Tuesday, June 26, 2012

WIDE LOADS

Ask Phoebe: Pilot vehicle allows 10 second warning
By Phoebe Falconer New Zealand Herald
5:30 AM Tuesday Jun 26, 2012

The pilot vehicle should allow traffic travelling in the opposite direction five to 10 seconds notice of the wide load. Photo / Thinkstock
Last month, my friend and I were driving down New North Rd near Pak'n Save (New Zealand supermarket chain) late at night. We encountered a house being moved on the back of a trailer reasonably fast which almost took up the entire four lanes. A pilot vehicle with a "large load follows" sign hardly gave us enough warning and we had to drive on to the footpath to escape. Is this legal?
Lydia Jarman, Mt Albert, Auckland, New Zealand

The Transport Agency's load pilot driver code says that the pilot vehicle should allow traffic travelling in the opposite direction five to 10 seconds' notice of the wide load. Any longer than this and approaching drivers may think there is no hazard or forget about it. Approaching drivers need to be able to see the pilot vehicle from a distance of at least three times the speed limit, or three times the limit on that section of road, in meters.
Highway America


Peter’s Comment

There is a major, largely unrecognized, problem with driving laws that use time and distance measurements; many drivers have no comprehension of time and distance. Ten seconds or fifty meters means absolutely nothing to them.


I have noticed a wide variation in the warning distance and time for wide-load warning vehicles and also for signs warning of road works ahead.

This lack of comprehension must also extend to the bureaucrats who decided that the warning time for wide loads should be 5-10 seconds. Allowing for reaction time, many drivers traveling at the speed limit will be underneath the wide load before five seconds is up.

Estimating time and distance should be a standard part of driver training and testing.

SPEED BUMPS

A speed bump to make you go faster!

Monday, June 25, 2012

RAIL OR REALITY


Luxury rail travel planned for big spenders
By Abby Gillies NZ Herald
Passengers may soon be able to board a luxury Orient Express-style train to travel the length of New Zealand - at a cost of up to $1500 a day.
Businessmen John Johnston and Dave Nixon, who are directors of South Pacific Express, are behind the planned venture that would cater to foreign tourists with a big budget.
The pair are looking to buy a train previously used by Orient Express in Queensland and are also in negotiations with KiwiRail over the deal, said Nixon.
If it goes ahead, passengers will be able to board the luxury sleeper train from early 2013.
The service would be "comparable to a five-star moving hotel" that would stop at tourist spots to allow passengers to do activities such as salmon fishing, golf and wine tours.
For $1000-$1500, they would have access to all of the services they would receive in a hotel and some activities would also be included, said Mr Nixon.
The idea was proposed at a meeting in Whangarei last night that was held to discuss plans to consider closing the line.
The proposal could be the savior of the Auckland-Northland rail line, say supporters, because KiwiRail is reviewing the future of the line along with several others that are unprofitable.
"We hope all rail lines will stay open so we can showcase New Zealand to its full potential," said Nixon.
Spokeswoman for support group Save the Auckland to Northland Rail Line Vivienne Shepherd said the luxury service would be "fantastic" and could save the line.
"It gives us a glimmer of hope that the line would be left open,' she said.
Rail was a more effective and efficient way to transport heavy loads and could investing in it would ease pressure on roads, she said.
A petition with 13,000 signatures from people protesting a closure of the line was presented to Parliament last week, said Miss Shepherd.
Labour's Tourism spokesman Kelvin Davis said the plan was a "brilliant idea" and one of a range of options KiwiRail and the Government should be considering.
"Keeping the line open and viable is something the community wants - because they say it is their line, not Steven Joyce's - and they have come up with a whole heap of viable suggestions to do just that," he said.
KiwiRail was expected to make a decision about the line's future in about six months.
The train would be pitched to high-value foreign visitors as a moving hotel that would show them the best of New Zealand and across all of the regions.
If the northern line was closed it would not stop the planned luxury service going ahead, said Nixon.

