So how ya been? Sorry I haven’t been around but life’s been… interesting.

For starters, if you follow me on twitter or you’ve ‘liked’ the facebook page you’ll know that I’m in the process of striking a three book deal. And that’s about as much as I’m prepared to say on the subject right now because – being the superstitious sod that I am – I’m terrified that if I say much more it’ll jinx everything. That probably sounds very paranoid, and maybe it is, but consider this – just because you’re not paranoid doesn’t mean that they’re not out to get you! Hmmmm. Not feeling so smug now are we.

SO ANYWAY… what I will tell you is that one of the titles in the deal is my current book How To Do Everything and Be Happy. Yes, almost a year after it was first released in ebook form, the book that I wrote on a whim is going to be republished. And not just republished, but updated and revised! Since Christmas much of my time has been spent working on a second edition.

I’ve never written a second edition before. Heck, I’m still getting my head around the fact that I wrote the first edition (which, can I just point out, recently celebrated it’s 6,000th sale), I certainly never expected to be updating the thing less than a year after it first came out.

The plan is to release the revised version in ebook form as soon as I can, and follow it up with a print version in June-ish. The dates are a little flexible right now because of other secret reasons which I am bursting to tell you about.. but can’t (see second paragraph). There are also a couple of other ideas I’m toying with – for instance I’d like to be able to give a free electronic copy of the revised version to anyone who shelled out on the first edition (be that electronic or paper), and anyone who’s supported me in any way (my way of saying thank you to all those people who left nice reviews, posted a comment somewhere, came to a workshop or talk, or just told someone about it – the list goes on and on). Quite how I’m going to do that I’ve yet to work out but it might be a good idea to stay subscribed to either this blog (use the box in the top right hand corner), the book’s blog, the facebook page, my facebook profle, or follow me on twitter, to ensure you don’t miss out.

The second edition will contain plenty of new material – some of which has been suggested by readers. If you like to make a suggestion feel free to drop me a line, but there’ll be more about that in a day or two over at the How To Do Everything and be Happy website - but in the meantime here’s to an ‘interesting’ life.

So, following the rip-roaring success of my first How To Do Everything and Be Happy workshop (back in November), there’s been no stopping me.

Monday I went and gave the same workshop to a fab group of Mum’s (Hello Jensine & pals!) who made me feel very welcome. Next month I’m speaking at a discussion group in Chelmsford. You already know that I’m one of the authors taking part in the Essex Book Festival (March 2012), and later this year I’m one of the tutors at Swanwick’s Summer Writer’s School (more on that nearer the time).

I’m also pleased to announce that I’m doing another Workshop on the 23rd February, with a follow up event on the 22nd March at the Therapy Life Centre here in sunny Southend-on-Sea, just a few doors down from Southend General Hospital.

So – I hear you ask – what exactly happens at these workshops?

Well, on the 23rd Feb we’ll briefly cover the three causes of unhappiness, make ourselves feel better by identifying and blaming the culprits, then move right along for an evening of brainstorming and happiness planning.

On the 22nd of March we’ll briefly re-cap the previous workshop, find out how you’ve got along and tackle any problems you may have encountered. We’ll also discuss the power of Boxing Day, and set about creating a Now List.

If this sounds like your bag then why not come along. Tickets are only a tenner (£18 for both events). To book simply call the Therapy Life Centre direct on 01702 433959 or via credit card over on the How To Do Everything and Be Happy blog.

In the meantime if you’d like to book me to talk at your group or society feel free to get in touch. You can find out more on the Talks and Workshop page.

The internet is a wonderful place.

For instance, the other day I came across a ‘poll’ of Thirty Two people (I know!! Thirty two people! Not exactly extensive, or statistically viable, but bear with me…) that posed the following question important question:

When writing, what would you prefer to hear in the background?

