PR and Real Life
Not sure exactly what it means in the real world but I put out a press release before the weekend holiday and it has now had 98,647 reads. It’s times like this that I wish I could afford a publicist but then if I could; this would be someone else’s story and not mine. It seems crazy at times to consider that I’m sleeping from place to place, unable to afford a proper base and at the same time, Tom Corven continues to cost me a fortune to give away. At least, in selling the Special Edition, I can now call myself a professional writer. This is a landmark for my transition to legitimate published author and I’m thrilled to be where I am now.
Every now and then, I have to check myself when it appears that things are moving at glacial speed. In reality, Tom’s story came to me 14 months ago while I was trapped in a tent on the side of Ben Lomond during a storm. Since then, the book has been written and thousands of people have enjoyed listening to it through a new medium that could be viewed as Dickensian storytelling for the 21st century. It has now been added to the British Library as its first podcast novel. It’s not every day I get to start a new category in such a bastion of the establishment and I am genuinely humbled and excited by the thought.
Jesper from Denmark emailed me last night to tell me that he’s enjoying TC and asked if I was really living in a tent. Since this is not the first time I’ve been asked that recently, it’s probably worth repeating the answer here:
Over the past six months, I camped in a friend’s empty apartment in Split, Croatia. I use the word ‘camped’ deliberately because apart from an old sofa and some other junk, the place was bare – including the floorboards. My good friend Melanie from London allowed me to stay there while she organised a ‘rebuild’ and I am extremely grateful to her for doing so. Now, back in the UK, I am moving from place to place, approximately a week at a time, staying with friends and family around the country in order to spread the word.
I wrote most of 10 Downing St while in a tent on the Isle of Arran in Scotland and that avenue remains an option for the future. However, I don’t stay in a tent now and with any luck my journey back to living a normal life is well underway. When I resigned my commission in the air force, it was never to become a hermit living in the wilds. Yes I am extremely fortunate in being able to cope (and even thrive) by the challenges that come my way but the sacrifices are about taking responsibility for my own life - getting it to a position where I can do what I’m good at and makes me happy. It’s taken a lot of growing up to realise a simple truth that we should all follow if we can:
Find what you’re good at and do it. You will be happier, more productive, and a better person to be around. No matter what happens in the near or distant future, this, for me, is now a proven fact of life.
The following press release went out last night:
PaulStoryPressRelease.doc
Every now and then, I have to check myself when it appears that things are moving at glacial speed. In reality, Tom’s story came to me 14 months ago while I was trapped in a tent on the side of Ben Lomond during a storm. Since then, the book has been written and thousands of people have enjoyed listening to it through a new medium that could be viewed as Dickensian storytelling for the 21st century. It has now been added to the British Library as its first podcast novel. It’s not every day I get to start a new category in such a bastion of the establishment and I am genuinely humbled and excited by the thought.
Jesper from Denmark emailed me last night to tell me that he’s enjoying TC and asked if I was really living in a tent. Since this is not the first time I’ve been asked that recently, it’s probably worth repeating the answer here:
Over the past six months, I camped in a friend’s empty apartment in Split, Croatia. I use the word ‘camped’ deliberately because apart from an old sofa and some other junk, the place was bare – including the floorboards. My good friend Melanie from London allowed me to stay there while she organised a ‘rebuild’ and I am extremely grateful to her for doing so. Now, back in the UK, I am moving from place to place, approximately a week at a time, staying with friends and family around the country in order to spread the word.
I wrote most of 10 Downing St while in a tent on the Isle of Arran in Scotland and that avenue remains an option for the future. However, I don’t stay in a tent now and with any luck my journey back to living a normal life is well underway. When I resigned my commission in the air force, it was never to become a hermit living in the wilds. Yes I am extremely fortunate in being able to cope (and even thrive) by the challenges that come my way but the sacrifices are about taking responsibility for my own life - getting it to a position where I can do what I’m good at and makes me happy. It’s taken a lot of growing up to realise a simple truth that we should all follow if we can:
Find what you’re good at and do it. You will be happier, more productive, and a better person to be around. No matter what happens in the near or distant future, this, for me, is now a proven fact of life.
The following press release went out last night:
PaulStoryPressRelease.doc
posted by Paul Story at 1:30 AM
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