It's a tricky part of any book submission. You've written your novel and now you have to sell it, and yourself.
It's also the part I think most writers hate, especially first time novelists. This could be the reason why most of the stories I have written remain stuck in a forgotten folder on my desktop. I'm always worried that story I completely believe in, will fall because I can't sum it up in a punchy and enticing manner. Or that I won't seem exciting enough for a publisher to promote me. A strange thing for someone who writes a lot to fear, but I find I mostly write on emotion and senses so when that has to be stripped out to give an account of myself, or of my story, I panic.
I found an excellent source of help for my cover letter problems, which I thought may be a useful place for others to visit.
http://iainbroome.com/the-key-to-selling-your-book-is-the-cover-letter
Even if you're not petrified of trying to write about yourself, or your work this may be an interesting read nonetheless!
Have fun,
Jensen
Saturday 7 September 2013
Thursday 5 September 2013
Absence makes...
I've been gone far too long. No excuses - let's just carry on as usual.
I've been lucky enough to do a lot of travelling recently: Rome, London, Genova, Slovenia and Switzerland to name but a few. Not only has this been a lovely break from the non-existent English summer, but it's given me a lot of time to read and write. Great stuff!
I have been nose deep in the George RR Martin's Game of Thrones series with book three in my pocket at the moment (not literally as they are very large books!). Interestingly though, I had a chat with my brother and he has just started reading the Robin Hobb Farseer Trilogy. I read these about 13 years ago but I'm very glad he's getting the same enjoyment out of the books as I did, so long ago.
I've also just submitted a short (1500 word) story competition. This is only the second one I've entered, my first being the Telegraph's travel competition. I'm nervous and excited as I need to enter these things to hone my skills but no-one likes not winning!
Anyway, these stories don't write themselves, I'll be updating this more often don't worry!
Jensen
I've been lucky enough to do a lot of travelling recently: Rome, London, Genova, Slovenia and Switzerland to name but a few. Not only has this been a lovely break from the non-existent English summer, but it's given me a lot of time to read and write. Great stuff!
I have been nose deep in the George RR Martin's Game of Thrones series with book three in my pocket at the moment (not literally as they are very large books!). Interestingly though, I had a chat with my brother and he has just started reading the Robin Hobb Farseer Trilogy. I read these about 13 years ago but I'm very glad he's getting the same enjoyment out of the books as I did, so long ago.
I've also just submitted a short (1500 word) story competition. This is only the second one I've entered, my first being the Telegraph's travel competition. I'm nervous and excited as I need to enter these things to hone my skills but no-one likes not winning!
Anyway, these stories don't write themselves, I'll be updating this more often don't worry!
Jensen
Thursday 28 July 2011
OK, I'm rubbish.
It has been far too long since I last updated this but it has mostly been because I have had nothing decent to say. My mum always said that if you can't say something nice don't say anything at all. In my eyes similar can be said of blogging; if you have nothing intelligent to say, say nothing at all.
The reason for this post is my frustration with, possibly well meaning folk in the indie world, not living up to their promises.
No, I'm not on about the book they've promoted incessantly not being as thrilling as they led on, that can be expected and needs to be taken with a pinch of indie salt.
See, many writers on Twitter seem to only be interested in promoting their own work rather than bettering the world of indie writers of all abilities.
The beauty of social networks is that we are globally social with like-minded people, this enables us to build communities of people similar to us. These communities can then communicate beliefs, ideas and advice to each other to help the group grow and develop.
All selling to each other achieves is alienation and isolation. If, however, we used our collective skills, knowledge and contacts to assist each other then we would not need to sell to people in a similar boat but rather bring new people into the group through the work that is promoted through other channels.
Rant over. Stay safe.
It has been far too long since I last updated this but it has mostly been because I have had nothing decent to say. My mum always said that if you can't say something nice don't say anything at all. In my eyes similar can be said of blogging; if you have nothing intelligent to say, say nothing at all.
The reason for this post is my frustration with, possibly well meaning folk in the indie world, not living up to their promises.
No, I'm not on about the book they've promoted incessantly not being as thrilling as they led on, that can be expected and needs to be taken with a pinch of indie salt.
