6th March 2007
Memories of my camel injuries weren’t the only thing I brought back with me from Lanzarote, as I have been struck down by a virus and order generic viagra have been feeling worse that death warmed up for the past couple of days, in fact death warmed up would be a luxury.
However I have had good news to temper the bad, for while I have been away on holiday a book publisher has emailed me, wishing to know if I am interested in his firm re-publishing my book Dear Air 2000 and publishing its follow up, Dear Coca-Cola. Am I interested? Is a man just released from a ten year jail sentence interested in getting a shag. Is a man dying from thirst in the desert interested in a drink of water? Do bears shit on The Pope?
However, not wishing to appear too eager I waited for two minutes before emailing back that I would be delighted if he were to publish my books. (Dear Air 2000 is at the moment a self-published book. Self-publishing is all very well and it gets you into print for not much money but it is the Devil’s own job to get a self-published book into retail outlets like Waterstone’s and W H Smith, which it of course needs to be to get decent sales and make the whole business worthwhile, if profit is the motive).
The upshot of it is that I am meeting the publisher for lunch in London next Tuesday. I’ll get the most expensive bottle of wine on the wine list out of him if nothing else. Actually he has already offered me a handsome advance which I am not about to turn down.
Since relating my good fortune to friends and family I have been inundated with well-meaning good advice, particularly in regard to the contract I will eventually have to commit myself to. Apparently most publishers’ contracts can be likened only to minefields when it comes to possible dangers, and always drawn up in such a way as to obtain the greatest reward possible for the publisher and the least possible reward for the writer. In fact one friend warned that contracts can be so biased in favour of the publisher that it is quite possible that the writer ends up paying (I) them. Therefore I will be eyeing any contract offered to me with suitable suspicion. And if anyone out there has any tips on publishing contract negotiations please feel free to pass them on, they would be most appreciated.
Getting back to my friends, they are of course delighted for me. Especially Atkins Down The Road, who sees my success as encouragement to his own literary ambitions, having almost completed his crime/mystery novel Lady Don’t Look Backwards. Actually I’ve read it and the only crime will be if it ever gets published and the only mystery is why Atkins thinks it has any merit, but try telling him that.
Ignore this if you have already read it. My books Dear Air 2000 and Football Crazy are now in print. They are priced at £8.99 each and are available from Amazon, but readers of my blog can buy them direct from me for £7.50 including p & p. Just send me a cheque and I will send the book/books by return.
You can write to me at –
Terry Ravenscroft, 19 Ventura Court, Ollersett Avenue, New Mills, High Peak, SK22 4LL