A big thank you for two blogging awards

Last week I received two blogging awards in quick succession.

That follows being ‘freshly pressed’ by WordPress a few weeks back.

Humbling, all of it. I guess I must be doing something right! Alas, I haven’t the time to respond as the awards recommend just now (soon!), but I do want to say a very special thank you to Quirkybooks (‘One Lovely Blog’) http://quirkybooks.wordpress.com/ and Eagle Tech http://momusnews.wordpress.com/ (‘Very Inspiring Blogger’) for the honour!

Make sure you check out their sites. Check ‘em out now!

Coming up on this blog – more writing tips, more ‘how tos’, more science geekery…and other stuff (nice and mysterious, that).

I’m also open to requests.

Copyright © Matthew Wright 2013

Welcome – thank you – and what’s coming up

I discovered on Wednesday morning that my Monday post had been ‘freshly pressed’. Cool.

‘Hey,’ I said to my wife. ‘Now everybody in the entire world will realise I’m a beer-swilling geek who does physics problems for fun.’

‘You are,’ she said  ‘And so are all your friends.’

‘Only on Thursdays.’

This is me doing my ‘writing getaway’ impression on Rarotonga.

I’d like to thank everyone who took the time to look at Monday’s post – and a warm welcome to all new readers. And a very big thank you to all my regular readers. Thank you! I wouldn’t be doing any of this without all of you.

Coming up – more ‘kindness’ posts, 60-second writing tips, ‘write it now’, the A-Z of a writing life, and ‘inspirations’ – mainly photographs I’ve taken. More humour, stuff about Tolkien, music and more science geekery. I think science is pretty cool. And fun.

Who am I? I’m a New Zealander and live in the land of Tolkien movies. I was trained in fiction writing. studied the sciences. classical music (Royal Schools), switched to history, which I took past post-grad level, though I kept my science hand in with an undergrad degree in anthropology.  I’ve been writing and publishing – among other things – for over 30 years, writing books mostly for Penguin or Random House. A few years ago the Royal Historical Society at University College, London, elected me a Fellow.

It’s been an interesting ride. And it ain’t over yet.

Of course this blog isn’t about me. It’s about you – my readers. I’d love to hear from you. Tell me about yourselves. What’s happening your way? And if there’s something you’d like me to post on – something scientific, historical or just plain interesting… let me know.

It’s all good. And interesting. Life’s like that.

Copyright © Matthew Wright 2013

New Year resolutions? Not for me, thanks.

Happy new year. It’s 2013 and we weren’t nobbled by Niburu the way pundits claimed. I never thought we would be.

I’m not making any New Year resolutions, though. I have a couple of reasons. One is that the date is arbitrary, even in the west, where 1 January wasn’t universal until recently. Ukraine led the way in 1362. South Holland picked it up in 1576. But until 1751, the English celebrated new year on 25 March. Other cultures have wholly different structures; Khmer New Year is on 13-14 April. So is the Tamil New Year – both marking the vernal equinox.  Here in New Zealand, the Maori New Year, Matariki, is still six months off.

In any case, I’m not convinced that resolutions actually work. We are creatures of habit; we start off with a hiss and a roar, but for me at least the effort usually runs out of steam around mid-morning on 1 January. For me, constant, incremental self-improvement is the way – certainly as a writer, where re-invention and constant improvement is one of the keys to longevity in the field.

So what’s coming up this year for me, writing-wise? I have books in press. I have contracts in hand, but Penguin and Random House are merging, putting around 90 percent of my back-list and publishing licenses, along with most of my in-print books, under one roof. That will make things interesting.

There’s also going to be blogging. Watch this space.

Do you have any plans for 2013? Resolutions? Aims? I’d love to hear from you.

Copyright © Matthew Wright 2013

And now…what next? You tell me…

I’ve been blogging quite a lot, this last while, on writing tips and NaNoWriMo and other writers. And The Hobbit.

But also off line the past few days. Dealing with pressing pre-Xmas writing deadlines, including a couple of exciting projects that I’d love to tell you about. And will.

What’s next? More writing-related stuff. The Sunday ‘inspirations’ posts (next one is on Dr Grordbort – yes, the steampunk ray gun guy…right here where I live in Wellington). And Tolkien. I’ve got a ‘history mystery’ series coming. Next few days I’m also blogging about the Mayan apocalypse.