Compare the above article with the one below:
Death of Orient Express no mystery
By Simon Calder, NZ Herald
The victim is 117 years old, much loved and respected, and can tell a thousand tales of intrigue and treachery.
The Orient Express
But the 21st century has not been kind to her, and now a death sentence has been served. When new international rail schedules begin on June 10, the Orient Express is to be killed off.
The train in question is the direct descendant of the service that began on October 4, 1883, taking 80 hours to reach Constantinople (now Istanbul).
Despite numerous interruptions caused by breakdown, snowdrifts, terrorism and war, Europe's greatest international train has continued to appear on timetables.
At present, it links Paris with the Romanian capital, Bucharest, twice weekly. From June, the service will end at Vienna. The body that coordinates international rail services is proposing to change the name on the reasonable grounds that it can hardly be called an express, and goes nowhere near the Orient.
The Grand Express d'Orient was a revolutionary concept, introduced by a Belgian entrepreneur and named by Georges Nagelmackers who, sadly, never became as famous as his United States counterpart George Mortimer Pullman.
At its sumptuous peak, elegant navy-blue-and-gold carriages carrying the brass crest of the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits et des Grands Express Europeens concealed interiors and fittings straight from a Victorian manor house.
Waiters clad as butlers served first-rate food and wine to a clientele who expected nothing less. Dining-car chandeliers were crystal, the cutlery was silver, the napkins were linen and the upholstery was leather.
The artistry and detail of the wooden marquetry were exquisite; the solid brass table lamps and the luggage-racks were objects of beauty.
Celebrities and spies (often one and the same person, as in the case of Mata Hari) could travel in relative luxury from the Seine to the Bosphorus.
The Orient Express, as it soon became, provided an essential link between a continent tearing itself apart - and provided plenty of opportunities for intrigue, romance and treachery. Murder was not especially commonplace aboard the express, but sex certainly was: call-girls would board en route to provide some in-train entertainment.
Despite innumerable political derailments - and an early hijack attempt - Europe's premier train kept running through most of a turbulent 20th century.
Sometimes, extraordinary demands were made in exchange for the right to pass through a country: King Ferdinand of Bulgaria, and his heir Boris, demanded the right to drive the train through their kingdom.
The introduction of cheap air travel after the Second World War began the slow decline of the Orient Express. Rolling stock from its golden days was snapped up by the operators of privately run luxury trains, including the highly successful Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, which is continuing to offer a luxury service from the Channel to the Adriatic.
At 20 minutes past midnight local time on Friday, June 8, the last ever Orient Express train will depart from Bucharest, arriving a day and a half later in Paris.
After an overnight stay, the traveler will be able to board the very first Train a Grand Vitesse covering the 770km between Paris and Marseille in three hours flat. The 21st century has begun, and there is no longer room for the relics of the 19th.
Peter’s Comment
Long distance passenger rail travel is doomed.
I can recall numerous attempts to establish luxury tourist rail services in recent years and all have failed. The commercial reality is that well-heeled tourist on luxury trains in New Zealand will succeed like fish riding bikes.
I often talk with people who believe fervently that the rail system, and all the overgrown branch lines, should be saved. But when I question them they mostly admit that they wouldn’t use it themselves. They just want it saved because of its historic value and because they just love old trains.
But all may not be lost
Kingston Flyer back on track
7:09 AM Friday Aug 12, 2011 NZ Herald
Central Otago's historic steam train the Kingston Flyer is back on track and should be carrying tourists again by October, says its new owner.
The Kingston Flyer
The old steam train has been laid up for two years after the company operating it went into receivership owing more than $4.6 million.
However, Marlborough businessman, David Bryce signed a deal to buy the train yesterday saying it was too sad to see it sitting in a yard and not being used.
"I want to get it back running again," he told the Otago Daily Times.
Mr Bryce also bought the Kingston Tavern which closed after the train stopped running. He hoped to reopen the tavern next week.
He would not say how much he paid for the train but said the deal included two steam locomotives, vintage carriages, the Kingston Tavern, storage sheds, a 14km section of track to Fairlight, six residential lots and about 80ha of land.
Mr Bryce said he was humbled to have the chance to be part of the train's heritage.
The Kingston Flyer has been a New Zealand icon since 1878 and still operates today. But since the 1950s it has had a checkered history with long periods not operating, many changes of ownership and millions of dollars lost.

