The Holy Grail

Are you brave
enough to go it alone?

I’ve seen a lot of posts recently where people are really stressing the importance of having an agent, and making out it’s, like, really the ONLY way to get anywhere in publishing. And while I’d agree it’s ONE way to get somewhere, it’s definitely not the ONLY way.

I was with my agent nearly three years. She tried hard to get my books out there and gave me lots of help and valuable pointers. But it - that much desired publication contract - never happened. And I know from the feedback she passed on from editors and publishers that it wasn’t about the quality of my writing; the most common issue seemed to be that they already had something similar. Market forces.

(Yes, Dharling we love your work, but it would clash horribly with one we saw earlier….) 

I can hack that. Publishers have to make a living too.

But don’t make out that agents and mainstream publishers are the ONLY option. Because there’s a lot to be said for going it alone. As a self-publisher you control:

• the rights to your work
• the content of your work
• the cover design
• the price
• the distribution
• the speed at which you move 

On top of that, you have higher royalties, the opportunity to learn about the industry from a different angle, the opportunity to learn about new technologies, self promotion and marketing. And let’s not forget that self published writers are happier.

Will you jump for joy?

You might not get an advance, and you might not have the prestige associated with a traditional book deal, but after all your hard work, surely the Holy Grail here is getting your work into print? And believe me, it is possible to have a quality product and an income from writing without an agent or Random Penguin holding your hand.

So if you're not getting anywhere with your agent and wondering if it's ever going to happen, my advice is to think about your options seriously... and if it still doesn't happen, JUMP! What have you got to lose?

For Writers in the Sticks...

Guest blog from Stephanie McGregor, children's writer and Managing Director of the newly formed,    4 Winds Writers Workshops 

Stephanie McGregor

I started 4 Winds Writers Workshops after hearing so many writers complaining that all the writers’ workshops were in London and it was such a hassle to get to. And I agreed.

Each time I go to London I have the cost of the train/bus/flight on top of the workshop cost, and by the time I get there I’m too exhausted to enjoy it. If it starts in the morning I have to stay over the previous night, which only adds to the cost, and I usually end up taking the night bus back; reaching Scotland at around 6:30am the next morning. I have to plan three days out of my week to attend a five hour workshop. It’s just not doable for many writers, and especially for those with young children. So what was the alternative?

The Edinburgh International Book Fest is fantastic, but only comes in August and there are few courses offered toward the actual art of writing, let alone writing children’s books. Something had to be done. I decided to take the plunge and create my own.

4 Winds Writers Workshops was developed to bring the best educational workshops, led by authors and industry professionals to you. After researching what writers wanted, I have brought together four amazing authors who bring different perspectives and specialties to the workshop to improve upon the writers’ skills no matter if they are just beginning, or a seasoned professional.

Our speakers for the first workshop include Lynne Rickards, an amazing, award winning picture book writer who’s book Pink! is being made into a children’s musical; Liz Rettig, a young adult writer published by Random House whose ‘Kelly Ann’ series consistently gets rave reviews; Victoria Campbell, author of Viking Gold, and a new author with Fledgling writing historical fiction that’s fun for kids; and Wendy Storer, the author of Bring Me Sunshine, runner up in the 2013 Mslexia competition, and literary consultant for Magic Beans.



Our first workshop will be in Glasgow on the 18th of May, with future workshops envisioned for the Borders, Wales, the Highlands/Islands, and Ireland. For more information on the workshops please visit the website at www.4windswriters.com

I would love to see you at one of our events.

WIN A KINDLE FIRE!

Kindle Fires have changed
 a lot over the years

A fabulous Kindle Fire could be yours!

All you have to do is answer some simple questions about these books

1. BRING ME SUNSHINE by me, Wendy Storer!
2. SOMEONE DIFFERENT by Kate Hanney
3. WATERMELON by Kate Hanney
4. WHERE BLUEBIRDS FLY, also by me Wendy Storer

Answers to the questions can be found in the first few pages of the books (if you have them) or by going to the Look Inside facility at Amazon.co.uk (Links are provided).

Three runners up will each receive an Applecore book of their choosing.

The REAL Prize

You do not need to purchase anything to enter, and entry is FREE.

For entry instructions, rules and T&C, visit the Applecore Books website

You can take the teacher out of teaching, but you can’t take teaching out of the teacher…

Ahhh, the good old days.
Not.

I left teaching X years ago. Really? That long?

I still miss it. I miss the children mostly, and next I miss the whole creative challenge of finding a way to make learning interesting, and fun! I don’t miss the meetings, the marking, the orders from above about HOW and WHY and WHEN you teach something… No, seriously, don’t get me started on that one, Mr Gove.

