Gutted …

[Spud]

I am gutted …

It seems the dream of writing a book is over before its even started…

I like speaking to people who are brutally honest and I spoke to a ghost writer today who I admire greatly and he says people would not be interested.

My story would have included :

Mum & dad barnodos kids
Dad died on fathers day 1973
Mum diagnosed paranoid schizophrenic
Brutally bullied at a military boarding school

My 24 years in the Army which included serving with the elite pathfinders platoon

My 20+ years in boxing which included working with Lennox Lewis, Frank Maloney, Ricky Hatton & David Haye having tales which would make your hair curl.

On leaving the army working as a Debt Collector in some of the most deprived areas of the North East

Working as a care officer for some of the most disadvantaged looked after children in the country

Having to keep quiet some high profile sportsmen were drug cheats.

Being diagnosed and coping with Parkinson’s

It seems a publicist would not be interested.

Oh well it seems i am a boring ****

I asked for honesty and got it straight between the eyes.

[si7dog7]

I am gutted …

It seems the dream of writing a book is over before its even started…

I like speaking to people who are brutally honest and I spoke to a ghost writer today who I admire greatly and he says people would not be interested.

My story would have included :

Mum & dad barnodos kids
Dad died on fathers day 1973
Mum diagnosed paranoid schizophrenic
Brutally bullied at a military boarding school

My 24 years in the Army which included serving with the elite pathfinders platoon

My 20+ years in boxing which included working with Lennox Lewis, Frank Maloney, Ricky Hatton & David Haye having tales which would make your hair curl.

On leaving the army working as a Debt Collector in some of the most deprived areas of the North East

Working as a care officer for some of the most disadvantaged looked after children in the country

Having to keep quiet some high profile sportsmen were drug cheats.

Being diagnosed and coping with Parkinson’s

It seems a publicist would not be interested.

Oh well it seems i am a boring ****

I asked for honesty and got it straight between the eyes.

Pick another person Spud.
Don’t give up on the first try.
There are plenty of people out there who can help regarding writing. I for one know this. Pretty sure a few on here are, or know aspiring writers.

But you will need a big kick start to get any traction etc. but then you know a few people and are “notorious”

[orbtastic]

What would it be called?

Half baked?
Starch raving mad
I yam
Take it to my grave-y

Maybe you can get Edgar Allen Poe-tato to write it.

[Spud]

I am gutted …

It seems the dream of writing a book is over before its even started…

I like speaking to people who are brutally honest and I spoke to a ghost writer today who I admire greatly and he says people would not be interested.

My story would have included :

Mum & dad barnodos kids
Dad died on fathers day 1973
Mum diagnosed paranoid schizophrenic
Brutally bullied at a military boarding school

My 24 years in the Army which included serving with the elite pathfinders platoon

My 20+ years in boxing which included working with Lennox Lewis, Frank Maloney, Ricky Hatton & David Haye having tales which would make your hair curl.

On leaving the army working as a Debt Collector in some of the most deprived areas of the North East

Working as a care officer for some of the most disadvantaged looked after children in the country

Having to keep quiet some high profile sportsmen were drug cheats.

Being diagnosed and coping with Parkinson’s

It seems a publicist would not be interested.

Oh well it seems i am a boring ****

I asked for honesty and got it straight between the eyes.

Pick another person Spud.
Don’t give up on the first try.
There are plenty of people out there who can help regarding writing. I for one know this. Pretty sure a few on here are, or know aspiring writers.

But you will need a big kick start to get any traction etc. but then you know a few people and are “notorious”

Thank you for being positive

[Spud]

What would it be called?

Half baked?
Starch raving mad
I yam
Take it to my grave-y

Maybe you can get Edgar Allen Poe-tato to write it.

Hilarious you ****

[margaret thatcher]

you cant say it's over after 1 opinion

[Spud]

you cant say it's over after 1 opinion

Ty for being positive

[jamesmcdonnell]

I am gutted …

It seems the dream of writing a book is over before its even started…

I like speaking to people who are brutally honest and I spoke to a ghost writer today who I admire greatly and he says people would not be interested.

