Happy Halloween!
It’s finally time for my favourite holiday of the year!
I love Halloween. It’s the time of year when everyone gets in the same mindset as me (if that’s possible). I think it probably started when I was a kid, watching horror movies that I shouldn’t have at that age, and all the best ones seemed to be shown at Halloween. I think it was probably some late-night marathon that first got me hooked on B-movies like The Blob, and then hammered home the “being scared is awesome” vibe with The Exorcist, The Thing, Alien, Halloween, Friday the 13th and Nightmare on Elm Street. Of course, these are staples of any horror lover’s childhood. And they probably sparked off me watching every other horror movie since to the point of addiction. To the point of writing my own horror stories, in fact!
Anyway, what I really love about Halloween is the tactile element to it. Those of you who are regulars will know I love tinkering with things. I’m a maker and a doodler underneath my writerly exterior. The costumes, the pumpkin carving, the baking, the scaring little kids when they knock on your door. It’s all brilliant. There’s nothing I like more than going all-out on a costume to make sure it looks really cool. I’m a cosplayer at heart, it seems.
Unfortunately this year no one will be dressing up. There will be no ordaining traffic on Doncaster’s York Road while dressed as Jesus (long story for another time). And so I won’t be dressing up, either. However, I have carved my first pumpkin; something I’ve always wanted to do and never got around to. I call him Eddie after one of my favourite vampire movies, the original Fright Night (You’re so cool Brewster!).
Everyone, meet Eddie
In other news…
Speaking of making things, I’ve decided to embrace my Steampunk soul a little more and mod(ify) myself a gun for the next convention. After some research, I decided on the Nerf Maverick, which seems to be a popular favourite. After a few false starts, and marking all the bits as I took it apart, I’ve finally got the base coats done. Just have the details to paint in, but here’s what I have so far:
It used to look like this…
This…is my boomstick! (kinda)
Not bad for an amateur, eh? Also, if I haven’t mentioned this yet, I have another signing! This time I’ll be in my home town, Doncaster, nestled away in our local Waterstones branch in the Frenchgate centre. I’ve got my books, my sign, myself, and hopefully plenty of people will get curious enough to wander over. The lovely folks on the local radio and papers are plugging it for me (Thanks guys!) and if all goes well I won’t just be sat there on my own for hours on end. If you’re feeling adventurous, I’ll be at the above location from 11:30 this Friday (2nd November), until I get lonely and go home. Fingers crossed!
And that brings me to my last bit of news; perhaps the most exciting (at least for me). I have finished the first draft of The Adventures of Alan Shaw! How has this come so early? Well, as you may remember, Alan Shaw is a series of short adventures chronicling the life of the eponymous character as he grows up from a street urchin in the Age of Steam. As I’ve written these adventures, I’ve realised what an epic book this was going to be. I was half way through and already well over Greaveburn’s final word count. And so I realised that breaking the book into two volumes would not only be prudent, but pretty darned cool. And so that’s what I’ve done. And volume one is now sitting on my desktop, ready to edit.
This was my Saturday night set-up. Alan Shaw edits, Coors, Kettle Chips, notebook and 1800s London map. I’m so hardcore.
Of course, with me being me, I’ve already started the edits, already made huge changes, added whole sections and fleshed out characters. That’s how I roll on my second draft. And I know it’s early days, but I’m really liking it. Generally if I’m enjoying writing it, I know it’ll be the best I can possibly do because I’ll put the effort in. Of course, whether that best is good enough is another deal altogether. I’ll just have to hope that I can get published again, and that you guys enjoy it. Time will tell. And in the meantime, I’d better get writing volume two. Although, I’ll be giving myself a little break before cracking on with that. I have uni work to do after all.
And that’s it for this week, folks. Hope you’ve enjoyed this wild ramble.
Thanks for reading!
Bonny Scotland
Hi everyone.
Well, this week I’ve mostly been relaxing. With the book finally out, I thought it a good time to take myself off and have some peace. Scotland was the destination, and more specifically, Comrie. Quiet, remote, quaint. And not a sniffle of phone reception to be had. Perfect.
We (me and Laura, that is) stayed in a little cabin just outside town with nothing but a unencumbered view of the countryside. We took walks up to the Devil’s Cauldron, a waterfall outside Comrie, and then climbed up to the Melville monument that looks over the town. It seemed like a good idea when we set off, but it was a loooong way up. However, when we reached the top, the view was totally worth it.
View from the top
As always when we go away, I took plenty of reading material. I’ve been really getting into the Sandman graphic novels by Neil Gaiman, so I took the next one of those, plus the next installment of the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher. But, I never got to that latter one. Instead, I read an ebook by one of my mutual Twitter followers called Pete Ford (aka @TheVirtualMcCoy). Reading someone else’s work is always dicey, I think. I don;t mind doing it, but I always feel wary in case the work they’ve poured their heart and soul into is…well…crap. Thank the Lord’s chin hairs, then, that Pete Ford’s Pavonis is a little slice of awesome.
I hope I can do the premise justice…
Pavonis is a habitable planet (M-class to you Trekkies ;D) which the human race have migrated to after Earth becomes poisoned by all manner of unsurvivable pollutions. Two hundred years after they land, and the people of Pavonis have lost their old technologies when a madman destroys the ‘libraries’, a collection of all of Earth’s scientific and cultural (and everything else) knowledge. And so, in an effort to survive, the Pavonis folk have to return to steam and hydrogen power to propel their xeppelins, carriages and seaskimmers. But that’s just where the story starts. It seems that some bright spark managed to smuggle a copy of the ‘library’ away and keep it safe. But the bad guys, and their sticky little fingers, want it. When our hero’s friend thinks that he has found the library, the aforementioned bad guys have him bumped off, and so our hero steps to the plate to figure out who killed his friend and colleague, reclaim the library, and kick some bad guy behind while he’s at it. Written in the first person perspective gives Pavonis a real retro Sherlock Holmesy feel to it, like the old memoir style pieces, with action and intrigue and soem great plot points and description. Basically, it’s ace. A really fun read. And it’s Steampunk! What more could you want!? Go get it HERE, among other places.
