Spike Milligan once did a sketch about a Mormon boxer who stepped into the ring with his hands tied behind his back. I sympathise with the man. Having been well and truly dicked by various online forums this week I’ve decided that a new direction is called for. A number of site moderators have written to me and said, ‘Don’t take the cynicism personally.’ I haven’t, but I do now see the folly in raving about your own work.

Who wouldn’t! It carries no credence, and no one believes that the reviews are genuine.

So, looks like I’m gonna have to bend the principles of guerrilla marketing and spend a bit of money.

The latest brainwave is to get postcards into coffee-shops. I’ve found a company who do that sort of thing (including distribution), but it doesn’t come cheap.

The other idea is to enter some short-story competitions and possibly get my name out there via different work.