The GOOGLE Con

The boys at GOOGLE are at it again. It's all to do with them wanting to get their hands on every book that has ever been written, and the new ones too. And then they put them online for everyone to download for free. The call it free advertising. I call intellectual land grab. The intellectual copyright belongs to the person who created the work. Period. The wholesale acquisition of books has nothing to do with the promotion of literature and everything to do with the Googlemoths attempt to control the tinterweb. Pay per click makes Google billions of dollars per year. They market themselves as some kind of philanthropic virtual free public library. Far from it. They want control. They want creative control too. The Google boys may wander round in T's and Sneakers, but underneath they are chasing the dollar like any other Wall Street Banker. And we know what bankers are.

The linen suit brigade

Anna Chilvers, author of Falling through clouds, has been invited to The Lincoln Literary Festival in May. Thursday 13th of May has been pencilled in. I may have to buy a linen suit and wander round with a Moleskin and pen waiting for the muse to descend. It will not happen, the muse may descend but I will never, ever buy a linen suit. I was told a great anecdote about two of our 'favourite' authors, lets call them Jules and Seb, who used to be the best of friends but 'allegedly' fell out because one thought he spoke better 'French,' than the other. You couldn't make up stuff like that, could you?

Provincial, but better than most

Anna and myself were at the first event to publicize The Huddersfield Literature Festival on Wednesday night. Anna read from her novel, FALLING THROUGH CLOUDS and I ranted on about the plight of the independent publisher. Great night had by all and cheaper than therapy, for me that is. I have just sent off Anna's book to all the Lit Eds in London , again. The first hurdle we have to get over is the one labelled 'PROVINCIAL'. Yes, I know it sounds like the opening line from a Jane Austen novel, but one of the worst things you can be called in publishing is 'Provincial.' So, what we are doing at Bluemoose is publishing top stories, beautifully written that engage and inspire the reader. None of this, 'Writers writing about writing,' styley stuff. Dull, dull, dull. The British public don't buy it. Mr Amis's book will sell, but it won't sell enough to earn the massive advance he was given and all the other poor old sods who have books out at the same Publishing House will suffer at the hands of the marketing department who will be going full out to make Marty's book a bestseller. It won't be. But you can bet in another ten years ,if the orthodontally challenged writer of restricted growth publishes another book, the fawning will commence.
Invest in new writers. It's the future don't you know.

AMAGOOGLE

Amazon have capitulated over the pricing of Macmillan ebook titles. They will accept Macmillan's pricing structure of their ebooks. We must never forget that any company wishing to sell a book, in whatever fashion, must always ask permission from the intellectual copyright holder, or those holding the rights, before they unilaterally sell 'the work.' The work belongs to the creator, the author. It does not belong to any company. Google and Amazon are massive organisations, but they create nothing. They are delivery systems. The artists should always be in charge of their own work. If it ever changes, we're in trouble. But don't think that this will be the end of it. Amazon used the word 'monopoly' in their statement. And American courts don't like that word. But if the creator of a book can't have a monopoly over what they have produced, who Can?

Authornazia

I am retiring underground for a couple of weeks. I cannot stand it anymore. Kingsley Junior, our man with the new dentures and largest forehead in literature, is everywhere. He has a new book out and the lit eds are laying down their garlands of approval with hectares of Martinprint. He wrote a good book once but that was 26 years ago. Please take all writing implements away from him. Now. Put him out of his misery. Authornazia is the only decent way to end the interminable agony of waiting for Martin's Mojo to return.

