Rebecca Lang's Blog, page 4

Don’t talk about it…

Ray Bradbury is credited with the sage words: ‘Don’t talk about it; write.’

So I’m off to do just that!

Tagged: inspiration, literary quote, ray bradbury

Almost anyone can be an author…the business of writing

It was author Alan Alexander Milne (aka A.A. Milne of Winnie the Pooh fame) who said ‘almost anyone can be an author; the business is to collect money and fame from this state of being’.

Milne was savvy enough to know that visibility and sales go hand in hand for successful authors. You can write it, but that doesn’t mean anyone is going to read it.

For me, this comment very much sorts the career writers from the hobbyists. Anyone can write a book and sell it with varying degrees of success. But career writers who are dedicated to writing, and selling, multiple books must view their own publishing ambitions as an enterprise if they want to succeed and reach their potential. These writers are in the business of writing. And people are in business to make money.

The business side of writing includes marketing your work with a view to increasing your profile in the hope it will interest people in your books and lead to sales. Marketing plays a big role, a HUGE role, in an author’s business. When you’re an author, you’re always marketing your books.

Fortunately for Milne, he had a head start in the way many moderately successful journalists and humorists do, in that he already had a highly visible platform with his employer Punch magazine. It wasn’t the Internet, but Punch was ubiquitous at the time and incredibly popular.

Milne’s name is now synonymous with his Winnie the Pooh books, but his breadth and talent as a writer was by no means confined to children’s literature. He also carved out a name as a writer of screenplays, adult novels, poetry, humour, and military books. That his name would for perpetuity be tied to a sweet little yellow bear who loved honey might seem a disservice to a man who wrote so well and so widely, but to be remembered beyond your own lifetime is a feat in itself.

At the end of his writing career, Milne had achieved wealth and fame, and enduring appeal: “I suppose that every one of us hopes secretly for immortality; to leave, I mean, a name behind him which will live forever in this world, whatever he may be doing, himself, in the next.”

A.A. Milne was in the business of writing.

Tagged: a.a. milne, ALLI, business for writers, marketing, publishing, selling books, winnie the pooh, writing success

How authors are ruining Twitter

I’ve only recently jumped back on Twitter in the last week.

After a period of intensive use in early 2014, I stepped off the social media platform to focus on my writing. This is also why I haven’t blogged in a long time (actually, in the past five years I’ve started three different blogs. Why blog when I can write? I used to think).

And there’s that other thing – it’s a massive distraction. As many writers will attest, social media is a time sink of epic proportions, a 24/7 candy store of mental stimulation, a rabbit warren of information.

On the flipside, it can be a great way to meet like-minded souls, and share ideas and experiences, and so I find I’m friends with a lot of authors on Twitter.

I like to read. I love books. I love to write. I’m fascinated by the writing process – more so other people’s. I like to know what other authors are writing, reading, feeling, doing.

I’m amused by the memes and the cat pictures, enjoy the inspirational quotes (that Abraham Lincoln guy is prolific! ;-) ), and marvel at the connectivity and networking opportunities Twitter offers.

I personally love the curatorial aspect of Twitter – the sharing of interesting articles and industry trends, flagging upcoming events, and passing on the odd inspirational quote.

However, it is apparent to me that a lot of authors just don’t know how to use Twitter properly to engage on a social level with people (social – that word, look it up).

In the short time I’ve been active again, I’ve been constantly bombarded with links and pictures of authors marketing (selling) their books.

And it’s relentless.

I don’t mind knowing you have a new book out, but I don’t need to know every day, several times a day. No matter what those social media gurus are telling you.

Engage me in other ways – blog (and share the links via Twitter) about the writing process of your new book, the inspiration behind it, the research process, the design team you worked with to produce your amazing cover/layout. Talk about the genre you write in. But don’t post endless sales links to Amazon. It’s boring and crass and makes me want to stop following you.

