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The Arrival, and almost Departure, of Abigail.

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It is funny really as I look back on what has been the most stressful and heart-breaking week of my life, and then cast my mind back to last year.

The rise of the Covid virus sent shivers down my spine, as I got to see something not unsimilar to the rise of the Red Death, and realised very quickly that my thoughts back in the mid 1980’s were actually pretty accurate, as an unknown virus swept across the world creating havoc. Back in March 2020, it was frightening to watch the news media, and see some of my theories about the fragility of life become a reality.

People around me were scared, jobs were threatened, schools closed, and everyone went into survival mode, and spending stopped as people stayed home, and a whole new reality of life became apparent. We all wore masks, if we had to leave the house, something we all did with much trepidation. Business crashed, including my own, it was a difficult and frightening time to be alive.

Suddenly I had a lot of time on my hands, and so I focused on writing. Getting the last part of HTTK out was a priority, even though I knew few would sell as people sat on their cash, just in case their employers crashed also. I got the book out in July, but was not expecting a great deal, and in order to stay focused, I wrote another related story that went back to the very beginning of Heirs to the Kingdom, which I do hope to publish this year.

With that over with, I had to occupy my thoughts, we came out of the lockdown, only to find ourselves back in another one, so I did what I could with VCP, and then turned back to writing, and a project I shelved back in 2017. Back then I really wanted to write this book, but I was so tied up with Kingdom, it was not possible, I have a file filled with outlined ideas, and story plots, and in mid-October, I was sifting through it, when I came across what was at the time simply labelled ‘Students.’

For those not in the know, as I do keep a lot of my life private, I worked on and off for over twenty five years counselling, and in that time of talking with every generation, I have been privileged enough to gain a lot of insights, to areas of life that are not often visible to most of us.

I read through what was the synopsis for the book, it was late at night and I was really feeling that need to write, which I lovingly refer to as having itchy fingers. I reached the end of the synopsis and quickly realised this would actually make a great start to a story, and would create almost a full first chapter, and that was it, I reached the end, hit enter to drop a line and continued to write for the next five hours, creating notes on the story as I went. Somewhere around dawn, I collapsed into bed mentally exhausted, with a list of main characters, a rough sketched village map, and the first two chapters.

Abigail's Summer by Robin John Morgan. ISBN 978-1-910299-27-2

That became the pattern of my life for the next two weeks, I hammered away everyday making a few more notes, but basically, I was writing blind and, in the dark, just making it up as I went along, never knowing what the next chapter would be about. For myself, it felt like freedom, and reminded me very much of writing the Bowman of Loxley back in 2007, which was the same inspired and intense experience, and I was loving the fact I was writing something nothing at all like Kingdom.

The editing watered it down a little, it was real, very gritty, a little spicy, and had lots of twists and turns in it to keep the reader guessing, and the most wonderful thing about it all, was it contained lots of slightly tongue in cheek, and a little naughty humour. I have always struggled to write humour, Harry in Kingdom was not always an easy thing, and I would spend hours putting each little section riddled with misunderstanding together. Abigail was so different, it just flowed out of me as I thought back to all the stupid and bizarre moments of my own life, and that of friends.

What emerged was a book that whilst not as elaborate and heavily layered as Kingdom, still had a lot of great sub plots and layers, that would all weave through the story to the final ending. I hoped it would provide a good twist, and really engage the reader to take a long hard look at their own life and the lives of those around them. From the few to date that have read it, I think it has worked really well.

I will not deny, the book is very modern and fresh, and very off the cuff, and gritty, and for a lot of readers, I am assuming there will be a few WTF! moments, but I actually like that, books should make people think, and even with Kingdom, I created similar scenarios.

