Martin Cororan - Author of ‘The Melting Pot’

Hey all - Today’s blog is a blatant pitch - If you haven’t already, I would urge you to go to Amazon, take at look at the reviews and purchase a copy of my novel The Melting Pot - especially if, like me, you’re a struggling writer. It can also be ordered from any book-shop, and there are free sample chapters at my web-page www.martincororan.com.

…Pitch over! On a separate note, I would also welcome any ideas you may have for promotion - My latest (serious) avenues include:

• Sneaking up one of the sandwich-board, i-pod wearing guys walking around Reading and taping a poster to his back.
• Some kind of podcast.
• A mockumentary interview on Youtube.
• General posters, flyer campaign

…All of which I shall be attempting in the next few weeks. This site will document how I get on.

Thanks for reading. MC

I’m starting to see the faintest signs that The Melting Pot is penetrated beyond my wider friendship group and entering into the realms of ’strangers.’ Amazon sales are steady (a thoroughly recommended route for anyone considering self publishing), and there have been various orders from Waterstones and libraries - All good stuff.

Marketing-wise it has been a barren few weeks. I am currently being encouraged to ‘kidnap someone famous’ by way of drumming up publicity. If anyone famous is reading this and wants to offer their services, please get in touch. Other than that it has been pointed out that most of my ideas to date involve either being naked or else setting fire to things. I can only hope that this doesn’t reveal sinister aspects to my character…

The term ‘Guerrilla Marketing’ comes from the author Jay Conrad Levinson, and refers to publicity that is targeted high-impact, low cost, ingenuity-based i.e. the kind that a person with no publishing house behind them uses! If anyone has any ideas, they would be greatly received (and probably executed as long as they’re not life-threatening in any way).

Someone should write a book called ‘101 ways to fob off aspiring authors.’

I phoned a book shop today and asked to speak to the fiction buyer. The lady who answered said ‘Unfortunately sir, that won’t be possible as the shop is currently on fire.’

Suffice to say I was impressed. Most people just say that they’re not taking on new writers. I replied with, ‘Surely if the fire was that serious you wouldn’t have stopped to pick up the phone?’

She hung up.

This is the second time in a week that someone has used a similar excuse.

On a positive note - I’ve started submitted work direct to the Publishing houses…

Henry Kelly - What a hero!

I managed to get an interview with Radio Berkshire’s finest this morning - my first ever. Took a taxi up to their HQ in Caversham - ‘The land that time forget’ - an old country house stuck in the glorious Halcyon days of pimms on the lawn.

Q: What’s the dumbest thing you can do when going to a radio interview to promote your book?

A: Forget to take a copy of the book!

I stopped off on route at a local bookshop and bought a copy (I have 2000 in my house - what an idiot!)

Before I knew it I was introduced to the great man himself - He gave the book a really good plug, but was most unimpressed to find that I’d never been to Belfast (where Cororans come from). Apologising profusely for this gross lapse in judgement I modestly referred to The Melting Pot as ‘fantastic.’ We talked about the process of self-publishing and he was genuinely interested in what I had to say.

A superb experience that has given me alot more confidence.

…Right…back to harrassing bookshops!