My self-publishing experiment - Endeavour: The Complete Inspector Morse - hits a wee landmark

My eBook ENDEAVOUR: The Complete Inspector Morse has just passed 750 sales. Not much in publishing terms, but it's a wee landmark for a £4.99 eBook with no marketing, no print version to enhance visibility, and a niche audience.

ENDEAVOUR: The Complete Inspector Morse is an unoffical non-fiction guide to the TV series Endeavour and Inspector Morse, to Colin Dexter's original novels and short stories, plus Morse on radio and stage.

All the non-Endeavour material in the eBook had previously been published as The Complete Inspector Morse [TCIM] by Reynolds & Hearn across four editions, and then by Titan Books in a new 2011 edition. Those were all print only, a mix of paperback and hardback.

Titan later issued an eBook of TCIM but numerous reviews berated the low quality of its formatting. A reference text should enable readers to dip in and out of an eBook, not force them to scroll through hundreds of unchaptered pages to find what they seek.

In 2016 Titan confirmed it would not commission a new edition, but the company declined to revert rights in the book until the physical print run had sold out. That was estimated for 2017, and under the terms of my contract, Titan could wait another two years before reverting my rights.

I signed my original contract with Reynolds & Hearn in 2001, long before eBooks. R&H did obtain the electronic rights, but only on a non-exclusive basis. After some prodding Titan confirmed I could publish my own eBook, if I wished.

For the cover image, a fellow Endeavour enthusiast provided a photo taken during filming in Oxford - instead of paying a fee, they suggested I make a donation to charity. I happily paid Caroline Goldsmith to prep the eBook for upload [I recommend her!]. 

I made the eBook an Amazon exclusive priced at £4.99 - not cheap for a non-fiction eBook. I published ENDEAVOUR: The Complete Inspector Morse on December 23rd 2016, just ahead of the 30th anniversary of Morse first appearing on British TV.

After Amazon took its cut, I estimated the eBook needed to sell 100 copies to break even. Happily it passed that a year ago, thanks to Endeavour Series 4 being broadcast.

To my surprise, ENDEAVOUR: The Complete Inspector Morse has continued selling, even when new episodes of Endeavour aren't on screen [which is most of the year]. It's a steady wee earner, as the  sales chart above demonstrates.

Despite being only an eBook, I've made far more royalties from this edition over the past year than I did from the traditionally published print versions of TCIM. New episodes of Endeavour makes a big difference, but so does 70% royalties instead of 7-10%!

After some gentle prodding Titan have now reverted all rights in the book, meaning I can publish the next edition in print and eBook if I choose. There's plenty of new material to add, with 10 new episodes of Endeavour and an Inspector Morse radio play.

But for now I'm happy to enjoy a wee landmark, and look forward to watching another new episode of Endeavour on ITV tonight. Onwards!

Inspector Morse prequel Endeavour gets full series

Inspector Morse prequel Endeavour has - unsurprisingly - been commissioned for a series of four feature-length episodes. The one-off special broadcast back in January to mark 25 years of Morse on British TV was a big fat hit, drawing eight million viewers all told. A poll on the Radio Times site asking if viewers wanted a series got more than 2000 responses, with only 31 (1.5%) people voting no.

The challenge will be evolving Endeavour from a drama born in the shadow of  Morse into something that succeeds on its own merits. The one-off had the halo effect of residual affection for the TV incarnation of Colin Dexter's creation on its side. A full series of Endeavour needs to find its own reason for existing, above and beyond continuing the legacy created by McBain, Childs, Thaw & co.

Of course, this has already been tried once before. In 2006 ITV broadcast Lewis, a one-off drama featuring Kevin Whately as Morse's former sidekick, promoted at last to chief inspector. The special was a huge hit, drawing more than 11 million views [which shows you how much terrestrial ratings have fractured over the past six years], leading to a series commission for the Oxford detective.

A sixth series of Lewis is due to air soon, bringing the show's total number of eps to 24. A seventh series is on the cards for 2013, but is likely to be last with Whately saying in interviews he's ready to retire the character. As a show Lewis has never won the critical acclaim heaped on Morse, but has always earned good ratings and has sold well around the world, makings its creators lots of money.