What else? I’ve done ‘funnies’, science, literature. I’ve blogged about kindness, tolerance and reason – which I think are soooo important.

I want to say something about that tragic ‘Duchess of Cambridge’ radio prank and what I think about retarded chimps with half a brain breakfast radio script-writers. But maybe I shouldn’t… dunno, you tell me!

And I have to point you to something utterly cool.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/technology/8075229/Scientist-fiction-zombie-film

It is a zombie apocalypse movie. Made by real intern/scientists who really work at CERN, shot inside the real thing – the large hadron collider. High-speed particle physics. With zombies.

What would you like to see more of? Talk to me!

Copyright © Matthew Wright 2012

Passing the Reality Blog Award to those who deserve it

Last week Luciana Cavallaro awarded me the Reality Blog Award. A surprise. I am humbled and grateful – thank you, Luciana!

Go check out Luciana’s blog – do it now. The award requires me to answer several questions – and pass on the award to some deserving bloggers.

1. If you could change something what would you change?
In my own life? There are things that, with hindsight, I suppose I might have done differently; but we don’t know our futures and can only do the best we can at the time. In the world generally? Well, the human condition has a few problems. It would be nice were it a little different. But I think we can work on that, if we want - starting by setting examples, one random act of kindness at a time.

2. If you could relive one day, when would it be?
The day I finished high school and walked out the gate with my friends, knowing I would never need to return.

3. What’s one thing that really scares you?
Nothing. Fear comes from the unknown, or often from fear of losing something. We have to accept that we may not get what we want, or that we may lose something we have been struggling for. But sometimes we get there. That’s life.

4. What’s one dream have you not completed yet and do you think you will be able to complete it?
I’m doing it now – writing. Everything I do is part of a wider project, one way or another. There is always something new to explore, something new to do. It will never be finished.

And now, some people to pass this on to -a hard choice. There are some really great bloggers out there, publishing some wonderful material. Here are some of the best I’ve read. Congratulations, and thank you!

Karen Huber:
http://kmhubersblog.com/2012/10/15/taking-a-full-breath/

S. Thomas Summers
http://thelintinmypocket.wordpress.com/

Susan Keirnan-Lewis
http://susankiernanlewis.com/

Imelda Evans
http://imeldaevans.wordpress.com/

Tom Burkhalter
http://tomburkhalter.wordpress.com/

Clare McAlpine
http://clairemca.wordpress.com/

Lemuel Lyes
http://historygeek.co.nz/

August McLaughlin
http://augustmclaughlin.wordpress.com/

Merry Farmer
http://merryfarmer.net/

Copyright © Matthew Wright 2012

Awarded the ‘Liebster Award’

This week Cassidy Cornblatt awarded my blog the Leibster Award – go check out his blog. I’m required to answer 11 questions, pose 11 more, and pass it on to 11 deserving bloggers. (Hmmn… the 1331 award?)

1.What keeps you writing when you have writer’s block?
Beer. Well, persistence actually. And keeping away from the internet.

2.Most writers have a literary counterpart—a character from their stories who reflects themselves. Tell us about yours.
I write non-fiction, mostly, but I wrote a biography of Sir Bernard Freyberg and was impressed by how similar his thought processes were to mine, particularly in the way he conceptualised.

3. What are your passions?
Writing. Music. Science. Understanding. Reason. Tolerance.

4.You’ve had a fight with your significant other and you want to fix things. What do you do?
Apologise.

5.What’s one injustice you see in the world that you would fix in a story?
Intolerance.

6.If you could change one thing in your life, what would it be?
Metabolism.

7.What’s important to you at this point in time?
Writing, which sounds facile, but I’m trying to finish a book and the contract deadline looms.

8.Who is your hero/heroine?
I don’t look on others as role models. I think we make our own way. But there are people I admire. One of them is Frank Zappa.

9.Do you make it a habit of telling others what you thought of their work, even if your experience wasn’t good?
I get paid to write book reviews professionally. I think it’s important to be constructive.

10. What is good will?
A positive and altruistic attitude towards others.

11. What would it take for you to make friends with an old enemy?
I always forgive my enemies; but the decision is theirs as to whether they have the moral courage to accept it.

And now my questions. There are 11 of them in base 2. In base 10 the number relates to 11 as the opposite function of 1331, rounded down from 2.223.

