The Author's View (July 2024)
Hello and thanks for dropping by! You find me basking in the warm summer sunshine here in the south of the UK. Well actually I am slaving away over my computer as usual but I can dream!
In this month's blog I will be giving you an update on my current writing projects with some exciting news - well for me anyway! However, this time around I have shied away from providing you with a book review. Now that's not because I haven't read anything. In fact I finally finished Charles Dickens's classic tale, David Copperfield, which was a bit of a long one but very enjoyable and dare I say clever. I love the way in which he weaves the narrative.
However the reason for the lack of a book review is because as a special treat I have managed to get an interview with the award winning and extremely talented author, Debra Every, but more on that later in the blog. Along with this I will look at a recent question that has been thrown around in both printed and social media. It concerns the requirement for authors to do more of their own marketing in order to generate sales.
The White Haired Storyteller
The Dark Harvest
THE DARK HARVEST is a fast paced, contemporary, sci-fi crime thriller, set in the secretive world of medical research.
"Dr Suzy Watson is a brilliant scientist who learns that despite its life saving possibilities, her life’s work is about to be mothballed. When she complains to her new, misogynistic boss she is sexually assaulted and forced to leave. Stealing the software program she dedicates herself to continuing her work. Culminating in the creation of an anti-ageing vaccine which has many but often fatal, side effects." https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dark-Harvest-secretive-operations-throughout/dp/B0CPCB56T2
As mentioned previously the sales for my debut novel have been disappointing and this month has seen that trend continuing. This is despite the phenomenal support from those people who have read it and left their amazing reviews on Amazon.
But such is the life on an independent author, believe me I am not complaining. The idea that even just one person would absolutely love my storytelling was really beyond my expectations. The fact that there are several people willing to spend their hard earn cash on my book is mind blowing to me. It gives this old, white haired storyteller the confidence to carry on doing this 'thing' that he has have fallen in love with.
Tahira The Elemental
TAHIRA THE ELEMENTAL is a fantasy set in early European and North African prehistory. It's a tale of maternal love with strong female characters who have to fight to survive in a male dominated world where violence is common place.
"Orphaned on her sixteenth birthday, Tahira's life was about to take her in a different and at times violent direction. Unbeknown to her, there is a path she must follow, it is her destiny to become an Elemental but there is a price to pay."
I have now received feedback from my developmental editor and I expect to finish writing the changes in the next few days before going back for further review. Then it will be off for a line edit and proofread ready to publish sometime in September. I have also spent some time with my designer to agree the art work for the book cover.
This story crosses genre's and references myths and legends from ancient civilisations. I know it is not a commercial piece of work. I didn't write it because I thought it would be a best seller. I wrote it because it's a story I would like to read. I have therefore decided to save myself the hassle of trying to get this traditionally published through a literary agent and will self publish. I know the process having done this with my debut. I will however do this slightly differently and certainly won't rush to release, hence why I looking at a September date.
The Keyholders Apprentice
THE KEYHOLDER’S APPRENTICE is an 86k word comic fantasy novel set in a world that is a mirror to a pre-technology Earth. It’s full of fun with popular music and other cultural references. It is a satire on the world of music and the glorification of rock icons, but told through an original story with contemporary and diverse characters. It also satirises societal views on misogyny and diversity.
Due to the feedback I have already received from the few literary agents who have taken the time to respond it is clear that I don't write commercial stories. In this instance it is a little discouraging as one of my beta readers said it reminded her of the times her father would read Terry Pratchett Discworld novels to her as a child.
Clearly the literary world has moved forward. However, maybe out of stubbornness, I will self publish this and the rest of my World Of Rock books. I plan on drafting the third book in the series in August and tentatively hope to release all three in December this year - nothing like a scary deadline to get the juices going!
The Problem With Death
This story follows the adventures of The Keyholders Apprentice and his crew. It's now a year after their arrival and things had begun to settle down but something is amiss. The number of child births the witches have to help with has dropped off, there are more and more ghosts wandering around and Death is having a mid life crisis.
