Tag Archives: Jane Cable

The Business of Books: Jane Cable meets Sunday Times bestseller, Elaine Everest

Posted on by

THE BUSINESS OF BOOKS: SPREADSHEETS & SAGAS

Jane Cable meets Sunday Times bestseller, Elaine Everest

How much of your working life does the business of books take up?

 

I can honestly say that books take up all my life. When I’m not writing I’m teaching novel writing to my talented students at The Mick Jagger Centre in Dartford, Kent. I’m also a committee member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association so you’ll find me organising social media and blogging for the Association. I would say that over 50% of my working day I’d be working on writing although I’m not creating words. Authors also need to be aware of Public Lending Rights, ALCS and other organisations where we need to keep our book details up to date as this will generate much needed funds,

 

What’s your business model to earn a living from writing?

 

I’ve been a freelance writer for the past twenty years so from the days when I was selling short stories, pitching features to magazines and organizing workshops for writers I’ve been conscious that I have to earn a certain number of pounds each month. Working in accountancy since leaving college, until moving into the writing world, I am addicted to number crunching so spreadsheets and cash flow predictions were part of my daily life. I could always tell at the push of a button if there were lean months ahead and would know to pitch more – and to write more fiction! This has changed slightly since moving onto writing novels as these days I’m aware when royalties and other payments are due and can plan accordingly. Those spreadsheets still come in handy!

 

What do you write and what do you consider to be your major successes?

 

These days I write historical fiction set in the 1930s and 1940s. It is a fascinating period to cover and when not writing I will have my nose in a non-fiction book researching social history, looking for fresh plot settings and generally fleshing out the world where my characters live.

 

My major successes are my novels with Pan Macmillan. Readers have taken my Woolworths Girls to their hearts making the first book a Sunday Times bestseller.

 

Tell me about your latest project.

 

The Butlins Girls was published in May so I’m still busy promoting and blogging about my girls at the end of World War Two. As I write this I’m looking at the final book edits for Christmas At Woolworths, which will be published in November, and these have to be completed by – tomorrow! I know there’s an email notifying me that first edits will be with me in two days for Carols at Christmas, a novella that will be published a few weeks before CAW. Writing wise I’m working on Wartime at Woolworths, which will take my girls through to the end of 1944. This will be published in May 2018. I’ve found the trick is to stay focused on the current work in progress while trying to fit all other aspects of my writing around it – and remembering to stop and eat occasionally. I can recommend writing retreats where I find working whilst gazing out to sea from my desk can be a welcome rest from my desk at home!

 

 

 

Elaine Everest has written widely for women’s magazines, with both short stories and features. When she isn’t writing, Elaine runs The Write Place creative writing school in Dartford, Kent, and runs social media for the Romantic Novelists’ Association. Follow Elaine on Twitter @ElaineEverest.

 

 

Business of Books: Jane Cable writes from the Romantic Novelists’ Association Conference

Posted on by
Business of Books: State of the Nation
Jane Cable writes from the Romantic Novelists’ Association ConferenceI’m conferenced out. There, I’ve said it now. Suffering from serious information overload but in a very good way. So many fascinating sessions, so many interesting new people to meet. And so much wine to drink – the organisers ordered a mere 600 bottles for the weekend. Not to mention the stocks in the fridges in our own kitchens. Yes, it was a little like rolling back the years and being a student again.The first session after the official conference opening was a state of the industry address and the key messages have interest for writers in every genre, not just romance. Major trends seem to be for shorter books – gone are the doorstops of yesteryear, despite the increase in audio and ebook meaning we don’t have to carry them around anymore. And genres are blurring too – thanks to the rise and rise of indie publishing, even the major houses are beginning to understand that readers are becoming more adventurous.But of particular interest to me was the advice each panellist gave to the assembled authors. Here’s who they were and what they said.

Isobel Dixon (Head of Books and Director of the Blake Friedmann Literary Agency):
Persevere – there is much more flexibility in the market in every way. And once your book is out there, be generous with your readers.

Sam Missingham (former digital project manager at Harper Collins who has just founded @lounge_books, which she describes as a home for book lovers)
Build your own audience platforms, whatever the stage of your career. You can’t waste your time on social media.

