Story writer

[Cloudy Stuart]

Hello, Cloudy Stuart here.

I have Asperger's Syndrome and A.D.D. (A.D.D. is where the clouds come from) and I write stories.
I don't finish very many but when I do I self-publish on Amazon. I used to write poems and I received
a bursary before I trained as an artist. I am very old (64) which I perhaps should have warned people about at the start.
Anyway writing tends to be my thing, although hardly anyone buys my story books. There is however one book
I wrote that looks like it might sell if it ever gets discovered. It is titled 'The Prince Of Chance ' and I write under
the name Toby Hallen. It was quite odd when that little book was well received locally because it is a very short autobiography
and not a story at all. This makes me wonder whether my stories are really poorly written and that my autobiography is
ok because it was about real life. Who knows? I have a blog. I might look for a profile page or something and put it there.

 

[WhitewaterWoman]

I think Amazon self publishing route is a tough one to start with. You might want to try Medium.com which at the basic level is free. You can publish whatever you want in your account. There’s a Writers Circle that may be helpful.

There is also Substack, but even the basic plan, costs money. It’s getting Instagram-ish.

And do you read? I read a lot. Several books per week. I reread books and mark language that appeals to me.

When I was much younger, I wrote for magazines and one book. But it is all nonfiction. Then I had a career. I’m retired now and am spending more time writing.

Stop apologizing for your age. I’m 72 and many others are in our age cohort. Join the crowd.

 

[Jumpinbare]

Yeah, 68 yo writer here. Technical as well as fiction.

It's hard to guess what will sell. My best seller was one of my lowest-effort books.

 

[Cloudy Stuart]

I think Amazon self publishing route is a tough one to start with. You might want to try Medium.com which at the basic level is free. You can publish whatever you want in your account. There’s a Writers Circle that may be helpful.

There is also Substack, but even the basic plan, costs money. It’s getting Instagram-ish.

And do you read? I read a lot. Several books per week. I reread books and mark language that appeals to me.

When I was much younger, I wrote for magazines and one book. But it is all nonfiction. Then I had a career. I’m retired now and am spending more time writing.

Stop apologizing for your age. I’m 72 and many others are in our age cohort. Join the crowd.

Thank you WhitewaterWoman.
'Medium' sounds interesting. I'll go have a look. Amazon has been bleak for me, but mainly because of the incredible odds against books ever being noticed. I think I would just like a review; I haven't even got one of those yet. If Medium has a community it might help me improve book descriptions, which I find tricky.

 

[Cloudy Stuart]

Yeah, 68 yo writer here. Technical as well as fiction.

It's hard to guess what will sell. My best seller was one of my lowest-effort books.

There is that odd thing when writers find books easy and then they significant. Conan Doyle had that with Sherlock Holmes, they were not the main focus of his writing life. The success of S.H. baffled him. I have not had an easy book yet, but I did have a relatively easy short story - though no one reads that either. As I say too many times I will get it right eventually.

 

[Jumpinbare]

I think I would just like a review; I haven't even got one of those yet.

I gave you a review on Amazon

 

[Cloudy Stuart]

I gave you a review on Amazon

Thank you ever so much Jumpinbare, that is so reassuring to know.

I am beginning to understand the rules of Amazon reviewing now. A friend told me there has to be a minimum number of reviews that have to be written before the stats appear below a book (with stars). This is because the stats have to show an average. This means that I must already have reviews, but not enough for any one book for the reviews to appear.

I had a bit of a crisis over the last few days, not because of my uncertainty over my stories, I am always uncertain and puzzled why I write stories. Instead I have spent such a long time building (and demolishing) blogs for mine and my mother's books that I have been neglecting my landscape painting. I rent a tiny room in the town where I live and I have not been there for some time. I will be heading over there today because I don't want to go dry as a painter.

Perhaps people here have more than one interest and you can might explain how you balance them. I don't want to lose my painting world or my writing world because I had sunk too deep into one and ignored the other.

The little room where I paint has a window and from the window I can see a pawnbrokers, an English language school, a bar and an old record shop (vinyl) and then lots of shoppers going by. I have plans to abstract that main street and all its goings on. I want to be a thoughtful observer of the people and of the colours and shapes and of the changing weather. As I complete paintings I will add them to my website.

Thank you again Jumpinbare.

 

[WhitewaterWoman]

I gave you a review on Amazon

Cloudy,

I also gave you a very positive review on Amazon. I’ve never done that before. Five stars all the way.

I think your book is brilliant. I’m looking forward to reading more of your work.

