And back it goes...

Edits done to the manuscript, and back it goes to the publisher. That was a fairly fast turnaround, but to be honest I've had trouble sleeping since it got back to me, so I've had my head down over the word processor (which promptly broke - thanks Word 2003 for corrupting your template file at just the wrong moment).

I can however reccomend Open Office as a good method of bacon-saving with its useful .odt format. Luckily, the publisher uses it too. Here's a hefty plug for OO - it's easy to use, I picked it up in five minutes, and the XP .doc format option actually keeps the comments and track changes correct when opened in Word.

My thanks also go to Gatwick Aviation Museum for a sanity check on some of the details - I'd got them right, so there wasn't the need for an extensive re-write that I had feared, but the confirmation has saved me a lot of worry.

A harsh review

In a change of topic, after a gentleman on a forum decided to shread some of my other work, I was asked why I took my work being picked apart so calmly. I replied that some of what they say is useful, and feedback whether good or bad is something to learn from.

That's not the whole story. In fact, I've been here before. My first small press book got effectively two sets of reviews. The first type (and there were very few of these) were raving about great ideas. The second set paid attention to editing, layout etc. and were, shall we say, less kind. It was quite a shock, but it was good to get it out of the way early on and get a thicker skin.

And over several books I went from reviews at 2/5 reading "not all the ideas are brilliant." and "a small press book, with small press composition" to 5 star "a superb story, as well as an example of how good this could be." and "truly one of the best in its class."

Now I'm moving into a new area of writing and to be blunt, I expect the same thing. It helps to be prepared to be slated, and it always takes time to build a name. What matters is that I am making the move, and if I let a few harsh critics put me off then I really would not be cut out for writing.

(And if the worst comes to the worst, there's always madeira or sherry to drown the pain.)

And the manuscript returns

The first set of edits has come back. To my complete surprise and relief it wasn't one huge block of red ink either. Better yet I agree with most of the changes, or at least can see why they were suggested.

The corrections should be easily made. In general it is punctuation, but there are a few places where it seems I have made a few assumptions based on my own knowledge that readers would not know. A little bit more explanation is called for to clarify these issues.

Hopefully I can get them all done this week and get it returned for a new round of edits.

exploding lightbulbs

Last night, at 3 am, we had a power surge. We know we had a power surge due to tell-tale clues, like exploding lightbulbs, fuse box shutting down completely and every circuit breaker and surge protector in the house tripping.

If I sound not particularly upset it's because my night then involved cleaning up, getting the power back, restoring circuit breakers and in general not geting any sleep. Despite cats, a mess, pitch darkness, and other issues the cause was discovered. This morning at 8am I was at the shops to change every lightbulb we had, since the bad batch had been a boxed set. It seems that when they heated up, they shed the glass component and let the filament explode in the air.

Unfortunately, we have also confirmed that one of the cats does have poor eyesight and is genuinely afraid of the dark. When the lights went out, one was running round enjoying the new experience, ambushing feet and playing with her toys. The other one was huddled on the bed until the torch lit, when he carefully stayed inside the small patch of light right by my feet until we got one of the lighting rings back. Poor little beggar.

Progress on promos

A very fast response, and I have a demo of a book trailer to review. At 20 seconds it's not long, the concept is very simple, and it's made with stock footage/audio so it's cheap. We've got some time to revise it before the book comes out, but the basics are there. Best of all, it's got the right aircraft in it, and the sounds are close if not completely accurate. (You'd need to be a pedant like me to spot the problem, and after compression it's not going to be audible.)

I'm still investigating review options, and have a few on the table.

Update: Real life gets in the way again, so I'm setting up contacts and listing places at 2am since I can't sleep. Then I'll send them in the morning so that the timestamp shows a more usual hour...

What's really getting to me right now is that I sent off the signed contracts last wek and so far have had no feedback. I know, I'm using Royal Mail, the Atlantic is in the way, volcanic ash has played havoc with airmail, etc. but at the same time until I get either the signed contract back or an email saying they've received it, I don't think I'll quite believe I'm actually going to be published.

Marketing plan

While I wait for the publisher to dot the i's and cross the t's so we can push ahead, I have a few things on the go:

1) Finish another book - manuscript #4, although I have a few ideas drifting around for revisions to manuscript #2.
2) Promotion.

It's a little early to start marketing the book itself, but what I am doing is assessing the best places to send out review copies, gathering media packs and contact details. In general I'm looking less at the book trade and review sites (since the publisher knows what they are doing with those) and more at interest and online groups that would be related to the subject. Since sending out review copies is costly I need to make sure the review copies are carefully targeted.

E-books are easier to send out and remove print and shipping costs, so they do open up other options. Unfortunately they are easily pirated, so it is a case of making sure they go to reputable sites.

Book trailers are useful but costly ($350 for a basic thirty second trailer) so I'm having a word with a few friends in media to see about other options after identifying the best online and offline networks to send it to. There are several media networks and portals I can get banners and buttons onto at low cost, which would also be targeted.

I identified most of these before I submitted the manuscript - now it's just a case of firming up figures and working out which are the best ones to use that will be the most effective with an overseas publisher.

It's worth mentioning that the obvious free promotion areas I have available (forums, websites, personal connections) have already been identified and all I really need is a book to promote on them.

Typical timing

Since the company and publishing contract checks out, I'm taking the deal.

The only problem is that, with typical terrible tirial timing, the printer died right after printing two copies of the contract meaning that I have no cover letter. It will take at least two days to get it fixed, so I'm sending the contracts without one, and dropping an email to let them know.

I'm also starting to get things set up on the marketing side. Until the book's release title is confirmed my options are limited, but I can get blogs and URLs registered for a pen name. I'm also working on a bio, which will be completely accurate to my experience, just with another name on it.

