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The Tangled Leaves of Anniseed

The Tangled Leaves of Anniseed

Tag Archives: Writing

That writing thing…

24 Thursday Apr 2014

Posted by Anniseed in Creative writing

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Tags

Creative writing, Plotting, Technique, Writing

I really need to start practising what I preach. When I critique work for other writers, the two main points I invariably pick up on are show don’t tell – that oh-so-important mantra that is the key to fluid writing – and have a plan. You have to know where you’re going and how you’re going to get there.

So why is it so hard for me to do the latter? I admit I’m crap at following maps. And the novel that’s been tormenting me for nearly five years now started life as a NaNoWriMo – I just wrote and wrote and waited to see what happened, and the joy of it was immense. Characters appeared by themselves, did what they wanted, and my subconscious got free reign. It was great fun.

Then I read it through and thought – hmm, this doesn’t really make sense!

So last year I got it out of the drawer where it had languished for nearly two years and discovered that actually it wasn’t as bad as I’d feared. My writing style isn’t awful, though it does need a good polish. Some of my ideas were good and worth keeping, as was a character or two. My heroine though was a pain in the backside – I just haven’t got her voice right. But the main thing was I’d written without a plan and it showed. There were gaping plot holes, and the pace was all wrong, and I just wasn’t sure what kind of story I was telling. It veered from one genre to another and just didn’t sit right in any.

So I’ve gone back to the beginning. This involves a notebook, pens, an outrageous amount of post-it notes (I should buy shares in the company!) and a hell of a lot of thinking time before I start re-writing.

The first thing I noticed was that there were really two stories and I was only telling one half, so now I have two heroines – one contemporary, one in the past. And suddenly, my new heroine seems far more interesting. If I can get a handle on her voice and motivations, my contemporary heroine should fall into line, as a contrast and a continuation. And telling the story of the past allows the story taking place in the present to actually have more impact – that’s the resolution. So my notebook at the moment has names with spider diagrams with details about each character – the facts about them (birthdate, job, personality) and their journey (in love with, resentful of, etc). Then the plot starts to come together, pulled naturally from these people. Just why does heroine A get involved with villain B, and what’s his devious plan? How does it start to unravel? What are the consequences? Who does what and where and when? There are clusters of post-it notes (not quite colour-coded, but almost!) asking why? and how? and saying needs a proper motive! So although all the answers aren’t there yet, as I look at my characters in their little webs, they start to become more corporeal, and I can start to feel he would never do that, she would say this, and the plot starts to form into something plausible and interesting.

It’s going to take me a while to get this right, because I don’t want any holes in my plot, or any of my cast acting out of character. And when I start writing, my characters may tell me I’ve misunderstood, or insist on going their own way. But once the structure of my plot is formed, I will have control. And that’s a good feeling!

Self Publishing Conference Exclusive: Interview with Sarah Taylor

08 Saturday Mar 2014

Posted by Anniseed in Interview

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Events, Interview, Self-Publishing, Writing

Sarah Taylor is Marketing Manager at Troubador  and editor of the Self Publishing Magazine. I caught up with her earlier in the week to ask about the forthcoming Self Publishing Conference on 30th March, and to catch her thoughts on the phenomenal rise of self-publishing…

The Conference last year was a sell-out and a great success. What treats have you got lined up for us this year?

Plenty! Delegates have over 20 sessions to choose from this year, we have Alysoun Owen (editor of the Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook) as a Keynote Speaker, and Kobo, who are running an e-book publishing session on the day, are giving away a brand new Aura eReader! They’ll be running a workshop in session three – ‘E-book publishing with Kobo’.

What are you most looking forward to about the Conference?

Meeting the great mix of delegates that attend. Last year we met such a huge number of people (despite heavy snowfall leading up to the event!) who are all self-publishing for different reasons and have different goals in mind – we like talking to people and giving them advice on how they should go about their self-publishing project to get the result they are looking for.

It takes a lot of organising to pull off a successful event like this. How long have you and the team at Troubador been working on it?

It certainly does take a long time – the first Conference was nearly a year in the making, and this takes a similar amount of time, too – from getting everything organised to doing all of the marketing work involved.