Sure I can skip over the tweets, but when there are several of you it turns my Twitter feed into a giant colourful sales catalogue. Is this really the best way for you to use the platform?

At its worst, Twitter is like a crowd of marketers in garish stripey suits all shouting to be heard. At its best, Twitter is a savvy community of influencers and thought leaders. Most of us fall between those two extremes.

All I’m saying is, keep it classy, authors. Don’t bombard your audience.

Build and nourish your online communities. Engage with people. Get them interested (and invested) in your work.

Be in it for the long game.

Tagged: Twitter

Zoella, Girl Online and the reality of ghostwriting

First up, an admission – I’d never heard of Zoella until today courtesy of an article published in Salon.com, and tweeted by Porter Anderson, about the furore that has erupted around the authenticity of her new book Girl Online.

I’ve immediately remedied this gaping hole in my general knowledge by watching 10 of her Youtube videos back-to-back, and browsing her website, www.zoella.co.uk. And can I say, sometimes research can be fun! I now know how to halo braid (in fact, I now also know how to do it milkmaid style – oohhh errr, missus! – and replicate the hairdo of Katniss Everdeen of The Hunger Games fame), make melted snowmen biscuits, and shop for the latest seasonal rags.

Zoella’s sweet and cute and, not surprisingly, crazily popular with her young female fanbase. Her Youtube channel focuses on beauty and fashion and she recently published her first book. Only, according to some fans, she didn’t.

Zoella aka Zoe Sugg used a ghostwriter, apparently, to co-create Girl Online.

And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. Nothing at all. It happens all the time in the non-fiction world, and when there is a great story to tell and the person at the centre of it is unable to put pen to paper – whether for reasons of time or skill – it’s the best option available.

This is not an unusual state of affairs in publishing, and it can be a lucrative path for good writers. I’ve ghostwritten extensive swathes of text for many clients, as have author colleagues of mine.

Zoella’s book Girl Online is a boy-meets-girl novel. A book she didn’t write – or at least didn’t write alone.

Let me tell you, Zoella fans, about my own shock and deep disappointment when I discovered Carolyn Keene and Franklin W. Dixon didn’t personally pen all those Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys books. Shattered, I was, even a teeny bit betrayed – possibly more shocked to learn Carolyn and Franklin didn’t even exist! They were just pen names invented by a publisher, and supported by a team of busy writers. I understand all about when you’re a fan betrayed – the fall to earth can be pretty jarring. (By the way, I’m still a fan.)

Apparently Zoella is copping it hard from her fans right now. From my newly educated viewpoint, I think unfairly so. Ghostwriters are part of the fabric of publishing – in fact, if you believe the great Shakespeare conspiracy, even the Bard had some help in the verbage dept.

Glamour model Katie Price certainly reaped big rewards with her ghostwriter, the late Rebecca Farnworth, and no one batted an eyelid – in fact, the writing partnership was something of an open secret. Farnworth authored 14 books in all under Katie Price’s name – no mean feat!

It’s so easy for nastiness to go viral thanks to social media (thanks social media!), and obliterate all of the things you might have liked or found redeeming about a person or situation when they fall short of the sort of strict moral code you’d never enforce upon yourself.

In Australia we call it Tall Poppy Syndrome (and before the Internet – yes, I was alive then – I would have believed the cutting down of celebrities and anyone else who stuck their heads above the social ramparts was only an Australian past-time. Alas, it’s not.).

I say give Zoella a break. Cut her some slack. Leave off…

As an entertainer she’s just doing her job – baring every little piece of herself to satisfy her hungry audience of fans. By having her novel ghostwritten, she’s given a great job to someone else. That someone being Siobhan Curham, who has found herself in the rather unenviable position of defending her work on Girl Online. Give her a break too, she was just doing her job as a ghostwriter.

Zoella’s still the same charming self-made vlogger you all fell in love with.

