Author Spotlight no.399 – Alan Place

Today’s Author Spotlight, the three hundred and ninety-ninth, is of multi-genre author Alan Place. If you would like to take part in an author spotlight, take a look at author-spotlights.

From an early age, Alan found he had a talent for telling stories, but it wasn’t until he read http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Silver_Sword did he realise, being a writer may be his calling.

All through his school days, he was never happier than reading, or telling stories; he was more often found in the library than playing sports; in later life he found out this probably saved his life as he suffered from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypertrophic_cardiomyopathy , an inherited illness which kills otherwise healthy athletes suddenly, and for no apparent reason.

In between the dream, and the realisation of a dream, was a little thing called “life,” and it took over 50 years to reach a stage where he had the time to write.

His earliest stories were westerns, but he as yet hasn’t done any for sale; five years ago after he became disabled, he decided to take up writing, and made a rep for writing ghost stories. These have been good sellers in the UK http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00BNDHL0U and he has been in the Amazon top 20 Ghost Anthology section several times.

Three years ago he started a blog http://alsdomain.weebly.com/which will close this month  http://alsdomain.weebly.com/whats-happening/it-doesnt-matter-anymore other than contact with a few close friends, and his friends on  https://www.facebook.com/groups/665685033479843/ and http://thepeacockwriters.weebly.com/ he will effectively be off line.

And Alan’s emails close with: “A writer without an audience, is like a one-handed clap.” Harlan Coben, Bristol, April 9th, 2014. :)

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And now from the author himself:

 

Guest post: Who’s Going to Do the Marketing? by Andrew Crofts

Today’s guest blog post is brought to you by ghostwriter, novelist and writing guide guru Andrew Crofts.

The Widest Range of Publishing Options Ever Available to Authors – But Who’s Going to Do the Marketing? by Andrew Crofts

Once upon a time there was really only one publishing option. If you couldn’t persuade a traditional publisher to make you an offer you pretty much had to give up on ever seeing your work move beyond manuscript stage. There was the possibility of “vanity publishing”, as self-publishing was known then, but the costs were exorbitant and without the internet it was virtually impossible to distribute and sell the resulting books beyond your own family circle.

Now however it is all different – up to a point.

As we speak, I am in the process of publishing several different books, one with the very traditional HarperCollins – (“Secret Child”, which I wrote with Gordon Lewis about his childhood in a home for single mothers in Dublin in the Fifties) – one with the selective, bespoke publisher Red Door – (“Chances”, an erotic love story which I ghosted for the author known only as “Penny”) – and one with Thistle Publishing, the enormously successful imprint run by literary agents Andrew Lownie and David Haviland, (“Pretty Little Packages” a novel about people-trafficking and modern slavery which was first published in 2001 under the title “Maisie’s Amazing Maids”, cover below).

The most obvious difference is in the offices they all inhabit. HarperCollins, being part of one of the biggest media corporations in the world, has just moved to a Thames-side tower block beside the Shard. The hushed, open-plan offices seem to stretch forever, merging into the view across the city below. Hundreds of young publishing people move silently amongst the white desks and glass meeting pods. Red Door, by contrast, happens in a converted barn behind the founder’s house. Clare Christian, who first set up and then sold The Friday Project, lives down the end of a seemingly ever-lasting lane, her family farm nestling beneath the picturesque South Downs. Meanwhile Thistle Publishing happens in Andrew Lownie’s elegant town house in a Dickensian street behind Westminster Abbey, from which he has been operating his extraordinarily successful literary agency for many years.

The first thought that occurs to me, therefore, is how many more books have to be sold to support a giant glass edifice beside the Thames than are needed to give a good living to a publisher or agent who works from home. I’ve published many books with HarperCollins however, and know that when they have their eye on the ball they are able to shift cartloads of the things into supermarkets around the country virtually overnight. The editors and publicity people who populate the shiny new glass pods are all as smart and market savvy as you would expect of employees of possibly the most voracious corporate titan in the world, but will they have time to concentrate on Secret Child when they have so many other books coming out at the same time?