And I love being a writer and a publisher and all that entails.

But one day, a few weeks ago, I got to thinking about how MY BOOKS might be used if I were still teaching. And the more I thought about it, the more I liked the idea. It became kind of a personal challenge to see if I could write a scheme of work around my writing. Whilst I don’t claim to be William Shakespeare or Morris Gleitzman, I thought my books (and especially BRING ME SUNSHINE) might provide the right ingredients for lessons which are both interesting and fun.

So that’s what I did.

I wrote a teacher resources pack for Key Stage 2, based on the PSHE curriculum, and I wrote another one for Key Stage 3, based on the English curriculum.

You can download either from my website - here - for FREE!

The KS2 pack includes information, discussions, games, drama, writing and drawing activities relating to the issue of young carers. It is aimed at children in year 6.

The KS3 pack includes a variety of activities based on BRING ME SUNSHINE and extension activities which can be used in any KS3 English lesson. I had some help from friend and fellow writer KateHanney with the KS3 pack, because my natural home is the primary school; Kate is a secondary English teacher.

If you do look at my free resources packs, please let me know what you think. I had fun creating them, and I’d be really interested to know how they are received by those people in education who matter most; the children.

20 Questions to Katie Hayoz

This week, I have donned my interviewers hat to ask my fellow Mslexia Children's Novel Comp runner-up - Katie Hayoz - a few questions. Katie's first book, UNTETHERED is now available on Kindle from Amazon UK, Amazon US and Barnes & Noble, and the paperback is due for release on MAY 1st 2013.

Q 1. Tell us briefly, what UNTETHERED is about..
Untethered is a young adult coming of age novel that explores the world of jealousy and obsession when paired with paranormal ability.

Q 2.What was the inspiration for writing this novel?
When I was 17 I read Stranger with my Face, by Lois Duncan, which touched on astral projection.  The whole out-of-body experience thing fascinated me.  I wrote a short story that same year and twenty years after that, I finally decided to expand that original story into a novel.

Q 3.Who is your intended audience and why should they read your book?
My intended audience is anyone age 14 to 114. Untethered isn’t just a story about astral projection; one of the main themes is self-acceptance.  Everyone - but mostly girls and women - struggles with this on a daily basis.  Learning to love ourselves for who we are, as we are, is not always easy.

Q 4.How did you come up with the title of your book?
Ha! I didn’t come up with the title.  I had a horrible, horrible title that I’m embarrassed to even mention here: Precious Possession. Oof. Cringe-worthy, huh?  A friend of mine was talking about the book to her husband and he said, “Why doesn’t she call it Untethered?”  Whew.  Thank you, Robbie.  I’ll be going to him for suggestions on titles for my next novels, too.

Q 5.Who is your favourite character from your book and why?
Nelson, hands down.  He’s just…such a sweet guy. And yet he’s not afraid to be different.  I mean, he’s got blue hair and paints his fingernails.  I think, though, the real reason I like him so much is that he’s partially based on a guy I had a crush on in high school.  The guy never talked to me so I have absolutely no idea what he was really like, but in my fantasies he was how I’ve created Nelson.  Only he had a Mohawk instead of blue hair.

Q 6. When and why did you begin writing?
I don’t know exactly when or why, but I can tell you that some of my earliest memories are of my mom sitting in her recliner with a bowl of popcorn and a book.  She always looked so interested - enraptured even - that I had to find out what the heck was so great about words on pages.  That’s how I was bitten.

Q 7. What is your work schedule like when you're writing?
Ugh.  I wish I had a schedule.  But it’s all chaos.  Whether I’m writing or not.  I’m completely unorganized when it comes to my time.  One day I’ll write five hours, then next few only five minutes.  Everything depends on what’s going on in my daughters’ lives.

Q 8.How do your family feel about you writing?
My daughters think I’m some sort of celebrity.  But they’re still too young to realize the truth.

Q 9.What’s your best/worst experience as a writer?
Best experience: When my agent took me on, said she loved my book and that it should it sell quickly.  Worst experience: When my agent told me 26 publishers decided to pass on acquiring it.

Q 10. Do you have any unique talents or hobbies?
Does being able to twist my tongue upside down count?

Q 11. What would your fancy dress costume of choice be?
I’ve always wanted a reason to wear one of those super luxurious dresses from the 1700’s that show off cleavage but hide hips.  Oooh, and I’d  have piles of hair stacked up on my head like a tower.

Q 12.What super power would you like?
That’s easy: telekinesis.  Because I’m lazy.  I wish the apartment would tidy itself up.  But astral projection wouldn’t be bad, either!