Final words must go to Siobhan Curham via The Guardian, who puts the whole storm-in-a-teacup beautifully in perspective: Curham noted that she “did have some issues with how the project was managed”, and that it would be “really healthy to have a broader debate about transparency in celebrity publishing”. “But please don’t blame Zoe personally for a practice that has been going on for years,” she wrote, pointing out that the huge sales of the novel, which is 2014’s fastest-selling book and which is sitting on top of the UK Official Top 50 for the second straight week, meant that “bookstores such as Waterstones are ending the year on healthy profits”, and that “Penguin, and many other publishers around the world, are now able to afford to offer more unknown writers book deals”.

Postscript

Porter Anderson made this important observation about Zoella-gate that touches upon what may be a generational schism in how ghostwriting is viewed: “The public has a new, digitally closer relationship with its glam girls and boys. Community and networking mean interaction with one’s pop-video icons. That interaction is expected to be authentic.”

Fair point, however I don’t believe Zoe and Siobhan should be the scapegoats for an industry practise that is, clearly on this occasion at least, out of step with its youthful, social target audience.

Some ALLi news…

I was one of the featured guest bloggers over the holiday period for the Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi) on its excellent and widely read Self Publishing Advice blog on the subject of book covers.

You’ve already seen me wax lyrical on this blog about the importance of a good cover. I’m pleased more independent authors are stepping up to the challenge of leveling the playing field between independent and trade published books.

In other news, I was recently asked to step up and be an ALLi Ambassador for the Australasian region, along with fellow ‘indie’ Elisabeth Storrs, which I readily agreed to – I think sharing knowledge and experience is one of the great benefits of ALLi membership, and I’m more than happy to contribute some time and energy.

If you’re curious about ALLi’s work, click on the link below and read about some of the many benefits available to independent authors.

I hope, on reflection, everyone has had a productive 2014 – whether that involved honing your craft through learning or writing, drafting a major piece of work, or publishing and marketing the fruits of your labours.

Here’s to a cracking 2015!

Agatha Raisin’s Quiche of Death hits the small screen

I’m beyond excited about this, truly.

The Agatha Raisin books are a guilty pleasure of mine, and the annual release of a new book is keenly anticipated.

So put yourself in my shoes, and imagine the delirious joy I am feeling knowing actress Ashley Jensen will soon be portraying the grumpy ex-PR hack turned private detective!

OK, Ashley is blonde, and slim – a far cry from the more portly brunette that is book Agatha – but her comic timing will, I’m confident, bring the taciturn detective to life on television.

You can watch the trailer here:

http://www.sky.com/tv/show/agatha-raisin/video/trailer

Sadly for those of us in the Southern Hemisphere, we’ll have to wait for the likes of the ABC to acquire it, as it is only screening in the UK this Christmas.

I’m certain, however, it will be worth the wait – after all, it has Agatha creator Marion Chesney’s (aka M.C. Beaton) blessing!

The Tasmanian Tiger lives on in new anthology

I’m please to announce my latest publishing project has finally been given its wings and is flying off the shelves (I hope) – some of you who have been extra good might even end up with a copy in your Christmas stocking!

The Tasmanian Tiger: Extinct or Extant? has been a lengthy project from initial idea to completion, largely because I worked directly with 12 authors and a graphic designer, so it was challenging to marshal the contents together and finesse the final product.

I could almost write a whole blog on conceptualising, organising and publishing an anthology, but I already have another two well underway. Let’s see how I feel after that – I may yet have more lessons to learn.

We’ve already received a lot of support from well-known bloggers in promoting the book, and it has already made the ‘Top 20′ list of US cryptozoology writer and blogger Loren Coleman. Huzzah!

Does the Tasmanian Tiger still roam the island state, parts of the Australian mainland, and the northern land mass of Irian Jaya-Papua New Guinea? Well, you might just have to read it to find out.