Here are the fascinating results:

Loud music with vocals – 6%
Loud music, instrumental only – 3% (ie. one person!)
Music, but unobtrusive – 21%
Normal background noise – 15%
A quiet room/house – 40%
Silence (earplugs) – 12%

For me it’s a complex question – because the music that I have playing in the background is an essential part of my writing process. For instance, there are a number of scenes in my novel (The Good Guys Guide to Getting Girls – find out more here) when poor old Jason manages to screw up another promising relationship, or where his affections aren’t reciprocated, or where he feels like he’ll never meet the girl of his dreams. Writing these scenes could be a challenge, particularly if I wasn’t feeling that way myself, and unlike some authors who seem to live in a permanent dream-world where their characters seem so real to them that they no longer have any control over what they say or do, writing for me is more like theatre where I play every part. For this reason I usually need something to help me get into character, and music is the fastest way I know.

Here are some of the tracks I listened to (over and over) whilst constructing those heart breaking scenes (and if I’ve done this properly some of them link to youtube where you can listen for yourself)

A&E, Goldfrapp
Photos, The London Metropolitan Orchestra – from the movie ‘Cashback’
Things You’ve Never Done, Passenger
Suzy, The London Metropolitan Orchestra - ‘Cashback’ again
Driving With The Brakes On, Del Amitri
One True Love, Semisonic
Now Comes the Night, Rob Thomas
Elevator Beat, Nancy Wilson - from the movie ‘Vanilla Sky’
Wise Up, Aimee Mann – from the movie Magnolia
My Stupid Mouth, John Mayer – awesomely funny, sad song. Judging by the comments of YouTube, some guys feel about this song the way some girls do about the movie ‘Bridget Jones’s Diary’
Drawing, The London Metropolitan Orchestra - ‘Cashback’ again!
In Your Arms, Kina Grannis – a fabulous lovely song, but really quite sad. The video is amazing but seems to me to be totally at odds with the mood of the song.

Notice that quite a few of them are taken from movie soundtracks. Movie soundtracks are a great source of mood inducing music (much of it instrumental) because, obviously, that’s the point of the music in a movie.

Likewise, for the scenes where it seems like Jason might be winning, where a new girl enters his life, or a date goes particularly well, maybe even really, really well (if you know what I mean), I came up with a selection of songs to get me jumping around in my chair, my pulse racing, or whatever else was needed to give the scene the necessary ‘ka-pow’

Toxic, Britney Spears – regardless of what you might think of Britney, this is a great song
Would You…?, Touch and Go - very sexy
God Put a Smile On Your Face, Mark Ronson
Must Be Dreaming, Frou Frou - this song makes my heart feel like it’s going to burst
The Sweet Escape, Gwen Stefani - whereas this one just makes me smile and smile :-)
Come What May, Nicole Kidman & Ewan McGregor
Let’s Get It On, Marvin Gaye
Lifeline, Imogen Heap - I prefer the instrumental version, the lyrics tend to get in the way when I’m trying to write
Oh Yeah, Yello

So, good people of the interweb, I’m interested to know whether anyone else does anything similar? Post your comments in the box below! Looking forward to reading them.

Originally written for amwriting.org

It’s that time of year again – the run up to the annual Essex Book Festival; a month and a bit chock full of book related events featuring authors from all over the country at numerous venues in and around the county.

I’ve been to a number of events over the years, last year I went to see Sara Paretsky, and David Baddiel – both excellent – but this year will be especially interesting because at one event,n Tuesday the 13th March, I won’t be amongst the audience – I’ll be the one at the front!

Yes, you heard it here first, I’m one of the authors in this years festival talking about How To Do Everything and Be Happy. What better way to celebrate over 5,000 sales?

I’ll be honest with you, this feels a little weird. I’m still shocked when someone emails me to tell me they’ve read the book, or when I discover another review on amazon. A part of me is utterly convinced that the only people at Debden Libray on the 13th of March will be me, the head librarian, and some poor soul who’s been coerced into doing the refreshments. This being the case I’d like to extend a warm and very genuine (some might say slightly desperate) invitation to come along – it really would be absolutely lovely to see you. And your friend. If you can’t do it for me, do it for the tea lady.

The way these things normally work is the author chats for a bit, then answers questions. This being the case let me just say that I’d be happy to answer anything – whether that be about the ideas in the book, writing & publishing, or my love of flapjacks. If you’ve read the book bring it along and I’ll scribble in the front for you. If you haven’t read the book, come anyway, there’ll be copies to buy on the night and did I mention there would be refreshments?

