Tag Archives: event

Beer, wine and breakfast at the London Book Fair

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It was my second year at the London Book Fair and, although I was a bit skeptical about going, it was worth it.

Over a glass of wine I met a literature festival organiser who I’m hoping liked the idea of me doing a double act with a brain scientist enough to invite me to his festival.

The following morning was the SilverWood breakfast readings where I read a draft of my latest flash fiction – Logical Love. See if you can spot the difference between the final version and the draft I’m reading below. Later that evening in the bar I had a chance (ish) meeting with a man who was looking for novels to serialise – fingers crossed that Fluence fits the bill.

All in all a good couple of days.

 

Marketing Funnels and MA Students

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Recently, I spent a couple of hours with MA students at London’s City University as part of their module, Developing Creative Content.

I was asked to speak about being an indie author and particularly about marketing.

Now, I’m no marketing expert by any stretch of the imagination. Proof of that is the drawing at the top of this post by my global marketing friend explaining the concepts of the marketing funnel to me over a pint. But, as a result of his patience, a few pints and the penny dropping, I now get it.

It’s about letting people know you’re there, letting them try stuff for free and making a connection with those that like it. And, that’s what I’m doing.

Of course, there’s a shed load of marketing and sales advice out there so I focussed the talk on my own experiences, explaining what I’ve done and why.

As ever, when doing these sorts of things, I learned a lot from preparing the talk and a whole load more from the questions on the day. I was especially pleased with the invaluable insights the students gave me on the look and feel of my free offer.

So, firstly a big thanks to Brenda Stones from City University and secondly if you have students that want to hear from and question a real-life indie author, please drop me a line.