The London Book Fair 2014: What Went Down

The Entrance

As most of you know I spent last week in London for the 2014 Book Fair and I had the most fabulous time!

I met so many people that I have gotten to know over the years through the Internet, and met a bunch of fabulous authors for the first time, including Hugh Howey! (Whisper: He's such a spunk.) If you've never been to a book event like this, I totally recommend it. I have to say it's the best career investment I have made in a really long time.

Hugh Howey and Me (photo taken by Debbie Young)

Note: I've included more photographs from the event, and of people I had the privilege to meet, below the post if you'd like to see.

I spent most of my time in an area called the Author HQ where a variety of seminars and workshops took place. Subject matter varied from things like "Know Your Rights," and "The Hallmarks of Self-Publishing Success," and "The Principles of Book Cover Design." Some were useful, others not so much, as I think they were a bit too geared toward the complete beginner. Hopefully next year they will have more seminars that are a bit more meaty in content.

Although I didn't learn anything new about being an indie author, I did discover that I'm already doing everything "right." And it was definitely great to have that confirmed. I now feel confident I can continue doing what I've been doing all along, and not worry about whether there is anything I am missing.

Seminar with Ben Galley & Orna Ross

I have to say that the BEST seminars (for me) were the ones that included speakers from The Alliance of Independent Authors (Orna Ross, Ben Galley, Joanna Penn), and an interactive interview about Self-Publishing with Kobo Writing Life's Diego Marano, and author-extraordinaire, Hugh Howey. I came away feeling enthused, and quite comforted, regarding my career choices. I have to say, I hold these authors in very high esteem. Not because they are successful, but because they are so genuine, kind, honest, and approachable, and they do not behave in any way superior to anyone. There is a lot to respect right there. Nothing has "gone to their heads" so to speak. They are just like "us".

Seminar with Barbara Freethy & Bella Andre

I also really enjoyed the seminars with bestselling authors, Bella Andre, Barbara Freethy, and Liliana Hart. I learned a lot about "branding" covers (i.e. to be sure they feature something that is easily recognizable as "you".) I've done it with my nonfiction, but never really thought about doing it for my fiction. So that was quite an eyeopener.

Dan Holloway, Orna Ross, & Debbie Young

The "Opening Up To Indie Authors" book launched at the Kobo booth, too. The book was written by ALLi members, Debbie Young and Dan Holloway, and edited by the founder Orna Ross.

As Dan Holloway writes on his blog:

"The book is more than just an essential campaign document and rallying cry. It’s a guide to working with every sector in the global literary sphere, from bloggers through prizes and bookstores to festivals, making the case for the inclusion of indie authors, helping indie authors to understand the industry and helping the industry to see why it needs indie authors."

You can read more about the launch HERE.

To top all this awesomeness off, I also attended a party sponsored by Amazon to celebrate the 2nd birthday of ALLi, and I had the privilege to read from my novel, Bitter Like Orange Peel, alongside some other magnificent authors: Dan Holloway, Carol Cooper, Jerome Griffin, Polly Courtney, Paul Murphy, JJ Marsh, Piers Bearne, Mark Speed, and Orna Ross.

Thank you to Dan for catching it on video for me!

So ... that was my week. (Phew!) Have you ever been to an event like this? Was it a good experience? Why?

More photos:

Me + Eliza Green + Lorna Fergusson

Les Moriarty + Me + Glynis Smy

Glynis Smy + Me + Alison Morton + Talli Roland

Me + Carol Cooper

Me + Dan Holloway

Me + Roz Morris

Me + Joanna Penn

Rohan Quine + JJ Marsh + Me

Me + Len Lambert

Debbie Young + Me

The BEST selfie ever, taken by Dan Holloway, because
he had an old camera with no screen to see if we all fit!
L to R: Debbie Young + Me + Hugh Howey +
Orna Ross + Diego Marano + Dan Holloway

___________________

Sign up to my newsletter and receive Book #1 of the Writing in a Nutshell Series, Show & Tell in a Nutshell, or Muted: A Short Story in Verse, for FREE.

Off to the London Book Fair!

So guess who is off to the London Book Fair? Me!

I will be on hiatus all next week. But I'll definitely be Tweeting and Facebooking during the event if you're interested in updates and photos, etc.

I'll also be doing a reading from Bitter Like Orange Peel on Wednesday night at an Alliance of Independent Authors event. I'll try and get someone to video it for me, so I can share it with you.

Have a great weekend, folks!

___________________

Sign up to my newsletter and receive Book #1 of the Writing in a Nutshell Series, Show & Tell in a Nutshell, or Muted: A Short Story in Verse, for FREE.

