Crafty Bastards

It has been a long time since I bought a paperback or hardback book. I'm pretty sure I'm still buying at least as many books as I always have, probably more. As a regular commuter and someone that always has several books on the go, I'm grateful my rucksack isn't close to being as heavy as it was the last two decades. Likewise, holidays don't require checking-in a suitcase containing shorts, flip-flops, t-shirts and 28 kilos of books.

Don't get me wrong. I love the page to page physical interaction with paper books. Equally I don't find reading from a screen detrimental to the reading experience. Typically I'll read on the iPad when I'm indoors or commuting and on my Kindle device if I'm outside or on holiday - simply because the Kindle is smaller and the screen doesn't reflect light. My immersion in digital reading is all about practicalities.

As a writer and publisher of both paperback and digital books I have mixed feelings. There is absolutely nothing like holding a book you have written in your hands. It is a feeling I admit I don't get from holding a Kindle with my book on it. That's not to say it isn't a great feeling. Just nothing like holding the real thing. The trouble is I sell one hundred digital books for every one paperback. Selling digital books and how to price them has been the subject of much conversation in the press and within the publishing industry. Both among commercial and independent publishers like me. The commercial publishing industry seems desperate to retain the pricing paper based books give them, or at least to find some leverage to make money in the digital age.

Anyone that has spent just a little time reading what I write here, will know I hold Lee Child in very high regard. I'm thankfully now over my 'I want to write like Lee Child' phase - I realised I needed to write like me. Lee Child is one of the most successful commercial authors at this time. His next Reacher book - A Wanted Man, is scheduled for release Aug 30 and is currently (June) in the Amazon top #100 book charts. That's not just in fiction, that's across all book genres including non-fiction.

Every year I pre-order the next Reacher book, usually when it appears on Amazon. The last time I bought a Reacher novel anywhere other than Amazon was about 2007. Before I wrote this post I was looking at the Amazon page for A Wanted Man, and like I did in my post on Kindle pricing, I pondered the £10 price-tag for the Kindle edition. It's only £1.50 cheaper than the hardback. The pricing is unusually high even from a commercial publisher with a popular author. While deliberating the high Kindle price I got to thinking how much I used to love looking at my collection of Reacher hardbacks on my bookshelf. About thirty seconds after that I got to thinking I might as well buy the hardback as I'll read it so quickly it's bulk won't be much of an issue. I'll also be able to swing around in my chair and admire the hardback on the shelf, sometimes maybe even pull it out and flick through the pages - as I'm prone to do if I'm searching for inspiration. I'd probably get the Kindle edition anyway for reference and portability when the pricing comes down to paperback levels. Then I got to thinking how clever that was - that I'd pay top dollar for the hardback and then pay again for the convenience of Kindle. Crafty bastards, I thought.

Is it all worthwhile?

As an indie author I am the driving force behind every aspect of my book, from creativity to design and publication through marketing. It’s a lot of hard work. One might argue it’s a futile pursuit, this writing dream. So why do it? Where are the moments that make it all worthwhile?

• For me, finishing the writing of my first book was a triumph regardless of any eventual destination.
• Working with a copy and proof editor to build a consistent grammatical and storied narrative was a revelation.
• Bringing an image from my imagination to a book cover was a collaborative process I will forever treasure.
• Holding the printed book in my hands was the culmination of three years sweat and tears. It was joyous.
• Likewise seeing the book on Amazon and available to buy left me dizzy with hope.
• Whether sold for free, cents or dollars, seeing the downloads mount up was another layer of hope.
• Seeing it consistently sell is vindication against the demons inside of me, who would have me believe story was more important than overall quality.

For all the highs none have come close to the utter elation of knowing someone read my book, stayed up half the night to finish it and then immediately sat down to write a review for the most thrilling book they ever read.

So thank you linnyvinny and Rachel, and David, and Ella, and shopper2010, and Jimmy. And all the reviewers who have taken the time to say something about Chasing Innocence.

Above all, a writer wants the words they weave to be read. Knowing people are reading what you write is one thing, knowing they enjoyed it in all the ways you hoped they would, really does make it all worthwhile.