Title: Peter Jones talks about his book How to do Everything and Be Happy
Part of: Essex Book Festival
When: 7pm, Tues 13th March 2012
Venue: Debden Library, c/o Epping Forest College, Borders Lane, Loughton, IG10 3SA
(click here for a map)
Tickets: £4, or £3 for concessions (under 18s, full-time students, registered unemployed and older people in receipt of state benefits)

HOW TO BOOK YOUR TICKETS

Bookings can be made through the Mercury Theatre Box Office on 01206 573948 which is open Monday to Saturday 10am -8pm.

There are no booking charges made by the Mercury although there will be a charge for postage of £1 unless tickets are collected from the Mercury Theatre.

Please advise the Box Office if you have any access requirements when making a booking. Visitors with a disability are offered a free ticket for a companion. If you require a BLS interpreter, please advise the Box Office.
Refunds – The Festival cannot refund money or exchange tickets except if an event is cancelled, in which case return your tickets to the Box Office within 30 days for a full refund.

If you have a query about access or a general enquiry about the event please email hello@essexbookfestival.org.uk or ring 01245 347456.

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Guest Blogger, Friend and Author, Della Galton, talks about the launch of her latest book (‘Moving On – from Short Story to Novel’) and explains why she wishes there’d been something similar when she was a fledgling author

Today (January 5th, 2012) is publication day of my new book, and I am so excited.  Even though I know everyone else in the universe won’t know and won’t care and the momentous news will pass without comment. But I am bursting with pride, and I feel a huge sense of achievement.

I wrote this book because I needed it when I wrote my first novel, and I needed it when I wrote my second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh novels…. And it wasn’t around.  So I thought I should write it!

Actually, I was a bit scared of taking the huge leap between writing short stories and novels. And, rather strangely, the more I learned about writing, the more scared I was – it isn’t a straightforward transition, at least it wasn’t for me!

I have sold my work for 25 years now, and yet each time I venture into a new type of writing, whether it is feature, or serial or poetry or radio play or children’s story, or humour, or erotica or full length non fiction or novel, I feel for a little while, as though I am stumbling around in a darkened house. There are no lights, no signposts, no familiarity.  And I have had success with writing, and I know the techniques, I know the craft, but that doesn’t mean I am not afraid.

I literally feel my way.  Going from the short story to the novel was the biggest leap for me.  I wrote my first novel knowing nothing whatever about the form.

By the time I wrote my fourth, Passing Shadows, which was the first one I sold, I felt as though the lights in the house were on – but I still had so much to learn.

What did development of characters mean? What did it really mean? How much plot did I need? What were the differences in real terms? Were there a lot of differences?

Oh yes, there were.

This is why I wrote this book.  I hope my experiences will help you.  I love teaching almost as much as I love writing and I wanted to share my journey with other writers who are also making the move from short story to novel.

Moving On – from Short Story to Novel – A step by step guide is the result.

Thank you for all the writers who shared their experiences with me on their moving on writing journey.

With love

Della Galton

Della Galton is the author of six novels, and three non-fiction books. Her short stories have been published in every major UK women’s magazine, as well as numerous short-story anthologies (available from Accent Press). She is Agony Aunt for Writer’s Forum magazine, and teaches at various writing courses and workshops around the country. Moving On – from Short Story to Novel – A step by step guide by Della Galton, is published by Accent Press, price £9.99.
Find out more about Della at dellagalton.co.uk.

Click here to purchase ‘Moving On’ from Amazon.co.uk

Click here to view all of Della’s books on Amazon

So, in three days it’ll be 2012. And for the fifth year running I’ll be setting myself personal goals.

A lot of my friends dislike the idea of setting personal goals, like it somehow takes the ‘private’ part of their life – the part that is supposed to be about relaxing and having fun – and turns it into ‘work’. And work, as we all know, is the mortal enemy of fun and relaxation.

Perhaps you feel the same way? I know I did. Having read and listened to more than my fair share of self help books I thought I knew all that I needed to know about Goal Setting – enough to know that it wouldn’t work for me. And as I sat in traffic on the M25, morning after morning, listening to those Tony Robbins CDs, I’d start to wonder whether I’d enjoy them more if I wound down the window and tossed them, Frisbee-like, over the edge of the bridge and into the River Thames far below me.

That was, until I went out for a curry with my old friend Denny.