Saturday, June 23, 2012

RACISM FOR VOTES


Saturday June 23, 2012 9:16 PM NZT
Attack on migrants thin on the facts
John Armstrong is the Herald's
chief political commentator
So much for the theory that Winston Peters was mellowing into Parliament's version of everyone's favorite, if somewhat cranky and irascible, uncle.
It was a more familiar Peters who delivered the leader's address at New Zealand First's annual convention last Sunday.
The speech was not so much a dog whistle as a wolf howl for attention. There was certainly no coded language to decipher.
His pinging of Chinese immigrants for allegedly sponging off New Zealanders by picking up state-funded super payments and other entitlements without paying any income tax was unquestionably populist - so much so that he was almost parodying himself.
Peters cited a young couple from China being able to "bring in four elderly parents who don't have to work here in the 10 years before they turn 65, yet they will all receive full New Zealand Super".
NZ First leader Winston Peters
He was unable to offer any evidence bar hearsay of his claim that 22,000 immigrants nationwide are allegedly collecting super without having paid any direct tax.
He instead rationalized his accusation of freeloading by arguing that New Zealanders needed to know all the facts about superannuation rather than being manipulated by the savings and insurance industry into believing there was a "crisis" which required an end to universality in the payment of the state-funded pension.
It all added up to a lame excuse for an attack on a segment of immigrants who are always an easy target because they are reluctant to fight back.
Continued below . . . 


It actually did not add up at all. Peters is the one choosing not to put all the facts on the table, especially major Government policy changes affecting those applying for residency under Immigration New Zealand's family and parent categories.
While Peters rails against Chinese immigrants supposedly gobbling up the super - but then refuses to say what he would do about it - the National-led Government has quietly stolen a march on him.
His line about a migrant couple bringing four parents to New Zealand is carefully worded. It is technically correct in referring, if only obliquely, to the requirement that to be eligible for superannuation, immigrants must have lived in NZ for at least 10 years, five of those since turning 50.
Peters' statement was instead designed to leave the impression that the elderly parents of immigrants can simply swan around waiting for the day they turn 65 and the money rolls in.
The reality is that there is no plonking mum and dad on the next flight out of Beijing once one of them turns 65.
They effectively have to arrive here before they turn 55 - an age when they would expect to be working and therefore paying tax.
Full story in the Herald.

Peter’s Comment 

Winston Peters has proved time and again that his greatest skill lies in stirring up racial hatred to win votes for his party in Parliament. Fortunately, he struggles to win 5% nationwide and his influence is limited.

Praise to John Armstrong for an excellent expose.

