Book Launch - Tonight

My début novel launches here, tonight (so my friends in America and Australia will be awake too). Wear fancy socks. Pour a glass of something bubbly, or grab a cup of tea. A few things you might want to know:

1. Even if you have a Kindle and are used to the idea that the e-books you buy are only rented (which is how it works at Amazon), if you buy my book, you will own it.
2. The book will be available in a Kindle edition (Kindle optimised mobi-format. It has been tested on Kindles in the UK and US, and on Amazon's free Kindle for PC reading device); Sony Reader edition (ePub optimised for Sony Reader); and PDF edition. If you want to read it on your computer, you may choose to buy the PDF, or buy the Kindle edition, and download the free Kindle for PC reader.
3. I have not used DRM. I want to treat my readers like adults. You know I'm not a faceless corporation, and every sale matters to me, so I trust you not to pirate my work. In fact, I trust you so much that I'm allowing you access to your file 5 times, so that if you screw up the download the first time, you won't lose your book. I may be naive, and you may all steal from me, but I like the idea of readers and authors respecting each other, rather than eyeing each other with suspicion, so I'm going to chance it. :) If you all fleece me, and I can't pay for food, I'll change it. You're book lovers as much as I am though, so I know you'll support this. It would be cool if lots of authors did this, so let's make it easy for them to do so. What do you say?
4. I look at the way publishers do things. The first people to the till are charged the most, then the price goes down. That seems odd to me. Aren't the first people to the till your best customers? Aren't the ones who rush to buy book the ones you want to celebrate? Again, I could be missing something here, but it seems to me that my need to recoup any expenses is less important than happy readers. If I'm wrong, I'll take the hit so that none of my aspiring writer friends have to. I'll keep you informed. Anyhow... I want to leave pricing this at its normal rate for a couple of weeks. About a week before the royal wedding - 20th of April - Palaces & Calluses goes up to its normal price. Until then, as a thank you for everything my wonderful Word Nerd Army chums have done for me over the years, I'm putting it up at an Early Word Nerd Bird Rate.

• From 20th April, Palaces & Calluses will cost: £4.99
• Early Word Nerd Bird Rate (until 20th) = £2.99

US Translation: The exchange rate changes all the time, of course, but the eventual price is around $

8.14, and the price until April 20th  is $4.87

I open the shopping cart tonight. Check back here then.

The next part of the journey, after that, is not in my hands. It's in yours, my friends. Once the book leaves me, how well it does is up to you. This is your part of the journey. If the book becomes a huge success, you'll have bragging rights. I know you well enough to know that, if my writing inspires you, you will spread the word. I'm very blessed to have friends like you. Thank you.

WOW! 200 Downloads in 2 Hours!!!

TIME'S UP! Putting the book to bed after its exciting day. It needs its strength for its big début on Wednesday. Well done if you grabbed the first three chapters for free. 


UPDATE: Rather than write another blog post, I'm hijacking this one. I'll leave the chapters up until 11pm, since I'm an hour late. Sorry chaps. Had to sort out international copyright stuff so that I could do this. Took a bit longer than I thought, so ... as a reward for your patience ... you get THREE WHOLE CHAPTERS! I've bundled chapters 1-3 together, and you can find them here. The password is wordnerdsrock (because you do).


Yesterday evening, I put up the first chapter of my book for two hours. More than 200 people downloaded it! You can see some of their comments if you look at the last post. Here are some from Twitter:

@ 

I need more...1 chapter isn't enough!!! - play4smee

Just read the chapter, so capturing! I need to know more :) can't wait to get the book now to read the rest. - RhiRhiB 

I'm hooked after reading Chapter 1 and I'm looking forward to reading the whole book. - BookishMagpie


I love it !!! cant wait for it to become available to buy... - Susielwcp 


I loved it! ...  I'm definitely interested in reading on to see what happens next! - reader1107


It's wonderful -- can't wait to read the rest! - melissamaday 

Many more missed the opportunity to grab it, and they've begged me to put it up again, so I am.


Today, my latest Word Nerd Monday post comes out on Groupon, and my Writing Magazine column goes out to subscribers. To celebrate, I'm giving away two things.


The first chapter will be up for the rest of today. It's just before 1pm GMT now. I'll leave it up until tonight. At around 8pm GMT I will put up Chapter 2. At 10pm, they're both coming down. Ready?


Chapter 1: The password is ... wordnerdarmy


Look forward to reading your comments.


Oodles of love,

Chapter 1 of My New Book!

UPDATE: You missed it! Check back here again tomorrow evening, just in case I have more surprises. :)

Launch Week Surprise 1? I gave away a Parker pen.
Launch Week Surprise 2 ... I'm giving away the first chapter of my new book.

Click here and type in the pass phrase, which is ... Word Nerd Preview (type it as it appears - with spaces and caps) I've taken it down now. Well done if you got it! Feel free to leave a comment below if you pick one up. If I get lots of comments, I might even be inspired to give away some more stuff. :)

Hope you like it.

Book Launch Week!

It is here! You thought I'd forgotten, didn't you? Come on ... be honest. Ha! I didn't forget. Just thought I'd leave it late today, to see if you were paying attention. You were. Well done! Here is your prize.

To celebrate the week in which my book will be launched (at some point between now and the 6th, inclusive) I'm giving away a writerly pressie. Behold ...

When I wrote my post about pens, I noticed that the name 'Parker' came up often. I also noticed that gel pens were much spoken about. People got quite excited about the idea of pens. I even received emails on the subject. It only seemed right that I should combine the elements of 'Parker' and 'gel' and buy you a Parker Gel pen to thank you for your support, so I did.

How can you win it?

1. Follow this blog - visibly - by clicking the follow button and/or subscribe by putting your details in the box to the right, or at the top. 
2. Leave a comment below this post saying whether you followed, subscribed, or both. 
3. One of the characters in Palaces & Calluses is a dog. He's a Border Collie called Pebble, but everyone calls him 'Rock'. In your comment, tell me something about a dog you've known. It can be something funny, lovely, or annoying. I'll pick a short-list of five, throw the names in a hat, and whichever name I draw... gets the pen!

The more comments there are, the more likely I am to give away even more prizes, so tell your chums, and ... good luck!

5 Steps to Writing a Novel

Some time ago, I made this little video. It has been shared by many people, on Twitter and elsewhere, and caused much hilarity. It is not, however, the most optimistic perspective if you are just starting out on your journey as a writer.

To balance it up a little, I've written '5 Steps to Writing a Novel' for Groupon's blog. Have a look at both (don't forget to 'like' it on Groupon's blog. Love to see those numbers go up), then come back here, and post your thoughts below.

Once you have your book, of course, you need to market it. For that, you must put together a book marketing funnel. Pick up this month's Writing Magazine (April Issue) while it's still available. The new one comes in on 6th April, so scurry out and grab this one as soon as you can. I've written a step-by-step guide to marketing your book for you. Laminate it.

Don't forget ... my Book Launch Week is 31st March until 6th April! UPDATE: IT'S OUT! CLICK HERE.

Best wishes,