Category Archives: Get Published

THE BUSINESS OF BOOKS: FROM PITCH TO PUBLICATION

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Jane Cable picks up a good book.

Doubts happen to every writer, at every level. For me, at this precise moment, it’s about whether I’ve written the right book. It’s a book I wanted to write, with characters I’m passionate about and a story I believe in, but as I begin the submission process the doubts have set in.

As ever, it was a writer friend who gave me a helping hand out of the hole I was rapidly digging for myself. Take a bow, Barbara Copperthwaite, for recommending an excellent book; From Pitch to Publication by the late, great literary agent Carole Blake. Barbara credits reading the book with helping her to land her agent and publishing deal. “Turns out I was doing it all wrong,” she told me. And because I know ‘all wrong’ was nothing to do with the quality of her writing, I downloaded the book straight away.

It isn’t a book you read cover to cover – you keep it by your side and refer to different chapters at different stages of your life as a writer of commercial fiction. And some of the advice seems just a tiny bit dated, written as it was in the days (not that long ago) before direct submission and digital only publishers became major players in the market. But the first chapter alone gave me plenty to think about.

 

So, what have I learnt from this wonderful tome?

What is the right book?

The very first pages start with the question that had been haunting me. And answered it from a very commercial angle. Yes, write what moves you but with an eye on the eventual market. Trends are impossible to spot but there are certain aspects of a novel you can build in from the start which will help it appeal to publishers; for example the right well-researched location, the right choice of profession for your protagonists. Both need a touch of glamour – or at least desirability. Keep the word ‘aspirational’ in mind and you can’t go far wrong.
Follow your genre’s rules

Genre is massively important in commercial fiction terms and you need to understand the rules of your genre inside out. To do that you need to read a lot of it. While your idea and your voice need to be sparkling and original, your story needs to meet your readers’ expectations. Romances have to end HEA or HFN (happily ever after or happy for now). Every genre has its optimum length. But never, ever, pick a subject because you think it’s going to be the next best thing – your lack of passion for it will show in your writing.
There is a checklist… a magical checklist

I’m not going to give the whole game away, because that wouldn’t be fair and if you’re serious about a career as a commercial writer then you need to buy this book. But here are just a few of the items on it which seemed most important to me:

Is the world where the novel is set one in which readers will want to spend time even before they have come to know the characters?

Is my central character fully developed and someone readers can readily identify with?

Are my plot strands so overly complicated that readers will get confused?

Can I sum up my storyline in one sentence?

 

And finally, the magical triangle

This had never entered my head but it makes the most sense of all. As a writer you need to be able to build and control the relationship not only between writer and character, but between writer and reader – and reader and character. Not just for one book, but in a way that will forge a lengthy career. It’s a huge question but one, as writers, we really need to ask.

 

From Pitch to Publication by Carole Blake is published by Macmillan

THE BUSINESS OF BOOKS: THE DREADED S WORD

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Jane Cable tries to pick out the positives of writing a synopsis

Having completed the edits on one manuscript and having rescued my rights for Another You from Endeavour Press, this month has been all about considering submissions – which in most cases involves the bane of my writing life – the synopsis.

I’m not talking about the sort of synopsis you use as you create your novel, or to check structure and record plot points as you go along; I’m talking about that big, scary, one-and-only-chance-to-get-it-right document which accompanies your submission to agents and publishing houses. The synopsis as sales tool – in particular the short version – fills me with dread in a way no other blank page can.

This time, I thought I’d cracked it. Fellow RNA member and Choc Lit author Lynda Stacey very kindly sent me her template and using it made perfect sense. Like me, Lynda writes romantic suspense and has to shoehorn complex plots into a single page. I was happy with what I’d written, but when I showed it to Claire Dyer (an editor as well as an author) she drove a coach and horses through it. Clearly I need to improve.

So, what have I learnt from this sorry state of affairs.

A template to follow is really, really useful

When you are staring at a blank piece of paper there is nothing more helpful than something which lists the paragraphs you need and gives you some guidance about what to put in each. It helps you to have a method. For my short synopsis I set out the beginning of the book, then the end of the book, and filled in the middle last. It was also brilliant for pulling out the main plot strands and that focussed me through my final edits.

You’re going to need more than one carefully tailored synopsis

I’m concentrating on the direct submissions route for my novels and am hand picking the publishers I think would be right for them and who I’m really keen to work with. I don’t mean to sound arrogant, but I’m quite comfortable being an indie author if I can’t land that special deal. But what struck me when I was making my shortlist was that they all want something different; everything from a 3,000 word essay to a two paragraph blurb. It’s so important to tailor what you send to their requirements and to show you understand where your book would sit in their portfolio.

