The books have finally arrived, and I have been busy posting out orders and review copies. Also, I’ve been updating my Amazon author profile, which was so old the photo was from when I launched my first book, strange fruits, back in 2011. I’ve now linked Learning to be Irish to my author profile, so it no longer comes up paired with a book by another writer called Maria McCarthy as a purchase suggestion. Of course, I would prefer purchasers to buy direct from me, as authors and publishers are better compensated by direct sales.
There is much admin when a new book comes out, including stuffing books into jiffy bags, adding it to my Public Lending Rights and Authors’ Licensing and Collection Society (ALCS) accounts. ALCS sends me a couple of hundred quid once a year, which mostly comes from audio-visual fees, from a column I wrote and broadcast for Radio 4’s Home Truths in 2006. It must have be repeated somewhere in the world, several times a year. It’s well worth registering with ALCS to benefit from the different ways your work is reproduced and used as a writer.
My publisher asked for a few photos of me with the book, so I took some copies to the writing shed, where it was written.
I’m so happy to already have some feedback on the book, some from other second-generation Irish people, for whom it’s struck a chord. You can order your copy for £11.99 plus £2 postage (UK orders only) here: Learning to be Irish
