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Writeon
September 24, 2008
I’ve just received an email from Dominic Took, author of ‘Storms of Acaias’ about an arts council project through ‘You Writeon’ to publish the first 5000 writers to apply. I responded, and have been accepted, so if things go to plan ‘Tasting the Wind’ will be available in paperback by Christmas.
The only references so far that I’ve found on the net are from the states. They are asking if it is ‘Print on Demand’ similar to Lulu. It does appear to be so, as the paperback is only available through the website or, if you pay a small fee, from Amazon and certain bookshops.
Significantly, some of their authors havde attracted the attention of bigger publishers, and part of the contract is that you are not bound to Writeon if any mainstream publisher notices you. So I am trying it out. Watch this space.
If you are interested then click on this link:
http://www.youwriteon.com/info/info/welcome-to-youwriteoncom-sponsored-by-arts-council-england.aspx

The Great Equivocator

The Great Equivocator
August 22, 2008
Alcohol- the cause and solution of all our problems, as Homer Simpson once said. There is a strange relationship between alcohol and writing, a stereotype which goes something like this: the tortured author, poet, or hack, sitting in his garret over his typewriter (wordprocessor doesn’t quite fit this ‘romantic’ image) churning out volumes of original thoughts, his creativity enhanced by the juice of the barley or grape or whatever comes to hand.
The epitome of this is perhaps the poet, Dylan Thomas. Apparently when asked what he liked about being drunk he said something like ‘because it’s different everytime,’ (Thomas fans please correct me- it usually happens when I mention a writer I know little about!) Funny that- I like a drink but to me the aftereffect is sort of samey most of the time.
Stephen King in ‘On Writing’ does a lot to explode the myth about alcohol and creativity, in a passage which is well worth the read to see how a truly successful author recognised and conquered the demon.
Truth is, if you write something whilst under the influence you will probably feel that you have just written the most original and creative piece in the history of writing. Until the next morning.
Although I have never had an ‘alcohol problem’ I would be lying to say that I don’t enjoy a drink. Recently I went for my ‘middle-aged fat boy test’ (or Glucose tolerance test as they call it) and was found to be prediabetic. This means that I have had to make some lifestyle changes.
Which leads me to some dietary advice for those of you wishing to cut down on your alcohol intake:
Buy Morrisons or Tesco Value Lager- doesn’t matter which. The advantages are:
. It only costs about 92p, so helps you save money in the credit crunch
. It is only about 2% proof
. Each can has only about 0.9% alcohol
. It tastes like shite, so one can will last you all night.
YOU HEARD IT HERE FIRST!

Missing: One Goat

LOST

Has anybody seen this goat?



Works hard. Eats little. Sadly missed


I'm sure it can't be me, but since I started blogging it seems that every time I find a useful service it soon disappears. As chronicled in earlier episodes of this blog, I entrusted my work to Golgonooza then realised that the site had died. Earlier this year I submitted my novel to 'The Frontlist' to find that it was not accepting new submissions. It still isn't.
Now, that most useful of sites to the blogger, Pingoat, has been sending a message back for weeks that it is closed for maintenance.

Does this mean that it will return, a mega-strong, all powerful super-goat, sweeping away all that stand in its path...

In the meantime, there are alternatives: 'Ping my Blog,' 'Ping-o-Matic,' and 'Pingates.'
But there is still no sign of the goat. Any clues where it might be?

A Question of Confidence

My 2007 copy of the 'Writers' and Artists' Year Book' is full of useful articles by published authors. I haven't got the 2008 version, but I can guarantee that even though they say that the content changes every year the message will be the same: If you want to get your book onto the shelves you need tenacity, staying power, and a positive mental attitude.

Funny how none of them mention the mental attributes of a box of frogs...

I remember the day I completed my novel, thinking naively that I would send it off, maybe get a few rejections, but that by this time next year...
When it doesn't happen it is easy to get disheartened. Read accounts of how bestselling writers went through the same. Stephen King's 'On Writing' is a good one.

In the 2007 Writers' and Artists' Yearbook J.K. Rowling tells of how getting rejection slips made her feel like a real writer. I feel so sorry for her not having the chance to feel that way again that I'm going to send her some of mine in return for her fortune and movie franchise.

I have found confidence coaching a useful tool. (For more information go to http://thelynngrocottacademy.bravehost.com/coaching.html or read Lynn's book, 'Cut the Strings.')