Anyways, so that’s what I read while I was away. I also plugged Greaveburn a bit more. I’ve added it to Book Crossing, a great site that lets your books roam around and people can find them ‘in the wild’. Brilliant idea. But while trying to find somewhere in Glasgow to put the book down, I came across the lovely people at Biblocafe in the West End. Not only did they take a stack of my cards to put on display, but they took the copy of Greaveburn and they’ll be passing it around their Indie Bookstore reading group before dropping it off wherever they like. How cool is that? Let’s hope they enjoy it and feel compelled to review…
Speaking of reviews…(see what I did there?)
Greaveburn got another good one. Here’s the watered down version, because it’s a long one:
Predictable is not a word that applies here. What I found particularly striking is that the characters are above all human…The ‘good’ characters have their faults–serious ones. The ‘bad’ ones are haunted by their failings and surpass themselves. Nobody is what they might at first seem; nobody is all white–but there are those that are solid black, through to the bone… The imagery is strong–heavy gothic architecture, steampunk machinery, and yet there’s the feeling that even a city like Greaveburn could have a Hogsmeade moment when Christmas rolls around…The pacing is good, the storyline solid. What really counts, as far as I’m concerned, is this: I had trouble putting Greaveburn down. I found myself reading at 2am and had to force myself to stop and get some sleep; the temptation was to read just one more chapter. I don’t come across many books that do that. Need I say more?
Awesome. Thank ya kindly! If they keep coming like this, my head’s going to explode! Well, that’s been my week, folks. Apart from preparing myself for the Weekend at the Asylum convention next week, I have nothing more to tell. Expect a blog post about what goes on in Lincoln while me and the IQ team are there. Fingers crossed I don’t make a fool of myself at the signing! 
Thanks for reading.
Greaveburn Pre-Launch Competition
If you’ve been around recently, you’ll already know the big news. If you haven’t…where HAVE you been? Oh, you have a life? Well, I hear they’re overrated. I won’t hold it against you. Better late than never.
Anyway, in honour of the publication of my debut novel, Greaveburn, I have decided to have a bonanza. Some lucky bugger is going to win things and that could mean YOU! But I’m not going to make it easy for you. Why would I? This isn’t the kind of giveaway you find on daytime tv where the question is something like:
What is the name of the money-winning organisation for which millions of people buy tickets every week? Is it: A: The National Lottery B: The National Pottery C: The National Mockery (answers on a postcard, kids!)No, we’re not going to do that, because that’d be crap. Instead, we’re going to go all Challenge Anneka on you. Below, you will find a couple of Greaveburn-related images. Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to take one of these images (or one of your own making) and use it in the most imaginative way possible. The most outrageous/funny/obscure entry wins a personalised, signed copy of Greaveburn itself for your shelf and, of course, all entries will be put into a gallery for everyone to see and share (We’ll keep track of them on the new competition page). All mediums are accepted, including photos, vids, animations or whatever else you deranged readers can come up with.
Here are a few ideas to get you going:
- A tableau of you and your Steampunk/Goth friends brandishing the logo.
- Respraying your car/scooter/Harley Davidson with the cover images (That’d be freaking awesome).
- …or maybe a tattoo somewhere about your virgin flesh? (Soooo not worth the resulting prize!)
- Carve the title into a motorway overpass (I in no way endorse this vandalistic behaviour………although SOME might think it cool)
- Get your friends to spell out Greaveburn at a football game.
Whatever you come up with…camera *click*…email (Under my pic on the right, over there)…Simple!
I’m going to leave this open until the end of September, so pop back and see if you’ve won!
Have fun!
What does it take to make a book?
Yes, writing a book is a damn good start. It’s the ONLY start, in fact. But what comes after that? I don’t know about you, dear readers, but when I was feverishly typing well into the night, pulling out my hair when characters didn’t do as they were told, yelling EUREKA when everything starting coming together, I didn’t really consider what would happen afterwards other than “I want this to get published”. Such a simple dream, right? Well, it’s no easy task. I’m not going to bash on about how to get yourself an agent/publisher (I honestly believe that there is no one on the planet or in this dimension who can truly tell you how to do that, only tell you what NOT to do). And I’m not going to profess to understand all the ins and outs of publishing, marketing and selling books to you. The point of this post is to show you all the stages that I’ve come across in going from accepted draft to book-in-the-hand, and hopefully shine a little light on how complicated getting a book in print really is.
The Contract
The irony of this stage is that it comes at the very beginning of your Book-Having journey, at a time when you’re still bouncing around the room at the idea of being accepted for publication, quaffing ale in celebration (I always wanted to quaff) and giving yourself a hearty pat on the back. It also happens to be the time when you need to be the most level-headed and thoughtful. Read it. Read it again. Email your potential publisher with questions. Read it again. No, really read it. Make sure you know what you are getting yourself into.
Yes, it’s your life blood in that pen
Important things to note:
- Does it mention how much input you’ll have in the editing process? No publisher will relinquish the final word on decisions about your book, but somewhere in there it should mention negotiation and your creative right to withdraw should you be displeased with the path your novel is taking. It’s YOUR novel. You should be able to run away if you’re not happy with what’s going down.