Broo Doherty (literary agent at DHH)
Don’t take rejection personally. Believe in yourself.

Rosie de Courcy (fiction publisher at Head of Zeus)
Try to create your own world, somewhere you can write the same but different year after year.

Emily Yau (commissioning editor on fiction lists at Ebury Publishing)
Read as much as you can – in and out of your genre. Understand where your book sits in the market and why it’s special.

Well that’s the words of wisdom – and my thanks goes to John Jackson, the RNA’s unofficial photographer, for the picture.

Now I’m off to plough through pages and pages of notes for more interesting blog content – and some wonderful new people to interview about the business of books.

The Business of Books or Not: Jane Cable talks to Abby Endler about book blogging for love

Posted on by

Jane Cable talks to Abby Endler about book blogging for love

 

1) What is your book-related job or business?

I run Crime by the Book, a crime fiction review website and its associated social media accounts. My largest platform is on Instagram (@crimebythebook), where I take photos of the books I’m reading and provide my audience with updates as I read them. I also use Instagram to link to my website, where readers can find reviews, author interviews, and more. Crime by the Book can also be found on Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads, and has a weekly newsletter as well. Crime by the Book is a passion project – while I would never write off the possibility of turning it into a business down the road, the goal is purely to share a love of books, and as of this moment I don’t make money from it.

2) What is the most rewarding part of it?

I would be hard-pressed to find an element of CBTB that is not rewarding, but if I had to narrow it down, the most rewarding part is the knowledge that I’ve connected readers with books they love. Whether that feedback comes from readers who have bought a book on my recommendation and loved it, or from authors who have seen the enthusiasm of my audience for their book, nothing could be more exciting to me than knowing I’m helping those books find great homes! There’s such an appetite for crime fiction out there, even on a platform like Instagram which is dominated by a younger audience, and I am thrilled and humbled every time I hear from my audience that I’ve helped spark their interest in crime fiction. Likewise, it’s extremely rewarding to hear from authors who are excited by the ways I’ve helped connect their book to those readers!

 

3) What do you consider to be your major successes?

The growth of my platform on Instagram has been a huge success. Crime by the Book just turned two years old, and also just passed 40,000 Instagram followers. As previously mentioned, Instagram does have the reputation of being dominated by a younger audience, so I consider it a huge success that I’ve found footing with a younger demographic! It’s very exciting to me, as a younger crime reader myself, to see my peers connecting with crime books. I also consider every single chance I have to interview an author a major success, whether that author is a big name (authors like Jo Nesbo, Sara Blaedel, and Clare Mackintosh have all appeared on Crime by the Book), or a debut author. No matter the author’s name-recognition, I’m honored to speak with and learn from every single author I interview. It’s a huge privilege!

 

4) Have you always loved books, and what are you reading at the moment?

I’ve loved reading for as long as I can remember. I started reading mysteries when I was very young – I started with Nancy Drew! And then as I grew up, I transitioned into Agatha Christie, James Patterson, Patricia Cornwell… and my love of reading crime books has just evolved and grown from there. At the moment, I’m reading ORDEAL by Jorn Lier Horst. This Norwegian crime book is part of his William Wisting series, and is the newest installment to be released in the US. I love this series for its detailed portrayal of police work, and its endearing characters.

 

Bio: Abby Endler is the creator and reviewer behind Crime by the Book, a crime fiction review website and its associated social media accounts. www.crimebythebook.com

 

 

Cornish Writing Challenge 2017 Winner: Christopher Joyce

Posted on by

So The Cornish Writing Challenge 2017 is done and Frost wants to thank Vikki Patis for including us. Frost’s own Jane Cable and Catherine Balavage were two of the judges. Along with Vikki- of course, and Cornish author Angela Britnell. We are now proud to publish the winner: Christopher Joyce.

 

Christopher Joyce from Chichester in West Sussex has been a teacher, waiter, once made Venetian blinds and has worked in a steel works. He is best known for his series of children’s books, ‘The Creatures of Chichester’, where the city’s animals solve the problems created by the Twolegs living there. See www.creaturesofchichester.com for more information.

Read his excellent winning entry below.

