Tag Archives: Business of Books

A PUBLISHER’S YEAR: JANUARY – HIRING, GENRES, AMAZON

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It is an exciting start to the year for Sapere Books. We have decided to hire our first full-time staff member. Up until now Sapere Books had been solely run by its three co-founders – myself as Editorial Director, Caoimhe O’Brien as Marketing Director and Richard Simpson as Operations Director. We were also using freelancers last year to help with cover design and proofreading, but we have decided we are at a stage where we need a full-time extra pair of hands as well! So, in a couple of months I’ll have a new Editorial Assistant to introduce to everybody. It is our first time hiring so we are currently brainstorming what tests to set candidates and exactly what we want to ask them at the interview stage. More news on that in a few weeks!

We have also put a call out for ‘nautical fiction’, as that is a genre which is underrepresented in the market and which we know readers love, and we’ll be looking for other niche genres to sign up throughout the year. We are having a lot of success with our first ‘timeslip’ novel – The Catherine Howard Conspiracy by Alexandra Walsh, which alternates between the Tudor court and the modern day, so that may be an area we’ll expand into more in the coming months. Other than that, my inbox is full to bursting with submissions, which is fantastic, but I always find it slightly heartbreaking when I have to turn authors down. We are getting such a fantastic quality of submissions coming through that I am turning down lots of novels which are certainly good enough to be published, but we can’t say yes to all of them because we don’t want to flood our list, and end up not being able to give our books the attention they deserve.

The publication schedule for this month focussed largely on historical fiction. At the start of the year I published the fourth book in Elizabeth Bailey’s brilliant Regency mystery series and M J Logue’s first romantic thriller featuring Major Thankful Russell and his wife Thomazine, set during the Restoration. They were followed by a Medieval novel; the first part of a saga trilogy set at the time of the American Civil War; a crime novel featuring Charles Dickens as the investigator; and the final book in the eight-part Victorian mystery series we launched last year, featuring a husband and wife detective partnership. Next month will be more crime and thriller focussed – with a bit of romance thrown in in time for Valentine’s Day!

We have just had a catch up meeting at Amazon HQ to let them know what we will be publishing this year. The Amazon team have given us lots of ‘Kindle Daily Deal’ and ‘Kindle Monthly Deal’ slots over the past few months in the UK, US, Australia, Canada and even India, which can really give books a boost, so we are keen to keep the team over there up-to-date with our plans and the books we are publishing. I am also sorting out the diary for London Book Fair, which promises to be a crazily intense three days as always, but a brilliant time to catch up with literary agents, meet with authors – and indulge in a drink or two!

Finally, I have some exciting news to share to do with the Romantic Novelists’ Association but I have to wait until the official press release goes out next month so you’ll have to wait until then to hear more!

Amy Durant

 

BUSINESS OF BOOKS: TAKE FOUR WRITERS – BALANCING, SHINING, HURDLING, REFLECTING

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The final word from our four writers and a heartfelt thank you to them all for sharing their writing years. Ladies – you’re an inspiration.

JACKIE BALDWIN: BALANCING

This month for me has been all about trying to balance the competing demands on my time between the day job, writing the first draft of my third crime novel and getting sorted for Christmas. My heart says write but my head says shop, clean and do the ironing! I have never been good at splitting my focus.

Tis the season to be jolly! I am a member of a wonderful crime writing community called Crime and Publishment in Gretna. Some of us are published whilst others are working on a first draft or at the submission stage.  After our Christmas meal we went round the table celebrating everyone’s writing wins, both big and small. It was heartening to hear how far we have come since our first year in 2014.

For me this time of year is always a time for reflection. To remember those people and animals who are no longer with us but lit up our lives, to be grateful for those who are still here and to think about where I want to direct my energies in the brand new shiny year to come.

It has been a pleasure to share my writing journey with you all this year. Wishing you all a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year.

ANGELA PETCH: SHINING

December Frost:  sparkly, ice-cold, sharp, and a fitting way to skate away from a year of monthly reports. I shall miss them: it’s been a way of focussing during quite a year.

December 1st, I launched my self-published “Mavis and Dot”, and, promoted by a Blog Tour, it’s going well. My shiny new banner helped pull in interested readers. On the following Saturday, I manned a successful book stall outside Arundel Cancer Research Shop. All profits from M and D are destined for this charity.  A sequel has been requested; I’m thinking up scenarios for the two ladies.

Edits for Bookouture are 99% done for the first Tuscan novel commissioned for Spring 2019, (no title yet), and I’ve written a couple of chapters for the second. The rest is in my head. This year I will pin to paper.