Q 13. Do you have any unappealing habits?
I whine.  A lot.

Q 14. Who would you invite to the dinner party of your dreams – and what would you eat?
Margaret Atwood for the intellect, Robert Downey Jr. for the eye candy, Tina Fey for comic relief,  J.K. Rowling for the stories, and Jamie Oliver to cook for us!  I’d eat anything he’d make, but I’d want something chocolaty for dessert.

Q 15. If you could say sorry to one person, who would it be and why?
I’m sorry I didn’t make time for my friend Sue when she called me that one day over 20 years ago.  Maybe we’d still be talking.

Q 16. If you could say thank you to one person, who would it be and why?
Have to break the rules here.  I’d say thank you to two people: my parents.  Because they have always, always, always been there for me through everything.  And I mean EVERYTHING.  They amaze me.

Q 17. Favourite colour?
I know I’m a freak, but I don’t have a favorite color.  I like turquoise, purple, pink and green.  Oh, and red.

Q18. Star sign?
Capricorn

Q19. Who would play you in the film of your life?
Ha ha ha.  I’m laughing too hard to answer this one.

Q 20. What can we expect from you in the future?
I’m working on a novel that involves the devil, a remote village, the missing Roanoke colonists, and some really ugly masks.

Thanks, Katie. Great answers x

Katie Hayoz

And here are those all important links...

To buy UNTETHERED, go to
Amazon UK , Amazon US or Barnes & Noble

Check out the Untethered FB page, where you might win a kindle when you share what you would do and where you would go if you were untethered and could astral project!

Visit the website of the book or Katie's own website.

and follow Katie on Twitter: @katiehayoz

A Tale of Two Covers...

I’m going to hark back to something I said in a blog post way back in November last year. I was reporting on all the useful things I’d learned about self-publishing at the Writers & Artists Digital Publishing Conference, and basically the #1TOP TIP for getting your book noticed was…

♥ DESIGN A GREAT COVER ♥

When I wrote those words I understood them intellectually. What I didn’t understand was how to put them into practise.

Bring Me Sunshine
THEN

Bring Me Sunshine is about a teenage girl who has a passion for drumming, and to cut a long story short, I was designing on a budget and came up with the idea that a drum kit would be the perfect cover image. Except it wasn’t. Perfect that is. After the initial euphoria of selling lots of books to friends and relatives, sales dropped off, literally to nil. My reviews were brilliant, my friends and family all said lovely things to my face, and Mslexia even made me runner up in their children’s novel competition - out of nearly 1,000 entries - so I knew my book wasn’t bad.

And then at last I remembered that crucial nugget... 

♥ DESIGN A GREAT COVER ♥

…and realised my failing. My cover was far from great. I wasn't connecting with my target audience. I wasn't saying anything about the novel. And it wasn't even that great a picture.

So (long story short) I had it changed, and this time, with the help of a designer, did a better job. 

Bring Me Sunshine
NOW

What I've learned is that cover art is just as much about Show Not Tell as the writing inside the book. You have to bond with your reader before they ever open the pages, and somehow give them a flavour of what to expect when they do. Let them read between the lines about genre, content, and emotion, and make them want to turn that first page to see what comes next. A picture of some object or place which features in your book, isn’t nearly a good enough representation of what they are going to find in the pages of your story, and as dim as it sounds it didn’t occur to me that young teenage girls were hardly going to be WOWED by a picture of a 

drum kit.

But it's never too late to learn, and the good news is that sales are moving again. In fact, sales are going pretty darn good now. I’m selling lots more kindle copies and the paperbacks are moving faster than I thought possible a month ago. 

There may still be room for improvement, but this great big upward curve of learning which is so often about trial and error is at last beginning to feel a bit more like trial and success.

HOW TO DO ANYTHING (#1 in a series of 10) - How to become a best selling children’s author

First of all, think of a jolly good story that lots of children will want to read. And when you've done that, write it down somewhere - like a piece of paper or a computer - being careful to avoid any spelling mistakes. Make sure you have lots of  interesting characters, some cracking descripions and a watertight plot, and be extra careful to make it so exciting that your reader won’t ever want to put it down, not even to go to bed.

And then, when you’ve done all that, send it to a publisher and get them to publish it. Or better still, publish it yourself. Sell it to lots and lots of children, and grown-ups too if you have the time, and then when you’ve sold hundreds of thousands of copies you can call yourself a best selling author.

Super. 

Here are some other HOW TO ideas...

11 things you didn't know about Bring Me Sunshine… until now.

