Because I have the word ‘memoir’ logged into Google, most days I receive an enormous number of sites adveritising other memoirs. When I started ‘Mentoring Your Memoir’, my major aim was to fill grandchildren – and subsequent generations – with what life was like in the mid 20th Century for some Australian women. Then, as I realised how many of these events turned up in my books and short stories, I inserted those pieces to demonstrate how they were fictionalised and then turned the concept into a ‘how-to write’ for others who didn’t quite know where to start, much less continue.

Anyway, from having believed that only ‘seniors’ would be interested, I was amazed at how many younger people had stories to relate, and how many different directions they took. But how many people will want to read memoir from unknowns? Whereas movie, music amd sport stars’s bios are published every day, I hate to think how disappointed many folk will be. Will they use the ebook as another way to publish?

This leads me to my latest venture – publishing my 3 adult Grevillea Murder Mysteries as ebooks. In this I am aided by Sylvia Blair who runs an excellent company calle BookPod with her husband Michael. So much is new in the publishing business, we authors have to become entrepeneurial.

My mantra for anyone wanting to enter this business is that there are three distinct areas that need concentration:
1.Writing(this also means lots and lots of rewriting)
2. Finding a suitable publisher. (This can take years)
3. Marketing.(The area I find most difficult.)

My generation grew up with the axiom that it’s ‘bad form’ to push oneself. That’s entirely negated by having to market one’s own books. I do admire those younger writers who never have to overcome their initial dislike of self promotion. Maybe writing this blog will help me overcome this.

As for this week’s reading: again I am transfixed by the ‘Alex Rider’ series. I suspect Anthony Horowitz first read every James Bond before he started writing. A cliffhanger on every page. So different from another adult novel I began. The major character in ‘Below the Styx’ is pompous and unlikeable. A whole book about him reminds me that I have only a fixed number of reading years left. Is this unfair? If anyone coming across this blog has read this book I’d love to be contradicted.