I’ve just solved a bit of a puzzle. Last August I published a book on Amazon’s Kindle. The book, Frankie’s Letter, isn’t a Jack story but one I wrote as a bit of a refresher. It’s a First World War spy/detective story, a sort of John Buchan/Agatha Christie mix of dark doings, country houses, deception, beautiful women, heroes and villains. It very very nearly got taken up by Hodder and Stoughton but was finally turned down, with sincere regret by the editor as the massive bookseller, Waterstones, didn’t think it was really for them. Pause for a sigh here, I think.
Long gone are the days when editors could take a punt on a book they liked and hope sales would follow. For instance, The Lord Of The Rings, was liked – very much liked – by its publisher, Stanley Unwin of Allen and Unwin, but he was convinced it wouldn’t make any money. He believed it was worthwhile, though, and went ahead and published it anyway. Well, we all know that story had a very happy ending and the world was enriched by the doings of Middle-Earth (although Legolas does break into rather too much poetry for my taste.)
So what, failing a Stanley Unwin, does a writer with a book on their hands do? Especially one they believe in? Imagine a light-bulb going on at this point. Yes, that’s right! Ebooks! It’s time-consuming to publish on kindle but it’s possible. So I did it. Now, to read what’s written on the interweb, at this point it should go ballistic. Did it? Er… no. Waiting for a reaction to Frankie’s Letter was like dropping a rose petal into the Grand Canyon and waiting for the echo. Why, I asked, as I paced my lonely garret?* So I asked the good people of the website Murder Must Advertise and got some fascinating answers.
I’d diligently linked Frankie’s Letter to Amazon with a nifty little logo on the Books page (go and see for yourself – it’s there!) BUT the link only works in Britain. I didn’t know that. I wouldn’t have known that if the nice American websiters hadn’t told me. It is on Amazon.com, the US site, but you have to come off my website, log on to Amazon.com and start from scratch and in the meantime you’ve probably put the kettle on, put the cat out, walked the dog, made the dinner and generally lost interest in the entire process.
Hopefully, these problems are being fixed. And a big thank you to all those kind Americans. It’s genuinely appreciated.
*This is artistic licence. It’s a sort of metaphorical garret.
Well done, nice bit of puzzle-solving, aka detective work - and I certainly wouldn't have known the solution either. I hope the American Kindlers buy it in their thousands. It's odd how things in cyberspace that should be simple turn out complicated, (like the two bits of Amazon not talking to one another,) and yet sometimes you dread embarking on a project because you think it will be a real pain, and it all falls into place immediately. Not odd, I suppose...just human. Computers are still only as good as the people that tell them what to do.
ReplyDeletebut, speaking from "The American Point of View" it's well worth it if you have to walk the dog around the block twice. FRANKIE'S LETTER is a superb read, so my advice is to just keep at jumping through the electronic hoops and GET THE BOOK. You'll be glad you did.
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