My story would have included :

Mum & dad barnodos kids
Dad died on fathers day 1973
Mum diagnosed paranoid schizophrenic
Brutally bullied at a military boarding school

My 24 years in the Army which included serving with the elite pathfinders platoon

My 20+ years in boxing which included working with Lennox Lewis, Frank Maloney, Ricky Hatton & David Haye having tales which would make your hair curl.

On leaving the army working as a Debt Collector in some of the most deprived areas of the North East

Working as a care officer for some of the most disadvantaged looked after children in the country

Having to keep quiet some high profile sportsmen were drug cheats.

Being diagnosed and coping with Parkinson’s

It seems a publicist would not be interested.

Oh well it seems i am a boring ****

I asked for honesty and got it straight between the eyes.

You do realise most publishers are imbeciles, and they are only interested in publishing things they see as a sure fire success.

I would suggest though that you need to funnel down into what sort of book you are trying to write, is it a personal memoire of your life, is a boxing book, is it about the school and army system - publishers need to understand what the market is.

You can always self publish, but your guarantees of a return on investment will be very very low.

Are you writing this as some point of personal catharsis - if you are, just go ahead and write it, and worry about having it published afterward, but keep in mind that you may never be able to get an audience, and do it for yourself.

[olij999]

Spud - appreciate we have not communicated before, but I have just PMd you with various thoughts - hope they are useful.

All the best,

Oliver

[SeanBrennan]

Spud - appreciate we have not communicated before, but I have just PMd you with various thoughts - hope they are useful.

All the best,

Oliver

good of you Oliver. And Spud your story is definitely worth telling. Just use that person's response as fuel for you pursuing it mate.

[Muttley]

I am gutted …

It seems the dream of writing a book is over before its even started…

I like speaking to people who are brutally honest and I spoke to a ghost writer today who I admire greatly and he says people would not be interested.

My story would have included :

Mum & dad barnodos kids
Dad died on fathers day 1973
Mum diagnosed paranoid schizophrenic
Brutally bullied at a military boarding school

My 24 years in the Army which included serving with the elite pathfinders platoon

My 20+ years in boxing which included working with Lennox Lewis, Frank Maloney, Ricky Hatton & David Haye having tales which would make your hair curl.

On leaving the army working as a Debt Collector in some of the most deprived areas of the North East

Working as a care officer for some of the most disadvantaged looked after children in the country

Having to keep quiet some high profile sportsmen were drug cheats.

Being diagnosed and coping with Parkinson’s

It seems a publicist would not be interested.

Oh well it seems i am a boring ****

I asked for honesty and got it straight between the eyes.

Unfortunately Spud this very true. But you can self publish. It just depends what you want to achieve by writing it. If you are looking to make a few quid,then it is unlikely. But if you want to write just to get your story out there,then why not go fit it?

[Spud]

I am gutted …

It seems the dream of writing a book is over before its even started…

I like speaking to people who are brutally honest and I spoke to a ghost writer today who I admire greatly and he says people would not be interested.

My story would have included :

Mum & dad barnodos kids
Dad died on fathers day 1973
Mum diagnosed paranoid schizophrenic
Brutally bullied at a military boarding school

My 24 years in the Army which included serving with the elite pathfinders platoon

My 20+ years in boxing which included working with Lennox Lewis, Frank Maloney, Ricky Hatton & David Haye having tales which would make your hair curl.

On leaving the army working as a Debt Collector in some of the most deprived areas of the North East

Working as a care officer for some of the most disadvantaged looked after children in the country

Having to keep quiet some high profile sportsmen were drug cheats.

Being diagnosed and coping with Parkinson’s

It seems a publicist would not be interested.

Oh well it seems i am a boring ****

I asked for honesty and got it straight between the eyes.

You do realise most publishers are imbeciles, and they are only interested in publishing things they see as a sure fire success.

I would suggest though that you need to funnel down into what sort of book you are trying to write, is it a personal memoire of your life, is a boxing book, is it about the school and army system - publishers need to understand what the market is.

You can always self publish, but your guarantees of a return on investment will be very very low.

Are you writing this as some point of personal catharsis - if you are, just go ahead and write it, and worry about having it published afterward, but keep in mind that you may never be able to get an audience, and do it for yourself.

