Writing's Just a Job

Some wannabe writers seem to elevate the art of writing and the business of books to lofty romantic heights. The bottom line is that writing is a career and book publishing a business like any other.

I don’t want to sound too cynical - for some of us writing is what we do and love – and some are lucky enough to even make a living out of it.

Personally, I’ll carry on writing fiction even if I don’t have the tremendous good fortune to get my first book published.

I’ve been lucky enough to write professionally for over ten years as a features writer/news reporter and editor for newspapers and magazines, but writing fiction is an entirely new experience.

I’m under no illusion that getting your book published is like winning the lottery and there are thousands of us chasing the dream of ever seeing our work in print.

But why not start off as a true professional from the very beginning?

It seems like common sense that when approaching an agent or publisher to take on you and your work, you deliver your manuscript in its most polished form, and present yourself in the best possible light.

After all, you wouldn’t submit a crumpled CV riddled with mistakes and stained with coffee rings for any other job.

What Kids Really Think

Lit Crit sites are great for finding out what adults think of your book. But what if you’re writing for kids?

Getting a healthy dose of constructive criticism from your peers is invaluable, but surely its children’s opinions what really matter if you’re ever lucky enough to see your book in the YA section of Waterstones.

With this in mind, I decided to put Dr Rumbolo’s Travelling Freakarium to the test and give it to a real live youngster to read!

Waiting for her verdict was just as nerve wracking than when a grown up opened its pages for the very first time.

This is the e-mail I received from Georgia, aged nine, from Bucks, who according to her SATs has the reading age of a 13-year-old.

Dear Sasha,

Its Georgia here. On July 13th I spent half an hour on the sofa reading your book. I know you want the truth about it and I’m going to tell You.

I loved it and I found it very funny when he fell in donkey poo and I think you have used lots of powerful adjectives like “ The oil lamp spluttered, fighting to stay alight.”

It would be great if you made this into a movie and my favourite bit would be at the end with the chicken-girl.

I want to ask some questions. Please could you send me the other chapters so I can carry on reading it? When will it be coming out and where can you buy it?

You wanted your opinion from a child and you got it.

Love from, Georgia

Books Survive Credit Crunch

More books are selling than ever before, according to a senior industry figure.

That's good news for all us aspiring novelists who are currently trying to get a book deal.

And for readers who can still pick up a good read for a couple of quid.

"The book trade is relatively safe. It is well established and stable. There are more books sold than ever before, the market is growing and more people are reading. Its profits and margins are also significantly robust. I think the trade should be confident and optimistic."

Luke Johnson, Chairman of Borders UK, at the Booksellers' Association conference, in Publishing News.

Dr Rumbolo is Top Rated Children's Book

Doctor Rumbolo's Travelling Freakarium is the top rated children's book in the YouWriteOn.Com charts.

Holding on to the number 12 spot, it's ranked higher than any other kids or young adult novel on the site.

Getting the thumbs up from other writers, who are in the same position, has come as a welcome boost, as I felt like jacking it all in the other week.

I recently went through a brief "What the heck am I doing?" phase when cycling to my part-time job - which doesn't even cover the rent - in the rain.

Watching my life savings and sometimes my sanity dwindling for a very uncertain future, has sometimes been a bit too much to bear.

But I soon pulled myself together and am keener than ever to get Rumbolo finished.

I haven't yet approached a single agent or publisher. Or am I down to my last tenner.

So wallowing in despair is a bit premature!

Grounding in grammar

After a couple of frantic weeks editing the first three chapters to upload to various writers' sites I'm back in the saddle - or at the keyboard to be more precise.

It's back to the mammoth task of editing the first draft - all 80,000 words - of Dr Rumbolo's Travelling Freakarium.

And its tough.

Getting the initial story out was the easy part but knocking it into shape is quite a time-consuming and yet necessary task. It's a bit like reaching the summit of a mountain and having to climb it all over again.

After leaving school eons ago, getting to grips with grammar, sentence construction and all the nuts and bolts of good writing is a challenge. Come to think of it, when I was at school in the '80s and early '90s, the emphasis wasn't on giving kids a good grounding in grammar.

I'm lucky that my better half is a journalist and sub-editor and is also very well-read, getting through about 10 books a week!

And he's tough and tells it like it is. In fact without his continuing support I think I would have given it all up by now.

Books are Big Business

Publishing is a business, just like any other, including the film and music industries.

Anyone who thinks any different is clearly kidding themselves.

But everyone wins with sites such as Authonomy and YouWriteOn.com

Publishers and agents get thier pick of manuscripts and and prospective authors get to showcase their work and offer constructive criticism to others.

Surely a far better option than letting your MS gather dust in a desk drawer at home?

We tend to elevate writing to great lofty heights, championing it as some high-brow art form.

At the end of the day it's all about being able to spin a good yarn.

And if you can sell a few books and captivate a couple of readers in the process, then that's no bad thing either.

For an in-depth look at electronic slushpiles see the Bookseller's feature on the subject.

Read My Book

The opening chapters of my book are now posted on two different websites.

The opening chapters of Dr Rumbolo's Travelling Freakarium are available to read at YouWriteOn.com, the Arts Council sponsored website for unpublished writers to showcase their work.

You have to register first to be able to read new work and can pass on any comments. Just sign in and select the Read Sample Chapters option.

As pointed out in an earlier entry on this blog, my first three chapters are also available at
Autonomy.com

However, prospective readers are currently having problems about trying to get onto the Harper Collins site.

Access is currently unavailable unless people are invited to join. At time of writing no more invites are being issued.

Watch this space.