Friday, June 15, 2012

SAFER DRIVING


A Side View Mirror Without Blind Spots
By Bill Weir, C. Michael Kim, David Miller, Justin Bare & Mark Monroy | This Could Be Big 
A car's blind spot is one of life's accepted inconveniences. Check your mirror, lean forward, look over your shoulder and change lanes. That is standard operating procedure.
But a math professor from Drexel University in Philadelphia named Andrew Hicks has designed a curved mirror that eliminates most of that blind spot, using a mathematic algorithm that increases your field of view from the current standard of 15 to 17 degrees to an astonishing 45 degrees without distorting the image.
To achieve the design without the fun-house or fish-eye effect, Professor Hicks's patented design is similar to a disco ball with tiny individual mirrors precisely directed using his algorithm, so that each ray of light bouncing off the mirror shows a wide yet undistorted view.
But don't expect the newest car designs to roll off the production line with these mirrors just yet. At this point, manufacturers are still required to install side view mirrors that are flat, due to issues with distortion. But Prof. Hick's just received his patent so it may take some time for the rules to catch up. Until then, you will most likely first see the mirrors in after market car part stores where curved mirrors are allowed to be sold. And don't be alarmed - while the prototype cost an exorbitant $20,000, expanded manufacturing will greatly reduce the cost for consumers.
Peter’s Comment
Mirrors have been a problem on cars for as long cars have had mirrors. Mirrors have been the forgotten area of automobile development and yet mirrors, or the lack of a view from them, have probably been a factor in as many fatalities as tires, brakes, steering, speed and alcohol.
I welcome the above development but there is still so much more that can be done to improve visibility from the driver’s seat. Mirrors would work better if mounted inside the vehicle rather than outside where they are subject rain, frost, or simply being knocked by other vehicles or pedestrians. If the mirror was mounted inside an external bubble with a rearward view some of the problems would disappear.
Highway America
The front door post is another source of blind spots and while it may be a relatively small blind spot most are capable of completely obscuring a cyclist ten meters away. There must be a see-through material, as strong as steel, that door posts could be made from and if not there must be a scientist somewhere capable of developing one.
Ultimately, drivers will probably have an uninterrupted 360 degree view from the driver’s seat using a row of monitors in the middle of the instrument panel and wide-angle cameras at strategic points around the vehicle. No more blind spots.
Meanwhile, we still have mirrors and they need to be clear, correctly adjusted and never mounted at eye level because you also need to be able to look beyond your mirrors. When you look in your side mirrors you should be looking for other vehicles, not the side of your own vehicle. You should have to move your head to be able to see your own vehicle, but only your eyes to see traffic that might be getting too close.
Finally, remember the old saying, “If you can see my mirror, I can see you?” Well, it’s wrong. It should be, “If you can see my eyes in the mirror I may be able to see you.”
Safe driving.


NEW ZEALAND TRAVEL INFORMATION

Freedom Camping Rules


From Apollo Motorhome Holidays

The New Zealand Government passed a new law in August 2011 that enables local councils to issue infringement notices to campers that camp in prohibited areas; camp without containment (onboard shower and toilet) facilities where camping is restricted to those with approved facilities; littering; and leaving human waste (faeces and toilet paper).
It’s unfortunate that, because New Zealand is such a great place to visit, the increasing number of visitors meant that more people were not respecting and caring for the country’s pristine natural areas.
Council officers will now issue an on-the-spot fine to the vehicle — therefore Apollo Motorhomes Holidays strongly encourages its customers to follow the freedom camping guidelines.
For a great interactive map which details dump stations, caravan parks and freedom camping areas click HERE.


Peter’s Comment

The Freedom Camping Act 2011 also required local councils to provide adequate free parking/camping places and to clearly signpost all areas where camping is prohibited.

Some councils have failed to comply with those provisions. The Act also prohibits councils from having a blanket ban on free camping within their districts. The Thames Coromandel District Council which previously banned free camping throughout their district has now provided a total of four car parking spaces for the use of motorhomes, caravans and fifth-wheelers.

I’d like to see the mayor try to park a fifth-wheeler within the confines of one car parking space. I heard of one camper who was ticketed for using more than one space.

Often when I drive by the designated camping spaces they are occupied by un-ticketed cars. The council provides thousands of free car parking spaces throughout its area and that includes thousands of spaces, day or night, without a time limit.

Thames Coromandel District Council, in one of New Zealand’s most scenic regions, seems determined to drive campers into expensive motor camps or drive them away. The council stance is tantamount to banning home baked bread to prop up bakeries.
When I drive around in my motorhome I see few campers in the Thames Coromandel district, except rentals who will no doubt be taking home the wrong kind of souvenirs in the form of camping infringements. Meanwhile New Zealand campers avoid the area and local businesses will be suffering as a result.

On a recent Australian motorhome journey from Darwin to Brisbane my wife and I noticed that many towns had signs welcoming campers and even in the outback we found free camping about every 50 kilometers.

It’s time Thames Coromandel District Council came into the real world and started complying with the Freedom Camping Act instead of looking at clever ways to defeat the purpose of the Act in order to prop up vested interests.