 Mslexia Children's Novel Competition, short listed authors.

1. BRING ME SUNSHINE was RUNNER UP in the Mslexia Children’s Novel Competition, along with Catherine Hayoz's book, Untethered, which I look forward to reading. The lucky winner was Lu Hersey whose book, Deep Water, will also be on my reading list… But you know what? I bet they’re all brilliant. The short list was whittled down to 12 out of 1000 applicants, so we should all feel pretty proud of ourselves. I hope to see all of us in print one day, and then we can have ourselves a fabulous Mslexia Readathon. You can see the full short list here.

My own book, Bring Me Sunshine is of course already available to buy as an ebook or paperback. Regular readers of this blog will know all about my journey and how the bright lights of self pub lured me away from the traditionally long winded and tiresome route to mainstream publication.  

2.  TODAY AND TOMORROW, BRING ME SUNSHINE  is FREE on Kindle; that’s the 9^th and 10^th March 2013. Amazon UK or Amazon US

3. Bring Me Sunshine is essentially a story about Daisy, a teenage girl, whose dreams of being a drummer and running off into the sunset with the gorgeous Dylan are thwarted by her Dad’s deteriorating mental health. She’s a young carer. She finds herself looking after her dad and little brother, and her own life is put on hold.

What you might not know is that a recent estimate suggested that there may be as many as 700,000 young carers in the UK, with an average age of 12. And that’s something we need to be aware of. We need to be aware of it because these kids need our support, our understanding, and also our cash to provide the services they need to make their lives just a little bit easier. (See below for suggestions.)

4. If you’re a teacher, you might be interested to know that schools' activity packs are available for both KS2 (PSHE) and KS3 (English), focusing on the issues raised in the book. These packs are FREE to download at my website. www.wendystorer.ws

5. Bring Me Sunshine was originally called Ladder to the Moon. It underwent many rewrites, including changing the main protagonist from boy to girl, adding a little brother, changing the narrative from past to present tense, introducing a ‘love’ element, ditching a couple of sub-plots, and giving Dad dementia instead of the M.E. But despite these changes, the core of the story was always the same. It was always going to be a story about a child caring for a member of his/her family and finding a way to live with him/herself, happily.

6. The cover currently has a picture of sunshine rays behind a drum kit, but that’s all going to change soon…. WATCH THIS SPACE.

7. Each chapter is named after a real rock song and the real drummer who played on that track. I listened to hundreds of music tracks to come up with the definitive collection and the names of the 46 drummers, both male and female, who are quoted in the book. This was by far the most entertaining piece of research I have ever undertaken for a novel.

8. The story is set in the real and brilliant town of Kendal, Cumbria, UK, and if you want to visit, you will find all the locations are exactly as described.

9. There’s a theme in the book about living in the moment. I was inspired by Eckhart Tolle’s book, The Power of Now.  His belief is that, “In the Now, the present moment, problems do not exist. In the Now, we discover that we are already complete and perfect…” and I wanted to explore this idea in a book for young people.

10. Although the book is aimed at young teens (10 -14 year-olds) the oldest person who has read Bring Me Sunshine (to my knowledge,) is 86. But it has quite a few fans from across the age spectrum so if you are creaking at the joints or developing laughter lines and grey hairs, don’t let the CHILDREN’S BOOK label put you off.

11. If you missed the free kindle promotion and it's still March 2013 when you read this, you can always enter my free draw to win a copy of Bring Me Sunshine, here. Otherwise, you might like to buy it.

Or better still - why not donate to one of the charities who could use a little support to help Young Carers:

CHILDLINE 0800 1111

Help, advice and support 24/7

YOUNG CARERS NET

A supportive, online community of young carers. Discussions and advice from qualified

youth workers.

MACMILLAN

Young people caring for someone with cancer.

THE CHILDREN’S SOCIETY

Information and resources for professionals working with young carers.

THANK YOU!

I, the Publisher (or - How long is a piece of string?) - an inconclusive post.

Geoffrey finally got to grips with
self-publishing.

If you think writing a book is quite time consuming, consider this question.

HOW MUCH TIME IS INVOLVED IN PUBLISHING A BOOK?

And the answer is … *drum roll* … (answers on a postcard please.)

You might as well ask the question - How long is a piece of string? Because there is no answer. It depends. It depends on how long you want it to be.

If you are new to publishing your own books, you will probably already have factored in some time for:

1. Editing - crossing the ‘I’s and dotting the ‘T’s as it were. Enough said.

2. Cover design - making sure your book gets the cover is deserves.

3. Formatting - every platform you publish on seems to have different formatting requirements.  Kindle, Smashwords, Kobo, et al, are one thing; yer actual real books, like, paperbacks, are another.

