writing – Page 14 – Ruth Livingstone

Writers Conference 2014: truth and lies in self-publishing

“Writing the book is easy. The difficult part is selling it.”
What I learnt about self-publishing at the Writer’s Conference 2014.

I guess when it comes to self-publishing, the greatest proponents are going to be those who have done it successfully. The failures slink back into the shadows.

With this in mind, I went along to the panel entitled “The Truths and Lies About Self-Publishing” with some degree of cynicism.

The discussion was chaired by Alex Davis and it was interesting to hear why the panelists, all very different authors and very different people, had decided to self-publish their books. Continue reading “Writers Conference 2014: truth and lies in self-publishing”

Writers Conference 2014: Working as a writer in the digital age.

It’s not easy for a writer to make money from the web, partly because of the expectation that everything on the Internet is free. And partly because the web is full of great content and it is very hard to stand out among all the digital noise. But the panelists had some suggestions we might consider…

I am a hopeless gadget-junkie. In 1985, I bought one of the first home computers (a BBC Micro) and taught myself how to program in BASIC. Then along came PCs and, in 1995, access to the Internet via a fragile telephone link into the MSN network. Soon I became tangled in the limitless possibilities of the World Wide Web and taught myself HTML so that I could put together web pages.

I always believed that the web and its hyperlinks would open up a whole new way to create and read fiction, I was just not quite sure how to do it.

And I’m still unsure.

So, I was looking forward to the “Working as a Writer in the Digital Age” panel session. Continue reading “Writers Conference 2014: Working as a writer in the digital age.”

Writers Conference 2014, Writing East Midlands, Opening Session

Not only did I enjoy myself immensely at the Conference, but I met loads of interesting people and learnt a tremendous amount. So I decided to do a mini-series of blog posts this week, picking out tidbits and sharing memorable quotes.

I didn’t realise how lucky I was when I managed to get a place on the Writing Conference 2014. The conference was fully booked within a few weeks of being advertised.

Hosted by Writing East Midlands, this was a fantastic event, held in the gleaming Portland Building set in the University of Nottingham’s beautiful campus on a gloriously sunny day. Continue reading “Writers Conference 2014, Writing East Midlands, Opening Session”

5 Year Writing Project, March update

At first I was dismayed. I had not set out to write a children’s book. But then I thought about it some more and I decided this was a possible way forward, and one that allowed me to keep true to my original vision and concept of the novel.

Five Year Writing Goal

I’m taking part in Misha and Beth’s Five Year Project and my five-year goal is to write a novel and get it published.

In this monthly recap I will outline how I’m struggling with point of view and with tone. And then I will tell you of my plan for a way forward.
Continue reading “5 Year Writing Project, March update”

5 year goal: point of view and second thoughts

Five Year Writing Goal

I’m taking part in Misha and Beth’s Five Year Project and my five-year goal is to write a novel and get it published. This is my monthly recap on how I’m doing.

Continue reading “5 year goal: point of view and second thoughts”