#ComedyBookWeek discussion
#ComedyBookWeek 2016
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Event dates are 16-23 July 2016
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Ooooh a new banner! Can it contain a horse....just kidding :p
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You are such a great event planner. This is great news. I love this week. I have read some amazing books and I have others that I have picked up and added to my to be read pile. I need to have my ceiling raised about a foot now. Sounds fun!
Yeah even though I was laughing after creating the horse pic, I think he needs to go to a dentist lol!The banner could have a slight change to it each year but I think once a general image or look to it is agreed upon it shouldn't be changed too much from year to year (6 months to 6 months), after all you want people to associate the image in time so it's instantly recognisable, of course I'm assuming #CBW becomes a very BIG thing in years to come, hope it does. That's why I use the same avatar and banner pic everywhere.... maybe I have illusions of future grandeur lol
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I've donated too - think this is a fantastic idea and although I've been utter crud at being organised and doing justice to it this year, I vow to do better next time it's run :)
The banner winner should win a selection of books!And I say that even though I'm not going to enter as I am rubbish at designing, but look forward to seeing them. Will we get to vote? I love a good vote!
One thing about the banner is that if it's low pixels again then my trending stories won't accept it so i'll have to find another horse or something to advertise it on there in January! :oAna, I just visited the bloggers page of comedybookweek.com and...do I have to sign up again? I already signed up to the mailing list before, don't want to over clog your list by signing up again...I think it's obvious I'll want to be a part of 2017! :)
I have written a book that I thought was a bit humorous. anyone want to beta read it and tell me if I should tweak it to make it suitable for January's offering? Don't shoot me if I broke a rule by asking. Please.
That is the most anthropomorphous Meerkat EVER!Thehappymeerkat wrote: "Yeah even though I was laughing after creating the horse pic, I think he needs to go to a dentist lol!
The banner could have a slight change to it each year but I think once a general image or loo..."
Mod
I'd be happy to read your book. Please email it to me.
C: you don't have to sign up to the mailing list, that's for any new guys. I want to promote book bloggers more, so I will ask you to submit your banner and maybe a one-sentence tag/pitch for the Participating Bloggers page.
With the new design, I plan to offer a prize for the winner, say $50 in exchange for the source files. That way I will be able to modify them and save them in multiple resolutions.
Vicki I don't know if I could read your book at the moment :(, I got a backlog of promised reviews, but I'll be happy to review it for January if it passes the mark :D!Ana, do you want me to send my banner or anything else or will you be announcing it first to other bloggers? (why aren't they here?)
Also thinking to next time, how far ahead would you plan the event(like telling bloggers, preparing a new book list, etc)? I can do a lot for January but with a promised review list or about 4 months (soon to be 5 :o!) I need enough time to kind of sandwich reading humour books around my normal ones. that way nobody following my blog will realise I've got a stack of funny books ready for January! :).
I don't know if you want to put blogger submissions pages or contact details or something like that on the #CBW website in future. at the moment i'm open to review requests in general if people pass my submissions page rules, lol. I could set up special submissions just for #CBW that would appear in January only, but could be submitted well ahead...or not. I think I lost the plot on what I'm typing now. I've spent too long writing my review for Portia's book now my brain's gone to sleep!!!
Hi Vicki, I'd be happy to read it and offer any input I can :)
Meerkat, Special submissions for #CBW is all I've heard. Genius!Vicki, I'll read.
I'm thinking about creating a special page on my blog for that now :).
Do it, do it! I am first in line, too.
It has not gone through much editing. I am just finished writing and a first rewrite. Now I do not know if I should put it away or continue. you know "IS IT FUNNY" enough to be considered humor? Dean wrote: "Hi Vicki, I'd be happy to read it and offer any input I can :)"
Portia wrote: "Do it, do it! I am first in line, too."You've convinced me! I will create a #CBW submissions page. Yay #ComedyBookWeek!
Humour usually equals funny Vicki :). Nobody's going to review your book publically if you don't want, besides that's what giving a book for beta reading is, the chance to improve something you've written with good feedback. Of course do whatever you feel you want to but don't be put off by the mere idea that it might mot be funny enough.
Thank you :) I will message you to get email address. I have a PDF file finished, is that ok?Dean wrote: "Hi Vicki, I'd be happy to read it and offer any input I can :)"
Thank you, I am a nervous author lol I will feel better one way or another knowing what these 2 think. then I can get to draft 3 and editing. Or trash it if it isn't funny. I personally laughed when I wrote it. You are so encouraging!! <3 Thehappymeerkat wrote: "Humour usually equals funny Vicki :). Nobody's going to review your book publically if you don't want, besides that's what giving a book for beta reading is, the chance to improve something you've ..."
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Don't stress! You will find your audience. When I gave the first Shizzle, Inc draft to my real-life friends, NONE of them liked it. So what - I found plenty of people with the same sense of humor on Internet...
I would be happy to beta-read your draft.