A synopsis is not a blurb It may be a selling document, but it’s not a blurb.

I was delighted when my first choice publisher asked for a blurb as I find them so much easier to write. Of course there are similarities – both have to grab the person reading it – but in different ways. A blurb entices, teases, reveals just enough. A synopsis tells the whole story. No surprises. The most important thing to bear in mind is that a publisher or agent will be thinking about how they can sell the story – a reader will be using the blurb to decide if they want to buy it.

Not everyone you submit to will need a synopsis

Yes. Really. But don’t use it as a cop out or to select who you submit to. Most agents require a synopsis, but the length varies. So will most publishers, but some have other priorities, such as finding out about your author brand – they will rely on your manuscript to see whether your book is worth taking on. You will need to become expert in selling your novel in all sorts of ways but one thing is certain: the better you become at all of them the more chance you have of landing a deal.

 

BUSINESS OF BOOKS: FIRST, LAST, EVERYTHING – WRITER CLARE SWATMAN

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Clare Swatman spent almost 20 years working in women’s weekly magazines. Her debut novel Before You Go was published last year, and her second, The Mother’s Secret, is published by Pan Macmillan on 22 February. She’s currently writing her third novel.

What was the first writing advice you were ever given?

‘Write about what you know’ is the advice most people give, and I was no exception. But for me it really did ring true, especially the first time round. When I started writing Before You Go it was with the idea that I just wanted to write something. I wanted to be able to say I’d given it a go, and never regret not having tried; I had no expectation that anyone would ever read it, or want to read it, so I was really writing it for myself, with the hope that some day, something might come of it – but it might not. And so, while concentrating on the plot and developing the characters, I found it really helpful to write about places I was familiar with; Newcastle, where I went to university, Crouch End, where I used to live, Doncaster, where my best friend lives. It meant there was one less thing to worry about getting right, and I could concentrate on the story in hand. I also used my experience of writing true life stories to develop the characters and the situations they find themselves in. Years of interviewing people about the things that have happened to them has given me a good insight into how people respond to happiness, heartache and difficulties – and it’s not always how you’d expect!

What was the most recent writing advice you were given?

There’s no magic bestseller formula (if there were we’d all be making millions of pounds!) – all you can do is write the best book you can. That’s it. And if you try and write to be a bestseller you’re more than likely going to set yourself up for disappointment. It’s a tough one to swallow, because of course as a writer you dream of selling lots of books and of everyone loving what you’ve spent years writing, but it’s easier to expect smaller things, and be pleased by them, otherwise you’d live in a perpetual state of disappointment and anxiety! So now I try to remember how pleased I am to be published and keep trying to write the best stories I can.

What Is the piece of advice you’d most like to pass on?

Don’t compare yourself to others. This has been a big hurdle to overcome, and I have to admit I’m still working on it! I love my social media, and think it has great value in my life. But there are times when I think it can work against you, and the publication of a new book can often be one of those times. I’ve found it always feels, rightly or wrongly, as though every other book being released, read or even written is mentioned all the time on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram – except mine! It also feels as though everyone else is selling hundreds of thousands of copies and getting huge success within days of publication. Of course this probably isn’t true, but as with everything, social media takes the shiny parts of people’s lives and magnifies them. So comparing your own life and career to the life and career of someone else portrayed online is not only pointless but can be damaging. So I’ve had to learn to stop – and I would definitely give this piece of advice to anyone starting out in writing or any other career. Just do you own thing, enjoy it, and stop worrying about everyone else!

 

BUSINESS OF BOOKS: TAKE FOUR WRITERS – INTRODUCING LUCY COLEMAN

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New year – new opportunities and a new name! Life doesn’t get much better, does it?

My first book – The French Adventure with Aria Fiction (Head of Zeus) – is due for release on 1 February 2018 and I’m elated! The launch of a new book is usually the culmination of more than a year’s work from penning the manuscript, going through the editing and proofing processes and preparations for the marketing to begin.

