I enjoy writing. I find it a pleasurable experience. But it has many downsides:
- It takes a long time – my first book took over two thousand hours of working and reworking (and was still crap)
- It is antisocial. Writing is a solitary occupation that requires focus. It is a problem for relationships, friends and a social life.
- It gets in the way of doing things. If I have a compulsion to write something it fills my head until I have written it down. Nothing else matters.
- It can upset people. My life, friends and people that I have met become included in my writing. Some will not like the way they are portrayed.
so it is probably not a good obsession to be saddled with!
These are my six books of poetry. They are available as paperback or on Kindle from Amazon – all for under £5 for a paperback. You could buy the whole lot for just £27.62!!
They are not conventional poetry books. They are like you find on my blog with a page of explanatory prose followed by the poem. The prose is as important as the poem to me.
Codas, Cadence and Clues – £4.97
Stanzas and Stances – £5.59
Poems and Peons – £4.33
Rhymes and Reasons – £3.98
Prose, Cons and Poetry – £4.60
Vice and Verse – £4.15
Science Fiction books:
Ebola in the Garden of Eden – paperback £6.95 Kindle £2.56 (or free on unlimited)
Green – paperback £9.98 Kindle £2.56 (or free on unlimited)
Rock Music books
In Search of Captain Beefheart – paperback £6.91 Kindle £1.99 (or free on unlimited)
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Other selected books and novels:
Anecdotes-Weird-Science-Writing-Ramblings – a book of anecdotes mainly from the sixties and other writing.
More Anecdotes – following the immense popularity of the first volume I produced a second
Goofin’ with the cosmic freaks – a kind of On the Road for the sixties
The book of Ginny – a novel
In Britain :
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Opher-Goodwin/e/B00MSHUX6Y/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1461306850&sr=1-2-ent
In America:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=opher+goodwin
In all other countries around the world check out your regional Amazon site and Opher Goodwin books.
This really shows you are a writer as you have to write. I have a hunch that as you say most are a bit insular and single minded. I’ve lost track of my novel as I spend time in Rhodes with a friend. Her husband is the writer I
I guess there’s writing and writing. I have spent my life writing. I enjoy it and feel compelled. I will always do it. I like what I have written. My books are special to me.
That is not the problem I am grappling with. It is a question of quality, audience and publishing – do I need it?
Being unsuccessful in terms of sales – they dribble along – maybe illustrates that I should just write for myself and forget about an audience and publishing.
Maybe you should! I have an artist friend who has her creativity and she doesn’t have to worry about selling. I wish she had a wider audience and couldn’t cope with some of the’art’ in the Gulbenkian Contemporary exhibition. And there we are I think it’s the same for writers .
Cheers Georgina.
Reblogged this on Opher's World and commented:
There’s always a downside.
You too, Opher? The only person to make a profit on my books is my editor – and I don’t pay her the going rate. A friend creates my covers for free – and yet I’m deeply in the red as far as my writing career is concerned. I started book 3 of my sci-fi Genesis Saga series, I started book 1 of a new sci-fi series based on the same Genesis universe. When I calculated the editing costs, I stopped writing both books. I share your dilemma, Opher.
Just write them John. I look at it from the point of view that I could be down the pub drinking; I could take up smoking; I might take up a hobby that would cost a lot of money – there’s a cost to everything. Writing is cheap.
John – when I’ve finished your ed book I’ll buy one of your Sci-fi and have a read of that. Looks good.