Can i call you tomorrow

[Spud]

I am gutted …

It seems the dream of writing a book is over before its even started…

I like speaking to people who are brutally honest and I spoke to a ghost writer today who I admire greatly and he says people would not be interested.

My story would have included :

Mum & dad barnodos kids
Dad died on fathers day 1973
Mum diagnosed paranoid schizophrenic
Brutally bullied at a military boarding school

My 24 years in the Army which included serving with the elite pathfinders platoon

My 20+ years in boxing which included working with Lennox Lewis, Frank Maloney, Ricky Hatton & David Haye having tales which would make your hair curl.

On leaving the army working as a Debt Collector in some of the most deprived areas of the North East

Working as a care officer for some of the most disadvantaged looked after children in the country

Having to keep quiet some high profile sportsmen were drug cheats.

Being diagnosed and coping with Parkinson’s

It seems a publicist would not be interested.

Oh well it seems i am a boring ****

I asked for honesty and got it straight between the eyes.

Unfortunately Spud this very true. But you can self publish. It just depends what you want to achieve by writing it. If you are looking to make a few quid,then it is unlikely. But if you want to write just to get your story out there,then why not go fit it?

Thank you for your extremely valid points.

I dont give a toss about making money.

Any profit will go to Parkinson’s UK

[Spud]

Spud - appreciate we have not communicated before, but I have just PMd you with various thoughts - hope they are useful.

All the best,

Oliver

good of you Oliver. And Spud your story is definitely worth telling. Just use that person's response as fuel for you pursuing it mate.

You are turning out to be a proper gent.

Sorry for not calling today.

Are you available tomorrow

[SeanBrennan]

good on you Spud I look forward to reading it.

[Spud]

Spud - appreciate we have not communicated before, but I have just PMd you with various thoughts - hope they are useful.

All the best,

Oliver

Can you dm ur number for

[SeanBrennan]

Spud - appreciate we have not communicated before, but I have just PMd you with various thoughts - hope they are useful.

All the best,

Oliver

good of you Oliver. And Spud your story is definitely worth telling. Just use that person's response as fuel for you pursuing it mate.

You are turning out to be a proper gent.

Sorry for not calling today.

Are you available tomorrow

call me anytime Spud, I'll always make the time mate.

[Spud]

Spud - appreciate we have not communicated before, but I have just PMd you with various tho - hope they are useful.

All the best,

Oliver

You are very kind in giving me so much advice in your dm
B

[stujones]

Agree with James’ post. Unfortunately, unless you are some kind of celebrity or have got some kind of influencer status and/or a niche/market it is hard to see publishers see it as a sure fire success.

I know (vauguely) a lass who has done a tiny bit of niche presenting. A very niche memoir at age 24 about going into farming from a city life.. it made a times best seller list, but she is photogenic and has 150k followers… so you don’t have to be ksi etc but you need some kind of celebrity status I would say.

It’s very interesting, to be honest I’d be more interested in your upbringing/ army than the boxing stories … I would say make it a labour of love and get it self published

[margaret thatcher]

a memoir from a 24 year old who did a bit of farming, jeeez that interests people that much thesee days

[Spud]

Agree with James’ post. Unfortunately, unless you are some kind of celebrity or have got some kind of influencer status and/or a niche/market it is hard to see publishers see it as a sure fire success.

I know (vauguely) a lass who has done a tiny bit of niche presenting. A very niche memoir at age 24 about going into farming from a city life.. it made a times best seller list, but she is photogenic and has 150k followers… so you don’t have to be ksi etc but you need some kind of celebrity status I would say.

It’s very interesting, to be honest I’d be more interested in your upbringing/ army than the boxing stories … I would say make it a labour of love and get it self published

Some very truthful and sound advice

[giacomino]

I am gutted …

It seems the dream of writing a book is over before its even started…

I like speaking to people who are brutally honest and I spoke to a ghost writer today who I admire greatly and he says people would not be interested.

My story would have included :

Mum & dad barnodos kids
Dad died on fathers day 1973
Mum diagnosed paranoid schizophrenic
Brutally bullied at a military boarding school

My 24 years in the Army which included serving with the elite pathfinders platoon

My 20+ years in boxing which included working with Lennox Lewis, Frank Maloney, Ricky Hatton & David Haye having tales which would make your hair curl.

