Author | Writer | Photographer
simonwhaley 
Virginia Woolf famously called for a ‘room of her own’ in which to write. Simon Whaley chats to three wordsmiths about where they work and why.
A year ago, the Royal Society for Literature released the results of a survey in which 80% of writers said they needed a room of their own in which to work. Entitled A Room of My Own, it also highlighted that 78% of respondents who weren’t currently writers, but planned a writing career, also felt having a dedicated room in which to work was important.
This week’s issue of The People’s Friend (30th May 2020) contains my article about a fascinating organisation: The Lions Barber Collective. It was set up by barber, Tom Chapman, after …
The June issue of BBC Countryfile explores Britain’s coastline, and my 3-mile walk around Dinas Head kicks off this month’s Great Days Out section. (Don’t forget – always abide by …
This week’s issue of The People’s Friend carries my travel piece about Caldey Island on its front cover.
It’s ben rather hot here in the Welsh Borders, recently. In fact, we’ve not had much rain at all. As the cliché goes, the ground is rock hard … except it isn’t. When I strolled onto the summit ridge of Ragleth Hill today, the ground sounded hollow. I’m not sure if I should be worried about that or not!
Blink and you might have missed this one! This appeared on the weather forecast on the national BBC One o’clock news, and you’d be forgiven for thinking it wasn’t one of mine because it wasn’t credited.
Should self-published authors go exclusively Amazon, or dip their toes into the wider world of Kobo, Apple and more? Simon Whaley explores the pros and cons.
Ask any self-published author which ebook platform they sell their books on, and most will say Amazon. It’s easy to understand why. In the UK and USA, Amazon is the dominant player in the ebook market.
But when we upload our text onto the Amazon platform, there’s a decision to be made. Should we enrol in their exclusive KDP Select scheme? It’s an important business decision to make, because it can have far-reaching implications.
The latest issue of the People’s Friend has my feature about Shrewsbury in it and on the front cover.
No, not a new double act between the poet and singer, but a search engine’s use of one of my photos to celebrate the anniversary of Wordsworth’s 250th birthday.
Bing has used one of my photos for their search page background for today – it’s of daffodils flowering at Dora’s Field, near Rydal, in the Lake District, Cumbria.
What makes a good author email newsletter? Two authors tell Simon Whaley how they keep in regular touch with their readers.
Mailing lists. Every author should have one. Why? Because once we have our readers’ email addresses, we control how and when we communicate directly with them. We’re not reliant upon a traditional publisher’s marketing strategy, or another company’s platform, like Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.