Celebrate.
Yep this is the way forward. Too many people get 'down in the dumps' when things get tough. My feeling is, that this is the time for a party and having it all the more.
Why I hear you ask? Simply, it is because things are only going to get better. If you have hit the wall, then typically you have done so well after you should (we are all quite resilient) and therefore things should have 'bottomed out' on your journey. Therefore the future, as they say, is bright.
Whatever you look at - financial markets, house prices, moods, work performance - they all go in peaks and troughs.
What is difficult is accepting the pendulum when you are in it. Being able to see 'the wood for the trees' and recognising where one is at on the trip is difficult. It is really easy to get too absorbed in ones own situation and not see the wider picture.
The beauty of life is the uncertainty. The willingness to embrace this uncertainty gives us a pulse. We cannot control all things and increasingly as we try to, the peaks and troughs (which will happen regardless) push us to not see 'the wood for the trees' and increases our challenge to enjoy the ride.
So - just in case there is any doubt - I am having a party as things are pretty bad right now.
Hope that it is all better with you and if so, leave me a comment to enable me to then prophesies about the grass being greener.
Wednesday, 25 July 2007
Wednesday, 4 July 2007
The real cost of home
Reading the newspaper today, there were a strange couple of articles which got me thinking.
The first was about a 3 bed mobile home near Abersoch (albeit on the beach front) being sold for £500,000 - the same price as a 2 bed flat in Chelsea! (and both would be leasehold and have a hefty yearly management fee - the Abersoch home only has 20 years left on the lease!)
Now there is an arguement which says it would be better and nicer to live in Abersoch than Chelsea, but that is not the issue. This is meant as a holiday home and you could have 10 holidays for the next 50 years (not 20 of lease life) in Barbados for less money!
This is not clever is it?
Then on the next page, was an article saying that 10 years ago, 1 in 5 managers in the workplace did not take their full allocation of holiday due to work pressures. Today this has risen to 3 in 5 managers.
Only a managers salary could consider the luxury of the mobile home in Abersoch, yet they are the ones who are likely not to be able to take a holiday due to work pressures.
Mmmm - what a strange set of values we seem to have.
A thought on property values - the last time values were corrected (in the early 90's), yeilds from the value of the property from renting were about 15%. Currently they are less than 5%!
The first was about a 3 bed mobile home near Abersoch (albeit on the beach front) being sold for £500,000 - the same price as a 2 bed flat in Chelsea! (and both would be leasehold and have a hefty yearly management fee - the Abersoch home only has 20 years left on the lease!)
Now there is an arguement which says it would be better and nicer to live in Abersoch than Chelsea, but that is not the issue. This is meant as a holiday home and you could have 10 holidays for the next 50 years (not 20 of lease life) in Barbados for less money!
This is not clever is it?
Then on the next page, was an article saying that 10 years ago, 1 in 5 managers in the workplace did not take their full allocation of holiday due to work pressures. Today this has risen to 3 in 5 managers.
Only a managers salary could consider the luxury of the mobile home in Abersoch, yet they are the ones who are likely not to be able to take a holiday due to work pressures.
Mmmm - what a strange set of values we seem to have.
A thought on property values - the last time values were corrected (in the early 90's), yeilds from the value of the property from renting were about 15%. Currently they are less than 5%!
Friday, 29 June 2007
Barrels of smoke
I was amused to hear recently that the impending change of law in people's right to smoke has had a surprising effect on a small business.
It is the kind of effect that whilst one should not be that surprised, was surely difficult to forecast.
I (and Eye) particularly relate to this as I think that in the same way the law has forced a fairly radical shift in peoples behaviour, there will be a similar shift in people's priorities and attitudes which in turn will lead to a massive upturn in the demand and desirability of our books.
I am sure that both media and individuals (although am unsure which is the chicken and which the egg) will realise that there is more to life than 9-6 (it used to be 5!) and that contentment comes from being at peace with oneself rather than getting into a scenario of needing money to have expensive holidays etc to hide the disillusionment with life due to the fact it is only filled with work! We do not need to be mechanised and champion celebrities to have fun and we can draw inspiration to follow our dreams by reading about other ordinary people who have followed theirs!
However, why I am saying this rather than tell you the about the idea is beyond me. The fact you are at this blog means that you know and more likely than not, agree with our ethos and therefore you are probably bored of what I am saying and want me to tell you about the Barrels of Smoke! (Although if my assumption is right, then please buy more of our books and spread the word so we have our own barrels of smoke analogy sooner rather than later.)
Right - the news is that a company that specialises in selling barrels of beer to households has over the last 2 months sold more barrels of beer per week than it had in each of the previous 24 months! It is purely being put down to the fact that people are starting to open up their front rooms as bars to allow their chums to hang out and still smoke there rather than have to endure a smoke free environment! I can imagine people having drinking dens and before long B&Q or some such outfit will be selling the actual bars that will house not only the barrels of beer, but mirrors and spirit dispensers! Am sure it will also start a whole underground scene and people gatecrashing of people's front room for parties.
Thoughts on a postcard please (or int he comments box) as to the next fad the follow from front room bars.
It is the kind of effect that whilst one should not be that surprised, was surely difficult to forecast.
I (and Eye) particularly relate to this as I think that in the same way the law has forced a fairly radical shift in peoples behaviour, there will be a similar shift in people's priorities and attitudes which in turn will lead to a massive upturn in the demand and desirability of our books.
I am sure that both media and individuals (although am unsure which is the chicken and which the egg) will realise that there is more to life than 9-6 (it used to be 5!) and that contentment comes from being at peace with oneself rather than getting into a scenario of needing money to have expensive holidays etc to hide the disillusionment with life due to the fact it is only filled with work! We do not need to be mechanised and champion celebrities to have fun and we can draw inspiration to follow our dreams by reading about other ordinary people who have followed theirs!
However, why I am saying this rather than tell you the about the idea is beyond me. The fact you are at this blog means that you know and more likely than not, agree with our ethos and therefore you are probably bored of what I am saying and want me to tell you about the Barrels of Smoke! (Although if my assumption is right, then please buy more of our books and spread the word so we have our own barrels of smoke analogy sooner rather than later.)
Right - the news is that a company that specialises in selling barrels of beer to households has over the last 2 months sold more barrels of beer per week than it had in each of the previous 24 months! It is purely being put down to the fact that people are starting to open up their front rooms as bars to allow their chums to hang out and still smoke there rather than have to endure a smoke free environment! I can imagine people having drinking dens and before long B&Q or some such outfit will be selling the actual bars that will house not only the barrels of beer, but mirrors and spirit dispensers! Am sure it will also start a whole underground scene and people gatecrashing of people's front room for parties.
Thoughts on a postcard please (or int he comments box) as to the next fad the follow from front room bars.
Wednesday, 13 June 2007
It is like the end of the week - and everyone is feeling the same
Is anyone else feeling as though today is Thursday? Not sure why, but I am. I can only assume that I have gotten used to the fact that May is full of Bank Holidays and therefore 4 day weeks.
It just goes to show that a) we get used to nice things too easily and b) when we do, and loose them, it is hard to adjust back to the initial state we were previously used to.
Not sure if that makes total sense, but all in all, it feels like it has been a long week.
