about me

I've reached my goal!

Belfast Girls, my book, has been published by Night Publishing, is now available on Kindle on both Amazon.com and on Amazon.co.uk, and on Smashwords, and is available as a paperback on Amazon .com and on Amazon.co.uk also. Wow!
If you'd like to buy it, here are the eBook links.
http://www.amazon.com/Belfast-Girls-Gerry-McCullough/dp/B008J4NISK
$2.99
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Belfast-Girls-Gerry-McCullough/dp/B008J4NISK
£1.54

Are you just starting off on Authonomy? Maybe you'd like to know how I got to this stage?

On 15 October 2009, I uploaded the first twelve chapters, plus Prologue, of my book Belfast Girls on Authonomy, starting at position 6,450, the very foot of the list. I was amazed and delighted by the support I got. In less than two months, I had reached position 43; and by January I was in the top twenty.

Then things slowed down! I found I had to spend nearly all my time onsite, reading and supporting other writers, in the hope that they would read my book and like it. I crawled slowly up the ladder. This was not unusual, I hasten to add. In fact, by reaching the top five at the start of April, I did better than most Authonomites. But then I had to work even harder, to retain my place until the end of the month!

The time of waiting for the review, nearly another two months, was probably the hardest of all. When it came, it wasn't a bad review, in fact it said some very encouraging things; but there was no HarperCollins publishing deal offered.

However, being on Authonomy had brought me to the attention of a number of other publishers,smaller than HarperCollins, but none the worse for that. By 1 July, I had accepted a contract from Night Publishing, and now, less than five months later, the book is for sale!

From uploading the book to being a published writer in just over a year - thanks, Authonomy! You've been good for me, and well worth the effort involved.

So if you are a writer just starting on this site, or are already part way through your journey, don't despair - who knows what the final outcome will be!

(P.S. If you'd like to buy my book, on Amazon.com, and read the final published result, I'd be very pleased! Hope you enjoy it!)



Previous Profile Info:
Having had several publishing offers (although not from Harper Collins!) I have now decided to go with Night Publishing, an excellent up and coming "Indie" publishing house, founded by two businessmen who are also writers. Night Publishing works online, producing actual books but selling through the Internet. This is undoubtedly the way of the future, and I'm very happy to put the distribution as well as the production of my book in their hands. It's great to have a real publishing deal, with people who really like my book, and whom I can trust to do a first class job! I'll let you all know when the book comes out.

I got my review from Harper Collins recently, and after taking time to come to terms with it, I've now made it public, since I felt that all you great guys who supported me deserved to know the outcome. No publishing deal, alas, but actually some other publishers, on a smaller scale, have made offers, so who knows? Decision time!

RED ALERT! RED ALERT! RED ALERT! I'M NOT ACTIVE ON THIS SITE ANY MORE, NOW THAT I'VE GOT MY GOLD STAR, SO DON"T BACK ME IN HOPES OF A RETURN! THANKS ALL YOU GUYS WHO'VE BACKED ME DURING MAY, BUT I'M NOT HERE TO RETURN BACKINGS ANY MORE! SORRY!

Hey! It's Mayday, and I need to thank all the marvellous people on Authonomy who pushed Belfast Girls up the ranks to its current position of being reviewed by Harper Collins. Everyone of you is a star, and, sure, so am I now! And a gold one, too!

Thanks, you lovely guys!

(No need for anyone to back me, from now on - I guess it doesn't matter any more, as Buddy Holly said. Hey, I'm still floating -- can you tell?)

And thank you, Lord! You're the best of all!

I won't be around Authonomy much from now on - I'm supposed to be a writer, I need to get back to writing again! But I'd like to stay in touch with the friends I've made here, so please add me as a friend on Facebook, if you'd like to. Here's a link to my Facebook Home page :

http://www.facebook.com/reqs.php#!/?ref=home

Feel free to use it!


29 April. It's crunch time. I've been on Authonomy six months now. I've backed and commented on approaching two thousand books, and I want to thank all you great guys out there who looked at and supported Belfast Girls in return (or, in many cases, initiated the exchange.)
Some people, probably for very good reasons (oversight, v. busy, didn't like the book, or other) didn't reply.
I just want to say that if you do intend to support (i.e. back) Belfast Girls, get your skates on! I hope very much that after midnight tomorrow it will be OBE, Overtaken By Events. But maybe I'll only get to stay on the desk if you get round to backing me!
So, any chance?
Thanks a million!

16 April 10. I've just heard today that I've been awarded an Arts Council grant, to do some work with an editor on my short story collection, which a local publisher is interested in.

Wow! I'm well chuffed!

21 Oct 09. Born and brought up in Belfast, Northern Ireland, I've been writing since I was a child, and my life's ambition is to have a book published. Over the past half dozen years I've had nearly forty short stories published, some of them award winners, and it looks as if I'll have a collection out before too long (see above!) but so far, no full length fiction. It would be great if your support brought 'Belfast Girls' to the serious attention of a good publisher. Here's hoping, anyway!

If you'd like me to read your book with a view to backing it, please contact me, I'd be pleased to.

And I hope you'll be willing to look at my book in return - no commitment to back, decide for yourself!
[The four lines above are no longer applicable, being now OBE (Overtaken By Events.) I'd really hate you to waste your time backing me, when I'm unlikely to be here to notice it! I'm leaving the above lines in place as a historical record for my future biographer - joke!]

21 Nov. 09. Later this evening it will be exactly a month since I managed to get my chapters uploaded on Authonomy. (I know it says 15.10 here, but that was when I signed in the title. It took quite a while after that to get the actual words up.)

It's been great fun, and I've had a quare old time reading and reading and reading. There are so many excellent books on the site. Fifty or sixty years ago, before the market changed so much, most of these would easily have found publishers, I think.

Mind you, my purpose in coming on this site is not just to enjoy myself reading, but to get my book read by Harper Collins and possibly others. So thanks, everyone who has backed me and brought me, currently, to 143. And thanks for all the helpful comments. I'm planning, over the next few days, to revise in their light - while reserving the right to disagree with some. Please keep on backing me!

12 Dec 09. I've just updated my book with the generous help of JohnnyVee (John Hudspith). Thanks again, Johnny! You're great! I think it's improved it - let's see what you guys think.

And why not have a look at Johnny's book, Kimi's Secret? You'll love it!

favourite books

Hard to include them all!
All Jane Austin's books, of course.
Barbara Pym's likewise.
Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons.
Evelyn Waugh, all his books.
C.S. Lewis, especially The Pilgrim's Regress.
I love detective stories, from Dorothy Sayers and Agatha Christie to Gavin Lyall, Simon Brett, and Hazel Holt, not forgetting Dick Francis; and the many brilliant American writers such as Robert B. Parker, Rex Stout, Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett, Sara Paretsky et al.
Also love Georgette Heyer and Mary Stewart, in the romance genre.
In comedy, P.G.Wodehouse and Terry Pratchett.
I've almost certainly forgotten some important ones, but I'd better stop now!
Yes, how could I have forgotten Tolkien?
(And Lucky Jim, by Kingsley Amis.)
And, of course, Saki.
And Ernest Bramah's marvellous Kai Lung series.

All you publishers out there who are wondering how to contact me - I forgot, until now, that I should have put a contact address! It's : gerry@preciousoil.com

my websites

http://www.gerrymccullough.com     http://www.gerrymccullough.podOmatic.com