Now, this isn’t my first book – it’s my twelfth, full-length novel – throw in a couple of non-fiction titles and three novellas and that’s my writing career in a nutshell. But Christmas 2016 was a turning point for me. I remember going to a Romantic Novelists’ Association chapter meeting in Hereford a few months beforehand and someone raised the subject of submitting to agents. Had it crossed my mind before that? Well, yes, but I didn’t feel ready. I had successfully submitted and signed contracts with Endeavour Press, Harper Impulse and Choc Lit at that stage. The turning point for me was triggered by two things. The first one is that contracts aren’t easy to read and secondly, I was beginning to feel more and more like a team of one doing the best I can to steer my career. But secretly I was longing for a little professional guidance.

Now, I have a fantastic relationship with my editors and their support, nurturing and constant pushing to get me to up the bar has been a blessing. But I felt it was time to find that elusive someone who could help me look at my career on a longer-term basis. Up until that point I’d only considered it one manuscript at a time.

So, literally a couple of days before Christmas 2016 I submitted to three agents and by early March 2017 I had signed with the awesome Sara Keane, from the Keane Kataria Literary Agency. It wasn’t long before I was signing my first, four-book deal with Aria Fiction. As I’m still writing for Harper Impulse as Linn B. Halton, my books for Aria Fiction will go out under my new pen name of Lucy Coleman.

Having Sara in my corner, helping me to work on my finished manuscripts to make them the best they can be and introducing my work to Aria Fiction, has sharpened my focus. I’m no longer thinking one book at a time, but forward planning. As each day passes I’m feeling more and more like a Lucy, as well as a Linn … and 2018 promises to be frenetic, fun and fabulous!

It just took a little over a year in the planning, but it was a year well-spent and I can’t wait to begin promoting ‘The French Adventure‘.

Oh, and throw in the added little flurry of activity as my husband and I moved to a new house, in a new area, on 19th December 2017. A paint brush is never far from my hand these days, so it’s handy that I’m good at multi-tasking. The next stage of the journey is about to begin.

Happy New 2018, all!

BUSINESS OF BOOKS: TAKE FOUR WRITERS – INTRODUCING CLAIRE DYER

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Being a poet and a novelist I’m often asked whether I prefer one over the other and I always answer that I love them both the same – like I do my two children, obviously! Seriously though, I really do believe both mediums are two sides of the same coin; both set scenes, tell stories and are peopled by characters who I hope are vivid and compelling.

The main differences may seem mundane: in poems the lines don’t always go right across the page, whereas in novels they do and, in poetry we have fewer words to play with, so every word really does count.

That’s not to say, however, that we can’t play with format in fiction and invest our prose with the same attention to detail as we do in poetry – in fact, we should.

Also, I believe that, as in poetry, a novel should have moments of distilled emotion but, unlike with poetry, in a book we can give our readers and characters, for that matter, more instances of down time: conversations about the weather, making tea, going to the shops.

For me, a poem works if it tumbles down the page and takes me with it and I believe a novel works if it draws me in and keeps me held safe in its narrative. I sincerely hope both my poetry and prose do both of these things!

So with this thought I’ll say a few words about my publications. I’ve had two collections of poetry published by the very lovely Two Rivers Press and, although each are only 50 odd pages long, they both took years in the making – each poem, I hope, earning its place in the stories the books aspire to tell. The second book, Interference Effects, came out of my MA in Creative Writing at Royal Holloway and what the poems aim to chronicle is how, as colours vary in a butterfly’s wing depending on the angle at which we view it, our impressions and thoughts about subjects as varied as art, love and loss, marriage and memory, can change when we look at them through different lenses.

I’ve had two novels and a short story published by Quercus and am utterly thrilled that The Dome Press are publishing The Last Day on 15th February. This book has had an interesting genesis. It was always going to be about the three of them: Boyd, Vita and Honey, but it was only on the second rewrite that Vita pushed her way front and centre and waved at me, glasses in one hand, paintbrush in the other and said, ‘Put me in the first person,’ and as much as I loved writing about the other two, it was Vita who called to me the loudest.

Also, during the rewrites, the book changed from being a story about one thing to a story about another: it had the same people and same plot but eventually it revealed its true colours (a bit like a butterfly’s wings!) and it’s been a wonderful experience being part of this evolution.

The title came to me (bizarrely and somewhat prophetically) on the day after the EU Referendum in June 2016 and the more I thought about it, the more it seemed to fit with the fact that we all will experience last days: the last day of school, of work, of love, of life. And, if after every beginning there is an ending, then after every ending is a beginning: after every last day there is a next day and it is this message I hope the book holds at its heart.

https://www.clairedyer.com

@ClaireDyer1

 

BUSINESS OF BOOKS: CLASS OF 2017 – Jane Cable considers the big lessons

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Some writers consider their calling a business from day one – to others it comes as a complete surprise. But asking them to think about it has come up with some real pearls of wisdom we can all share.