Vicki wrote: "Thank you, I am a nervous author lol I will feel better one way or another knowing what these 2 think. then I can get to draft 3 and editing. Or trash it if it isn't funny. I personally laughed whe..."It's difficult to put yourself out there. No worries. And people definitely have differences as to what they find funny. Not everyone will enjoy every book. Keep at it!
Vicki, Maria is right. People definitely have differences in what they find funny. Case in point: the reason I self-published A Heat Of The Moment Thing (which you've read, right?) is because I got thiiiis close with an editor for a reputable publishing house, but they didn't think it was funny enough so it got a rejection in the end. :)
I agree with Maggie. A similar thing happened with my book, REVENGE CAFE. A small house "loved" the book, the message and the humor. But they wanted a few changes re a couple of characters. It wasn't anything major, so I agreed. I made the changes to the book while they made personnel changes in house. When I returned it to them, the new editor assigned to my book "loved" the concept and message of the book but hated the humor. She wanted me to completely overhaul it, which I refused to do. It's true what they say: this is a subjective business.
The problem I think with publishers is that a lot of them want to tailor their books to what they think is preferred by most and if humour books get selected they need a certain type of 'popular' humour. The thing that they don't realise these days is that there are some incredibly popular indie books that are really doing well and could make those publishers a lot of money if they'd give it a chance. And when it comes to the person/people who choose what they will publish it's usually down to one or a small group and if nobody has your taste in humour (or any other genre) they just won't take your book for publishing. I'm glad its become so much easier to indie publish these days, and the books are great quality too. Never agree to completely change your book, a few changes here and there might be fine but if you end up writing a different book than the one you intended because of a publishers requirements then I just wouldn't do it myself. I know I don't have a book out myself (yet) but nobody should get disheartened by rejection, just take a look at how #CBW has pushed somepeople's sales forward. And considering this was a small event at short notice imagine what could be happening for everyone's books in years to come. I'm certainly more than happy to keep promoting and being a part of the event :)On that note if anyone wants to vote in the people's choice award for best review please do . I'm not soliciting formyself (although vote for me if you liked one of my reviews best, lol) but with only one entry it's not much of a contest lol.
https://comedybookweek.com/2016/07/25...
Vicki wrote: "Thank you, I am a nervous author lol I will feel better one way or another knowing what these 2 think. then I can get to draft 3 and editing. Or trash it if it isn't funny. I personally laughed whe..."Don't worry, I say that and I always worry. Humour is subjective. Some people don't like my books and that's fine, it's not their cup of tea. You'll find that with a lot of humorous books.
I'm writing my first novel at the moment and it's pitted with gaping holes. Beta readers are great because they can see what you can't, give you an idea and send it in a new, fresh direction. I'm fairly certain you'll have a funny book.
I'd beta but I'm a week away from going on holiday, I'm writing my novel and I've just enrolled on a year long Copy writer course, so I don't have much free time.
Have faith, I'm sure it will be great! :)
Thehappymeerkat wrote: "TOn that note if anyone wants to vote in the people's choice award for best review please do. https://comedybookweek.com/2016/07/25..."
Off to do that now :)
Mod
Ana wrote: "Once I started giving it away for free and getting a lot of random readers, I also got a number of 1 and 2-star reviews where people just said that it's garbage... "Ha! I've had that happen just today! One star review for my novella. Ouchy after the five star review the same person gave to another of my books - but as you say, different books suit different people.
I got 5 responses from agents and 60 ignores for my Kingston Raine book. Someone even requested the first 50 pages, but then came the, "I liked it, but I didn't love it, so I'm afraid I'm going to have to pass." It probably doesn't help that when you're a few chapters into the book you come across swathes of Shakespearean text, which can be quite alienating.I think if Kingston had been a vampire I could have landed a deal, because vampire's are hot in the market. Then I'd probably be asked to start stripping away all of this other stuff that happens in the book and focus just on this vampire guy. Or I could write a cook book. Those sell no matter what.
I will pick it up again and do the rewrite it needs. Editing and proofreading. Then move to the next step. I just am not that confident about stepping into a new direction. But I am encouraged! You guys are my Heroes!!!!! <3 <3 <3
If you're enjoying it and you feel a little thrill when you write something funny then there will be people out there that find it funny too.I once wrote a line that I thought was brilliant and one that was a bit rubbish.
I then asked people about the two lines and the one they found funnier was the one I thought wasn't that funny. Goes to show that you never truly know what will be funny, but you just write what you feel is funny and people like it. Some will find the lines you like best funny, others will find those you don't find as funny funnier.
The wonderful world of writing comedy!
It's like that with all books! :) Some people will like it others wont, the thing to remember is that there will always be someone out there who likes it! :) Wow, talking to so many writers makes me want to start up again. I never write any comedy but I used to write stories in scifi/fantasy genre (never published though!) I completely lost all confidence in myself some time back. I suffer from depression, a lot of bad stuff happened to me and I kinda was near suicidal...I can't believe how different I feel now since I started meeting and talking with authors and reviewing books!