“I’ve set myself 5 goals for next year,” she told me one winter’s night in January.

“Goals?” I said

“Yeah,” said Denny as she mopped up some sauce with a strip of naan bread. I was stunned.

“Why?”

“Because I’m fed up with my life being like it is.”

“But, setting yourself goals – it’s a little extreme though, isn’t it?” She shrugged.

“Not really,” she said.

“But what if you don’t achieve them?” I asked.

“Then life will stay pretty much as it is, I guess. From that perspective I can’t really lose.” I thought about this for a second or two.

“Maybe I should set some goals,” I said.

“Maybe you should,” said Denny. “What would they be?”

And that was five years ago.

I like to set my goals at the start of each year, and review them at the end. This might make them sound a little like ‘resolutions’ but resolutions are something entirely different. “I will give up smoking” – that’s a resolution. “I have given up smoking (December, 2012)” – now that’s a goal.

Take for instance one of my goals for 2010:

My Happiness Book is published
(Dec 31st 2010)

At the time I set that the Goal I’d hardly started writing How To Do Everything and Be Happy, let alone given much thought to how I would publish it. I didn’t even have the title.

Did I achieve the goal?

No.

That’s the not so funny thing about setting goals – some of the time, perhaps even most of the time, you fail!

But then I’m not particularly motivated by ‘easy goals’ – goals that I know I have a good chance of achieving. They don’t even feel like goals – more like boring items on my to-do list. I had a friend who, on January 1^st, set herself the goal of joining a gym. By the end of the first week she’d achieved it. Was that really a goal? Shouldn’t joining the gym have been part of a much larger goal to improve her health and fitness? In my mind a goal should stretch you. A goal should be ever-so-slightly out of reach. With most of my goals I know that my chances of success are extremely slim, though the chance is there.

So my revised Goal for 2011 looked like this:

“How To Do Everything and Be Happy”
is available in three formats,
and selling really well (to be defined),
whilst I bask in the success (to be defined)
of the seminar(s)
Dec 31st 2011

And will I achieve that Goal??

No.

But I’ll come darn close. The book was released as an ebook back in March, and as a paperback a few weeks later. Both are selling better than I could have ever hoped. An audio version is planned for this coming year, and whilst I’m not exactly basking in the success of my one workshop, two more are being planned for the coming weeks.

Most important of all though, by identifying why I achieved or failed my goal I’m equipped to write smarter, more specific, or maybe utterly different goals.

Working with goals – that is, having them in your life – is something that gets easier the longer you do it. You develop a habit, or a mindset – after a while you start to look at everything you’re doing in relation to how it sits with your goals. In a very real way, your goals force you to decide what’s important to you and move you in that direction. They give you purpose and vision.

And it’s true what they say:

“Without vision the people perish.”

So, people of the interweb – what are your Goals for 2012. Drop me a line or use the comments box below – I’d love to hear from you.

Wishing you a very happy New Year

Peter Jones

Originally written for Amwriting.org

Having sent the second draft of my novel back to the agent, here’s why I’m not prepared to wait one moment longer

So, a while back you’ll remember I was sharing with you the challenge of having to bring a 115,000 word manuscript to under 90,000 – whilst shoe horning in another couple of chapters.

You’ll be pleased to know that I did it.

Two months to the day after I sharpened my editing pencil, the novel finally weighed in at 89,532 words and was promptly shipped back to my agent.

Now – apparently – I wait.

Let me just take this opportunity to segway into a barely concealed rant about how much waiting there seems to be in the traditional world of publishing. From the moment you type the words THE END on your manuscript you actually begin a perilous journey on the road to publication – most of which involves waiting for someone, somewhere, to come back to you.

Which is quite a shock to the system for a fella like me, when up til now the only person preventing me from moving forwards – was myself.

It doesn’t help that I come from a Credit Card Banking background where hard-nosed, money-minded gentlemen want everything this time last week – earlier if at all possible – and I hate to admit it now, but that suited me just fine.

You might have gathered that I’m not a patient person. In fact, in the words of Charlotte from The Importance of Being Earnest – “I hate waiting even five minutes for anybody. It always makes me rather cross.” But what makes the waiting even more torturous (for me at least) is that I’m acutely aware that there are no guarantees. In my head, every second that ticks by is just another moment when my manuscript might be buried under something else, never to see the light of day.

