Monday 11 March 2024

Let’s Get Writing

 



How we came to publish this one

This is my title. I’m not doing so many workshops now as everything else is keeping me busy. I’m also a member of U3A and U3A have group facilitators rather than group leaders. This is a set of materials that would make such a group facilitator’s life easier. I’m passing on what I know.      

The title

It had a much more pragmatic title before. Now, ‘Let’s Get Writing’ is a call to action.    

Some notes about the process

This text went through the normal three stages of editing and three proofs reads.  

The cover

As we do for many of our covers, we used a free and copyright-free image from Pixabay. The group in this picture and the venue they were in reminded me of some of my U3A groups.

Some notes about style

I’ve aimed to write all of this in as plain English as possible and have allowed for several ways for each session to be run.  

Who we think the reader is

These are definitely for the inexperienced writer and group leader. The suggestions are meant to be fun but also effective.  

What else

Note, if you click through and buy, you are invited to name your price. I actually enjoy this way of selling

Review copies

It’s always great if you can buy the book and give us a review. Just click on the link to be taken to our own online shop. If you would like to review and you are strapped for cash, just get in touch for a free PDF. 

      Find in our online bookshop 



Thursday 7 March 2024

Working Together


 

What about getting together with other writers who live locally and supporting each other? This can range from meeting for a coffee, forming a critique group, sharing book events or even forming a type of cooperative.  Can working together like this help you to increase sales? Can it lead to you sharing readers?

Anything you do in this way need not be limited to working with Bridge House authors. But there is the thought that we already have a network here with over 600 people receiving the monthly newsletter.

I can’t give you other people’s addresses and unless you’ve actually bought books from us I don’t even know where you are based. Even where I do know addresses it would be against GDPR rules for me to give them out. I can ask people let me know that they’re interested in this and sort you into areas. And it might be nice if we could have some volunteers to act as area organisers. I can certainly put you in contact with such people. The easiest way of all would be if you joined the Scribblers Group and you could find your tribe there. I have to invite you to the group.  Let me know if you would like to be invited.

Here are some further ideas of how you might work together. These are based on things I’ve done myself that I know have succeeded or are actions that other writer have taken that I also know have been successful.

 

Book events

Organise a joint book event with readings, Q & A and give your audience the opportunity to buy books. If six or so share this you are sharing each other’s friends, family, fans and followers.

    

Joint stalls at book fairs

Share the cost of the stall and the manning of it.

 

Mobile shop

Keep a stocked up quantity of books that you take it in turns taking to market places such as school fetes, shop until you drop events, craft fairs etc. You all get to know each other’s work. It takes some organising but it can be very helpful: again, you’re sharing a readership.

 

Shared promotional material

Produce a leaflet with you all in it. You might like to give yourselves a name – like the Bloomsbury Group,  though you can’t use that one as someone has used it already. Each of you takes that leaflet to any individual events you attend.  Again, you’re sharing a readership.

 

There are some things you can do where you don’t need to be geographically near.

 

Have an other writers’ news section in your newsletters

You could form a group of writers similar to you. You pass on your news to each other each month and include it in each other’s newsletter.

 

Book bundles  

Can you create some book bundles with writers similar to you?

 

Again a good starting point for this sort of work might be the Scribblers Group. Also look for writers who have similar work to yours in the Bridgetown Café Bookshop

How Bridge house can help

We at Bridge House often create bundles of similar books in our bookshop or in the promotional email we send out each Friday. It’s a good idea to keep an eye on both of those. It may also help you to find your tribe.

Remember too to share any news about publications, competition wins or events for us to publish in the monthly newsletter 

Royalties 2023

 


I can now confirm that everyone who has crossed the £10.00 threshold has been informed. If you’ve not heard from us you probably have a good idea of what you’ve earned because of the monthly statements that have been issued. However, if you want a copy of your exact earnings, please get in touch. Remember, if you haven’t crossed the £10.00 threshold, your earnings will be held over and added to next year and in any case you may wish to donate them to our charity: Medical Search Dogs, though there is still the option for MSF for Covid 19 and Aftermath. If you want your royalties to go to those charities please let me know by 23.59 BST 31 March 2024. As ever you can use any amount of accrued royalty, no matter how small, to offset against book purchases either right now or in the future. Just ask before you order.       

Remember also if you have had an advance, that has to be earned out before you receive royalty payments. Also, any returns from events or unsold author kit must be covered, though we do make every effort to sell that on your behalf.             

A reminder of what some of our collections have earned:          

CafeLit stories each earned £1.37

The Best of CafeLit 12 stories each earned 80p.

Gifted stories each earned £1.18    

Crackers continues to sell well, particularly the e-book in India. Amazon keeps getting behind it. Those writers who only have one story with us and that is in Crackers should cross that threshold in 2024. For those who are in other publications, Crackers contributes a lot each year.

This brings me on to my next point. How to earn well and regularly with us. Well its’s a few points really and it works best if you do at least two of these things.  