.....Sorry to add that depressing moment to the thread - :o!
The bad makes the good even better. You know I wobble around in my moods. I just have 3 books going all the time. One for each mood and a spare for the questionable days. LOL
I feel better, someone I trust told me they liked that my dog makes lists in my book. Seemed to think that was funny. :) That was all the encouragement I needed.
And your experiences will help make a story more real. I wrote a short story called Brainstorm. I suffered a lot from depression about 16 years ago, I was seeing psychologists and I used my experiences in that story.I changed the problems in the story from my own but the techniques and feelings were all mine. It adds a darkness but reality to it and it's a story I am proud of.
If it helps, I did the final polish of Kingston Raine and the Grim Reaper while in one of the darkest times of my life. In the space of 3 months I broke up with my girlfriend of 5 years, moved out on my own, spent just about all of my money on essentials like furniture and a second hand car, fell in love again (bad move), got spectacularly dumped, lost my job, was utterly broke, and no one was hiring me.So I edited a book about a smartarse English guy who dies and then tries to salvage his life.
Thank you everyone. You never know how it will be received when you openly tell people you've suffered depression and even had really dark moments. As happy as I can be I can have some really dark times too. I don't have any long book idea as yet but I do keep having these floating ideas, bits of a longer story coming into my head, but they are very ark scenes and I couldn't make up my mind if I wanted to really write it or if i'd scare people off!
I have had some positive feedback from some poetry I've started writing. Especially on a couple of pieces I wrote when not really in a good place. Strange how something like a dark moment can really make your writing strong.
Btw Jackson thanks, that last comment you said made me laugh :)
Write them and they're there in note form until you can link them up.People like dark stuff, so do it. Apt Pupil by Stephen King disturbed me to the point that I stopped reading it. There's an audience for dark stuff and experience makes it more real.
I couldn't have written Brainstorm without the dark depression I suffered with for about 9 years.
Jackson wrote: "So I edited a book about a smartarse English guy who dies and then tries to salvage his life. "
I just realised that what I said might have come out wrong. I think it made me laugh because I've read your book :). Btw did you manage to fix the fee think in the UK. I was able to be in the UK and buy a book from amazon US but yesterday it was telling me to go to my country's own site! Not sure if that was an error or something but if not then ppl in the UK will have to pay, not that 99p is much but you know...consistency :D.
Thank you for the encouragement. I think I will write these scenes at least then. Might be a mess but a mess I guess I could edit later...? I don't know I lose all confidence when think about writing, but I'll try :)
I just realised that what I said might have come out wrong. I think it made me laug..."Haha, no problem!
I have contacted Amazon about getting the .co.uk site to match the US version. They've thanked me for contacting them, they are reviewing it, and it'll probably happen in a couple of days. Then I'll fill in their customer service questionnaire with a 5 out of 5.
Jackson wrote: "I just realised that what I said might have come out wrong. I think it made me laug..."Haha, no problem!
I have contacted Amazon about getting the .co.uk site to match the US version. They've th..."
Sorry, I didn't mean it in a horrible way, I just couldn't help but think of all the funny things that happen in that book and thinking about it makes me laugh. :)
Oh yes, the joys of contacting amazon. Good luck and I hope they actually change it! They're not always known to actually read what you've written!
Not sure a 'yay depression and mania' sounds good but yes it's actually something I think lots of creatives have and it seems to result in some amazing work. I'm going to start writing, at least I can say I've written something after that lol :) Thank you everyone it's been nice to be able to talk about it so openly here. :):)
Guys, I just wanted to say it's great that we're all in this together, don't you think? :)I'm lucky enough to say I've never had a depressive (ie diagnosed) episode - but I know a LOT of writers who have, do, and struggle with various addictions too. In a way I think it makes them a better writer because they get to use those experiences when they're writing their characters.
Writers are a weird bunch! We teeter on the edge of sanity much of the time, living in our own heads and talking to imaginary people until our imagination becomes our reality ;) And somehow we have to develop a really thick hide (for those reviews and rejections) while staying vulnerable enough to be able to write. It's a knife's-edge and we're all on it.
Thank God we find each other along the way, eh? xx
You are right! Who else wakes up with a new character tapping them on their brain ,demanding that you get up and go write about them during the night? anyone? anyone? Bueller?Maggie wrote: "Guys, I just wanted to say it's great that we're all in this together, don't you think? :)
I'm lucky enough to say I've never had a depressive (ie diagnosed) episode - but I know a LOT of writers ..."
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That's a good idea. I thought a muzzle might be a little passive aggressive. :) Ana wrote: "I have a huge whiteboard in my bedroom, on the wall. The only way to shut those characters up sometimes :-)"
I am thinking of another Saturday-to-Saturday inclusive, 8 days? Perhaps 14-21 January? There will also be a contest to design the new banner, so stay tuned for that!