Sunday 27 December 2015

New-world Devilry and 2016!!

As a business owner, I often ask myself how we can improve our products, connect with a bigger audience, and increase sales. Of course, having a good product is only half the battle, people must know it's out there. Online markets are controlled and driven by Facebook and Amazon. Success blogs - How I quit my job after my book sold 350, 000 copies in one weekend - are as ubiquitous as get-rich-quick schemes. We all know this, yet this is the world we live in, and as publishers and authors are forced to face. In fact, for all its devilry, it knocks the socks off the old-school industry with its close-knit community of publishers and agents bent only on breaking a certain type of 'new' author and continually rehashing old ones. I like Googling Black Crake Books to see what's happening out there, and when I receive notification that someone in Germany or Australia is reading Three Journeys to Patagonia or Boathouse to Botswana, I am thrilled, even if I have only earned two dollars. It's all about persistence and self-belief.
For the new year we have several big things planned: First, we are going traditional and printing tree books to go into book shops; I know, call us old fashioned!! Second, we are going to raise our international profile by visiting book fairs in Europe and elsewhere; if you are interested in buying foreign rights for any of our titles please get in touch. Also in the pipeline are a poetry-only imprint, and a new Oxford/Botswana female detective novel.
Have a wonderful end-of-festive season and a Happy New Year!! See you online in 2016...NRHG XXxx

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