Writers, authors and changes.

I never really appreciated the difference between saying ‘I’m a writer’ and saying ‘I’m an author.’ I assumed an author had a published book to their name and a writer was striving towards that goal. Thinking back, that was rather a narrow-minded view and even Google offers different interpretations, including the transition to being called …

Procrastination and Social Media

As an author it’s sometimes difficult to decide where to concentrate your marketing efforts. Facebook is probably the first choice, but then you need to get to know your readers so should your personal page include fans, or be restricted to actual physical friends and family? If you have a business page, should it constantly …

Reviews and ABC

Authors are a funny lot and often have a way of connecting things which on the surface are totally unrelated. In a convoluted way I moved from enjoying an Elvis tribute artists’ show on Facebook, to explaining the scenario of one of my books to an elderly man who doesn’t read English. Would you believe …

Changes and More Changes

Being an author involves wearing many different hats, and with future changes afoot I started thinking back to how it all began. Perhaps it was no coincidence my first book was called ‘Changes.’ As a total newcomer to the publishing world, I assumed every author used a pen-name, so a family nickname became my new …

Author Interview

There are so many different outlets for authors to try and publicise their books, it’s difficult to decide which ones to use. Blog, web site, Facebook author page, Twitter, Amazon author page, You Tube – I have all of these but keeping them up to date can take up all the hours which should be …

Authors and Valentines

I often rabbit on about my books and my YouTube site but marketing has always been my weakness. How will readers know you exist if you don’t yell ‘Buy my book,’ at every opportunity? Browsing a local site where people were asking for recommendations for plumbers, electricians and similar providers, it struck me how I …

Val’s Tales Follow Me

It actually happened! On Tuesday the 15th December at 1 p.m. the first storycast for Val’s Tales hit the big wide world. The story is called ‘Follow Me’ and is a rather sad Christmas story inspired by a 60s song which is also on YouTube. To listen to the story, click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-jBVGs6UYQ To celebrate …

From writer to YouTube star –‘Val’s Tales.’

As there are only a few weeks left in what has turned out to be a crazy year, it seems appropriate to think back to how it all began. A freak accident some years ago left me with a shattered leg, but although unable to walk, I was able to type sitting propped up in …

Indie authors book reviews

What makes you decide to buy a particular book? Is it because it’s the latest release from a favourite author so you are confident it would be money well spent? Are you swayed by the publicity and feel you will miss out if it’s the latest ‘must read’ on everyone’s lips? Do you only read …

Writing and Publishing

‘You should write a book.’ How many times has someone been told that by a friend and thought ‘It seemed a good idea at the time?’ There are two routes to becoming a published author (or possibly three.) Write a book, perhaps find an agent, submit it to a publisher and do the happy dance …