Authors Electric

Here's a secret that most authors know, but most readers and aspiring authors apparently still don't. Having a book published does not mean you will automatically become a millionaire. It does not mean you are rich, and it does not guarantee you a living in the long, or even the short, term. I did okay for the first seven years of my career, better than okay for a couple of them (such as when I signed my seven book contract with HarperCollins), and then the publishing world changed. Everything I knew was wrong. That's where Joanna Penn's book How to Make a Living with your Writing comes in. I must admit that, although I enjoy books about creativity, I'm not really a great fan of 'How to' books, especially not the 'How to make a million dollars in six days' kind (rob a couple of banks springs to mind) or 'How to write a novel in 24 hours' (I tried this once for the World One Day Novel Cup and ended up with an embarrassing novella I del...

I’m not a great believer in get-togethers with people in the same trade. As one of the most gregarious people you’re ever likely to meet, that’s quite weird, really, but I think it’s true. In all me years I’ve never been to a children’s writers ‘convention,’ never been to a book fair, never been to ‘Harrogate’ or ‘Cheltenham’ (except as a speaker once) or any of the other jamborees. Not my type of thing. But last week, thanks to Beardie’s superb (no joke) Virgin service – two hours and nine minutes Manchester to London – I found myself in a meeting of the International Thriller Writers (UK) in the offices of a most successful law firm called Stewarts Law. Why was it held there? Because Mr Stewart is a thriller writer, and wanted to give us the benefit of a bit of class. There were canapés to die for, Australian red and white wine by the bucketful, and soft drinks and fizzy water for those killeristas who presumably think crime should be respectable. Talking of myths, I found o...