On finding time to write:

“I’ve found the trick is to stay focused on the current work in progress while trying to fit all other aspects of my writing around it – and remembering to stop and eat occasionally. I can recommend writing retreats where I find working whilst gazing out to sea from my desk can be a welcome rest from my desk at home!” Elaine Everest

“I have the same commitments as everybody else. I’ve had to be very disciplined and make time to write. I set several evenings a week aside and also write on weekends; I watch a lot less TV than I used to. When I’m working under deadline… I write any spare moment I can, whether it’s during lunch breaks or into the early hours of the morning.” Nikki Moore

On marketing:

“Networking with fellow authors and bloggers, and interacting with readers is so important. It builds relationships, and ultimately I believe that the business of books is about people.” Barbara Copperthwaite

“While I don’t normally spend much on book marketing, I did engage a publicist for my second novel. That probably helped get it into bookstores. It certainly spared me a lot of time and footwork.” Carol Cooper

On running a business:

“I always remember my dad telling me that a new business takes an average of two years to make a profit. I went into self-publishing my books with that in the back of my mind, and very much thinking of it as an entrepreneurial venture. I ensured I had enough money behind me to survive for two years without making any profit at all.” Barbara Copperthwaite

“It’s only recently I’ve converted my way of thinking to writing as a business, so I’m learning and in the process of developing the business model… In its simplest form: keep writing, keep engaging, and keep building my readership.” Laura E James

On diversification:

“I give talks about my writing to groups such as the Women’s Institute and to libraries. Sometimes I’m paid for the talks but they all give me an opportunity to sell paperback copies and also to collect email addresses of readers interested in hearing when my next book is out. I’d like to grow this side of the business in order to get a better return on the amount of preparation required to devise a talk.” Sally Jenkins

“I don’t have a formal business model, but writing full-time has given me the opportunity to take on different projects and I am now beginning to earn from a wider source than book sales. Writing short stories for magazines is a good way to supplement income and I have also taught a ‘writing a novel’ day course.” Heidi Swain

And the final word:

“Keep writing. Be flexible. Be aware of the market. Be dedicated.” Karen King

In 2018 The Business of Books is running a new regular feature on best advice from authors and publishing professionals so there will be plenty more great ideas from the world of words.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Find out more about the authors featured above at:
http://www.romanticnovelistsassociation.org/about/author/elaine_everest
 https://nikkimooreauthor.wordpress.com/
https://www.barbaracopperthwaite.com/
http://www.drcarolcooper.com/
http://www.lauraejames.co.uk/
https://sally-jenkins.com/
http://heidiswain.blogspot.co.uk/
http://www.karenking.net/

THE BUSINESS OF BOOKS: GUILDING THE LILY – Jane Cable meets Book Guild author Sally Jenkins

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How much of your working life does the business of books take up?

Around 40% of my working life is spent on writing and writing-related activities. I work for a multinational IT consultancy three days a week which, in theory, leaves two days for the business of books. In reality, domestic trivia eats into those two days but I try to make up that time on a Saturday morning when I can, plus if I’m aiming at a deadline I will squeeze in an hour’s writing before or after the day job.

What’s your business model to earn a living from writing?

Like most writers, I can’t earn a living solely from writing, hence the three days working in IT. The money I earn from writing comes from several sources, some passive, such as royalties (which I’d like to increase!), and some from sources that require active input. My best-selling ebook is Kindle Direct Publishing for Absolute Beginners, which is a guiding hand for writers brand new to e-publishing. Earlier this year I updated the book to include some of Amazon’s latest offerings, such as publishing a paperback through Amazon KDP. I sell the occasional story or filler to women’s magazines (Tip: Take a Break are one of the best payers if you have an anecdote that fits their Letters Page). I give talks about my writing to groups such as the Women’s Institute and to libraries. Sometimes I’m paid for the talks (and if I’m really lucky I get a free dinner as well!) but they all give me an opportunity to sell paperback copies of my first grip-lit thriller Bedsit Three and my bumper Coffee Break Story Collection and also to collect email addresses of readers interested in hearing when my next book is out. I’d like to grow this side of the business in order to get a better return on the amount of preparation required to devise a talk. Recently I’ve also been asked to do Kindle and paperback formatting for writers self-publishing on Amazon for the first time. Currently I restrict this to straightforward text-only books but it might be something I choose to grow in the future if giving up the day job becomes a reality.