The initial draft of this manuscript was completed several weeks ago and has been metaphorically collecting dust on the shelf since then. Once I finish editing Tahira The Elemental I will review and redraft this prior to sending of for its developmental review.
The Author's Eye - DEBRA EVERY
As with any art form I believe that authors are forever required to learn and develop their craft. One of the best ways that a newbie writer, like myself, can do this is to meet other storytellers. It was therefore a privilege this month to catch up with the incredibly talented and award winning author DEBRA EVERY. Her new book DEENA UNDONE is due for release on 8th Oct 2024 and is currently available to pre-order, check out the following link.
https://debrakevery.com/book/deena-undone/
To get to know an author I like to ask them ten fairly random questions, so here goes:
- What was the first novel you remember buying and why did you buy it?
Wow. That is a surprising difficult question. I’ve been reading for as far back as I can remember. Are YA books considered novels? If so, it would have to be one the many Nancy Drew books I devoured as a child. And then, of course, the classic reading lists we were assigned in school. The Stranger comes to mind. Then again, I suppose I didn’t actually choose those books. I do remember buying every Kurt Vonnegut I could get my hands on, probably because they were short and quirky and experimental. Loved them. Another early book that comes to mind is The Magus by John Fowles. My aunt was reading it and I worshipped her at the time.
- What was the first book that made you cry?
Again, hard to remember. But I can share the books, in general, that have made me cry:
Kite Runner
Gentleman in Moscow
Rules of Civility
Giovanni’s Room
The Color Purple
Love Story
3. Your debut novel 'Deena Undone' is a supernatural horror, how did it come about and what was the inspiration?
Easy. My aunt, with whom I had a complicated relationship, had set fire to her Manhattan apartment (smoking in bed). I became her caregiver during the subsequent two years. She was a very difficult person and we went through a lot. As catharsis, I began writing Deena Undone, the story of a woman caring for her dying aunt who has made a deal with an entity promising life in exchange for killing her niece. The irony is that Deena Undone was my foray into writing. Thanks to my aunt (now gone), I am an author.
4. In terms of story construction, what is your creative process?
At the moment, I’m a 'pantser'. (Do you have that word in the UK? Flying by the seat of your pants). In Deena Undone, when the first draft was complete, I created a chart of the all the chapters, i.e. their focus, tension or lack thereof, etc. I wanted to make sure that the reader had moments of relief, a sorbet so to speak. And, since my novel is horror, I then put together what I like to call a scare map, ranking each moment on a scale of one to ten. My goal was to make sure there was a steadily mounting sense of dread that led to fright until the final section of what I call the gallop to the end.
5. What is a typical day like for the author Debra K Every?
I wake up early – 6’ish. Head down to the kitchen for coffee and then directly to my computer where I sit for most of the day, until I can’t stand it anymore. When my work is through (by dinnertime?) I email myself whatever manuscript I’m working on. Evening is spent enjoying the company of my husband. Then, when it’s time to retire, I pull out my phone, cue up my email, and read that day’s work in bed, taking screen shots of anything that needs changing (reading it on a phone changes my perspective). In that way, when I wake up in the morning, I simply pull out my phone, scroll through the screenshots and begin making changes. It’s a way to hit the ground running.
You’ll notice that exercise is glaringly absent from my day. I notice that as well.
6. Are there any other authors that you are friends with and if so how do they impact your writing?
I am blessed with an extraordinary writers’ group that has shaped everything I write. There are three people in particularly, who have become dear friends. I trust their opinions of my work completely. I would not be an author if not for this amazingly talented generous group of people.
7. What is the most difficult thing about writing characters of the opposite sex?
I don’t really have a problem writing men. If I were to hazard a guess as to why, I might point to my years working in the all-male world of trading (I was a bond trader in another life). A male swagger is essential in that environment. Also, when I was singing, I often played trouser roles – a common casting in opera where a mezzo soprano is cast as a boy or even a young man in love. Part of immersing oneself in a role is getting into the head of the character. I had a lot of practice doing that.
