Or rather it’s all about you… well mine’s about me, yours will be about you. What am I flailing about you might ask? Biographies, your writers Bio more specifically. Most every written work has a short snippet about the author either in the front or at the back or even on the fancy dust cover of a hardback.

Now, I consider myself to be a fairly confident, gregarious fellow and I can talk about myself and my work pretty comfortably with almost anyone but! Ask me to write about myself and it becomes a singularly uncomfortable process. Many of you might share that feeling whether it’s for a C.V. or a Personal Statement. Writing something about ourselves has a permanence about it, the impressions we make in a conversation can be moulded, reshaped over time, and let’s not forget that, in terms of actual communication, words on a page or screen only hold a fraction of the message we can convey with our tone, inflection, body language and facial expression. Words written down are subject to interpretation so, what one person reads might prompt a different reaction in someone else.

That said a bio is not the deepest, innermost thoughts and feelings of the author. It is simply a quick handshake with the readers, a snippet about your experience as a writer and a brief expression of yourself so that the reader can get a feeling that they know a little more about you so that you’re not simply a faceless name on the spine of the book.

So, between carefully crafting a series of words that limits interpretation and sharing a little of yourself to engage with the reader, creating a bio can be somewhat frustrating. Try to avoid seeming self-important but you also don’t want your piece to be flat. Of course you don’t want the tone of your bio to clash overmuch with the tone of your novel. A gritty thriller written by an author who makes jokes about losing socks (not a real example) is likely to call some question to your credibility so balance the tone of your bio against the content of your novel and, as with everything, edit and review. Get someone else to pass over your bio for your own piece of mind and, again, as with anything else, weight the value of their advice.

Your manuscript is yours, any editorial advice you get from the industry is suggested to help you and you should give it due consideration. Your bio is about you and an outside view of what someone else see’s can be a benefit to that too.

This one might get a little rambly, there are a couple of topics I’m hoping to cover so bear with me.

Back in my GNVQ Media course at college we had a regular lesson called ‘Content’. I really enjoyed the lesson, initially because we got to watch movies and later, for the discussions we’d have afterwards. You see, after we’d watched the film we’d discuss what we thought the director was doing or trying to get us to think through their use of cinamatography, music and various other tools of the movie-makers art. It was about what feelings they were trying to encourage in their audience and what opinions they were attempting to get us to form of their characters and the situations they were in. As movie makers they have the benefit of visual and audio stimulus to influence the audience but, as writers we have the clarity of language at out disposal. A director can make you aware that a character is sad via lighting, music and facial expression but we can tell the reader the full depths of the characters sadness.

So, about content. What story are you trying to tell? What is the feel, the genre of your story? Comedy, tragedy, romance, any possible mix of a multitude of types of story are at the fingertips of your imagination but, deeper than what you say is how you say it. You have the capacity to influence the reader through your use of language and that brings with it a certain responcibility to the characters you are representing and that is were I wanted to go with this blog.

Representation.

A couple of blogs ago I talked about the dangers of stereotypes because we, as human beings, are influenced by our life experiences and the opinions of others. If someone we respect voices an opinion we are more likely to consider and therefore adopt, that opinion. As writers e hope to gain a certain amount of respect, it’s how we will sell our works and therein lies our responcibility to fairly represent the world and it’s peoples.

‘But I’m writing a fairytale, a fantasy full of goblins, elves and other non-human entities!’

We can look at media history and see unfair representations of ethnic minorities that existed in times and properties and, even when they weren’t directly labelled as such, the influence was there. Florence Kate Upton invented the Golliwog as an affable protagonist in the late 19th century, Enid Blyton included one in Noddy as one of the main characters myriad friends but, as racial intolerances grew during the 20th century more were introduced as antagonists and the underlying message of tolerance became on of caution.

We’ve all hear the phrase ‘Token Black Guy’ (they always die in horror movies) or GBF (Gay Best Friend and, more often than not they’re ‘Fabulous’) and so often they are stereotypes played for laughs, caricatures rather than real developed characters. So, as I said in my previous blog on stereotypes, they’re a movie mechanic. Limited storytelling time pushes the director/writer of an ensemble piece to employ the stereotype to quickly familiarize the audience with the character but, in novels we have a much greater scope to develope believable characters and to be sensetive about those we do represent and representation is important. The world is a wonderful, diverse place full of rich personalities and cultures and there’s no reason not to include that in your works.