 

Mama’s Gonna Float The Gypsum

 

“Hello, what service do you require?”

“All of them. Police, ambulance; there’s someone trapped in the car. Maybe fire brigade. I dunno – send them all!”

I slammed down the phone after giving my directions and threw up in the phone box. I was amazed it was still working as locals had turned it into a mini library. Thank God I was able to get through.

The stench of petrol filled the air mixing with the musty smell of autumn. They’d be here soon.

Breathe, relax.

It had started out quite a normal sort of day. I’d had a delicious lunch at the Waterside restaurant in Flushing, opting for the catch of the day as always. The plan was then to go for a walk along Trefusis Point. We had a lot to talk about.

Kelly was late. She was always bloody late. It drove me mad. After university we’d moved down to Cornwall to run a small pub. It failed miserably in the recession of 2017, but if I’m honest it would have failed anyway. We just didn’t want the same thing anymore. We tried running a mobile coffee shop that toured the festivals, which just drove us even further apart. Being with Kelly twenty-four hours a day was not the answer to resolve our differences.

I checked my watch. 2:35, Where the hell was she? The waiter brought me the dessert menu for the fifth time and I once again pushed it aside. He looked offended. Well, tough. Get over it. I’ve got more to worry about than your tip pal. He muttered to his manager and I wanted to go over and punch him in the face there and then. I counted to ten. Breathe, relax. That’s what the anger management person had taught me. She was as useful as a chocolate teapot. Kelly loved her of course. In fact it was Kelly’s idea. Typical of her new found, hippy-dressing, cosmic-ordering sort of view on life.

The spotty chinned waiter returned again. This time with a piece of paper folded in half. “There’s a message for you, sir,’ he said. I didn’t like the way he stressed the word sir, but I let it go. Another whinging apology from Kelly, no doubt. I opened it and read:

Mama’s gonna float the gypsum.

What sort of bollocks was that? I turned it over and even held it up to the light, half expecting to see a message from Kelly written on the other side, but that’s all it said. Mama’s gonna float the gypsum. Was she playing stupid games? We’d arranged this meeting weeks ago, after endless blocked text messages and unanswered calls she’d agreed to stroll around the headland to talk things through. I bet one of her trendy therapists had put her up to this. I could hear them whispering in her ear. Challenge him. Surprise him. They made me sick.

I didn’t have time for these stupid games. I had to get back to the garden centre. It’s not that I was the boss or anything, but since the break up I’d found some peace amongst the clematis and hydrangeas. I seem to remember that gypsum was a plant food of some sort. It was supposed to improve acid soil. Was she trying to make a reference to my work? That would be typical. She never wanted me to be successful. Ever since I got a first at uni and she got a Desmond. She hated me referring to her 2:2 like that. Yes, she’d studied soil sciences. I bet it’s something to do with that.

Or maybe it’s an anagram? When we first met we’d spend hours in bed going through the puzzle page in the local paper. I rummaged through my backpack for a pencil. There were so many zipped pockets. Why was it always the last one you looked in? I checked my mobile phone in vain. Still no sign of life. I shoved the half eaten peppermints and loose change back into the bag and drew a circle on the piece of paper. I arranged the letters in a random order around the circle. It’s just the sort of thing Kelly used to do. Oh God, I’ll be worshipping bloody crystals next.

After ten minutes of scratching my head. Nothing. Not a Scooby. I stormed out of the restaurant and headed for the woods. It was only when I was half way to the beach that I realised I hadn’t paid my bill. Well, sod him. He shouldn’t have brought me her ridiculous note in the first place.

I pulled up the collar of my down jacket as the ferry from Falmouth spewed out the last remaining emmets with their selfie sticks and iPads already in their hands. I strode on into Kilnquay Woods kicking up the beech mast and relaxing a little as the smell of pine needles and salty sea air filled my lungs. Before long I was clambering along the rocks on the shore line towards the cave where Kelly and I had frolicked in better days. My shoulders relaxed and I undid my jacket. The beach always had this effect on me. I felt at home. I pulled out the scrap of paper from my jacket and read the message again. Mama’s gonna float the gypsum. Was it an old folk song? I vaguely remember a school trip to a gypsum mine in Redruth. Were there once shanty songs sung by full-bosomed lasses as they loaded the gypsum on to boats bound for distant lands? I doubted it.

