Is there a link between my Olympic photos and book sales?

Evening gang,

Is it just me or did today feel like the first day back at work after a holiday? It's like everyone woke up and realised they had a life outside of the magic world of the olympics.

It was interesting to witness the cynicism return to Twitter. We've had two weeks of really positive trends, huge support for Danny Boyle, Team GB and the individual athletes and then last night it began with a systematic dismantling of the closing ceremony online. Pity, I for one was hoping to stay Olympic for as long as possible. Thankfully the worldwide reception seems to have been positive and not everyone seems keen to return to their usual bitterness quite yet. Long may it continue.

In that spirit I've decided to add a couple of photographs a family member took inside the stadium on the night Usain Bolt won the 200m. Apparently words are not sufficient to describe how impressive an event it was. The first just highlights where they were sitting and how big it was, the second is the man himself.



In case you were wondering the answer to the title question is no, there isn't a link between these photos and book sales, unless reading this post leads you to buying a copy. But since I've cleverly managed to get onto the topic of books I received a nice comment on Facebook today.

A chap was looking for pictures of Art Deco buildings on the internet. His son, I think, sent him a picture of the Midland Hotel in Morecambe. He liked it and looked for more, stumbling across what he described as a spooky looking picture of the hotel which was, it turned out, the cover of my book The 24 Hour Jazz Cafe. This led him to this very blog and from there to my Facebook promo page. After that, he downloaded a copy of the book. Now that is the best example I've ever had of all my marketing, promo and links coming together and I was delighted.

Anyway, the second book in the series is progressing. It's about 45000 words in so far. Next week is going to be a review week which will hopefully lead into the final push to the end. It's going to be tight to get it done and published by the end of the year but it's good to have a goal.

Right, that's all for now. To recap. Olympics awesome. I hope we can all retain the spirit as long as possible. Keep buying my books, it makes me feel warm and safe.

My books are on Ebay!

Morning folks,

Lovely day for an Olympic marathon.

I actually typed this post last night and then managed to catch the "delete the whole post without saving" button and was too tired/drunk to retype it. Mind you it was 2:30AM and I was watching a film.

Anyway, as the title suggests, my paperbacks are now available on Ebay. It's nothing to do with me. I was on Ebay looking at original Millenium Falcons and decided to search for myself, no idea why. I was genuinely surprised when two of my books appeared. They're very expensive because whoever is selling them has added a couple of quid for themselves. They won't sell any but it's worth having a look next time your on Ebay. As ever, I've included subtle links throughout this paragraph.

In another twist, after a couple of months of low sales in America, this month I have sold twice as many books in the US as I have in the UK. Hurrah. Also, in case you missed it, The 24 Hour Jazz Cafe is still available for free via Smashwords. Just use coupon code SW52C at the checkout.


By the way, the film I watched was called Panic Button and it was quite good although it didn't seem to feature, or make any reference to, a panic button.

Right, I'm going to do a bit of work on th new novel and then perhaps an afternoon of barbeque in the garden. It's been an awesome couple of weeks, everyone loves Mo Farah and Team GB are good at sport in a way nobody expected. God knows what we're going to do for fun now because the Premiership is going to be rubbish after this.

Is it important to have my books available in the public library?

Evening folks,

Another monumental effort by Team GB at the Olympics today. We've won another gold medal in the last hour in the Taekwondo courtesy of Jade Jones. We also won gold in the Women's boxing and more awesome medals in the horses! Top work all round.

Tonight saw a world record in the 800 metres too as well as Usain Bolt making history by being the first man to do the double double in retaining his sprint titles. This was significant to me particularly because I had family in the stadium tonight who apparently had an amazing time.

I and others have noticed the ongoing feelgood factor up and down the country which I think has continued on from the spectacular Jubilee earlier in the year. At the moment Britain feels like a fantastic place to live.

And now onto the books. Regular readers may recall this post where I mentioned that someone I know had requested one of my books from the local library and met with some resistance. Since then, another person who works with my wife has been into their local library to request another of my books. Again they met with a little resistance although in both cases the book, I believe, has been ordered. But nobody, least of all me, is going to get rich from royalties from lending. But it's important to me as a writer to have my books as widely available as possible. I honestly feel that libraries should be actively supporting writers, especially ones local to them.

Still, it's done now and when I hear that the books are on the shelf I plan to wander in and have a look just for my own satisfaction, my own feelgood moment.

In other news, the follow up to The 24 Hour Jazz Cafe is progressing well. I have written over 42,000 words so far although I am struggling to hold onto the plot in places and some careful editing will be required when it's completed. The plan remains the same. Finish the book then put it away and publish a book from the back catalogue. Then I'm either going to publish the new book or.....

I'm not going to tell you what the other option is just yet. But it's something I've had on the back burner for about three years and the idea has never gone away. If I pursue it, I'll announce it here first.

Right, beer and pizza time until the small hours before one more day of work until the weekend.

Jessica Ennis, Mo Farah, the long jump & crumpets

Evening all,

So then, Team GB won a few epic gold medals today. Jessica Ennis will get all the headlines and rightly so, she's the best at what she does and looks stunning. But hands up how many folk had heard of Greg Rutherford before tonight? And now he's the Long Jump Olympic champion. As for Mo Farah, he's been good enough for ages, he just needed the Olympics to come round so he could prove it.