See, many writers on Twitter seem to only be interested in promoting their own work rather than bettering the world of indie writers of all abilities.
The beauty of social networks is that we are globally social with like-minded people, this enables us to build communities of people similar to us. These communities can then communicate beliefs, ideas and advice to each other to help the group grow and develop.
All selling to each other achieves is alienation and isolation. If, however, we used our collective skills, knowledge and contacts to assist each other then we would not need to sell to people in a similar boat but rather bring new people into the group through the work that is promoted through other channels.
Rant over. Stay safe.
Tuesday 21 June 2011
Sunday 15 May 2011
Cover reveal!
For those of you that have visited my Facebook fan page at http://tinyurl.com/64p4yux you will have seen that next Sunday (22nd) I will be unveiling the cover for my novel Children of G.O.D. on the fan page.
I very much see the cover as my first major hurdle in self-publishing. I am still learning the ropes when it comes to the Adobe suite of software. I also had to take a major look at image usage rights.
So that others don't end up falling into any of the easy traps that you will come across when doing your own cover here are a few pointers:
1) Know your limits.
It's easy to have a bold vision in your head but, as sad as it is, many potential readers will judge your story by it's cover. If it doesn't look professional many will be turned away as they will assume that the content within is riddled with mistakes - many won't even give the sample chapter a try. If you aren't going to do it justice then seek the help of a good cover artist.
This is especially true with fantasy and science fiction novels where the colour and imagination of the world is sold on the cover. When i was on the verge of publishing my fantasy novel I contacted Geoff Taylor and he was very forthcoming with his method and results, his portfolio makes some good viewing (www.geofftaylor-artist.com) He has even contributed to the artwork of the Games Workshop.
Another artists I contacted, this time for Children of G.O.D., was Stuart Bache (www.stuartbache.co.uk). The feel of his covers is much more gritty and stark than Geoff, something that comes across with the type of novels he is selected to work on.
In the end I decided to do it myself.
This mostly came from seeing an image on iStockphoto that was exactly what I had been looking for. I was willing to spend hours learning to do the artwork that was beyond my ability in order to use it.
This led me to the second potential pitfall.
2) Understanding the usage agreement.
I'm fortunate that in previous jobs I have worked a lot with photographers and how liberal some can be, and how protective others are.
As a result I contemplated the extended usage agreement that iStockphoto offers for some time. Once I ploughed through the small print of the standard agreement I saw that images from iStockphoto could be used as cover art for books without extending the agreement. This only changes at 500,000 purchases, at this point the author is expected to pay the original photographer 1p for each sale after that. I was very glad I didn't spend the 10 extra credits on extending the agreement.
If, however, you wish to sell t-shirts, posters etc with that image on then the usage agreement needs to be extended (you can use them for promotional use without extending it). Just bear that in mind.
Just in case you think taking an image from Google is a good idea the same photographers I used to work with have informed me recently that Google has invested in software that allows photographers to search for their image using it's unique code. You could run the risk that this news was rubbish, or that it's true but the photographer is too busy to search or you can pay £15-£30 and have piece of mind that you will not be chased for a percentage of your earnings.
Understanding usage agreements is just as important when hiring an artist to create your cover. From experience it is a good idea to negotiate the extent of the agreement before you hire them.
A self-employed artist will be reasonably flexible with these rights to snare the work. This is your chance to obtain global unrestricted rights. That enables you to sell on the cover rights to a publisher if you go down that route in the future. It also enables you to print t-shirts, posters, postcards and anything else with it on and sell them.
It's useless trying to negotiate it after as chances are they will want more money to extend the license as it could be a while before they get more work! Also, if they don't want to negotiate the terms of the agreement they will simply say no but still offer to do the work, you don't really have anything to lose.
3) Once it's done - leave it!
With an artist they will send you several versions so they can determine what you're looking for. They will then artwork a version that you can make suggestions on. You need to be honest straight away with these guys as they will eventually tire of being told to make minor tweaks.
