Synopsis:
When Rose woke
up in her favourite shop doorway, she was resigned to yet another day of
hunger, struggle and abuse. This was life on the streets after all.
What she wasn’t
prepared for was a visit from a demon, an invitation back to his temporally
insubstantial sanctuary, and forced to take sides in a battle involving most of
the denizens of hell. Oh, and a boat trip down the river Thames.
After a
disappointing start to the day, things were about to get a bit more interesting…
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Self-publicising
I’m learning quickly that in order to be a writer these days
you have to be a near relentless self-publicist. Unless of course you’ve been
given a massive contract with one of the big publishers and can rely on their
marketing machinery to get your book in front of people. And, despite having
worked in marketing for years, seeing myself as a brand doesn’t come easily and
neither does forcing my book under people’s noses at every opportunity. Put it
down to naivety, but most of my energy has gone into thinking up stories and
the best way to convey them. Very little of my thinking has gone into
advertising channels, pay-per-click and market segmentation. For someone who
enjoys the solitary aspect of being a writer this is all very jarring.
A few weeks ago I was at a big family party for my
father-in-law’s birthday. It just happened to be the day after my novel Gape was published and my mother-in-law
took great pride in announcing to everyone that my book was out. Naturally
everyone was very interested and wanted to know what it was about and where
they could find it and I was suddenly the centre of attention. Now, I knew
absolutely everyone there but the experience was still very uncomfortable. I
tried to field questions but felt so self-conscious that I found an excuse to
duck out and sit somewhere else.
I hope I’m learning though. I’ve taken the plunge and setup a
Facebook page, I’ve contacted my local newspaper to raise awareness of the book
and have even arranged a launch event at my favourite local comic book store
(something I need to do, but which is already causing me sleepless nights). I’m
getting word out through various social networks – on and off-line – and word
is slowly getting around. But it all still feels very strange to be pushing
myself and my work.
Perhaps confidence comes with time and it will quickly become
second nature – hell, most people just love talking about themselves, so why
should I be any different?
Well, because I just am.
In an ideal world, my work would do all the talking. People
would just stumble across it online, take a chance, be blown away and then evangelize
about it to all their friends. I could just do nice little online interviews
from time to time (no TV or radio!), but essentially it would all come to me
while I work at the next novel. And when that one is published, the same cycle
of effortless acquisition would start over again.
And then I snap violently out of the daydream and remember
that I have to get out there and talk to people and expose myself. A friend of
my wife even suggested that Gape
might be great for her book group and that perhaps I might attend one of their
meetings and answer questions. This is absolutely the kind of thing that I need
to be doing, but the prospect makes my blood run cold.
Self-publicity, it seems, is a necessary evil for a writer.
But I just want to write about evil.
Author
Bio:
Aiden
spends his time flitting between high and low culture: he holds an MA in
Cultural and Critical Studies and can often be seen stalking the galleries and
museums of London, but also likes watching WWE, listening to heavy metal music,
collecting comic books and playing classic video games.
Aiden
lives in Kent, England and Gape is his
first novel.
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