Ask the Author: Chris Pearce
Answered Questions (8)
Chris Pearce
Would have to be Henry and Sarah Wakefield from my historical novel, A Weaver's Web. Their relationship somehow survives through the hardships of poverty in the industrial revolution years, and then through their years of being wealthy, despite numerous ups and downs.
Chris Pearce
Hi Lacey
Yes, I’m the same when it comes to books. Unfortunately no plans for a paperback or hardback at this stage. But if a literary agent or publisher shows interest in this option, I would definitely consider it. Before A Weaver’s Web was an ebook, I approached over 100 agents and some publishers but I don’t think anyone is taking on much new work at all these days for the traditional printed book market. I plan to write a script based fairly closely on the novel so if it becomes a film or TV miniseries, a printed book might also happen, but I guess all this is a long shot. But the book has had some excellent reviews so you never know.
Regards
Chris
Yes, I’m the same when it comes to books. Unfortunately no plans for a paperback or hardback at this stage. But if a literary agent or publisher shows interest in this option, I would definitely consider it. Before A Weaver’s Web was an ebook, I approached over 100 agents and some publishers but I don’t think anyone is taking on much new work at all these days for the traditional printed book market. I plan to write a script based fairly closely on the novel so if it becomes a film or TV miniseries, a printed book might also happen, but I guess all this is a long shot. But the book has had some excellent reviews so you never know.
Regards
Chris
Chris Pearce
I certainly suffer from writer’s block from time to time. I think the best way to deal with it is to just write anything for a bit, even if you end up deleting or drastically changing it later on. It can help clear your mind, and other ideas might come out of it too. Or I might leave off what I’m currently writing and start a new scene or chapter, perhaps write a few hundred words and then return to what I was writing before. Or sometimes, it might be better to do some admin things or get up and make a cup of coffee or a meal and take your mind off writing for ten minutes or an hour or whatever. The worst thing is probably to sit there and try and write the next sentence but it just doesn’t happen. After a few minutes of this, write something else or do something else altogether for a little while.
Chris Pearce
I think for me it is the freedom to work away at something you like doing without all the restrictions you would usually get in the workplace. I had a pretty good run with interesting jobs involving a lot of research and writing but I was never much into meetings and wasn’t particularly into the 9 to 5 thing. I prefer to start late and work into the night. I think you can do so much more, and get into a topic in so much more detail, with writing rather than talking about some issue. As an indie author, I also like the freedom of writing what I want to write about, and what I think my readers might want, rather than being restricted to what a literary agent and traditional publisher might want.
Chris Pearce
I think the first thing I would say would be to write because you love it, not because you want to become rich and famous from it. In that regard, don’t give up your day job, even if you reckon you’ve written the best book ever. Very few people indeed make a living writing books. Make sure your book is the best you can make it. Go through the draft many times, rewriting, editing and proofreading.
I would still try about twenty or so literary agents. They don’t seem to be taking on much at all these days with the move from print to digital, and it can be a lottery, but you never know just what they are going to take on. Fiction is very subjective. You may just find an agent that loves your work. I came close with A Weaver’s Web a couple of times. One agent had it for ages and sent it to a reader, but then came back and said: “You are clearly a talented writer but, after much consideration, ...” Another agent compared it to John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath, which appears in several lists of top 10 novels of the 20th century, but still the agent couldn’t take it. I guess this was the turning point for me away from literary agents and towards indie publishing.
With indie publishing, you have to be happy to spend quite a bit of time marketing your book and perhaps spending a bit of money too. I think it’s always good to get a professional cover done and for me it was good to get the conversions done professionally too. My publisher did all this and got the book onto Amazon (various countries), Kobo, Google Play and Apple iTunes. But it’s no good just sending your book to a few ebook sites and expecting it to sell. It won’t, unless you are already famous for writing or something else.
You’ve got to get your book and yourself known. To do this, you just have to keep plugging away; I don’t think there are any magic solutions. I’ve arranged quite a few reviews and have been lucky enough to get mainly five stars. I have actually requested well over a hundred, but reviewers get snowed under with numerous requests for reviews and can’t read every book they receive. I have also done about ten interviews with different sites. I’ve found sites where I can post the cover, a synopsis and perhaps an excerpt. Before I published the novel as an ebook, I posted a number of excerpts to a couple of writing sites I belong to: Helium and Bubblews, although Helium is closing at end of 2014.
Social media can be very useful, but you probably have to know a lot of people through Facebook, Twitter, etc. I would always recommend Goodreads as this is where vast numbers of readers congregate. It’s a ready-made market. I find the self-serve ads are useful and have had over 50 people add A Weaver’s Web to their shelf. There are various other good things here too.
