Hello, and welcome once again to another Vintage Media millennial blog. The subject of this blog is somewhat out of character compared to others I have done. I wanted to take this opportunity to talk about a book that I wrote nearly a decade ago.
How I Came To Write a Book
I remember it was late one night when an idea suddenly came to mind. I grabbed my notebook and began writing extensively. After several pages, I realized that perhaps I should start typing this on the computer. Months later, I found myself with over 10,000 words. I revisited it occasionally, but I never really committed seriously to the project I was working on.
The realization that I was nearing a word count sufficient for book publication struck me, providing a goal I pursued over the following year. I engaged a proofreader to review my work, sending them segments of 10,000 words each. While I had a reputation for writing lengthy essays in college and university, this project was on another level—arguably my most extensive piece yet.
What I Was Writing About
During a scriptwriting class at university, I was advised that it’s often best to write about what you know. After leaving education in the early 2010s, I had a huge amount of stories from my school and college days. I had tried to pen them down autobiographically, but it never felt like the right time to embark on that journey. Then, one night with my notebook, I redirected that energy into transforming some of my experiences into fictional narratives. I changed and heightened a few things in the writing process to centre everything into a wider narrative.
And thus Tommy Stanley’s Secondary School Adventure was born! The story follows Tommy as he starts his first year of secondary school in 2000. He has to navigate bullies girls and new situations. The storytelling is told with a large hint of humour.I didn’t overthink my approach; the comedy naturally emerged. A few years later, when writing the scripts for Englishman Out Of State, I experienced something similar.
Launching the Book, and Afterwards
The book was launched in a paperback edition and on Amazon Kindle in mid-2015. While the paperback version is no longer in print, the book remains accessible through the Amazon Kindle store online.
While I take pride in having written a book, I often feel that I could have done more to ensure its success. Upon its release, it sold a modest number of copies, but nothing significant. Over the years, as I shifted my focus to other projects, it garnered only a handful of additional sales. Occasionally, I ponder whether increased promotion might have sparked greater sales and interest. A name change also may have helped as I later felt it sounded more like a book primarily for children.
Looking back at the whole experience, it seemed nothing more than a way to get some stories out of my head and structure them to fit a narrative. Perhaps that’s all it was ever meant to be? A mental health exercise that did some good,, and hopefully entertained a few readers too!
Thank you for reading this edition of Vintage Media Millennial. If you have any opinions on anything mentioned in this blog, do not hesitate to let us know on social media or comment below. Alternatively, you can email Jamie@OldTimeReview.co.uk with your thoughts.