Judging books by their covers…

         

I confess I have an artistic streak. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not claiming to be any good – I just have a need for self-expression that occasionally goes beyond the printed word.

In my past life I designed newspapers and magazines, and frequently created the kind of symmetry and modular layouts that helped make reading a daily joy for readers. These are the sort of design skills no one ever notices because they take it for granted that papers or magazines have always been easy to read.

Maybe I should have been a graphic designer. Or not (as you see above, my skills are limited in this area!).

So what does this have to do with publishing?

Nearing the completion of my first self-published book I decided to have a stab at designing the book’s cover. I had seen some covers that I really liked and set my mind to replicating a couple of them – an eye-catching tabloid-style of cover with block colours and arresting images, and a darker more academic effort. I’ve included both in this post.

If it was any good, I reasoned, I would have saved myself some money and added an extra string to my bow (writer, editor AND book designer!). As it was, it really wasn’t very good at all – but at the time I thought it was Magnificent! Genius! A Work of Art! That was until I showed a graphic designer friend Tim Hartridge who politely considered it. He never said ‘Oh sweet Jesus this is an abomination!’, but he did design something much, much better.

I’m not above sharing my book cover boo-boos for a few reasons:

1. To show you that yes, of course it is possible to design your cover (it might even rock – or not).

2. Creating your own cover can occasionally help a graphic designer with their brief (however in this case it really didn’t).

3. Graphic designers always do it much, much better!

In the book-buying world, books are often largely judged on the quality of their covers. While we prefer to think intellectual rigour and well-crafted writing triumphs when it comes to selling books, just as frequently readers will walk out of a bookshop with a so-so written mass-market novel that caught their eye because of the pretty pictures and flowery fonts. Yes, really.

When you produce a book for publication there are many steps to refining and polishing the raw product before it is ready to be shared with the world – and this includes how the words are arranged on the page, and the front and back cover.

If you’re smart you will hire and editor to pick up all of your mistakes – and there will be many, no matter how clever and careful a writer you are.

And if you’re really smart, after spending so much time and energy writing, and then having your work professionally edited, you will make another really important investment. You will hire someone to create a whiz-bang cover for your book. A traffic-stopping ‘look at me’ cover of epic proportions you would be proud to hang as a poster on your wall – or in a bookshop window.

Many graphic designers offer additional services such as laying out the inside of the book, the creation of book marks, flyers and website design to create a strong connection between your marketing materials and your book.

This doesn’t have to cost a lot. There are a lot of people offering cheap book covers – even cheaper if you’re publishing only in the e-book format. However if you’re publishing a book I’d recommend at this stage to pay for covers in all formats.

Graphic designers will often present you with several concepts but you can save a lot of time by indicating the type of cover you want – whether you do this by referring them to book covers you like, or have a stab at designing something is up to you.

Paying for the services of a good graphic designer is part and parcel of investing in yourself, and getting your readers to invest some time in getting to know your writing.

I’m very pleased to note that the ranks of self-publishers hiring talented graphic designers is on the increase. I have no firm statistics to back up this assertion, but anecdotally I can tell you that the calibre of the book covers I am seeing, primarily those created by contractors for my fellow Alliance of Independent Authors members, is outstanding.

Self-publishing is coming of age in more ways than one. Feel free to judge the covers – those who are seriously committed to publishing excellence are leading the way with professional products that rival their traditionally published peers.

Well played, self publishers, well played.

So what is an ethical author?

Just what is an ethical author?

My first thought, and possibly yours, is one that doesn’t stoop to low tricks such as ‘sock puppet’ reviews (fake accounts run by the same person – often the author of the book in question – with the intention of falsely inflating its popularity with a view to increasing sales) and plagiarism – but that’s only part of what makes an ethical author.

This year ALLi lead the way once again by creating a program to promote ethics in publishing with the catchy hashtag #ethicalauthor (feel free to use it on Twitter if you subscribe to the thinking behind it).