I would encourage others on the forum who enjoy reading to purchase and review this book, so the author can garner enough reviews to have them displayed. Amazon will not publish ratings until a certain number have been reached.

Selfishly, I want to see my review posted because I’ve never done that before.

The kindle version is only a dollar. I’m not sure if posting a link to his book is okay or not. If not, I trust a moderator will pull it out.

The Prince of Chance

 

[Cloudy Stuart]

Cloudy,

I also gave you a very positive review on Amazon. I’ve never done that before. Five stars all the way.

I think your book is brilliant. I’m looking forward to reading more of your work.

I would encourage others on the forum who enjoy reading to purchase and review this book, so the author can garner enough reviews to have them displayed. Amazon will not publish ratings until a certain number have been reached.

Selfishly, I want to see my review posted because I’ve never done that before.

The kindle version is only a dollar. I’m not sure if posting a link to his book is okay or not. If not, I trust a moderator will pull it out.

The Prince of Chance

Thank you WhitewaterWoman, that is such praise. I am taken aback.

Unlike with the autobiography I find myself starting a story book differently with a different narrator and a different world going on in it. I never lose track of the world we know, it is just that I allow myself to drift to strange places when I can. The only common element is a certain vagueness. I couldn't bear writing a story if it had sharp-headed people bossing everyone. Things tend to fog out at the edges somehow and if the settings don't then some of the characters do.

Thank you again.

 

[WhitewaterWoman]

Thank you WhitewaterWoman, that is such praise. I am taken aback.

Unlike with the autobiography I find myself starting a story book differently with a different narrator and a different world going on in it. I never lose track of the world we know, it is just that I allow myself to drift to strange places when I can. The only common element is a certain vagueness. I couldn't bear writing a story if it had sharp-headed people bossing everyone. Things tend to fog out at the edges somehow and if the settings don't then some of the characters do.

Thank you again.

I see your cloudiness as a great asset.

 

[Cloudy Stuart]

Thank you. I contacted Amazon and explained that none of my books have ever showed a star or a review. They say a reviews team is going to look into it. My mother's memoir is on my list, because I edited it, do maybe there are hidden reviews for that too. Let's hope the reviews team can find a button to press or a lever to pull to add the reviews to the listings. Thanks again WhitewaterWoman.

 

[WhitewaterWoman]

Thank you. I contacted Amazon and explained that none of my books have ever showed a star or a review. They say a reviews team is going to look into it. My mother's memoir is on my list, because I edited it, do maybe there are hidden reviews for that too. Let's hope the reviews team can find a button to press or a lever to pull to add the reviews to the listings. Thanks again WhitewaterWoman.

Let us know what you find out.

 

[Cloudy Stuart]

I am proofing again. 'Mr Woollybreathers And The Santan-Jorlianne' has shown too many glitches and I will go through the hard copy line by line and find them all. I have withdrawn the book from sale. It will take me some time to get my head down into the text If I throw myself at the pages I find I add more mistakes than I get rid of (care of ADHD). Apologies. The Prince Of Chance and the novel, Dear Happenstance read smoothly.

 

[WhitewaterWoman]

I am proofing again. 'Mr Woollybreathers And The Santan-Jorlianne' has shown too many glitches and I will go through the hard copy line by line and find them all. I have withdrawn the book from sale. It will take me some time to get my head down into the text If I throw myself at the pages I find I add more mistakes than I get rid of (care of ADHD). Apologies. The Prince Of Chance and the novel, Dear Happenstance read smoothly.

I think all authors have that problem to some extent. That’s why there are people who get paid to proof read.

The only book I had published, by a real publisher before internet days, was read by an editor and a proof reader before publication. The publishing company arranges for all that.

I doubt either one of us could pay for a proof reader. I just wanted you to know it’s a common problem when authors try to proof their own works.

I’ve ordered Dear Happenstance.

 

[Cloudy Stuart]

I think all authors have that problem to some extent. That’s why there are people who get paid to proof read.

The only book I had published, by a real publisher before internet days, was read by an editor and a proof reader before publication. The publishing company arranges for all that.

I doubt either one of us could pay for a proof reader. I just wanted you to know it’s a common problem when authors try to proof their own works.

I’ve ordered Dear Happenstance.

A friend who did not write but used to know about publishing said proof readers are very rare people. He said it takes a lot of looking to see text the way they do. Mere mortals struggle.

Thank you for ordering my novel, WhitewaterWoman. I am still waiting for Amazon to clear up the reviews situation. I will let everyone here know what they say.