1. Is there anything you would do other than what you already have a passion for?
2. What are your thoughts on reason, reasonableness, and tolerance?

Finally, passing the award on. That’s hard – there are so many great bloggers out there – way more than 11, check out the blogroll, they all qualify. Five bloggers I’ve enjoyed reading lately are:

Karen Huber http://kmhubersblog.com/

Clare McAlpine http://clairemca.wordpress.com/

Stuart Young http://thechangeyourlifeblog.wordpress.com/

Dennis Langley http://langleyblog.wordpress.com/

Lemuel Lyes http://historygeek.co.nz/

Copyright © Matthew Wright 2012

The great social network book selling myth

Last week, author Susan Kiernan-Lewis suggested to her readers that Twitter and social networking doesn’t sell books. I had more to say than I could put into a comment. So here are my thoughts – and I’d love to hear yours.

I’ve been publishing for years in traditional print, with the major houses. Promotions have been via radio, some TV, magazines and newspaper. Sometimes it works. In 2009, for instance, Random House arranged a comprehensive campaign for my book Big Ideas, for Father’s Day. I was on radio just about every day, there were reviews and features in national papers and magazines. A few weeks later, the book shot into the top 5 non-fiction best selling list here in New Zealand. And stayed there for five weeks.  It remained in the top 30 for the next year. It’s been reprinted multiple times and is still selling, 3 years on.

The reason why this happens is because a book hits the right market/price slot at the right time, with the right content – and breaks into the wider public market. Other books don’t, irrespective of the promotions. And neither authors nor publishers, usually, can exactly predict it.

I joined Twitter and set up a social platform on urging of my publishers. I didn’t know what to expect. In a social sense, it’s been great. I’ve met some fantastic people I’d never have contacted any other way. Long may it continue. As a sales tool, though? I get readership spikes on my blog, but not from anything I’ve done online. The percentage of readers who click on my book covers (up there on the right – see) - which takes them to an online bookstore – is tiny. (Go on…you know you want to…)

What’s happening? It seems to me the issue is twofold. First is the nature of social networking. It is structured contact, framed by keyboard, screen and software, all of which channel communication in ways that would not happen face to face. Subtleties of body language are non-existent; we know people only through words. The resulting subculture is almost – but not quite – the real world; aspects are enhanced, others non-existent. Behaviours are driven by the fact that social networking is an escape from life, not life itself – people go to Facebook, Twitter, blogs and so on for socialising, chatting, entertainment and novelty. Not to work. Not to earn money. Not to be sold things. There is an expectation these days that online content will be free. Even old-style soft sell becomes hard sell in this world.

Trad bookstores still sell books…

The other issue is discovery. Social networking is a crowded room in which everybody is shouting. Yet those who get prominent haven’t done so by shouting loudest. Ever heard of Rick Wakeman? Check out his Twitter feed and have a look at his follower/following ratio. He’s a rock star, radio host, TV personality, entertainer and comedian – well known outside the internet. And that’s not surprising; when it comes to fame, the online world mirrors the real one.

To sell books, authors who don’t have high public profile in the real world have to find ways of being discovered and then selling in an environment where promotion is anathema. Sometimes, something goes viral. Occasionally there are Cinderella stories. But people win lotteries, too.  For most authors, lifetime e-book sales is about 100 copies per title. Is there an answer ? The pattern is shaking down, and will change further with technology. Social networking is part of the mix – but how it works has yet to emerge. It is a focus for all human behaviours – goodness and kindness; but also, alas, greed and envy.

Susan discussed what one of her commenters called the ’kumbaya’ strategy – lifting profile via social networking and selling by word-of-mouth. On my experience profile-lifting is important, but it’s also indirect – more so in social networking. However, that’s not why this initiative is important. It is a necessary counter to the less appealing behaviours seen online (spamming, flaming, and so on). Authors need to support each other – need to show kindness, tolerance and reason. It’s fantastic that authors can have a ‘safe place’ to go to – where they can chat with like-minded and supportive people. But that’s well removed from selling anything and should not, I think, be co-opted into a sales device, either.

Talk to me! What do you think?

Copyright © Matthew Wright 2012

The secret to making a small fortune from writing

Wanna know how to make a small fortune from writing? Easy. Start with a large one.