Meanwhile, tourists and visiting campers can rest assured that not all councils are like the renegades from Thames Coromandel. Elsewhere, New Zealanders understand the importance of tourism and welcome visitors.

Thursday, June 14, 2012

PUBLISHING: THE NEW ORDER


Indie publishing: For cowboys or for real?
By Jocelyn Watkin ©2012
Jocelyn Watkin

When other writers ask WHY I went down the indie publishing path in 2007 instead of approaching a traditional publisher, they assume it was because I had no choice. 
But, I deliberately chose to indie publish (self-publish, indie is short for independent) as I knew I would make more money and have more opportunities and control.

My book, which was co-authored with a financial planner, was called Keeping the Faith - Travel the World. I used my business skills to find a financial planning company to sponsor my website and some of the printing costs. This sponsor also paid for the book launch, to which they invited a number of their customers and I made a lot of sales.  [Click on this link to buy Keeping the Faith - Travel the World: www.publishme.co.nz/shop/keepingthefaithtraveltheworld-p-677.html]

The book was a commercial success for two main reasons - it had a ready-made audience and because this audience was willing and able to buy the book, it was profitable.

Access to willing buyers (an audience) is critical for all publishers, whether traditional or indie, and is essential for any book regardless of its genre or format (print or e-book). As such, it is the main theme of this article.

While the need for an audience hasn't changed, there have been significant changes in the publishing industry recently:

  • Traditional publishers are cutting down the number of print titles they sell, partly due to the rise of the e-book but also because of demand for a particular genre from bookstores.
  • Bookstores are squeezing publishers for work about celebrities - famous names that are usually not writers but have market and media visibility (an audience), which therefore brings in buyers.
  • The focus on New Zealand writers, books and themes is lessening as more of our local publishing houses are bought by global publishers. Therefore, the chance of getting published by a traditional publisher in New Zealand is decreasing.
  • Lack of opportunities and rewards with traditional publishers means that most writers will have to find other solutions to publishing and marketing their books.
That's mostly the negative news. Here's the positive news:
  • People haven't stopped reading.
  • Print-on-demand technology has vastly reduced the cost of indie publishing and the difference in quality between traditionally published books and the best indie-published books is minimal.
  • E-books are taking off, as e-reader devices become cheaper and far more user friendly.
  • Promotion and distribution via websites and social media (such as Facebook and Twitter) is easy and very cheap. Smart writers and others in the creative industries are using these platforms to build their readership and audience while writing their opus or creating their works. 
  • Writers now have the option to talk and sell directly to their readers, as most of the barriers between them (especially those imposed by traditional publishers and book sellers) can be removed.

A similar transition happened in the music business, which has changed beyond recognition in the last 15 years. Successful musicians and bands grabbed the opportunity to escape from what they felt was the tyranny of recording companies. They recognised the benefits of taking control - not just the chance for greater profits but to gain freedom of creative expression and to build a fan base that supported this. This example has provided a model to follow.

However, some writers are reluctant to adapt to changing technology or take advantage of these opportunities, perhaps worried by what they have to learn to embrace this new world.

The questions that writers usually asked in the past were:
·         ‘How can I get a publisher to publish my book?’ Or more recently:
·         ‘Why can’t I get anyone to publish my book?’
They should now be:
·         ‘What do I need to learn and do to get my work published?’
·         ‘How do I reach a new audience for my writing or reach my audience in new ways?’
Most writers grasp the idea of having a website or some form on online presence to sell their books
However, even with a book listed on Amazon buyers won't magically discover it, nor will they automatically want to buy. A writer needs an audience to sell to.

Writers struggle to learn from the music industry model because they feel they don't have the option to perform like musicians do. Most understand that musicians can give their recordings away (as free downloads) on the basis that they'll build an audience in the process, which they can then sell tickets to for their gigs. But, what can a writer do instead of a gig? 

