Category Archives: Business & Careers

WRITING IN THE NEW

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Jane Cable sets out her plans for Frost for 2019…

Much as I’ve loved hosting Business of Books over the last couple of years, it’s definitely time for a change. Two changes in fact, but more of the second one later.

Readers with very good memories may recall that in the autumn I went on a mini retreat with four writer friends. It was a comment from Kitty that started it – just as we were leaving – she said we’d become sister scribes. So I began to ponder what that could mean.

The world over women are particularly good at giving other women support. We excel at cooperation, collaboration, sharing the champagne and handing out the tissues (or the gin). We celebrate, we commiserate, we coax, we cajole – in short, we are there for each other.

So this year I’m sharing my Frost columns with my Sister Scribes. Over the next few weeks everyone will introduce themselves, and in the coming months we will all introduce other sisters from the world of words; women whose contributions to our writing lives are important to us. Women who want to share their passion for writing for, by, and about women.

So, the Sister Scribes are:
Cassandra Grafton has her roots in Austen-inspired fiction and is a Jane Austen Literacy Foundation ambassador. Published by Canelo from this year.
Jane Cable is a long term contributor to Frost. Indie author published by Sapere from this year.
Kirsten Hesketh’s first novel landed her an agent. Hopefully a deal will follow soon.
Kitty Wilson walked straight out of the RNA New Writers’ Scheme into multiple offers. Writes hilarious romcoms for Canelo.
Susanna Bavin writes elegant, well-researched sagas. Published by Allison & Busby.

We met because we are all members of the Romantic Novelists’ Association, but that doesn’t mean the columns will all be about romance as our network of contacts spreads far and wide. Within the genre we cover a broad church, from sagas to romcoms and a great deal in between. There will be plenty of interest for readers and writers alike, with our first guests including my own long time buddy Carol Thomas on marketing collaboration and Cassandra’s co-author Ada Bright on what it’s really like writing together.

So that’s the first change. The second is an additional column on the last Wednesday of every month to replace the popular Take Four Writers. I will miss Angela, Claire, Jackie and Lucy but it’s time to offer a different perspective and I’m delighted that Sapere Books has offered to provide it.

Every month one of the Sapere team will give an insight into their publishing year. Editorial Director Amy Durant is as delighted about it as I am: “I am very excited to be offered this chance to give readers and writers a unique perspective into what life is like at Sapere Books. We are still a very new publisher and we have lots of exciting projects and developments launching this year – including publishing two of Jane’s books – so there will be plenty of news to share. As a small team we have the flexibility to change strategies at the drop of a hat, if something interesting pops up, so even I don’t know yet what I’ll be writing about in six months’ time, but I hope you will enjoy reading about Sapere Books’ journey in our second year of trading.”

So what will I be doing with all this extra time? I’m hoping I’ll be able to review more books for Frost and even branch out into travel and history related articles. Plus, as Amy has reminded me, I have two books out this year…

 

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 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: 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!

 

 

 

EUROPE’S LARGEST PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EVENT ‘THE BEST YOU’ RETURNS FOR 2019

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Join some of the world’s leading personal development experts in a unique event next February 2019.

 

Thought leaders from the world of business, entrepreneurialism, self-improvement, health, fitness, wellbeing, youth, and the environment will headline at next year’s Best You Expo being held between the 15-16th February 2019, at Olympia, London, to help inspire those passionate about living better lives and becoming the best version of themselves.

Now in its fourth year, The Best You Expo is Europe’s largest event dedicated to personal and professional development, which will bring together the world’s leading motivational speakers, authors, publishers, experts and brands in one place to inspire the UK audience, with this year’s line-up to include; global motivational speaker, author, founder of the US Giant Priceline Jeff Hoffman, awarding-winning influential speaker Warren Cass, Master storyteller and entrepreneur Dr Greig Reid, and 13-year old keynote speaker of Veganism Daniel Bissonette, among many others to be announced in the coming weeks.

With an unrivalled programme of seminars and main stage talks, visitors will hear exclusive, inspirational presentations with personal insight from an acclaimed suite of speakers representing every aspect of personal and professional development from; Health and Wellbeing, Mindfulness, Youth and Education, Business, Leadership and Entrepreneurialism, as well as how to turn Passion to Profit, learn all aspects of Business Development, Wealth Management.

Whether visitors are looking to accelerate business performance, improve business acumen, prepare themselves for entering into a new career, improve work-life balance, or simply be inspired by entrepreneur’s and business leaders across the globe, The Best You will share the very latest ideas and concepts in the industry to inspire and educate and empower visitors.

As well as workshops, seminars and the Main Stage presentations , there is also a Networking area for business and individuals looking to make new connections, as well as the opportunity to hear from the organisations and initiatives raising awareness of vital cultural and environmental issues that will educate and empower us to live more mindfully for a Better World in 2019.

There will also be a Yoga and Meditation Room will also provide a space for some reflection and relaxation, and much more.

Whether you’re looking to dip your toe in the water of personal development or are striving to optimize your professional success in 2019, The Best You Expo offers all of the inspiration and practical tools you need to unlock your greatest potential.

Since its launch, The Best You Expo has received international recognition as Europe’s leading personal development community, whilst its founder author, writer and motivational speaker Bernardo Moya, has been commended as a pioneer in the industry.

FULL SCHEULDE OF SPEAKERS AND TOPICS CAN BE FOUND HERE: https://thebestyouexpo.com/uk/schedule/

THE BEST YOU EXPO 2018 TICKET INFORMATION

Tickets for the Best You Expo 2017 are available through the website: https://thebestyouexpo.com/uk/

General Admission: Included: Entry to the Expo, Access to over 300 exhibitors, entrance to over 120 free talks and workshops, entrance to all yoga and meditation sessions.