Actually - it has been quite a challenging week and perhaps that is it and it has nothing to do with Bank Holiday's and 4 day weeks at all!
The only other excuse I can think of (and I do need to compute these things and sell them to myself or I get distracted) is that the weather is good and the sun is out and I do not want to be in the office.
Either way - bring on that weekend and lets hope that the sun stays out.
Whilst on the subject of sun, it makes me think about my recently turfed lawn. I managed to turf it a few weeks back, but made the careless error or turfing it before having a suitable way of cutting it. As with all things in life, it is how well they are looked after at the outset that can set the tone and as a result of neglect, am struggling to save my turf from dying. The blades of grass that grew initially swamped the smaller blades and therefore having now finally sorted out a cutting solution and having cut the tall blades back, I have revealed barren land beneath. Lots of analogies about that. Planning - rushing into without thinking and due care and attention. Big people bullying little people. Corporates taking over the world .... Hmm that weekend does need to come.
It just goes to show that a) we get used to nice things too easily and b) when we do, and loose them, it is hard to adjust back to the initial state we were previously used to.
Not sure if that makes total sense, but all in all, it feels like it has been a long week.
Actually - it has been quite a challenging week and perhaps that is it and it has nothing to do with Bank Holiday's and 4 day weeks at all!
The only other excuse I can think of (and I do need to compute these things and sell them to myself or I get distracted) is that the weather is good and the sun is out and I do not want to be in the office.
Either way - bring on that weekend and lets hope that the sun stays out.
Whilst on the subject of sun, it makes me think about my recently turfed lawn. I managed to turf it a few weeks back, but made the careless error or turfing it before having a suitable way of cutting it. As with all things in life, it is how well they are looked after at the outset that can set the tone and as a result of neglect, am struggling to save my turf from dying. The blades of grass that grew initially swamped the smaller blades and therefore having now finally sorted out a cutting solution and having cut the tall blades back, I have revealed barren land beneath. Lots of analogies about that. Planning - rushing into without thinking and due care and attention. Big people bullying little people. Corporates taking over the world .... Hmm that weekend does need to come.
Tuesday, 5 June 2007
Singing out for the Summer
Thank God that the summer is here and the nights are long. I was looking at some book the other day and it was talking about the numbers of people who clinically suffer from lack of light and good weather. I was amazed how high it was, and assume that this must have been worldwide and including places that stay dark for 24/7 (see www.eye-books.com/siberiandreams/home.htm). Not sure if it is the weather or the fact that am now in the swing of things being light in the morning and light late at night, but I seem to get so much more done. Perhaps this is why people feel better as we all feel better when we acheive.
Talking of acheiving - one of the things I have started to do since the weather has improved is to cycle more. This is also in part of the fact that we are publishing a book about 50 quirky bike rides around England & Wales. It has the longest ever title for a book, but will become part of a series which we are calling Bizarre Biking.
Have felt for a while that I needed to do more excercise - have also felt that it is good to do sommething to help ease congestion in this smelly city of London and finally thought it is a good way to justify eating lots of BBQ's in the sun!
It is amazing what it shows. The distance each way is about 11 miles. The options to get here are drive (and pay congestion zone), tube or bike. (There are others such as walk or bus, but for the sake of this am giving only the 3 obvious ones that are the quickest). It takes about 35 mins to drive, 40 mins to bike (and I get to go through the park) and 50 mins by tube. Therefore not only does it acheive what I want, but it is also time effective too!! Brilliant.
Watch this space for Bizarre Biking - it is great and will hopefully encourage all of us to get on our bike.
Wednesday, 30 May 2007
My Gran is right about sorting out your draws
We have had a slight spring clean in preparation for an 'Arts Unwrapped' event we are hosting at our offices (8th-10th June for anyone who wants to come along free and fun and lots of great art and books on offer).
The last time we did this was pre Xmas which again was for our annual Xmas Fair (again free for all and mince pies and mulled wine for free!).
It is amazing what an effect this can have on the mood and feel of the office generally. It somehow gives people a slight spring in their step - rather like the weather can. The fact that this 'spring in the step' is evident despite the recent bank holiday weather just proves that my Gran was always right.
She used to always say that whenever you got yourself into a 'tiss', you should go to your room and throw out all of your clothes from the draws onto the bed. Then simply put them back in again. By the time you have done this, you will no longer be in a 'tiss'.
It creates a sense or order or balance. It makes one feel in control and able to tackle other more important things knowing that the basics (clothes being accessible) are in place.
So - for all those out there who find themselves in a 'tiss' go empty and refill your draws. It feels great.
The last time we did this was pre Xmas which again was for our annual Xmas Fair (again free for all and mince pies and mulled wine for free!).
It is amazing what an effect this can have on the mood and feel of the office generally. It somehow gives people a slight spring in their step - rather like the weather can. The fact that this 'spring in the step' is evident despite the recent bank holiday weather just proves that my Gran was always right.
She used to always say that whenever you got yourself into a 'tiss', you should go to your room and throw out all of your clothes from the draws onto the bed. Then simply put them back in again. By the time you have done this, you will no longer be in a 'tiss'.
It creates a sense or order or balance. It makes one feel in control and able to tackle other more important things knowing that the basics (clothes being accessible) are in place.
So - for all those out there who find themselves in a 'tiss' go empty and refill your draws. It feels great.
Wednesday, 23 May 2007
The Power of size
Is it just me, or is everything becoming driven by size - celebrity power and corporate power.
The irony is that we as individuals are driving it. By us always opting for the easy option, we are making it harder for freedom and choice. We all know that the things that are the hardest to get and are the most rewarding, yet we now have a massive middle class that expects and needs to keep up with 'The Jones' and wants things on demand. This creates a massive Tesco and celebrities running the world. It will be hard, but try and stay with me on this .....
It was my brothers birthday recently, and I gave him a pasta making machine that my sister had given me. I already had one. I was totally open about it. I told him that I had been given it from her and that she had said she wanted one and therefore if he did not want it, then to give it back to her for her birthday in a couple of months. He did not want it, and was telling me not to worry about getting a replacement.
We then started to talk about how hard it was to buy presents. It used to be the case that if you wanted something, you would have to wait until a present opportunity to get it. This built a sense of excitment and also cemeted the fact that you actually wanted it. Nowadays, when you want something you get it. You do not wait, we are living in a world which is all about immediacy and therefore when birthdays and Xmas comes along, you do not need/want anything. This makes the days less special and the people's jobs who want to buy presents hard.
Everything has become disposable or not valued. This increases demand as people buy without really knowing if they want. Producers try to encourage this (maximise sales) and therefore make things cheaper which in turn sqeezes margins, which in turn decreases quality of product and means greater economies of scale are needed which in turn means that Tesco will take over the world.
Same with celebrity - we no longer really read or take time to consider. We are satisfied with receiving news and information in an immediate fashion. We have short attantion spans pictures and images become replacements for words. Rather than taking time to appreciate, we want speed. Entertainment is immediate and this means the deliverers of this become powerful. We empower the celebrity and in turn with this power loose any freedom of speech. The individuals voice becomes less valid and can be quashed by money which is in the hands of the celebrities or Tesco.
