My interview on BBC 3 Counties Radio
On Monday I decided it was time to take a bit more action.
It's Raining in Moscow and I Forgot my Umbrella has been selling at a slow but steady rate on Amazon and I’ve had some fabulous reviews for which I’m very grateful – thanks especially to Neelam, Natasha, Eve, Steve, Elliot, Mimi and Sue! It turns out that if you get reviews for your book, Amazon promotes it and it travels up the book charts. So if anyone has enjoyed my book, please leave a review, I’d be so happy!
Just before Christmas I was asked to feature in our local news magazine, 'My Local News'. (I'm on page 12 if you want to read it) This was a great start, and I'm grateful to Geraint for his enthusiasm and expertise.
Then, over Christmas I put together a more professional ‘Press Pack”. What is a Press Pack? I hear you ask. I had no idea until Father Christmas kindly gave me a book entitled, How to Sell and Market your Book. Chapter 4 is all about drafting a press release. I have to say, when I wrote “It’s Raining in Moscow and I Forgot my Umbrella” I hadn’t bargained for all these new skills I’ve had to acquire – it was difficult enough formatting the text, let alone becoming designer, editor, publicist, marketing manager, accounts manager, sales team and everything else!
I’ve learnt about ISBNs, metadata, copyrights, and, this is the big one…social media. No wonder you see young people with their heads in their phones all day – social media takes forever! Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and the rest. Oh yes, I know about all of them.
And then there’s the blog too. This one is about the radio show.
So on Monday I sent off my press pack to all the local newspapers, magazines and radio stations with the catchy headline, Debut novel – an exciting and mysterious thriller set on the dementia floor of a care home - receives enthusiastic reviews. That would bring the offers flooding in, I thought...
To be fair, I did have a response from a sub-editor at one local publication telling me,
“Unfortunately, we don't tend to feature self-published books as we have quite a lot of authors that have publishers. “
- which I thought sounded a bit snooty, but I don’t want to sound too rude in case the actual editor of said publication gets in touch! Don’t they know the ‘Indie Author’ market is booming? (independent publishers who want to keep control of their own books)
However, a very nice gentleman from BBC 3 Counties Radio immediately got back to me. He had a personal interest in dementia and wanted to know more. I must have said the right things because he offered me a slot on the show that very evening!
I frantically messaged all my friends, family, close acquaintances, mid-range acquaintances and very distant acquaintances. This could be my big break, and I needed lots of people to listen. I had some great advice, especially from my old school friends Vicky and Amanda who suggested speaking slloooowwlleeee and clearly and to down a large glass of wine. I took both messages very seriously.
At 8.10 I shut myself away, hoping that my teacher’s voice wouldn’t jump out of my mouth just when I didn’t need it, and took the phone call from the nice gentleman. “You’re on straight after this song,” he said. Gulp! Quick sip (water this time), just time for one last deeeeep breath and then I heard the dulcet tones of Nana, the presenter introducing ‘one of the awesome people from 3 counties’. Oh, so when would I be on?
Next thing I heard was my name – was I supposed to be one of the awesome people? Golly!
Nana was lovely. She totally put me at ease, asked all the right questions and gave me plenty of opportunity to promote my book. It was all over very quickly. As my chosen song came on, “Bring me Sunshine,” I heard a round of applause. It was my wonderful family - I hope they all realize how much their support means to me.
When you publish your own book you have access to the sales data. The next morning I eagerly rushed to my laptop and opened ‘reports’. I don’t know what I was expecting but I suppose one book sale is better than nothing!
By the way, I’m not an ‘awesome person’ (even though I appreciate the notion), I’m just an ordinary person who enjoyed writing a book about a boy living on the dementia floor of a care home.
But if anyone reading this blog would like to read, It’s Raining in Moscow and I Forgot my Umbrella, please click on this link. Or if you know anyone who has been touched by dementia, or is just looking for a new book to read, please pass on the details.
Thank you! 😊
If you would like to listen to the radio broadcast, the link is below. My slot is at 2:14:50.
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