Abigail and her crazy friend Birch, encounter so much unpredictable madness, that it is my hope it keeps the story flowing, so far those who have read think it does, but ultimately the jury is still out on that. The last month of editing and formatting was such an exciting time for me, I guess with Kingdom I have become a little jaded, after 14 years and eight books, and not as excited as I should be, but this book had me chomping at the bit as the deadline drew closer, and seeing it formatted was thrilling, and even more so, as this was the first time, I was putting a digital version out at the same time.

Abigail's Summer, Print and Digital

Digital Kingdoms are coming soon, there has been a lot of set backs getting the right distribution, but that is now sorted and settled, and the Kingdom stories are almost ready, I just held back a little as I wanted to give Abigail a good run first. The day approached and I got the first test print, and it looked amazing, it was also so much fun to work on the cover, as my wife took on the task of cover design for me, and she produced such a great relevant and fantastic picture for it. I really was so excited, and could not wait for the moment when we hit the button, and it was published.

My joy was short lived, the following day when the book appeared on Amazon, it was listed as unavailable, with the comment “We do know when or if this item will be back in stock.” I could not believe it, and checked straight away with the distributor, but it was available and ready to print, it made no sense at all. The following day, June 13th, the book was offered, but the delivery time was ‘one to two months’ Again my happiness was crushed. I checked again with the distributor, they were quite insistent the book was available, as it could be printed and shipped within 3 to 5 working days depending on the number of orders coming in.

Currently Unavailable. We don't know when or if this item will be back in stock

All I can say is, when you are an author and you have put your heart and soul into a book, to experience this, is devastating. No reader is prepared to wait between one and two months for a book. I tried to contact Amazon, which as an author or publisher is impossible, their email no longer works, and their phones lines ring and ring, and when you do get through to the call system, you go round and round, all they are interested in is customer calls, not authors. It was frustrating and gut wrenching, my chances of selling my book were zero, it was literally dead in the water. I tried chat, and got a robot, and again got the same run around, it was impossible to get past it, because there is no chat box to write in, you just have generic answers to press, and no hope of speaking to a human being, and talk to someone who could help me. I cannot write how soul destroying it was to have to go through it. I spoke to another author on a forum who I know quite well, they told me, “They want you to publish with them and use their POD service, if you don’t, get used to this.” Another author told me. “It happened to me, and the only way I could get back on the platform was to give them an even bigger discount.” They added. “My book sells for twelve pounds, and at the end of all of it, I get just one pound and forty pence, after paying the print costs, Amazon takes the rest which is massively more than I make.”

Usually despatched within one to two months.

All Authors use POD (Print on Demand) it is an advanced system which means as you buy the book, it is printed and shipped automatically. Amazon has no reason to list any of our books for more than one month’s deliver time, they simply chose to, because they are a multi billion dollar company that rules supremely over the book world, and no one is big enough to challenge them, and so they can do as they wish, which means delaying delivery of anyone’s books, and it is wrong and it sucks.

Just like last year, it felt like my books were running in sync with my stories, last year I saw a virus not unsimilar in its spread to the one I created for Kingdom, and my latest book Abigail’s Summer, focus’s on the bullying tactics of those who feel they can control everything, and Amazon certainly do when it comes to book sales.

I really love Abigail’s Summer, the characters are probably not what you expect from me, but they really are wonderful, so much so I reached the end of the first book, and knew I could not walk away from them, and so wrote another four stories that took them from their first glorious summer together, right through ten years of life, friendships and troubles. What is now the Curio Chronicles will come out over the next few years, I was lucky, I wrote all of them before the first was even published, so they are done, apart from a few tweaks.

Working hard with VCP at the moment, I am working to make sure I never get hit in the face again. Abigail’s Summer will be available world wide and with a fast delivery to ensure anyone who wants to read it will do, it will take a few weeks to get it set up, but that is ongoing as I write, and in future I will not bother what Amazon does, as I will promote the hell out of the VCP links and do it myself.

