The Artist Unleashed posts have moved to a new domain. Please click HERE to read the rest of this post and for the opportunity to comment. Just search for the title of the post in the search bar on the new site.
Wednesday, 19 March 2014
Monday, 17 March 2014
Let's have a bit of fun! Will you play? If you play, you can win $20 Amazon gift card + more!
I promise.
And you can win somethin’ for just having a bit of fun.
Adam and I are celebrating the speedy progress of Degenerate Dictionary. And we
are giving away two $20 Amazon gift cards.
I’m also throwing in any eBook of mine that you wish to have
(i.e. ALL of them if you want them.)
There are two ways you can enter:
The FUN way:
Write an example sentence using one of our Degenerate Dictionary words and
tweet it to @DegDic. The author of the
sentence we like best will win a $20 gift card + my books. With your
permission, we will also include it in the book when it’s published. With
credit of course!
Example tweet:
Everyone saw my sparkly string while waiting in the *stationary*. @DegDic Join in to win here: http://ow.ly/uEvA8 #giveaway
Note: When you tweet
your example sentence, make sure the word in question is inside two asterisks, that the link is included, the #giveaway hash tag is included, and that the @DegDic handle is
included. Otherwise we won’t see it. Don't forget to replace the sentence with your own!
The CLINICAL way:
Enter the contest via the rafflecopter below. The winner
selected via the rafflecopter will also win a $20 gift card + my books.
You may enter both ways to double your chances.
Good luck! Please spread the word!
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Thursday, 13 March 2014
How To Survive Writing In A Narrow Niche: Diversify!
I also share my sales stats. I know. Now I'm an open book. Eeek!
Hope to see you there!
*Comments here are closed, please comment on the other blog.
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Wednesday, 12 March 2014
The Artist Unleashed: INVENTION, REJECTION, AND PUBLICATION, by Margaret Barnes
Although not all writers want to be
published, most do. And they want to be published by one of the Big 5.
I
am no exception.
But is all I want, as a writer, to see my book in print? Isn’t
there more than wanting to hold the book in my hands marveling at the way it
looks, feeling the shiny cover and the smell of new paper? Surely what a writer
really wants are readers?
Stories told round the fire or at bedtime to a child,
only exist if there is a listener and a novel only comes to life when it is read.
Writers want to communicate their story to others.
Throughout my career as a
barrister working in the criminal courts, I have told countless stories to juries.
I would weave the evidence given during the trial into a story about a
character, the defendant, interpreting his behaviour as innocence not guilt. A
jury speech is immediate; the success of the story revealed within hours as the
jury delivers its verdict.
But a novel? The only way I can tell that story is by
making it tangible.
How do I get that to a reader?
The traditional way is to find an agent who likes the
way you write and likes the story enough to want to sell it to a publisher.
They will do that by finding an editor at one of the major publishing houses
who likes the book as much as they do. The author will be offered an advance
and the rights to the novel will be transferred to the publisher.
What they don’t say is that it must also pass a
marketing test. Agents want to earn money, so if they aren’t sure where they
can place your book they will turn it down. Similarly, if the marketing people
at the publishing house say they don’t think they can sell it, they won’t want
the rights to the novel, no matter how well written or compelling the story. In
the current climate the publishing houses are in turmoil, they see their
traditional marketing model being torn to shreds and their only response is to become more and more conservative. Now
they only want to publish sure fire hits, cookery and gardening books,
biographies of musicians and politicians, and novels written by celebrities.
I refused to be discouraged and sent my novel out to
several agents, attended conferences where I got the opportunity to present my
work to agents and publishers. I
received rejection after rejection. They ranged from ‘I like this, but don’t
feel sufficiently engaged,’ ‘You write well, but I am not sure this is for us,’
‘I don’t know where I could place this book,’ ‘We don’t do legal thrillers,’
and finally, ‘We don’t think this will be a best seller.’