So if all three can edit and design beautiful books, it all comes down to marketing muscle and public relations guile. Andrew Lownie and David Haviland, being agents, are both seasoned sales people who understand the publishing industry from grass roots upwards, including the absolute necessity to generate real sales if an author is to earn a living. Clare Christian worked at Hodder before she set out to build her own companies and is equally in touch with the realities of the marketplace.

 

Guest post: All The Fun Of The Fair by Marion Grace Woolley

Today’s guest blog post, on the topic of an unusual location, is brought to you by Marion Grace Woolley.

All The Fun Of The Fair

Who doesn’t like a circus?

From The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern to The Trapeze Artist by Will Davis, there is something darkly seductive and sinisterly suggestive about a carnival. They are places of possibility, where the fantasies of childhood outweigh our adult rationale, where the smile of a clown can brighten or frighten, and where deviations of all description are celebrated.

Those Rosy Hours at Mazandaran is set in the mid-1800s, where travelling circuses roamed as far as Europe and the Middle East, combining their wonders with local folklore and superstition, playing on a thirst for sights never before seen.

The book opens with the Shah of Iran listening to the story of a fur trader who has travelled from Russia with a troop of gypsies. Among them is a magician as ugly as sin, yet possessing the voice of an angel. Intrigued, the Shah offers a reward for the whereabouts of this circus, that he might bring them to Iran to entertain his daughter on her eleventh birthday.

The challenge for me was to create a circus that would enchant my characters, living in a world long ago, and my readers, wise to the tricks of Daren Brown and Dynamo.

To begin with, I drew upon my own memories.

 

Online marketing tactics for young writers by Michael McPherson

Today’s guest blog post is brought to you by Michael McPherson.

Online marketing tactics for young writers

Writing full time is a viciously difficult profession. I very rarely see a happy writer because any form of writing is like tearing the flesh from your bones; especially if you have to do it every day. Being a full-time writer is difficult because you have to find the motivation to write over and over again until you start climbing the walls with frustration. I know because I have done it and I help authors on market with their services on a regular basis.

How do you get work every day? How do you turn your hobby into a profession? How do you even start paid-writing as a hobby in the first place? First, you need to create an online reputation, build it, cultivate it and maintain it. Here are a few of my best online-marketing tips to help you start and build your reputation.

Build your own website

This should be the first step in your writing endeavor. You need your own website that acts like an online portfolio. Do not get bogged down in details at first. Put yourself in the shoes of your employer. Would you want to read that the writer has been a writer for six years? Or, would you like to see references to every article he or she has ever written? The answer is the former. When you hire a mechanic, you do not ask how many cars he or she has ever fixed.

Put in more than one picture of yourself on your website. It shows that you are human and not a marketing ploy by a writing club. Show a professional one, one with your pet, and one stood beside an expensive car (it doesn’t have to be yours).

Lie on your website

 

Guest post: The Hardest-Working Character Template by Rebecca Chastain

Today’s guest blog post is brought to you by Rebecca Chastain.

The Hardest-Working Character Template

The key ingredient of every great novel is unforgettable characters. Unfortunately, engaging protagonists and crafty villains don’t typically spring fully formed onto the pages of your masterpiece. That’s where character templates come in.

Creating a character template is as much about getting down the information you know about a new character as it is brainstorming and developing the character. Some characters will practically write their own profiles, but when they don’t (and most don’t), filling out the template helps you stack characteristics, desires, and fictional past experiences into the shape of a realistic person.

Never underestimate the importance of character templates. If you’re the type of writer who uses a template to keep track of only the basics, consider putting in a little more time; the deeper you delve, the greater your chances for unearthing character (and plot) gold.

Level 1: Cover the Basics

What does your character look like? When you start the first draft, it seems impossible to forget the eye color of your favorite characters, but after months or years of writing and polishing your novel, you’d be surprised how often you misremember. Your readers, however, will zip through your novel in only a few hours or days, and character inconsistencies will drive them nuts. My number one motto is “keep the reader happy,” so I like to have templates to reference. In this section, list:

• Eye color
• Hair color and style
• Height
• Weight
• Scars
• Other important physical characteristics (dimples, eyebrow shape, facial hair, etc.)

