Category Archives: self-publishing

NaNoWriMo: Or how to first draft…

Posted on October 6, 2017 by Mark Hayes

With November less than a month away, and in the mildly self-aggrandizing of attempting to offer some advice to budding writers… This is the story of how I managed to write my first novel. It is also the story of how … Continue reading →

Posted in amwriting, Hannibal Smyth, indie, indie novels, insomnia, nanowrimo, opinion, pointless things of wonderfulness, self-publishing, writes, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Writing Novels: The rules

Posted on September 25, 2017 by Mark Hayes

A writer should write what they want to write, and write it how they want to write it. This is a theory I have expressed before, and one I will continue to express. I am aware that some may disagree … Continue reading →

Posted in humour, opinion, pointless things of wonderfulness, publication, self-publishing, writes, writing | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Speaking the words and the necessary evil

Posted on August 30, 2017 by Mark Hayes

I have an odd confession to make, well not so much a confession, I require no absolution here, but a confession all the same. My previous blog post, EX Oblivione, was not written by me… Well not as such, I wrote … Continue reading →

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The Rare Unsigned Copy: and other mistakes

Posted on July 6, 2017 by Mark Hayes

“You don’t really want one of the signed copies, what you really want is one of those rare unsigned copies.” Laughter echoed around the bar at the Blackpool landlords amusing quip… Possibly because this was one of the funniest things anyone … Continue reading →

Posted in humour, opinion, Passing Place, publication, self-publishing, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Self-publishing: A Guidebook for the Tourist#7: The ‘Free’ book experience

Posted on July 3, 2017 by Mark Hayes

Back in March, I published a post about ‘free’ books. It was rather a long one and went into a lot of detail on the subject and my opinion such as it is. To quote myself (because no one else is … Continue reading →

Posted in publication, self-publishing, writes, writing | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Misquoting Kipling and other musings…

Posted on June 27, 2017 by Mark Hayes

A question that occurred to me today while working on the final draft of ‘A Spider in the Eye’ a Hannibal Smyth adventure, which I thought I would share. It’s a question of integrity, writers and indeed the integrity of … Continue reading →

Posted in opinion, self-publishing, steampunk, writes, writing | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Reviews for Passing Place

Posted on April 5, 2017 by Mark Hayes

While I seldom post reviews of my own work on my blog, it is occasionally a worthwhile exercise, and as people have been nice enough to write I really should. As such here are the a few of the current … Continue reading →

Posted in opinion, Passing Place, pointless things of wonderfulness, publication, self-publishing, writes, writing | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

The Impossible Search for the Perfect Sentance…

Posted on March 28, 2017 by Mark Hayes

Occasionally writing becomes the search for the perfect sentence, this can sometimes become an obsession, and like all obsessions, it has a dark side. That may seem a strange thing to say, but you’ll have to go with me here … Continue reading →

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Self-Publishing: A Guidebook for the Tourist#6 Proofreading

Posted on March 23, 2017 by Mark Hayes

It may seem obvious, but in case it’s not, or even if it is… 1/ Proofreading your novel. There is nothing, and I do mean nothing, as important as having a good proofreader or three. No matter how many times you … Continue reading →

Posted in dyslexia, publication, self-publishing, writes, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Self-publishing: A Guidebook for the Tourist#5: ‘Free’ books

Posted on March 4, 2017 by Mark Hayes

The internet is full of ‘Free’ books, you can’t go on writers forums without finding them all over the place. The Facebook groups are full of them, Twitter will throw them at you, readers sites like Goodreads and other book sites overflow with … Continue reading →

Posted in opinion, self-publishing, writes | Tagged , | 1 Comment