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Best Endeavours, Painstaking Endeavours: Jane Cable on what happens once that digital publishing deal is in the bag continues

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Jane Cable’s blog about what happens once that digital publishing deal is in the bag continues.

PAINSTAKING ENDEAVOURS

This week has been proof week. Proofs, edit notes, and blurb. But mainly proofs – and more proofing, until my eyes were out on stalks. Luckily I was able to escape to Cornwall where the phone doesn’t ring and normal domestic distractions don’t seem to apply. Plus it was raining.

I dealt with the edit notes first. As I said before, they were nothing major but required me to clarify a family tree a little, consider whether a character over-reacted to a certain situation, and make slightly better sense of some of the supernatural elements. The third one took the most time because I had to track through the manuscript until I found just the right place for an enhanced reveal.

The proofing took most of my time. Endeavour provided me with two pages of notes of the changes they’d made or wording they were unsure about and going through these was fairly straight forward. But I believe the responsibility for a perfect manuscript can’t be delegated and so I decided to do my own proof read as well. It’s a painstaking process of considering every sentence in and out of context – and even at this stage I discovered some missing words. It’s incredible what the brain will fill all on its own – but that’s my brain, and it knows this story inside out. For a reader even the smallest of errors is hugely off-putting.

Jane Cable, publishing, writing

Then there’s consistency: punctuation, capitalisation, presentation of texts and quotes. Holding these things in your head is like juggling – copious notes are needed and I found it’s so much better to do the proofing over a short period so that you can actually remember what’s gone before. My mind was fair boggling by the time I’d finished and stocks of paracetamol were running low.

On the third afternoon I’d finished and miraculously there was a let up in the storms. Pulling on our wellies we climbed up to the cliff path, the stiff breeze blowing away any remaining cobwebs. Our part of Cornwall is mining country (think Poldark!) and the ruined stacks split the landscape against a backdrop of scudding clouds and dark turquoise sea. Just the headspace I needed.

But the break didn’t last long… then it was back to deal with the blurb for Amazon. But to do so I felt I needed to know if I had a title yet. Had Amy (the publishing director) had time to consider my proposal? Should I give her a little nudge? Well, she could only say no, so I sent off the email. And she came back almost immediately: yes, they’re happy with (small but important drum roll) Another You.

Great news, so I turned back to the blurb – only to realise that I didn’t know the Amazon categories and keywords Endeavour are proposing. And I still don’t. The ever-patient Amy told me not to worry, they’ll add the metadata separately. This, I think, is what I am going to find most difficult; as an indie author I was in complete control of the marketing of my books (although I was helped immensely by the ebook team at Matador). Now, although I know I’ll need to get stuck in and market my socks off when the time comes, it isn’t me who’s making the decisions. Something of a steep learning curve ahead I think.

 

Jane Cable is the author of two independently published romantic suspense novels, The Cheesemaker’s House and The Faerie Tree, and a sporadic contributor to Frost. Another You (formerly known as The Seahorse Summer) tells the tale of how two American soldiers born sixty years apart help forty-something Marie Johnson to rebuild her shattered confidence and find new love. Discover more at www.janecable.com.

 

 

Best Endeavours Best Bib & Tucker: Jane Cable On What Happens When You Get That Publishing Deal