- Does it tie you into a deal for your next few books? This is a mixed blessing. If they’re willing to sign you for the next few books, you have some solidarity for your next project. Just also be aware that this clause means you’re going nowhere. If you’re unhappy with the publisher for any reason over the course of this whole process, you might still have to submit your next book to them for consideration, even if you don’t accept the further contract in the end. This can be VERY restrictive for your future projects, or support them. Think about what it means to you.
Other than that, remember that a contract ties the publisher to you as much as the other way around. If they’re willing to sign you, they have faith in your work as a marketable product. That’s a bloody good thing. Go back to quaffing ale! WOOHOO!
The Edits
Every author’s nightmare, the edits come first and so are gotten out-of-the-way fairly early on. Your publisher will assign you an Editor/Project Leader at this point. Get to know them. Give them a list of questions. Tell them what you were aiming to do with the book; subplots/subtexts, themes, character developments. That way, when they read your novel, they’ll know what you were aiming for and be able to pull at those strands, giving you an idea of if you’ve succeeded or not. Then any good Editor will tell you what areas to develop and possibly suggest how you might go about it.
They WILL ask you to rewrite. No-one’s novel goes through unscathed. This might be YOUR fifth draft, but it’s only the first as far as they’re concerned. Expect things to bounce back and forth a little. This is where your ability to take constructive criticism really needs to shine through. There are so many writers out there that bitch and whine at the slightest negative comment. You’ve met them on forums, Twitter, Facebook. You’ve thought “what a douchbag”. The Editor will be thinking the same thing. Don’t be that douchbag. Ask questions in order to clarify what they want you to do. You ARE allowed to negotiate. Maybe suggest other ways of making a similar plot/character change if you have another idea. But in the end, they generally know what they’re talking about. Unless it’s absolutely imperative to your novel, don’t be precious. What’s that famous bit of advise we’ve all heard a million times?
“Murder your darlings”
The Cover
Now you’ve gone through the scary bit, we get to the utterly cool part. Don’t lie to me, you’ve imagined what that book cover will look like ever since enumerating the first chapter. Your publisher will have their own ideas, but that doesn’t stop you making suggestions. If they’re any good, they’ll ask you what you think, anyway. Look for artists yourself. It doesn’t hurt. The publisher might have their own cover artists on hand already, but getting some ideas from elsewhere is helpful. Find a few different things you like, drop it in their inbox (in a purely platonic sense). Why not?
The prelims (preliminary designs) will come back and you’ll probably pass out from excitement. Dust yourself off, splash your face and have another look. This is what people are going to see ON SHELVES. Squee! (Quaff quaff)
While searching for “bad book covers” I found this. What is this book even ABOUT!? Evil Knievel Kitty leaps the ring of flame?
The cover is the face of your book. Once you’ve calmed down a little, think about what the image says about the content. Again, your publisher will have already thought about all this and taken it into consideration. But you have a duty to consider it too. The main point I’m making throughout most of this post is that you shouldn’t sit back and be quiet once you’ve “finished” your writing. You know the content of your novel better than anyone else, without exception. It’s your baby. Make sure you don’t regret any decisions so that when the release date comes around, you can beam with pride and oil your oversized head rather than fretting.
The Marketing
You’re already doing this. Blog, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Goodreads and Gods only know what else. You’re selling yourself as an author and a professional. But your Marketing Womble (some don’t like being called that. I wouldn’t suggest it unless you’re pretty confident in their sense of humour) is about to take that and hopefully blow it off the charts. Listen to them. It’s funny really, because as Writers we constantly paw over our wording, hidden meanings, trying to get across out ideas in the most succinct and effective way possible. So why do we tend to suck at writing about ourselves? Your bio needs to be as good as Chapter 1 of your novel. Maybe even better. You’re a writer. That makes you creative, interesting, intelligent, maybe a little eccentric (I don’t feel a single one of these things apart from the latter, but readers will kind of expect the others, too). Make sure that all your social networking reflects what an utterly fantastic human being you are behind that keyboard.
Marketing Wombles. Warning: Appearance may vary
Your Marketing Womble will be compiling a press release pack. This is everything about you and your work in a neat little package. Work your angles, but make them obtuse (see? I did maths at GCSE!). For instance, while I’m trying to sell myself as an author and my novel is inherently a Gothic Steampunk story, that doesn’t mean that they’re the only niches I should appeal to. I’ve hit the Steampunk circuit about as hard as it’ll take, and the Goth scene, too. But I’m not restricting myself too much. Readers of all kinds of Speculative Fiction will be interested in Greaveburn (honestly, they will!) so similarly, make sure you tell everyone about your novel, not just the little nuggets of folk who are expressly interested.
In addition to that last point, remember that unless you’re a super-selling author, you’ll have a day job, too. I’m a Nurse, for example. So make sure that other people in your profession know what you’re doing. They’ll be interested. Who doesn’t have a day job and secretly harbour some other ambition, be it Rock Star, Writer or Athlete? Be that person who did what they want to do, and be as inspiring as you can be.
The Signings/Interviews
Now, as you all know, I’m still moving toward this point myself, and so I can’t go into detail about exactly how scary/brilliant the signings stage might be. Expect further input at a later date including photos and rants (and weeping fits when I make an ass of myself). What I can tell you about is interviews. Petrifying. Utterly petrifying. I made a major mistake here, folks, so pay attention and don’t do it yourself. DO NOT do radio interviews first. You’re live, recorded, and if you’re anything like me, you’re nervous as hell. Recipe for a big Disaster Cake with face-palm flavoured icing. Written interviews with newspapers/blog tours etc. mean that you can hone your answers so you don’t sound like an ass. Don’t get yourself into a situation where you’re live on air and the radio host puts you on the spot with a ridiculous request such as “come up with a codename for our other guest who wishes to remain anonymous…NOW! QUICKLY! THREE SECONDS TO GO!” (actual example). Hideous. I still have night-sweats. This is a pretty extreme example, but another is when people ask me what Steampunk is. As anyone who is into the genre knows, there is no succinct answer to that. Try not to ramble.