What I would highly recommend is that you find a confidence coach. You can read about the techniques, but there is no substitute for having a real live person helping you along. These days this doesn't have to be face to face- Lynn Grocott coaches by phone, by email and through Skype.

One of the main tools that I have used is the pyramid. Draw a pyramid with lots of bricks with room to write in. Put your goal at the top- e.g. 'I want to see my book on Amazon.' This is what you are working towards. Do you believe that? If so you will be working towards that until you achieve it, or for the rest of your life- whichever comes first.
The bricks at the bottom will contain those things you need to do first- e.g., if you've not already done so, write the novel. Others will be about research you have to do, browsing publishers websites, completing your synopsis and application letter etc.
Many publishers these days like to see that a writer can help market themselves, so marketing should come in there somewhere.
Your pyramid will be topped by a massive goal, but the steps below will be things that are easy to achieve. And as you achieve them cross them off or highlight them. This is really helpful when you feel like your goal is a long way off.
And do something every day. You may think that you don't have time. That something may be a five minute phone call, or a browse on the internet for writing or publishing sites. It all feeds into the pyramid and gets you a little closer to your goal.


GOOD LUCK

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With a little help from my friends.

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Once upon a time in Fairy Dairy land a man wrote a book. It was a special book because it contained a little bit of his heart and a lot of his soul. He tried to get it published, but no one would believe in the book like he did.

One day he found a bottle, and when he rubbed it a genie popped out, who turned out to be an author. The Genie sent the man's book to her publisher, they published the book, and the man lived happily ever after.

Of course it doesn't happen like that in the real world. I had been reunited with my old friend, Lynn Grocott, who had already published. She got me in contact with her publisher, Lean Marketing, who were very helpful and encouraging, but as a small publishing house only specialised in specific titles and subjects. I got an email explaining that at present they were after books about people making their home in Spain. As 'Tasting the Wind' is about people with learning disabilities and a psychopathic nurse, I couldn't find a single link between it and Spain (although Spain must have its fair share of both,) so gave up on that one.

Lynn passed my details on to several of her contacts in the world of publishing and PR. The publishing contacts didn't handle my sort of material, but I suddenly felt like a serious writer- emailing and phoning publishers and PRs for advice. After the years of writing and rejection slips I was getting quite a buzz from this.

Now for a bit of name dropping.

The networking in which I was suddenly involved was linked to the confidence coaching process (more on this in a later blog.) Lynn told me of a friend of hers who had become a successful author through using the methods she was teaching me.

Soon I was in touch with Andy Cope. Admittedly I had never heard of him at that point, but if you have children you may have done. Andy is the author of the 'Spy Dog' series; he is presently working on Spy Dog 5.

Andy wrote to me with some good advice (again, his agent couldn't help me because he specialised in children's literature, but hey, I'm communicating with another published author here!) and he asked if he could be my 'Critical Buddy.' I sent him a copy of 'Tasting the Wind,' which he is wading through at the moment. His reaction has been very positive and encouraging, although he admits to preferring lighter reading. But thanks, Andy, for taking the trouble.

The main point I want to make here is the value of networking. Writing can be a lonely process, and the struggle to find a publisher can be even more lonely and demoralising. The internet abounds with information from and about writers, and linking up with people who are either travelling your way or who have arrived there can make the difference between carrying on or just lying down in the road.

I was in W.H. Smiths one day. Looking at the childrens' books I picked out the 'Spy Dog,' series. It seemed bizarre that in my pocket was a copy of an email from its author.

I turned around and looked at the adult books. Finding 'M' I made a space.

One day my book will be there.

I am Legend... I was King of Golganooza

These days, thanks to technology, there are lots of things a writer can do when the constant round of sending out manuscripts and getting them returned with rejection slips is starting to become tedious.

At one time if you couldn't get published conventionally there was either self- publishing (which is by no means a modern phenomenon*) or the Vanity Press.
Anyone remember Johnboy, his look of pride as he unpacked boxes of hardbound books with his name on the spine- until he realised that he had to foot the bill?

Of course, we're too sophisticated to fall for something like that, aren't we? The problem these days is that there are other traps for the unwary- but also more opportunities in an alternative publishing world which is still in its infancy.

I will chronicle my forages into cyberspace publishing chronologically, and where possible leave you to make your own judgements.



Occasionally I will rant. Sometimes it takes me that way.

One of the first things I did was enter a competition in the Writers and Artists' yearbook. The prize was publication. I never heard anything, so I didn't win.