Have a good idea of what you're after and then when you see something you like accept it and leave it. You will forever see things you want to change, minor things you're not happy with - deal with it. Get to a stage where you aren't physically repulsed by it, see that it represents the book well and then show it to the world. Once it's out there it can't be take away and you will begin to like it for what it represents; Your story.
I hope this helps a few of you. If you have any questions or want tips on how to tackle this mammoth, and very important obstacle in self-publishing, drop me an email.
As always, stay safe.
I very much see the cover as my first major hurdle in self-publishing. I am still learning the ropes when it comes to the Adobe suite of software. I also had to take a major look at image usage rights.
So that others don't end up falling into any of the easy traps that you will come across when doing your own cover here are a few pointers:
1) Know your limits.
It's easy to have a bold vision in your head but, as sad as it is, many potential readers will judge your story by it's cover. If it doesn't look professional many will be turned away as they will assume that the content within is riddled with mistakes - many won't even give the sample chapter a try. If you aren't going to do it justice then seek the help of a good cover artist.
This is especially true with fantasy and science fiction novels where the colour and imagination of the world is sold on the cover. When i was on the verge of publishing my fantasy novel I contacted Geoff Taylor and he was very forthcoming with his method and results, his portfolio makes some good viewing (www.geofftaylor-artist.com) He has even contributed to the artwork of the Games Workshop.
Another artists I contacted, this time for Children of G.O.D., was Stuart Bache (www.stuartbache.co.uk). The feel of his covers is much more gritty and stark than Geoff, something that comes across with the type of novels he is selected to work on.
In the end I decided to do it myself.
This mostly came from seeing an image on iStockphoto that was exactly what I had been looking for. I was willing to spend hours learning to do the artwork that was beyond my ability in order to use it.
This led me to the second potential pitfall.
2) Understanding the usage agreement.
I'm fortunate that in previous jobs I have worked a lot with photographers and how liberal some can be, and how protective others are.
As a result I contemplated the extended usage agreement that iStockphoto offers for some time. Once I ploughed through the small print of the standard agreement I saw that images from iStockphoto could be used as cover art for books without extending the agreement. This only changes at 500,000 purchases, at this point the author is expected to pay the original photographer 1p for each sale after that. I was very glad I didn't spend the 10 extra credits on extending the agreement.
If, however, you wish to sell t-shirts, posters etc with that image on then the usage agreement needs to be extended (you can use them for promotional use without extending it). Just bear that in mind.
Just in case you think taking an image from Google is a good idea the same photographers I used to work with have informed me recently that Google has invested in software that allows photographers to search for their image using it's unique code. You could run the risk that this news was rubbish, or that it's true but the photographer is too busy to search or you can pay £15-£30 and have piece of mind that you will not be chased for a percentage of your earnings.
Understanding usage agreements is just as important when hiring an artist to create your cover. From experience it is a good idea to negotiate the extent of the agreement before you hire them.
A self-employed artist will be reasonably flexible with these rights to snare the work. This is your chance to obtain global unrestricted rights. That enables you to sell on the cover rights to a publisher if you go down that route in the future. It also enables you to print t-shirts, posters, postcards and anything else with it on and sell them.
It's useless trying to negotiate it after as chances are they will want more money to extend the license as it could be a while before they get more work! Also, if they don't want to negotiate the terms of the agreement they will simply say no but still offer to do the work, you don't really have anything to lose.
3) Once it's done - leave it!
With an artist they will send you several versions so they can determine what you're looking for. They will then artwork a version that you can make suggestions on. You need to be honest straight away with these guys as they will eventually tire of being told to make minor tweaks.
Have a good idea of what you're after and then when you see something you like accept it and leave it. You will forever see things you want to change, minor things you're not happy with - deal with it. Get to a stage where you aren't physically repulsed by it, see that it represents the book well and then show it to the world. Once it's out there it can't be take away and you will begin to like it for what it represents; Your story.
I hope this helps a few of you. If you have any questions or want tips on how to tackle this mammoth, and very important obstacle in self-publishing, drop me an email.
As always, stay safe.
Friday 8 April 2011
The wall
Occasionally I find myself stuck. Feet in the mud, hands pressed against the glass I struggle to go farther than I have already travelled. Some call it 'writer's block', others call it 'hitting the wall'; I call it floundering.
