A brief seasonal message to all supporters of Why Do Birds Suddenly Disappear?:
THANK YOU AND HAPPY WHATEVER IT IS YOU CELEBRATE OR DON'T CELEBRATE
And a slightly less brief message:
This was the year Why Do Birds Suddenly Disappear? (or WDBSD, or just 'Birds') was published, and it's safe to say it made my year. The whole process, from pitch to publication and beyond, has been (without wishing to over-dramatise) life-changing.
There was the fact of being a published author, for one thing; walking into a bookshop and seeing my own work right there on the shelf for actual people to actually buy isn't an experience I'll get tired of any time soon. And then there were all the messages of support/approval I received from readers. And reviews (including one in the TLS, which I always thought was for proper grown-up books, but apparently not), all of which have had at least one positive thing to say about it. And people seem to be buying it, which is pleasing, because, well you know, hardbacks.
The success of the crowdfunding campaign emboldened me to pitch another book, The Long and the Short of It, to Unbound, which they met with enthusiasm (a lot of you have already supported it, I know, but if you haven't and are intrigued, or have been meaning to but haven't yet got round to it, it's here thank you very much). For various reasons it's been a bit slower to fund, but with the wind behind it I reckon it'll get funded and written some time in the first half of 2019.
Even more excitingly, as a direct result of WDBSD, I was offered a contract by publishers Elliott & Thompson, for a book, the research and writing of which will occupy large chunks of my 2019. This is a terrific opportunity for me, and I am as excited about it as a blue tit in front of a very large pile of suet.
I love Unbound enormously. But while I'd be more than happy to write a book for them every year ad infinitum (were they to let me), the fact remains that without a very large base of supporters (and even with it), crowdfunding is very hard work, and to go repeatedly back to a well of ever-dwindling goodwill wouldn't be fair on anyone. So with regret I'll be making The Long and the Short of It my last Unbound project, for the time being at least. My thanks to everyone at Unbound for giving me these opportunities. It's been, and will continue to be, a joy.
And of course my thanks to you for making Birds happen. It quite literally wouldn't exist without you.
Happy Christmas and all good things.
Lev