What ever has happened to the Schumacher 'small is beautiful' vision. Arrhh!!
The irony is that we as individuals are driving it. By us always opting for the easy option, we are making it harder for freedom and choice. We all know that the things that are the hardest to get and are the most rewarding, yet we now have a massive middle class that expects and needs to keep up with 'The Jones' and wants things on demand. This creates a massive Tesco and celebrities running the world. It will be hard, but try and stay with me on this .....
It was my brothers birthday recently, and I gave him a pasta making machine that my sister had given me. I already had one. I was totally open about it. I told him that I had been given it from her and that she had said she wanted one and therefore if he did not want it, then to give it back to her for her birthday in a couple of months. He did not want it, and was telling me not to worry about getting a replacement.
We then started to talk about how hard it was to buy presents. It used to be the case that if you wanted something, you would have to wait until a present opportunity to get it. This built a sense of excitment and also cemeted the fact that you actually wanted it. Nowadays, when you want something you get it. You do not wait, we are living in a world which is all about immediacy and therefore when birthdays and Xmas comes along, you do not need/want anything. This makes the days less special and the people's jobs who want to buy presents hard.
Everything has become disposable or not valued. This increases demand as people buy without really knowing if they want. Producers try to encourage this (maximise sales) and therefore make things cheaper which in turn sqeezes margins, which in turn decreases quality of product and means greater economies of scale are needed which in turn means that Tesco will take over the world.
Same with celebrity - we no longer really read or take time to consider. We are satisfied with receiving news and information in an immediate fashion. We have short attantion spans pictures and images become replacements for words. Rather than taking time to appreciate, we want speed. Entertainment is immediate and this means the deliverers of this become powerful. We empower the celebrity and in turn with this power loose any freedom of speech. The individuals voice becomes less valid and can be quashed by money which is in the hands of the celebrities or Tesco.
What ever has happened to the Schumacher 'small is beautiful' vision. Arrhh!!
Tuesday, 1 May 2007
The Joy of Summer
All is very exciting for Eye Books - we have been selected by T.H.E. (who are one of the 3 main wholesalers in the book trade) as their publisher of the month for June this year.
Wholesalers sell to (predominantly) smaller independent bookshops who prefer having 1 main supplier account to reconcile rather than with 1000's of individual publishers each month.
As a small independent publisher, we have a massive mutual respect for independent bookshops - we all know what happens to the underdogs. However, whilst this respect is real, the reality is that we are not in a position to service them as we do not have a rep force who travel around the country and present and tell these special little shops what we do. As a result, many have never heard of us and rarely support or get behind any of our books.
By T.H.E. choosing us as publisher of the month, I have had the chance to go and present to their rep force who will in turn, visit all their customers and, assuming I managed to enthuse sufficiently, tell them about our books.
So here is the challenge - please go and visit your local bookshop in mid June and ask for one of our books.
If we can show these people that our books are enjoyed and supported, then they will continue to stock them. I am convinced (and suspect that many of you already buy from Independents) that our books work best in shops where they can be given a little love and attention and people get what we are about.
Wholesalers sell to (predominantly) smaller independent bookshops who prefer having 1 main supplier account to reconcile rather than with 1000's of individual publishers each month.
As a small independent publisher, we have a massive mutual respect for independent bookshops - we all know what happens to the underdogs. However, whilst this respect is real, the reality is that we are not in a position to service them as we do not have a rep force who travel around the country and present and tell these special little shops what we do. As a result, many have never heard of us and rarely support or get behind any of our books.
By T.H.E. choosing us as publisher of the month, I have had the chance to go and present to their rep force who will in turn, visit all their customers and, assuming I managed to enthuse sufficiently, tell them about our books.
So here is the challenge - please go and visit your local bookshop in mid June and ask for one of our books.
If we can show these people that our books are enjoyed and supported, then they will continue to stock them. I am convinced (and suspect that many of you already buy from Independents) that our books work best in shops where they can be given a little love and attention and people get what we are about.
Monday, 30 April 2007
Still Monday and feeling better already post rant
Just to prove that it is not all doom and gloom at the land of Eye, I wanted to quickly explain why things had been quite on Blog front from me.
As many may know a couple of weeks ago was the London Book Fair. This is an annual event where all the publishers get together under one big roof and show off what they are doing or about to do and try and get other publishers interested in buying the rights for their territories.
Invariably it turns out to being quite a BIG session.
Anyway last year it was an Excel in docklands and the industry kicked up a real fuss. It was traditionally at Olympia and most people knew the score and how it all worked. Which restaurants to go to and which lunch places there were (all key important things in this horrid world of publishing). However Reed really ****ed it up at Excel to the point that a competitor (the people who organise the Frankfurt Book Fair) tried to start a rival to Reed's at Olympia. Anyway, to cut a long sotry short, Reed kept hold of it and agreed to move it back to West London and to Earls Court. Am glad to say that it was a real success and the space was awesome as was the effort that most publishers went to to show off what they do. Anyone would think that there was lots of money around!
Anyway, with preperation for that, my time and focus on this fell away. I have had lots of things that I have wanted to write about, but it was always the next thing on my list. Quite like a diet or excercise or giving up drinking.
As many may know a couple of weeks ago was the London Book Fair. This is an annual event where all the publishers get together under one big roof and show off what they are doing or about to do and try and get other publishers interested in buying the rights for their territories.
Invariably it turns out to being quite a BIG session.
Anyway last year it was an Excel in docklands and the industry kicked up a real fuss. It was traditionally at Olympia and most people knew the score and how it all worked. Which restaurants to go to and which lunch places there were (all key important things in this horrid world of publishing). However Reed really ****ed it up at Excel to the point that a competitor (the people who organise the Frankfurt Book Fair) tried to start a rival to Reed's at Olympia. Anyway, to cut a long sotry short, Reed kept hold of it and agreed to move it back to West London and to Earls Court. Am glad to say that it was a real success and the space was awesome as was the effort that most publishers went to to show off what they do. Anyone would think that there was lots of money around!
Anyway, with preperation for that, my time and focus on this fell away. I have had lots of things that I have wanted to write about, but it was always the next thing on my list. Quite like a diet or excercise or giving up drinking.
Kate Moss - the designer
For my sins, I am a fan of Kate Moss. I think that she is still really sexy and dare I say it, iconic. However, it did make me think the other day when reading about her new range being unveiled in the near future as to where this celebrity culture is taking us.
The music industry was the leader of the change, with magazines following shortly after. It was a sad day when books followed suit (excuse the pun) and now the fashion industry is going down the same route.
It used to be that the people who worked hard at their art and creativity within a specific industry, and had a slice of luck (but alot of perspiration) were the ones that made successes of themselves. I know a friend who has been designing clothes for years. He spent time cutting cloth, he spent time machining, he spent time drawing and this was having spent years studying to get his first job as assistant cutter! Suddenly Kate who has spent years doing none of the above, has the necessary skills to know how things should be designed.
Just because I have spent 10 years publishing books does not qualify (as this blog testifies) me to think I can write! It hardly qualifies me to think that I can publish, but ...