So what’s to be done? How can I prevent myself from gnawing off my forearm as I sit and stare at my empty email in-box? The answer – so I’m told (thank you Wendy, thank you Della - two ladies who have said this very thing to me many many times over the past few weeks) is to start writing my next book.

And that – you lovely, lovely people – is exactly what I’m going to do. Consider this a formal announcement as such, if for no other reason than I’ll look pretty silly if this time next month I haven’t actually done anything about it.

A few gems to whet your appetite. It’ll most likely be another non-fiction book. It’ll most likely be another self-help book. It’ll most likely be written in a similar style to How To Do Everything and Be Happy. And here’s where I really lay my head on the block – it’ll be finished, proof read, formatted, and on-sale (for the kindle at least) by next April. Ish.
Because… I wouldn’t want to keep you waiting.

In the meantime though feel free to torture me with your writing-related-waiting-experiences (I think I’m going to regret asking that) OR any pearls of wisdom you may have re the publishing process and how to survive it, in the comments box below.

Originally written for Amwriting.org

It’s been just over a year since I first put finger to keyboard to write How To Do Everything and Be Happy, and this week (some 3,000 book sales later), I was pleased to announce the first How To Do Everything and Be Happy workshop, taking place THIS THURSDAY (24th November 2011), here in sunny Southend-on-Sea, just a few doors down from Southend General Hospital at the newly opened Therapy Life Centre. There are only a few places left!

I’m no stranger to standing in front of an audience. For years I’ve been an occasional actor and MC for Third Edge Theatre Company’s Murder Mystery evenings at Hylands House, in Chelmsford, and when I was working in banking much of my time was spent running training sessions. But this feels different. If I’m honest, it’s a little scary.

If you’re a big-reader of self-help you’ll probably be familiar with workshops, seminars, and the like. Large halls packed with badge wearing delegates, all facing the stage and podium in readiness for a motivational speaker who will cause you to question everything you believe, shake the foundations of all you hold dear, and force you to reconsider every assumption you’ve ever made.

This isn’t going to be one of those workshops.

This is going to be workshop for normal people, with normal lives. It’s for anyone who may have been ambling through life and wondering why they’re not – well – just that little bit happier. It’s going to be an evening of brainstorming and happiness planning, and after two hours I’m hoping to have armed everyone with enough goodies (INCLUDING the paperback version of my book) that they can return home and start creating a happier life. Wow. No pressure then! Put like that I don’t feel scared at all!!

Anyway, the workshop is at 7:30pm, on Thursday the 24th November, and costs just £18.00. You can find out more, and reserve your place, by clicking here.

Right now this looks like this could be the first of many speaking gigs. I’m currently in discussion with four organisations about the possibilities of doing a talk, a workshop, or something similar in the new year. I can’t tell you much more than that at the moment, but check back later and click on talks and workshops for more details (or save yourself the bother and subscribe to this blog via email).

In the meantime, if you have any tips, hints, words of encouragement, or just know where I can get my hands on a truck load of Valium, feel free to use the comments box below.

Click here (or the YouTube link below) to listen to a BBC interview about the book the workshop is based on

As many of you know, earlier this year I made my self-help book, How To Do Everything and Be Happy, available as an ebook.

At the time the original idea was to jot down a few of the daft ideas on Happiness that I’ve had since my wife Kate died, cobble them together into something vaguely readable and entertaining, turn it into a PDF, chuck it up on amazon, and maybe I’d make a few quid every few months to buy myself a beer or two (although in reality it would have to be cider because I’m allergic to beer – and yes I know how rubbish that sounds).

ANYWAY… a few months later and I can report the following

1. No ciders have been brought with the proceeds because in a relatively short space of time my sales surpassed what I would normally consider “beer-money”, and instead became something of “an income”. Not enough to pre-fix with the word “lavish”, but enough to cause me to re-think how I spend my days. Where once I stood in banks telling suited gentlemen how to part the man on the street from his hard earned wedge, now they’re spent, well… doing this. But I digress.
2. Creating an e-book isn’t as straight forward as you may think.

