First blog

Having heard all about blogging for - it seems - years I've never actually done it. Then along came Penny Legg and Writing Buddies. We had two really good meetings at Borders and Penny encouraged everyone there to start a blog of their own if they hadn't already done so.
I think a get-together for writers to share marketing and other news is an excellent idea, and the venue, at Borders, is perfect. It will be good to hear all about local writer-related events. For example people who were at the two meetings were told that Julia Painter had won a short story competition, and that the first book in my family saga trilogy, The Dohlen Inheritance, will be launched at Waterstone's West Quay on June 18th, 6 - 8 pm.
I started writing this trilogy about twelve years ago. It was taken up with enthusiasm by the late Giles Gordon, a top agent at Curtis Brown. However, only HarperCollins showed an interest, and they never actually got round to making an offer.
Since then an independent publisher, Paperbooks, also offered to publish, then mysteriously withdrew their offer. They have now merged with Legend Press.
I have decided to bring The Dohlen Inheritance out with The Thorn Press, an independent publishing imprint my late husband set up in 1980 to publish my Heritage of Knitting series. These short books, which Batsford, though already publishing me, had turned down because they thought they were too specialized, became instant best-sellers. They outsold the Batsford books by many thousands. Now out of print they go for large sums of money on eBay and in specialist book stores, whereas the Batsford books sell for a derisory 99p.
I am, of course, hoping the same will happen with The Dohlen Inheritance! Just kidding; selling novels is very different from selling non-fiction books. However, the book will be available, which is a step in the right direction.
It is now relatively simple to self-publish; various newspapers, including The Guardian and The New York Times, have pointed out that this may become a preferred way to publish for so-called mid-list authors, that is writers whose books do not sell in very large numbers.
An interesting item I read in a newspaper the other day maintained that more books were self-published in the US last year than published by mainstream publishers. If true this seems to me a fascinating development.