Welcome to this week’s blog hop from the lovely Isle of Wight. This time the topic is:
Even if you knew you would never sell another book, would you keep writing?
For me the answer would be a resounding YES.
When I first started out writing in 2013 I knew I’d soon pick up a literary agent and make my first million within a year, especially after a couple of agents showed interest in my debut novel. However not long after that blue sky thinking, the reality kicked in. The down-to-earth view is that the ‘millions’ are in the form of self-published authors like myself, and the likelihood of us all ever getting a book deal is slim to none.
Therefore I changed my tack. By September 2016 when Amazon stopped promoting Indie books and sales for self-published authors began to fall, I made the decision to write as a hobby to please myself. I would still announce any new release on WordPress, Twitter and to the subscribers on my mailing list, but I accepted the painful truth that in general only celebrities tend to receive traditionally published book deals. It’s nice to be young with pipe dreams, but now at the age I am (62) you do tend to become rather more realistic.
I’m having a ball in late middle age. So far I’ve written 11 novels, 1 memoir, 7 novellas and 18 short stories. My 12th novel, ‘Barren‘, is out on pre-order for publication on 1st October at the special pre-order price of $0.99/£0.99 (the price will increase on 2nd October). A description is below, together with an excerpt.
I do still sell books (so far I’ve sold 225 this year), and I consider every sale a bonus. I’ll probably go to my grave without securing a book deal, but hey, I’m enjoying myself writing novels in the meantime!
BARREN
Two mothers, but only one baby… a recipe for disaster!
Esme Jones and husband Aron have completed their family and have twin sons Jared and James. Esme’s older sister Eden Reece is desperate for a child, but a hysterectomy has put paid to any chance of her becoming a parent. When Esme offers herself as a surrogate, Eden and husband Billy are delighted. However, when Esme notices the first fluttering of life inside her and a scan reveals that she is carrying a girl, both sisters are not prepared for the outcome which threatens to tear the fabric of the whole extended family apart.
Here is an excerpt:
Chapter Two
Esme Jones read another chapter from George’s Marvellous Medicine whilst enjoying the warm weight of her eight year old twin boys as they leaned against each of her arms.
“We’ll have another chapter tomorrow, but for now… bed!”
“But… Mum!” The twins cried in unison.
“No buts.” Esme laughed. “I’ll come up and tuck you in, and Daddy will be up in a minute to give you a kiss.”
She burrowed her face into the top of each blond head before closing the book.
“Hurry up and get up those stairs and into bed before the bogey man comes!”
Squealing with delight, the two boys leapt from the sofa and raced each other to the top landing. Esme followed behind them more sedately and stuck her head over the upper bannister as she heard her husband come in from the garden.
“Aron! The boys have come up to bed!”
“Yeah…just coming, but I’ve got to wash my hands first.”
Esme peeped out of the landing window. Aron had cut the back lawn and dug the flowerbed; not bad for one evening’s work.
Each boy had climbed the ladder to his individual bed situated above an untidy desk full of toy cars, half-drawn pictures, and books mainly pertaining to robots and spaceships. They were now in the process of throwing soft toys at each other across the room accompanied by much giggling.
“Settle down!” Esme caught a bear as it sailed above her head. “I don’t want to hear any more noise from the pair of you!” She climbed half way up the nearest ladder and squeezed the slight form hiding beneath the duvet.
“Love you, James.” She peeled back the cover and planted a kiss on her son’s cheek. “Don’t let the bedbugs bite.”
“Love you too, Mummy. I don’t have bedbugs.”
“That’s good then.”
She crossed the room to where Jared already had his arms outstretched. She grinned at him as she balanced on the ladder.
“Love you, Jared.” She returned the hug. “See you in the morning.”
“Love you too, Mummy.” Jared yawned.
She passed Aron on the stairs and pinched his buttocks.
“Coming back this way?” Aron gave her a wink.
“I’ll be in the garden. It’s too nice an evening to sit indoors.”
***
Heat radiated from the party wall of Norfolk flint pebbles running down one side of the patio. Esme let her hands rest briefly on the stones and then sank down into a deckchair, closed her eyes and listened to the birdsong. From the kitchen she could hear Aron as he rattled cups and saucers. There was a click as the kettle leapt into life.