What surprises me most about this is I come from the train of thought that we are not mechanised and that ordinary people can and do achieve extraordinary things! This is (in some peoples eyes) exactly that. Frankly, it is sooo not that. I know that the only reason she has been asked to do this is because there will be a whole load of people (as they were for Victoria Beckham range and the next Amy Vinehouse range) who will rush out and queue all night to make sure that this latest person to break into this industry as a leader and worked up through the ranks is ....
I find it all slightly depressing that we do this. Why? Do we think that it will make us look as sexy as Kate Moss?
It is that Monday feeling again and it has been too long since my last blog. I have been told off for not writing anything for the last few weeks. However, I am not mad - does anyone else see this is totally belittling the real creatives of the world and that soon we will all have a diet of Mash Potatoe (and ready made at that!).
The music industry was the leader of the change, with magazines following shortly after. It was a sad day when books followed suit (excuse the pun) and now the fashion industry is going down the same route.
It used to be that the people who worked hard at their art and creativity within a specific industry, and had a slice of luck (but alot of perspiration) were the ones that made successes of themselves. I know a friend who has been designing clothes for years. He spent time cutting cloth, he spent time machining, he spent time drawing and this was having spent years studying to get his first job as assistant cutter! Suddenly Kate who has spent years doing none of the above, has the necessary skills to know how things should be designed.
Just because I have spent 10 years publishing books does not qualify (as this blog testifies) me to think I can write! It hardly qualifies me to think that I can publish, but ...
What surprises me most about this is I come from the train of thought that we are not mechanised and that ordinary people can and do achieve extraordinary things! This is (in some peoples eyes) exactly that. Frankly, it is sooo not that. I know that the only reason she has been asked to do this is because there will be a whole load of people (as they were for Victoria Beckham range and the next Amy Vinehouse range) who will rush out and queue all night to make sure that this latest person to break into this industry as a leader and worked up through the ranks is ....
I find it all slightly depressing that we do this. Why? Do we think that it will make us look as sexy as Kate Moss?
It is that Monday feeling again and it has been too long since my last blog. I have been told off for not writing anything for the last few weeks. However, I am not mad - does anyone else see this is totally belittling the real creatives of the world and that soon we will all have a diet of Mash Potatoe (and ready made at that!).
Wednesday, 21 March 2007
Sausages and Pigs
This is the BIG question to my mind currently running through many publishers mind. I think that there is no doubt that content needs to be multi platform compliant, but it falls into a similar area as advertising as to justifying the cost of delivering it.
There is no doubt in my mind that if you can give information in as many platforms as possible, then more people will hear about it and potentially be interested in what the content is saying. There is also no doubt that people having bought into something want to own it and therefore if ownership is a book, they will buy it. When we are looking to publish new books, we are keen to explore whether there are different ways of delivering the content via video, audio or words in anything from website / you-tube / myspace / second life etc. Reading yesterdays Financial Times articles on publishing, it is clear that it is not just us small independents that this is seen as an opportunity to reach new audiences.
However the issue is the cost of making it available.
We know that when you aggregate content, if you know what you hope to do with that content prior to the aggregation, it is cheaper and cost effective to make it available. We have an analogy of sausages and pigs - namely when publishers have made their sausages, it is hard to make it back into pig to make a different sausage. If however you have a pig and a need to make a variety of sausages, then making them all at once is the way forward.
Publisher with BIG backlists, have a problem of paying for the process of making their sausages back to pigs and then making new sausages.
Smaller publishers have the issue of having the budget to allocate to creating content deliverable on multi platofrm. This is where we fall. I am happy and keen to do author interviews for the web. I am happy to make the books available on line free for all. The issue is that we have already made our sausages!
However, watch this space though as we had a meeting recently with a possible author who has ways of reaching audiences which do not require PIGS! (sounds like a beer)
There is no doubt in my mind that if you can give information in as many platforms as possible, then more people will hear about it and potentially be interested in what the content is saying. There is also no doubt that people having bought into something want to own it and therefore if ownership is a book, they will buy it. When we are looking to publish new books, we are keen to explore whether there are different ways of delivering the content via video, audio or words in anything from website / you-tube / myspace / second life etc. Reading yesterdays Financial Times articles on publishing, it is clear that it is not just us small independents that this is seen as an opportunity to reach new audiences.
However the issue is the cost of making it available.
We know that when you aggregate content, if you know what you hope to do with that content prior to the aggregation, it is cheaper and cost effective to make it available. We have an analogy of sausages and pigs - namely when publishers have made their sausages, it is hard to make it back into pig to make a different sausage. If however you have a pig and a need to make a variety of sausages, then making them all at once is the way forward.
Publisher with BIG backlists, have a problem of paying for the process of making their sausages back to pigs and then making new sausages.
Smaller publishers have the issue of having the budget to allocate to creating content deliverable on multi platofrm. This is where we fall. I am happy and keen to do author interviews for the web. I am happy to make the books available on line free for all. The issue is that we have already made our sausages!
However, watch this space though as we had a meeting recently with a possible author who has ways of reaching audiences which do not require PIGS! (sounds like a beer)
Tuesday, 20 March 2007
Double Standards
Well I have even surprised myself. I would see myself as being quite focused. Other people even think I am stubborn. If I set my mind to things then I tend to be almost obsessive until I have done them. Setting up Eye Books is a classic example of this.
Some months ago I read about, and people asked me what I thought of Second Life. I was horrified by it and felt that it was a really dangerous place to go. It was going to be full off people who wanted to create a virtual persona as they can't cope with their real life. Escapism that could only go wrong and have a number of crimes committed as a result of people not being able to relate to the way to behave in the real world because of their chosen way to behave in this new virtual world. I had no interest in it and did not even want to look at it.
Today I created an avatar!!!
I have been equally dismissive about 'me to' publishing and the general 'bandwagon' idea that people follow trends. I am proud to think that I do not want to join the crowd and am happy to stand in my space and not be worried about the noise coming from the popular corner. Guess what has driven me to join this virtual world! The fact that 2 friends in publishing have not only set up a virtual bookshop (and apparently they sell books!) but one has now launched a virtual Book Fair and invited me to exhibit. Whilst I give myself a little break as bookfairs that you do not actually have to go to appeal, I am afraid to admit that there has been a slight feeling of wanting to see what people are talking about.
Well I wont tell you what my name is, but will let you know how life in this virtual world is!
Some months ago I read about, and people asked me what I thought of Second Life. I was horrified by it and felt that it was a really dangerous place to go. It was going to be full off people who wanted to create a virtual persona as they can't cope with their real life. Escapism that could only go wrong and have a number of crimes committed as a result of people not being able to relate to the way to behave in the real world because of their chosen way to behave in this new virtual world. I had no interest in it and did not even want to look at it.
Today I created an avatar!!!
I have been equally dismissive about 'me to' publishing and the general 'bandwagon' idea that people follow trends. I am proud to think that I do not want to join the crowd and am happy to stand in my space and not be worried about the noise coming from the popular corner. Guess what has driven me to join this virtual world! The fact that 2 friends in publishing have not only set up a virtual bookshop (and apparently they sell books!) but one has now launched a virtual Book Fair and invited me to exhibit. Whilst I give myself a little break as bookfairs that you do not actually have to go to appeal, I am afraid to admit that there has been a slight feeling of wanting to see what people are talking about.
