Adam Croft

Making time in your day for writing is incredibly difficult for a number of reasons, especially if you’re in full-time employment elsewhere. Even the small things such as noise, stress and concentration can have a marked effect on being able to knuckle down and just do it. However, the biggest drain on a writer in the modern day is time. It certainly was for me. I say was, because I think I’ve cracked the nut…

I’ve recently started employing an extremely simple, yet incredibly effective, rule: The 30-Minute Rule. Oh yes, imaginative name, I know. As someone who struggles to fit long blocks of writing time into my day, and often has a million other things going through my mind at any given moment, I came up with a method which suited me down to the ground.

It’s simple, really: I spend 30 minutes writing (usually from the top of the hour until half-past), then 30 minutes doing something else (reading, relaxing, housework, phone calls – anything which lets my mind elsewhere). Some downtime for your brain is absolutely vital.

What’s more, your brain needs to be able to do the other little things in life and deal with extraneous stresses and strains. How many times have you sat down at your keyboard only to have your mind filled with reminders to call Dave, put the washing on, order the groceries, pay the electricity bill, look for a new kettle… How great would it be to be able to simply jot these notes down on a pad and deal with them during their allocated half-hours? I’ll tell you something – it works.

This week alone, I’ve spent each day using this method and it has been my most productive week in living memory. I’ve been averaging 8,000-10,000 words a day on a book I’m collaborating on with a good friend and the words have just been flowing out of me. Writer’s block is history, as I know I’ll only be sat at this chair for 30 minutes at a time. Even if you only manage to write a couple of hundred words at a time, you’re always one step closer to finishing that novel.

Of course, the 30 Minute Rule can quite easily be the 2 Hour Rule or the 5 Minute Rule, depending on what works best for you. By ‘boxing off’ both your writing time and your external worries and chores, you can easily segment your brain to understand that this is writing time. You’ll be amazed how quickly the little grey ball of mush learns.

What tips do you have for ‘boxing off’ writing time and getting things done? Leave a comment in the box below and let me know!

Further to my post last week, production on the audio dramatisation of ‘Exit Stage Left’ has been moving very quickly indeed. Robert Daws and I have been working flat-out to produce an adapted script for the first episode of the serialisation, and a number of cast members have now been confirmed, including Robert Daws himself (The Royal, Coronation Street, Outside Edge), Kate Robbins (Dead Ringers, Crossroads, and 1980 Eurovision Song Contest entrant), Ted Robbins (brother of Kate, Little Britain, Phoenix Nights, BBC Radio Lancashire) and Stephen Palfreman (Blood Brothers, Heartbeat).

Just looking at the cast list is giving me the heebie jeebies. To have such talented and well-known actors interested in my work is an absolute dream come true, and I’m loving every minute of it. There’ll be more cast members confirmed over the next few days, I’m sure.

I visited the studio for the first time today to meet Keith Atack, the producer. The set-up looks fantastic, and Keith seems very keen and enthusiastic, which is great. We’ve got our first studio session on Saturday – I’m amazed at how quickly it’s all moving, but I’m actually secretly quite pleased as it means I don’t have the time to start giggling myself silly with excitement.

More news soon, when I have it!

Twitter, Facebook, blog – first of all, I’m sorry. I’m sorry I’ve neglected you all recently, but there’s a reason for that. Not only have I been extremely busy, but I’ve been busting from all angles to explode and tell you all some very exciting news which I couldn’t tell you all… until now.

Robert Daws

Following the release of Exit Stage Left last year, British screen icon Robert Daws contacted me and asked to work with me on adapting the book as a radio play. I thought long and hard for all of about three nanoseconds before acquiescing in an embarrassingly fawning manner. Since then, Robert and I have met a couple of times a week in order to develop our ideas and help bring Exit to your ears, as well as your eyes. It’s been moving extremely quickly: we’ll be in the studio within a couple of weeks.

Not only that, but there are some pretty big names potentially behind the project. We’re still to finalise things, but I’m going to be unashamedly gushing and crass in saying that a number of names have been thrown about [Disclaimer: Subject to 'stuff' being organised]. Robert’s part of a big show-biz family, not limited to his wife, Amy Robbins (of The Royal, Casualty and a cousin of Sir Paul McCartney), sister-in-law Kate Robbins (of Crossroads, Dead Ringers and the 1980 Eurovision Song Contest), and niece Emily Atack (of The Inbetweeners).

Ted Robbins

Again, casting is yet undecided, but the sheer quality of names that have thus far been thrown about is extremely exciting and makes me want to shout from the rooftops. Our hope (and he would be bloody fantastic) is to have Ted Robbins cast as Charlie Sparks. Ted’s a very well-known comedian and television personality who would be absolutely perfect in the role.

