Back in Scotland now! In the last few days I've done a booksigning in Poole, become a Godfather in Plymouth and released my own merchandise haha! I don't expect anyone to buy it (other than me) but if i can promote myself whilst driving/walking around, it's got to be worth a go eh?

I'd like to say thanks to everyone at Ottakar's and those of you who turned up to the booksigning on Saturday, especially Matthew & Katie from bookcrossing.com. Enjoyed the chat Matt. Just hope you enjoy the books!

I've updated the website with a few bits and pieces. I'm even more determined to try and prove myself having looked at the Trafford 'print-on-demand' website to see what services they offer the unknown author. They want nearly a grand to design your cover, format your book and add an ISBN. But wait, you get 10 free copies included for that (whoopie!) and then copies of your book are only £4 (based on 160 pages). They go on to mention that if you're selling your book for £9.99, they take 25% and then the rest is your profit (minus the four quid). Sounds like a cracking deal until you actually think about it.

1) Worlds Apart is far more than 160 pages (294 in fact) so how much would that cost with trafford???
2) A RRP of £9.99 for a 160 page book is unattainable. Well, it's attainable, you just wouldn't sell any copies seeing as how all the rest of the books by well-known authors would be twice as long and about three quid cheaper.
3) They also fail to mention that if you're going to sell your book in the High Street, the bookshop will want a minimum of around 35% off the RRP for their own profit margins.

By my calculations, the profits from your 160 page £9.99 book - after you've given £2.50 to the nice people at the publishers for their 'services', £3.50 discount to the bookshop and another £4 to the nice people at the publishers for printing the thing in the first place - would be ... NOTHING! In fact, you'd lose a penny for every copy sold. In fact, having just read the website again, they also want 40% of the gross profit. I wouldn't worry too much about it though as you'd be very unlikely to sell any (please refer to point 2 above). Meanwhile, people like Trafford already have your £1000 whilst you struggle to get rid of more than the 10 FREE copies they kindly include within the package. Maybe it's just me, but £100/copy seems a bit steep! The worrying thing is, this kind of set-up is the norm, not the exception.

On to my own marketing woes. Whilst the rest of my friends are too busy settling down, getting married and having babies to help me in my quest, 'the phatom furry one' has offered his services once more. He won't rest until I've conquered the world of self-publishing and so this weekend, he'll be dropping promtional flyers in secret locations around the UK (probably just in his cul-de-sac to be fair). That's a joke James, I have every faith, but if you see the flash of blue cape clutching a handful of leaflets promoting my book, be sure to shout, 'oye, you hairy git, haven't you finished yet?' He'll like that.

OVER & OUT