There’s a huge amount of pleasure in writing a novel. Particularly whilst it’s just you, your characters and the computer. The tricky bit and I’m sure I’m not the first to suss this, is when it comes to showing it to a third party. Suddenly, what up until now you’ve viewed in a rather positive light, overnight turns into the biggest load of rubbish anyone, anywhere, at any time has produced – ever!

Still, you put a brave face on. And give it to your nearest and dearest. You intimate they must be totally honest, and that you’re man enough to take any criticism – concurrently making them aware that in the event of aforementioned criticism, you might just slit your wrists – no emotional pressure then. You subsequently spend the next several days, casually squinting out of the corner of your eye, pretending not to watch your book being read, in reality, noting with bated breath every fractional reaction. Why are they not laughing? Why are they not crying? Why are they frowning – is there something they don’t understand or is it a dreaded typo over which they’ve just tripped? This stage of the proceedings (for both parties) is not for the faint-hearted!

And then it gets published. It’s now out there, open to the scrutiny, not just of those close to you, who have a stake in your well-being, but to the world and its brother, who don’t and are almost certainly not going to give a damn about how happy or stricken you’re going to be by their feedback.

But that’s not all, because whilst it was huge fun to write and a fascinating exercise to publish, you’re then supposed to gird your loins and take yourself boldly into local relevant establishments to let them know exactly what their readers will be missing if your book isn’t in stock.

I must come clean and confess. All I’ve ever managed, is a quick slink into a couple of libraries where I thrust the information into the hands of a startled lady behind a desk, muttered under my breath ‘Book . . .local author . . . probably not your sort of thing at all …’ before scuttling out again at speed. Indubitably, a little more work required on the PR front!

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