What do you write and what do you consider to be your major successes?

Over the last few years I’ve gradually moved from short stories to novels. I write grip-lit (psychological thriller meets commercial women’s fiction) and straight commercial women’s fiction. I was elated when Bedsit Three won the Ian Govan Award and, as a result, the novel was published in e-book and paperback format. Another highpoint was The Book Guild recognising the commercial potential of my second grip-lit novel, The Promise, and offering me a place on their partnership publishing program. The partnership means we both invest in the publication costs and The Book Guild’s marketing arm is behind me, selling into bookshops, generating media publicity etc. We share the royalties. The Promise will be published on 28th January 2018 and I’m very excited!

Tell me about your latest project.

I’m working on my third grip-lit novel. I’m fascinated by how past events can impact our current lives. For example, in Bedsit Three the upbringing of one of the characters drives his destructive behaviour. In The Promise there are serious repercussions for something the heroine did three decades earlier. In my current work-in-progress, the protagonist wants revenge against someone who stole his girlfriend when they were teenagers.

 

Sally Jenkins writes grip-lit and commercial women’s fiction. She lives with her husband in Sutton Coldfield and has two grown-up daughters. Find out more about Sally and follow her blog at https://sally-jenkins.com/ or follow her on Twitter @sallyjenkinsuk or on Amazon.

 

The Business of Books: Millions of Thrills – Jane Cable meets USA Today bestselling author Louise Jensen

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Louise’s first two novels, The Sister and The Gift, were both No.1 bestsellers, and have been sold for translation in sixteen territories. The Sister was nominated for The Goodreads Awards Debut of 2016. The Surrogate is out now.

1) How much of your working life does the business of books take up?

I’m quite structured and tend to work 9-3.15 every day to fit in with school hours. If I’m taking a book through the editing process I come back to my desk after the school run and work through until about 5.30 and I generally work for a part of most weekends too. Writing full time is busier than I’d anticipated. Writing new words is only a fraction of my day. There’s admin, interviews, events not to mention social media and blogging. In all honesty it’s taken me about a year to find my feet and settle into a good routine.

 

2) What’s your business model to earn a living from writing?

I didn’t have one! I started writing as a hobby but after completing the first draft of The Sister I read it back and realised I had something really special. I sat down with my husband and told him I’d love to work part-time for six months to give me a chance to really polish it and submit to agents and publishers. We went through our finances and realised it would be tight and sat down with the kids and discussed it as a family. Everyone agreed I should at least try. Within six months I’d signed a three book deal and six months after that I was fortunate enough to be in the position to be able to write full time.

3) What do you write and what do you consider to be your major successes?

I write psychological thrillers that also have an emotional thread running through the story line. I adore commercial fiction and thrillers and like to blend genres where I can. I love the feeling of being unnerved one second and then having a lump in my throat the next. I want to take readers through a whole spectrum of emotions when they read my stories.

Both my first two novels, The Sister and The Gift were No. 1 International Bestsellers and USA Today Bestsellers and have been sold for translation to sixteen territories. It really was a dreams come true year. The Sister sold half a million copies within the first six months and I was nominated for the Goodreads Debut Author of 2016 and also for the CWA Daggers New Blood 2017. The Sister spent over a year and a half in the psychological thriller top 100 so far.

Initially I published with Bookouture, a digital imprint of Hachette, but Sphere (Little, Brown) have since acquired paperback rights to my first three books, and a fourth to come next year, and I can’t tell you how exciting it is to walk into a bookshop or supermarket and see my stories on a shelf.

 

4) Tell me about your latest project.

The Surrogate is newly released and is the story of Kat and Nick who are desperate to be parents. They’ve almost given up hope when Kat runs into Lisa, her childhood best friend, who offers to act as a surrogate.

Kat’s longing to be a mother makes this book an emotional read, but the layers to all the characters also make this the darkest book I’ve ever written. Everyone has a secret!

I had such fun writing this story. There was no planning involved and there were so many twists and turns each day was an adventure. The ending completely took me by surprise and made me gasp out loud and so far, no reader has figured it out either, despite the clues I went back and planted.

 

At the time of publication The Surrogate is featured in a special promotion where the eBook is £0.99/$1.31 across all digital platforms for the next week. You can buy from Amazon here.

You can also find Louise at www.louisejensen.co.uk where she regularly blogs flash fiction and writing tips, and she also spends far too much time over on Twitter.