This is also a time when we can  influence the use of language, phasing out established but masculine oriented terms in favour of gender-neutral ones is a gentle step toward gender-norming. You may, or may not want to use your work as a soapbox for social progressiveness but (I’m hoping) you certainly don’t want to enforce, even casually, any kind of intolerance or inequality which usually means the villains (rather than bad-guys) getting their comeuppance.

I think the main point I’m trying to make is, if you’re going to approach, even in passing, issues of race, gender, disability or equality or represent them in your work you should bare in mind the old addage ‘Writers write what they know’. Do your research, talk to people, gain their insight and experience and it can only benefit your work in the long run.

None of this should to limit your creativity, in fact it should encourage you to look harder at your characters and their motives, give them extra dimensions that you might not have considered before.

 

Happy New Year everyone, today I’m going to share a few insights into contracted work or Freelancing.

When I started making a noise about publishing my first book back in January a contact I had made previously got in touch and asked if I’d be interested in doing some Freelance work. ‘Great’ I thought because, you know, paid work writing, what’s not to like? And, I must admit, I really do like it.

The freelance work that I’ve done to date has been settings work for tabletop Roleplay books, setting the scene, building the world that the story will be set in. Having someone approach you with an offer of work is a wonderful thing but, if you’re interested in getting into such work you’re going to have to ‘pound the pavement’ a bit before you get an offer of work. Writing for the games industry can bring you into writing for Roleplay games, computer games and other areas in that sector.

Once you have an offer of work you’ll likely get a genre, word-count and deadline, this is likely before you even get a contract, it’s the final chance to decide whether you’re up to doing the work. If it’s a co-operative piece with a pool of workers you should get invited to an online workspace, I thoroughly recommend signing up since your fellow writer will prove an invaluable resource and it’s nice to be able to communicate with other people on a job.

The project should come with a style guide, the company layout for recieving work. This guide will cover format, layout and font, basically how to setup your document. This means you’ll have to know how to setup a template in your chosen word processing programme and even how to convert to a given file format. A full guide might also make suggestions on style and language, it’s important to read these documents and pay attention to what they say. They’re setup to ensure that the editors don’t have to make the changes for you and that means they can give the meat of your work their full attention.

On the subject of Editors, talk to yours, your project coordinator or whatever. That’s not to say barrage them with questions, compliments and small talk but, if you’re struggling for inspiration or look like you might fail to make the deadline don’t be afraid to speak up. Extensions can be granted in most cases also the project coordinator will be more familiar with the material you’re working on than you are. On the subject of the material, if you’re working on an existing Intellectual Property you ought to be granted access to related material already in print (but that’s not a given).

The first draft will go to a redline stage where the coordinator will look over your work and make edits or suggestions. If your coordinator is really nice (like mine) they’ll also provide some words of praise for good work. Now, this is the really important part, DON’T be too ‘precious’ over your work. You’ve written it for someone else, they WILL want to make changes. It’s not an insult to recieve suggestions. Your material has to fit THEIR brief. Once you’ve made tha amendments atthe Redline stage your work goes back, you might see it again for a final review but hopefully, by this point, it’ll be ready for acceptance.

I won’t be so crass as to talk about rates. Usually, as far as freelance work is concerned, it’ll be a rate of cents per word. Payment will probably be split between getting the draft approved and the product hitting the shelves. It will take some time, in order to make a living doing freelance you’ve either got to be very good or incredibly prolific.

Follow up. You might be content to sit around and wait for your coordinator to contact you about further work but, as mine has said, don’t contact them asking why they haven’t. If you want to work with them again by all means contact them and ask them if they have any work going but, if they don’t contact you after a job is done with a future prospect the liklyhood is that there isn’t a new project on the horizon or, that you made yourself unpopular for some reason. So, understand that the work you’re doing is on someone elses behalf, if you’re in a team be part of that team and, if you want work get out there and find it. Track down the companies who produce the material you like to write, put together a writers CV (these places don’t want to know about your time in retail or at a desk, they want to know what you’ve written and for who) and contact them, every couple of months if you have to.

Good luck, have fun, and here’s to a productive and prosperous 2019!

 

Happy New Year Everyone!

So, it’s been a little under a year since I released Camelot 2050: Black Knight and (in the scheme of things) it’s doing well. The thing is I (like many of us who release our work out into the world) want it to fly, to soar and, hopefully, one day it will. In the interim all that I can do is carry on working and wait for Camelot to gain the momentum I know it can.