The production of the series will be in the hands of Keith Atack (of 70s band Child, also The Illegal Eagles et al), who is a vastly experienced audio producer who will do absolute wonders with it, I’m sure.

I feel the need to repeat the caveat that nothing is decided, and no roles have yet been cast, but Robert Daws has confirmed that he will play one of the leading roles, which is fantastic beyond belief. With production starting very shortly, I’ll be able to confirm a definite cast list quite soon, but for now you’ll have to make do with some random names thrown about in a nothing’s-confirmed manner.

I say it a lot, but I feel it needs repeating: Mass-market publishers and those from the traditional publishing background will crow long and hard about independent publishers never being able to make a success of it. There’s a reason for that: we’re doing them out of a job. The fact of the matter is, the tide is turning. 2012 will be the year of the independent writer, and I dearly hope to play a part in what’s to come.

It’s been quite some time since I’ve been able to update this blog (one of my New Year’s resolutions is to do so more often). One of the reasons for my absence is that I’ve been very busy working on my new book, Exit Stage Left. It’s a temporary departure from the Knight & Culverhouse series, instead focusing on amateur sleuth Kempston Hardwick and his attempts to uncover the mystery behind the death of former Saturday-night television star Charlie Sparks.

The book is due for release on Amazon Kindle and other eBook platforms next week. As I’m an independent publisher, it’s difficult (read: impossible) to give an exact date, but it should be available in most forms by Friday 16th December. The paperback will be out much more quickly than my previous books, with mid-January anticipated for general release. (As an aside, Guilty as Sin will be available in paperback form this month.)

Many writers find the thought of self-publishing scary and, well, yes, it is a bit. When you put your book out there – probably something that you’ve been labouring on and pouring love into for a good long time – you don’t know what people are going to think. It’s a risk.

But then again it would be a risk if you went down the traditional publishing route, too. If anything, that might be a bigger risk because there are so many other factors (and other people’s money) involved. So self-publishing can be a good thing, but if you are going to make a proper go of it, it pays to know a little bit about the ways you can market it. For those of you who are already self-published, thinking of self-publishing or have just stumbled onto this by mistake (hey, it happens), read on to find out 6 ways to market your self-published book.

1. Get it onto as many online platforms as possible
It’s probably not that much of a surprise to hear that if you are going to have any luck with your book, it needs to be ‘out there’. There are loads of different platforms you can use to publish your book, so do some research to see what’s what. Amazon is the obvious choice, but you can also use CreateSpace, Smashwords and more. Smashwords will distribute your book to a number of different outlets, including Apple iBooks, Sony and Barnes & Noble.

2. Get the ball rolling
Once you’ve got your book out there in the big, wide world, you need to start generating some sales. This is where your nose for marketing starts to come into its own. For example, could you run a promotion on your book to persuade people to read it? Could you offer the first couple of chapters – or even the whole thing – for free to entice people to take you up on your offer? In an age where book sales are struggling and it’s often hard to find readers, it could be the thing that makes all the difference. What matters to you? Making money, or having people read your work?

3. Use social media
Again, this is a fairly obvious one, but social media is massively useful when it comes to promoting a self-published book (or promoting pretty much anything, really). You can get Facebook and Twitter accounts for free and use them to market your work to your followers. It can be quite labour-intensive to build up a nice little network of people, but it’s definitely worth it if you can spare the time.

4. Word of mouth
This is another good marketing tool. If you can persuade some people to talk up your book and maybe pass their copies on to other people, it might just be enough to start generating interest – and more sales. You might be aware that recently there was an event called World Book Night that involved people giving out a million books for free and then, when people had read them, the idea was that they should pass them on to others. I’m not saying you should give out a million copies of your book for free but you could do something on a smaller scale and ask if you can leave a few at your local café for people to peruse and pass on.

5. Book signings
If you’re a self-published author, it might be hard to set up book signings in order for you to promote your book, but if you do get the opportunity you should definitely take it. One good option here is to visit your local independent bookshop (they need just as much support as self-published authors!) and ask if a book signing would be a possibility. They’re often really keen to support local authors and it could potentially be beneficial for both of you, so give it a go if you can.

6. Create your own media
Lastly, if you don’t have a publisher to blow your trumpet for you, you’ll just have to do it yourself. Get onto your local press and let them know that you’ve published a book. If you’re able to tell them you’re doing a book signing, too – even better. Invite them along and you might get yourself and your work in the paper. Local newspapers are always looking for stories of local people who are making waves, so you could be just the ticket.

This is by no means a comprehensive list of how to market your self-published book, but hopefully it’s spurred a few ideas and ignited some thoughts. True, it is hard to be a self-published author, but then it’s hard to be a regularly-published author too – and success is possible. So, if you’ve got the book and the will to make it succeed, go for it.