More recently I sent my novel to 'Macmillan New Writers.' The advantage of this is that you can upload your entire novel (which they promise to delete from their files if you are unsuccessful.) They say that if you've not heard from them within twelve weeks... now how long ago was that?

One of my earliest attempts to publish via an unconventional route was through a site called 'Golganooza.'

Golganooza came up when I typed something like 'new author wants to get published' into a search engine.

What Golgonooza offered to do was read a large portion of my novel (I think it was something like 25,000 words,) my covering letter and synopsis, and to provide me with a critique from an unnamed professional- who worked in publishing or the media.

It came at a cost,of course, but there was a reward. If your work was deemed eligible for their 'Gold Medal,' Golgonooza would approach publishers on your behalf and represent you.

I next did what I always do when I come across this type of site- I Googled its name. It's always a good idea to do this when you come across any site which seems to be offering a shortcut to publication. Even better, Google its name with the word 'review' attached. There are a lot of helpful people out there, some of whom have successfully used internet services, some of whom have been bitten by them, who have reviewed them for those who follow.

For 'Golgonooza' I was glad to find press releases praising the innovative nature of the scheme.

Another thing to do, especially if a site claims that its methods have led to booksales, is to look for that book on Amazon. In this case I found a genuine bestseller which had been a Golganooza Gold Medal Winner.

So far so good.

To use Golgonooza's service was going to cost about £75.00. For that I would get a professional critique (far cheaper than any comparable service) and possible recommendations to publishers. The idea- and it was a good one- was that if Golgonooza considered something worthy of publishing they would approach publishers and save them from having to wade any longer than necessary to discover your gem in the midst of the 'slush pile.'

(The slush pile, by the way, is a derogatory term in publishing, given to works which stand no chance of ever hitting the shelves. I wonder if this also includes the odd work of rare genius which publishers won't touch because They won't be able to 'move' enough 'units'?)

So I sent off my submission- through the website- and looked every day to see if the 'pending' icon had changed to 'reviewed.'

About one month later, it had.

I found the review quite balanced, encouraging, and professional. But I didn't get a Gold Medal.

After another year of revision I had incorporated all of the Golgonooza suggestions and decided to submit it again.

I uploaded to the site, paid my money, and waited... and waited.

After about two months I sent an email, asking where my revew was. No reply. I emailed again. No answer.

I then had the bright idea of writing on one of their forums. Again, no answer. So I wrote messages under each separate forum discussion, asking if anyone else had not received their review. Eventually I wrote warning people not to subscribe, just to see if this would provoke a response. It didn't.
Then I saw it. The last contribution to be made to the site before mine had been... exactly one year before.

I suddenly felt like a character in one of those 'last man in the world' movies- 'the Omega Man,' or 'I am Legend.'
My words seemed to echo back from the screen as I wandered empty cyberspace corridors.
I went back each day, the loneliness turning to mania. I left posting after posting like some demented graffiti artist:

there's no one there, is there? And I'm going to prove it: I'm going to write ****, and ****, and **** on your website, and you won't take it off, because you never look do you?

And they didn't. Obviously the experiment hadn't worked- either there were not enough people wanting to pay for reviews- or not enough were achieving publication. I don't know, and there was nothing on the website to explain.

But then came the day that I went on to the site... and someone else was there. I felt a rush of incredulity and exctement, like Robinson Crusoe finding Friday's footprints on the beach.

It was a guy called Rory. He thanked me for alerting him to the fact that this was a dead website before he parted with his money. We wished each other well with our books, and went our separate ways.
I continued to leave threats of small claims courts. My friend, Darren, who is a debt collecter offered to track the owners down, but we decided it was too much trouble over £75.

I was about to leave my lonely island forever when someone else left a message. He recommended a new thing called the 'Frontllist.' Another way of getting to a publisher.

So, a little bit wiser and a lot more wary, I set sail for the new site.

About a year later, out of interest, I tried to find Golganooza again. It no longer exists.






* The Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield was self published, as were Eragon by Christopher Paolini and The Storms of Acias by Dominic Took. Other well-known self-publishers include: Stephen Crane, E. E. Cummings, Deepak Chopra, Benjamin Franklin, Zane Grey, Rudyard Kipling, D. H. Lawrence, Thomas Paine, Edgar Allan Poe, Ezra Pound, Carl Sandburg, George Bernard Shaw, Upton Sinclair, Gertrude Stein, Henry David Thoreau and Mark Twain.





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