Two Day Pass £146.00

One Day Pass £99.00

 

VIP Tickets: Included Entry to the Expo, Access to over 300 exhibitors, entrance to over 120 free talks and workshops, entrance to all yoga and meditation sessions, Access to VIP lounge, Goodie bag worth £150.00, Complimentary refreshments including juices, front queuing pass at all book signings, Free phone charging, Free Cloakroom, Best You Merchandise, Access to the Best You Virtual Experience UK ad USA.

Two Day Pass £15.00

One Day Pass £10.00

 

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: FELINES, FILMS AND FINESSING

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If there’s one creative mountain that’s harder to climb than getting a book accepted by a publisher, it’s selling a screenplay to a film company. But stripped back to its most basic level you’re actually creating, and selling, the same thing – a story.

Of course I’d heard of novelists using screenplay techniques but I’d never given it serious thought until one day last summer when I was lazing in author Liz Fenwick’s gorgeous garden and she told me these were methods she used. Given how much I admire Liz’s work I quite literally sat up and took notice. And given how much of an evangelist for these skills she is, just a few hours later she sent me a reading list.

The first book on it has the unlikely title of Save the Cat and is written by Hollywood screenwriter Blake Snyder. While the title is intriguing the contents are a veritable bible and one or two areas in particular resonated with me. Especially as I’ve always struggled with what authors term ‘the elevator pitch’ and what Snyder calls ‘the log line.’

The log line’s job is to sell your screenplay – or your novel – in one or two sentences. I think we all know that. But Snyder digs down into what a great log line should be and stresses that you shouldn’t get too far into your opus (or indeed start it at all) until the log line has been pinned down, finessed, and tested. Once it has, it isn’t just a selling tool either – it becomes the starting point for developing your story.

The first question it needs to answer is ‘what is the book about?’ Go on, scribble it down. Just reducing it to a couple of sentences will most likely be a challenge. But honing it until you have the right selection of words takes much more skill and again Snyder gives us the tools: Does it hook the reader’s interest? Does it create a compelling mental picture? Is it easy to tell who the intended audience is? There’s a whole chapter on genre and categorising your story in film terms – which gives a very interesting perspective on classifying novels too.

After the ‘what’, comes the ‘who’. Who is the hero? And what is he or she up against? If that’s already clear from your log line, then great – but the chances are it won’t be, so out comes the red pen again. Snyder advises that at the very least you need to have an adjective to describe the hero, an adjective to describe the bad guy (in the widest possible use of the term), and to show the hero’s compelling goal – which has to be one the audience will identify with.

And once you have all that right there’s just one more tiny thing – the killer title. I didn’t say this was going to be easy, did I? Talking of killer titles, what exactly does Save the Cat mean? It refers to that small but important moment early in the story where the hero does something to make the audience love him or her – a very small point in the overall context of the book – but as titles go it certainly does its job.

Of course I’m skating over a great deal of detail here – my aim is to whet your appetite, not give a blow by blow account of the whole technique. There are so many valuable hints and tips between the pages of Save the Cat any writer who wants to perfect the log line would be wise to read it themselves.

 

 

BUSINESS OF BOOKS: DEAL FEVER

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It’s always a great moment in an author’s life when that email arrives. You know, the one which says something along the lines of ‘we’d like to publish your book’.

Cue general celebration – but even so, for me it was a case of once bitten twice shy. A little like when your first boyfriend turns out to pick his nose and snog anything in a skirt. You wonder if you’ll ever trust anyone again but after a little time to reflect, you realise that you have to.

I was lucky because for me that wonderful email came from Amy Durant, Editorial Director of Sapere Books – and I’d worked with her before. Last year she co-founded Sapere with Marketing Director Caoimhe O’Brien and Operations Director Richard Simpson and has since taken on a carefully selected stable of authors. I am still rather pinching myself that I’m one of them.

But being me, I proceeded very cautiously. I went over the contract with a fine tooth comb, making sure I understood and was happy with every clause before I committed. I checked out how their authors’ books were doing on Amazon and was pleasantly surprised. I even openly flirted with another publisher. In fact, I must have driven them to distraction.

But now I am very proud to say that I have a two book deal with Sapere. The first will be a re-issue of Another You, which I withdrew when its previous publisher went into voluntary liquidation, and the second is also a romantic novel looking back to World War Two. Both will be published in 2019.

Last Friday I was able to announce the deal to the world. It was such a special day with so much support from other writers – and from Sapere – in my inbox and across social media. The warmth of the writing world is a quite extraordinary thing and I’ve waited quite a long time to have some good news to share.

But now the hard work starts, and following hot on the heels of all the excitement was an email from Amy which highlighted our rather different expectations for the second book. Cue panic – and frantic messages back and forth to my go-to writing buddy, Kitty Wilson. Was my trust misplaced? Was the whole thing about to fall down around my eyes before it started?

Then common sense prevailed and with some trepidation I replied to Amy offering her an early draft. I hate doing this as I’ve been caught out before, but needless to say her reply put my mind at rest. It will be alright. The author-editor relationship is an important one and I have such respect for Amy I know how lucky I am to have her.

But that aside, one of the most exciting things about signing for Sapere is the feeling I’m in at the start of something new – something which could be quite extraordinary. My gut feel is that they won’t just remain one of the smaller digital publishers and that they’re really going places. And I am absolutely delighted to be travelling with them.