It is not, for me, that I cannot physically surmount the obstacle before me and it is not that the answer is the other side of said hurdle. Rarely have I climbed the wall and the next chapter presented itself tapping it's watch asking what took me so long. More often than not the answer will not simply arise, the wall does not merely crumble. The continuation of the plot is a process of logic, articulation and emotion (probably in that order) and, therefore, relies on writing a small progression, editing, writing further, editing, and then the obstacle is removed and the story flows more freely.
It is this process of trying to pluck a path out of thin air that reminds me more of a fish out of water than a climber at the foot of Everest; after all, is a fish out of water not the same as a writer that cannot write?
However briefly these incidences occur, they scare me. As with anything remotely resembling a talent one worries that it may not last forever; golfers lose their stroke, sprinters wane on their pace and comedians stop being perceived as funny. Could this happen to me? Will I wake up one day and find I can no longer write?
Of course there is always the chance that one of life's many unpleasantries may arise that render a full inability to form letters upon a page but the idea that, for no apparent rhyme nor reason, one's ability to craft an engaging and liberating story could cease to exist. This scares me a lot.
To me writing is not only the ability to escape into a world that can never truly exist but it is also a way to bring something new into the world. Short of creating children this is my only way of doing so and to lose the ability to create, to carve characters from nothing, hew worlds together from a mere thought, would be devastating.
That is why I flounder. I would rather continue to write, as disjointed and painful as it may be at the time, and write only twenty words than stop in the fear that I may never even manage those twenty. After all, one can always revisit those painful twenty words and sculpt them into something more tantalising at a more appropriate time.
Stay safe,
Jensen Carter
It is not, for me, that I cannot physically surmount the obstacle before me and it is not that the answer is the other side of said hurdle. Rarely have I climbed the wall and the next chapter presented itself tapping it's watch asking what took me so long. More often than not the answer will not simply arise, the wall does not merely crumble. The continuation of the plot is a process of logic, articulation and emotion (probably in that order) and, therefore, relies on writing a small progression, editing, writing further, editing, and then the obstacle is removed and the story flows more freely.
It is this process of trying to pluck a path out of thin air that reminds me more of a fish out of water than a climber at the foot of Everest; after all, is a fish out of water not the same as a writer that cannot write?
However briefly these incidences occur, they scare me. As with anything remotely resembling a talent one worries that it may not last forever; golfers lose their stroke, sprinters wane on their pace and comedians stop being perceived as funny. Could this happen to me? Will I wake up one day and find I can no longer write?
Of course there is always the chance that one of life's many unpleasantries may arise that render a full inability to form letters upon a page but the idea that, for no apparent rhyme nor reason, one's ability to craft an engaging and liberating story could cease to exist. This scares me a lot.
To me writing is not only the ability to escape into a world that can never truly exist but it is also a way to bring something new into the world. Short of creating children this is my only way of doing so and to lose the ability to create, to carve characters from nothing, hew worlds together from a mere thought, would be devastating.
That is why I flounder. I would rather continue to write, as disjointed and painful as it may be at the time, and write only twenty words than stop in the fear that I may never even manage those twenty. After all, one can always revisit those painful twenty words and sculpt them into something more tantalising at a more appropriate time.
Stay safe,
Jensen Carter
Tuesday 29 March 2011
Revolution Part 2
An idea is fine, until it withers into inaction.
For some time I have taken the realisation described in Revolution and researched the logistics of becoming a self publishing author. In my search I came across several barriers as well as several revelations.
I, personally, fall into the camp that is defined by a lack of attachment to the physical novel.
I have many books, I even collect them but what I do not see is a viable business model for a start-up self publisher that involves printing books.
If you do not fall into this camp and must have a printed book then printing on demand is the best option for a self publisher, mostly because it doesn't involve a large financial outlay to create a batch of books, which then need to be stored and sold. For this reason self publishers should rule out the typical model for self (or vanity) publishing.
With all due respect writers tend to be better at writing than hard selling and even if you are able to sell ice to an eskimo chances are you would prefer to be at your desk writing your next novel.
