Yesterday I attached the manuscript of my book, The Pyrate’s Boy, in an email to my agent and pressed send. Of course when I happened to glance at it a little later all I could see were mistakes. I know I should have kept it to myself for a week and then looked at it again before letting anyone see it. But I have end of draft fever when all I wanted to do was send it out. Simon, my agent, said he won’t be able to get to it until next week anyway, so he may well get another version.
I’ve given it to two people to read and have to stop myself from calling them up all the time and saying, have you read it yet, have you read it yet?
Next, I have yo get back to my Spanish Civil War novel which I’ve been totally neglecting. I’m planning a trip to the north of Spain next month, part holiday and part research trip. If all goes well and with only one novel to write instead of two, I hope to finish that one by summer. And then . . . who knows what I’ll do next.
While I wait for my agent to get back to me I want to explore kindle and maybe even buy one. Should I upload some short stories? And there’s my earlier novels? It seems that the ones that do well at the moment are those that sell for 99p. I don’t think books should be that cheap – although Lilly is for sale on Amazon for 1p.
Advances for books, however, have apparently tumbled. A friend of mine recently signed a deal for a book for a couple of thousand pounds. What would be the point? You might do better by going down the 99p kindle option.
Otherwise I have a load of other things to do. Algebra, my Tramway journal thing is coming together – more news soon – and I have been asked to talk at Largs Library in June. I’m also at Arvon this summer, which I’m really looking forward to.
Here’s the blurb for my pirate book:
The Fantastic Adventures of a Pyrate’s Boy: the Powder Monkey’s Box.
By Beatrice Colin
Set in last days of the golden age of piracy, this novel for children follows the fate of eleven year-old Silas Orr, a pirate’s boy. After being rescued and given a job by a pirate captain called Black Johnnie on board his boat, the Tenacity, Silas gets caught up in adventure that takes him from the plantations of Jamaica to Glasgow in the time of the Tobacco Lords. Sailing the triangle in pursuit of a high prize, they must survive not only stormy seas but also volcanoes, deadly assassins and the pull of their own pasts.
Beatrice Colin's Weblog 