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Jane Cable, publishing, writingBEST ENDEAVOURS
Jane Cable’s blog about what happens once that digital publishing deal is in the bag continues.
BEST BIB & TUCKER
Parties, it seems, are like buses; writers’ parties even more so, with two in one week and a book club sandwiched between them. A book club which was incredibly interesting, but will need to be deferred to another blog to do it justice. 
Regular readers will know that I belong to two writers’ organisations (well, three including the Society of Authors) and both held events last week. Wednesday was fun and networking with the Romantic Novelists’ Association and Friday was the serious business of raising money for Dyslexia Action with Chindi Authors.
I had discovered three important things in advance of the RNA Winter Party; that drink would be taken (beforehand and during), that it would be incredibly noisy, and incredibly hot. On no level did it disappoint, although the fact that a rather nice New Zealand sauvignon blanc was only £10 a bottle in the restaurant beforehand meant I spent the whole party sipping a single increasingly warm glass of fizz, thankful that over the years of drinking I have learnt when to stop.
The wall of sound was unbelievable; a high ceilinged room filled to the brim with almost exclusively female voices meant it was practically impossible to hold a conversation with softly spoken fellow Endeavour author, Maggie Greenwood. I soon discovered that the best way of catching people’s names and making the link permanent was to find them on Twitter on my phone. It felt terribly modern after years of swapping (and losing) business cards. I was only sorry I didn’t meet more authors because in true RNA style the whole evening was incredibly friendly and sociable.
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 Back on home turf on Friday was Chindi Authors’ #LovetoRead party. To be fair, before the doors opened not everything went smoothly. Husband lost count of the number of times he moved tables from one end of the hall to the other and re-arranged chairs. The phrase ‘how many writers does it take to set up a room’ came frequently to mind, despite organiser Helen Christmas’ best attempts to impose order. It must have felt like herding cats. And that was before one author turned up so late that three others had split his table space between them. 
As usual I buddied up with my close friend and children’s author Christopher Joyce. It makes sense when you’re sharing a table; Chris has five Creatures of Chichester books, including ‘The One About the Edible Aliens’, which he was launching. I have only two, so I can squeeze into a corner. We’ve become good at selling each other’s books over the years – and our other halfs well used to enjoying a pint together.
But this time I was one of three authors lucky enough to be reading (Chris having been a perfect gentleman and given up his slot to a dyslexia specialist). I chose the first chapter of The Faerie Tree – the book starts just before Christmas so it felt right. Luckily four of my closest friends sat in the front row so I could pretend I was just reading to them and it must have worked; it’s an amazing feeling to hear people in an audience gasp when you reach a certain point. That, and the fact we raised over £700 for Dyslexia Action, made my night.
Jane Cable is the author of two independently published romantic suspense novels, The Cheesemaker’s House and The Faerie Tree, and a sporadic contributor to Frost. If you’d like to read the first chapter of The Faerie Tree you can find it here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Faerie-Tree-Jane-Cable-ebook/dp/B00UTI27AY/.
The Seahorse Summer (or whatever it ends up being called) tells the tale of how two American soldiers born sixty years apart help forty-something Marie Johnson to rebuild her shattered confidence and find new love. Discover more at www.janecable.com.

BEST ENDEAVOURS BEST IDEAS: Jane Cable on what happens once that digital publishing deal is in the bag

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rembranbrancesundayIsn’t it funny how the most important emails just seem to slide into your inbox at the most inopportune times? Late on Monday afternoon my edit notes and first proof came back from Endeavour – just as I was wolfing down an early supper ready to go to Chindi Authors’ monthly meeting. I scanned the email – heart in mouth – only to find myself reeling from the last sentence.
But I had no time to consider the contents – the Chindi meeting was an important one, mainly devoted to planning the final details of our #LovetoRead fundraising evening for Dyslexia Action on Friday. Raffle prizes to co-ordinate, running order to finalise, budget for canapés to be agreed… All whirling around my head in an unusually disorganized fashion while I tried to digest the email bombshell.
To be honest, now I’m used to the idea, it doesn’t seem so bad. Endeavour want me to change the title of the book, that’s all. And to put things in context, the edit notes extended to only three points, the last one prefaced with the phrase ‘this probably isn’t important’. They’re useful and fair and acting on them will certainly improve the book.

Jane Cable, publishing, writing
The problem with changing the title was that I didn’t have a clue where to begin. You become wedded to the name of your book over the years of development and when agent Felicity loved it too I felt sure I’d be able to keep it. Changing my mindset is something akin to turning an oil tanker but I’m determined to do it and come up with something better.
First some guidance was required from Amy, Endeavour’s publishing director and her answer came back clear and strong: look in the Kindle charts for books of a similar genre – and a tip that short phrases from films or songs often do well. Now my knowledge of films is limited to say the least (having not been to the cinema since the third… or maybe fourth… Harry Potter movie came out) but at least I have a neighbour with a first class degree in the subject so his enormous brain was brought to bear on the challenge.
I quickly realised it’s impossible to instil all the nuances of a book into just a few words and that made me try to set out what it’s really about. It isn’t about seahorses (although they feature fairly strongly) and it isn’t about summer (although the action all takes place between April and August). It’s about being damaged, and healing, and moving on with your life. Or not – as the case may be. It looks back at the past – D-Day specifically – or perhaps the past looks forwards at us. No one title is ever going to cover it all.
So now there is a page in my notebook with an increasing number of titles on it. The most obvious ones have inevitably been taken but I have a few which might just do the trick. And I’m still canvassing opinion, so if you have any bright ideas then please, please let me know.

Jane Cable is the author of two independently published romantic suspense novels, The Cheesemaker’s House and The Faerie Tree, and a sporadic contributor to Frost. Jane will be reading from The Faerie Tree at Chindi Author’s #LovetoRead party in Chichester on 18th November. More details here: http://www.chindi-authors.co.uk/news/
The Seahorse Summer (or whatever it ends up being called) tells the tale of how two American soldiers born sixty years apart help forty-something Marie Johnson to rebuild her shattered confidence and find new love. Discover more at www.janecable.com.

