Mick Davidson: Words & Pictures
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June 3rd, 2012

6/3/2012

12 Comments

 
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Sex, Death and Trains: All Yours For Nothing (still!)*

*Terms and Conditions apply: you can get a free copy of my first novel, The Darkness Beneath, by following this link - but hurry! Only the first 100 people to sign up can claim a free copy.

It would be great if you could review it on Amazon when you finished. There's no obligation to be be nice just because it was free. Honesty is the best policy.


OK, I Give Up
(Oops! Just Found Out That I Can't!)

As all unpublished writers know to the very core of their souls, writing and continuing to write can be a difficult and tortuous road. It is a path laden with despair, anguish, depression; a path full of dead ends, misdirections and thoughts of suicide. 

It can turn you into a self-obsessed bore whilst simultaneously robbing you of every ounce of confidence you ever had.

Ok, it doesn't have the same near-death experience levels of something like mountain climbing or car racing, but it is incredibly hard just to keep placing one word behind the other at times. And this is just the work of doing it: I'm ignoring the wall of indifference erected by the near and dear and the publishing industry.

So the ability to carry on in the face of both these things is a prerequisite: even if you didn't know that when you started out, you soon find that you have unlimited quantities of 'carry-on' juice once you dare to try to get something published.

Owing to the forces of stupidity from elsewhere in my life, I've had a bit of a difficult week which culminated in one of those 'straw that broke the camel's back' incidences that can only be resolved by hiding in a cupboard with a stack of hankies and the feeling that the whole of outer space has occupied your soul. I'm talking cold, dark emptiness.

Fortunately I was able to talk to a very dear and loving friend who dragged me kicking and snivelling back to reality. It wasn't easy or pretty and I admire the fact that she was able to ignore all the bollocks I was spouting and hung in there until I was safely back on board the Enterprise. You'd have to have been there to appreciate how much this means to me, and I am very fortunate to have a friend who will stick by me despite the dark clouds and hard rain that inhabits my head at times.

During the course of the rescue mission she asked me what would I have left if I gave up (read into that phrase what you will). It sounds like a fairly simple question but the importance it has for me is immense. It reminded me that to go through life without trying to achieve something worthwhile, to not see my fiction writing published, or not to get where my dreams live, is not an option for me. Despite the depression and other negative forces that conive in the shadows of my soul, actually giving up is not an option, no matter how attractive its emptiness seems.

Perversly, this is just why the journey is so hard at times.


Adventures in Print on Demand
Do you know about Print on Demand? I've used it before to create photobooks and have even created a book of my earlier poetry. I think it's an good idea and a very easy way of getting your books printed without the aid of the publishing industry.

(The reason I've never released the poetry book into the wild is because I had a sudden lack of confidence about the quality of the writing.) 

I had an email from Blurb.com recently promoting their new idea of using it to publish your own novels. I haven't tried it yet (but hope to do so later today) but from what I've read, it looks like an excellent way of making your book available to everyone with very little cost to you. This is because once you've created the book and proofed it (that will cost you the standard Blurb printing and freight costs for each proof copy) all you have to do is publicise the link. If someone wants to buy it, and there are still billions of people who still like to read real books, all they have to do is order it from Blurb and it will be sent straight to them. 


So there's no need for you to hold stock or do anything with payments and delivery at all. How fantastic is that?
Cheers.


12 Comments

Life and Taxes, Sickness and Writing

5/7/2012

2 Comments

 
Sex, Death and Trains: All Yours For Nothing*
*Terms and Conditions apply: you can get a free copy of my first novel, The Darkness Beneath, by following this link - but hurry! Only the first 100 poeple to sign up can claim a free copy.

You Have Friends!
Last week (and all of this so far) was not a good week as I had a cold and bloody awful toothache (and there's no past tense about either now, they are just less noticable). These forms of misery are not compatible and had to be fought of with Echinacea and pain killers. Something I try to avoid at all costs, but the combination of bastard irritations got the best of me. Which is why both my blogs are late this week.

On the upside, I had many good wishes from friends world-wide via facebook, which was very cheering - thank you all for your support!


Just When I Thought Everything Was Going To Change
It didn't. But not for a want of trying. We arrived at the tax office on Thursday morning ready to be hung out to dry only to find the appointment had been cancelled at the last minute.

Very sadly, a family member of the person we were seeing had died that morning. It's moments like these when you realise that the enormity of many problems we have are purley subjective. Not that that means anyone's problems are lessened because of it. But given the choice between death and taxes, I'll go for taxes every time.


Novel Two Finished!
Or is it? As all writers come to learn, writing is all about re-writing and although I have finished the main body of writing, there's still a ton of re-writing to be done. But that's the fun part! That's the bit I really enjoy, the carving of the real story from the thicket of my words. Removing the dross, the deadbeat, the dull and the screamingly hilarious attempts at saying something clever. 

Time to get the analogy machete out and send it slicing through the weeds of words and - oh, looks like I've started again.

The great thing about finishing the main body of writing is that now I can measure the time left on book two in months, rather than the end being in the dim and distant future, a time yet unknown to Man. After so much work over such a long period of time, it's great to start imagining that I can see the mirage of the finishing line.


All Change!
Another great thing that's happened with this book is that the very wonderful Nicoll Heaslip has come up with a much better name for it. The working title has always been Life Cycle, which is, let's face it, rubbish and only hints at what the contents are about. 

So, from this moment forth, book two is called: The Girl Who Dreamt of Water. Admittedly, this might not give you much of a clue about the story either, but it's so damned poetic that I refuse to call it anything else. So if you're confused by the title, you can read the first three chapters and sort yourself out.

And I'm very, very pleased to announce that she's also creating and designing the cover. Given how excellent the first one is, I can't wait to see the second. 

Looking back at last's week's moan about the Wall of Indifference, this week was totally different. When I announced on facebook that I'd finished the main writing of The Girl, I was awash with congratulations from so many friends, which was very cheering - thank you all!
Cheers.
2 Comments
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    Author

    Mick Davidson is a full time technical writer and semi-full time fiction author. He also finds time for both guitar playing and photography. When not being creative, he is heavily involved in Staring Out The Window research.

    He is definitely in the market for publication and agent representation.

    The links in my blog are doors to adventures and other countries, they don't all land in the most obvious puddle.


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