Thanks so much to Jane and my trio of friendly authors. New friendships made, new goals formed. Good luck to us all, happy Christmas and 2019.

 

CLAIRE DYER: HURDLING

So, another year has gone by and I’m definitely a year older, but no wiser I fear!

Some highlights have been (in no particular order): my kids are doing OK; Mr Dyer is well and busy; my cats are still my friends; my novel The Last Day was published and I’ve been working on another two books since which has been both a challenge and a joy; it looks like there may be a new poetry collection in 2021.

Some lowlights have been (in no particular order): my mother’s dementia; the state of the nation; I don’t seem to be ageing like Dame Judi Dench, more like Ena Sharples; Hollywood still hasn’t called to offer to make my book into a movie!

And, as ever, there have been hurdles as is the case of the writer’s life. No sooner are we over one, then another appears. Sometimes they trip us up; sometimes we sail over them, landing gracefully on the other side a bit like a gazelle. And, as ever, there’s no saying which the next one will be as I sit here at the year’s end with the echo of the starting pistol and the crowd’s roar in my ear.

LUCY COLEMAN: REFLECTING

As the year draws to a close it’s a time when I reflect upon the highlights and low points of my working year. But more importantly it’s when I set new goals for the year ahead.

It has been my second most successful year as an author to date, for which I’m incredibly grateful. Hitting the no. 5 spot in the UK Kindle chart with ‘Snowflakes Over Holly Cove’, my second novel writing as Lucy Coleman, was beyond any dream I ever had. The goals I set are never about the results, but about the work required to keep honing my skills.

My goal for 2018 was to write four new books. Tick. And the first novella in a new little project with a new pen name. Tick.

My goal for 2019? Four new books and the second novella.

I write because it’s my passion and I write from the heart. The happiness and fulfilment is in the creation, because it is a little like the lottery. In this case fate is in the hands of the legion of wonderful reviewers and readers who choose your book. And that’s humbling.

Wishing everyone a 2019 filled with happiness, love and good health. And to the incredible Jane Cable and my fellow writers, you are all an inspiration!

 

BUSINESS OF BOOKS: FIRST, LAST, EVERYTHING – BEST OF THE BEST, PART 2

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We’ve been given some wonderful advice from our First, Last & Everything guests this year, so here’s the best of it:

ON WRITING

Don’t get it right – get it written. Susanna Bavin

Sometimes it really is okay to tell not show. Every course I’ve ever attended and blog you read talk about showing not telling. It can become obsessive. At some point, it’s better to just say: ‘it’s midnight’ rather than: ‘Bats passed silently by the ancient metal hands of the church clock as they moved into a vertical position.’ This is particularly true in children’s books where most kids want action. Christopher Joyce

 

ON EDITING

I went on an editing course recently and was advised to highlight the different points of view in my manuscript using different colours. The idea being that the distribution of the colour throughout the manuscript enables you to see if the balance between each characters’ points of view is even. This is an invaluable tip, as often I get fixated on one character’s view point and this enables me to present a balanced piece of work. Morton Gray

I printed my novel on A4 paper and began to read it. This was a pivotal moment in my writing career. Multiple small errors, which were mysteriously invisible before, began to jump out at me. It was a valuable lesson and now I always edit a paper version at some point during my self-editing phase. Victoria Cornwall

 

ON PUBLISHING

Phillipa Ashley and Rowan Coleman both advised me without a second’s hesitation to join the Romantic Novelists’ Association’s New Writers’ Scheme. I went on and joined in the January of 2014, and published that début novel the following year. Julie Stock

Put a name to a face quickly and always have a smile. Publishing is still quite a small world and conducting yourself in the right way will really keep your options open. You never know when you may need somebody’s help in the future! James Faktor

If you’re going to self-publish, it’s important to go through the same steps as a mainstream publisher would prior to publication. Think carefully before using free resources unless you’re convinced about the result. It’s usually worth paying professionals for edits, proofing and cover design.  Cathie Hartigan

 

ON READING

I think everyone should make friends with their local bookshop.  Booksellers have a wealth of knowledge that they love to share, and bookshops are such beautiful places to spend time in. Cressida Downing

If you’re not enjoying a book, don’t struggle through it and make the whole process horrible. There are so many amazing books out there for a variety of tastes, passions and interests – find something that sparks a light in you and devour it! There will be a book out there for you, I can guarantee it! Lara Marshall

 

ON LIFE

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. Clare Swatman

In the famous words of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, “All grown-ups were once children… but only few of them remember it.” Yasmin Thornber

You won’t learn about people in a classroom.  Get out there, but take your notebook.