I could go on for ages about stupid things I’ve said or done on air. One was comparing a really irritating and obnoxious co-presenter as a zombie Bernard Manning LIVE-ON-AIR. I thought it was hilarious, and as it turns out, so did a lot of people who contacted me after the interview, but it was a huge risk. Have more control over your mouth than I do! Another example is how I’m so nervous that I start to answer a question without knowing what I’m going to say, and then in my rambling, forget what the original question was. I’m chuckling as I type this, but I could cry when I do it If you want a gret example of this, tune in to the July edition of the BookIt show on SineFM and listen to me make an utter fart out of myself while go from discussing Steampunk, to the fashionable benefits of plaid in five seconds flat. Hilarious. And pathetic.
Well Folks, that’s all we have time for this week. As always, I hope some of this has been informative/useful. Happy writing!
Thanks for reading.
Guest Post: Lea Tierney, Book Marketer Extraordinaire! (Part Two)
Welcome back! If you attended yesterday’s simposium, you’ll remember that Lea Tierney is an up-and-coming Marketing expert and the poor person assigned to plug Greaveburn when it’s released this summer. She must have been bad in a former life, that’s all I can say. Yesterday she told us about what life is like post-uni for many young people in our country. Bloody scary. And today she’s going to tell us all about finding her place as an intern for Inspired Quill Publishing.
Becoming an Intern at Twenty Four Years of Age
All of this, I realise, doesn’t make up for a marketing qualification but I already have a degree: I have already shown I can study and learn the theory. What I really needed was experience and professional recommendations to show that I can do the job. I did an awful lot of thinking at this point about the best thing to do to gain experience: could I really afford to give up my paid job – that was providing great opportunity for self development and networking – to do an internship that wasn’t guaranteed to improve my prospects? Not really, but I did consider it and, in hindsight (such a fine thing), I should have done internships as university (although I couldn’t really afford to do it then either as my student loan didn’t cover my rent so I had to maintain part time paid employment the whole time).
So, what do you do when you get to twenty four years of age, knowing its three years since you graduated, you still don’t have the job you always wanted and you’re still living with your parents? You know which career path you want and which skills you already have that you can utilise. The next step is to bag the experience and recommendations that you are looking for. Surprisingly I found that finding an internship was remarkably easy: employers are desperate for passionate, bright and enthusiastic types to join them and, if you’re already online, there are some really helpful groups out there waiting to help. Yes, it is, essentially, free labour. You should, however, bear in mind that this is a mutually beneficially arrangement, they do get to benefit from your skills for the time you agree to spend with them, but you get a whole lot in return: quality experience, recommendation, training, networking opportunities, support from experienced colleagues and the confidence to apply for roles that will then be suited to the level of experience that you have achieved – by yourself.
I found one of my internships through GraduatesNeedExperience who were advertising on behalf of Inspired Quill Publishers: looking for a marketing intern to join their marketing programme. Now I had been crossing my fingers hoping for the kind of opportunity that would slot nicely into my current life style without much expecting it to happen and then, here it was: a minimum of ten hours commitment per week, working from home on an assigned author’s marketing plan for their book launch. This was it, the perfect opportunity! At the same time I also managed to organise two, one week long, internships for my pre booked holiday time. I waited with baited breath for two weeks to see if my application to the Inspired Quill programme had been successful and was thrilled when I received an email, late one Sunday evening, from Sara Slack (founder of Inspired Quill) informing me that I was, in fact, ideal for their programme. Now, what’s so exciting about being an Inspired Quill intern? I’ll let Sara explain the premise of her publishing house here:
Well, we started out as a book review blog in 2009. At University, there was a scheme running called ‘Enterprise Inc’, which offered a token amount of funding and a very intensive business-skills course to people with an idea that they wished to develop into a business. I had the idea of creating paid-for-content on the site, so I signed up and was approved.
Over the course of that…course…I adapted my idea, and by the end of it, I incorporated IQ as a not-for-profit publishing house on April 5th, 2011.
Our target audience is difficult, because obviously that shifts between each book. In terms of our authors, it’s primarily new authors that we aim for – because we’re very into skills development…but that’s not exclusive. I suppose in a, fairly fluffy term, we’re aimed (both readers and authors) to forward-thinkers. We love tradition, as long as it doesn’t stand in the way of progress.
Our books are printed and distributed by a company called Lightning Source, which is part of the Ingram group. They use ecologically sustainable forests, and since we’re utilising their Print on Demand system, books are only printed when they are ordered, which means we don’t have five hundred spare at the end of a print run. This distribution system includes all of the major shops: Amazon, Waterstones, WHSmith and Barnes&Noble. We have distribution contracts which include the UK, the US, Mainland Europe and Australia.
The next step for us is to enhance our standing and really start emerging as a true, quality alternative to the ‘Big Six’ publishing houses. At the same time, we need to work on the ‘Social Enterprise’ side of things. To begin with, that will obviously be more to do with how we utilise our time, since we’re not in a financially stable enough position to do anything on much of a scale yet.
There are many things about Sara’s explanation of what Inspired Quill stands for that make me very excited to be one of their interns. One of these things is just how new IQ is meaning there is so much potential for growth, development and creativity: for IQ itself, for its “staff” and for its interns. It also means there will have been plenty of things that haven’t yet been done by IQ before. Plus, IQ is further proof to me that a simple blog page can lead on to bigger and greater things.
