This week my indie publishing journey turned a corner from 'agonisingly painful editing' into a phase I am much more comfortable with - talking about the book in an animated and borderline-hysterical fashion. Here I am doing just that with a lovely presenter called Rich Smith on Get Radio quite early on Wednesday morning.
(Note that, in 2021, the radio is a bit more like the telly and therefore requires one to be dressed and showered. Note also that I am rocking the Britney head mic.)
I enjoyed the interview very much and I am finding the self-promotion much easier than I thought I might, and not just because it doesn't involve all the tedious fiddling about with PDFs and frustrated ranting about WHY EVERYTHING IN PUBLISHING IS STILL IN INCHES IS THIS THE VICTORIAN TIMES like the previous bit. I also got a bit in the local paper with lots of entirely misleading photos making me look like the perfect village mum. And they say the camera never lies. Don't believe everything you read in the paper kids.
Part of the reason I am enjoying this self-promotion bit (as well as sort of hating it too, because it's cringey of course) is that, here's the truth - I love this book. I really do. I know it's not perfect, it's not a towering work of literature, but I love it. I am proud of the characters and the dialogue and the jokes and the serious bits as well. I stand by every word. And now I have taken the plunge and shoved it out of the aeroplane hatch and into the world, it's indescribably wonderful to see other people holding it and hearing what they think. I am hugely grateful for all your support and wonderful feedback. This Friday I read through it again to correct a few typos (thanks for the eagle-eyed out there for letting me know those - all kudos to proof-readers, but I am not one) and I admit I cried. I hope you might cry too.
If you have bought a copy of the book on Kindle or paperback, please know that I am hugely hugely grateful for all your support. If you liked it and would be able to leave a review on Amazon and share your recommendations with your friends on social media or in the Real Life, that would be massively helpful. If you didn't like it, come and tell me too! I am writing right now, always always writing, and the feedback from readers helps me more than I can say.
Writing is a much less lonely process when you can imagine readers out there, curled up with dogs on their laps, avoiding the washing up and getting annoyed at being disturbed, worrying about poor Jen and Ed. I never imagined how good that would feel.