Well I wont tell you what my name is, but will let you know how life in this virtual world is!
Tuesday, 13 March 2007
How to get the message across - help welcome
Someone came into the office today to chat about publishing. They had an idea and wanted to see how best to progress it and what their options were. They know one of the people who works here (hence them coming in) but had not seen him for ages and were not aware of the focus of our books.
As I have mentioned in previous posts, I am amazed that our Goldmine Giveaway has not attracted more media attention and more public support. I have started thinking that perhaps the author and I had just misjudged what people were interested in and that they did not get it. Either that or they have not heard about or seen it.
If you ever come to our office, you will see that the meeting area is at the back and the main area has a table in the centre which displays our books and our desks skirt this central island.
Whilst waiting to go to the meeting area, they starting browsing at our books (which is what we thought everyone would do but a surprising amount do not!). On seeing the one giving a free sq ft of a gold mine, she became very excited. My desk is right by this area and seeing her reaction gave great pleasure and realisation that Dorian and I were not off the mark with the idea. Here was someone who got it and loved it. She bought 6 copies and left almost evangelical about what a great idea and present this was and that she would make all her friends buy one. Since then I have had a smile on my face and the desire to find out a way of getting to see people's reactions when looking at our books.
It is very easy when sitting in an office and not having contact with the people who buy our books to loose sight of what type of reaction they can conjure. I would love to get more feedback from all of you as to what you like and don't like about what we are trying to do. So do not be afraid - throw your likes and dislikes about Eye to me and they will be welcomed and appreciated with open arms.
People can sometimes try and hide from things and not face reality. The world is full of unknowns and once they become knowns we can deal with them and move on. When we hide away from things in case they are not what we want to hear, see or face, it does nothing but add to our woes.
I am always excited about finding out stuff - good or bad, coz then I can grow. Change is scary but only the thought of it.
On reading that back I see it is all quite quick - going from a person coming in and buying a few copies of our books to the philosophy of life! Ohhps - perhaps I had better stop here.
As I have mentioned in previous posts, I am amazed that our Goldmine Giveaway has not attracted more media attention and more public support. I have started thinking that perhaps the author and I had just misjudged what people were interested in and that they did not get it. Either that or they have not heard about or seen it.
If you ever come to our office, you will see that the meeting area is at the back and the main area has a table in the centre which displays our books and our desks skirt this central island.
Whilst waiting to go to the meeting area, they starting browsing at our books (which is what we thought everyone would do but a surprising amount do not!). On seeing the one giving a free sq ft of a gold mine, she became very excited. My desk is right by this area and seeing her reaction gave great pleasure and realisation that Dorian and I were not off the mark with the idea. Here was someone who got it and loved it. She bought 6 copies and left almost evangelical about what a great idea and present this was and that she would make all her friends buy one. Since then I have had a smile on my face and the desire to find out a way of getting to see people's reactions when looking at our books.
It is very easy when sitting in an office and not having contact with the people who buy our books to loose sight of what type of reaction they can conjure. I would love to get more feedback from all of you as to what you like and don't like about what we are trying to do. So do not be afraid - throw your likes and dislikes about Eye to me and they will be welcomed and appreciated with open arms.
People can sometimes try and hide from things and not face reality. The world is full of unknowns and once they become knowns we can deal with them and move on. When we hide away from things in case they are not what we want to hear, see or face, it does nothing but add to our woes.
I am always excited about finding out stuff - good or bad, coz then I can grow. Change is scary but only the thought of it.
On reading that back I see it is all quite quick - going from a person coming in and buying a few copies of our books to the philosophy of life! Ohhps - perhaps I had better stop here.
Friday, 2 March 2007
Challenging the way we do things
I can't believe it is that time of year again where we need to describe in 250 keystrokes the company for The Frankfurt Book fair catalogue. For each of the last few years, we have always ended up not really changing it for catalogues or website and it needs a change. How do I know this? Yesterday we had a communications expert in the office to help with a few details of communication and it really can make a difference and attract people (or, as importantly put people off) if you get it wrong. This has got me thinking:
I am really proud to be independent.
I am really proud of the fact our books champion people who live as opposed to simply exist.
I am really proud that we are not simply publishing 'fillers' to introduce economies of scale.
I am really proud that we accept unsolicited manuscripts and are accessible to authors and 'would be' authors.
However, as I look at that, am not sure that if I read that about another publisher I would want to explore working with them. So what does matter?
The fact that we got so much publicity (more than £1million worth if we had paid for the equivalent in advertising).
The fact that we had 40% of our books last year selected as Xmas Campaign titles.
Again not sure that it really matters. Probably need to start to be nominated and win awards and accolades. There are two challenges with this.
First - you have to enter yourself and say why you should win. This is something I am not comfortable with. My feeling is that awards are things which people should be nominated for rather than nominate themselves. 'Naive' I hear you say and it is, because even if that were the case, then people would still manipulate the entries by agreeing to work together.
Second - having overcome the above (which I am just about to) you have to be good enough to win or influence the judges.
I would be grateful for any comments on what we should put for our profile description from your point of view and also grateful as to any suggestions for awards and accolades that we could enter to boost our chance of addressing this challenge in time for next year!
What we are currently working with is:
I am really proud to be independent.
I am really proud of the fact our books champion people who live as opposed to simply exist.
I am really proud that we are not simply publishing 'fillers' to introduce economies of scale.
I am really proud that we accept unsolicited manuscripts and are accessible to authors and 'would be' authors.
However, as I look at that, am not sure that if I read that about another publisher I would want to explore working with them. So what does matter?
The fact that we got so much publicity (more than £1million worth if we had paid for the equivalent in advertising).
The fact that we had 40% of our books last year selected as Xmas Campaign titles.
Again not sure that it really matters. Probably need to start to be nominated and win awards and accolades. There are two challenges with this.
First - you have to enter yourself and say why you should win. This is something I am not comfortable with. My feeling is that awards are things which people should be nominated for rather than nominate themselves. 'Naive' I hear you say and it is, because even if that were the case, then people would still manipulate the entries by agreeing to work together.
Second - having overcome the above (which I am just about to) you have to be good enough to win or influence the judges.
I would be grateful for any comments on what we should put for our profile description from your point of view and also grateful as to any suggestions for awards and accolades that we could enter to boost our chance of addressing this challenge in time for next year!
What we are currently working with is:
At Eye Books, we celebrate individuals who have taken their dreams and lived them, creating out of their ‘ordinary’ lives ‘extraordinary’ accomplishments.
Our books inspire and motivate us to celebrate our imagination, passion and dreams.
Tuesday, 27 February 2007
The name is Bond
I do not know if you saw it, but at the Vanity Fair party after the Oscars this week there was a photo taken of a woman wearing a pretty floral dress who was obviously sat by my namesake aka Bond. In true 007 style, Daniel Craig leans forward and stares into the lens. Meanwhile the girl leans back behind him and makes a gun gesture with her hand and pulls a face implying she is hard aka Bond. It is really funny and cracked me up.
However, only a matter of a week or so ago, an arse did a similar thing behind David Cameron when he was visiting troubled housing estates in Bristol.