The thing is, it was all so exciting before this. I spent all day glued to the 100m qualifying, Serena winning the tennis, the rowing, the cycling. Utterly immense. Then I realised it was almost tea time and all I'd eaten all day was two toasted crumpets and a cup of tea. That's what the Olympics does, it draws you in and takes over your life.

In an attempt to link this excitement to books in some round about way, I suppose Jess Ennis is the bestseller, the Peter James, the Stephen King, Dan Brown, the EL James. Meanwhile Greg Rutherford is...me, and all the other Indie Authors who quietly go about their business, waiting for their moment to shine and hit the big time.

Of course it's all about talent, but even more important is the support to get there. In which case go and buy my books so I can be Jessica Ennis. Failing that stick yourself in front of the tele and enjoy the greatest show on earth courtesy of Great Britain.

I'm feeling humble. It won't last.

Evening gang,

I'm watching Blur via the red button on BBC Radio 2. UK readers will know exactly what I'm on about. For everyone else, I hope you've heard of a band called Blur but if not just tap the word into Itunes or Amazon Music Store. There's over twenty years of quality music waiting for you.

Blur were arguably my favourite band growing up, along with the Rolling Stones (thanks to my dad and his vinyl). Now I'm 36, their back catalogue is attached to so many memories for me.

This is a Low - New Year night out in Lancaster, eary 90s. 2 dozen of us out together, the only time it happened. A friend turned up late and unexpected, very drunk and very upset. He sang this song as we stumbled through the town.

The Universal - Morecambe Dome, saw Blur live in the mid 90s with friends, one of whom was best man at my wedding just 2 years ago. I was best man at his 3 weeks before this.

Couple this with an awesome day for Team GB at the Olympics and I'm feeling unusally proud and humble. Not like me at all.

But in short, to those that have been there with me and done all the things we've done, I'd change nothing because we're still here doing it.

And finally to the books. I don't sell millions...yet. But to those who have bought my books all round the world, thank you. If you enjoyed them, and most seem to, even better. Stick with me, let's see where we end up. In 20 years we can look back and remember how awesome it was when the Olympics were in London.

Tired of the Olympics? Try a free book!

Afternoon all.
Obviously you're not tired of the Olympics, they're awesome. Plus Team GB started winning golds today thanks to the women rowers and Bradley 'Wiggo' Wiggins.

But if you fancy losing yourself in a 5* rated crime thriller for a few hours you can download my book The 24 Hour Jazz Cafe for free from Smashwords. That's right, any format you like for nothing.

You'll need to register with the site and then use code SW52C at the checkout.

Here's the blurb: The book begins with Mitch Johnson returning to his home town where he tells his lifelong friend, Rupert Watts, that a young woman is going to be murdered. Mitch thinks that the killing will mirror that of a schoolgirl fifteen years earlier, a crime Mitch himself was suspected of committing.
With no idea when the murder will take place, or who the victim is, the friends endeavour to find the girl before she comes to harm. But they must also contend with Don Hague, a senior councillor and central figure in the dark underbelly of the town who holds Mitch responsible for the ruin of his career and his reputation in the town. The police are watching Mitch, and they are also watching Don Hague.
Who is the girl Mitch is convinced will die? How is her death linked to the schoolgirl murder? Is Don Hague, or his associates, involved? Can Mitch and Rupert convince the police to take them seriously before it’s too late to save a girl’s life?              

So to recap. Go to Smashwords, search for Jamie Sinclair, click on The 24 Hour Jazz Cafe, and use code SW52C at the checkout and it's yours on your Kindle, Sony ereader, Ipad, anything you like.

Enjoy.

Am I more successful than Michael Phelps?

The short and obvious answer is a loud and confident NO. He is, as of tonight, the most successful Olympian of all time in terms of medals won and it's a mighty achievement.

But humour me just for a moment. In terms of goals, mine is to be a published author. Done. I wanted to sell books. Done. In multiple countries? Done that too. So that's success right?

But of course we do rather need to quantify our success, to put a number on it and guage the degree of that success. So in those terms I'm something of a failure. I'm not a bestseller, I don't sell millions of books, I don't have a lucractive publishing deal with Hodder or Random House. I'm not Michael Phelps.

But to stick with the theme. I might end up being Michael Phelps. I still have time to sell more books, to become a best seller. At 36 I'm a long way from being too old whereas the most successful Olympic athlete in history is at the tale end of his glittering career. So I'll keep plugging away, putting in the hours, not giving up or being defeated and I will strive to achieve my goals. And that, folks, makes me Michael Phelps! Maybe.

One final note, and this will only mean something to UK readers. I searched for myself on the WH Smith website tonight and one of my books is listed. It was oddly satisfying to see my work being sold by such a British institution. Admittedly I have yet to sell any books through Smiths, but it felt good nonetheless.

Night folks, I think I'm going to do a book promo tomorrow to kickstart sales for August. I will decide exactly what format this will take during tomorrow and announce it after work.