The guiding principle is to put the reader first by agreeing not to mislead them, and to always engage in courteous and professional behaviour.

This also means conduct as well – such as refraining from responding to that nasty puerile online Amazon review (“Book arrived late. It was OK.” **). A tough one, admittedly, but if you’re going into business as an author you need to develop a thick skin.

For the curious, the Ethical Author Code principles include:

Courtesy: I behave with courtesy and respect toward readers, other authors, reviewers and industry professionals such as agents and publishers. If I find myself in disagreement, I focus on issues rather than airing grievances or complaints in the press or online, or engaging in personal attacks of any kind.
Aliases: I do not hide behind an alias to boost my own sales or damage the sales or reputation of another person. If I adopt a pen name for legitimate reasons, I use it consistently and carefully.
Reviewing and Rating books: I do not review or rate my own or another author’s books in any way that misleads or deceives the reader. I am transparent about my relationships with other authors when reviewing their books. I am transparent about any reciprocal reviewing arrangements, and avoid any practices that result in the reader being deceived.
Reacting to reviews: I do not react to any book review by harassing the reviewer, getting a third party to harass the reviewer, or making any form of intrusive contact with the reviewer. If I’ve been the subject of a personal attack in a review, I respond in a way that is consistent with professional behaviour.
Book Promotions: I do not promote my books by making false statements about, for example, their position on bestseller lists, or consent to anyone else promoting them for me in a misleading manner.
Plagiarism: I know that plagiarism is a serious matter, and I don’t intentionally try to pass off another writer’s words as my own.
Financial ethics: In my business dealings as an author, I make every effort to be accurate and prompt with payments and financial calculations. If I make a financial error, I remedy it as soon as it’s brought to my notice.
Responsibility: I take responsibility for how my books are sold and marketed. If I realise anyone is acting against the spirit or letter of this Code on my behalf, I will refer them to this Code and ask them to modify their behaviour.

As an ALLi member, you also agree to a Code of Standards that should inform everything that you do as an independent author/publisher. I’m including them here because I think they’re relevant. These include:

Collaboration: As an ALLi Author Member, I recognise that “self” publishing and “independent” authorship are relative terms and that almost nobody who publishes a good book works alone. I partner with other writers,editors, designers, publicists, distributors, booksellers and readers with courtesy, in a collaborative manner.
Professionalism: I perform my responsibilities in the publication process in a professional and timely way, providing clear guidelines and thoughtful input to copyeditors, designers, booksellers and all partners, while respecting the expertise of others.
Community: I am an active part of the Alliance (ALLi’s) community and the wider self-publishing, writing and reading community, freely offring support and the benefit of my experience.
Engagement: I fully engage with the editorial process – including working with editors in framing and shaping my manuscript, appropriately revising and responding to professional copyediting.
Editorial & Design: Out of respect to my readers, I aim for as high a quality a publication as possible.
Scholarship: I am accurate, to the very best of my ability, in all facts and accounts in my publications. I follow publishing standards in crediting all sources of information, obtaining permission to use material for which permission is needed, and avoiding plagiarism or libel.
Marketing: In reaching out to readers, I do not bombard, spam or force my writing upon others.
Advocacy: I am an active advocate for the empowerment of writers through self-publishing. I am open and honest about my own experiences and work to benefit and grow our community and extend the possibilities for all writers.
Improvement: I seek out the training, education, support and coaching I need from books, courses, specialists, other authors and Alliance members.

These lists sound like long and involved commitments, but really the thinking behind them boils down to just a few things – professionalism, trust and honesty. If you’re ticking those three boxes then the rest will fall into place.

By the way, you don’t have to be an ALLi member to take this approach on board – ALLi encourages all authors to aspire to best practice.

For established and budding independent author-publishers, these are traits that should be cultivated and, hopefully down the track, harvested again and again as part of a long and fertile writing career.

This is our promise to our readers.

After all, our words are our bond.