·         Submit regularly to CafeLit – even if you’re rejected a few times.  Remember our “decline” notice encourages you to resubmit your piece and send us new work. And note that the e–zine is actually our top earner.    

·         Consider writing a CafeLit serial – see the work of Jim Bates, Mason Bushell, Janet Howson and Dawn Knox. For more details about how this works look at the Short Cut below. 

·         Submit to our anthologies – and don’t give up doing so if you’re rejected one year.

Submit a single author collection to us  

Sunday 25 February 2024

The Joy of Editing

 


Reading stories all day long

“I actually enjoy marking,” I said to one of my colleagues when I was a lecturer at the University of Salford.

He raised his eyebrows and then grinned. “Ah, I suppose you get to read stories all day.”

I suppose I did and to some extent I still do: I still read stories for leisure, during my own writing phases I’m sometimes editing and a good deal of my publishing time is spent on editing other writers’ work.

Always new

Here’s the surprising thing: I often don’t remember any of the stories in detail, not even the ones I’ve written myself, even when I’m reading them for the umpteenth time.. I guess because in the editing process, and in the marking process,  you’re really looking for different things.

 

I edit my own short stories five times and my novels eighteen times.

 

Marking and editing are quite similar but there are differences.

Marking

Whilst marking I will make both positive and challenging comments. Yes, I  annotate the text but I don’t point out every typo or punctuation mistake. I certainly don’t correct all of them. 

Editing

In editing there is more emphasis on what’s not working. You have agreed to publishing the text so that is an affirmation that it mainly works. Different if you’re offering editing as a service; then you might take more time pointing out the strengths of the piece. In editing for publication you have to catch everything – every typo, every punctuation mistake, every spelling mistake and every bit of awkward phrasing. The better the writer has edited their own text the more chance an editor has of catching everything.

Three stages do editing

Stage 1

For publication the first stage of editing is a structural one. Even if the text is basically sound there may still be something:

  1. Is the overall structure sound?  - hook, inciting incident, increasing complexities, crisis, climax – story arc
  2. Does the overall time scale work?
  3. Is the format and length right for the target reader?
  4. Are the characters consistent? Are they rounded? Do they develop? Do you know everything about them that you should?
  5. Is the story convincing? Is there cause and effect?
  6. Is the resolution satisfying?
  7. Is there conflict and tension? Are there peaks and troughs?
  8. Does the pace vary?

Stage 2

This is more of a copy edit.

1.      Dialogue is important.

a.       It should not be too natural

b.      It should only say important things

c.       It should differentiate characters' voices

d.      When angry, becomes childish

e.       Should take 2/3 of popular book

f.       Should convey mood, character and reaction

g.      Every speech should give information

2.      Detail and description should be slipped in small chunks.

3.      Is the writer telling when they could be showing? (and perhaps surprisingly, showing when they should be telling?)

4.      Are there darlings that need killing?

5.      Are there any clichĂ©s?

6.      Does the text flow well?

7.      Is there any awkward expression?

Friday 9 February 2024

The Adventures of Iris and Zach


 

How we came to publish this one

I.L. Green is a pseudonym. We have published them before. This is one of those cases of us knowing an author already and being sure that the gamble we take will pay-off. We don’t necessarily mean just sales but also that we can make a good book. This is a good book.  

The title

A non-brainer. The stories tend to feature either Iris or Zach and sometimes both of them.   

Some notes about the process

This text went through the normal three stages of editing.

The cover

As often is the case, the cover emerged from a conversation between the author and our designer.   

Some notes about style

The stories are rather literary in style. They are a little dark so they don’t make for a comfortable read. However, that may be the main point.

Who we think the reader is

These are definitely for the more curious mind. They may though be reassuring for those readers who see a darker side to life.  

What else

This is perhaps a challenge. Are you up for it?

Review copies

It’s always great if you can buy the book and give us a review. Just click on the link to be taken to Amazon. Or the one to take you to our own online shop. If you would like to review and you are strapped for cash, just get in touch for a free PDF.         

 

Find your copy here 

 

Tuesday 6 February 2024

Walela Books

 


We have started a new imprint: Walela Books. We shall be publishing novels. Yes, we already do via The Red Telephone, Feisty Women and The Schellberg Cycle, each of which have their own characteristics. And this will be a little different too with its own particular criteria:

·         Submissions are only accepted from people we know:

o   Texts by people already published by us or

o   Texts recommended by one particular agent only or 

o   Texts recommended by our freelance editors

·         The voice will tend towards the literary

·         This is the home for works that don’t fit comfortably into a particular genre. This may be of interest if you’ve ever had a rejection where you’ve been told that the writing is good but that a publisher can see where to shelve it. We particularly want books like that.

We have a web site and a domain name but it’s not hooked up to search engines yet. We even have our first publication in progress but it’s top secret at the moment.

 

Quiz: What does Walela mean? First person to reply correctly can chose a book from our bookshop. And the first person to tell us why that name, can choose two books from our bookshop. Reply to this email.