8. How do you select the names of your characters?
Hah. Tricky, right? I try on the sound of various names until something seems right. For instance, my villain is a woman named Agatha. She is modeled after my Aunt Mary. There is no way that this character could have been call Mary. It had to be a name that felt similar to an emotion. Agony/Agatha.
Then, as my cast of characters builds, I make sure there is a variety of spellings so that the reader can easily keep people apart. For instance, no two characters’ names will start with the same letter. I make sure to use names that are easy to pronounce. Lastly, I pick names that are correct for when the character is born. (i.e. Kayla for someone born in the 80s).
9. What are your top 3 books and why?
Gentleman in Moscow and Rules of Civility are my top two, because Amor Towles is a god. Each book is a magic trick that sucks us in without showing the mechanism in how it is done. The deep humanity of the characters is breathtaking, and their stories eviscerate me.
And for a third book? Oof. So many books. I’m going to say To Kill a Mockingbird.
But the Harry Potter books get an honorable mention for sheer creativity.
10. You are organizing a dinner party and you can select 3 authors from any time in history, who would they be and why?
Amor Towles because, as I said, he’s a god.
J.K. Rowling, because of her extraordinary imagination
Truman Capote, because of his wickedly dry sense of humor and great intelligence
Oh my. What a dinner party that would be.
So there you have it. I am so grateful to Debra for taking the time out of her busy schedule to share some of her authorly secrets and inspirations.
The View From Here
The publishing industry is an ever evolving beast. It is a hard nosed enterprise, taking few prisoners and as with any business model it exists to maximise profits whilst minimising costs. Following the record profits that publishers enjoyed during the recent pandemic there has been a stagnation in sales. To offset that many of these companies have chosen to look at their ongoing costs. One of those areas affected concerns the marketing of books, and while there are fewer in-house event planners, publicists and marketers, there are even fewer experienced ones.
So traditionally published authors are now having to take on more of the marketing of their own books. They are expected to:
- have a website with a newsletter (I prefer to write a blog myself).
- to be active on social media across a multitude of platforms (in fact some literary agents now want authors to have thousands of followers on social media just for their work to be considered).
- have a plan for a promotional book tour.
- attend book fairs etc.
Sadly the days of an author just being able to write have long gone, except maybe for the few at the very top of the tree. However the marketing of one's own book has always been a requirement for a self-published author, myself included.
So what are the options? The industry is unfortunately full of scammers, from people pirating author's work, dodgy literary agents, paid for book reviewers, the list is sadly endless. We authors are by our very nature dreamers, we immerse ourselves in worlds of our own making. We are also passionate about our art. The process of writing a book is so time consuming and that doesn't include all the additional processes that follow once your initial manuscript is drawn up such as editing, proofreading, cover art design etc. If you ask any author all they want to do is tell their stories, we are not good at all the other 'noise' (some readers might argue that some of us aren't any good at the writing bit either). All of this makes us vulnerable to charlatans at each stage.
However, if you have the money available to invest in yourself then there are things you can do. There has been a growth in recent years for independent events planners, publicists and marketers, more and more traditionally published authors are seeking out these services to augment the efforts of their publishers’ in-house staff. However the cost of such marketing assistance is not cheap. Some of the prices I've seen start at around £100 per initial consultation with £50 per additional hour. Some of the larger companies don't provide pricing so you can draw your own conclusions are to whether they are likely to be more expensive.
For those of us who can't afford these rates we revert back to the things highlighted previously - in my next blog I will cover this in a bit more detail. One thing I would like to mention though is, I have not yet found any marketeer willing to do the work on a commission/royalty only basis. This is despite the fact that authors are expected to work that way. We spend months, if not years, to produce our work only to get a small fraction of what our readers actually pay and only after everyone else has taken their fee - just a thought!
And Now The End Is Near
Well I'm afraid that's it for another month. I sincerely hope you found it interesting. Please remember to check out Debra Every's website and her work, you will not be disappointed.
As ever I am always happy to hear from any bookworms, so if you have any questions/comments/opinions please drop me a note, I would love to hear from you - my only request is to be civil - oh and to be a real human!
Til next time - please take care and stay safe!
Member discussion