Six months as a published author

Today, March 12th, marks six months since A RELUCTANT SPY, my debut novel, came out from my publisher Headline Books.

Just like the last post I wrote after the book had been out for two months, it feels like it's been a lot longer than that, but also like no time at all. It's wild to think it's been half a year.

Just like last time, I'm going to break this down into a bit of a Q&A, answering some of the same questions as last time, as well as a few new ones.

What have you been up to?

It's been a pretty steady drumbeat of stuff! I've done a ton of podcasts, which you can see on my Media page, plus a load of events, which you can see on the Events page. And I've been to lots of other people's events too, as well as getting my first proofs from other writers.

I was part of a wide writing community before the book came out, but it's definitely stepped up a gear. I'm really looking forward to going to a bunch of book festivals in 2025 as a published author for the first time and meeting some of the connections I've made in person.

How's the book doing?

Pretty well! I can't share specific numbers (because they are changing all the time, subject to things like returns and royalty periods and any data I do have is very partial and high level), but suffice to say I'm pretty pleased, overall.

The book is selling well in multiple countries, across all of the available formats (hardback, ebook and audiobook) as well as starting to pop up in libraries across the world. I found out recently there's a couple of copies in New Zealand, over 10,000 miles away, which felt pretty amazing. It came out in hardback in the US in January and is doing well there too.

The entire first hardback print run of the book has been shipped out to retailers and the paperback print run ought to be going to the printers in a month or two, with a new cover, which is really exciting. As I noted in my post about the paperback cover, I really love paperback books and always have done, so to have one of my own, with a snazzy new cover to boot, feels great.

How are you feeling?

Pretty good! A lot better than the first couple of months after the book came out. In December, January and February I started working on a new project in earnest and getting back to the kind of reassuringly solid word counts that remind me that I can actually do this thing and finish another book. I've also been getting out and about and signing the book wherever I can find it, which always makes it feel more real and is a lovely way to meet the committed, passionate booksellers who are so crucial to readers finding the right book for them.

It's been a very reassuring few months. I wrote a whole bunch in my 2024 numbers roundup about just how much debuting really put me off my stride when it came to actually producing new words, more than halving my word count. But I've surpassed my 2024 word count already, as of this writing, so I definitely feel like I'm back in the game.

And I've also graduated from general worrying about the book and being published and what it all meant into a more general sense of excitement and anticipation. Sure, there's worries, we'll never be completely free of those, but I do now feel like a working author, transitioning into the steady cadence of writing one book, marketing the book I have out, editing another book and planning yet another one. I'm at my happiest and best when I'm busy but not overwhelmed, and right now that's where I am. And I've had a steady drip-feed of little bits (and some quite big chunks, if I'm honest) of good news, which has kept morale high.

Where can I get the book?

Pretty much everywhere! The hardback, ebook and audiobook versions are out now, worldwide, though there's now limited remaining stock of the hardback (both the standard edition and the special Goldsboro Books Crime Collective Edition). If you've been waiting, I'd advise you to get a copy, since once those are sold through, that may well be it.

The paperback comes out on the 5th of June, less than three months from now! It will also be available all over the place, and you can pre-order it from my Links page.

People are still asking me what the 'best' format is to get my work in, which is very kind of all of you! The answer is always 'in the format you prefer, from the retailer you prefer'. Though if you're able to buy from an independent retailer, please do so. Independent bookshops do incredible work supporting authors and encouraging reading, so if you can, please support your local one.

What about a sequel?

One of the loveliest things I've seen in reviews and comments on social media since the book came out has been readers hoping for (or indeed asking me directly) if there's going to be a sequel to A RELUCTANT SPY. I had a wonderful time coming up with the Legends world and especially the core characters - Jamie, Nicola, Jeremy, Sally, Alex Bowen and everyone's favourite merc dirtbag, Cody Klein. I'd love to return to the setting and the characters.

In true spy fashion, I'm afraid I can't currently confirm or deny whether a sequel is in the works. But keep your eyes peeled - we may have news at some point this year.

Any news on the TV show?

It's very usual in TV and film production to have long stretches of silence as the production company with the option does 'development', which covers all the stuff they need to do to put together a package they can pitch to broadcasters and streamers. There's finances to sort out, pilot scripts to write and talent to find like actors, directors, writers and so on.

Again, there's nothing I can talk about publicly yet, but things are happening behind the scenes. And, of course, nothing is guaranteed. Many, many optioned books never get to the production stage. I very much hope to buck the odds, but we'll see what happens.

What else is going on?

We're heading into the spring proper and summer, so I'm getting excited about three things.

The first is the work that I'm doing - I've very nearly finished the first draft of PROJECT SCARLET, which I'll be editing before the deadline in May. Then after that I'm planning to work on something completely new to me, which will be a nice pace change after planning, drafting and editing SCARLET inside of six months.

The second thing is the paperback of my book, which I'm really excited about, because it's my favourite format and it's also where a lot of thriller books make the majority of their sales, so my writer bingo card entry of 'see somebody in public reading my book' becomes a great deal more likely to come true. Fingers crossed, because wow I'd love to cross that one off.

And the third thing is the upcoming summer festival circuit - I'm going to a lot this year, starting with Cymera and Capital Crime in June, Harrogate in July and Bloody Scotland in September. I've got exciting news about some of these festivals, which I'll be able to share soon. A few writers have told me that it's a wholly different experience going to these kind of events once you have a book out, so I'm looking forward to that. It's going to be cool-but-weird to meet fellow writers and readers who have read my book. I got to meet one of my favourite spy novelists, David McCloskey, at the end of January and I'm hoping to have many more encounters with writers I admire.

Has it lived up to your hopes?

It really has. It's only been half a year and the paperback isn't out yet, so in many ways we're just getting started. But I'm getting into the thick of things, getting used to random Very Exciting Things dropping into my inbox and speaking to readers and other writers about my work.

My good friend Nick Binge said to me several times that launch day was a starting gun, not a finishing line, and he was very, very right about that. And it has really helped me to view things as a long series of overlapping marathons, rather than frantic sprints. It's especially helped me to pace myself and do what I'm able to do sustainably, for the long term, rather than what I can physically manage at any given point in time. It's very, very easy to get overexcited or feel a sense of dread and obligation that makes you do more than you can afford to, in monetary, physical and mental health terms.

But I'm managing the balance pretty well, I think. Words are getting written. I'm writing a regular newsletter, popping up on a podcast or two each month and doing my best to help sustain the creative communities that are in turn helping to sustain me.

I'm going to write one more of these about A RELUCTANT SPY in particular, at the one year mark. And I hope to write them regularly thereafter, about different books and new creative challenges. But for now, I've got some words to edit. Thanks for coming with me for these first six months.

Onward!