World Book Night

“It's very easy to take more than nothing.” (Alice in Wonderland)

How much disposable income do you have? If your post office was about to charge you for a dozen stamps then offered them to you free, which offer would you accept?
Since the net book agreement was scrapped just over ten years ago, there has been an insane rush to reduce the price of books. Supermarkets sell them for less than the price of a glossy magazine (crammed with advertisements), online suppliers are constantly reducing prices, and offers are now standard in bookshops which display tables stacked with offers to buy 3 for 2, or buy one get one half price.
World Book Night is the logical conclusion of this trend, with publishers giving away a million books. Do they think recipients will respond by putting their hands in their pockets? Of course they won’t! If they aren't already book buyers, those given free books will simply wait for the next free book. It won’t be far behind. Why buy something you can get for free? As for those who already buy books - well, that will be one less sale to them. A double whammy.
World Book Night devalues the concept of books as something authors, editors, publishers, designers, proofreaders, have spent months, in some cases years, planning, researching, writing, revising, discussing and editing. Time and money has been spent producing books and publicity for World Book Night, a “celebration of adult fiction” which will sadly further undermine the industry.
Why wasn’t that time and effort devoted to promoting book sales to inject urgently needed funding into the industry? The books donated to World Book Night are wonderful works of literature. If each recipient of these million free books had been persuaded to part with the price of a couple of cups of coffee in exchange for their book, it would have injected millions pounds into the struggling book industry.
The concern over the future of books masks a deeper issue. Shakespeare only invented one plot but the 20th century placed a premium on originality. A generation ago children writing stories at school would often accuse their classmates of copying a plot from a book. That never happens now. Today, children take their stories from films or, increasingly, from computer games.
But one thing children today appreciate is the value of money. They could teach the publishing industry a thing or two.

This week's interviews

Interview on Harrogate Festival website http://www.harrogate-festival.org.uk/yourebooked/2011/02/youre-booked-spoke-to-leigh-russell/
Interview on The Rap Sheet
http://therapsheet.blogspot.com/2011/02/steel-at-it.html

The Beginning of the End?

Eleven Waterstone's stores will close by the end of this week across the UK and altogether twenty sites are earmarked for closure.
Current stock at all eleven outlets will be removed and "where possible" recycled.
Waterstones have not disclosed how many staff will be affected.
Store Closures:
Slough, Maidenhead, Edinburgh East End, Dublin Dawson Street, Dublin Jervis Street, Colchester Culver Square, Worcester High Street, Guildford North Street, Stafford Guildhall, Hemel Hempstead Marlowes Centre, Coventry Cathedral Lanes, Tiverton, Luton, Chelmsford, Meadows
It's a sad day for book lovers when Waterstones start to close branches. Remember how quickly Borders disappeared? Anyone interested in books should be seriously worried that this is just the beginning of Waterstones closures. Do we want the only outlets to be cut price supermarkets, charity shops and online suppliers? It's not rocket science that without revenue from book buyers, publishers and authors won't survive. New books won't be subject to the rigorous selection, editing and proofreading currently offered (most of the time) by publishers and the whole book industry will disappear very quickly.
The reading public is diminishing so perhaps this is an inevitable decline, but if we care about the survival of bookshops and the future of books, we need to support and value the industry that produces them.
So before rushing to collect your free book on World Book Night on March 5th, why not support World Book Day on March 3rd by buying a book from your local Waterstones - while you still can.
And you might want to take a photo while you're there, because unless more people buy books in bookshops we may soon no longer have that opportunity.
It's up to all of us to make bookshops sustainable - if we want them to survive.
And before you go look again at the image on this post (above left).
http://www.thebookseller.com/news/waterstones-close-11-stores-end-week.htmlebookseller.com/news/waterstones-close-11-stores-end-week.html

The Future of Reading

I’m not convinced that initiatives to give away free books encourages a perception that books have value. I understand the rationale behind these initiatives which seek to engage new readers and promote particular authors. But I suspect the consequence of giving books away for free is that books will just become further devalued. Many readers say they never pay full price for a book – even though the average book will set you back the price of a couple of cups of coffee, or a couple of pints in the pub, and without revenue from readers, publishers and authors will largely disappear.
Bricks and mortar bookshops face huge competition from online suppliers, charity shops, supermarkets and free book campaigns – and that’s before considering the impact of ebooks. I’m passionate about the survival of bookshops and spend a lot of time in different branches of the major chains, and in libraries, talking to readers. I wish more authors would support bookshops and libraries in this way.