But waiting is SO frustrating, you know that and I know that and it can impact on your work if you’re not aware of it. Feeling like ‘you’re not getting there’, especially in the current industry situation, is the new rejection syndrome. So many writers quit because the rejections got to them and that was back when getting an agent was the way to go. Now you’re expected to self publish to prove you can finish a product or move units alongside everything else, the stress and frustration, feeling like you’re not making progress.

The most importnant part of writing is to stick with it. You might never be recognised but, you’ll never know unless you try and never at all if you quit. As I’ve said before, if your work makes one reader happy you can count yourself a success.

I know this is only a short entry but I’m desperate to make some progress myself and start the 2019 right!

Before I go quiet for the Holiday Season I thought I’d share what I’ve learned about the state of play in the publishing industry over the last year since next year I’ll be working on a novel to attract a publisher and agent.

So, back in the day a writer would work on their manuscript, take it to agents until one of them took a liking to it and then the agent would take it to the publishers and arrange everything, distribution, promotion, appearances etc. That’s not how it works today.

From conversations with various other authors, webinars and panels with publishers what I have learned is that the process has pretty much reversed with the introduction of cheap and easy self-publishing and social media, so (whilst the goal is still to get an agent) actually getting an agent is pretty much the last item on the list, almost.

So what’s they new process? Well, writing the book is still the first thing to do, the promise of a finished work doesn’t sell so well (unless you’re already famous) so getting the work done is still item one. From there the publishers and authors I’ve spoken to recommend getting it out there, Self-Publish and start building an audience. Now you also want to start self-promoting, social media and going to conventions to promote your brand.

Once you’ve proven that you can not only write a book but have a social presence and a willingness to make appearances you can start pitching to publishers. These days your publisher can pretty much fulfil the role of an agent (up to a point) and it’s not uncommon to stop there, sit back and wait to see if you appear on the Bestsellers lists. Depending on how your book does on the market you might then choose to approach and agent or (if it really takes off) an agent might approach you and that (hopefully) is where it all takes off.

So, next year is the year I put pen to paper on a standalone novel to take to publishers, during that time I’ll be attending nearly a dozen conventions to promote my existing work. In the meantime, remember to check reviews on the self-publishing services or ‘publishers’ you approach. A self-publishing house will charge you, file uploads and unit print costs, a ‘publisher’ who asks for money up front isn’t a proper reputable publisher looking to sell your book for you.

So, for 2018 that’s it so far. Happy Holidays and see you in the New Year!

Just a point of clarity for starters, I am not an English Lit Major. The study of Literature didn’t figure in my education beyond secondary school, I’ve read a lot (within my preferred genres) and I watch a lot of TV shows, movies and the like so, what follows isn’t what you’d call an ‘educated opinion’ just my opinion.

The sources I’ve read, articles by editors and the like, brand stereotypes, coincidences and cliches as ‘bad’, evidence of ‘lazy’ writing or poor story planning but why? Let’s look at each one, see why they might appeal and then break down some of the drawbacks of using them.

A stereotype, a “widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing”, well straight away there’s the appeal. It’s something ‘everyone’ (the ephemeral everyone) already knows. It’s something familiar but, as the definition describes, it’s also fixed or rigid. The majority of stereotypes are also derogatory, you just have to look at how the sensationalist media have used them in past years, used and reinforced them to sell units or rally public outcry. Stereotypes based on race, culture or sexual/gender identity are almost universally ‘bad’, they demean the lived experiences of the individual by placing them within a template that people, people who often have no parallel experience think they can understand. Yet there are stereotypes that do appeal and do get used again and again, corrupt executives, shady lawyers and the like. These templates don’t rely on gender or race and there are enough examples of them in recent history to justify the use. But, back to the argument, a stereotype is not a character. It might form the basis for a character but that basis has to outgrow the confines of the template, gain dimension, until is no longer what it was before it can be accepted by the audience.

Coincidence, “a remarkable concurrence of events or circumstances that have no apparent connection with one another.” or (as some editors I’ve read have described it in the literary setting) ‘the divine hand of the writer intervening.’ sometimes you do write yourself into a hole, you can’t see a way out and going back to rewrite the sequence of events seems like an insurmountable job, you don’t want to discard a bulk of work to move forward. Of course a great explanation for ‘coincidence’ is ‘prophecy’ but that will likely already have been established, so it’s expected and accepted, but it doesn’t work well too far outside of the fantasy genre. The thing is coincidences, seemingly unbelievable coincidences, happen all the time but, by engineering circumstances the writers coincidences become ‘unbelievable’. I’m not saying certain coincidences don’t have their place but they should be subtly employed.