 

BEST ENDEAVOURS: Jane Cable On Her Digital Publishing Deal. Best Laid Plans 2

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Jane Cable’s blog about what happens once that digital publishing deal is in the bag continues.
BEST LAID PLANS 2

 

Way back when, about a hundred or so years ago, I used to work in PR. Great fun it was, except when I had to pick up the phone to some unsuspecting journalist (or anyone else, for that matter) so as I struggled up the greasy pole to the dizzy heights of account management, I needed an assistant.

 

Enter Lisa. A former drama student who was frankly wasted as PA to one of my clients. We worked together; lived near each other (defeating the tube strikes by driving from Wimbledon to the South Bank in my beaten up Ford Fiesta); even escaped the evil pitches we worked for together, to end up in an office above a hairdresser in Kensington with a kindly but chaotic boss who spoiled and cherished us. And we’re still friends twenty five years later.

 

It was Lisa who sent me the original tiny silver seahorse featured in the story, wrapped up in tissue inside a birthday card. And even more surprisingly, this year she sent me an improved model on a chain, together with matching earrings. Because she’d seem them and thought of me. They arrived just days before Endeavour made their offer on the book.

 

So who but Lisa would I turn to for the PR expertise to launch The Seahorse Summer? She did a fantastic job for me on The Cheesemaker’s House, and this time it should be just a fraction easier. Why? Because even in these enlightened days there are a great many newspapers and magazines who won’t touch independently publisher authors.
Jane Cable, publishing, writing

 

To be honest we spent most of our meeting at a mutually convenient motorway service station catching up on family news. For a few years in our twenties we lived in each other’s pockets and while distance and circumstances don’t exactly separate you, they do drive a wedge into your understanding of the everyday aspects of each other’s lives. But when you actually meet, it all falls into place again so easily and trust is instantly restored. I drove away thinking there’s a novel in that somewhere.

 

But as usual I digress. This blog is meant to be about planning a PR campaign. The objective is very much to get reviews. It’s hard to think of a big enough hook to make this a news story, so the book is going to have to stand or fall on its own merits. But stand or fall, it needs to stand out from the crowd. And we did come up with a couple of potential ways to achieve this.

 

The next most important thing is targeting the right journalists and this will be Lisa’s next task. It isn’t as easy as it was in the 80s when you could just phone the magazine and ask. There wasn’t such a thing as email and everything had to be sent snail mail. Or in our case, packing Lisa into a taxi filled with goodies and sending her off to spend the day at ICP towers, chatting to writers and distributing her loot. In 2016 she probably wouldn’t even get past security.

 

 

 

Jane Cable is the author of two independently published romantic suspense novels, The Cheesemaker’s House and The Faerie Tree, and a sporadic contributor to Frost. The Seahorse Summer tells the tale of how two American soldiers born sixty years apart help forty-something Marie Johnson to rebuild her shattered confidence and find new love. Discover more at www.janecable.com.

 

Best Endeavours, Best of Spirits: Jane Cable’s on what happens once that digital publishing deal is in the bag

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Jane Cable’s blog about what happens once that digital publishing deal is in the bag continues.
 
BEST OF SPIRITS
 
For a writer of ghost stories Hallowe’en offers apparently boundless opportunities to promote your work. I benefitted greatly from this when my first novel, The Cheesemaker’s House, hit the bookshops one September and my friend and PR Lisa Holden was able to secure some wonderful reviews in seasonal features.
 
2016 is The Cheesemaker’s House’s fourth witching season so once again I decided to make the best of it by running promotions on Twitter and on Facebook to give away iBooks. While I won’t ‘sell’ my books for a big fat zero on Amazon (or anywhere else, for that matter) I’m happy to give iBooks – and paperbacks – as competition prizes because it opens the doors to new readers and requires a certain amount of engagement from them. And as you may have gathered, I just love engaging with people who love books.
Jane Cable, publishing, writing
This year my local writers’ group, Chindi Authors, has been supporting #LovetoRead (more of which in a few weeks) and as part of our efforts those of us with sufficient courage have been videoed reading from our books. My offering – the first chapter of The Cheesemaker’s House – can be accessed via my website here http://janecable.com/the-book/4577579495 . Do me a favour if you do visit the link… listen, but don’t look. But at least I can take comfort in the knowledge that next time I’ll dress more carefully.
 
Much as I love writing ghost stories I fell into it by accident. The Cheesemaker’s House didn’t start out that way, and The Seahorse Summer began life with a very different ghost. But I have a genuine fascination with the fictional possibilities presented by the ripping of the veil between this world and the next and with every new character from beyond the grave I want to stretch the boundaries a little bit more.
 
