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There will always be gatekeepers

When modern indie publishing took off, writers rejoiced that there were no longer any ‘gatekeepers’ – arbiters of quality perceived to stand between a writer and success. In the old days that meant traditional publishers, who rejected the vast majority of submissions, but the gatekeepers are still there – and the definition

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Identity

For many years, I’ve struggled to define my identity as a writer. Here’s what I’ve learned this year, and how I’m going to change my approach to writing – both fiction and non-fiction. Finding my voice online I write about a diverse range of subjects on these

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Thoughts on Kindle Unlimited, KDP Select, and being exclusive to Amazon

Kindle Unlimited has launched in the UK! Why is that good news for readers? For £7.99 a month, subscribers will get unlimited access to thousands of Kindle ebooks. That includes every KDP Select title plus a good selection of others as well. So: great for avid readers, but what

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The Atholl Expedition in paperback – a work in progress

The response to my new book, The Atholl Expedition, has been overwhelming so far. It has stayed in the top fifteen mountaineering books on Kindle since it was published, briefly occupying the coveted bestseller position on Christmas Day. Plenty of readers are snapping up the book on Kindle, but to

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Every author needs a support team

They say writing is a lonely business. The meat of the work is conducted at your desk, alone: an introverted process of extracting ideas from the recesses of your mind and hammering them into some form others can understand and enjoy. The reality, of course, is very different. Writing can

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The Atholl Expedition moves into beta

After a weekend of intense activity, I have succeeded in converting the second daft of The Atholl Expedition into a beta advance copy: that is, a rough-and-ready (but presentable) version of the book suitable for distribution to a small number of beta readers. This is something I recommend all writers

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I have a rough draft for “The Atholl Expedition”

Months of work have paid off, and today I wrote the final paragraph of The Atholl Expedition, my second novel and the first in an exciting new series of books. The final word count is a shade over 65,000 words, which is far longer than my original intentions but

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Amazon deleting reviews – the plot thickens

Amazon is deleting book reviews: this is a well-documented fact. Up until now it was understood that Amazon’s bots have been stealthily erasing any reviews that they think* fit the following criteria: 1. Sock puppetry (ie. fake reviews written by the author using a second account); 2. Biased reviews

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Hosting an indie book launch event

In early 2013, I launched my first novel as a paperback. In this article I’d like to talk a little about the process leading up to the launch event, what worked and what didn’t, in the hope that fellow authors might learn something of value. During the planning

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My first book launch (spoiler: a success!)

Well, the long anticipated date has come and gone! Yesterday I took to the stage in a room I know well, having worked there as a member of staff between 2008 and 2011. On this occasion  I was there as an author and speaker. The journey of life can be