Moose Miles

The last 36 hours have been truly hectic. On Wednesday evening both Anna and I were at Blackwells Sheffield Hallam, where she was signing books and talking about her novel. Lesley Glaister, the award winning author was there and was effucive in her praise. The next day, Anna was appearing on the morning show on BBC Radio Coventry/warwickshire at 10am. Due to a no show, I achieved a lifetime's ambition. I was asked to choose a favourite record, a first song that inspired me. Well, it was Tears of a clown by Smokey Robinson. I was 6. In my opinion the percet three minute pop song. Soul at its best. But the real point was for Anna to do her interview about her book, her signings at Waterstones in Nuneaton on Saturday 30th Jan at 12.30 and then at Nuneaton library at 2.30. We left Coventry and flew up the M1 to do an event at Brighouse library at 2pm. Many miles, lots of chatter and lots of people buying books. We will altready have to do a reprint after only 3 weeks after publication. FAlling through clouds is exceeding all expectations.

Son Of Kingsley

They were at it again yesterday, the lit eds that is. Mr Amis, the dimuntive author with the expensive teeth and very, very rich wife, has a new book out. Let the fawning begin. The Grauniad are holding an event where the son of Kingsley will hold forth and talk about his book Times Arrow. He has a new book out and yet is talking about his old books. Why is this newsworthy? Why are our supposed critical literary press giving page after page to an elderly writer who hasn't had anything interesting to say for a decade and a half? Surely there are new writers who are talented enough to warrant an interview. His dad was famous, he slept with some women, he smokes a lot and had a fall out with his agent to get a bigger advance and had his teeth done. Anyone who makes up the word 'edificide,' about the murder of a building concerning September 11th needs leaving in a darkened corner with something damp to mop his ever increasingly wrinkled brow.

School of hard sentences

Off to the Leeds this morning where Anna Chilvers will be signing copies of her novel, FALLING THROUGH CLOUDS at 1pm in Waterstones. The great reviews and ringing endorsements keep flooding in for this 'erotically charged literary thriller.' Anna's book has just been chosen as the Exclusively Independent book of the month for March. EI promotes new writers throughout indie bookshops and libraries in the UK. Next week, Anna will be at Blackwells, Sheffield Hallam on Wednesday at 6.15pm and Waterstones Nuneaton on Saturday the 30th.
I met Mark Hodkinson yesterday, he is the owner and publisher at Pomona and they used to be based in Hebden Bridge. He's publishing some great new stories from Barry Hines and Alan Sillitoe. When the scribes from the Metropolis whinge on about Amis and Barnes and Rushdie, let us not forget they can't hold a candle to these two writers who transformed literature in this country. The three Amigos will be forgotten because they come from the school that doesn't tell stories, merely the corduroy and linen suited litfest school of hard sentences.

World Tour Update

There was a fantastic turnout yesterday at Littleborough library, where Anna Chilvers talked about her debut novel, FALLING THROUGH CLOUDS. She told the story of Gawain and the Green Knight, and then read a passage from her book. Anna received some great comments about her book and there were some incisive questions about independent publishing and bookselling. There was more good news last night when I found out that Anna's book had been selected to be Book Of The Month for Exclusively independent, an organisation which promotes new writers throughout independent bookshops and libraries in the UK. The word is beginning to spread. Anna will be signing books at Leeds Waterstones on Saturday from 1pm onwards. Next week she will be back in her hometown of Nuneaton pressing the flesh, doing radio interviews and signing books at Waterstone's on the 30th.

Hubbologists

The book signing at Waterstones Bradford on Saturday has been rearranged for the beginning of February. I will let you know the date later on this week. There may have been a change at the top of Wats, but the old problems are still there. The book was ordered and arrived digitally. It arrived in a 'tote' and on the Wats Bradford computer system the book was in the store. However, when said tote was opened the cupboard was bare. The system didn't work. Every digital bell and whistle said the book had arrived. But because they have no goods in staff anymore, they were all made redundant, goods in has to rely totally on what the computer says and the computer lied. The Hub didn't work and there were red faces all round. But all is not lost. FALLING THROUGH CLOUDS will become the best selling new title at Wats Bradford this year. I have been promised and that was from a human being. You know the ones, they breathe and speak. IT Directors take note. Totes and systems are not working.