The sun was dipping below the horizon when I left the shore. The views of Falmouth across the crystal clear water and the sight of kids searching the rock pools for crabs had lifted my spirits. I didn’t care what the note was supposed to mean. I had to admit that although she drove me mad at times I still could not get her out of my head. I decided to stroll back into town and have a long cold pint of Gold Cyder at the Seven Stars.

The cold, golden liquid cleared my mind and I felt the happiest I’d been in months. It was time to put the past behind us and start again. I was on my second, or maybe third pint when I heard the screech of brakes followed by the unmistakeable thud of metal crushing bones. I leapt to my feet knocking the table and half finished cider on to the floor.

‘For God’s sake call an ambulance,’ I screamed at the top of my voice. Nobody moved. The red-headed barmaid continued to flirt with the young men at the bar. The family of four by the door carried on ignoring each other with their eyes glued to their mobile phones. The guys playing darts chalked up another score.

I ran out into the street alone. A woman’s body was crushed in the front seat of the mangled Fiesta. Just her legs with torn tights covered in blood were visible though the smashed windscreen. Another body was slumped beside her, a male in his late twenties, clearly dead at the scene. A young girl pushed her bike down the street as a lady in her later years nervously crossed the road hugging an ugly pug to her chest.

For Christ’s sake what’s wrong with these people. I dashed to the phone box hoping beyond hope that it was still working. It was piled high with books; there was a laminated note stuck to the wall.
This phone box was decommissioned in 2014. Please help yourself to these books dedicated to Kelly and Simon Edgerton, dear to this village. New books are added on a regular basis. This month:

Mama’s Misbehaving (not suitable for children) J Stone
Gonna Make You Mine (young adult) Kay Littleham
Float Fishing for Pike. S B Carter
The Gypsum Mines in the UK Andy McNarble

 

 

The Business of Books: Jane Cable Gets Distracted But Finds She is Not Alone

Posted on by

Jane Cable gets distracted but finds she is not alone

It’s a small miracle you are reading this article at all, to be honest – and great credit to writer friends who have rallied around to provide me with some content. The thing is, last week I moved house. Long distance and for the first time in over twenty years. Not only did time become an issue, but the mental effort turned my brain into a huge mass of Cornish clotted cream.

I am not the only author suffering from a life event at the moment. Frost’s own Margaret Graham has been in the wars but in typical fashion is seeing the positive: “Falling into a wall recently and breaking my shoulder not only put one hand out of use but a whole brain, it seems to me. I feel that actually giving it a rest is probably not a bad thing. You will find that creativity is better for a bit of a holiday.”

Writer of historical fiction, Rosemary Noble, is also good at seeing the upside of potentially distracting events. “Sometimes you can avoid the stress by burying yourself in writing. I’m thinking of trying to sell my mother’s flat to pay for her care home. The only way I got through that 12 months was writing,” she told me.

There are some everyday distractions which make the list too. Day jobs (most writers have them), family commitments, lack of sleep, paying the bills – even social media – all sap creative energy. Sometimes the good things do as well. Ghost writer and freelance wordsmith Sue Kelso Ryan cited her dog as the biggest culprit – and it was a great excuse to use her lovely picture as well.

Which just goes to show that good things interrupt our writing too. “Having twins,” says media medic and women’s fiction author Carol Cooper. “That knocked writing on the head for a few months. And illness/surgery. You resent having to rest or slow down because it stops you writing.” Although she did manage to create a top-selling practical parenting guide about her experiences once she was able to find the time.

Crises involving other family members which hit without warning seem to have the biggest effect, as fantasy & romance writer and brand strategist Amy Tipper-Hale has just found out: “My boyfriend breaking his leg in Milan after being run over by a motorcyclist, and me having to fly over to be with him so he wasn’t entirely stranded…I thought I’d have plenty of time to write, but it ended up being stressful and exhausting – my mind all over the place, and not a single word written…except this.” Luckily the patient is now at home – and hopefully Amy will get back to writing again soon too.

