The Fiction Factory

Number One

The weekend of the 22nd and 23rd July saw The Kill Chain on a free promotion. I was delighted with how well the novel performed against some amazing reads. In the technothriller chart – which is right in my genre for this book – I reached number one in the UK, Canada, France and Australia. I stuck at number two in the United States and made number three in Germany. I recall the last time I didn’t make inroads in Germany at all, so that was a welcome surprise as was making number one in Australia.

It’s quite a stressful time when running a promotion. I want the book to do well, and despite myself, I was forever checking the rankings across the various regions. Not that such behaviour was ever going to influence its chart position. All it does is cause further anxiety. I now have the worry if people are going to like it, and if positive reviews are going to appear. Of course, there is nothing I can do about that. It’s not within my control. I know this, so I shouldn’t worry. No point in thinking about things you can’t change or influence. What I can do is try and produce more good writing. That is within my capabilities, and in the final analysis, it’s all any writer can do.

I have another novel called The Copernicus Coercion which has still to capture the imagination of readers. It has shifted a few copies, but has not yet had the success of The Kill Chain. I intend to look into this and see what I can do to raise its profile. Positive feedback has been ideal, so I’m not worried about whether it’s good enough or not. It won’t be for everyone, but that’s to be expected. I’m still not convinced about the cover. It is a good cover, but I keep thinking I can do something more. Watch this space.