To those of you who have stood by me and supported my writing since 2009, I would ask, that if you do read Abigail’s Summer, (If you actually get it before Summer ends) and you do enjoy it, because it is very different from HTTK, please help, share the links, talk, tell your friends, and encourage them to buy it or download it. I am one guy sat at a desk who loves to write, and create great stories, but at the moment that is threatened, as without sales, I will not be able to make it through, and will ultimately have to stop writing. I am working 18-hour days to get this book known and out there.

My story is not a lone one, as other authors have reached out with the same story, and I am helping them to follow my lead and build websites with their own delivery distribution worldwide built in. No one should bend to a bully, and Abigail’s Summer shows that, and I will back up my words in the book 1000%. There is a line in it that feels so appropriate at the moment, and you will find it in chapter thirty-two, and it simply reads.

ADULTS BULLY TOO!

My thanks as always to those who have supported my writing, I hope you all have a peaceful Summer.

Truce for Christmas.

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This is a very special time of year for families, it matters not what your faith may be, because a vast part of the world has been swept into the hustle that is Christmas. For many it is a time of peace and quiet, as the shops close and most of the countries take a pause, to allow those of faith to celebrate their own unique customs and rituals that represent their own ideas of family and their celebration of it.

It is a time I think, most of us consider as a time of peace and goodwill to all, and so it is very unlikely that many of us would be thinking of war. Sadly today there are parts of the world caught in conflict, and even though many of those involved will be placed somewhere on guard and watching, far away from their loved ones, in the backs of the minds of those individuals, there may be doubts as to why on this time more than most, men would want to fight and kill each other.

I am very much opposed to war, as those of you who know me will agree, it is a belief that runs deep within me that most ordinary simple men do not want to leave home and have to kill others. Many feel the pressures and are forced into enlisting, a great many feel a sense of duty, but if you were to ask them all how they feel deep down inside, I think you would find that they simply would much rather find a better way to resolve the conflicts they have been caught up in.

This year more than any other, I find it to be a poignant fact, as we celebrate an event that is 100 years old and highlights my point perfectly. I refer to the celebrated Christmas Truce of 1914, where enemies for a short while walked out onto the battlefield, and stood as the men they truly were, and wished each other Merry Christmas.

 

Christmas Truce 1914

Soldiers meet in a temporary peace for Christmas

It is a fact of history that the Pope had called out on December 7th 1914 for there to be a ceasefire, but those in charge on all sides of the war refused to make any form of official agreement, and they ordered the troops to stay alert and be combat ready. I love the fact that all along those cold miserable front lines of France, groups of both German and English soldiers defied their officials as they sang carols and hymns across the no mans land together, and eventually walked unarmed out onto the battlefield where they stood face to face, and wished each other Merry Christmas.

It stands I feel, as testament to the character of ordinary men, and reinforces my view that there is always another way to resolve a conflict, as long as the simple man makes a stand for what is morally the right thing to do. War is never about ordinary people, they are just the casualties that become swept up into the conflict, war is about the greed and lust for power of the individual, who drives that power to force an issue and embroils the others around them.

There are many cases in history that show us that there were men on all sides who took a stand against those who ruled them, but I don’t think the message here can be given a greater significance, than the simple act of those simple soldiers 100 years ago. Mankind has come so far in this world, and yet we still stumble and fall into conflicts that kill, maim, and wound men, women, and children across the planet. Most people shy away from doing something about it, they fear the system and so remain silent, so maybe it is the time to stand up and use the one weapon we all have and use it, and that is simply our voice. Speak out against the wars and injustice, and think more about peaceful solutions, and then voice those thoughts to others. Time and time again it has been proven that when we all speak up with one clear voice, those who lead eventually listen, and maybe 100 years after such an act of peace and goodwill, we too should take a stand as simple ordinary people, and say with a loud clear voice enough is enough.

World war one and two wiped out a generation of young men, and killed countless women and children, because as we know, regardless of what NATO or the UN may say, civilians die in vast numbers in all combat situations, as they get caught in the middle, just look at the media of 2014 and it clearly shows the despair created from the loss of loved ones.