While I'm on that phrase 'vanity' I will address my observation now that this can only have been coined as a way of perturbing writers from publishing their creations themselves and bypassing the established institutions. By making it seem selfishly motivated you inevitably question whether your work is good in its own right or is it just your desire to be published that drives you. Who cares? If your story reaches only one person and gives them a good read that is one person that otherwise would never have heard your tale.
Back to the topic and print on demand is the best option for those that want hard copies of their books to exist but in today's society people are more likely to try out a new author, or one that is not in the limelight as much, if they are encouraged to buy on a price-based front.
What I mean by this is that if your debut novel costs £1.00 they see minimal risk associated with trying you out. As you earn a reputation you may begin to charge more if you wish to. As a side note 100% of £1.00 is 30p more than if you were with a conventional publisher retailing your book at £5.99 with the typical author receiving 12%.
Sadly print on demand drains the percentage of royalties the author gains but, to some, that is a cost far outweighed by having a hard copy of their work to place on their bookshelf alongside their favourite authors. This is up to the writer. I would rather build a fan base and sell to them digitally to generate the revenue in order to support a print batch safe in the knowledge that they will be snapped up, thus minimising the storage fees, but that's just me.
To me the next logical step for a new self publishing author is digital publication. There are several reasons for this beyond the financial benefits listed in Revolution.
One of them, and is the mainstay of self publishing as a whole, is freedom of press. The writer decides where the book is sold, for how much and when. The digital world opens up more than getting your newly printed book in Border, err, or Waterstones, oh dear, or....another high street retailer. Another side note, the demise of the high street book retailer should be an indication, to those looking to enter the market, that this is not where the future lies.
Bearing in mind the main retailers only started taking eBooks seriously in 2009 (New Media Age http://tinyurl.com/6cjmqsb) to have Amazon report digital book sales overtaking hard copies in only a year shows the unquestionable popularity of the format (The Guardian July 2010 http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/jul/20/amazon-ebook-digital-sales-hardbacks-us) with 143 eBooks sold for every 100 hardbacks. With the launch of the new iPad and the popularity of smart phones and other tablet devices this number is only likely to increase.
To publish digitally you need to go through an affiliate publisher. Many of these charge a percentage for the privilege, if you sell through Smashwords they take 15% when an eBook is sold through them and the other retailers (Amazon, iBooks etc) generally take 40% of any book sold through them.
To set yourself up as an affiliate with iBooks you need at least 10 titles to your name, the same applies with Kobo. Kobo suggest using several other affiliates to get up and running such as the aforementioned (and apparently very good) Smashwords, FastPencil, eBookit and authorsolutions. Each of these will take a small cut on books sold through their websites and often charge a fee for uploading and converting the files (Kobo only accept ONIX metadata, iBooks take ePub). This is a much cheaper solution than the traditional method.
There may be another solution.
As a community of aspiring or self publishing authors there is no reason why a cooperative couldn't be formed, banding together a minimum of ten titles that would meet the requirements for the likes of Kobo and iBooks. This cooperative would be able to pool its resources, promoting each other through their fan bases on Twitter and Facebook and even scraping together a small amount of funding.
The funding would go towards a Facebook fan page that could retail books, whether they be physical or digital. With no third party taking a cut for selling the books any author selling through the fan page would receive 100% of their royalties. With only those books sold through iBooks, amazon and Kobo having a cut taken from them.
It's just an idea but if there are enough people interested I will investigate on a more detailed level as to setting up this cooperative and either using Facebook (with it's benefits of social engagement, cheap set up and video content able to be added), or a website offering a more enhanced experience.
Feel free to PM me on Twitter (@JensenCarter) with additional ideas or to show your support for this idea.
All the best.
Jensen Carter
For some time I have taken the realisation described in Revolution and researched the logistics of becoming a self publishing author. In my search I came across several barriers as well as several revelations.
I, personally, fall into the camp that is defined by a lack of attachment to the physical novel.
I have many books, I even collect them but what I do not see is a viable business model for a start-up self publisher that involves printing books.
