Pippa Jay's Blog, page 89

Creativity versus Marketing?

I've read a lot of blogs over the past year, and very recently, about marketing books. Many seem to be of the opinion that you shouldn't submit to a publisher without having researched your market for your book and without a foolproof marketing plan. Some say you shouldn't even WRITE the darn book without having researched it. What?! What happened to writing for the joy of it?! What happened to writing the book you want to read?! What happened to art for art's own sake?

The truth of it is that it depends entirely on why you decided to write and, more to the point, why you want to be published. A lot of people might say that I've gone about the whole process the wrong way. I wrote the story that I had exploding in my head, the kind of book I'd love to read but that no other author had quite gotten around to writing. I wrote the story that haunted my dreams, that consumed every waking moment, that had me scribbling frantically for six weeks as though my very life depended on it. In some ways my sanity certainly did.

Only then did I look at it and think 'Hmmm, now what? Maybe I could get this published?' I split the two stories I seemed to have, and concentrated on editing and polishing the first one. At the same time I started looking at the whole process of publishing and researched a (very short) list of agents in the UK that accepted scifi. I read blogs, books and articles on the whole writing and submitting process. I spent a year working at it and submitting with mixed results, and then hit a dead end.(As stats, I had one request for the full, two agents say it was well written, and various forms of rejection.)

At the same time I got to meet and friend a few writers on Facebook, all with differing views on the whole publishing system. One had just had her fantasy series accepted for publication, and encouraged me to submit to US publishers. Another opened my eyes to the potential of self-publishing. I had my view point adjusted rather severely on several subjects, and all to the good! I re-edited my book to US spellings and conventions and researched a handful of independent publishers that appealed to me and that I hoped would see my book likewise. I also researched the various aspects of self-publishing - you can see the results of my experiments by clicking the tags for POD, self-publishing and creativity. But I was very quickly offered a contract for my MS. The US clearly has a bigger appetite for scifirom than the UK!

So now I have the task of promoting myself and my work (or rather continuing to do so). I'm no expert in marketing, but I'm willing to learn and work hard. But I've gone from worrying about whether anyone would want to publish my work to worrying if anyone will buy it. :-/

I don't have any issue with those who write to the market with the intention of making at least a living out of it. I would love to be able to write full time, but I won't know if that's achievable until my book is released and I start to see some stats. But I don't think I'm the kind of author who could ever write solely to please the market. For me that would be a passionless pursuit.

Is there a way to be creative AND marketable? Absolutely. I believe it should be possible and I guess I'm going to find out.

So why do you write and why are you seeking publication? :)

Review - Consorts of Heaven by Jaine Fenn

My review of Consorts of Heaven by Jaine Fenn is now live on the Fantasy Book Review website here. "A perfect combination of sci-fi and fantasy." :)

Review - Principles of Angels by Jaine Fenn

My review of Jaine Fenn's Principles of Angels is now live on the Fantasy Book Review website here. "This is sci-fi with a fantasy twist and just a touch of romance." Loved this series and can't wait for the fifth book. :)

Scifi Sunday #3

Hi all and welcome to another #scifi snippet. Thanks for stopping by. :) Gethyon is on the run - can he evade his pursuers or will he agree to their demands? The bike jolted hard beneath them as though it had struck something. Callon screamed as Gethyon fought to correct their flight, but another impact set them careering perilously close along the cliff edge.He yanked the Trilobyke toward safety, and straight into a collision with another modified bike. Both engines screamed as his opponent kept his bike abreast of Gethyon's, the rider leaning hard into them. Gethyon drove his fingers deep into his controls to jerk his bike forward with a burst of acceleration, and the attacking craft dropped behind. With a swift glance over his shoulder, he turned right, away from the cliffs, darting across the path of the slower craft as they left it behind.A shape zoomed up into the corner of his eye on the left, and he spared it a quick glance. Tyos, his augmented glider faster than Gethyon's but lighter in frame, closed in on them and hovered millimeters from the rear vanes. To his right, another heavier Trilobyke moved in alongside and nudged them."Land!" the rider of the Trilobyke yelled at him.

I have a thing for Weird Plants ...

... or so it seems. A friend of mine has commented on various plant photos that I've posted and told me that they creep her out. I don't know whether it's a perception on her part or a twist in my psyche. In my defence, I will say that my mother was a professional florist and obsessive gardener, so maybe it's a part of my heritage. Rather than being disturbed by it, said friend's astute comments have led to story inspirations, so I thought I'd share some of the pictures with you. Then maybe you can tell me whether I have a freaky thing for plants!

 Bergamot
Passionflower Aquilegia
Cone Flower
Clematis
This last one inspired one of my favourite pieces, and an unusually gruesome one for me.
As he stared down at her, Jinx gazed wide-eyed over his shoulder with bemusement written over her face as something velvet-soft draped itself across his shoulders in a gentle caress. Irritated, his focus on his captive, Keir shrugged it off, but soon more feather-light touches stroked over his torso. He sat up abruptly, releasing Jinx's arms and glancing behind him. Long, langorous petals petals like wide ribbons of deep rose satin with delicately feathered edges were drifting over him in slow, graceful sweeps. One wrapped itself lovingly around his injured arm and he flinched at the sudden sting as though acid had been dripped into his wounds, a hissed breath of pain forced from him at the shock of it as he tried to jerk his arm free. The petal merely coiled tighter with unexpected steel in its grip, prickling wherever it touched in sharp contrast to the initial softness of its caresses. More had entwined themselves unnoticed around his legs and waist in silken coils that had an impossible strength, and burned as he tugged against them.

So am I weird? Or did you find some inspiration among the petals too? :-P

Scifi Sunday #2

Hi all! Apologies for not posting last week - I completely lost track of the days with the kids home for the summer holidays - and thanks to everyone who stopped by and commented on the previous week. So, to continue - Gethyon is about to go on the run but is he fit to drive?

