The ups and downs of being published

And believe me, the longer you go on writing, the more of them you will find! I hit a horrible low with Citizen Armies a couple of weeks ago and now rather to my surprise the book has had several appreciative reviews. I wrote to the reviewers and thanked them as soon as I’d read them because that has seemed to me the very least a writer can do and it has always been my habit. Inadvertently, I’ve made a lot of friends that way.

In the early days of being published, when my two big publishers were very well heeled and prepared to buy my books into the shops and give them excellent publicity, I got a lot of reviews – good, bad and indifferent – and I thanked all the reviewers. It took a long time but I considered it time well spent. I was also very grateful to the publishers for getting my books in the shops and paying for such very good publicity. I find it very difficult indeed to blow my own trumpet. I feel it is a shameful thing for me to do and too cocky by half, so I tend to avoid it, especially now that my books never appear in any shops as far as I’m aware. Sadly, small publishers however helpful and friendly they might be, don’t have the cash to get them there.

But boastful or not, I’m going to give you the links to my latest reviews for my two latest books. And then I shall scuttle straight back to book 31! I’m comfortable there.

http://stinathebookaholic.blogspot.com/

https://www.netgalley.co.uk/book/184192/review/521082

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show?id=3202439943

Should you want to, you can purchase the pair of books on Amazon here.