stole Your Kidneys
…having insulted your dearly departed mother, and told everyone on Facebook that you love to torture dogs. At least, I think those are her latest crimes. I can’t be sure. There are so many. I love the Guardian. Don’t get me wrong. I embody many of the stereotypical attributes of a Guardian reader, except for…
The 7 Deadly Sins Of Best-Selling Authors
Help! Overwhelming success is ruining my legacy! Or at least it might, had I any actual success to speak of. As of right now, I have to say my legacy is looking fairly safe. But the other day, as I was perusing the all-powerful culture sections of the broadsheets, a thought suddenly struck me. Are successful authors derided…
It’s My Blogiversary, And I’m Having A Tantrum About Greedy Publishers
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…
Authors! Your Free Book Is Worthless
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…
Why Your Attention Span Is A Great Excuse For Someone Else’s Failure
I wasn’t well last week, and ended up feeling dreadfully sorry for myself. Now, there’s nothing on earth can feel quite as sorry for itself as an Irish woman, so it can get quite dark. Anyhoo, as I lay prostrate, bemoaning the state of both my health and my immediate prospects, my lamentations eventually began to…
Why I’d Be Really Crap At Having An Affair
I’m trying to carry on three fairly intense relationships at the moment. Simultaneously. And it’s no fun, let me tell you. I don’t know how some reprobates can do it with ease. I think it’s way too much pressure, trying to do right by more than 1 loved one at the same time, and still have time to wash…
Benchmarking Book Reviews, Or How To Untwist One’s Knickers
For a blogger, there’s nothing quite as sweet as gaggles of people getting their knickers in a twist over something. (Those of you who don’t blog yourselves probably don’t know that the blogging equivalent of Natural Law is a list, called “Things That People Get Very Angry About On The Internet”. Whenever we’re stuck for an idea of…
The Thin Skin of Self-Publishing
I usually spend January looking for new trends in the book world (or making them up, which is more fun), and I’m seeing an increase in pronouncements about self-publishing online. It’s probably a seasonal thing, as people sketch out their writing goals. But a lot of what I’m seeing lately has been negative, particularly below the line. Last year,…
HELP! EVERYONE IS WRITING A BOOK
Here is a very important quote, which every past, present or future self-published author needs to see: “Times are bad. Children no longer obey their parents, and everyone is writing a book.” (Cicero, c. something BC) Now, here’s the catch. There is no evidence that this quote ever originated from the lofty Ancient Roman philosopher more than…
Tara Sparling writes 