The human race has the intelligence and the technology to wipe out poverty and world hunger, we have the capabilities to provide everyone with a home and a stable lifestyle, and yet even though today many will remember the unofficial truce of 1914, sadly despite all our advances, as humans we have learned little. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could learn from one hundred years ago today, and decide that from now on, the best way to honour those soldiers who as enemies, met and wished each a Merry Christmas, would be to do likewise? There is far too much hate in the world and it is bringing the world down, maybe we should learn and sit with our enemies and try for once to find a peaceful solution. Tolerance should walk beside us, and a smile should be our greeting, not bayonets or bullets.

Whatever your faith may be, and wherever you are on this planet today, I wish you a time of peace and safety, beyond today and into the coming New Year. RJM.

Soldiers meet on the battle field in France 1914

Soldiers meet on the battle field in France 1914

Revue of 2012.

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Its that time of year again, where most of us look back at the year gone, and look in hope to the coming New Year. I think there will be a very large amount of people around the world this year praying for something to change, as 2012 has been for just about everyone a very turbulent and difficult year. The global financial melt down of a few years ago has finally kicked in, and this year all of us felt the bite as people of the every nation have had to pay for the mistakes and greed of the very rich few. Talking as I do to people online or on the streets, the feeling of injustice is rife, and I think it is warranted, although knowing how the bankers have used their influence over the years, I think that they will wriggle out of it as they have in the past.

For everyone its been difficult, and for myself personally it has been a bit of a roller coaster year that started with some terrible news of a family member struck down with the threat of a terminal illness that had a very profound effect on me deeply, and changed some of my ways of thinking. That was followed up with troubles for my mother that stretched throughout the year making life at times very stressful to deal with, and for a while in the middle of the year, I lost my ability to focus and write, something that has never happened to me before, and that really tested my limits of endurance, as I fought my frustrations to redefine my focus and continue with the writing. There has been a lot more than usual for the shredder this year, poor thing, I think I have pushed it to the limit.

Summer was wet, again a frustration that encroached on my time outdoors in the garden, although I was still able to walk with the trees above my head, and watch my children splash in the puddles. I spent a great deal of time watching the rain run down the windowpane making notes for the moment when I could focus my mind on reaching the climax to the series of Heirs to the kingdom.

The landscape in the book world has changed again this year, and in the early part of the year printed books sales appeared to die, casting a bad omen for every writer. Like all other writers, I thought about digital books, and when I was emailed to inform mw that the Moby site had been taken down, I contacted my Publisher to discover that I no longer had digital copies of my books available. Over the month that followed and subsequent emails the New Digital Kindle editions were made available via the publisher, and I was pleased to see that in that first week quite a few copies were being downloaded, I must confess I am not a fan of Digital, and was sceptical as to whether or not the books would look decent on such a small screen, and although I am not 100% happy with how they look, the feed back from those who bought them was positive and gave me a lift.

Early winter saw a big change for me, as my wife took the Jaded Opals stall out on her own for the first time, its not been the best of years for bookings, but when the chance came up to run it for seven weeks, she took it and left me at home to look after the kids and focus on the writing. It felt so strange not having her there as I wrote to comment on my thoughts, and although I had written a few new things, I made the most of the quiet moments to look at HTTK and think of ways to improve on we have available to date.

Income has been hard to find this year, creating the largest frustration of all for me, as I have not been able to get the fourth book in the series out. Behind the scenes I have gone through a wide spectrum of emotion as I stressed myself out trying to force an issue that was not going to happen. I was bent all out of shape not wanting to let the readers down, and it did me no good as it just added to my frustrations, but finally with a few calming words from my wife, I accepted my fate and found I had clarity to move forward. With no book out, I have had to focus on promotion, and so for the last quarter of the year that has been my plan. On Facebook there has been an increase in what we post, which has included excerpts from the first three books, and behind the scenes I have worked on changing some of the pages to the website, as well as including some new ones.