The answer lies in the fact that writers do perform but not in the same way. Musicians give their music away and sell their performances (gigs). But it is the opposite for writers - because their writing is their performance, writers need to perform for free in order sell their books.

For example: While the online buyer can read the back cover blurb and view the e-book's cover on a website, they can't flick through the pages in quite the same way as a print book. So the author has to 'perform' by offering a free sample in order for the buyer to see the quality of the writing and to get interested in it.

However, the 'performance' needs to be on-going to keep the buyers engaged longer-term. To survive in the indie publishing world, writers can't go into hibernation until they emerge with their latest book. Continuing success for the indie published writer requires them to work on building their audience while writing their books. Marketing can't be put aside until each book is ready.

Before spending a lot of time, money and energy on promotion, a writer's first task should be to prepare and write content (articles/material) on their website that will sufficiently interest their readers so they will tell their friends about it. This is the writer's way of performing! A writer should continue to add fresh content to their website to continually build a bigger audience.

Once they get the hang of adding regular content, the writer can then work on promoting their website in order to get people to visit it.

Writers might give part of a book away for free or offer a number of related articles (blogs) to encourage a reader to buy the rest of the book.  Or, the writer might give away the first book of a series to drum up interest in themselves and their work, and then build on that interest in order to sell the rest of the books in the series.

Here's the payback of giving some of your work away for free (performing). You can:
·         Build an online profile before you publish your work.
·         Build your own readership, a network of potential readers and customers.
·         'Road test' your book in progress and get feedback on it before completing it.
·         Get your readers to promote you through their networks and social media (by telling others about you they do a lot of the marketing for you). 
·         Showcase your work as a writer which leads to other work - articles, writer in residencies and, yes, even offers by traditional publishers.

Examples of writers who have performed (provided free content online) and who then went on to sell their writing are:

·         American Julie Powell documenting online her daily experiences cooking each of the 524 recipes in Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking. This resulted in book and film contracts. The film Julie and Julia became the first major movie to be based on a blog.

·         Irish writer David Gaughran: http://davidgaughran.wordpress.com One year ago he had had 300 rejections from agents in Ireland, UK and the US for his first novel: A Storm Hits Valparaiso. In his words: "I made the right decision to self publish my novel. In my first twelve months, I sold 3,482 books and made well over $8,000.          
                Aside from those 3,482 paid sales, I gave away well over 30,000 books.
                I’ve been growing sales month-on-month. I’ve sold around 500 books in each of the last two     months. And, in a couple of weeks, my 2012 sales will overtake my total for all of 2011. Read           more: http://davidgaughran.wordpress.com/2012/04/26/was-self-publishing-the-right-            decision/

·         My own second book Faith Speaks Money Talks (in 2009) was a compilation of free financial planning articles I had written for my website to keep my readers engaged. The articles were chosen for the book because they had consistently rated highly with readers in my website statistics. I approached my online readers with a special pre-publication offer and received enough orders in advance to pay for the entire first print run - even though the majority of these buyers had already read the material for free. Click on this link to buy Faith Speaks Money Talks: www.publishme.co.nz/shop/faithspeaksmoneytalks-p-676.html

In all of the above examples the writers built their audience by providing free content that:
·         solved problems for the reader, or
·         made them laugh, cry or think, or
·         made them curious to come back, read more and to tell their family and friends about it.

This is good news for all who put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard. Writers already have the best skills for preparing website content - the ability to write and write well. 

In summary, traditional publishing options are changing and there are fewer opportunities for New Zealand writers. This is not expected to improve but indie publishing offers a viable alternative.

Having a website or listing an e-book on Amazon won't be enough - you need access to a willing audience. This is the same whether you're a traditional or indie publisher. You need to be a performer as well as having books for sale on your website. Build both your audience and your credibility with content such as blogging, articles, short stories, quizzes, "how to" guides and keep this content going.

You don't have to do this all alone. As the publisher all you have to understand is what you want to achieve. You can get help with the activities and tasks that you can't do, e.g. by hiring designers, formatters, printers and marketers.

