Self-publishing: Learning the trade

Where did January go? Mainly I spent it coughing - it's that time of year. But now it's February, and onto my doormat plopped the latest edition of Writing magazine - always a source of information and entertainment.

Today's gem was from a reader complaining about comments in a previous edition. 'Not all of us have access to resources to fix such things as grammar and punctuation if our educations weren't as  exceptional as [Name's].'  The writer goes on to add up the costs of critique and copy-editing, postage and ink, and says  'Punctuation and grammar have never been my strongest point. ... My story has just as much right to be read as best sellers. So what can a self-published author do?'

I have great sympathy with those who feel that they have trouble with reading and writing, and especially with dyslexics, some of whom are brilliant story-tellers. They have very specific problems, which can scarcely be overcome by any means other than by paying a copy editor. Yes, it puts them at a disadvantage, but most of them are philosophical about it. But what of other writers who have no diagnosed disability? Is it enough to blame a poor education?

I would have loved to be able to play tennis. It wasn't that I was never fit enough: my Saturday job as a teenager was teaching in a dancing school. But no one ever bothered to teach me hand-eye co-ordination, so I spent five years at secondary school swiping wildly with a tennis racket and being tacfully ignored, along with my fellow sports failures, by the PE teacher.

I didn't attempt to take up tennis professionally.  To do so I would have had to embark on a serious course of remedial lessons in technique, and resigned myself to many years of practice, with no assurance of success at the end.

Yes, it may be that some writers know that their education failed to prepare them for their chosen career. But in these days of opportunities for mature students, literacy classes and the availability of the internet, it's not beyond anyone to find their own remedy.  Lynn Price writes on the Behler Blog:

You can have a great story idea, but if you write like you barely made it out of 8th grade, then no reputable editor will take pity on you and offer you a contract. They’ll kick you to the curb. Quickly.
Being an expert in your craft should take precedence over your desire to be published. Sadly, I see the opposite in large quantities.
Stamp this on your forehead: If you haven’t learned how to write, then you haven’t planned for success.

 Harsh words. But they come from a professional, and she's worth listening to.
Sorry to sound so crabbit. It's the cough.

Looking professional

If you're going to self-publish, you want your printed book to look professional. I have always thought of this requirement as primarily a need for good editing: nothing puts off a prospective reader more, I thought, than a scattering of literals and punctuation errors on the first page.

I was wrong. I have a discovered a whole new raft of horrors over at Lousy Book Covers. At least, I suppose, those covers warn the reader of what lies beneath. Look and learn ...

Landfillharmonic

The value of music...

The Next Big Thing

The Next Big Thing is a chain of writers' blogs. Each writer answers a list of interview questions about their Work In Progress, and tags a couple of other writers who do the same. I was tagged by the lovely Liah (the queen of fantasy and timeslip fiction - though so far not at the same time).
 My interview is below.

What is the working title of your book?
The Abbey Gate

Where did the idea come from?
I've always been interested in social history  - the lives of ordinary people rather than of kings and queens. Local history is an obvious source for that, and Abingdon has plenty: it's said to be the oldest continuously inhabited town in England.

What genre is your book?
Historical fiction.

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
Alys - Felicity Jones
Will - Sam Claffin
Stephen - Alex Pettyfer
Giles - Derek Jacobi

Give us a one-sentence synopsis.
When rioters attack Abingdon Abbey, Will faces a tough decision: if he joins the rebels, he will lose his livelihood; if he refuses, he will lose the woman he loves.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
Not self-published - submission package is with an agent now.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
I was ill and off work for a year, and started writing to stave off boredom. Rewriting has taken longer, not least because I went back to work.

What other books would you compare your story to?
Most historical novels seem to be of the Famous People in History type. Some of the early Elizabeth Chadwick novels deal more with ordinary life in the period.

Who or what inspired you to write this book?
Reading about the Abingdon riots of 1327. Contemporary accounts make it sound like a local dispute - but there were uprisings in other monastery towns in the same year. This led me to speculate about the influence of wider political issues: it was the year of Edward II's deposition.

What else about your book might pique the reader's interest?
We know the names and livelihoods of dozens of people involved in the riot - real people who lived in Abingdon and walked around the same streets as us. I've included lots of them as characters in the book.

I'm tagging Claire Dunn, Donna Fletcher Crow, Mel Menzies and Marion Stroud to pick up the baton...

Foreign editions

A surprise in the post.

A French edition of Out of the Ashes.

Oh, good. I can practise my French.

While congratulating the 'real' author, I can't help having an evil ghostly thought: I wonder if it will sell, and whether we'll get any royalties (divided by two)?