I think a more positive outlook had a big effect on the world around me, as I saw my family member who had fought all year with ill health grow steadily stronger and better, there is still some way to go, but I feel positively thrilled that they have come through the worst and have it under control. My Mum who has struggled in terror, has moved to a new house, and that has solved most of her issues talking a huge load off my shoulders, and the best thing of all is that I found my stride and continued with a renewed vigour on the final book in the series, completing a full 24 chapters to date, with enough notes to write possibly another six books (Just joking this is the last one).

Feeling a lot more at ease and more creative than I have been in a long time, I took my notes and began work in mid December on a new aspect of the web site. On Boxing Day I put up the first of a series of interviews and situations experienced by a man I have named Gordon Waggstaff. He is a writer who runs the postal service out of Mottram on the edge of the Peak District. The idea behind this project is that this allows me to run a blog like newssheet from the heart of the woodland realm. I know I run the blog from the HTTK website, but this news letter known as the Tribune Today, allows me to give a view of life directly from the woodland realm at the moment the story happens. I have a quite a bit of work to do back dating some of the articles, but this also allows me to fill in the time gaps between some of the books, as well as provide more details and information of the life our hero and those around him live.

Editing HTTK always sees the loss of a few things, so the Tribune is a way of including them using the website as a vehicle to do so. Its still very early days, but hopefully it will bring another fun and interesting aspect to the whole of the HTTK experience. In my mind, I can only try and hope that you all enjoy it. Some early feedback has been positive, so I can only hope it continues that way as the articles open up and expand on the storyline.

Facebook has been difficult this year, they have made a lot of new changes of which most of them have restricted the way in which I send out posts and updates. They are starting to show their corporate credentials as they push to make page holders like myself pay for the content I post. I have to confess that if that becomes the case, I will not have the income to continue on Facebook, and so I have tried and will be trying a few methods to help get round the difficulties. The most obvious first attempt is with the free books giveaway, The Kingdom Christmas Giveaway, which although is still quite small scale, has proven that there are a lot of people out there who are not aware of the books and would be interested in reading them, hopefully over the coming year I will find a few more ideas that will do something similar. It has always been the goal of my wife and myself to try and get the books into the mainstream to attract the attention of the public, as I do believe there are a lot of people who would enjoy what I write, so each time a books sells we are one step closer, and can only hope that they recommend the books to a friend or two. It is a long-term view of things, but for a relatively unknown author such as myself, it is the only way I can move my work forward. I have been given a great deal of hope this year, as I have seen authors similar to myself make giant steps forward in the book world by using social media to promote, and so at this point I must say a very special thank you to each and everyone of you who has given a moment of your time, to like a post, comment or recommend my books to a friend, I really cannot put into words how grateful I am to those who have supported me, and helped me spread the word of my writing. There have been some pretty dark moments for me this year, and it is through your efforts that I have felt the greatest encouragement and resisted the urge to throw in the towel and get a proper job, so thank you to all of you, it really is a heart warming aspect of my long days sat here at the desk.

So the New Year is almost here, and what do I have in store for you all? My priority is the fourth book, I want it out like yesterday, and so my attention and focus is to drive hard and do everything in my power to get the book out there and continue the story for all of you. I personally think each book has a feeling all of its own that is very different to the previous book, Dunnottar as those of you who have read it know was quite dark at times, so I am really excited about the fourth book, which was for a long time my favourite book to write. The book is very bright and quite fast paced compared to the previous books, and I think its quite emotional in parts as our hero has many changes in his life to deal with, Jade and Jett take on a whole new depth, as more of their future’s is revealed and some of those characters around the edges will come forward and shine as you learn more about them. There a some new villains to personify the evil ways of the Knox family, and as always the Dark One has been cooking up a few new frights for the Woodland fighters. So hopefully I will be able to bring it all to you as quickly as possible, and in between I will be posting on the Blog, Facebook and the website to hopefully thrill and entertain you to the best of my ability. Behind the scenes I want to finish the series and then look at a few other things I have plotted out, and maybe if things run a little smoother than 2012, I will be able to introduce you to other realms and other people living life in a whole number of differing ways.