On leaving the army working as a Debt Collector in some of the most deprived areas of the North East

Working as a care officer for some of the most disadvantaged looked after children in the country

Having to keep quiet some high profile sportsmen were drug cheats.

Being diagnosed and coping with Parkinson’s

It seems a publicist would not be interested.

Oh well it seems i am a boring ****

I asked for honesty and got it straight between the eyes.

It's a lot. Focus on one or two elements and build the rest of the story around it. For instance, you could write about your time in boxing and work in the rest (building up from the stuff about your folks, your army life, etc. that led to the boxing work). Or your life in the army and then debt collector, and weave in what led to that, and what followed. You're more likely to be about to sell your story if there is a theme you can build around, rather than just writing about a collection of crazy/sad/interesting happenings in your life. But don't give up. It can take years to write a book, and years more to have proper editing. I did initial editing on two of my friend's books and both got publishing deals (not super lucrative, but still some $$), but it took them several years. Writing is a journey and ultimately worth it, even if you end up having to self-publish.

[stujones]

a memoir from a 24 year old who did a bit of farming, jeeez that interests people that much thesee days

Exactly, but when you are photogenic and have a few hundred thousand followers praising every post (which is several a day) then publishers aren’t going to scoff at that opportunity for a quick buck.

[Spud]

I am gutted …

It seems the dream of writing a book is over before its even started…

I like speaking to people who are brutally honest and I spoke to a ghost writer today who I admire greatly and he says people would not be interested.

My story would have included :

Mum & dad barnodos kids
Dad died on fathers day 1973
Mum diagnosed paranoid schizophrenic
Brutally bullied at a military boarding school

My 24 years in the Army which included serving with the elite pathfinders platoon

My 20+ years in boxing which included working with Lennox Lewis, Frank Maloney, Ricky Hatton & David Haye having tales which would make your hair curl.

On leaving the army working as a Debt Collector in some of the most deprived areas of the North East

Working as a care officer for some of the most disadvantaged looked after children in the country

Having to keep quiet some high profile sportsmen were drug cheats.

Being diagnosed and coping with Parkinson’s

It seems a publicist would not be interested.

Oh well it seems i am a boring ****

I asked for honesty and got it straight between the eyes.

It's a lot. Focus on one or two elements and build the rest of the story around it. For instance, you could write about your time in boxing and work in the rest (building up from the stuff about your folks, your army life, etc. that led to the boxing work). Or your life in the army and then debt collector, and weave in what led to that, and what followed. You're more likely to be about to sell your story if there is a theme you can build around, rather than just writing about a collection of crazy/sad/interesting happenings in your life. But don't give up. It can take years to write a book, and years more to have proper editing. I did initial editing on two of my friend's books and both got publishing deals (not super lucrative, but still some $$), but it took them several years. But writing is a journey and ultimately worth it, even if you end up having to self-publish.

Excellent sound advice.

[jwfg]

I am gutted …

It seems the dream of writing a book is over before its even started…

I like speaking to people who are brutally honest and I spoke to a ghost writer today who I admire greatly and he says people would not be interested.

My story would have included :

Mum & dad barnodos kids
Dad died on fathers day 1973
Mum diagnosed paranoid schizophrenic
Brutally bullied at a military boarding school

My 24 years in the Army which included serving with the elite pathfinders platoon

My 20+ years in boxing which included working with Lennox Lewis, Frank Maloney, Ricky Hatton & David Haye having tales which would make your hair curl.

On leaving the army working as a Debt Collector in some of the most deprived areas of the North East

Working as a care officer for some of the most disadvantaged looked after children in the country

Having to keep quiet some high profile sportsmen were drug cheats.

Being diagnosed and coping with Parkinson’s

It seems a publicist would not be interested.

Oh well it seems i am a boring ****

I asked for honesty and got it straight between the eyes.

It depends on the reason for writing it. If you would be writing it because you want it to sell lots of copies and buy you a bigger house and car, don't do it.

On the other hand, if it's something that you just have to do. Something you'll regret not doing when you're on your deathbed...... write it. Forget what anyone else says, just write it. Even if no one else ever reads it, it'll give you an incredible sense of achievement just by finishing.

I'm rooting for you spud.