(Just in case the situation here continues to deteriorate, I’m building my intergalactic fanbase - you can see a few of them in the picture).

There is a more serious concern which is not how books will be delivered in future, but whether people will continue reading on a significant scale, with all the other forms of entertainment on offer. Today’s youngsters spend their time in front of television, computer or mobile phone screens and bookshops have their work cut out to attract them.

But it’s a campaign worth fighting and one they must win if they are to survive.

Writers and Readers

I received my PLR statement today. Around 3,000 people borrowed my books from libraries in the UK in the year to June 2010.
Who says libraries aren't popular nowadays?
As an author, it's hardly surprising that I spend a lot of time writing, but these days authors also spend a lot of time talking. As a relatively unknown 'name', my events vary and sometimes I chat to half a dozen readers in a library reading group, always an enjoyable experience. But here are a couple of photos, both taken at a recent talk I gave where more than 200 people turned out to hear me talk about my books. You can just about see me, a tiny dot on the stage.

Maybe one day I'll even see a queue of more than two people waiting in front of my table at a book signing...

Did I say people?

Who moved the goalposts?

We have a strange glitch in our television which causes it to default to Sky sport whenever I leave the room. Curiously it never happens when my husband is out - almost as though the television knows! Thanks to this mysterious glitch, I do sometimes watch cricket and football (while busy on facebook, blogs, email, etc and yes, sometimes even writing…)
So I thought, for a change, I’d share a few of my musings on cricket and football.
Cricket seems to me very similar to life, in being almost completely incomprehensible. Occasionally I have a glimmer of comprehension, but then it’s gone in the toss of a cricket ball and the swing of a bat and I’m baffled again. Yes, I can understand why people compare cricket to life. Just when you think you understand something, you realise you don't.
Football is altogether simpler to understand. There’s a goal post at each end of the pitch and – well, you know the rest and if not, well, don't ask me. The goals are a standard size and are always in the right place. In short, football couldn’t be less like life because in life the goal posts move all the time.
Less than two years ago, I thought I’d be happy just to see a book of mine published. Cut Short hit the shelves. I thought I'd be happy if a few copies were bought. Cut Short promptly sold out – and sold out again - and again. I thought I'd be happy if the book had a few good reviews on amazon. Cut Short was well reviewed, and not only on amazon but in the papers. It was shortlisted for a major award.

After all the accolades, I thought I'd be happy if Road Closed did half as well. Good reviews started to roll in and Road Closed quickly sold out.

Over that hurdle, with sales and reviews better than ever, and I’m wondering about how Dead End will be received...

Will I be happy if just a few copies are bought?

What a year I've had!

It's January 2011 and time to review 2010. And what a year it's been!

Looking back, I can't believe how much has happened. No wonder I'm feeling tired!

Cut Short sold out for the fourth time (or was it the fifth?) and was shortlisted for the CWA Dagger, which was a real thrill. I went to Harrogate to hear the announcement and met two charmers, Ian Rankin and Mark Billingham.

Cut Short is being reprinted again, this time in B format, with a new cover which was decided on in 2010, to match the cover chosen for Dead End. When Road Closed is reprinted again, it will have a matching cover, so 2010 was the year my books were "branded" (!)

I was lucky enough to have lots of online interviews and the reviews for both books continued to be amazingly positive!

I finished Dead End in 2010 and the MS for my next book, now with my agent.

2010 saw two bestsellers, two more books written, two new covers and an award nomination. In addition, I was very happy to receive lots of invitations to appear at literary festivals, talk to writers groups and judge competitions, visit bookshops and libraries, and talk to colleges and book clubs.

2011 will doubtless be as busy but I don't see how it can be as exciting!