The fact that IQ is founded on the principles of being a Social Enterprise is very important to me: to know that they see themselves as part of a bigger picture – as all books are – is vital to understanding the ethos of the company. Obviously part of being a social enterprise is being an environmentally friendly publishing house. It also involves:
Being a Social Enterprise, Inspired Quill is already looking toward the future, where our aim is to develop and present a number of creative writing workshops to disadvantaged areas. Our main focus will be with Young Adults, Single Parents, and individuals with Disabilities. Why do we want to do this? Well, we believe that the power of creative storytelling is huge, and it is surprising at how many other skills can be developed just by being given the tools to start on a creative journey, and being given a safe place to show that creativity.
(http://www.inspired-quill.com/community)
What’s not to love about this publishing house? Then, of course, there’s the author I have been assigned to based on my answers to questions Sara posed to me when I accepted a place on the course. I have to say that Sara is very intuitive having kindly given me an author I have already built a fantastic working relationship with.
So there you have it. The journey begins. I wont post what Lea put about working with me because she’s far too nice and I’ll get a big head. Suffice to say, you’ll be hearing a lot more from her in the future. So keep your eyes peeled. She might have some knowledge to impart about marketing your own books!
Thanks for reading.
Guest Post: Lea Tierney, Book Marketer Extraordinaire! (Part One)
Hi everyone. Today, we have part one of Lea’s story. Not only is she an up-and-coming marketing genius, but she’s the marketing genius behind the release of Greaveburn! In today’s post, she shows us that Marketing is like any other job, and astoundingly similar to making a break in writing. That is, it’s damn hard. Take a look at what she’s been up to since she graduated:
Finding the Right Path to Go Down
This July will be my third year since graduating. What have I done with this time? Well, on the face of it I have simply been working in a shop, keeping my head down, waiting for my life to start. And, to an extent, for some of the time I probably have done a bit of this when I’ve become disillusioned with how damn hard it is to get to where you want to be in life. Throughout school, college and even university itself we were all told that degrees are the keys to success, the door opener, the life starter: but that has proven to be far from the case. I can’t tell you how many jobs I have applied for across how many industries. Most of those job applications haven’t even resulted in a “thanks but no thanks” email. In part, it’s because my CV needed rewriting. It was also due to me not really having decided where I wanted to go in my career. I also found that I quite enjoyed the job that I had fallen into after I left university and was unsure as to whether that meant that this was where I was meant to be.
The role I am currently in doesn’t require a degree at all. However, would I have brought the same thing to the role if I hadn’t done a degree? Maybe, maybe not. It’s no secret to my employers that my current job isn’t my “dream job”, but they do know I appreciate the opportunity to simply have a job – very much – and have given it my absolute all.
This job has allowed me to grow as a person and I have been able to figure out what it is that I am really good at and which transferable skills and passions I have that would actually lead me to a career. It finally dawned on me a couple of months back the things that really make me tick at work:
- Planning and leading promotional events
- Working with local businesses and media to promote and improve events
- Writing copy, my own blogs and promoting this via social media sites
- Working with my team to create a real buzz and atmosphere about the things we do everyday
- Coming up with creative new ways to promote new products and engage customers in these products
The things I love doing at work do, actually, translate into a job role and are in many a job specification for people in the marketing/events/pr category. It helps a lot that a more positive outlook led to greater productivity on the creative writing front: disillusionment can be a little bit of a block to writing. A good friend of mine used WordPress to publish her creative writing thoughts in the form of a comical run through of her life via blog and she seemed to take a real sense of achievement from this so I figured, maybe, this could work for me too. It helped that I had written a couple of brief focus features for the Kent Messenger as part of my promotional work in my current role and had received some fantastic feedback on these: getting someone to read something you want to publish before you do so is crucial. Now, I’m not saying blogging is the cure to all evil but it really has had a pretty profound effect on me. My blog “It’s A Wonderful Life” on WordPress isn’t ever going to win any prizes but it has:
- Helped me to improve my writing/editing skills
- Improved on my self-promotion skills
- Illustrated the importance of social media in promotion
- Connected me with some really great like minded people – as well as some really great, not so like minded people – WordPress provides a floor for discussion like I had never seen before
From the success of my WordPress blog came my KentOnline blog – expanding my audience and the opportunity to network and receive feedback on my work. Ok, so three years down the line from graduating I have finally figured out which career path is right for me, now what? Well, a whole lot of research was what came next: what qualifications or experience would I need to bag myself my dream job? I found that, much like everything else, marketing has gone digital – in a major way. I was going to need a strong online presence and a professional digital self. I created an account on LinkedIn and started using Twitter to engage in conversations with and about my chosen field. I signed up for online webinars which I watched in my own time and joined online groups to keep abreast of the latest updates in the industry. I also signed up to receive as much free relevant reading material as possible. I bought myself an incredibly easy to read and insightful book on marketing based on the recommendations of one of the staff at Waterstones “The New Rules of Marketing and PR” written by David Meerman Scott. Reading this book has made me realise that the skills needed to be a successful marketer are certainly transferable and I just need to make sure I maintain my focus as well as an open mind to new opportunities.
That’s it for today, folks. Come back tomorrow to see how Lea manages to juggle her internship with my Publisher, Inspired Quill, and life in general.
Thanks for reading.
My Steampunk Costume!
I’ve been promising this to you all for a loooong time now. But I’ve finally put the finishing touches to my Steampunk costume for the Weekend at the Asylum convention in Lincoln. And so, since I owe you loverly readers a huge thank you for supporting me over the last couple of years, for buying your copies of Not Before Bed, for commenting on here, retweeting on Twitter and ’liking’ my Facebook page, here is your reward…
You get to see me in a bowler hat…
So what do you think? Punky enough for ya?
