Working With Spider Authors
Totally Amazing Spider Tales was a very interesting challenge. A challenge that all involved rose up to. Towards the end of 2013 I decided that I wanted to create an anthology.
An addition to my online writers magazine, Wikiworm.
The anthology was to be based on creepy, scary Spiders. The target audience was 7-9 year olds, and would include eight Authors. The reason for eight, was simple - spiders have eight legs, so each Author would represent a leg!
I then set about approaching Authors. The first to be approached was Ian C Douglas, Author of the children's novel 'The Infinity Trap'. Then I approached Simon W. Best, an experienced dark fiction writer, whom I knew was up for a challenge, and writing a children's short story was certainly that. Then Fiona Woodhead, Author of 'Once Upon A Slime', a children's picture book. The remaining Authors I approached were Misha Herwin, Author of the children's trilogy 'Dragonfire', John Ferris, author of the 'Orion's Belt saga', Lynette Teachout, Author of the 'Zeke' trilogy, and one other Author whom it was eventually mutually agreed it best to part company.
As the story writing began with all involved, I put aside my role as project manager, and put my concerns to the back of my mind of who was going to fill the gap of the missing Author, and how I was going to publish the book. It was time to start writing my own short story. I titled it 'It Came From Afar'.
Once I had finished writing my short, everything suddenly fell into place. Through Simon W. Best, we gained Rogena Mitchell-Jones, who is a very talented and experienced Editor. She kindly agreed to edit and publish the book for free. Then Fiona Woodhead, who is also part-owner of a graphic design and marketing business, agreed to design the amazing cover for the paperback and eBook; she also agreed to design the illustrations for her own short story, and Misha Herwin's, John Ferris and Lynette Teachout's short stories as well. Finally through Rogena, we gained our eighth Author, Tracey Deming.
As we got ever so close to the book becoming published, the excitement between our budding little team grew. It was a most marvellous time for all involved, and the great atmosphere increased further when we agreed the release date of 1st August 2014. All that was left to do was complete the final illustrations for the remaining short stories. Ian C. Douglas, designed his own, as did Simon W. Best. I then created the illustration for Tracey Deming's short story and created my own artwork, using a photo of my daughter, trapped in a spooky spider nest. Such a perfect picture to compliment my story.
On the 1st August 2014, the eBook went on sale through Amazon, and Smashwords. A few days later the paperback was available to be purchased, not just through Amazon and iBooks, but several other outlets as well, including Barnes & Noble, the giant book store in the United States of America.
As for the profits for this mighty fine little book, after publication costs the remaining monies are to go to a children's charity - The Children’s Hemiplegia and Stroke Association (CHASA)
Totally Amazing Spider Tales
An addition to my online writers magazine, Wikiworm.
The anthology was to be based on creepy, scary Spiders. The target audience was 7-9 year olds, and would include eight Authors. The reason for eight, was simple - spiders have eight legs, so each Author would represent a leg!
I then set about approaching Authors. The first to be approached was Ian C Douglas, Author of the children's novel 'The Infinity Trap'. Then I approached Simon W. Best, an experienced dark fiction writer, whom I knew was up for a challenge, and writing a children's short story was certainly that. Then Fiona Woodhead, Author of 'Once Upon A Slime', a children's picture book. The remaining Authors I approached were Misha Herwin, Author of the children's trilogy 'Dragonfire', John Ferris, author of the 'Orion's Belt saga', Lynette Teachout, Author of the 'Zeke' trilogy, and one other Author whom it was eventually mutually agreed it best to part company.
As the story writing began with all involved, I put aside my role as project manager, and put my concerns to the back of my mind of who was going to fill the gap of the missing Author, and how I was going to publish the book. It was time to start writing my own short story. I titled it 'It Came From Afar'.
Once I had finished writing my short, everything suddenly fell into place. Through Simon W. Best, we gained Rogena Mitchell-Jones, who is a very talented and experienced Editor. She kindly agreed to edit and publish the book for free. Then Fiona Woodhead, who is also part-owner of a graphic design and marketing business, agreed to design the amazing cover for the paperback and eBook; she also agreed to design the illustrations for her own short story, and Misha Herwin's, John Ferris and Lynette Teachout's short stories as well. Finally through Rogena, we gained our eighth Author, Tracey Deming.
As we got ever so close to the book becoming published, the excitement between our budding little team grew. It was a most marvellous time for all involved, and the great atmosphere increased further when we agreed the release date of 1st August 2014. All that was left to do was complete the final illustrations for the remaining short stories. Ian C. Douglas, designed his own, as did Simon W. Best. I then created the illustration for Tracey Deming's short story and created my own artwork, using a photo of my daughter, trapped in a spooky spider nest. Such a perfect picture to compliment my story.
On the 1st August 2014, the eBook went on sale through Amazon, and Smashwords. A few days later the paperback was available to be purchased, not just through Amazon and iBooks, but several other outlets as well, including Barnes & Noble, the giant book store in the United States of America.
As for the profits for this mighty fine little book, after publication costs the remaining monies are to go to a children's charity - The Children’s Hemiplegia and Stroke Association (CHASA)
Totally Amazing Spider Tales
No comments have been added yet.