Me, in Versailles – NOT researching for a novel about a holy grail.

The hard reality is that not everybody has the talents of Dan Brown, who, Bill Bailey tells us, has the ability to randomly arrange words in the shape of millions of dollars. Most individual books are marginal – and a lot of the income goes into supporting writing-related stuff which isn’t paid at all. This last fortnight, for instance, things I’ve been asked to do for nothing – or where I’ve put in time that isn’t paid, and may return nothing – include:

1. A request to speak to a special interest group, out of town, pro bono.

2. A request to write a book, maybe, but I have to put time in to figure that out.

3. Discussions with my publishers for a book have got as far as me preparing a proposal, which is going to take quite a few hours and might or might not work.

4. This blog (I enjoy it).

5. A request to comment on someone’s book.

6. Promotions which – among other time – took out half Sunday last and notched up 50 km in the car (77 cents/km).

7. A blog I subscribe to is asking for donated images for its community. I’d like to support them – however, I principally take photos to illustrate my books and generate income. I had to buy the gear. Every picture I donate carries a cost to me which has to be found from income I manage to conjure up from somewhere.

I don’t object to doing this. Like any business, writing includes development and marketing that doesn’t directly earn a return, but which has to be budgeted for; and as for the free stuff I’m asked to do – well, it is important to help people. But the costs of all this - time, money and equipment – still have to be supported out of the other writing income I can earn.

What are your thoughts?

Copyright © Matthew Wright 2012

Defining your writing brand

Caitlin Kelly – who runs the Broadside Blog – posted the other day on author branding. I was going to offer my thoughts in a comment – but there is far more than I could reasonably write there.

I thought instead I’d offer them here – and see what you think. First, check out what Caitlin says. She’s absolutely right. Branding is so important for authors. And to be able to sum that up in a few words helps give direction.

What’s my brand? To me it falls into two parts; the way I approach the content - which I won’t go into here, it needs a post of its own. And approach: professionalism. To me, professionalism means:

1. Reliability. Doing what I say I will, and when, and making sure I follow through. This includes meeting agreed specifications, deadlines, and making sure that if there is a variance, it’s signalled and discussed well ahead (you can’t predict chance). It means accepting my mistakes. It also means not abandoning agreements, even if they start to not go my way – but where doing so would let down someone relying on me.

2. Planning. The way to achieve (1) is by forward planning – by understanding the processes needed to write.  This also makes it possible to solve problems. Things don’t always pan out – but don’t panic. Work the problem. Don’t blame people. Find answers; adapt flexibly to new circumstance.

3. Quality. There is no room for second-class work in a competitive field. To me, quality means everything from making sure the writing is of publishable standard, properly and tidily presented – to all the intangibles of content.

4. Abstraction. This is the key to professionalism – keeping emotions out. It means not getting angry when things don’t go right, or other people are performing like imbeciles. It means not conflating the work with your own sense of self-worth (think about it!).

5. Inclusion. Accept that others are going to be doing something similar. Welcome them. What’s the point of difference between their work and yours? Find out. Emphasise it. That’s why readers want your work – and theirs – together.

That’s how I see it. And needless to say, I expect the same standards from those I deal with professionally.

What are your standards? Do you have a brand? Talk to me!

 Copyright © Matthew Wright 2012

Convicts Contest – we have a winner

The winner of my ‘Convicts Contest’ – prize, a copy of my book Convicts, New Zealand’s Hidden Criminal Past - is Helen McMullin.

Helen’s great-grandfather was a missionary here in New Zealand, back in the 1880s. You can check out Helen’s blog at http://www.conantstation.com/2012/07/09/of-new-zealand-and-my-bucket-list/

She Who Must Be Obeyed picking the winner from the Topee Hat of Extreme Britishness.

And a big thank you to all who entered - with special mention and shout-out to -

Julia Indigo: http://juliaindigo.com/2012/07/08/awesome-new-book-by-matthew-wright/

Bev Robitai and the Mairangi Mob: http://arrestingprose.blogspot.co.nz/2012/07/win-book.html

Lemuel Lyes: http://historygeek.co.nz/2012/07/03/convicts-in-new-zealand/

All their blogs are well worth a look – and if you’re a history buff, Lemuel’s got some wonderful stories, ephemera and general New Zealand history posted. Fabulous stuff.

Copyright © Matthew Wright 2012