How did you get into the self-publishing world, and how do you think it differs from traditional publishing?

The self-publishing imprint of Troubador Publishing Ltd, Matador, was launched in 2000 as a reaction to authors who were approaching us, looking for advice on how to publish books that were never going to be picked up by mainstream publishers because they were too niche – like local history books and biographies. Since we launched the imprint it’s expanded massively and we now publish over 300 books per year for authors who have a range of self-publishing goals – from those authors writing a book about their local community to authors looking to print 1,000 copies of their crime thriller novel and are seeking wide distribution.

No matter how an author is choosing to self-publish they should find ‘Choosing a self-publishing services provider’ in session one with Jeremy Thompson of Troubador and Alysoun Owen useful!

You’re particularly involved with marketing. What advice on marketing would you give someone who was setting out to self-publish for the first time?

Think about it in advance – authors often don’t think about it until the book is printed, which is a mistake. Booksellers make their buying decisions ahead of publication, so authors should undertake trade marketing ahead of the book being available to result in the best possible chance of their book being stocked by bookshops.

I’ll be touching on this in my workshop on how to ‘Work successfully with bookshops and libraries to sell your book’ along with Maggie Boyd of Leicestershire Library Services and Debbie James from The Kibworth Bookshop.

Another tip is to angle your marketing, rather than take a scattergun approach – all of our marketing here is bespoke and targeted to each individual book. Draw up a list of targeted publications that review/feature books like yours and contact them to see if they would be interested in running a review or feature.

At this year’s Conference, our marketing sessions are the most heavily subscribed – including Ben Cameron’s workshop ‘Creating the best media pitch’ and Helen McCusker’s two sessions – ‘Writing a successful press release’ and ‘Preparing for your first media interview’. Ben and Helen will be able to give delegates lots of handy tips!

Is there anything you would like to tell aspiring self publishers NOT to do?!

The things authors most neglect are editing and professional cover design. So a big no-no is ignoring the importance of these two elements. Another don’t is – don’t respond badly to negative posts or reviews. Nothing creates infamy in writers’ circles like lashing out at criticism!

My bugbear with self-publishing is that the covers sometimes don’t live up to the content! What’s the secret of a good front cover?

It’s one of our bugbears too, and one of the hurdles authors most commonly fall at. Our advice is to work with a professional to help you design a cover that is aesthetically appealing – whether you are using a self-publishing services provider or a graphic designer. You also need to bear in mind what your book is about – your cover needs to reflect the tone of your book, and the target market. A thriller novel, for example, shouldn’t have a pink cover and swirly font!

Matador’s Head of Production Terry Compton will be talking about ‘The importance of cover design’ with Aimee Bell of Author Design Studio at the event.

Who is your biggest “find” in the self-publishing world?

One of our most successful authors is Polly Courtney. Polly published a fictional City expose, Golden Handcuffs, in 2010 with us which attracted a huge amount of media interest. She then published Poles Apart, and was subsequently signed by HarperCollins to a three-book deal with Avon. Polly thought she’d found the holy grail, but actually she missed having control over what her books were about, what they looked like and how they ended up, and she didn’t like that HarperCollins tried to label her books as chick-lit. She notoriously left HarperCollins at the launch of her last book with them and has since returned to self-publishing. She’ll be sharing her experiences in her Conference session ‘From self-publishing to mainstream and back again’.

Do you think that self-publishing is starting to be taken more seriously by the literary establishment, or is there still prejudice against books that have been published via this route?

Absolutely; barely a day goes by without a self-publishing success story of one kind or another. The stigma around self-publishing is starting to be eradicated and, at the end of the day, it’s all about the finished product and the readers. As long as they are getting a quality book that looks good and reads well, I don’t think they mind who has published it. We focus on producing professionally-designed books and are often told that our books are indistinguishable from those published by traditional publishing houses.

There’s also been a massive turnaround in attitudes towards self-publishing from authors – nowadays being an ‘indie author’ is associated with a real sense of pride and independence; authors are increasingly choosing self-publishing as their first option, rather than as a fallback after being turned down by mainstream publishers.

