Scenery Secrets Book Launch!

Model Railway Scenery Secrets just so happens to be my 20th book release!

The 3rd book under my own Philden Model Railway Presents label, Model Railway Scenery Secrets is now officially available, and becomes my 20th book release in a career stretching back to 2006. So before I dive into writing the next book, I just wanted to share part of the behind-the-scenes grind of what it takes to be a writer.

Available now through Blurb

But first the book...

Scenery has slowly become my favourite part of the hobby, but it wasn't always that way. My earliest attempts at modelling scenery on a model railway layout, resulted in some of the poorest running model train track and most unrealistic scenery I've ever encountered in the hobby. In my defence however, I was still a teenager. Back then I could somehow lift a layout chock-full of real rocks and an entire 20 kg bag of Plaster of Paris that I used on one layout module alone. Nowdays I have a bad knee that would prevent me from standing long enough to mix the plaster! Thankfully I don't need to, and that's because the longer us crazy modellers stay in the hobby, the more we experiment with lightweight construction methods and different materials for modelling trees, grass, water and rocks. If my teenage self had known what I do now, it would have saved me 20 years of trial and error on the way to becoming a better modeller. That is the reason I wrote this book.

After 40 plus years in the hobby, I'm endeavouring to write about the processes of modelling a model railway. That is, breaking down each element into a logical order that attains a good end result. Materials have improved dramatically over the years, and will continue to do so. But the process in which to start modelling a layout never change, and that is especially so when it comes to scenery. While I'm a huge fan of reading other publications and magazines from around the world, too often there's an underlining element of product placement or bias towards one particular brand or material over others. That's what I wanted to avoid when writing my first such book Build a Bookshelf Layout. Model Railway Trackside Tips was the same, with the focus on the process not the product.

Model Railway Scenery Secrets is no different. If I mention a product within the pages, it's simply because I've used it and loved the results. If I haven't named a product within the pages when sharing a disaster story, it's simply because legally I am protecting myself from libel. Believe me, I wish I could with one particular water resin product, as it ultimately ruined a layout and led to me starting over. But as there is no advertising or paid product placement within the pages, what you get is an independent view within the confines of an independently produced book. As the blurb on the back of the book says; if the thought of adding scenery to your model railway layout terrifies you, then this book will change your modelling life forever. A big call? You bet. But for a full-time writer who is trying his darnedest to make a career within the hobby, you either go big or go home. View my bookshop page or the sidebar to see where you can purchase a copy from.

Now for the grind...

This so happens to be my 20th book release, and I shared more of the milestone than the book over on my author page at phillipoverton.blogspot.com.au. However, one of the points that is perhaps more relevant here than there when it comes to model trains, is the grind of writing. The non model railway crowd, without realising what goes on behind the scenes, tends to ask questions such as; "Isn't it just a book about model trains? What could possibly be so hard about writing that?" As I answered; forget that the examples within the book have taken hundreds of hours to create. Forget that the hobby of model railways can devour thousands of dollars at a time on building a project layout. And forget that photography can be difficult whilst juggling a camera, lighting and a delicate model in order to capture the one photo that emphasises the point you are trying to make in the book. It's the writing. Trying to get the idea out of your head and onto a page in a manner which readers can understand and be able to follow on their quest to become better modellers. The writing in a book such as this is has to hold up to a weight of scrutiny far greater than any fantasy character or scenario that I've created in the past in any of my novels. People are going to invest their time, and their money into trusting you know what you're talking about.

When it comes to juggling the career-side of producing these books, it is a matter of putting my money where my mouth is to make it happen. Writing, self-producing the book and outsourcing the printing using Blurb as my platform of choice, bypasses all of the major distribution channels, leaving that to fall on my shoulders also. Pricing the books attractively to land them on hobby shop shelves around the world, dropshipping and invoicing become normal morning activities along with checking my emails. And then there is the eBay side of my business. Along with selling my own range of books, I've also bought, airbrushed, weathered and sold quite a few models as part of my next book project. I do so as a legitimate extension of my income under my registered ABN business, as it is necessary to keep some form of income rolling in between book orders. Some people don't like that however, and an opinion that is developed in a matter of seconds can just as quickly can be shared on social media. It's all just noise that you have to learn to turn off.

Inevitably I get asked all sorts of questions. From, do you pay tax? To how much money do you make? All questions I wouldn't dare ask my grown children or closest friends, yet questions that people somehow feel comfortable to ask a writer. It soon becomes a grind to filter everything out. Thank God that despite all of this I still have my world of model trains to retreat into!

For the large part, I've retreated from a lot of the model railway groups on Facebook I once belonged to, and am instead now putting all that time and energy into developing the next book ideas and secret layout projects to accompany them. If you want to learn what the next Philden layout is going to be, then, (in time), you're only going to find information on it here on my blog... or in a future book.

So I'm going to leave this here for the coming week to celebrate reaching a big milestone. Behind the scenes I'm happy at home planning the next layout and preparing to weather another assortment of Australian HO scale rollingstock once the weather cools off a little. I'm proud of the path this blog has paved since its inception in 2015, the books it has spawned and the direction it will head towards over the coming year. Next week I'll start producing another Philden Model Railway book, one that I hope will be available in July this year.

Until then, happy modelling.