Going over to the dark side

Something Hidden

This is Bridge House’s latest anthology and came out just before Christmas last year.  It is a collection made up of entries to our 2011 short story competition. We asked for darker stories and we sure got them. Each one of them leaves you feeling slightly uncomfortable. This poses two questions. Why do we read? Do we always expect a good outcome?

Editing short stories electronically

I’m currently editing short stories for an anthology that comes out shortly before Christmas. There’s very little to do in what I would call the first structural edit. We had four times as many stories submitted as we needed so all of the ones we selected really work quite well anyway.

There were just one or two instances in the twelve I edited where something didn’t quite make sense – not because the story was ill-conceived but because there was a small problem with the language.

Nevertheless this time I’m going for three stages of editing – all conducted electronically. I thought it might be useful to describe this process here.

Every text should have one – a fresh-eyed edit

Writers, particularly less experienced ones, often worry that substantial changes might be made to their texts during the editorial process. They worry a little that the story may be lost or skewed. They’re also worried about the amount of work that may be involved.

It’s actually quite unlikely that an editor will ask for major changes to the story. After all, they have accepted this story for publication.  They like it!

Towards a bestseller

We all want one – publishers, writers and even readers. For readers it’s confirmation that the work’s likely to be good.  For publishers and writers it means more money and greater justification of their existence. It also becomes a pressure point. Bloomsbury can never be the same again after Harry Potter.

But how does one get there? Many books are just as good if not better than the ones that become bestsellers. What makes the difference?

The last few instances before the book goes to press

You think you’re ready but actually the last few processes are complex and time-consuming but it is all very exciting.

Is it ready?

Has it been proof read? Is the formatting correct? Is the author’s name correct? For goodness’ sake, is the author’s name correct? On the spine as well?

The ever-evolving writer

Someone I follow on Twitter has just asked do we ever want to edit earlier work. I would say the answer is “yes” for most writers and publishers. We move on all the time. Many writers, I know, often want to edit their work as they read it aloud at author events. Recently I watched one I admire pause as she read the opening to her novel that she’d read many times before. She stumbled on the word “suddenly”.

Giving away books?

There’s a lot of talk at the moment because of World Book Night about giving away books. It would surely be, you might think, the last thing a publisher would want to do. Each unit has its manufacturing cost and other pro rata costs – warehousing, delivery, discounts to wholesalers and retailers, editorial services, design service and of course royalties. And yes, even e-books attract many of those costs. Okay, there’s no print, shipping or warehousing costs but all those techie skills cost something and the bulk of the other skills remain. So yes, we treat the words “free” and “give away” with some suspicion.

However, it isn’t all that simple, really. 

Review copies  

Traditionally we always give a few of those away free. There’s no guarantee that they will lead to sales and there is not way of tracking this reliably but they never do any harm – not even the bad ones!

Cheap-almost-free books for learners

In a former existence I was a private tutor who helped young people struggling with reading. I used to buy books from a certain publisher that disturbs both publishers and writers by repackaging books and selling them very cheaply. I defend this on two levels:

·         The parents would never have afforded the books at full price

·         The young people developed a love of reading and went on to buy books from mainstream sellers and mainstream publishers.

Second-hand bookshops

Publishers and writers both sigh. Oxfam is one of the biggest bookshops in the UK. We shouldn’t mind because this is a charity. Personally I’d rather pay a fair price for the book, one that I know will benefit both writer and publisher, and make a donation to the charity. Then you’d expect me to say that.

I do have to remember also that I bought from a second-hand book shop the first book I ever read by an author who went on to become a favourite. Thereafter I would buy her books as soon as they were out in hardback.

And better, actually, that people read than don’t read, if they really cannot afford to do it the proper way.

Book Aid

This is a charity that accepts donations of books. However, do look carefully at how they accept books. Donations have to be useful to them and made in an organised way. If you care about getting books to people who need them but can’t get them, they’ll show you how. And a monetary donation may be more useful than an actual book.

In the spirit of World Book Night 2014

Okay, so the first ten people to DM us with why they think books should be given will get a randomly chosen YA book. You may like to have the book sent to a friend or an organisation.