But all these activities are finite. When they’re done they’re done. Time to make a cup of tea, put your feet up and relax. 

With the easy bit out of the way, it’s time to turn your attention to answering the following questions.

1. Who is going to buy your book?

2. How will they know you've written it?

3. Why would they choose you over Fred Bloggs?

The answers to all three questions can be found in that piece of string called Publicity & Marketing. And know this: time spent on P&M is less quantifiable. P&M can be likened to housework, painting the fourth bridge, working towards world peace. YOU WILL NEVER GET IT DONE. There will always be something more you can do. And once you've done it, you need to do it all over again.

Whether it’s time spent...

• Visiting (schools, prisons, mental homes, libraries, bookshops, literary conventions etc)
• Blogging (your blog or someone else’s),
• Doing interviews (local papers, national papers, radio, TV),
• Tweeting
• Facebooking
• Getting read on goodreads
• Organising book parties
• Book signings
• Setting up a website
• Updating social media
• Getting reviews
• Running competitions

... Or a whole lot of other stuff I haven’t even thought about yet; you need a very long piece of string.

I am but a new born in the world of publishing. I've done some of these things and I plan to do others. But I’m going to admit now, being a writer is one heck of a lot more straightforward than being a publisher.)  If you've got any sure fire ways of reaching your 10-14 year old audience, please feel free to share your ideas! 

BRING ME SUNSHINE - Short listed for the Mslexia Children's Prize 2012, now available in paperback via my own website, Amazon UK, Amazon US, The Book Depository and others.

A Deep and Meaningful Conversation with my Dogs

Once upon a time there
was a dog called Bodger...

Recently, my dogs asked me why I liked writing stories.

“It’s fun,” I said.

“Do you write about talking dogs?” they said.

And I said, “No, I write about things in real life.”   

“Why would you do that?” they said.

And you know what? I didn't have an answer.

So I've been thinking and googling and reading a few books about it
since, and what I've learned isn't rocket science, but it has helped me to put this whole why-I-am-a-writer thing in perspective.

Telling stories is the language of being human; always has been and always will be. We are hard wired for story. We think in story. We talk in story. We make connections in story. We want to know what happens in the end.

... who met a dog
called Summer...

Take these real life episodes…

1. A man walks down the road and falls into a hole.

“Where? How? Was he hurt?” I hear you ask.

2. The kid next door to me left her tooth under the pillow and her dog ate it…

“Was the kid upset? What happened to the dog? Did the tooth fairy still visit?”

3. There was a woman on the bus, crying into her shopping bag.

“ But why? What about? Did anybody help her?”

See? We want to know all about it. We want to know if things can change. We want to know the outcomes.

We are emotional beings, and stories are about negotiating emotions in a never-ending number of scenarios. Stories give us a framework to understand what’s going on.

Beginning - Middle - End

Conflict - Climax - Resolution

Stories are like a map of the unknown, showing us a path through experiences and emotions that might otherwise leave us feeling lost.  And the world’s a scary place, right? All sorts of shit can hit the fan when you least expect it. And if we don’t have a model of how to deal with it, then what do we do?

Us humans, we don’t like change. We’re goal driven and don't take kindly to detours or dead-ends, and some of us resist more than others. But in all cases, stories help us to plan change, to imagine a different future and how to deal with it. They help us solve problems and develop empathy. And they open our minds to new possibilities and new ways of seeing the world. They may even alter our perception of reality…

But that doesn't really answer my dogs’ question. Why we do I write real life stories?

And I guess the answer is, that I like real people. Escaping into a fantasy world just doesn't work for me. I’m the stranger who sits on the train and watches what others are doing, thinking, and feeling about their life. I’m the weirdo who never forgets a face, and remembers every piece of information I've ever heard about your personal life. I can tell you who ate what at play group,  who was friends with whom, and who bit Toby’s bum. I can tell you who's related to him, what he said when her  mum died, and who's bringing up their baby now. I can even tell you what star signs they are. 

I've got a qualification in psychoanalytical observation, so people watching is just grist to the mill for me, a writer. 

...and 9 weeks later,
Bear was born.

In a previous life, I was a teacher and a hypnotherapist, because I genuinely want stuff to work out for people. I want them to be happy, even though I know that sometimes that’s really not on the cards in the short term. In real life, I don’t always know the way to help a person be happy.

But in a story? I do.

“One last thing,” said my dogs. “Why children? Why write stories for children when there are so many dogs out there looking for answers?”

And do you know what? I'll save the answer for another blog post.