“Oy, sleeping beauty. Fancy a cuppa?”
She turned her head and looked towards where Aron stood in the kitchen doorway, fair hair clipped in an identical brush-like style to the boys.
“Lovely!”
The church clock chimed eight o’clock. Aron appeared with two steaming cups, and handed one to Esme.
“Thanks, and the garden looks great by the way.”
“All part of the service.”
The evening sun seemed reluctant to set. They sat side by side and listened to the screams of neighbours’ children protesting at the sudden ending of their day.
“At least ours go to bed fairly well.” Aron pulled a face as a particularly shrill scream erupted from next door. “Although the little buggers will be giggling for a while I expect, about bodily functions and willies.”
She chuckled.
“Talking about kids reminds me… Eden came home this afternoon. She sent me a message.”
“Oh?” Aron looked at her. “How is she?”
“Not sure, but she did text to say they’d got it all and she didn’t need any other treatment, just check-ups. I told her I’d phone tomorrow and have a chat. I thought I’d leave it today and let her get over it a bit.”
Aron nodded.
“Good idea. Billy will look after her.”
“Yes.” Esme agreed. “But I know my sister. She’ll keep everything to herself and won’t talk to him about how she’s feeling.”
“Quite shitty, I should think.” Aron replied. “Do you think they’ll adopt?”
“Don’t know.” Esme shrugged. “They might be too old now. Billy’s forty next year don’t forget.”
They sat in silence and drank their tea. An idea had formed in Esme’s mind. She needed to speak to her sister. She picked up her phone and typed a text:
‘Will Billy be at the yard tomorrow? If so, can I pop by about 10?’
There was an instant reply.
‘Yes, and yes.’
***
Billy’s van had gone. Esme rang the bell and waited a little longer than usual. Presently she was greeted by a slightly stooped over Eden, who appeared paler than usual.
“Hi Eden! You’re looking well.” Esme lied and gave her a hug. “Yeah, you don’t look too bad at all.”
“I feel like I’ve been run over by a tractor.” Eden grimaced. “Come in.”
Esme could tell her sister was in pain but putting on a brave face, as she followed behind her into the front room.
“I’ll put the kettle on for some coffee.” Esme announced. “You sit down.”
“Thanks.” Eden sat down gratefully. “I can’t do much at the moment.”
Esme rolled her eyes to the heavens.
“Of course you can’t – you’ve just had a major operation!”
Everything in the kitchen looked clean and tidy. Esme set about making drinks. She carried a full tray in to the front room, and set it down on a small table between them.
“Did Billy make you some lunch?”
“Yes.” Eden nodded. “It’s in the fridge. He’s gone to the yard.”
Esme hesitated for a split second before speaking.
“Listen, I’m going to come to the point right away. I’m going to stick my neck out.”
Eden paused bringing the cup to her lips.
“Don’t worry. I’m not going to die just yet.”
Esme shook her head.
“It’s not that. It’s about babies. I want to have one for you.”
“What!” Eden sat up straighter. “Good God! No! I wouldn’t ever dream of asking you!”
“You haven’t asked.” Esme looked her sister directly in the eyes. “I’m offering. As you know, Aron had the snip after the boys were born. He’s puffing out powder as they say.”
She was happy to see her comment raise a thin smile, and carried on.
“So our family is complete. You’ve tried for years to get pregnant. It’s the least I can do for you.”
“It’s too big an ask.” Eden shook her head. “And what would happen if you wanted to keep it after going all through the pregnancy? I bet you haven’t even spoken to Aron about this!”
Esme leaned forwards in her seat.
“Not yet but I’m going to, and I wouldn’t keep it. It would be yours and Billy’s. By the way, I looked into the legal stuff online last night, and we can get a court order after the baby’s here to register you and Billy as the legal parents if everybody agrees. I would have to register the birth to start with though as the legal mother, but I could state that your surname goes on the certificate.”
“No. No. Bloody hell. No.” Eden waved away Esme’s comment. “It’s not right.”