A stigma still exists to some degree in some publishing circles, but as Eoin Purcell claimed recently, it shouldn’t be about publishing and self-publishing – it’s either good publishing or bad publishing (and we always strive for the former!)

You’re also the editor of the Self Publishing Magazine, which is a great resource for writers. How has the magazine developed and where is it heading?

The magazine certainly has grown hugely in the last few years, I’ve only been the Editor for the last few issues but I’m trying to maintain the great balance of articles we’ve always offered while constantly seeking out new contributors and experts to continue giving the best advice possible to our readers. One of the ways that the magazine has developed is the improvement in the quality of self-published books that we get sent for review – cover and content has certainly come a long way in the last few years, for which we’re glad. In the future we’re looking to offer an e-book review section, as so many authors solely publish their book digitally nowadays!

Publishing is undergoing huge changes – not only self-publishing, but e-books too, are changing the landscape. What’s your vision of publishing in five years’ time?

We always hear that the print market is declining, but the number of authors still choosing to self-publish with us in physical formats contradicts this theory. We’ve seen a huge increase in the authors who come to us just to publish their e-book, and a massive increase in those who choose to produce their book both digitally and physically. I think the shift will continue to grow towards digital content, not just limited to e-books – including apps and audiobooks. At this year’s Conference we’ll have Rachel Gregory and Rosie Grindrod from Matador, who will discuss e-book creation and marketing respectively.  Kobo will also be running a session on ‘E-book publishing with Kobo’ on the day.

Self-publishing children’s books also seems to be a growth area, which is why we have a dedicated children’s book strand this year. One of these sessions is run by Louise Jordan from The Writers’ Advice Centre for Children, who will be advising delegates on ‘Structuring a children’s book’.

Finally, why should any writers considering self-publishing come to the Conference on 30th March?

Because it offers such a vast range of advice to authors involved in any degree of self-publishing – how they’re going about it, if they’re using a services provider to do the work for them, in what formats they are choosing to publish their book. One of the most worrying things we find about companies offering self-publishing services or advice is that they often only advise on one path of self-publishing, or one method of doing it – whereas we are aware that self-publishing isn’t one-size-fits-all; it depends on the book and the author’s goal for their self-publishing project. What works for one book won’t work for another. The Conference is also an ideal place for anyone thinking of, or already involved in, self-publishing, because it offers advice on all aspects of the process – and delegates can pick and choose the sessions they want which means they can tailor the day to their project.

Thank you Sarah and see you on the 30th!

Find out more at: www.selfpublishingconference.org.uk

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dazzled at The Self-Publishing Conference

24 Sunday Mar 2013

Posted by Anniseed in Musings, Publishing

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Conferences, Publishers, Self-Publishing, Writing

I’ve had a fantastic day at the Self-Publishing Conference, organised by Troubador Publishing, and have come home with my head spinning from all the information I’ve tried to cram into it – not too shabby for a snowy Sunday, when the temptation to instead stay warm under the duvet was rather strong! The conference was very professional and well-organised with some fabulous speakers, and there was a really exciting vibe about self-publishing from everyone present. It was a great opportunity to hear industry experts and to get a fuller picture of this rather bewildering brave new world, and despite the snow, there was a good mix of people who ventured forth to find out more.

Mick Rooney, editor of the The Independent Publishing Magazine, kicked off by explaining the different types of self-publishing service that are out there and how to choose one, providing an essential picture of the self-publishing landscape and current trends in the business. It’s easy for the unwary to spend a lot of money on a service that simply won’t meet their needs, and Rooney stressed the importance of asking questions of any service you’re thinking of using (don’t just Google it!), and matching this to complement your own skills. The idea of buying a book from a service provider so you can assess its quality is simple but I can imagine that many people might miss this trick. He also raised the issue of traditional big publishers like Penguin and Simon & Schuster launching self-publishing imprints, which is a controversial development in the industry that I wasn’t aware of, and the dangers of using POD (print-on-demand) and vanity services. Self-publishing does involve financial risk and he advises that if you can’t afford to self-publish, then wait.