I would still try about twenty or so literary agents. They don’t seem to be taking on much at all these days with the move from print to digital, and it can be a lottery, but you never know just what they are going to take on. Fiction is very subjective. You may just find an agent that loves your work. I came close with A Weaver’s Web a couple of times. One agent had it for ages and sent it to a reader, but then came back and said: “You are clearly a talented writer but, after much consideration, ...” Another agent compared it to John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath, which appears in several lists of top 10 novels of the 20th century, but still the agent couldn’t take it. I guess this was the turning point for me away from literary agents and towards indie publishing.
With indie publishing, you have to be happy to spend quite a bit of time marketing your book and perhaps spending a bit of money too. I think it’s always good to get a professional cover done and for me it was good to get the conversions done professionally too. My publisher did all this and got the book onto Amazon (various countries), Kobo, Google Play and Apple iTunes. But it’s no good just sending your book to a few ebook sites and expecting it to sell. It won’t, unless you are already famous for writing or something else.
You’ve got to get your book and yourself known. To do this, you just have to keep plugging away; I don’t think there are any magic solutions. I’ve arranged quite a few reviews and have been lucky enough to get mainly five stars. I have actually requested well over a hundred, but reviewers get snowed under with numerous requests for reviews and can’t read every book they receive. I have also done about ten interviews with different sites. I’ve found sites where I can post the cover, a synopsis and perhaps an excerpt. Before I published the novel as an ebook, I posted a number of excerpts to a couple of writing sites I belong to: Helium and Bubblews, although Helium is closing at end of 2014.
Social media can be very useful, but you probably have to know a lot of people through Facebook, Twitter, etc. I would always recommend Goodreads as this is where vast numbers of readers congregate. It’s a ready-made market. I find the self-serve ads are useful and have had over 50 people add A Weaver’s Web to their shelf. There are various other good things here too.
Chris Pearce
I’m currently spending a fair bit of time promoting A Weaver’s Web. I’m also going through my non-fiction book on the convict, doing a bit of editing, before my publisher, Australian eBook Publisher, converts it into an ebook. Release should be about mid October. Apart from that, I’m writing a book on the history of daylight saving time around the world. You’d think it would be a bit of a boring topic, but it’s one of the most controversial issues of our time and there are many odd stories and experiences. I’ve also got some notes and thoughts towards a novel set about eighty years into the future.
Chris Pearce
I’ve always been interested in writing. In grade 1, when we were supposed to be sitting on the floor listening to the teacher read a story, I preferred to be at my desk writing words and numbers. By grade 2, I was writing essays about the holidays or whatever of a few pages and we were only supposed to write a few lines. I started but didn’t finish writing about four novels from about the age of 11 to 14. I said to Mum I wanted to be an author but she said I needed a proper job. I got into accounting, the same as Dad, and lasted four years. But most of my jobs have involved a fair bit of research, writing and editing, so that was good.
These days I get inspired to write when I see an online article on economics, business, statistics, climate, etc., especially when other posts say crazy or incorrect things, so I put in my two bob’s worth. With book writing, I get inspired to write when I find a topic that hasn’t been covered in depth. This happened with the Australian convict book. Pamphlett’s story was in various history books but usually only a few paragraphs. This was really all the inspiration I needed to do the research and come up with a full length book. Same with the novel. There were plenty of historical novels about poor people and plenty about well-off people, but few about a family that made the transition between poverty and wealth, although this led to a whole new set of problems for that family.
These days I get inspired to write when I see an online article on economics, business, statistics, climate, etc., especially when other posts say crazy or incorrect things, so I put in my two bob’s worth. With book writing, I get inspired to write when I find a topic that hasn’t been covered in depth. This happened with the Australian convict book. Pamphlett’s story was in various history books but usually only a few paragraphs. This was really all the inspiration I needed to do the research and come up with a full length book. Same with the novel. There were plenty of historical novels about poor people and plenty about well-off people, but few about a family that made the transition between poverty and wealth, although this led to a whole new set of problems for that family.
Chris Pearce
The idea for A Weaver’s Web came out of a non-fiction book I wrote on an Australian convict: Through the Eyes of Thomas Pamphlett: Convict and Castaway. Pamphlett became a brickmaker at Manchester, UK, before being transported to New South Wales. I had done a lot of research into the city’s living and working conditions in the early 19th century. This is where the Industrial Revolution started and I was fascinated by the way it unfolded, including the poverty and the upheaval of hundreds of thousands of people as they were forced to move from their rural villages to the larger towns and cities to find work in the new factories which were more efficient than the old cottage industries. So I thought I would write a novel about a family, the Wakefields, who battle through all this.
About Goodreads Q&A
Ask and answer questions about books!
You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.
See Featured Authors Answering Questions
Learn more