This year the Hallowe’en fear factor increased when Reading Writers asked me to judge their autumn competition which was for a short format ghost story. One poem and eight prose pieces later I realised that writers across all genres had been prepared to give it a go. Fantasy, thriller and humour were all represented and the winner used characters from his military work in progress to brilliant effect.
 
It was also a new experience sitting in front of a room full of writers and giving them feedback on their work. Most were extremely gracious (although I did detect a pursed lip or two), but technical errors aside at the end of the day a winning story is a matter of personal choice. It made me realise just how lucky I was that The Cheesemaker’s House found people who loved it… and just happened to be judging competitions.

BEST ENDEAVOURS BEST EFFECTS: Jane Cable On What Happens When That Digital Publishing Deal Happens

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Jane Cable’s blog about what happens once that digital publishing deal is in the bag continues.
BEST EFFECTS
There are moments when the penny drops and you think ‘so that’s how it’s done’. And last week, in a palatial room in Reading Town Hall, the smallest coin of the realm came tumbling down in my direction.
The occasion was the launch of Claire Dyer’s latest collection of poetry, Interference Effects. I have known Claire for several years, firstly as a fellow author (although more senior by several ranks) and more recently as a friend. She is also an award winning poet – and now I know that she is absolutely expert at holding launch events.
I find the idea of a book launch of my own both terrifying and strangely alluring. Not because I’m scared to stand up and read – no, I can manage that (thanks to my mother’s insistence on extra-curricular speech & drama lessons at junior school); more because my grass hopper mind can never decide exactly what to do. And even if I could decide, then I’d have to organise it.
First problem: where would I hold it? I live near Chichester, so that makes a certain amount of sense, but none of my books are set there. The Seahorse Summer is based in Studland in Dorset so there’s a logic to holding an event there – but I don’t know anybody, so would anyone come? I’d like to raise some money for Words for the Wounded, so perhaps London. At which point I run screaming for the hills.
Claire held her launch in her home town; it’s really the only sensible thing to do and the room was packed with her friends, fellow writers, former colleagues and other supporters. And I mean packed. When my neighbour Ali (who introduced me to Claire in the first place) and I arrived – late – having  battled and lost with Reading’s one way system and early closing multi storey car parks, we could barely edge into the room.
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And what a room; easy access (signposted) from the street and inside muted decoration and elegant windows soaring to the sky. A huge platform on which Claire stood to read her wonderful poems (complete with fully functioning sound system); a generously proportioned sales table manned by her publishers, Two Rivers Press; a grand piano in one corner and wall to wall coat racks set at some little distance from the action.
Every detail had been considered. Entertainment while the queue to have books signed snaked across the carpet comprised a talented gentleman cutting silhouettes and a lady pianist working her way through classical preludes. Waiters kept appearing with trays of drinks and canapés – including gluten free options – and the conversation flowed with the wine.
In the centre of it all – the poet herself. Hair neatly coiffed, make up perfect, classic black dress and sparkling rock ‘n’ roll shoes. Having a whale of a time – in her elegant, understated way. By the time Ali and I left I felt uplifted by Claire’s poems and in awe of the whole event. Not only that but a huge lesson was beginning to dawn on me: if you can’t do it as well as this, don’t do it at all. Thank goodness The Seahorse Summer is an ebook…
Claire Dyer’s Interference Effects is published by Two Rivers Press and available through their website and on Amazon. To find out more about Claire and her work please visit www.clairedyer.com.
 
 
Jane Cable is the author of two independently published romantic suspense novels, The Cheesemaker’s House and The Faerie Tree, and a sporadic contributor to Frost. The Seahorse Summer tells the tale of how two American soldiers born sixty years apart help forty-something Marie Johnson to rebuild her shattered confidence and find new love. Discover more at www.janecable.com.

BEST ENDEAVOURS: Best Welcome. Jane Cable’s blog about what happens once that digital publishing deal is in the bag continues.

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Jane Cable’s blog about what happens once that digital publishing deal is in the bag continues.
 
