The costs of being a writer.

26 April

Horizon is at it again, predicts the end of the world and how it will happen – in 2-7 billion years’ time. I don’t advise anyone holding their breath waiting for it happen. In another show they were on about an asteroid slamming in Earth, and that can happen at any time. As it is the planet is by asteroids ever day anyway, that’s what a shooting star is, but they are small dust sized bits of rock and ice. Even if a big one was found to be headed our way, there’s nowt we can do about it, so why worry. I certainly won’t be worrying about it at all. I still like the show though, even if they do try to worry us all to death.

One of my writer friends on Facebook has reported that he has got his first one-star rating for one of his books. However, that is not so bad as it might seem. Robert had a look at that person’s reviews on other books; he hasn’t left anything but one-star ratings to any book he has reviewed. Perhaps he’s a troll, and picks people he can upset and bully on-line. Writers can be very protective of their work anyway, so they might seem like an easy target. As it is I am current reading one of Robert’s books, Spartacus; Talons of an Empire, and I’m finding it to be a good read, certainly a lot better than a one-star!

My own writing efforts are on hold again while I decided where to go with the projects I have on go right now. At least I am managing to get this blog written daily, so all is not lost. One of my projects if an older one; Finding Our Way is with someone who offered to edit it for me. Editing is my biggest drawback right now. To get the job done by a professional editor costs more money than I can afford right now, so when this lady offered, I accepted in a flash. It can take some time to get it done though, and patience isn’t my biggest virtue. So I really do need to get on with something else, after all, I have enough to be getting on with.

The literary/book festival season is well into its new session now. I’d love to go to one but some of the costs involved are huge. There’s the entry fee, fees for attending various event that are part of it. You can more or less guarantee that refreshment prices will be higher than normal because of captive market; and don’t forget the bookshop they all have. If you want to attend more than events on different days, then there’s the cost of travel and accommodation to take into account as well.

I have attended one conference though. It was run by Matador Publishing and it cost £50 for the day. For that price we got four seminars of our choice from the 16 on offer, all refreshments including a very nice lunch, and a welcome bag that included a decent sized note, pens and pencils a load of leaflets. They had a stall set up with examples of their published work, of which I managed to buy two of them at the end of the day, and yes, a bookshop too. I didn’t go last year because I couldn’t afford it and besides which, being on a Sunday and only having one car, well, there you are … I wouldn’t mind going again but because of my health I need to think it through a lot more. After dropping me off, what would Jan do for the rest of the day?          

Brum is off for some time now too. Jan isn’t keen on the idea and she is now the driver in the family, There’s not much I can do about it. There are good reasons for it though. I’m at Sleep Clinic tomorrow at Walsgrave, and we need to get some shopping done. Jan doesn’t feel like doing it all on the same day. But I can now post a photo from an earlier visit …

On guard at the Bullring.

 
Today’s funny …

How many civil servants does it take to change a light bulb?
45. One to change the bulb, and 44 to do the paperwork.