I’m a tri-virgin when it comes to cosplay, conventions and book signings, so the Asylum Weekend should be a really…interesting…experience. I’m so nervous about selling and signing Greaveburn, it’s unbelievable. But hopefully, surrounded by my fellow Steampunks, I’ll feel right at home in my costume.
In other news…work on the cover art for Greaveburn has begun. In the course of a couple of days our cover artist, Ravven Kitsune, has managed to go from my sketchy brief to a piece of work which is truly breathtaking. When I saw the prelims, I made a little squee of excitement. I can’t wait to show it to you all. Watch out for the big reveal coming VERY soon!
Thanks for reading.
Marketing your book: How I did it
Take a seat, and let the Wise Man kwell your fears…
With Greaveburn on its way Inspired Quill have seen fit to assign me my own Marketing Womble, as I like to call her. (Hi Lea! More from her soon!) And since we’ve been working together on our plans for world domination, it’s got me to wondering how I ever managed to do all this myself with Not Before Bed. To be honest, I’m still not entirely sure. But, in an effort to help you lot do the same (while avoiding my mistakes) I thought I’d do a rundown of the steps I took in getting NBB to where it is today. So here we go:
1. Your writing persona
Whether we like it or not, our work as writers/artists/whatever-it-is-you-do isn’t just read/viewed in a vacuum. How you come across is vitally important to whether you’re accepted or not by readers, agents and publishers alike. With this in mind, we need to start thinking about your writing persona. By this, I don’t mean dressing in black, wearing a beret and dark glasses to all your public appearances (although, if that floats your boat…). What I mean is the image you generate; mostly online. We’ve all been bitten by a badly worded email or forum post before. Typing in capitals is shouting etc. And as writers, we REALLY have to be careful. Not only do people expect eloquence and perfect grammar, but think about what you’re saying and how you’re saying it. Humour, especially, is a mine field online with all kinds of interpretations going wrong with the simplest of statements. Be careful! Because these people don’t know you’re generally nice and generous and utterly wonderful. All they see is your words. And grudges are borne easily. Also, with this in mind, think about what you want people to know, and what people NEED to know. Do you want to be complaining about your unrelated day job to potential readers? Do they need to know about your cat’s bowel operation? Probably not, no. And that leads us on to…
2. Social Networking Sites
This is the true necessary evil of creating your writing persona. Your Twitter, Facebook and whatever-else are how people interact with you. Be tactile! Talk and tweet about subjects around your work, and people will find you. With that comes a simple suggestion: Dont just plug your book, over and over. No one likes a plugger The counter to my Pro-networking argument is that you are a writer, so don’t let social networking distract you from actually creating. It’s shiny, and interesting and enthralling. Don’t get sucked too far in!
3. Spread yourself around
Yes, you literary hussy, spread yourself around. If you’ve networked properly, you should now know lots of like-minded people. Be polite then…ask favours. Will they guest post on your blog? And don’t forget to offer to reciprocate. It’s this part that’s particularly important. Getting on other people’s sites and blogs gets you seen. Go for it!
4. Forums
This can be a real-time consumer, so picking a few forums and making a good impression is often more beneficial than just dipping in and out. People need to get to know you (or your persona) if they’re going to take an interest. The same stands as before. Don’t just plug your book. Pick threads that will discuss topics around your genre/content and insinuate yourself into them. Remember, if no-one’s talking to you, don’t fear. Forums can be cliquey. Dont be afraid to drop the forum and move elsewhere. Bonus Tip: Goodreads forums are generally full of very polite, nice folk who love to read. Start there!
5. Money, money, money
Do NOT pay for someone to do this lot for you. There are too many “pro” marketers on the net who actually work in Kwik Save as a shelf stacker (slight generalisation). This is nothing you can’t do yourself.
6. Beg, borrow, steal
That’s right. You’re an amateur writer. You need help to get your career into the big time. No author is an island, as they (don’t) say. So ask for help. Beg favours. Most people will be only too happy to help. Which leads us into…
7. Act like a Big Shot
Got your book out? Then hit the locals. Newspapers, radio shows, libraries. Make your own mini-tour in your local area. Local interest can go a long way toward helping you. Write horror? Do it at Halloween. Romance. Valentine’s Day is the time for your tour. Erotica? Well…anytime is good for that! ;D
8. Speculate to accumulate
It don’t have to spend much to make it look like you are. Vistaprint.com will sort you with professional-looking business cards, posters, leaflets etc. for your mini-tour. There are even banners and T-shirts if you really want to go for it. And a Goodreads giveaway is a great way of getting enthusiastic readers who you can be sure will review afterward. The giveaways are very easy to do with the website doing all of the hard work. All you have to do is turn up, and then distribute afterward.
9. The Golden Tip
Your work is you. Be careful. Double check. Use Beta readers. Get your mum to read it, if you like. But don’t put out a sub par product. The excitement can carry you away, rush you. Don’t let it.
I hope this lot will help you out. It certainly did for me. Anyone else got any tips to share?
Thanks for reading.
Steampunk UK
Since hitting the Steampunk genre running, and becoming a full-on obsessive, it’s been a hobby of mine to find the little pockets of enthusiasts around the UK. These people, after all, will hopefully become my readers when Greaveburn hits the shelves this summer. And ever since I started my search, it has never ceased to amaze me how incredibly creative people can be.
The beauty of Steampunk, in my opinion, is how it encourages people to create, build, imagine and fashion all manner of doodads and thingumies. Etsy is, of course, the best way to find out about the hundreds of talented folk who make trinkets, gadgets, costumes and things-with-no-name. With these folks in mind, I think it’s only fair that I share the wealth of what I’ve found with you. Starting with The Dark Power.com.