As for me, now I have unpacked my desk and settled it into its new location, I need to have a plan. I’ve been sitting on the edit notes for my current manuscript for a month or so and my brain is just starting to tick over them. And one thing this house move is meant to achieve is more time to write. Fingers crossed I can make it happen.

As well as those mentioned above, my thanks also go to Barbara Copperthwaite, Victoria Cornwall, Morton S Gray, Wersha Bharadwa, Carol Thomas and Clare Ruel for their contributions.

 

 

The Business of Books: Publish and Don’t be Damned

Posted on by

Jane Cable’s big lessons from self publishing

At the moment I’m juggling. Even more than ever with a house move and Chindi’s talks at the Festival of Chichester both approaching at a frightening pace. And juggling means making the best use of my time, so when I was thinking about the biggest lessons I’ve learnt for Chindi’s self publishing workshop I thought they would make a good article as well.

Put simply, they fall into two categories.

  1. Your book may be self published but it has to be as good as anything brought out by a major house – if not better. You can’t afford for it to look out of place in a bookshop or on people’s shelves at home. Cover design, shape and size are hugely important.The content has to be perfect too – and I mean perfect. You are asking people to pay for your work and this is a total game-changer. How would you feel if you picked up badly stitched shirt – or a book full of typos where the plot didn’t hang together?The best single piece of advice I can give any would-be author is that if you are tempted to publish your book without anyone else looking at it first, then don’t. Even the super-talented have lapses of concentration and mistakes creep in. At least have some sort of edit or proof read. Follow your gut instinct as to which would be the most important for you.

    Basically there are three main sorts of edit: structural (which evaluates the whole manuscript and how well it works as a novel); copy (studies the manuscript line by line for spelling, grammar and consistency); proof read (works on the print or ebook ready version for formatting and a final check on spelling and grammar).

    It’s always best to pay a professional but if you really can’t afford it and/or have a super-careful relative or friend at least get them to proof it. You’ve spent so long nurturing your manuscript you just won’t see all the mistakes yourself.

  2. You will spend at least as much time marketing as writing and you need to do it. You have no-one else to do it for you, unless you can afford professional help.Before your book comes out, cover the basics: think about who your target audience are, how you are going to reach them and how/where they are going to buy your book. You will be in a very crowded market. How is your book different? How can you make it sound unique and enticing?Although I had some background in PR and promotion, when my first novel, The Cheesemaker’s House, came out I was clueless about book publicity. I had arranged for a former colleague to do some PR for me, but that was it. Pretty soon I had to learn about social media, book bloggers, AI sheets, collateral. Because I had chosen an assisted publishing route with Matador it was easier, but I still needed to invest a huge amount of time.

    There are, however, great resources available: books (such as Chindi’s Before You Press Publish), online (ALLi – The Alliance of Independent Authors), blogs and of course groups like Chindi which exist to help you and provide mutual support. When I joined Chindi my marketing came on in leaps and bounds and as the group becomes more online we welcome authors from around the world.Even if you move into the world of traditional publishing these skills are hugely important and it’s always worth remembering that ultimately you are responsible for your book’s success.Find out more about Chindi’s author resources here: http://www.chindi-authors.co.uk/for-writers/

 

 

The Business of Books: Fresh Endeavours

Posted on by

The Business of Books: Fresh Endeavours 

Jane Cable talks to former publishing director of Endeavour Press, Amy Durant, at the start of her freelance career

1) What is your book related job or business?

Until earlier this month I was Publishing Director of Endeavour Press, but I have just left to move into freelance work, specifically in editorial and consultancy. I have worked in digital publishing for four years, and manage everything from commissioning new titles to overseeing marketing campaigns.
2) What is the most rewarding part of it?

The most rewarding part of my job is finding and falling in love with a book, and then getting to meet the author and sharing my enthusiasm. Seeing a book grow from a submission to a published book; and working with the author on everything from edits to cover ideas to a new title is so much fun! We also worked with a lot of estates at Endeavour Press, and it was great
when you get in contact with the family of an author whose books have gone out of print, and you get them selling again – it is really rewarding to keep an author’s legacy going strong.
3) What do you consider to be your major successes?

