Category Archives: Get Published

The Business of Books: Fiction, Friends and New Beginnings – Choc Lit’s latest signing Carol Thomas takes over!

Posted on by

I’d like to start this post by saying thank you to my fellow Chindi Author and friend Jane Cable for inviting me along to share the experience of getting my first publishing contract. She has left me to it, so I am titling this piece Fiction, Friends and New Beginnings and dedicating it to Jane.

This week, I have been delighted to announce that my next novel, currently titled Regret Me Not, will be published by Ruby Fiction – a new imprint of the award-winning independent publishers Choc Lit.

The deal came as a result of attending a Choc Lit live event and pitching to an editor in May 2017. I had never imagined pitching face to face, and probably never would have, had it not been for a conversation Jane and I had just weeks before.

Jane had read my debut novel, Crazy Over You, and said my writing style was well suited to Choc Lit. She told me (in a lovely polite Jane way) I should stop thinking about it and get on and submit to them. With her words in mind, I put my name down for a pitch slot. I then spent a week researching how to pitch, preparing what to say and generally panicking.

I needn’t have worried. Jane accompanied me to the event and shared a fortifying tea and cake before the pitch. The live event was great, and the authors were lovely, as I knew they would be. I have followed Choc Lit for several years and have enjoyed meeting the authors and building online relationships with them since the start of my writing journey. And Choc Lit editor, Lusana Taylor, quickly put my nerves to rest and got me chatting about my book and online presence. At the end of my session, Lusana requested I send my manuscript into the Choc Lit tasting panel (a panel of readers who give feedback before publishing decisions are made).

Three months later I got a call from Lyn Vernham, director of Choc Lit, who said they wanted to moveforward with publishing my book and that it would be one of the first books to be published under the new imprint, Ruby Fiction. I signed my contract a week later.

And so exciting times are ahead. I am told the title of my novel will change, and I await the first glimpse of the cover. All of which is new to me; as a previously self-published author, I have made my own decisions about titles and used my own illustrator for covers. I am keen to see how the publisher and the cover designer will interpret my book and I can’t wait to be able to share it.

I am thrilled to be starting this new phase of my writing journey with Ruby Fiction – along with Angela Barton and Caroline James who have also recently been signed.

I know that as I begin promoting my book, I will have the support of the fantastic team of Choc Lit authors whose online response to Ruby Fiction has been warm and welcoming, the support of my new Ruby Fiction family and, of course, my fellow Chindi Authors by my side. Without Jane Cable’s friendly nudge in the right direction (that’s the polite way to put it), I might have missed this great opportunity. New beginnings are exciting, but even more so when you have good people by your side. Thank you Jane x

 

To follow Carol Thomas’ journey to publication visit:

www.carol-thomas.co.uk

http://facebook.com/carolthomasauthor

http://twitter.com/carol_thomas2

www.chindi-authors.co.uk

 

 

 

Gillian Holmes, (aka The Editor) Responded to Frost’s Request for Help Writing a Synopsis

Posted on by

Synopsis: A brief summary of the plot of a novel, motion picture, play etc. by Gillian Holmes

Meet Gillian Holmes – literary editor By Margaret Graham1

 

A very talented friend of mine sent me the synopsis of the novel she was writing for her Creative Writing MA. Her tutor had sent her away with a flea in her ear, and she came to me with no real idea of what she’d done wrong.
As a veteran of synopses of nearly twenty years standing, I saw immediately that she had made a very common error. Namely, she’d forgotten what a synopsis is. She thought she needed to show her thinking behind the book, and give the reader a flavour of what was to come. Consequently, she had managed to give far too much information, while also giving too little.

How is that possible?

 

  1. She wrote a lot about her main character, while neglecting the plot.
  2. She had included lines from the book, but with no context, they were irrelevant.
  3. She had tried to illustrated the themes in the book, but neglected the plot.
  4. She had tried to illustrate the humour in the book by describing the occasional amusing scene. But she’d neglected the plot…

 

Do you see where I’m going here? So when you sit down to write your synopsis, always remember that  this is not a creative work, so don’t try to be too clever. Clarity is everything.

