Do you know what’s the hardest part of a book signing for me? It’s not going in there and having to try an initiate conversation with people I don’t know, although that’s hard. It’s not trying to convince them that buying my book is a good idea, although that’s even harder that talking to them. It’s not sitting there by myself, hoping someone will talk to me. It’s not hoping that the bookstore will be happy enough with the sales I make to ask me back again. It’s being surrounded by lots and lots of books. For some, this might […]

How important is maintaining correct point of view in our writing? For those who don’t know, point of view is when you write from the point of view of a particular character. It is important in books written in the first person, but also in books written in third person. These days, the new writer has to be careful about point of view in their novel, because publishers are strict about it, especially with newcomers. Keeping to the same point of view for most of the chapter is usually advised, although it’s okay to switch to one other person halfway […]

Last Saturday I went to my second book signing. Sadly, it was not as successful as the first one. The first time I had a signing, I sold six copies. This time I only sold one. The bookstore where I was signing is a charming, small store owned by a couple who are supportive of local authors. It was also National Bookshop Day, so there were a good number of people in the shop, but this shop does have some good children’s picture books, and to celebrate the day they had in face painters and children’s performers … which meant […]

In addition to being an author, I also work as an editor. This can be both rewarding and frustrating. It’s rewarding because I can discover new books and marvel at the ingenuity of the writer. It’s frustrating because, even in the cases of those new discoveries, I usually read books when they’re at their worst – in need of a professional edit. One of the more frustrating things is having to tell some people that finding a market for their book will be difficult. This is usually the case with biographies and memoirs. Many people feel, deservedly in many cases, […]