I thoroughly enjoy Lewis as a show, especially the dynamic of Whately and Laurence Fox as his sidekick, DS Hathaway. But the series has, arguably, never quite found it own reason to exist beyond the obvious. That is the challenge that faces the makers of Endeavour. Fortunately, the new show has an extra weapon in its arsenal besides Morse's legacy and the dreaming spires of Oxford: history.

Endeavour is set bang in the middle of the 1960s. That offers a rich and turbulent backdrop in which to tell gripping crime narratives. It will create no end of production challenges and drove up the cost of making Endeavour, but the period setting should provide all kinds of fresh opportunities for writers. Student uprisings, the swinging 60s, racial and sexual politics - all good grist for the story mills.

I also have my own, selfish reason for welcoming the news about Endeavour going to series. I'm the author of The Complete Inspector Morse, a book detailing and analysis every Morse narrative across all media - Dexter's original prose stories, the TV incarnations, the radio plays, the 2010 stage play. A new edition [pictured above] came out late last year, and included a preview of Endeavour.

I could well find myself writing a new edition in the summer of 2013 to cover the first series of Endeavour. Strange to think a non-fiction book I started in September 2001 continues to evolve. It got turned down by one published back then because Morse was seen as a dead series. More than a decade later, the book is still going strong [ha!]. Morse may be dead, but he lives on in Endeavour...

Endeavour: Barrington Pheloung's new Morse score

Here's a clip of composer Barrington Pheloung and orchestra at Abbey Road Studios recording the opening scene score for Endeavour, the Inspector Morse prequel that aired earlier this week. Pheloung has been a constant on the various TV incarnations of Morse and Lewis for 25 years, making his music an intrinsic part of the shows.

Review - Endeavour: The Origins of Inspector Morse

John Thaw would have celebrated his 70th birthday today, if cancer hadn't claimed him ten years ago. He played many great roles during his career, but it was his portrayal of grumpy Oxford detective Inspector Morse that earned Thaw two BAFTA awards. Last night Morse lived again on TV, with a new actor in the iconic role.

Endeavour told the story of Morse's first case as a policeman in Oxford during 1965. [I won't spoil any plot details, the show's out on DVD next Monday if you missed it.] Creating a prequel to such a beloved TV series was a big ask. Many Morse enthusiasts were vocal in their online protests before the one-off special aired.

So, did Endeavour do justice to Morse? My snap judgement is a resounding yes. Shaun Evans was a revelation as the young DC Morse, capturing the essence of Thaw's portrayal without attempting to mimic it. It's a terrible cliche, but he really did make the part his own, an utterly convincing performance at every level.

The supporting cast was just as strong, with Roger Allam gruff yet warm as Morse's new boss. DI Fred Thursday was an intriguing character, rooting out corruption and graft while ready to administer rough justice and break the law to get a result. You could imagine how his unorthodox methods would influence Morse's future attitudes.

The Russell Lewis script was a winner for me, full of red herrings and misdirection. Having enjoyed the Morse spin-off Lewis, I felt the writing on Endeavour was better. Perhaps it was the halo effect of rediscovering Morse afresh, with the added novelty of a period setting, but the result was more compelling than recent eps of Lewis.

Production values were lush, as you'd expect from the Morse stable, with Barrington Pheloung's achingly poignant score providing one of many threads from the original TV incarnation to this new upstart. The period detail was exquisite throughout, and Colm McCarthy's direction brought the best out of both places and performers.

I've no idea what John Thaw would make of Endeavour, either as an idea or in its execution. The moment when DC Morse looked in the rear view mirror and caught a glimpse of Thaw looking back at him was risky. It could have been mawkish and crass, but didn't feel that way - at least, not to me. A worthy salute.

UPDATE: Overnight ratings for Endeavour are out. According to Digital Spy, ITV1's Endeavour guided the channel to primetime victory, averaging 6.51 million viewers (26.9% of the viewing audience) from 9pm (including more than quarter of a million views watching it on the time-delay channel ITV+1. That's not a huge number, but it trounced perennial favourite David Jason in part 2 of The Royal Bodyguard on BBC1, which lost more than 2.5 million viewers thanks to competition from Endeavour. I've little doubt the final, consolidated ratings for Endeavour will be much higher when they're released in a fortnight. I'd be utterly amazed if the show does not get commissioned for a series of three or four new stories to be shot this year for broadcast early in 2013. On the strength of this one-off special, Endeavour thoroughly deserves a longer run on our TV screens.