Same type of action and meaning meant (as in gun gesture), but delivered by two different people and creating completely different responses!
The teenager went on to brag about how he took drugs and was able to get real guns etc. He made a point of telling the paper interviewing him that he did not tell his family and it was supposed to be a secret!! Hello! He was later arrested and spent two days in custody over possessing a small amount of cannabis. It fills me with anger and dread knowing this is the brain power of certain people and that they have no drive or ambition for any positive change on their lives or the society they live in and yet the judge expressed concern for the way he had been treated and kept in custody!
The current coverage of what causes this type of behaviour and attitude comes around again and what will be done. Column inches and discussion (like this) but no real change. Meanwhile we have more and more people like the bloke above thinking it is OK to behave like they do.
Whilst at university I put the media on trial as being the leading influence in violence and crime in society. Not only does it expose the 'haves' and 'have nots' gap, but also normalises so much which is not normal.
Mmmm! Comments welcome.
However, only a matter of a week or so ago, an arse did a similar thing behind David Cameron when he was visiting troubled housing estates in Bristol.
Same type of action and meaning meant (as in gun gesture), but delivered by two different people and creating completely different responses!
The teenager went on to brag about how he took drugs and was able to get real guns etc. He made a point of telling the paper interviewing him that he did not tell his family and it was supposed to be a secret!! Hello! He was later arrested and spent two days in custody over possessing a small amount of cannabis. It fills me with anger and dread knowing this is the brain power of certain people and that they have no drive or ambition for any positive change on their lives or the society they live in and yet the judge expressed concern for the way he had been treated and kept in custody!
The current coverage of what causes this type of behaviour and attitude comes around again and what will be done. Column inches and discussion (like this) but no real change. Meanwhile we have more and more people like the bloke above thinking it is OK to behave like they do.
Whilst at university I put the media on trial as being the leading influence in violence and crime in society. Not only does it expose the 'haves' and 'have nots' gap, but also normalises so much which is not normal.
Mmmm! Comments welcome.
Wednesday, 21 February 2007
Hairy but true
Apologies for the delay since my last post - It took time to get over the shock of Valentine's.
This has in turn impeded on my productivity. Not sure if anyone else finds this, but I find sometimes I can seem to be doing lots of things yet achieve nothing and at others, I seem to be chilling out and lying back and things just drop into place.
Whilst I wish I was about to say that things were currently the latter, they are unfortunately the former and simple things are taking me far longer than I have. I do not want to be a grumpy old man (especially at only36), but ...
Whilst moaning, I am feeling slightly guilty that another Shrove Tuesday has past and I have once again not given something up for lent. My dad always used to give up alcohol and I remember being really impressed by this. I also remember, whenever I have previously giving something up, that it was a really cleansing experience. Valuing what we have by not having it is a strangely compelling activity and one which is good for all to practise. I was talking about this with a colleague only yesterday - she agreed and marked the occasion with many pancakes and a vow to give up all chocolate and cakes for 40 days. Had I gone out and had a few beers and pancakes to prepare myself for the fast, then I too could have done what dad did for many years. As I did not, next year I will have to try again. Perhaps being a dad is part of the drive to show your child that we cannot have what we want when we want it and that there is a value in going without.
Changing tack - I heard this week of a group of people from Taiwan who tried to lift an elephant with human hair! Yes they wove loads of human hair together and made some type of winch to lift an 3 tonne elephant. This consisted of over 1.6 million human hairs and cost over £4000 to do!
This has in turn impeded on my productivity. Not sure if anyone else finds this, but I find sometimes I can seem to be doing lots of things yet achieve nothing and at others, I seem to be chilling out and lying back and things just drop into place.
Whilst I wish I was about to say that things were currently the latter, they are unfortunately the former and simple things are taking me far longer than I have. I do not want to be a grumpy old man (especially at only36), but ...
Whilst moaning, I am feeling slightly guilty that another Shrove Tuesday has past and I have once again not given something up for lent. My dad always used to give up alcohol and I remember being really impressed by this. I also remember, whenever I have previously giving something up, that it was a really cleansing experience. Valuing what we have by not having it is a strangely compelling activity and one which is good for all to practise. I was talking about this with a colleague only yesterday - she agreed and marked the occasion with many pancakes and a vow to give up all chocolate and cakes for 40 days. Had I gone out and had a few beers and pancakes to prepare myself for the fast, then I too could have done what dad did for many years. As I did not, next year I will have to try again. Perhaps being a dad is part of the drive to show your child that we cannot have what we want when we want it and that there is a value in going without.
Changing tack - I heard this week of a group of people from Taiwan who tried to lift an elephant with human hair! Yes they wove loads of human hair together and made some type of winch to lift an 3 tonne elephant. This consisted of over 1.6 million human hairs and cost over £4000 to do!
Valentines Love
Well thank the lord that is over. I am always one to celebrate and have a good reason to have fun, but I do find the whole commercialisasion of special days slightly over the top. There is such a social pressure to show your level of romance that it contradicts what romance is about - being impulsive and taken away on a feeling of love.
From first thing in the morning, all media chanels hit us with the fact it is Valentines Day - sharing best and worst stories - highlighting special things being done! It is prescibed and fake and I want it banned!
I do love many people and one person in particular, but I want them all to know that instinctively, rather than because I spend a fortune on food and flowers or even worse flights and fancy!
On a rather happier note, I am pleased that I now have 'confidentiality agreements' signed by all the main players in the newspaper world for covering our next book Good Morning Afghanistan. The Sunday Times, The Daily Mail, The Guardian, The Mail on Sunday and The Sun all see the value of it and we have everything crossed that they decide it is worth serialising.
The President of Afghanistan (who endorsed the book / wrote a foreword) was in London yesterday. I was tempted to try and find him to see if he would promote it in his rounds. Obviously Tony got there first, but he (like us) recognises that the region had been 'sorely neglected, under-funded and under prioritised in the five years since the fundametalist regime was toppled' and Mr Blair assured President Karzai that Britain would make sure 'the job is done'. Clearly this book shows why there is a need for understanding and action.
Emel magazine is apparently the Muslim media of choice in No10, and we (having already had Clare Shorts review of Prickly Pears of Palestine in it) have Good Morning Afghanistan in there to to nudge Tony so that next time he will actually make reference to it.
From first thing in the morning, all media chanels hit us with the fact it is Valentines Day - sharing best and worst stories - highlighting special things being done! It is prescibed and fake and I want it banned!
I do love many people and one person in particular, but I want them all to know that instinctively, rather than because I spend a fortune on food and flowers or even worse flights and fancy!
On a rather happier note, I am pleased that I now have 'confidentiality agreements' signed by all the main players in the newspaper world for covering our next book Good Morning Afghanistan. The Sunday Times, The Daily Mail, The Guardian, The Mail on Sunday and The Sun all see the value of it and we have everything crossed that they decide it is worth serialising.
The President of Afghanistan (who endorsed the book / wrote a foreword) was in London yesterday. I was tempted to try and find him to see if he would promote it in his rounds. Obviously Tony got there first, but he (like us) recognises that the region had been 'sorely neglected, under-funded and under prioritised in the five years since the fundametalist regime was toppled' and Mr Blair assured President Karzai that Britain would make sure 'the job is done'. Clearly this book shows why there is a need for understanding and action.