The Artist Unleashed: THE 5 BIGGEST RISKS I’VE TAKEN AS AN AUTHOR by Rachel Thompson

I’ve written a lot of blog posts. A lot. A lot, a lot. Yet, nobody has ever asked me before what the five biggest risks I’ve taken as an author are, til now. So thank you Jessica for the opportunity to write for you and for making me dig deep.

Let’s deconstruct.

1)              Telling my real story.  I started blogging in 2007-ish, and mostly it was a way to connect with family and friends far and wide. However, I soon developed my ‘voice:’ a sarcastic look at relationships, love, and all the ups and downs that go with that.

Sorry for the interruption, but 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.

In which Degenerate Dictionary participates in the April A-Z Blogging Challenge #atozchallenge

Howdy Doodie :-)

Just a heads up. Though I'm not participating in the April A-Z Challenge this year through my personal blog, Adam Byatt and I are participating through Degenerate Dictionary. So, if you are participating, we'd love to see you over there! Click the image to be directed to DegDic:

__________________

CLICK HERE to subscribe to Jessica's newsletter. Every subscriber will receive Book #1 of the Writing in a Nutshell Series, Show & Tell in a Nutshell, for FREE. And be the first to know about new releases and giveaways!

To stare at the screen ... what does it really mean?

I have just started writing my fifth novel. And for the first time ever, I have my story fully plotted from beginning to end. Usually I plot to about 2/3 of the way through, so that there is still an element of surprise when I write, but this time the ending was screaming at me. So all I have to do, is sit down and write it. I'm 5k in. Feeling proud.

Then the staring happened.

The staring, to me, means what? I'm not inspired? No. I don't know what to write next? No. Of course I do, I have it all plotted out. On cards. In front of me. That I don't know my characters well enough? Hmm ... I probably don't. But they always become more rounded as I write, and that's part of the joy. Watching them develop. And it has never stopped me from writing before.

So what, exactly, is it that makes me stare and stare, and procrastinate and procrastinate, when all I have to do is get the words on the page? I was thinking about it last night, and I came to the conclusion that it's fear.

Fear of:
1. It being crap.
2. It being all I think about day in and day out that I neglect my responsibilities. Let's face it, that is going to happen regardless, and is something I should accept.
3. It being bullshit.
4. Take more than a year to finish the first draft because of the fear and the procrastination.
5. It being stupid.
6. Doing this all for nothing. Why am I a writer? Why do I torture myself like this? Because I love it. Why? Because I love it. Why? Because I love it! Why? Oh, shut up!
7. It being crap, bullshit, and stupid.

So, that is why I stare at my screen. Because I am afraid of being who I am, essentially.

What causes you to stare at your screen?

________________

CLICK HERE to subscribe to Jessica's newsletter. Every subscriber will receive Book #1 of the Writing in a Nutshell Series, Show & Tell in a Nutshell, for FREE. And be the first to know about new releases and giveaways!

The Artist Unleashed: THE 7 MYTHS OF VIRTUAL BOOK TOURS, by Pandora Poikilos

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.

THINKING you don't like something, is not DISLIKING something, It's called SELF-DEPRIVATION.

I'm halfway through my very first Neil Gaiman book: NEVERWHERE.

Since puberty, I have avoided reading all and any fantasy under the false impression that I wouldn't enjoy it. I'm a lover and writer of literary and contemporary fiction. Unless it's Margaret Atwood, I very rarely pick books up that are "out of this world." And when I do, I almost never finish them. For some reason, I just can't get swept up in a world that I have no experience living in.

But I am a changed woman.

Neil Gaiman has changed me. Forever. I feel as excited to pick up Neverwhere as I did when I was a kid reading Roald Dahl and Enid Blyton.

I am devouring it.

I had known for years that I was probably depriving myself by avoiding fantasy, but it didn't seem to make any difference. I remained stubborn about it.

Until ... I started to write my own novel that is a little "out of this world."

This made me wonder. How many other things in this world am I missing out on because I think I won't like it? Can you imagine the amount of people out there who are missing out on fulfilling and enlightening experiences because they think they won't like something?

Here's some food for thought ... Why do you think we close ourselves up like that?

This has nothing to do with my question, but a friend of mine shared this video of Neil Gaiman with me on Facebook, and it is hilarious, and insightful, (and so true!) so I thought I'd share.

Have a great week!!!

_________________

CLICK HERE to subscribe to Jessica's newsletter. Every subscriber will receive Book #1 of the Writing in a Nutshell Series, Show & Tell in a Nutshell, for FREE. And be the first to know about new releases and giveaways!