David Bishop, author of The Complete Inspector Morse
New edition [including Endeavour preview] on sale now in the UK and in the US.

Endeavour: The origins of Inspector Morse

In a couple of weeks ITV will screen Endeavour, a new Inspector Morse spin-off commissiioned to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Morse's first TV appearance. Endeavour stars Shaun Evans as Detective Constable Morse, helping the search for a missing school girl in 1965 Oxford. In essence, this is Inspector Morse - The Early Years.

Sadly, many of those who first brought Morse to life on TV are no longer with us - producer Kenny McBain, screenwriter Anthony Minghella, actor John Thaw. But the new, one-off drama will feature composer Barrington Pheloung's irreplacable music, and the script's by Russell Lewis, who wrote for Morse and storylined the Lewis spin-off.

It'll be fascinating to see how Endeavour rises to challenge of emulating Morse in a period setting. Neither Colin Dexter's original novels nor the TV incarnation were hardcore police procedurals, so the absence of forensics, mobile phones or the web in 1965 won't radically alter how Morse and colleagues solve the central mystery.

I imagine ITV is crossing fingers for a big, fat hit in terms of ratings. The Lewis spin-off is approaching the end of its natural lifespan, with the sixth series due to transmit in Spring 2012 bringing the number of episodes made up to 23 - not far short of the 33 Morse TV tales. Endeavour would be a natural successor for Lewis.

Why do I care about all of this? I've been an enthusiast of Colin Dexter's original novels and the TV adaptation of his characters for decades. So much so, I've even written a book about them, The Complete Inspector Morse. The newly published fifth edition even manages to sneak in a preview of the forthcoming Endeavour special.

So when ITV broadcasts Endeavour on January 2nd at 9pm, I'll be watching. Hoping it does justice to Dexter's characters, and to the rich legacy left behind by the likes of McBain, Minghella and Thaw. Hoping they used Pheloung's Morse-coded theme music. It's more than a decade since we had a new Morse on TV. Here's hoping for a cracker.

My new book about Inspector Endeavour Morse

Titan Books have just published a new edition to The Complete Inspector Morse, my guide to every incarnation of Oxford's famous fictional detective. The UK paperback came out last month, the US and Kindle versions officially went on sale yesterday.

The new edition is far more timely than I expected, with Morse returning for a new case on British television in two months. January 2012 is the 25th anniversary of Morse's first TV tale, The Dead of Jericho starring John Thaw and Kevin Whately.

ITV has commissioned Endeavour, a feature-length story about Morse as a young detective constable in Oxford during 1965. Many of those involved with Morse [and the Lewis spin-off] have worked on Endeavour, a pilot for a potential new series.

Happily, details of the new TV drama special broke in time for me to slip them into this, the fifth edition of The Complete Inspector Morse. The new book includes fresh info about the first dramatisation of Colin Dexter's creation [John Thaw was not the first man to play Morse!] and the 2010 Morse stage play starring Colin Baker.

An Inspector calls: Morse returning to TV in 2012

It's official: Oxford's most beloved fictional detective is returning to TV next year in a brand new drama. Endeavour will be set in 1965, near the start of Morse's long career as a policeman. The one-off special is being filmed this summer for broadcast early in 2012, to celebrate Morse's 25th anniversary on screen.

Russell Lewis has written this prequel to the BAFTA-winning crime series, which was based on Colin Dexter's novels. Shaun Evans [pictured above] has been cast in the lead role, given the job of emulating the late, great John Thaw. But instead of a legendary chief inspector, Endeavour will see him as a lowly detective constable.

Many of the team behind the Morse series are involved with the prequel. Indeed, Russell Lewis wrote for Morse and scripted the Lewis spin-off's pilot episode. Only time will tell whether they can re-create some of that Morse magic, this time in a period setting. Should certainly make for interesting viewing.

For me, it means some hasty last-minute revisions to a new edition of The Complete Inspector Morse, published this autumn by Titan Books [see cover at right]. I thought this fifth incarnation might be the final, definitive version. I even included a section on last year's stage incarnation of Morse, starring former Doctor Who Colin Baker as the most irascible of inspectors. But ITV have other plans. I guess it means there could well be a sixth edition of The Complete Inspector Morse at some point in the future. Onwards!