As always I thank you for staying loyal to HTTK, and I hope that as we turn the corner of another year, that you all find peace and happiness, and enjoy your life in safety. My very best wishes to you all for 2013… Robin.

The real price of something for nothing.

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There is quite the debate going on at the moment about the price of digital books, and the question is being asked why it is that they are being offered for such a low amount of money. I have heard all the arguments, the most quoted being that the consumer has grown use to low prices, and therefore demand cheaper books, and also that it is a cheaper route to publication, and so therefore should be cheaper, but somehow I feel sat here isolated from the rest of the world at my writing desk, that out of all the arguments within the debate, the one thing that appears to be lacking is the point of view of the Authors.

I cannot really speak for other author’s as I have only my own experience of writing, but I can say that for myself it is a very worrying trend and I do feel concerned about the way the larger global companies discount books and offer them at such low prices, often below the price they have paid themselves. Discounting is and has always been a large part of the printed book selling industry, but recent trends in the movement to digital has seen a sharp fall in the sales of printed books, and as more and more people switch over to one of the many digital devices, I fear my time as an author may be coming to an abrupt end, because with digital books selling at lower and lower prices, I find it hard to see how I will earn enough revenue to actually stay afloat.

I have just finished writing the latest in the series of books I have been working on since 2006, (Heirs to the Kingdom) and currently have three of the series out and the fourth is ready for publication. Obviously because this is a detailed series and I had been writing long before I got the first published in 2009, I am at an advanced stage in the writing process, and as you can see I am six years into it. I work every day of the week on the books, and due to the plot and the many layers within the books, I have a constant run of threads weaving through the series that have to be picked up and woven into them. The latest book in the series has taken me just over a year at 14 months to research and write, it has been a long drawn out process checking every step of the way that I have not missed out vital key issues from the previous books, and has also involved a great deal of research and fact finding missions, to ensure that the book comes across as being realistic, even though it is a work of fiction.

The research for the books can consist of Internet searches, book purchasing and reading up, or visiting locations that allow me to take photographs to aid in the process of writing accurately. All of this has a cost that is borne out by myself, I am like so many other writers out there working hard to establish myself in the world of fiction and trying to build a reputation for myself. I have used a self publishing company to get the books out, which not only has a cost for production, it also means I have to fund the costs of promotion, which has many related extra costs. I pay for the web site to remain up and running, and I also have to pay many of the various sites that feature my books, I try wherever possible to use as much free publicity as I can, but that is a shrinking market and so more often than not, a new site to help me promote comes at a cost.

I have spent six years writing almost full time, earning extra income selling jewellery which my wife makes, and purchasing my own books at wholesale to sell at events, its a low income way of living, but with some clever budgeting we survive as a family and push forward.  When I first decided to publish this series, I sat for a great deal of time with my wife, and we looked at our prospects, having researched the subject in full, it was never going to be easy, but we have managed and have taken the long term view of slowly building up the reputation and taking it one sale at a time. To date we have invested quite a sum of capital into this project, its pretty much almost everything we had, and we have after three years of hard work, recovered around 5% of what we have spent, it is indeed a very long term investment.

This article is not a complaint, its an honest appraisal of what myself and others have done, for I know that in this I am not alone. I love writing, it has taken me a very long time to pluck up the courage to put my work into print, and now that I have, I can honestly say I am happier than I have ever been, as I have finally found something that I love and adore as a working lifestyle. I do not mind that its taken the last 14 months to put together the latest episode of my series, I have no qualms at all knowing I will now move forward to check the book over and over to ensure it is to the highest possible standard before it goes of to be proof read, a process that will take possibly another six months of constant scrutiny, because at the end of the day I know that there is growing readership of people who will read my words and gain a great deal of enjoyment from them, but I have to ask one very important question.