And after having to drop my planned pen name for being too close to another authors, I actually prefer the new one. So far I've counted five aviation shout-outs in it, and I am sure there are more - quite appropriate given what I write.

Better late than never

I had a nicely handwritten note from an agent arrive on my doorstep this morning.

Now before you say that I should not have sent to a publisher until I had heard from all the agents I sent it out to, I will point out I sent the manuscript to this one in August 2009 and they say that if you have not heard from them in three months it's a no.

It was a rejection anyway, so it changes very little. They expressed their regrets that despite "strong writing and a good voice" "they could not see a market for my work."

I'm afraid I'm only human. I cast a glance at the publishing contract I'd been about to sign. I looked back at the note. Then I indulged in a quiet snigger.

On a more serious note, thank you to the agent for your time considering the manuscript, for taking the time to write a personal rejection, and for your kind words about my writing. Very few agents do take the time to do this, and it is this sort of consideration that keeps aspiring writers going despite the increasing piles of "no". Unfortunately it does tend to invite more submissions - guess where my next manuscript is going...

Plants and flat sales and cats - oh my!

Over Worked, Under Paid - Giclee Print
Patterson, Gary
18 in. x 24 in.
Buy at AllPosters.com
Framed   Mounted
(I couldn't find one for busy, but this seemed appropriate)

Part of yesterday was spent retrieving one moggie from a tree. It was her first time climbing one, and typically she got stuck. Even more typically, once the ladder was set up and she knew she could be rescued, she decided this was a good time to explore the rest of the tree.

The property sale proceeds apace, and we are hoping to get it done by the end of the month. If we do, it will make things a lot simpler and get another issue out of the way.

Then there are the plants. Oh dear. Once again, the problem is that I know where to start growing things, but not where to stop. In the flat I was limited to windowsills. Here, thanks to foxes and squirrels, I'm still limited to windowsills, but there are more of them and they are bigger. Unfortunately, between lettuces, cauliflowers, broccoli, onions and carrots (and mustard and cress), all the sunfacing ones are already full. I'm trying to persude the other half that a 4 tier indoor greenhouse to get the rest off the floor would be a good idea. We need an enclosed one because the cats decided to climb the shelves.

I have done somehing wrong with the dwarf beans. I planted six which were supposed to grow 15 inches high. Instead I now have eight plants (was nine until Matilda ate one), and the largest is two feet and still growing.

And the book contract? They've come back and said the changes I requested will not be an issue. The problem is I'm not sure how to proceed next - do they amend the contract and resend it? Is the boilerplate signed with an allowance for agreed changes? Do I sign it with my amendments and return it?

In an IT negotiation the agent would handle it, or the party offering the contract, and you'd swap it back and forth. However, I am not familiar with literary contracts or Canadian law, which leaves me at something of a loss.

While I figure out the next move, I'm now costing the marketing plan. The free components are done, but there are always a few pay channels that are worth going down. The only real issue, as always, is making sure you don't spent more on marketing than you would make from sales.

But before I do anything else, step one is definitely going to be "clear anything else that remains in flat".

Contract update

I heard back about the publishing contract. There are issues that the Society of Authors check flagged up, a few of which I'd already spotted and several of which I hadn't. Now I need to carefully compose a letter to go back to the publisher asking about these and suggesting a few alternatives.

The secondary issue is the pseudonym. They prefer authors to use their actual names. Unfortunately as I've already mentioned, I keep my personal and professional lives very seperate. Market the book? Fine. Market the psuedonym as a brand? Fine. Market me? Not fine. To be honest it would actually hinder booksales since that brand already exists and is in a completely different field.

The real issue for me isn't a standard one. Their contract blocks several avenues of marketing I've already identified (which go directly to the book's target audience), and cuts off two routes to market that I've used before successfully. If I'm not careful, it's going to be a case of choosing between a publishing credit or high sales.

Update:
I just checked several other midlist publishers for their method of publication. What is scary is that in many cases I have higher sales with my self published books. The publisher I am looking at actually is one of the better ones for distribution, which is a genuine shock. It seems that we had better distribution for the self-published book than many of the professional houses managed. Seriously, if my self-published book could get onto shelves at two large book chainstores why can't the midlist publishers?

I've sent a few questions back about the contract, but the problem is hitting the right tone. I don't want to be awkward or hard to work with, but I really don't want to get screwed.

The joys of editing

That's right, my word count for #4 just dropped. I've worked in two more sections, revised a few for better reading, and my goal is actually further away.

And that's without the complete re-write of the ending a hung parliament requires. Writing is frustrating sometimes.

Steady progress

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On the publishing front I've got five days until I hear back from the contract check service from the Society of Authors. I still can't believe it was only Monday I got the contract offer through, and Tuesday I spent trying to get a contract check set up.

I now have another finished manuscript and need to decide whether to ship it round or let it sit for a few more months and try and work on something else - like not chewing my nails down to the bone. You may have guessed that waiting on this type of contract is quite stressful.

This close to the finishing post, all I want to do is sign the contract, close the deal and get the book published. Don't worry, I know better than to sign anything without legal review. Even so, believe me I really, really, want to.

Rather stunned - in a good way

I just got a contract through by email. A publishing contract. For novel no 3.

The publisher's assessment is that it has issues (mainly dialog punctuation and a few typos), but a strong story.

Now the good thing about email is that the publisher can't see your immediate reaction (an embarrassingly girly squeal). The other thing is that it allows me a cooling off period to review the contract once the initial flush has worn off.

However things turn out, I now know that I can write something that is on the level to be professionally published. And that is a damn good feeling.