Emel magazine is apparently the Muslim media of choice in No10, and we (having already had Clare Shorts review of Prickly Pears of Palestine in it) have Good Morning Afghanistan in there to to nudge Tony so that next time he will actually make reference to it.
Terrible Tuesday
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Trying to get people to look at stuff (which in theory is relevant interesting and helping them do their job) can be a real challenge.
We have spent the last 3 days (Friday Monday and today) building relevant lists of people who have previously reviewed books on, or written articles about Afghanistan, people who are interested in books and people who are interested in current affairs.
We have then sent out 100's of personal emails and spent time phoning around, sounding 'jolly' and 'happy', to check whether they wanted to cover the story and or review the book.
So far not one of them has even received the email. It has either been deleted as not being of interest (although if that was the case then surely they would remember looking at it and thinking it is not of interest - especially as they were only sent an hour or so before calling them), or simply dropped into a spam rejection filter as it had not come from an accepted email address.
We are usually really lucky and supported by media as our books are human interest stories which they love. However, even when we are giving away a goldmine (we have with previous book honestly - www.yukongoldminingclub.com - but am not bitter honest) trying to get them to be interested proved difficult. With the goldmine, after a week of much the same as we are getting today, a friendly news journo at The Observer opened my email and saw that it was a story worth telling. Despite me sending the same story to 20 other journalists at the same paper and 5 copies of the book to various desks, it was still easier to send a bike around to pick up a 6th copy than find one of the elusive other 5!
Well we are at the same place again - we know we have a story which is relevant and interesting but trying to get people to look at it is another matter. We will simply have to increase the thickness of our skin and carry on regardless in the hope that tomorrow is not weepy wednesday!
We have spent the last 3 days (Friday Monday and today) building relevant lists of people who have previously reviewed books on, or written articles about Afghanistan, people who are interested in books and people who are interested in current affairs.
We have then sent out 100's of personal emails and spent time phoning around, sounding 'jolly' and 'happy', to check whether they wanted to cover the story and or review the book.
So far not one of them has even received the email. It has either been deleted as not being of interest (although if that was the case then surely they would remember looking at it and thinking it is not of interest - especially as they were only sent an hour or so before calling them), or simply dropped into a spam rejection filter as it had not come from an accepted email address.
We are usually really lucky and supported by media as our books are human interest stories which they love. However, even when we are giving away a goldmine (we have with previous book honestly - www.yukongoldminingclub.com - but am not bitter honest) trying to get them to be interested proved difficult. With the goldmine, after a week of much the same as we are getting today, a friendly news journo at The Observer opened my email and saw that it was a story worth telling. Despite me sending the same story to 20 other journalists at the same paper and 5 copies of the book to various desks, it was still easier to send a bike around to pick up a 6th copy than find one of the elusive other 5!
Well we are at the same place again - we know we have a story which is relevant and interesting but trying to get people to look at it is another matter. We will simply have to increase the thickness of our skin and carry on regardless in the hope that tomorrow is not weepy wednesday!
Getting to grips with content
Monday, February 12, 2007
Another monday and a whole load of things to get done this week.
I really rate our latest book Good Morning Afghanistan and cannot believe that media wont go mad for it. It has all the necessary touch points to make a good and interesting and relevant story and fits very well with our ethos of trying to make things we should all know about accessible to a wider audience.
I am often daunted (in a trivial persuit kind of way) of not really getting the basics right on many world issues and as a result made to feel distanced and unaffected by them. I would rather change the subject or not get involved (trivial persuit again) rather than feel ignorant. However, I do think that now there is more chance and need for people to get to grips with what is happening in our world and the impact we all have and responsibility we have to engage with the inevitable globalisation issues out there.
The walk to the shop and catching up on the local gossip is still there, but in a much more global way. Being empowered to engage is therefore something that I hope much of what we do is about.
My favourite speech was part of Mandela's release speech at The Parade in Cape Town (which I was fortunate enough to be at) where he talks about our greatest fear is not that we are inadequate, but that we are powerful beyond measure. We hope (as he was saying) that by shining light on stuff in an accesible way, that it will give permission for each of us to shine and impact our world in the best way possible. Ignorance can be bliss, but knowledge is better. Change can be scary, but change creates growth.
I was sent a link by my wife about content and am feeling enlightened by it and want to share it on this new week.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gmP4nk0EOE
Enjoy your week.
Dan
I really rate our latest book Good Morning Afghanistan and cannot believe that media wont go mad for it. It has all the necessary touch points to make a good and interesting and relevant story and fits very well with our ethos of trying to make things we should all know about accessible to a wider audience.
I am often daunted (in a trivial persuit kind of way) of not really getting the basics right on many world issues and as a result made to feel distanced and unaffected by them. I would rather change the subject or not get involved (trivial persuit again) rather than feel ignorant. However, I do think that now there is more chance and need for people to get to grips with what is happening in our world and the impact we all have and responsibility we have to engage with the inevitable globalisation issues out there.
The walk to the shop and catching up on the local gossip is still there, but in a much more global way. Being empowered to engage is therefore something that I hope much of what we do is about.
My favourite speech was part of Mandela's release speech at The Parade in Cape Town (which I was fortunate enough to be at) where he talks about our greatest fear is not that we are inadequate, but that we are powerful beyond measure. We hope (as he was saying) that by shining light on stuff in an accesible way, that it will give permission for each of us to shine and impact our world in the best way possible. Ignorance can be bliss, but knowledge is better. Change can be scary, but change creates growth.
I was sent a link by my wife about content and am feeling enlightened by it and want to share it on this new week.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gmP4nk0EOE
Enjoy your week.
Dan
Oh **it its friday already
Friday, February 09, 2007
Doing stuff for a blog is a strange thing. I keep meaning to write things down each day (and there is lots to tell), but somehow keep forgetting (or is that making excuses). Slightly ironic considering what my job is, but I find writing for public consumption really quite daunting!
I was having a chat with David (who keeps trying to get me to give away stuff to members of the club) about the website and the need for updating it and he is under the impression that I need to write too and that his stuff is not enough on its own! I think his tone is great - however have agreed when he started to give advice that I am usually the giver of rather than the taker.
"Do not think about what you are writing, but write something everyday. Spend 20 mins writing and 5 looking through and editing it after. It does not matter if most of what you have written is deleted. Some will be there and the more you do it the easier it gets."
So further proof of being a great teacher, crap student I think!
Anyway here I am, minutes after the chat and nearly taking heed of the medicine. However, rather than writing in a word processor package and spending 5 mins editing at the end (as I and David advise), I am posting straight to the blog. Am sure that it is because doing it this way, I have an excuse for it not being very good. What is that about!
I had been aware when hearing about and reading stuff in the news this week of using it as part of what I can write. Proof is that despite it being Friday already, I still have notes about a couple of stories I read a while ago (when he first started telling me I had to write!) that I thought would be of interest for those who had not heard them.
Anyway excuse me if it is old, but...
A man lost his wife in a game of Poker! It happened in Russia - his wife was so annoyed at his audacity that she actually left him for the person who won her!