Julia Dean

 

 

 

 

 

BUSINESS OF BOOKS: FIRST, LAST, EVERYTHING – BEST OF THE BEST, PART 1

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We’ve been given some wonderful advice from our First, Last & Everything guests this year, so here’s the best of it:

ON WRITING

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. Clare Swatman

Listen to the advice you are given but do not blindly accept it or reject it without consideration. Evaluate it, then adopt or discard it. There is no ultimate template of how you should write, what you should write, the rules you should obey or break. Sandra Danby

I have offered this advice to a few writers and they have all told me it is a good idea, so I am happy to share it with you here: don’t stop writing today unless you know how you are going to start writing tomorrow. For me, following this rule means that, when I hit a problem and the writing becomes difficult, I always keep at it until I have got past the hard bit and things are flowing freely again… so that when I stop, I know how I’ll start again next time. Susanna Bavin

 

ON EDITING

Once you’ve written and edited your work get in proofread by a professional. This is not your sister, who is an English graduate; not your neighbour, who studied law and is very bright and NEVER yourself. It’s impossible. Christopher Joyce

I follow a lot of writing blogs on Twitter, and many of them have wonderful snippets of advice, one of the most practical of which in recent months was about removing redundant words from your manuscript. I discovered there were plenty of lists out there, once I’d put ‘redundant words in your novel’ into Google, and soon I was working my way through my extremely long manuscript and culling them (thank you, Word, for the Search and Replace function). In the end, nearly 10,000 redundant words sailed off into the blue yonder; not one of them was missed! Cassandra Grafton

Two author friends, at separate times, said they were listening to their manuscripts for errors and suggested it was a good way to edit. It is easy to read what we expect to see rather than what is truly there. Our hearing is very sensitive. A misspelt word, repetition or a sentence that is far too long, is more obvious to our ears. Victoria Cornwall

 

ON PUBLISHING

Ebook jackets will be seen as thumbnails on retailers’ sites so you need to ensure that the title can still be read. A small, thin font in a colour that doesn’t stand out isn’t the best and don’t clutter your cover – try to keep it simple and avoid too much text. Megan Lockwood-Jones

 

ON LIFE

The one piece of advice that has helped me in both my personal and professional life is: treat others as you’d want them to treat you. So be polite and considerate and don’t take advantage of other people. Never say something behind someone’s back you wouldn’t say to their face and if you make a mistake, apologise and move on. And never try and attribute blame. Mistakes happen, learn from them. Sue Featherstone

Be kind to yourself. Set reasonable goals (if that’s the type of writer you are) and don’t beat yourself up if you don’t manage to achieve them. Also have breaks from your writing. Writing isn’t something to be forced but to be enjoyed and, if it isn’t, maybe it’s time to ask ourselves why we’re doing it. Wendy Clarke

It is never too late to begin to write. Morton Gray

 

 

 

 

BUSINESS OF BOOKS: FIRST, LAST, EVERYTHING – HISTORICAL NOVELIST VICTORIA CORNWALL

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The first piece of writing advice you were ever given

The summer of 2014 was an exciting time. I had submitted my manuscript to a carefully selected list of agents and was waiting to hear back. An agent requested a full manuscript and I felt I was finally going to achieve my dream of becoming a published author. By the time Christmas arrived I had been rejected by all of them and had received my first professional writing advice. “You have a gift for writing, but you need to edit it on paper.” I put down the phone confused by the advice. What did she mean? Grumbling to myself, I printed my novel on A4 paper and began to read it. This was a pivotal moment in my writing career. Multiple small errors, which were mysteriously invisible before, began to jump out at me. It was a valuable lesson and now I always edit a paper version at some point during my self-editing phase.

 

The most recent piece of writing advice you gave or received

Strangely this is linked to editing again. Two author friends, at separate times, said they were listening to their manuscripts for errors and suggested it was a good way to edit. A Daughter’s Christmas Wish was the first time I added this method of editing to my writing process. Once again, I was amazed. It is easy to read what we expect to see rather than what is truly there. Our hearing is very sensitive. A misspelt word, repetition or a sentence that is far too long, is more obvious to our ears. It is another tool to use to improve the standard and flow of your writing. All software have the option to have a voice narrating your text and it is normally free and easy to use. If you are unsure how to find the speaker option, search “How to” on the internet and there will be a step by step guide on how to activate it.

 

The piece of advice you’d most like to pass on.

Don’t let agents’ rejections stop you pursuing your dream. The reasons they reject you are varied. It might be related to your writing, but it may also be not what they are looking for at that time. Many successful writers have been rejected by agents and/or publishers at some point in their career. I was. Their rejection initially crushed me, but they also made me more determined to prove them wrong.