In time the indie publishing industry will become like the indie film industry with writers forming co-operative partnerships with others who have the skills needed for certain projects.

It's asking much of the writer to be so much more than a writer, but to get your work out there it's time and effort well spent.

Discover more about indie publishing:  (‘What do I need to learn and do to get my work published?’)

·         Refer to the NZ Society of Authors www.authors.org.nz leaflet Getting help with your Manuscript (which explains the role of agents, assessors and editors and how they can help you get your work to a publishable standard) or the booklet Getting Published (described as: "everything you need to know about the publishing process"), both available from the NZSA Online Bookshop.
·         Print books: Talk to any specialist book printer (not a general printer) about what you want. Ask for a quote from at least 2 - 3 printers. For example: PublishMe www.publishme.co.nz Don't fall into the trap of thinking that a book printer or formatter is the publisher. If the writer is paying for assessment, editing, text layout, formatting and/or printing, then it is the writer who is the publisher, not the person that you are hiring to provide these skills. While they should be paid a fair price for their work, they are not entitled to call themselves the publisher or take a percentage of the profits.
·         How to get the ISBN (International Standard Book Number, which is a worldwide identification code (fingerprint) for books that allows book suppliers and libraries to easily locate and order a book): An ISBN is free to New Zealand publishers of books and other print, electronic or multimedia publications and is available from the National Library of New Zealand www.natlib.govt.nz It can be applied for online or by post and takes 7 - 10 days. (If you are the publisher, then make sure the ISBN is registered in your name and not that of the printer or text formatter.)
·         E-Books: Buy Digital Publishing Guide online from NZ Society of Authors www.authors.org.nz  This guide will introduce you to digital publishing, explain how you can produce an e-book and sell it in New Zealand and internationally.
·         Free indie publishing tips and ideas are available on The Story Bridge website www.thestorybridge.co.nz or sign up for their free e-newsletter to receive on-going advice.

What to do next/make a start: (‘How do I reach a new audience for my writing or reach my audience in new ways?’)

·         Begin a blog. With www.blogger.com you can have a website up and running for free in less than 15 minutes. Perform on your site (i.e. write new content/interesting material/blogs) every week to build credibility and your audience. Remember: make your readers laugh, cry or think and wanting to come back for more. Ask readers to leave comments on your site.
·         Promote your site - at the very least put the link to your blog site/website at the bottom of your email signature and also on your business cards. Ask your readers to promote your site to their networks and via social media such as Twitter and Facebook.
·         Get business cards if you don't already have them. Cards from www.vistaprint.co.nz are quick, cheap and look professional. Give your business card to everyone you meet.
·         Have a go at one form of social media (more if possible) to promote your blog site. Twitter www.twitter.com is one of the easiest to use, is free and it's good practice for any writer to learn express their thoughts in 140 characters or less. It's also a great way of learning more (from others) about writing, indie publishing, blogging and selling online. For an example, check out The Story Bridge on Twitter: @TheStoryBridge  
·         Finish your book and get it edited. Decide on print book, e-book or both formats. Promote your book by email and social media and make a special pre-publication offer to your audience. Don't forget to promote your book launch, too.
·         Publish your book, upload it onto a book selling website (e.g. Amazon, Fishpond or other) and link to this from your own blogsite/website. While all this is happening, keep blogging to continue to build interest in you and your book.
·         Rinse and repeat. If in doubt about what to do at any time go to Google www.google.co.nz and type in "How to [insert what it is that you want to know]".  E.g. "How to write a blog" provides pages of links that will tell you exactly how to do that.

Note: Jocelyn Watkin is a co-director for The Story Bridge.

Buy Jocelyn's books
Keeping the Faith - Travel the World: Click on this link: www.publishme.co.nz/shop/keepingthefaithtraveltheworld-p-677.html

Faith Speaks Month Talks: Click on this link:


Jocelyn Watkin, © 2012


BEYOND THE SEAS

This is my latest historical novel  Beyond the Seas When twelve-year-old orphan Nathaniel Asker is shipped from the back alleys of London to...