As they topped the cliffs above the beach Callon squealed, and Gethyon veered sharply from the boulders that blocked their path. His fingers trembled in the steering gear and the bike responded by swerving from side to side of the straight path, his blurred vision bringing them too close to cliff edge. He clicked in the automatics to steady their flight and the bike settled.Moonlight gave him a path to follow, but he switched on the night guidance systems regardless. Bright lines of color etched the central panel, which then projected a screen before his eyes. Holographic images overlay reality and highlighted the safe path ahead, but the lines shifted and broke. Gethyon blinked and shook his head, trying to clear it. How many times had Dephon hit him? Did he have a concussion? Every movement sent pain lancing through his skull and he struggled to keep his focus. Could he make it home?

Are Contests a Winner?

What are your views on writing contests? Are you a big fan and a prolific competitor? Do you think having one or more awards helps your career and/or book sales as an author? Do they present you with an interesting challenge, or do you feel they are a waste of time?

Until this year, I'd never even considered entering a writing competition. I'd looked at a few and read blog posts on those who had entered and even been placed in various writing awards, but hadn't felt the need for it myself. I'm still not sure of the benefits, and at the moment have no plans to write anything purely for competition purposes. However ...

A book review site that I've written a few reviews for posted a short story competition a while back. They wanted a fantasy short between 2,000 and 5,000 words. By coincidence, I happened to be working on a fantasy short that came within that range, an oddity in itself! For one thing, I haven't written fantasy in almost 25 years and short stories are not my strong point. There's no award for winning. My interest was completely mercenary - the prize is an iPad, or two runner-ups get a Kindle, squee! So I went for it. Winners aren't being announced until November, but I'm trying not to get my hopes up. After all, I read stuff every day that I rate as good or better than my own.

But it got me thinking. I know various people who've entered competitions. I know you have to be wary about some of them. Does it really make that much difference to an author how many and what kind of awards they win? Does it encourage readers? Does it improve sales? Does it help you pitch a book if it won an award? I really don't know.

I've never been one for competitions but I've found myself looking some up over the past week. Maybe the fact that I've had my first book contracted by a publisher has finally convinced me I have something worthwhile of an award. That my lack of confidence is misplaced. Or maybe because I see so many of my fellow authors so excited over the whole process. Maybe I'm missing out on the fun. Whichever, I'm considering that next year I may put my book in for one or two contests. Anyone want to recommend some? :)

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A Visit to Jimmy's Farm

For those of you who haven't seen it, Jimmy's Farm was made famous as a series on the BBC. It was the story of one man's attempt to set up a farm with the rare breed Essex Pig, and has now become a tourist attraction. I was a little dubious about going as I've heard mixed reviews on the place even though I watched the series avidly, but I was pleasantly surprised. Of course, it had one magical thing that convinced me to go in the first place. It has a butterfly house .... :)

Clipper
I have to say, their butterfly house is one of the best I've been to! There were dozens flitting around the enclosure, and some amazing plants too. The ground was pretty wet and muddy underfoot, but it was worth it.
Bergamot
I'm not sure that there's enough on the farm to keep a family interested for an entire day, but it definitely took us the morning to look round it all and enjoy the butterflies. The entrance fee was less than I've paid for other attractions including a butterfly house alone.
Blue Moon Butterfly. The photo doesn't show it but those white patches with the indigo edging glow!
Blue Morpho.
But before I become completely obsessed and mislead you into thinking butterflies are the only thing there, they aren't. It's a pig farm so, yep, there are pigs! Mostly the Essex Pig which is pink with a black back and shoulders. But what about these little cuties? Tamworth Pig Peacock. Rhea
Sheep
There are also goats, other varieties of sheep, ferrets, rabbits, chickens, ducks, turkeys, ponies and guinea pigs. There's a good playground, a couple of ponds that are pleasant to sit by and eat your lunch although the nearby railway track makes its presence known with the odd passing train. Then there are the woodland walks. The walks are very nicely set out, and there are areas for the kids to do den building. There's also a shop selling mainly whole and/or organic foods including meat from the farm itself. It's a tad on the expensive side for my budget but I did treat myself to a bottle of organic lime cordial that I haven't seen to buy anywhere else in years. There are a couple of craft shops, a restaurant and an outdoor cafe. You can buy animal food from the entrance although you're warned not to feed the pony as it bites, and there are signs telling you not to feed the pigs out on the farm.All in all it made for a pleasant morning out, and my kids enjoyed themselves. And better still, all three fell asleep in the car on the way home. :) Monarch Ducklings on the pond

Scifi Sunday

Hi all! Thank you so much to all who stopped by last week and left a message - I was touched! I'm glad so many of you enjoyed the lemur post instead, lol. It's also made me think about a few things. Sadly I'm no longer going to be posting as part of SSS but I'm happy to keep posting a snippet of my writing each weekend until you all get bored of me. :)

So, continuing with my scifi story - teenage rivals Gethyon and Dephon have fought. Gethyon unknowingly used telekinesis to defend himself, killing Dephon by mistake. And now the chase is on ...

Shouts grew, coming closer. A word shouted in anger that echoed in his ears. Murderer!
Sudden fear cut through his delirium, and he pressed the autostart. The bike vibrated into life and lifted from its feet in gentle ascent. A clunk and a jolt from underneath confirmed that the landing gear had stowed itself in the craft's underbelly as it quivered on its suspension field.
 And I found this fab image of a Trilobite (a prehistoric marine arthropod) which is close to how Gethyon's bike - a Trilobyke - would look if you can imagine padded seating down the spine. Check out
Trilobite by ~hunterkiller