Four years after that summer of rejections, which I mentioned earlier, I have four traditionally published books out in the big wide world. All my books are released as ebooks and audiobooks, two have been released as paperbacks. I have been shortlisted for the New Talent Award at the Festival of Romantic Fiction, a finalist at the Joan Hessayon Award and reached number 21 in the paid kindle rank for Victorian romance. I was tempted to give up writing after I was rejected and I’m so glad I didn’t. Don’t let the rejections crush your joy for writing, just see them as part of the journey to get to where you want to be.

 

Victoria Cornwall is the author of the Cornish Tales series published by Choc Lit. Her novels are historical, Cornwall based fiction, with romance and drama at their core. She is married, with two children and is a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association.

 

BUSINESS OF BOOKS: TAKE FOUR WRITERS – DIVIDING, EDITING, DREAMING AND TOURING

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CLAIRE DYER: DIVIDING

This month I’d like to talk about my ‘other’ life. I see myself as both a poet and a novelist and people often ask which I prefer being. My answer is always that I like them both the same. However, there are big differences in the way poetry and fiction are published and so this does inevitably alter things.

For a start a poem is a constantly changing thing. Even when it’s been in print, a poet can change elements of his/her poem when it’s republished or collated in a collection. Secondly, putting together a collection takes YEARS! Novelists think it takes an age to get a book published, but collections of poetry can take mini-lifetimes. My last one, ‘Interference Effects’ kindly published by the very wonderful Two Rivers Press took five years from being a spark in my eye to a book in my hand.

The collection I’m working on at the moment contains poems first written in 2014, the manuscript is due to be delivered to the very wonderful Two Rivers Press in June 2020 and it will be a further year or so before possible publication. And this is fine because it takes patience, love and a whole heap of courage to be a poet. However, all this fades to nothing when a line comes that sets your hairline fizzing or you stand in front of an audience and read something that makes them laugh, gasp or (even better) weep.

Poetry books may be slim, time-consuming, delicate and easily lost in the noise of mass paperback sales, but they are things of beauty nonetheless.

 

LUCY COLEMAN: COUNTING

Finally welcoming in the good news this month, as a loved one is out of intensive care. It feels like a dark shadow has been lifted and the sun can shine again. Miracles can happen!

I’ve hardly moved from my desk with line edits and a cover reveal for A Greek Affair, in preparation for its release on the 28 December 2018 by Harper Impulse. And copy edits for The Writing Retreat on the Italian Lake, due for release on 5 February 2018 by Aria Fiction.

And my first audio book, for The French Adventure, is due out on 29 November 2018.

The good news keeps on coming and there’s even more, but authors get used to sitting on things for a while. So, my lips are sealed. But after the darkest of Octobers, I feel that Christmas has come early and I’m truly counting my blessings!

 

ANGELA PETCH: DREAMING

What about a monthly report starting with:  I’ve been dozing in my hammock on the island of Zanzibar, wondering what to do next. Ha ha! More like – I’ve been wondering how on earth to tackle my to-do list.

“Mavis and Dot” are on a blog tour and I’m relieved my two ladies/babies are appealing to readers. When you read comments from complete strangers like: “I could really see this gem of a book as a fantastic movie…”; “A must read…”; “This book was a total joy from beginning to end…” your heart has to sing. It justifies hours of sitting hunched over a pc. This month has been a mine-field of formatting issues but lovely authors have helped.

But I’m a hybrid and have just come off the phone from a chat with my editor at Bookouture. No peace for the wicked: I have major edits to carry out on my re-write of “Tuscan Roots”.

Where’s that hammock?

 

JACKIE BALDWIN: TOURING

November has been fairly busy as I have been on a Deadly Intent tour around some of the many libraries in Dumfries and Galloway with my partner in crime, Lucy Cameron. It’s been a lot of fun getting out and about to meet readers and some of the libraries have totally spoiled us. In Wigtown, for example, we were all treated to freshly baked scones with jam and cream!

As part of Book Week Scotland, we’re reading along with some other authors at a gin/rum night at The Selkirk Arms in Kirkcudbright, which, coincidentally, is where my second novel, Perfect Dead, is set.

On 29th November, I’ll be on a wee jaunt to Edinburgh for Noir at the Bar which is always a fun night and a chance to discover some great new crime authors.

Finally, I’m pleased to report that my third novel is firmly back on track after all the thrashing about with it last month. I’ve now nailed down the plot which nearly got the better of me and I’m pushing on through the first draft.

See you next month!

