Apparently, self-published authors sell, on average, about 250 books. That’s on average, so it means sales figures could be anything from zero to thousands. Even if it was thousands, it’s not going to make me rich. And, realistically, a figure nearer zero is more likely. So I’ll probably make a loss from my writing, once I’ve taken into account all the costs involved in self-publishing. Continue reading
Who hasn’t had a mentor in their life? Perhaps it was a parent, teacher or friend. Writers often have special writing mentors. This could be a creative writing tutor, or authors who’re generous with their advice to newbies. As in life, fiction is awash with mentor figures. But what is their dramatic function in a story? And how can you use the mentor archetype to strengthen your novel? Continue reading
When I started writing I was a bit dismissive of short stories. I enjoyed reading them but I didn’t want to write one. I was going to be a novelist so why should I bother writing short stories? However, for one reason or another, I’ve written a whole pile of short stories – 88 at the last count – and it’s turned out to be really helpful to me as an aspiring novelist – for all sorts of reasons: Continue reading