If you do not fall into this camp and must have a printed book then printing on demand is the best option for a self publisher, mostly because it doesn't involve a large financial outlay to create a batch of books, which then need to be stored and sold. For this reason self publishers should rule out the typical model for self (or vanity) publishing.
With all due respect writers tend to be better at writing than hard selling and even if you are able to sell ice to an eskimo chances are you would prefer to be at your desk writing your next novel.
While I'm on that phrase 'vanity' I will address my observation now that this can only have been coined as a way of perturbing writers from publishing their creations themselves and bypassing the established institutions. By making it seem selfishly motivated you inevitably question whether your work is good in its own right or is it just your desire to be published that drives you. Who cares? If your story reaches only one person and gives them a good read that is one person that otherwise would never have heard your tale.
Back to the topic and print on demand is the best option for those that want hard copies of their books to exist but in today's society people are more likely to try out a new author, or one that is not in the limelight as much, if they are encouraged to buy on a price-based front.
What I mean by this is that if your debut novel costs £1.00 they see minimal risk associated with trying you out. As you earn a reputation you may begin to charge more if you wish to. As a side note 100% of £1.00 is 30p more than if you were with a conventional publisher retailing your book at £5.99 with the typical author receiving 12%.
Sadly print on demand drains the percentage of royalties the author gains but, to some, that is a cost far outweighed by having a hard copy of their work to place on their bookshelf alongside their favourite authors. This is up to the writer. I would rather build a fan base and sell to them digitally to generate the revenue in order to support a print batch safe in the knowledge that they will be snapped up, thus minimising the storage fees, but that's just me.
To me the next logical step for a new self publishing author is digital publication. There are several reasons for this beyond the financial benefits listed in Revolution.
One of them, and is the mainstay of self publishing as a whole, is freedom of press. The writer decides where the book is sold, for how much and when. The digital world opens up more than getting your newly printed book in Border, err, or Waterstones, oh dear, or....another high street retailer. Another side note, the demise of the high street book retailer should be an indication, to those looking to enter the market, that this is not where the future lies.
Bearing in mind the main retailers only started taking eBooks seriously in 2009 (New Media Age http://tinyurl.com/6cjmqsb) to have Amazon report digital book sales overtaking hard copies in only a year shows the unquestionable popularity of the format (The Guardian July 2010 http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/jul/20/amazon-ebook-digital-sales-hardbacks-us) with 143 eBooks sold for every 100 hardbacks. With the launch of the new iPad and the popularity of smart phones and other tablet devices this number is only likely to increase.
To publish digitally you need to go through an affiliate publisher. Many of these charge a percentage for the privilege, if you sell through Smashwords they take 15% when an eBook is sold through them and the other retailers (Amazon, iBooks etc) generally take 40% of any book sold through them.
To set yourself up as an affiliate with iBooks you need at least 10 titles to your name, the same applies with Kobo. Kobo suggest using several other affiliates to get up and running such as the aforementioned (and apparently very good) Smashwords, FastPencil, eBookit and authorsolutions. Each of these will take a small cut on books sold through their websites and often charge a fee for uploading and converting the files (Kobo only accept ONIX metadata, iBooks take ePub). This is a much cheaper solution than the traditional method.
There may be another solution.
As a community of aspiring or self publishing authors there is no reason why a cooperative couldn't be formed, banding together a minimum of ten titles that would meet the requirements for the likes of Kobo and iBooks. This cooperative would be able to pool its resources, promoting each other through their fan bases on Twitter and Facebook and even scraping together a small amount of funding.
The funding would go towards a Facebook fan page that could retail books, whether they be physical or digital. With no third party taking a cut for selling the books any author selling through the fan page would receive 100% of their royalties. With only those books sold through iBooks, amazon and Kobo having a cut taken from them.
It's just an idea but if there are enough people interested I will investigate on a more detailed level as to setting up this cooperative and either using Facebook (with it's benefits of social engagement, cheap set up and video content able to be added), or a website offering a more enhanced experience.
Feel free to PM me on Twitter (@JensenCarter) with additional ideas or to show your support for this idea.
All the best.
Jensen Carter
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