 

So what do agents and editors want from a synopsis?

 

  1. They want 1500 words or fewer.
  2. They want an elevator pitch – a couple of lines that outlines the concept. The concept is a very strong consideration for all agents and editors, so make it snappy and memorable. For example, let’s take a recent bestseller – The Husband’s Secret. A happily married woman with three children discovers that her husband murdered a young girl when he was a teenager.
  3. A brief summary of the plot, key moments, key events, and main characters so they can see the arc of the story and judge whether the structure seems sound – leave out complicated sub plots, it will only bog you down in unnecessary detail.
  4. The end – and that means the end. Don’t hold anything back, this is not a cover blurb.

 

And that’s it. Easy peasy.
If you’re wondering about my friend, I sent her back to rewrite her synopsis several times. But it was worth it. She got an A for it in the end.

Gillian has been an editor for mainstream publishers for twenty years. Now she runs her own editorial agency.
To contact Gillian:  gilliansholmes@hotmail.com

 

 

Early Chapters by Gillian Holmes of The Editor | Get Published

Posted on by

Meet Gillian Holmes – literary editor By Margaret Graham1

Frost is delighted to have an editor of Gillian’s calibre to help aspiring authors. It’s particularly apt, because the fundraising Independent Author Book Award, run by www.wordsforthewounded.co.uk is open for entries until 6th March 2016.

 

Last year’s winner, Jane Cable, is now represented by the Caroline Sheldon Literary Agency as a direct result of the competition. Felicity Trew of the Caroline Sheldon Literary Agency is judging this year’s Award.

 

So over to Gillian:

 

Early Chapters

 

It’s tough being a writer, and we editors appreciate that. I have never written a book – if you don’t count the half-written romance with a Daniel-Craig-as-Bond-type hero, but the least said about that the better. So all writers who have the tenacity and commitment to complete a novel have already earned my full admiration.

 

However, on the other side of the coin, having worked as an acquiring editor, a reader for literary agents, and a reader for competitions, you can appreciate, I’ve probably read more than my fair share of opening chapters and synopses. And sometimes I stop within half a page. It sounds brutal, but when you have a lot of manuscripts to read, you simply don’t have the time or the inclination to read on to see if it improves.

 

So here are ten tips to help you catch the eye of the judges.

 

First the Don’ts:

 

  1. Please do not, and really I mean this, open with a dream. Ask any editor/agent/reader. There is nothing more irritating than to be pulled into some action, only to find it’s not real. Can I add here, do not ever use dreams as a way to move the plot forward. Please.
  2. Do not open your book with backstory… if we don’t know the characters, how can we be interested in their backstory?
  3. Do not start the book with a minor character. No matter how good the writing, as soon as the reader realises that the character they have been reading about disappears by chapter 2, they will give up.
  4. Do not open with your character doing mundane stuff – getting ready for work, having breakfast, unstacking the dishwasher, going out the door – because although you may think it’s a great contrast with the explosive action that comes later, the reader may never know that. They’ll have given up just as your character is locking their front door.
  5. Do not mince your words. Starting any book with exposition and/or long descriptions of the character or location can be mind-numbing for the reader. Dive in, all will reveal itself as the book unfolds. Speaking of long descriptions: watch out for flowery language and too many adjectives. Having to wade through paragraphs of wordy prose before you even get to the story is frustrating and time-wasting.

 

Now the Dos

 

  1. Give the reader a snappy opening line that immediately intrigues.
  2. The submitted chapters should be the very best they can be, so I would suggest you hire an editor/copy editor. It can be an expensive business, but do it for just these three chapters in the first instance. It makes a huge difference to the reader, and could give you some useful advice for the rest of the book.
  3. Keep the pace moving and don’t get bogged down in irrelevant detail.
  4. Introduce us to your characters – the reader needs to be invested in them from the start.
  5. If you’re sending a prologue as part of your first three chapters, make sure it’s relevant and interesting, not just a convenient way to give backstory.

Soon I will be giving you some hints on writing the synopsis.

 

 

gilliansholmes@hotmail.com

www.wordsforthewounded.co.uk
http://www.carolinesheldon.co.uk