Moving beyond the RikVerse

This time last year I was busy going through the process of getting my first proper book self-published via those very nice people at lulu.com. It was probably the thrill of that adventure that led me to sign up for NaNoWriNo 05 - an experience I'm not planning to repeat this year!

So, one year on. How's things going? They're going fairly well, thank you for asking. The book has not sold in bucketloads, but then the amount of advertising and promotion I have done for it has been in an order not short of "bugger all" so that's nobody's fault but my own. The important thing is that people who know and like my poetry have been able to buy a hardcopy collection of it - and I hope they're still enjoying the poems now! The thought of my book being lost down the back of someone's sofa, or stored in someone's garage, or (shudder) being put out with the rest of the garbage for recycling is not one I'd like to entertain. I want my book to be owned by careful, considerate and loving owners who remember to wipe the mugstains off the cover before they put it back on their (well-dusted) shelves.

Googling for the book brings up a few surprise results - mainly courtesy of amazon.com, whose reach across the virtual shopping mall continues to amaze me. Did you know you can obtain the book in France or Germany? I didn't. Even more shocking to me was learning that you can order the book from W H Smith and even Tesco (hopefully gaining yourself some Tesco Clubcard points in the process).

Anyways, there's no point on looking back at old triumphs. Rather, I need to start looking forward to new ventures - for instance (if things go right) I'm hoping to have a new pdf chapbook of love poems ready for download either just before christmas or just after new year. I've already got the title for the collection: the question is, will you have the resolve to download it?

(ps: it's still not too late to order the 2007 Rik Calendar from lulu.com: perfect for Auntie's or Uncle's christmas present - it'll be much more useful to them than hankies or socks).