Cliches, “an expression, idea, or element of an artistic work which has become overused to the point of losing its original meaning or effect”. Again, even cursory reading of the internet will deliver the idea that cliches in literature are ‘bad’, very much like stereotypes. The corrupt exec, or shady lawyer examples come back around, are they stereotypes or cliches? Well they are both, both definitions apply and still they are used (more often as red herrings) and, like stereotypes there is the appeal of using the familiar, the comfortable to achieve a widely recognised image, the kindly mentor is another that endures. The idea extends into common sayings, a character who uses a cliche as a catchphrase isn’t being original. But, in this time when common conventions are being openly challenged, perhaps calling out the use of cliches, ‘hanging a lantern on it’, is an acceptable source of humour. We don’t have to completely disregard old ideas but, as writers we should be striving to put a fresh spin on them.

I’m not saying I’m not guilty of any or all of the above. In writing Camelot 2050 my main goal has been to produce something fun, something that, while it has a message of its own, doesn’t take itself too seriously, and, as my trunk work, I’ve railed against being told ‘how to do it’ (certainly at least one New York Times Bestseller has said ‘don’t be told what to write’). However, when (down the line) I want to be taken seriously by publishers or agents, my next project will certainly involve more planning, more attention to avoiding the stereotypes, coincidences and cliches that the broader writing world find so irritating. For now I’m pushing through writing book three of the trilogy and I am doing it how I want.

Pretty much everyone is familiar with ‘Writers Block’, those periods where your ideas dry up and you just can’t see a way forward. It’s something that every writer has to deal with at some point and we all have our own ways of dealing with it. Sometimes you just need to work on something else, clear your mind, sometimes it just takes a break and indulging in a little leisure (watching movies, reading books etc) and eventually you can overcome and sometimes it’s all down to motivation, some days you just don’t ‘feel it’ in you and getting in the chair is the hardest part.

For my own part, the toughest block I’ve hit recently is approaching the closing act of Camelot 2050: Dark Magic. The story I’ve been working on for over a decade and one that means a great deal to me. Closing a story that I’ve worked on for so long is different to approaching the end of a series I’ve enjoyed reading. There’s a feeling of obligation, to make the story the best I can in service to the readers who have supported my efforts. There’s also a hesitation, once I finish that book where do I go? I have concepts sure, I’ve even started some real work on some of them but Camelot 2050 is my debut, it’s been a part of my life for so long (and will continue to be) but once I finish the series I have to say goodbye to those characters, that world and it’s very much like saying goodbye to old friends.

So, what’s the answer? Well, my answer is deadlines. I have a set deadline, known and publicised on my social media, and the duty I feel to my readers will help me push my creative efforts forward.

I do want to finish, I’m driven to finish but, there’s the duality of not wanting that story to end. Like I say, I have my answers, I offer them here to encourage fellow writers to find their own and to reassure you that, the reluctance to finish a series of books, or even one book, is not a feeling you are alone in. I may come back to Camelot in future but, for now, I have other ideas that I need to explore and other goals to achieve. I hope that Dark Magic is a fitting end for the Camelot 2050 trilogy, I hope you enjoy it and I hope these blogs, infrequent as they are, help some of you with your own works.

I know I didn’t Blog last week, it’s getting on to winter and Authors in the Northern hemisphere are preparing for hibernation. Today I’m going to talk about shows. My experience of Conventions and trade shows to be specific. I’ve done a few and it’s been a real blast I have to admit.

I was lucky again in that my partner has been trading on the Con circuit for the past few years and had a good idea of where to go. This past year my calendar has been split between Film and Comic, Sci-Fi and Literary Conventions. The events themselves aren’t hard to find on the internet and what you’ll likely find is that they a split between those run by a parent company and those run by a society group.

The company run events tend toward celebrity appearances and trade stalls, there will be contests and giveaways and (this is the important bit) footfall. These are the conventions where you can sell, independent authors don’t tend to pop up in numbers at these events but the people who go to them are fans, they watch, they read and, sometimes, they’re on the lookout for something new. Face to face engagement is a key tool, if the reader can see your enthusiasm for your story then they will be enthused too. Groups to search for include the likes of GoGeek and Show Masters.