And it’s that second item that I really want to talk to you about because when I think about how naive I was it makes me want to hang my head in shame.

For starters ebooks aren’t PDFs. There are in fact several different recognised ebook formats, and each have their quirks, just as there are a growing number of reading devices, and reading apps.  Not a day goes by without another large 21st Century corporation or struggling Highstreet Bookstore trying to muscle in on the e-book action. And all this rapid development and movement in an industry that didn’t really exist until four years ago means that the days of “chucking” a PDF anywhere are well and truly over.

There’s more to e-publishing than “chucking”.
Not a lot more.
But enough.

And that’s a pity because we’re entering something of a new era when a lot of talented people who’ve previously gone unheard could finally make their work available to a larger audience than friends and family. It would be a shame if the only thing that prevented them was time & effort, or tech-know-how.

Which is where I step out of the shadows, purple cloak billowing around my pristine black satin shirt & matching trousers, and tip my hat to you. Today I’m officially launching my ebook formatting service.

I will publish your book for you.

If you’ve written a book, gone through all the agony of making it the best it can possibly be, and you’d like to make it available on the Amazon Kindle, WHSmith’s Kobo, Barnes & Nobles Nook, maybe even the iPhone, iPad, Blackberry – but you’re lacking in time, energy, or know-how – for a modest fee (£199 for fiction, £249 for non fiction) I can do it for you. Meaning I’ll take your manuscript (in whatever electronic format you can give it to me), wrestle it into the correct format, upload it to Amazon (and other ebook stores should you wish), and make sure it’s listed correctly.

Not only that but I’ll show you how to monitor your sales, calculate and alter the price, and collect your royalities.

And If you need help creating the book cover, building a website to promote your masterpiece, or just a few pointers on how to sell more than a handful of copies, I can help with that too.

I can’t guarantee that it’ll sell. I can’t guarantee that people will like it. But I can guarantee that by the time I’m done, you’ll be an author, and people will be able to buy and read your book.

For more details or an informal chat about your e-publishing needs, hop over to my other website at SoundHaven.com. It’s just one click.
I look forward to hearing from you.

Useful ePublishing Links
SoundHaven’s ePublishing Price List
Frequently Asked Questions… and their answers
Terms and Conditions
Contact me about your ePublishing project

If you’re interested in any aspect of Self Publishing, ePublishing, or self-publicity as an author, consider booking your place at Swanwick Writers Summer School (Aug 2012) which will feature several courses, workshops, and discussions on the subject, including a two-part course run by myself. More details – as they come available – here

Recently I’ve had a spate of emails asking me how on earth I’ve managed to shift so many copies of my book, How To Do Everything and Be Happy (1,296 copies last month (October 2011), on amazon, in the UK, and rising).

The official answer is, of course, that it’s a bloody good book and how dare you suggest otherwise. But unofficially even I will admit that there may be more to it than that. After all, no one knows just how good it is until they read it and for that to happen something else has to persuade them to part with some cash.

I have three pet theories.

1) My name. People tend to remember my name. They’re then quite surprised how different I look on telly, and the fact that I haven’t arrived by helicopter. Not to mention that I don’t own a department store.

2) The Title. People really like the title. Which is relief as I originally wanted to call it How To Be Happy, then The Happiness Blueprint, then So You Want To Be Happy, before finally settling on How To Do Everything and Be Happy. Phew!

3) The cover. People really really like the cover.

I can’t take any credit for number three. Both the ebook and paperback covers were designed by my good friend Ellen – who having taken my suggestions into consideration, ignored them completely and blew my socks off with the colourful creation you see today.

Ellen is an extremely talented young woman. Together with her business partner and fellow wordsmith Dan (hello Dan), they run Stalk and Seed, an advertising agency that’s going places. If you’re of a mind and you get a moment you should check out their funky website at stalkandseed.com.

But in the meantime I thought I’d share with you the following video that they helped create for Sir Paul McCartney (to be played behind him and the band during the American leg of his world tour)! It basically involved locking Ellen in a room for two weeks with a huge blackboard and getting her to draw whatever came to mind to the song Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da, with occasional input on the phone from Sir Paul himself. The result is pretty stunning. Like I said, talented young woman.

If you’re reading this in your email or you can’t see the video – click here