Hang on, I thought, I don’t think I’m John Grisham. I
didn’t think I would be a best seller. I just wanted a few hundred, perhaps a
thousand or so, to read my book and enjoy it.
That’s what I want, nothing more.
Today with the advantage of all that lovely
technology, I can go directly to the readers and publish my novel myself. The
problem with that is, I know nothing about how to produce a book and sell it to
the public. I started looking at various websites for advice and soon realised
if my book was to be published I would need the book edited, copy edited, a
cover designed, and a publishing house with a distribution network.
Not
that easy then.
I began by getting the book edited. As the publishing houses have shed staff, a
number of editors are now working freelance and will edit a novel for a fee. A
full edit as opposed to a copy edit is a complex affair. I found that the
editor I used wanted to alter my book to be more like the ones she wrote. I had
to cling on to the fact that it was my story and I didn’t want to make all the
changes she suggested. It may have made it more marketable, but it wouldn’t have
been the book I wrote. She did however make some very good suggestions about enhancing
the main protagonist, so I made those changes.
I then began to
research the various companies who provided packages, and to compare the cost. In
the end I decided to use one which although more expensive offered more by way
of publicity rather than printed copies of my book. They have organised a copy
edit, a great front cover, publication by a company that have a
distribution network, and have formatted it for print on demand and for all
the e-book platforms.
Have you self-published? What were your reasons? Are you happy to just be read by a few hundred fans, or do you want to become a best seller? Why?
Please note: This post reflects the opinions and experiences of the guest author only.
Please note: This post reflects the opinions and experiences of the guest author only.
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Monday, 10 March 2014
Do You Agree, Or Disagree? (#8) Topic: Self-Published Authors aren't worthy of the "Author" title now?
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What a load of blubbering bosherkoolitafeckery bollocks.I am usually very calm and 'professional' on this blog. I force myself to see both sides of an argument, for argument's sake.
But today, I bring you my full-fledged disgust at this article:
Self-Publishers Should Not Be Called Authors
This is a joke, right? My gosh. Please, go read it, then come back.
Let's discuss.
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Wednesday, 5 March 2014
The Artist Unleashed: THE SECRET TO MATURING AS A WRITER by Julie Musil
The Artist Unleashed posts have moved to a new domain. Please click HERE to read the rest of this post and for the opportunity to comment. Just search for the title of the post in the search bar on the new site.
Monday, 3 March 2014
Dictionary: the feeling of air passing over privates when it falls out of pyjamas in the morning
But I remembered a couple:
ARSENIC: A cut on the bum.
PROPAGANDA: Having a good look.
In 2013, I began posting these quirky, idiosyncratic, new definitions of familiar words on Twitter and Facebook with the hash tag #Jessicasdictionary.
And Adam Byatt soon chimed in with his own ...
The exchange went back and forth over a few days until I emailed Adam, fluttering my eyelids, despite knowing he couldn't see how pretty I was making myself look for him.
The gist of my message was: Would you like to write a dictionary with me?
Adam: *brief pause* F#@$ yeah!
And so, what once was a party game played by gothic musos in the 80s, and then became #Jessicasdictionary almost 35 years later, is now called Degenerate Dictionary and will soon become a BOOK.
Perfect for every school *cough* classroom *cough*.
So, here's how the degeneration process plays out:
- Every day, we post a new degenerate word or two to this blog.
- The same will be posted to twitter via @DegDic.
- If you want to see one of your own whacky definitions in our book, with your name fully credited, tweet it to @DegDic. If we love your definition enough to include it, we'll let you know. (Keep in mind, it could be months before you hear from us.)
You can sign up to get the definitions straight into your inbox HERE.
And you can follow us on Twitter HERE!
We hope to see you join in the fun!
PS: I'm over at Writers Helping Writers today talking about how writing exercises that don't have anything to do with your novel, can keep you on top of your game. Hope to see you there too!
PS: I'm over at Writers Helping Writers today talking about how writing exercises that don't have anything to do with your novel, can keep you on top of your game. Hope to see you there too!
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