The name of the game is “marketing”, and everybody’s playing it when they have something they want to sell. I’m playing it too;. I want people to buy my book. It’s a good story – a bit of history, a bit of mystery, with interesting characters and a developing love story and even small doses of sex and violence . .

But there are limits to my patience when people offer me “bright ideas” like “Why don’t you take 20 copies of your book to the Arts and Crafts Fair/ the Produce Fair/ the Charity Fundraiser?”  Well, for starters, I don’t have 20 copies of my book. I have ONE, which the publishers generously sent me, for free. I would have to buy other copies (at the “author’s discount price”, sure) but I’d have to pay for postage and package of the order. I’m talking about something like $200 outlay for 20 books; and don’t forget there’s also the cost of renting a table at the Fair/ Fundraiser / whatever. Organisers don’t do free sales-space, so I’d need to add more dollars (or Euros or Pounds) to the price per book, just to break even… provided I sold the lot. (Unlikely.) Buyers would quickly calculate that they could buy a copy cheaper from their favourite internet bookseller.

“Book Fair?” suggested a well-intentioned friend, without knowing how Book Fairs work. Sales-space isn’t rented to writers but to publishers. They put books by their best-known authors on the shelves or counter. All their other authors are simply listed in a multi-page catalogue (provided the said authors pay for the privilege!) and if any major bookshop or wholesaler takes a shine to your title because of its 1-line summary, then you join the ranks of The Incredibly Lucky, like lottery winners.

So, I did a press release, I have a facebook page and an Author Website, which attracts a tiny percentage of nice, interested, intelligent people —  and far too many smart-asses who use my webpage to market their products. As I said, there’s a limit to my patience. . . I need buyers who’ll read, review and recommend my book to their friends, who’ll buy (not borrow) their own copy; and don’t talk to me about e-books, please. That’s a subject for another, different, very long blog… but not today.