author – Page 2 – Charlierobinsonbooks

The Heat Is On

I should be able to publish my second book in August and my third book is underway, but I have another challenge in one weeks time. After six months of various injuries I have missed so many runs. This affects my writing because a lot of planning is done on long runs. Now I’m back, I managed to secure a place on the Yorkshire Wolds Ultra. It’s a 55k race with 4,100 feet of elevation. So, a little recce was required. The Millington Loop is only 34k with 3,000 feet elevation, but it gave me chance to assess fitness, the views from the top of the Yorkshire Wolds are lovely, and in 27 degrees of sunshine it was a warm one.

Needless to say five hours out in the middle of nowhere, on your own, certainly gives you time to think. I killed a character off and then resurrected them, changed the plot completely, reintroduced an old character, and decided on an ending for the next book 😂 I guess it’s a little like therapy, but on the move and without a therapist, haha. My wife has told me I could benefit from therapy, but never to do it. She feels I may leave the practitioner with some form of traumatic disorder 🤷

Five hours was a bit slow, but that’s what happens when you stop to take photos and admire the view. I thought the circles at Thixendale were a mystical, archaeological site dating back thousands of years. But they were created by the artist Chris Drury in 2011. Oh well, I didn’t waste too much time praying to the long lost God’s of my ancestors 😉

So, if you do ever feel a little down, I can suggest getting out into the countryside, wherever you live. Run, walk, crawl, if need be. But in comparison to concrete, tarmac and the facilitation of life, it’ll certainly help.

Happy trails, folks x

Messing With FlexClip

Have you ever heard of a book trailer? They are similar to film trailers and the idea is that the public get very excited and can’t wait for the release. My second novel is very nearly finished and my wonderful editor Esther Chilton is doing the final edit and proofread. I’m not Tom Clancy or Stephen King, so I doubt there will be a hullabaloo in the literary world, but I thought I would give it a go. Neither do I have the backing of major publishers, so it had to be a DIY job.

I then spent a few hours researching free to use book trailer companies (like we all do). FlexClip popped up a few times and so I gave it a go. It was very easy to use, and I was pleased with the outcome. Bearing in mind I am but a simple Yorkshireman. We are renown for being miserable, no idea why, I’m quite happy most of the time. I’m not putting my “masterpiece” 😂 out into the world of social media just yet. I think if it goes out to early my fan will probably forget about it. I would be interested in any comments before it goes public though. Oh! it’s better with the sound up, probably the best bit 😂

Happy Trails, folks x

Do I Need My Book To Sell

People often ask me, ‘How many copies of your book have you sold?’ Which, I suppose is natural. I always give the same answer, ‘I don’t know.’ They seem perplexed by this. How could I not know? I have to go on to explain, I wanted to write a book, if it sells, then yippee! If it doesn’t I’m not going to lose sleep. My debut novel, The Siege of Mr Khan’s Curry Shop, was 20 years in the writing so I’m just so happy that I did it.

My next book took me 3 years, so I am getting better. I recently sent the first 300 words of my upcoming second novel to Writing Magazine for James McCreet to critique. My editor told me I was “brave” he doesn’t pull any punches. For me the first two lines of his summary was good enough. “I wouldn’t be at all surprised to read this at the start of a novel published by a best selling thriller author.” I’ll take that ☺️.

My editor, Esther Chilton, is a Godsend. I am very lucky to have found her as she helps turn an OK manuscript into, what I consider, a good book. So, maybe this second novel will sell and help to eliminate the perplexed look from peoples faces. I’m sure like all things, time will tell. If you have written a book and it’s published but not selling, hey! You have achieved, something so many other people dream of. Give yourself a pat or a high five, or what ever your cultural praise is. I’ve just started playing around with FlexClip where you can create a trailer for your forthcoming book. I’ll let you know how I get on next time.

Happy trails, folks. x

New Novel Finished

It’s a curious feeling when you finish a book. It’s kinda sad in a way, because you know that’s it. The characters are done for now, there are no more adventures left for them. Of course, it might be a welcome relief, depending on how much trauma your character has suffered. In my new novel, I know of at least one character who will be very happy to put his feet up for a while. But what’s next?

As you writers already know, now its a case of getting the book out there. Oh, for an agent haha.

“There you go, delivered on deadline. Sort out the marketing etc, I’m off to start my next book. After a well deserved holiday, of course.”

That is the fantasy. In reality I now start the query letters and wait for the rejections. These don’t bother me as much as it appears to bother other people. I know how competitive the market is and so it appears to be a lottery. Now here comes the back up plan. Self publishing:

Luckily after self publishing my first book this won’t be the minefield it was last time. I’m already on Amazon KDP and up until recently KDP select. I have decided to quit KDP Select for a while and try Draft2Digital for the eBook version. I’ve done some extensive research and they are probably my best option, regardless of a lot of poor reviews. These reviews are on Trustpilot and to be honest I’ve heard some poor reviews concerning Trustpilot. So, I’ll give it a go and make my own decision.

Has anyone else self published and what are your thoughts? I’d be interested to know.

Happy trails.

Charlie