Growing up…
This year is something of a milestone year for me as a writer.
I delivered my first historical fiction to the reading public, the Chronicles of Eirie have established something of a niche fan-base which is grist to any writer’s mill and I’ve sold enough books now to consider myself a bit of a writer, with cheques arriving regularly in the post from Amazon.
Confidence is growing in small stages, a smidge of self-belief emerging as I receive reviews and emails from kind readers. Shortly, my backlist will be published in print by a new POD publisher. I rather like POD, print on demand, because masses of books aren’t printed on quires of paper resulting in trees being chopped down for paper pulp and worse, pulped again if they don’t sell in bookstores.
The nice thing about the way my fledgling career is progressing is that I don’t really have any expectations about my future. The most I hope for is that readers love the intricacies and darkness of Eirie like I do and that Gisborne and Ysabel have a supportive fan-base … of any size.
Those people I’ve met on the journey – other writers, readers, professionals like editors and designers, reviewers and commentators, show there is a vast element of kindness and respect in the world about which we just don’t hear enough.
For example, I was lamenting my inability to find 12th century maps of Genoa and Famagusta and was directed by M.m. Bennetts to the generous-hearted Tinney Heath. Whilst raving about the Jubilee on Twitter, a fan of my books offered to send me souvenir tea towels in the mail which thrilled me. When throwing out a request for knowledge of swordsmanship, a fellow hist.fict writer, Jonathan Hopkins, sent me to Terry Kroenung. Pretty good, don’t you think? And that kind of thing happens almost every second day.
Is it any wonder I feel immense gratitude?
Earlier this year, after Gisborne and A Thousand Glass Flowers had made it in the TOP 100 of Kindle books for their respective categories, I felt the time was nigh where I should create a writer’s page on Facebook.
So come one and all and ‘like’ the Page. http://www.facebook.com/Prue.Batten.writer It’ll cover lots of news and links all connected to my books and also links to other books I recommend.
In addition, as mentioned in a previous post, I’ve been seduced by the highly addictive Pinterest http://pinterest.com/pruebatten 
and have created a page of boards that help round out the two worlds that matter to me: Eirie and 12th century England and Europe; with a few extra boards thrown in for my interest. I’d welcome you there and indeed, by the time you arrive I may well have created even more boards that give Prue Batten a touch more dimension.
Cheers and welcome to any and everyone … and thank you for your support!
Well done on on your amazing progress so far and thank you for sharing your journey.
Your praise of fellow writers rings so true. I for one could never have realized my dream of holding a copy of my book without it.
Encouragement from people like yourself to set a high standard is so important as quality matters in raising the status of self publishing.
Caro, thank you for your comments.
Fellow writers, both indie and mainstream are legends … in so many ways. And as for yourself, I won’t forget that amazing moment when I opened the attachment within the email from you to find The Stumpwork Robe in your hands at your beautiful historic home of Greenham Hall.
Congratulations, Prue – it sounds like things are going really well for you. I’ve just ‘liked’ your page on FB, so I’ll ‘see’ you there, too!
It’s great to spend time stepping back and reflecting upon progress – it can be all too easy to spend so much time ‘doing’ that we don’t realise that we’ve actually gone anywhere!
Clare, Gentlewoman-Thief,
It’s so lovely when you pop up as you were there right in the beginning of this journey. Thank you for the ‘like’ and I do hope your writing and your magnificent costume-creation is moving apace. Along with your studies of course!
I feel the same way about my own business – its success surprises me constantly, but I still believe that if I continue to make what pleases me, other people will find it.
I can’t recommend Prue’s Pinterest strongly enough. As a visual person, looking at all the images Prue has chosen is like walking along the shelves of her library. I can see into her mind.