Pimping and whoring…

I love the name of that infamous blog Pimp My Novel. It encapsulates everything that we writers do. We pimp, we sell, we market, we whore – all in the name of securing an agent, publication, sales or even just notice.

In the end it all comes down to the story though and if its good enough to be bought, read, talked about and shared. In the case of fellow writer and friend, Guy Saville, he has come in at the top. His book The Afrika Reich is to be launched this week, has garnered huge press in the UK, reviews to die for and he has tantalized us all on Facebook with glimpses through the window of fame. It’s the sign of a truly good book with a brilliant story to tell.

For me, it’s a quieter way. I belong to the same stable of writers that Guy started with. My books were published in 2008-09 and garnered a small niche-market following. The first volume was e-booked for Kindle two weeks ago and attracted early interest.  (http://www.kindleboards.com/book/?asin=B004LLIIY4)

Unlike Guy, who now has the full-force of a mainstream sales team to assist him, other writers like me must hike our skirts to mid-thigh, deliver the most smouldering come-hither look and hope reviews will encourage word-spreading and then sales.

Be under no illusions folks, this is hard work. Every minute on the social media or any media is minutes, sometimes hours away from writing. The Shifu Cloth languishes, Gisborne is getting in a state, and the Kindle edits for the sequel to The Stumpwork Robe have ground to a halt.

I need a pimp! I need a sales team!