 

 

 

BUSINESS OF BOOKS: FIRST, LAST, EVERYTHING – LIBRARIAN AND BOOK BLOGGER LARA MARSHALL

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What was the first piece of book business related advice you were given?

When I first started in libraries I was told to “shout about what I was passionate about” (maybe not literally, but close enough!). I took this advice to heart and made sure that I told anyone who would listen about books that I enjoyed, books that connected with me and books that changed my view of the world. Whether this was through displays, reviews, blogs, or good old word of mouth.

Book blogging has become a natural extension of that, as I try to reach people from all over the world, to talk to them about the books that meant a lot to me. I feel strongly about talking about what resonates with you, and if something doesn’t that’s fine.

What was the most recent piece of bookish advice you gave or received?

Be careful what you say on Twitter! The book industry is a very, very small world, including publishing, libraries, authors and bloggers, and everyone is on Twitter. News has a terrifying way of travelling fast! Of course, if this is positive all the better, but if you are difficult or accidentally slight one person be prepared for everyone to know about it!

What piece of advice would you most like to pass on?

If you’re not enjoying a book, don’t struggle through it and make the whole process horrible. There are so many amazing books out their for a variety of tastes, passions and interests – find something that sparks a light in you and devour it! There will be a book out there for you, I can guarantee it!

Then once you’re on a roll, no one will be able to stop you.

 

Lara is a library manager and book blogger from North-West London. She has worked in libraries for twelve years and blogging for 2. She began to suspect she was slightly different to other children when, at seven years old, her most prized possession was the ‘A’ volume of the children’s Encyclopaedia Britannica (her family couldn’t afford the rest).

When she isn’t working, blogging or reading, chances are she’s doing something “vaguely bookish”.

You can find Lara’s blog here: https://bookishlara.com/

 

BUSINESS OF BOOKS: RETREAT OR TREAT?

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Retreat or treat? When five writers arrived in Bath last month, we didn’t really know how it would pan out. We intended to work, but it was the first time we’d seen each other since meeting at the Romantic Novelists’ Association conference fifteen months earlier, so would there be too much gossiping going on? Or even a frosty silence as we realised we didn’t actually like each other that much after all.

We certainly started being very polite. Cassandra Grafton (no stranger to Bath with her Austen-esque novels) found an enormous Georgian house we could rent from Bath Boutique Stays and there was quite a bit of ‘after you – no, after you’ as we chose our bedrooms.

It soon became clear that our centre of operations would be the kitchen with its windows either end and huge table. We had no plans to cook, but Kitty Wilson and I had raided M&S on the way (she is one serious snack shopper) and what with our booty and all the wine, the fridge was filled to bursting point. But did we open a bottle straight away? No – we made a nice cup of tea.

So the first myth was busted open – we were not destined to spend our three nights drinking ourselves into a stupor. A drink with dinner (we tried a variety of local restaurants, culminating at the amazing Aqua) then another one or two afterwards was about our limit and while the vodka bottle was hit pretty hard (you know who you are, ladies), the gin went almost untouched and only two half bottles of Prosecco from our stash were consumed.

We did drink on the second morning though as we celebrated the launch of Kitty’s second book. Champagne and cake well before the sun was anywhere near the yard arm, flowers smuggled into the house and hidden the previous day, and a gift from us all. Of course, before we could touch any of it we had to stage a photo or two for social media. And then spend a great deal of time sharing them to all our followers.

Second myth – we had no real intention of doing any work. Wrong again. Susanna Bavin wrote more twenty pages in longhand towards the trilogy of sagas she’s working on. I completed the structural edit of the second book of my Sapere deal. Kirsten Hesketh was busy reworking the draft of her second novel while Kitty focussed on guest posts for her blog tour (not to mention keeping up her daily word count) and Cassandra worked her way through her ‘to do’ list following the announcement of her contract with Canelo.

But more than anything we supported each other in ways small and large. I helped Kitty with her guest blogs (I’ve done so many of them) and she and Susanna critiqued the outline I’d prepared for Sapere. Kirsten’s agent had started to send her manuscript to publishers and had received a few initial rejections – and there always are rejections – but that doesn’t mean they hurt any the less. I like to think we were all there for her.

The two days and three nights flew past, mainly because we were in the company of other writers. It’s a profession where you have no colleagues, no daily water cooler moments and just to be around each other and chat authorly things was utter bliss. Noone understands writers like other writers – the highs, and the lows, and the mundane bits in between.

We left Bath on the Friday morning with the firm resolve to do it again. But something else had happened along the way; bonds had been formed and friendships deepened. We’d become, as Kitty put it, sister scribes.