Why is it when it comes to the world of books and writing, that my efforts have so little value?

My books are not in a digital format yet, and even though this is going to be the future of books, you must agree that to sell what will finally reach 20 months of work for less than the price of a birthday card is somewhat insulting?

I know of no other industry where a man’s life and work have such little value, and yet that is what the digital readers demand, which in my case is a detailed book of over 200 thousand words for less than £4. The mad thing is that is not even my share, as profits have to go to the distributor etc… I think it works out about the total value of a cheap cup of poor coffee per copy sold. I must have drunk over a million whist sat here writing the thing. I suppose the question is… If I offer you a job and pay you the same, would you consider it for more than a millisecond? Of course you wouldn’t, who would?

Publishing is one of very few industries that exploits its most valued asset, the creative source, and no matter what happens in the future that will remain unchanged. All writers know that the odds of making a living that can sustain life are very slender indeed. There are a few very lucky writers who hit at the right moment and they are the 3% that make it as a full time writer reaping the rewards of their labour, the rest of us keep going in hope that one day someone out there will read our work and hopefully recommend it to their friends, which at the end of the day is how books become known, its no different to acting or dancing, all of us are waiting for that all important break, and some of us will never get it, but we live in the slim hope we may if we persevere. We love what we do, and we are happy doing it, but do not insult us beyond that, have the decency to understand how much time and effort goes into the process, and offer us a fair price for it. Digital may appear a cheaper option, but the costs are not really that much different from print for an author, it should be a cheaper version I agree, but lets keep the price a little fairer. It matters not how you read a book, whether its print or digital it has value, because for the reader it an experience that provides joy and excitement, and for the author it is often more than a year of their life.

Hopefully this will shed a little light which I feel enlightens the view, I shall remain a writer no matter what happens, and I shall see where that takes me, one thing I do know is that its going to be an interesting journey.

 

Will many writers survive Digital?

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I often wonder what peoples perception of what a writer actually does is, because when people find out that I write, it appears that they just naturally assume that somehow I am loaded and raking in masses of money, if only that was true.

In 90% of cases a writer barely earns enough to give their family a weekend away, let alone provide them with a luxurious lifestyle, and they have to take on extra jobs just to make ends meet. People really have little idea of how hard it can be to survive on book sales, they really only see the very lucky few who make it up the mid-lists and into that top bracket where life at the top has its privileges.

I was talking recently to a few friends who just naturally assumed I was making well over five English pounds per copy of my book sold. Oh if only that was the case, they were stunned to find out that the average author earns just fifty pence per copy sold, and therefore need massive sales just to cover the costs of living whilst writing, let alone any future plans.

From my own experience of writing, when I look at the amount of money spent on researching, travelling and reading to prepare my books before I even write a word, never mind the costs of a family containing a wife and two children, it is amazing how much money goes in long before you finally get that illusive publishing deal, and that was just to get the book finally printed.

The sad fact is that for most writers money is not the motivation behind the work, for myself it is the joy of preparation, researching and writing, to that point where you sit back and know that you have created something unique and feel satisfied that you have accomplished your goal. It is a wonderful feeling that stirs deep inside and you have a final result that you can look at with pride, knowing you gave it your all, and also knowing that somewhere it will bring a moment of escape and delight to those who read it and live in a world you created, there really isn’t any other feeling like it in the world. It is something that is very easily exploited by those who run the industry.

It is well documented that the publishing industry has used it for years to line their own pockets, stating their costs as justifcation and takeing the lion’s share of the money, leaving the author with the smallest amount of the profits, and I think we are all intelligent enough to understand that it has always been the way of things, and maybe we have all sat back and accepted it when we should have asked for more. The biggest problem with that though is that publishing deals have always been hard to come by, and we are also smart enough to realise that if we push too hard, we could end up out of deal, left high and dry with no contract.