Helen Corner, founder of Cornerstones Literary Agency, gave a fascinating talk on self-editing. Creative writing unleashes your creative power but self-editing is the essential process of reining it in, and is a crucial step in producing a successful book – turning it from merely “good” to “dazzling”. Talking us through scenarios and providing anecdotes of real writers’ experiences, she stressed that the key to self-editing was to accept feedback – if you’re truly confident about your writing, then you can accept people challenging it. It’s also important to connect with your own “inner editor”, as instinctively you know what works and what doesn’t, and feedback will resonate on an emotional level. If you’re not ready for feedback, then your book is not finished! It was good for me to hear her echo my mantras  – put things to one side for a while and you’ll view them with more objectivity, and reading your work aloud helps you identify what doesn’t work.

Harry Bingham, from The Writers’ Workshop, gave us an insight into the traditional publishing world and the role of agents. As many of us have suspected, publishers are taking on fewer writers than ever before, and the opportunities for debut writers are diminishing. But he stresses that if you’re realistic about your work and its potential market, then you do have a shot. For anyone considering approaching the big name publishers without an agent – don’t. They won’t consider you without one. And to get an agent, Bingham says, is simple – all you have to do is write a “dazzling” book (that word again!) and not be an idiot! Agents receive circa 2000 manuscripts a year, and on average, will only pick up two of those to promote to publishers. So the competition is intense. Write that dazzling book, get proper editorial feedback on it before you send it to an agent (as an editor and an agent are not the same being), and write a good covering letter which is professional and doesn’t contains gimmicks.

Ben Cameron from Smith Publicity gave us tips on how to create an effective marketing strategy, which very kindly pointed out the importance of bloggers!  Like all the speakers, he highlighted the importance of getting a book professionally designed and using editorial services to make your book as good as it can be. He also stressed that it’s vital to identify your readers and what media they consume, and provided good tips on how to use press releases, reviews and social media. The latter is not a replacement for traditional publicity – “followers” or “friends” do not equal sales – and should be used appropriately and not exclusively. He emphasised that publicity is the pitch not the product, and helped to demystify the element of self-publishing that is perhaps most daunting to writers.

I didn’t get to attend every session, but in those I did get to and the plenary with the speakers’ panel, it was a pleasure to hear all the experts share a little of their expertise and experience and to network with writers who are all on their own unique journeys into this realm. Self-publishing has perhaps been unfairly lumped in with vanity publishing, and the idea that “self-published” equals “rubbish” was roundly booted up the backside by all involved. It’s increasingly being seen as a positive choice, an opportunity to open up the landscape of creativity by diverging from narrow mainstream trends and reductive market forces. It’s clearly not an easy option – you get back what you put in, but with professional support and advice it’s a very viable option for many good books that otherwise would never be shared with the wider world. It’s definitely here to stay.

With thanks to Troubador Publishing (www.troubador.co.uk) for organising this excellent event, and a plug for the next conference on 30th March  2014 – don’t miss it, and bookmark the website at www.selfpublishingconference.org.uk!

Book Events in Leicestershire

14 Monday Jan 2013

Posted by Anniseed in Book News

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Tags

Events, Publishing, Writing

No excuse not to write...

No excuse not to write…

There are two exciting book events taking place in Leicester this spring which will be well worth attending if you are interested in the publishing universe!

The first is a free event called States of Independence, which celebrates independent publishing and boasts seventy authors reading from their work, bookstalls and the opportunity to meet publishers and fellow readers and writers. It takes place on Saturday 16th March, 10.30 a.m. to 4.30 p.m., at the Clephan Building, De Montfort University, Oxford Street, Leicester LE1 5XY, and you can find out more at www.statesofindependence.co.uk.

The second is the Self-Publishing Conference, which takes place the following week on Sunday 13th March, at the University of Leicester, Stamford Court Conference Centre, between 9.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. You do have to book a place for this on the website at www.selfpublishingconference.org.uk, and it costs £45, but you get the chance to meet key people in the self-publishing world and find out more about this new phenomenon – if you write and are even slightly curious about the self-publishing route, I am sure that this will be a worthwhile investment!

Both events sound fascinating and a great way to meet other bibliofiends – so see you there!

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