Independent shows like Easter Con and Bristol Con are more literature oriented, you’ll likely meet other authors there and the Conventions include panels, readings and chances to showcase your work. Signing up for a panel is a chance to identify with a wider group of people, choose a subject that you’re familiar with and have a passion for. It might be a genre or a theme like representation in literature, whatever you choose you want to engage the audience but try not to overrule the other panel guests. Don’t be disappointed if you don’t get included on a panel first time around, the Con organisers likely want to get an idea of your character and material first. Some conventions might ask for panel suggestions as well, it’s a good place to meet like-minded or experienced people. If you can find opportunities to attend a panel you can get some really good advice from people in the industry or you might just get the validation that what you’re doing is right. At a literary meet your going to be showcasing your books against other authors but remember, it’s not a competition but there are some steps you can take to up your game. Banners are cheap and relatively easy to produce, with the skills you can learn in producing your cover you can put together a banner design and have it printed to catch the eye of passing readers.

It all goes toward building your readership and promoting your material. Building connections with readers and others in the industry is an important part of getting your stories into the hands of the readers who’ll appreciate them.

I don’t regard myself as being immensely tech-savvy, just enough to get by. When I started self publishing (coming from a largely manufacturing background) I learned a great deal, from developing my knowledge of Word to Graphic design on Gimp. But, some lessons are learned the hard way.

I generally do my work first on Google Docs, it’s a secure and stable site that I can access from a desktop, laptop or (on rare occasions) even my phone. When the draft is done I transfer to Word for formatting and layout and, when that is done I store the file on a data stick and an external hard drive. Pretty safe you might think, well it’s only safe until you get complacent.

After the first release of Black Knight I followed the programme, one copy of both the manuscript and cover (also the original artwork) on the Hard Drive, one on the Data-Stick. I did the same for Dragon Fire and all was well. But Black Knight wasn’t finished, I needed to get it out in the world so it went out with some mistakes that had been missed in the first edit. So it was re-edited, the layout was brought up to scratch and that led to a reduced page count so the cover had to be redone and resubmitted. This is where I made the mistake.

I didn’t back up the 2nd edition, it was only on the external hard drive. I’d suffered computer failures before but, thanks to the external drive all my files, revisions, accounts and schedules where safe… until the external drive failed.

So, my strongest advice. Backup your files, regularly. Update your hardware periodically. Keep your creative output safe so that you can forge ahead with piece of mind.

Writers don’t exist in a vacuum (seriously, toss us into space and we explode just like anyone else), as I’ve previously mentioned isolation can be one of the hardest things to cope with when you spend a majority of your time in a world of your own devising. That’s where other writers can (and usually will) help.

I’ve been writing for years (on and off) but I didn’t become a ‘writer’ until November 2017. A close friend of mine already head a self-published work and was a great help and support in getting me to the point of publication. Another close friend, while I was finalising my first book for release, was putting together an RPG project and sourcing contributors for settings and vignettes and (as well as allowing me to submit to the project) had some very helpful input in the design aspect for the cover. Without these close friends I would have found it much harder to hit my release on time.

Having long-term contacts is a great support, especially when they have prior experience but I’m sure not everyone knows a writer first-hand. In attempting to promote my works I took to Facebook and Twitter but, as well as spreading the message I found the community. There are hundreds of writers at all stages of the process on social media and shared words of encouragement, memes and WIP (Work In Progress) updates can be encouraging to both starting and more seasoned writers.

I haven’t joined a writers group myself, neither have I been to the Writers Retreats I’ve occasionally seen advertised. It’s a personal preference and there is the view that it can encourage ‘writing by consensus’. Either way what I do have is a few trusted readers who preview my work and provide useful feedback.

Personally I think the best move for a starting writer is to hit the Convention Circuit. You can attend the panels, meet new people and then, once you’ve attended an event or two, you might even want to sit on a panel and share your own experiences.

As much as this blog is about seeking support in the community I must confess that some of my most productive days came about on a short holiday I took with my laptop to the South of France (which references back to my blog about looking after yourself). The stereotypical writers holiday I know but there’s a reason stereotypes become stereotypes.

Having contact with other writers and the means by which you have contact can have numerous benefits beside helping the keep you positive. These days having a strong Social Media presence is one thing that’s going to improve your chances at getting picked up by a Publisher. But, in conclusion, I have largely found that being a writer is one of the least competitive lines of work you can undertake. For the most part, the writers who I’ve talked to are only ever in competition with themselves, trying to write the best work that they are capable of.