I recently got shortlisted for the Kim Scott Walwyn Award for exceptional women in publishing, which was a great honour and personal success, and I feel privileged to have been on the same shortlist as so many inspirational women (including the wonderful publisher and editor Alice Curry of Lantana who won!). My major successes at work have been mainly around tracking down obscure literary estates (I have spent many an afternoon stalking unsuspecting relatives of authors on the internet!); signing them up; and injecting new life into the books – transforming them from hard-to-find second-hand copies, to shiny new ebooks, which are reaching a whole new generation of readers.


4) Have you always loved books and what are you reading at the moment?

My father is a writer and he worked in children’s publishing when I was growing up, so I was lucky enough to always have a house full of books! I have a few books on the go at the moment: I have just finished working my way through nearly 100 submissions for the HWA Endeavour Ink Best Historical Novel Award, and at the moment I am reading (and thoroughly enjoying!) The Girl in the Glass Tower by Elizabeth Fremantle; I am also reading The Queen’s Mary by Sarah Gristwood, which will be published as an Endeavour Ink book this summer; and The Power by Naomi Alderman, of which I have heard great things!

BIO
Amy Durant is a freelance editor and digital publishing consultant. She is also working part-time on a PhD on the works of Aphra Behn.

Contact Amy on Twitter @SavingBooks

 

 

The Business of Books: A Taste for Romance | Jane Cable visits a Choc Lit roadshow

Posted on by

Jane Cable visits a Choc Lit roadshow

As regular readers of this column will know, I’ve been keeping my eye on Choc Lit for a while. As a writer of romance, you simply can’t ignore them; they’re up there, they’re out there – and they have a definite brand.

It’s this clear branding which draws me to them as a publisher. They have prettily and cleverly set out their stall as purveyors of delicious (in their words) women’s fiction from historical romance through to contemporary romantic thrillers. The books they publish are accessible and good quality; their readers know exactly what they are going to get.

When I saw that one of Choc Lit’s roadshows was coming to Southampton I knew I had to sign up. I was fascinated to see how they balanced an event aimed at readers and writers – not always the easiest of tasks. And the promise of chocolate was pretty enticing too.

Initially I hadn’t intended to pitch to one of their editors but when the email came through confirming my place I wondered if I should. Careful of their brand, Choc Lit have very precise submission criteria and I wasn’t sure I had a manuscript which would meet them. Or to be honest, one of them in particular: the requirement (for all but their Choc Lit Lite imprint) to show the hero’s point of view.

The book I am just starting could certainly be written that way, but Choc Lit only want completed – and professionally assessed – manuscripts. This is a really sensible move as it must make their slush pile less, well, slushy as a certain level of quality is assured. But reading their requirements again it became clear that self-published novels are acceptable and one of mine, The Faerie Tree, fits the bill.

The basic premise of The Faerie Tree is that when a couple meet again twenty years after their brief affair they discover that their memories of it are completely different, and this meant that the best way to tell the story was to alternate the hero’s and heroine’s points of view. It is the right length and certainly has romance at its heart, so I decided to give it a go.

If nothing else, it could be a foot in the door. Choc Lit are looking for authors with whom they can build a long term relationship, and as a writer, that’s what I am looking for too. I would love to be able to work with an editor to plan books ahead, knowing that they had a home when the writing was done. I would love a publisher where I could build my author brand alongside their own.

After listening to the Choc Lit authors’ stories (one of them, Laura E James, will feature in Business of Books later this summer) I was even more excited about setting out my stall to editor Lusana Taylor. In the main she was interested in my social media profile and how I marketed myself as a writer. I wanted to know about the importance of the hero’s point of view and what they looked for in an author. When we finally got around to talking about The Faerie Tree, she delighted me by asking to see the full manuscript.

Except it isn’t Lusana who will be assessing it. Choc Lit have a unique and rather wonderful way of choosing manuscripts for publication – their Tasting Panel of real readers. How refreshing is that? Once Choc Lit consider an author has potential it is up to this panel to decide whether the actual book is good enough. It seems a fairer process and a recipe for commercial success. I’m just hoping that The Faerie Tree delivers on flavour.

The final Choc Lit roadshow of the summer is at Stockton on Tees on 17th June. Find more details here: http://www.choc-lit.com/choc-lit-on-tour/