This is also the place for standard, unchanging facts:

• Birth date
• Birth place
• Age

Of course, your story might take place over several years, and things like age and hair could change. Note the changes and when they happen so you don’t accidentally describe your character’s blond curls when he got a buzz cut a month (and two chapters) earlier.

Level 2: All That Surrounds and Shapes Your Character

You character did not grow up in a vacuum, nor does she live in one (unless she’s a djinn). Now’s the time to rummage through her belongings, flip through her photo albums, and riffle through her memories. Level 1 answers were easy and short. These answers are probably going to be long, either bulleted lists or paragraphs.

• Educational background
• Work experience
• Parents, siblings, children (and other important family)
• Pets
• Friends
• Romantic relationships (past and current)
• Home environment (physical and mental)
• Music, art, and reading preferences
• Dress or style
• Favorite color
• Likes and hates

If you’re writing a character template, it’s safe to say you’ve already developed a general plot or at least have the first chapter mentally ready to go. So when you finish this section, it’s tempting to jump right into your story. It feels like you know your character inside and out. You’ve got her past, her present, and some inkling of her future choices based on her history. Resist the temptation to write just yet. Take your character to the next level.

Level 3: Buried Treasures

 

Author Spotlight no.398 – Ken Magee

Complementing my interviews, today’s Author Spotlight, the three hundred and ninety-eighth, is of fantasy author, guest blogger and interviewee Ken Magee. If you would like to take part in an author spotlight, take a look at author-spotlights.

Most folk believe that technology rules their lives. They’re wrong. Dark conspiracies and ancient magic actually dominate this planet. This author’s one mission in life is to open people’s eyes to that fact.

His name is Ken Magee and he tells people he writes contemporary fantasies which blend adventure and humour with technology and magic. His books live under the tagline ‘ancient magic meets the Internet’. He pretends that they’re works of fiction, because he’s afraid of the powerful people behind the conspiracies… he’s hoping a ‘fiction’ writer will slip under their radar.

Up until the point when he discovered about the frightening plot which deliberately caused major world catastrophes, such as the two world wars and the recent global financial meltdown, he’d led a fairly normal life. He’d worked for many years in the computer industry in roles ranging from programming through to sales. In the middle of it all, he served in the Naval Reserve… which, he tells me, was hard work, but fun. Then he decided to accept a redundancy package which was on offer and he used his newly-acquired free time to finish Dark Tidings, the book he’d started many years earlier (writing not reading). He says he would have finished it sooner, but life got in the way. It’s finished now (the book, not his life).

Since then, he hasn’t looked back as far as writing is concerned and the trilogy which began with Dark Tidings has been completed by the publication of The Black Conspiracy and A Darker Shade of Black.

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And now from the author himself:

 

Guest post: Mundane Is as Mundane Does by Alison E Bruce

Today’s guest blog post is brought to you by Alison E Bruce.

When I started writing ‘A Bodyguard To Remember’, I wanted an escape from the mundane adventures of being a single parent of two active kids. So naturally I wrote a story about a single parent of two active kids who finds a body in her living room. Then I asked myself: What would I do?

I hope I would remember the golden words of Douglas Adams: “DON’T PANIC!” Prudence Hartley does. She backs out of the door, stops her children from entering and calls 9-1-1… right after calling her ex to pick up the kids. I would have called 9-1-1 first, but Pru calling her ex seemed more amusing. And that was my touchstone for Pru’s actions. Do what I would do but funnier and maybe braver.

Or maybe not.

I gave Pru more opportunity to be funny and brave than I generally get, but when the sh*t hits the fan, I get through it with humour. When you can quip with your paramedic, you come across as being courageous. Putting on a brave face for the kids can fool you as much as the rest of the world. Another saying to remember: “Fake it ‘til you make it.”

There may be a few skeletons in my closet (left over from Hallowe’en) but no dead bodies in my living room. My children aren’t twins or that much like Grace and Boone (although my son would have been named Grace Evelyn if he had been a girl). Nevertheless, there is a lot of me in Prudence Hartley. Neither of us are superwomen, but we’re not that mundane either. We don’t laugh at danger, but we will crack jokes afterward.