Now here’s someone who takes their creating seriously! Not only does Dark Power make the most impressive creations, but they have even won awards for their Steampunk short film Beast of the Air! Take a look:
Good, eh? I wouldn’t mind one of those guns for when I go shopping in ASDA. Can’t wait to see them tackle the book trailer for Greaveburn! (Hint hint, Dark Power, if you’re reading this )
Have a look HERE for more of their gadgets and gizmos .
Moving on to another tinker-type, I’d like to draw your attention to The Little Steampunk Shop. Chock full of things that you can actually BUY, alll handmade and utterly cool-looking. If you need some Whatsits for your next Steam-theme endeavour, this is where to get them! Here’s just a couple of things that caught my eye:
Incredible clock design.
A Raygun that comes in its own glass dome.
There’s all manner of jewelry, modded USB sticks, clockwork insects and mice, lamps…By Jiggins, I’m salivating! With payday on the horizon, and my Steampunk outfit nearly ready, I think I’ll be visiting The Little Steampunk Shop again very, very soon.
It seems that while our American comrades love their Steampunk, there’s much love in our own fair country for some Neo-Victorian shinanigans, too. I can’t wait to meet some of them at the Weekend at the Asylum Steampunk Convention in September. It’s going to be an absolute riot!
Thanks for reading.
The Editor Cometh…
Well, it’s finally that time I’ve been waiting for since November. The stars are aligned. In the dark treeline, the black mass is on the lips of the hooded monks. And on the central dais, hog tied and with fear in her eyes, is the sacrifice. We are about to invoke the spirit of The Editor…
Om Nam Shiva...Om Nam Shiva....
Luckily for me, my Inspired Quill editor, Peter Stewart, doesn’t really need any of this. So, I send the monks back to their day jobs as civil servants, cut the sacrifice free and give her a tin foil blanket before making sure she’s home before 10 pm. The sacrificial athame goes back in the kitchen drawer with the spoons and pizza cutter.
The point of this elaborate introducion is this…
The edits for Greaveburn are finally back!
Air guitar celebration!
The last few months have been a steady stream of flop sweats and half-believed self assurances as my mind flits between ‘they’re going to tear my book apart and salvage its parts for the black market’ and ‘it’ll be fine, they like it enough to edit it, so they won’t be too cruel’. The former has definitely been winning in terms of brain space. In fact, when my inbox pinged, I froze. Do I really want to read this? Can I take the beating if the result is a complete rewrite/cutting of beloved characters/stylistic overhaul? The answer, as I’m sure you’ll guess, was ‘we’re about to find out’.
Email open, file downloaded, hovering of finger over OPEN.
Like some rabbid lipstick merchant had taken slashing across the pages, there was red text. EVERYWHERE. My heart sank. But I decided to read the actual words before checking the tensile strength of the light fittings for noose-application. And you know what? It wasn’t so bad. Hell, the comments are GOOD! Useful! I find myself nodding, whisking through the pages focussing on just the comments rather than overthinking what I’ll do about them. They all make perfect sense. Little things I’ve missed with grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure, all easily fixed with Peter’s expert suggestions. A few little vocab comments where words could be changed for better effect.
And all of a sudden, I was at the end.
The Doors would be proud.
What the hell had I been worried about? This guy knows what he’s doing. I didn’t find a damned thing that I disagreed with or anything I couldn’t easily fix. There were just as many positive comments as negative (although none were really negative, more like necessary highlights). It may have been preying on my mind for the last few months, being the first and last things I think about on a day to day basis, but it’s all come out ok. To be honest, as I read through the suggestions and comments and tweaks, I realise that with Peter’s help, this novel has the potential to go somewhere!
I’ve always been told (as have you, for that matter, fellow Writer) that Editors are essential. They know their shit, if you’ll excuse the French. You should take their comments seriously and take them without offence or that horrible knee-jerk reaction that makes us scream “WHAT DO YOU KNOW!?” and stomp off to sulk. But you don’t really believe it until you’re on the receiving end of a bloody good Editor.
The point of this blog, dear friends, as well as to throw on the net whatever oddments cross my mind, is to teach. Looking back over previous posts, you’ll see all the mistakes I’ve made. All the assumptions and diversions that have led me not only down the wrong path but into the soul-sucking quicksands of Indie Writer Hell. And I want you to make these experiences your own. Learn from what I’ve done wrong and don’t bloody do it yourself (using Createspace if you’re not from America, for example. Waste of time and money, folks). But sometimes, just sometimes, I get to tell you about something I’ve done RIGHT. Not very often, mind. But here’s one of those times. Submitting my work for a proper read-through and commenting may just be the scariest and best damn thing I’ve ever done. INDISPENSIBLE is the word I’m looking for.
And now the hard work really starts. The revision stage. I’ve never hit this part before. Taking someone else’s thoughts on my work and moulding them not only as they suggest, but keeping with my own style and intention toward the novel. This is going to be a lot like a collaboration. I’m out of my depth again, folks. But I’m actually looking forward to it! Stay tuned for how well/badly this next bit goes 
And when all’s said and done, this has made me realise something which, at the back of my mind, I’ve still doubted; that Greaveburn is going to be a reality. These edits are going to sharpen it up, make it really rock, make it a book that YOU might read soemtime soon. With discussions on potential cover art going on (more on that in a later post), things are rattling along at an alarming rate. Sometime this year, my book, my words, my characters and plot twists and dark descriptions are going to hit the public. It’s fantastic, and I’m suddenly petrified all over again, with a big old grin on my face
Thanks for reading.
HUZZAH!
Hi everyone, and welcome to the blog post I never thought I’d write.
