Here's the mark of a good logo. Somebody should make a template of a lear jet avaialbe online. If your logo looks good on the side of it, chances are, it's a great logo. I want one of these one day. I don't actually mind if it's this one - I don't think I would rebrand it. They should give it away in a competition when the tour is over.
There's a lot of chat on my blog feeds right now about how serious writers really shouldn't self publish. Most of this is fuelled by agents and publishers, so I can't quite get hold of the honesty handles that are required to make sense of it all. The numbers aren't stacking up for me. Is it better to sell 20,000 copies of something and take maybe 5% of what's on offer or sell 2,000 copies of something and take 90% (this is based on pretty accurate figures derived from my LuLu p.o.d. model). At the "big deal" end of the spectrum, there's kudos, distribution, profile and help. At the "do it yourself" end, there's hard work, control and er.. more hard work.
What's even more disturbing to me is that most advice tends to say it is far better to have a publishing deal - to have somebody else put your book out for you, but there are levels. HarperCollins, Macmillan, Penguin... I wouldn't think twice about signing on the line, but there are thousands of layers beneath this. Little publishers all fighting for their corner. Are they any better placed than me to get my product moving? Is there a spreadsheet somewhere with very defined lines of what counts as real and what's little more than a waste of time? Will a big publisher come and rescue you from the arms of a small one? Will you ever get picked up again if you get dropped by a major after your first book?
I bring this up today because I'm getting ever closer to having a product finished that I want to do something with. I'm totally up for doing self-promo. I'm no stranger to it - and yes, it shocks me that some people think just getting your book on a shelf is enough. It's not. Not if you want to quit your day job.
Food for thought and I guess at the end of the day, we all just make the best choice we can at the time.
Finally, I have some sad news. Maybe the worst news I have ever reported here. What's going on with Doctor Who? It does all the right things, it looks great and the writing is second to none. The Doc is fine, Amy is brilliant and there's some fantastic undercurrents on the move in the series as a whole - so why am I unable to invest in it emotionally like I did before?
I must have been brought to tears at least four times in the RTD era, but as much as I like these two, if the Doc left Amy behind, I don't think I would care that much. All the chemistry between the characters is PR bluster. There isn't very much at all. It's simply not connecting with me. I got what I wanted in Moffat - shoot, even Gaiman is writing for the show at some point in the future. Why aren't I happy? What am I missing? Maybe I need to go back in time and see how long it took me to feel that way about Rose and the Doctor first time around...
Word of the day: Beleaguered
Currently listening to: Shinedown - Us and Them
Currently reading: Harlan Coben - Caught
Currently in awe of: the final throes of Supernatural Season 5. Talking of throes, Lost continues to deliver rather smartly too.
Footnote: IronMan 2... it was just OK y'know. Disappointed but not dismayed. Roll on Robin Hood.
