Keith's December Newsletter

Keith's December Newsletter

December 01, 2020

Hi Everyone

And welcome to the last month of 2020! It's all downhill from here, but in a good way, in that 2021 is going to be awesome (I can feel it!).

First up, congratulations to America for making a wise and optimistic choice. And second, congratulations to Anna, who won the signed, limited edition giveaway competition. May both these results bring joy and wonder to everyone involved.

The Only Constant Is Change

Last month I was lamenting the end of the furlough scheme, and the fact that I would have to go out and find work. But then we entered...

Grafitti on the street in Brixton, around the Electric Avenue sign, which reads, "Gonna lockdown two, Electric Avenue. Infection rates are higher."

...and the furlough scheme got extended for another five months, but not before I'd started applying for jobs, which I'm glad to say has wielded some results.

I had an online interview last week for a job with the British Library, which I think went rather well. I won't know if I've got it until next week, but fingers crossed, when 2021 hits, I will be gainfully employed once more.

UPDATE: I wrote this newsletter on the 30th. This morning I got an e-mail from the British Library. I didn't get the job.

Book and covering letter that I sent to the British library.

What's funny about the job with the British Library is it's at their Boston Spa annex, which is where I had to send a copy of

Dexter & Sinister

for inclusion in the national archive.

That's right. As of now

Dexter & Sinister

is part of British cultural heritage. Now ain't that something!

Screenshot from meditation app. 100 consecutive days.

Oh, and finally, for anyone keeping score, I passed the one hundred day mark in my yoga odyssey. As of this newsletter I'm at one hundred and eleven days and climbing. No idea when, or even if, I'll take a day off, but I've got two hundred days in my sights already.

News from the Steam Factory

Writing continues on

The Dragonfly Delivery Company

. I'm at nineteen thousand words since the 22nd of September, which is pretty good going for me. I wanted to crack twenty thousand before this newsletter went out but, to misquote Dr Ian Malcolm, "Life... er... er... gets in the way," (even when you break off from doing yoga to scribble down gibberish notes like this):

"Some of the words Mr Shuttleworth came out with as he fell off his chair John had never heard before, but he understood their meaning well enough." (That's what it says, but it's very poorly written.)

Dexter & Sinister

continues to sell, thank you very much, including a handful of sales through Apple books and Kobo. Plus I also had a spike in Amazon sales in America the other weekend, which was a nice surprise.

Side note: An investigation is under way (by me) to figure out how Waterstones can sell hard copies of

Dexter & Sinister

when they only appear to be available direct from Amazon. It seems like they would have to order them like a normal person (KDP Publishing don't sell direct to bookstores) then repackage them before sending them out.

It'd be good to know what's going on, as it could impact future sales/promotional opportunities (I'll say no more on that), and if I ever do get to the bottom of things I'll let you know.

As well as writing, I've done another blog post. This time it's on

.

A page from my notes for Dexter and Sinister, showing three columns, a scribbled timeline of events, lots of other notes in different coloured pens, and numbers in circles that seem to make no sense but actually do (to me, anyway).

They're not your usual writing tips, in that I discuss timelines, over-description, and the importance of knowing what the weather is like. But I promise that, if you're in the habit of putting pen to paper for fun, you'll find them of interest.

What I've Been Reading

Speaking of promotional opportunities, and things I can't talk about, I've gone non-fiction with my reading this month.

Cover. Kickstarter for the Independent Creator, by M Holly Rosing. A finger pushes a green button marked launch your campaign.

M. Holly-Rosing is the creator of

, a series of steampunk comics and novels, many of which have featured on Kickstarter over the years. She knows her onions when it comes to fundraising, and it shows.

It's a good book for those considering taking on the challenge of a Kickstarter campaign. She takes you through what a successful Kickstarter campaign looks like, how to run it, and what to do if things don't quite got to plan. There are real-world examples, as well as worksheets at the back to help you plan a campaign of your own.

Not only am I thinking about running

The Dragonfly Delivery Company

as a Kickstarter, but I also have another idea in the works that I might have a go at, something completely different to all this writing malarkey that shall remain extremely under my hat for now.

You can pick up

from Amazon.

And that's it from me. Thanks for checking in, I appreciate the interest.

And to those of you who've read

Dexter & Sinister

, and who've got a few moments to spare, if you could click the link below and leave a short review that'd be the best thing ever!

(The above link should take you direct to the review page, but if not, this one will take you to the book itself -

)

I'm just a couple of reviews away from the magical number ten, after which something algorithmic happens behind the scenes and Amazon starts pushing my book more to new customers.

It doesn't have to be much, just a few lines saying what you liked about the book. If you could do that, you'd really be helping me out.

Many thanks and all the best. See you in the new year!

Toodle-pip for now.

Keith