Deflated, Esme sank back on the armchair.
“Okay. Have it your way. But… the offer’s there, at least for the next five years. After that I’ll be knocking on a bit.”
Eden reached out a hand towards her sister.
“Thank you so much, but no.”
***
Esme tried to shake off the deflated feeling when a good idea has gone bad. She had felt certain her sister would have jumped at the opportunity to be a mother, and could not understand why Eden had put up so many barriers. Of course she, Esme, would not dream of keeping the baby! All she wanted to do was to make her sister happy. She decided to wait a while and then try again; perhaps when Eden felt better then she might change her mind.
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AEM said:
You don’t have to sell big to have a great time, and it’s the having a good time that matters.
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Stevie Turner said:
Yes indeed, otherwise I wouldn’t do it!
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dgkaye said:
As usual, I’m with you, although I had no aspirations of fame, but hoped to make a bit of money – exactly what it is lol. But omg, I’ve written since I was a child. A writer never stops writing just because they aren’t publishing. ❤
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Stevie Turner said:
Very true. I can’t remember a time when I didn’t want to write.
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dgkaye said:
❤
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P.J. MacLayne said:
It’s a shame how many good writers are never discovered.while others that write garbage get famous. I guess it’s all part of the game.
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Stevie Turner said:
Many air-headed ‘celebrities’ automatically get a book deal. It’s not about the content – it’s about profits.
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Phil Huston said:
I see authors with quantity in the can. Some even with quality quantity, and wonder, damn, nobody’d even have to work that. Print it, pop it out. But publishing traditionally will never change. The number of bands who got “deals” is legion. They went into the studio, had an album in the can and the tape went up on the shelf and that was that. For all the same reasons. Not the right vibe for right now, competes with what we’re already selling, yeah yeah blues rock, yeah yeah prog rock, you need a frontman, you need a flashier guitar player, can’t have a bald bass player, it’s too busy, too hollow. Most of which was BS except for “competes with what we’re selling.” Because if it really sucked nobody in A&R would have signed off on the expense.
The true expression of this phenom is all the shelves of unsold similarity. All the Hogwarts and Tolkein et all clones. Books are a product. You get there first and sell gazillions. To keep up other publishers manufacture similar product that doesn’t sell so well. I can see the fat guy with cigar yelling into the phone “Find me a Van Halen!” “Find me a Rowling!” Same deal.
So we write because we have to. 225 books is 26 a month. Not bad. But damn you have a lot of content out there. I wonder sometimes if that doesn’t confuse the issue? Are your readers following you or are they random based on the book?
Carry on. We have no choice.
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Stevie Turner said:
I like to write in different genres, as just one is too boring. Therefore this increases the number of readers, as some like women’s fiction, others like humor or thrillers. No one size fits all.
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Phil Huston said:
I sometimes wonder if a series is all that. But then who knows? As for genre, I have no idea what I am. Someone read one of my works and called me a Tarantino feminist. Somebody else said Long live Huck Finn! So…
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Darlene said:
This is the right attitude. As long as some people are reading my books, I´m happy. I have a small independent traditional publisher but I still don´t sell a lot of books. It wouldn´t be enough to live on. Thank heaven I have my pension.
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Stevie Turner said:
Yep. Me too.
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robertawrites235681907 said:
I think this is a good attitude, Stevie. You are one of the authors who certainly should land a traditional publishing contract, if you want it. You are a very good writer in my opinion and I real a lot of books.
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Stevie Turner said:
Thank you for those kind words, Robbie. Whether I ever land a traditional publishing deal is in the lap of the gods, but I’m not on the edge of my seat waiting…
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franklparker said:
Just ordered my copy.
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Stevie Turner said:
Thanks Frank.
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Anthony Alfonso said:
Thank you for this post, we are new to the blog world and trying to understand what attributes we want to put on our own blog and which to keep out. This list will sure help us to do the best for our own business.
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richarddeescifi said:
Congratulations on the sales, I’ve come to the same conclusions regarding my work (14 novels, 3 collections, a textbook and several anthology pieces).
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Stevie Turner said:
It’s the only way to be, I think.
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