Another was about a Chinese man who had to have his contact lenses surgically removed after he had left them in 24/7 for a year!
Anyway - enough for now. If I do too much then it will feel like too much of a hurdle and if I take my own medcine, when trying to change habits, do it in bite sizes otherwise you will end up not doing it.
As they say the proof will be in the pudding - lets just wait and see.
I was having a chat with David (who keeps trying to get me to give away stuff to members of the club) about the website and the need for updating it and he is under the impression that I need to write too and that his stuff is not enough on its own! I think his tone is great - however have agreed when he started to give advice that I am usually the giver of rather than the taker.
"Do not think about what you are writing, but write something everyday. Spend 20 mins writing and 5 looking through and editing it after. It does not matter if most of what you have written is deleted. Some will be there and the more you do it the easier it gets."
So further proof of being a great teacher, crap student I think!
Anyway here I am, minutes after the chat and nearly taking heed of the medicine. However, rather than writing in a word processor package and spending 5 mins editing at the end (as I and David advise), I am posting straight to the blog. Am sure that it is because doing it this way, I have an excuse for it not being very good. What is that about!
I had been aware when hearing about and reading stuff in the news this week of using it as part of what I can write. Proof is that despite it being Friday already, I still have notes about a couple of stories I read a while ago (when he first started telling me I had to write!) that I thought would be of interest for those who had not heard them.
Anyway excuse me if it is old, but...
A man lost his wife in a game of Poker! It happened in Russia - his wife was so annoyed at his audacity that she actually left him for the person who won her!
Another was about a Chinese man who had to have his contact lenses surgically removed after he had left them in 24/7 for a year!
Anyway - enough for now. If I do too much then it will feel like too much of a hurdle and if I take my own medcine, when trying to change habits, do it in bite sizes otherwise you will end up not doing it.
As they say the proof will be in the pudding - lets just wait and see.
Good Morning Afghanistan
It never ceases to amaze me how exciting it is when a new book comes out. Without fail, I am convinced that there will not be a single person in the world that will be able to do without it.
Last week, we took delivery of our latest gem and even though I say it myself, it looks GREAT. For a few weeks after such a delivery I walk around wanting to hug people and have a tingling excitment in my tummy - almost like I want to thank them for their inevitable support.
I had been out of the office and Toby had been ill. The books were due to arrive on the thursday and Waseem, the author, and his wife Farah and Pedro (from Fnik PR) who is handling the publicity were due in on friday to pick up copies. I arrived back in the office on Friday and there were no books. It was a panic trying to find them, but well worth it when seeing all their faces holding the book. The meeting we had to arrange what needed to be done to make this a 'must have' item for all people was punctuated by BIG smiles and happiness all around. It is such a buzz when you get to make someone so happy and see genuine pride in their work. I wish we could bottle the feeling for the times when things were less good.
Today is also very exciting as we have a new person starting work with us full time. Laura loves books and has done some work experience over the last few months and persuaded us to create a more perminant role. This extra help in sorting the 'stuff of books' out again gives the feeling that everything is all going to go well and the pint is half full. Long may it last.
Last week, we took delivery of our latest gem and even though I say it myself, it looks GREAT. For a few weeks after such a delivery I walk around wanting to hug people and have a tingling excitment in my tummy - almost like I want to thank them for their inevitable support.
I had been out of the office and Toby had been ill. The books were due to arrive on the thursday and Waseem, the author, and his wife Farah and Pedro (from Fnik PR) who is handling the publicity were due in on friday to pick up copies. I arrived back in the office on Friday and there were no books. It was a panic trying to find them, but well worth it when seeing all their faces holding the book. The meeting we had to arrange what needed to be done to make this a 'must have' item for all people was punctuated by BIG smiles and happiness all around. It is such a buzz when you get to make someone so happy and see genuine pride in their work. I wish we could bottle the feeling for the times when things were less good.
Today is also very exciting as we have a new person starting work with us full time. Laura loves books and has done some work experience over the last few months and persuaded us to create a more perminant role. This extra help in sorting the 'stuff of books' out again gives the feeling that everything is all going to go well and the pint is half full. Long may it last.
Clare Short Reviews Prickly Pears in NEW STATESMAN
Thursday, November 09, 2006
Former Labour Minister, Clare Short MP, has reviewed Hilda Reilly's Prickly Pears of Palestine published last month by Eye Books in the forthcoming edition of the NEWSTATESMAN - to hit the newstands on 13th November.
Entitled "A harvest of bitter fruit", Clare Short says:
To order your own copy or to see more information about this book and other titles published by Eye Books click here.
Entitled "A harvest of bitter fruit", Clare Short says:
"Prickly Pears of Palestine gives a human face to the terrible suffering caused by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and makes thought-provoking reading for all who are concerned."To read the full review go to the full text in the online edition of the New Statesman.
To order your own copy or to see more information about this book and other titles published by Eye Books click here.
Gold Fever
I am joining in this whole blogging thing for the first time. To date - everything up here has been placed by Toby and now having finally accepted it is not that difficult, am determined to let you all know more regularly what is happening in the world of Eye Books and me Dan Hiscocks.
I am about to be called by CBC (the equivalent of BBC in Canada) about the Goldmine Giveaway we are doing. It does seem to be attracting lots of attention. Each time I think of what we are doing, I get slightly overawed at the whole thing. To have a goldmine is amazing, but then to give it away!!
Anyway, just wanted to say hi and give this thing a go. Am sure I will end up using it too much, but to my mind the best ones I have read seem to ramble on about sweet nothings (so am pretty confident).
I am about to be called by CBC (the equivalent of BBC in Canada) about the Goldmine Giveaway we are doing. It does seem to be attracting lots of attention. Each time I think of what we are doing, I get slightly overawed at the whole thing. To have a goldmine is amazing, but then to give it away!!
Anyway, just wanted to say hi and give this thing a go. Am sure I will end up using it too much, but to my mind the best ones I have read seem to ramble on about sweet nothings (so am pretty confident).
Eye Books is having a high time
Wow what a busy time we are having since our last bit of news.
We now have our 3 books for Christmas out there and am pleased to say that they seem to be getting favourable reviews.
Check out:
http://www.eye-books.com/thegoodlifegetsbetter/home.htm
http://www.eye-books.com/pricklypearsofpalestine/home.htm
http://www.eye-books.com/siberiandreams/home.htm
For those that missed The Observer a couple of weeks ago check our what they said about The Good Life Gets Better:
The Observer
The Rt Hon Clare Short, MP, is reviewing Prickly Pears of Palestine in tomorrow's New Statesman magazine and has some good things to say. I will add the link when I get it.
We now have our 3 books for Christmas out there and am pleased to say that they seem to be getting favourable reviews.
Check out:
http://www.eye-books.com/thegoodlifegetsbetter/home.htm
http://www.eye-books.com/pricklypearsofpalestine/home.htm
http://www.eye-books.com/siberiandreams/home.htm
For those that missed The Observer a couple of weeks ago check our what they said about The Good Life Gets Better:
The Observer
The Rt Hon Clare Short, MP, is reviewing Prickly Pears of Palestine in tomorrow's New Statesman magazine and has some good things to say. I will add the link when I get it.
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