Those of you who’ve been reading my blogs for a while now (even since the beginning?) will know exactly how long I’ve waited for this moment. It’s been a year and a half of hard work, trawling through the literary agencies online and off, making my submissions fit their precise and often wildly different criteria. The hardest part, as always, has been the waiting. Then there’s the mountain of rejection slips, most very nice, that came without fail every time. That’s a whole lot of envelopes and whole lot of stamps. I think I’ve kept Royal Mail in business all by myself!
But the time has come. The time when I can make this announcement. Something I’ve been dreaming about since I was a teenager, and working towards with bleeding fingers for the last five years.
Milking it? Me? Oh, ok. I’ll get to the point.
Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls, after much searching and sweating, Craig Hallam (slipping to third person for effect) has found himself a publisher!
Yeah, you heard right. My debut novel, Greaveburn, has been read, liked and accepted to the loving embrace of Inspired Quill publishing house! I’ve put off writing this post for almost a week now, mostly because I’ve been making little squee noises in the back of my throat and wandering around dazed since I got the email. But now I think it’s time to share my fantastic news!
As I’m sure you can all imagine (writers and readers alike) I’m over the moon. I’ve had to choke it back a little, letting Laura do most of the celebrating on my behalf, and letting my professional self take the reins. I’m trying not to get too far ahead of myself. I’m trying not to think about who will be the first person to buy it. Nor my first bad review or (hopefully) my first good one. No signings or promotions ahead of me. I’m definitely not imagining what the cover will look like…although I could draw you a picture if you like
It’s hard to stay in the moment but I’m doing ok. I want to enjoy this little nibblet of a win but don’t want to throw it around until there’s nothing left to play with. There’s a lot of work to do from here on in. Thinking about the first round of edits, for example, is making little brown cakes in my undercrackers. But it’s also going to be fun. And the IQ team all seem fantastic, so far. My alloted editor, Pete Stewart, is a Steampunk fan so Greaveburn will hopefully go down well.
Mini-celebration time!
Anyway, I thought you should all know, being true believers and wonderful supports throughout my struggle. When it eventually hits the shelves, shiny and awesome and without a single spelling mistake (unlike these posts), be assured that you’re all invited to the party and, by God, there’ll be hangovers the next day!
Thanks for reading!
New reviews for Not Before Bed
Well, it’s time for my favourite holiday. All Hallows Eve is upon us once again. And it seems only fitting that the new print editon of Not Before Bed with its striking white cover be on the shelves and ready to rock. And, thanks the emminent thriller writer Pete Denton and the lovely Ecowitch, I also have two new reviews! Here they are:
One scaaaary Hombre
“I don’t usually read speculative fiction but I’m glad that I downloaded Not Before Bed, which is a collection of short stories from the twisted mind of Craig Hallam!
This is the second e-book that I downloaded when I bought my Kindle and there are plenty of great stories to entertain you on a cold, dark night. I enjoyed reading each and every one of them, though my favourites are Laughter on the Landing, Sarah and the Monster, Lovecraft and Albert. I like it when you can read a collection of short stories and have so many good ones to try to pick the best from.
Once I had started each story I had to read to the end. One of the longest stories in the collection is – Albert. I thought it was an excellent narrative tale that draws you into his world. Craig’s writing brings each story to life and I have to give this book the 5★ rating.
Well done, Craig. I look forward to reading new stories and, hopefully, your debut novel.”
Thanks Pete! Now on to Ecowitch and what she thought:
- Ecowitches love the outdoors!
“A superb collection of fourteen chilling tales that you really shouldn’t read before bed (unless you’re like me and you really can’t help yourself). Hallam has a knack for building the tension and fear slowly with Laughter on the Landing, Sarah and the Monster and Albert while giving the reader a short sharp shock with March of the Broken, The Fly Man and the title tale Not Before Bed (which by the way may be the shortest but it packs the biggest punch). Hallam also takes the more traditional horror genres and gives them his own unique twist with the original viewpoints of Daisy Chained, Hunting Grounds and Sleeping with the Dead. Each story is very well written and the style changes to suit the story being told with reflections of Poe and Stoker in some and Lovecraft in others. Hallam uses his words carefully weaving the story and atmosphere together to pull the reader in and keep them there until the very last moment. I can’t quite bring myself to pick a favourite from these stories but the one that sent the biggest shivers down my spine was the title tale Not Before Bed, which takes your own night fears and gives them a voice, and it’s not one you really want to hear.”
Incredible! I couldn’t have hoped for a better review than that!
And since we’re here talking about it…Not Before Bed is finally ready to buy from Amazon! Own yours today!
I’d like to thank everyone else who’s taken the time to read and review it, I hope I didn’t give you nightmares (Oh, who am I kidding? I hope it did!). Everyone has been extremely supportive, helpful and friendly while I’ve been putting this little project together. Now only if I could get Greaveburn accepted…
Thanks for reading!
New Edition of Not Before Bed!
Banshees and Ghouls!
This may be a bit of a surprise to you, but Not Before Bed has released a new edition! New cover, new stories, new horrors. Bigger, better and more petrifying than ever before. The really cool bit? IT’S IN PAPERBACK!
You can feel it already can't you? Fear in your fingertips...
That’s right, you denizens of the night, Not Before Bed just made all your fears so horrifyingly real that you can now touch them. The problem is, they can touch you too!
And you could have YOUR copy ready for the fateful All Hallow’s Eve. It’s already available on the Creatspace eShop. And it has just hit Amazon too. But, because I love you, and I have a thirst for hunting long-pig, you can compete against the other victims to win yourself a copy RIGHT NOW over on Goodreads *EDIT – Competition has closed. thank to all who entered*. Go ahead, take a look.
Check behind the curtains, kiss your loved ones good bye.
Then turn out the light, if you dare.