BEST WELCOME
 
For those of you who are really paying attention and haven’t yet lost the will to live with my burblings, last week I mentioned that one of the tasks on my list was to get to grips with my shiny new membership of the Romantic Novelists’ Association. I had, of course, been aware of the organisation for years and joining was one of the first things that Agent Felicity advised me to do but I needed publishing contract to be admitted to their hallowed halls as a full member. 
As soon as I had the contract I filled in the application form and sent off my cheque. In due course a membership pack thudded through my letterbox (not its fault – everything thuds onto the chunk of slate behind our front door) and I eagerly scrambled my way through the papers to find out all the ways I could fully engage with the association.
So I fired off some emails; to the website co-ordinator, the libraries’ liaison officer, the named contacts for the Cornish and South chapters (having feet in more than one geographical camp). And with some trepidation sent another cheque for the winter party. In London. With crowds of people. People I didn’t know. Gulp.
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Very soon my inbox was filled with emails welcoming me to the RNA, and before long I was sharing online conversations and writing experiences with authors I knew only from their Amazon profiles. The genuine warmth left me feeling as though I was snuggling into a very large and fluffy (in a not remotely Barbara Cartland way) blanket and joining a group of writers who believe in co-operation because they know it works. And, well, because they’re positive, interested, interesting and overall friendly folk. 
The emails gave me the courage I needed to venture towards Twitter with the #TuesNews hashtag and @RNATweets handle. Nervously I tweeted about a lovely review I’d received for The Cheesemaker’s House. Within minutes the retweets had started and within hours reached a level I had previously only dreamt of. New follows and followers, my online network expanded in directions which are perfect for me. And what’s more I will actually meet some of these lovely people; both in London next month and at the chapter meetings in Cornwall and in Southampton.
Throughout my business life I’ve believed in the value of networking and although it sounds sexist I also think women understand the process of giving your time and energy to virtual strangers better than men. Not all RNA members are women by a long chalk, but most of us are, because that’s the way the cookie crumbles in the writing world. 
There’s also something about the genre of romance itself; those who write it, write about people. So we’re interested in people. We like people. And that attitude shines from the RNA like no other organisation I’ve ever had the privilege to belong to.
 
Jane Cable is the author of two independently published romantic suspense novels, The Cheesemaker’s House and The Faerie Tree, and a sporadic contributor to Frost. The Seahorse Summer tells the tale of how two American soldiers born sixty years apart help forty-something Marie Johnson to rebuild her shattered confidence and find new love. Discover more at www.janecable.com.

BEST ENDEAVOURS: TO DO MY BEST. Jane Cable’s blog about what happens once that digital publishing deal is in the bag continues.

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Jane Cable’s blog about what happens once that digital publishing deal is in the bag continues.
 
TO DO MY BEST
 
This last week has been one great big long to do list; not just in my writing life, but in my business life as well, catching up with all the client work and admin swept to one side while I’ve been polishing The Seahorse Summer.
The single most important thing no-one ever told me about being a writer is that you spend more time marketing your books than you do producing them. If you want anyone to read them, that is. You can’t just put your book out there and wait for the crowds to come; particularly with the emergence of Createspace it really is true that everyone can publish a book, which makes the fiction market a very crowded place.
So, what’s been top of my writing life to do list this week? 
Jane Cable, publishing, writing First up I have recently joined The Romantic Novelists Association and to make the best of my membership I need to get involved: write my biography for their website; fire off emails to join various groups; add my details to their Author Talks list; send off my cheque for the winter party.
And talking of websites, there’s a great deal of updating to be done on my own with words and pictures to be prepared for my wonderful webmistress to beautify and publish in due course. Not to mention a PR campaign to be costed and planned for when The Seahorse Summer comes out. Oh, and cover quotes – let’s not forget cover quotes…
Next my local independent author group Chindi Authors (www.chindi-authors.co.uk) is in the middle of planning a series of events coming up to Christmas and I need to start pulling my weight again. There’s also the opportunity to record a few Youtube videos which will be really useful so I need to pull my finger out and practice – not least because the sight of a camera normally sends me fleeing for the hills.
I also need to start pushing my existing books again with a giveaway to be planned for The Cheesemaker’s House in the run up to Hallowe’en. Provided Hallowe’en doesn’t run up to and past me while I’m thinking about it, that is.

But one task this week has been a total and unadulterated pleasure, and that is a return to my part finished manuscript. It’s set in

Lincolnshire and features a feisty archaeologist and when I put it down in July to concentrate on The Seahorse Summer I had doubts about how well the story was working. Last week I curled up on my sofa over several early morning cups of coffee and lost myself beneath those huge winter skies, feeling the cold earth under my finger nails, hearing the voices of the past in my head. It was fine – it was actually better than I remembered.

And it was bliss to be writing new words on a fresh page again.

 

Jane Cable is the author of two independently published romantic suspense novels, The Cheesemaker’s House and The Faerie Tree, and a sporadic contributor to Frost. The Seahorse Summer tells the tale of how two American soldiers born sixty years apart help forty-something Marie Johnson to rebuild her shattered confidence and find new love. Discover more at www.janecable.com.