There is no shortage of writers, if anything the numbers have risen steadily for years, so one wrong move and you can very easily be replaced, and that has always been something that has in a way acted as a deterrent to writers rebelling against the system. However things have been changing now for several years, and to be honest one has to question if there is even going to be a future for writers, as the digital age forces rule changes and working methods across the globe. The publishing industry is in a shambles at the moment, I spend most days reading the various Blogs and newsletters emailed to me from inside the trade, and I find it very hard to see how the future of books printed or digital, will survive without some radical changes of thought from not only the industry, but also from the consumers, because lowering prices are squeezing the life out of everyone.

Without readers there is no need for books whether they be on a page or a digital screen, but it looks to me like we are all heading for a very big stalemate, as consumers demand cheaper books, especially digital ones, but as the price falls, so do the royalties paid to the author. I am a bottom list author and believe it or not I am in the largest bracket, as there are many like myself out there all trying to get the word out about their books, and we all know our sales will not be huge. As much as we all dream of that freak moment when we get discovered, we do not have the support of a large company who will spend thousands on us to publicise our work, and most of us promote from home with the help of a few friends using the internet and social networks to try and increase our sales. Our print runs are low or use print on demand, which means the costs of our books is higher than the big names, and although we have publishers, we still only get the nominal royalty, so for us digital is a huge fear.

Its bad enough so much of the price of our books goes to the retailer, wholesaler and publisher, but recent trends show how little value our work has in this modern time, as the price of digital downloads is pushed into the floor. The bigger online retail companies are very aggressive; they list millions of books and are not reliant on massive profits per book to stay afloat, and so they have created an atmosphere of cheaper and cheaper in order to rival their competition, and the book buying public has sold into its practice to such a point that it is becoming impossible for any author to realistically get any return for their effort.

One very large online presence in particular pushes masses of books for just $0.99, and I see it on the screen and feel this must be madness. I am told this is what the consumers of books demand, and they are unlikely to pick your book if it is valued much higher, because digital is cheaper easier and faster, and therefore should be cheaper. I am sorry to disagree with the worlds leading book seller of the moment, but I got no discount when writing it because one day it would be appearing as digital download. My hours of dedication have not lessened because it will eventually be delivered via an inbox rather than a post box. To be honest it is insulting, how would the consumer feel if I asked them to work all week as I have for just $0.99? I am pretty sure they value the jobs they do to earn their living, so why has mine become so worthless? Is it not bad enough that I have to live with an industry that puts my creative ability as its last priority, whilst it makes twenty times more money from my work than I do? Do all writers now have to suffer the ultimate humiliation of being told by the consumer that their efforts rank lower than everyone else’s?

It’s a very sad truth that in the capitalist society we live in writers have no worth at all, and with the onset of digital, and the so called death of the book, the future for writers just became very dark indeed, and one can only wonder how long it will be before the writer has no choice but to stop publishing simply because they can no longer afford to. We could simply leave publishers and go the self publishing route, and upload our books directly, which is starting to happen, especially since publishers today are cutting their lists and courting the already rich and famous for their biographies and cookbooks, but even then, when the retailer takes their cut of the $0.99 there is little left to live on for the author.

Will we reach a time when writers have to write for free and just accept it? Or will we one day see a time when all there is to read is a classic that has gone out of copyright and so is available to download free, it is a very real possibility, because in the scramble to gain control of the digital book reading world, it looks to me like every single area is being scrutinised except the most important one of all, and that is the role of the future author.

I have no choice but to be a spectator at the moment, and I am watching very carefully, as depending on how things go, I may have to make a very difficult decision in my future. Will I stop writing? No, its not possible for me. Will I stop publishing? That is a question I will eventually face, and I am sure there are many out there who like myself will face the very same question. All I can say for now is, I am watching…. I will have to wait and see.