Authors Electric

    Writers can be shy retiring creatures, preferring their stories to remain quietly on the page. However, there comes a time when more is required, and hiding behind the printed word is no longer an option. If you're doing well you may be paid to do it. You may have an audience of hundreds, or an audience of three. Or it may be that self-promotion means you have to do it for free, with few obvious sales. Remember, though, that the person who listened avidly, read the whole of the first chapter on the sales stand and bought nothing may remember it in the future, when a present is needed, or a recommendation, or holiday reading is on the agenda. What's required can differ wildly. There are straightforward readings from books, when merely being audible can be enough – as long as there’s a mic, and you remember you’re meant to speak into it. It depends what you write, though. If there's a lot of dialogue you may have to manage different accents, as well as threatening char...

Imagine the impossible: that the publishing industry hasn't changed since the 1980s, when Horror was the red hot thing and anything could sell. Allow for that, then take my word: a well-connected agent could sell a book today about Fat Elvis killing Diana. And he could sell it on spec.  When High Concept is king, the books half-write themselves. You begin with a premise, life-like or absurd, then continue asking questions until you have your story: 1) How could Fat Elvis have murdered the princess when he died almost exactly twenty years before her? 2) Why Fat Elvis instead of Thin Elvis? 3) Should the villain be an Elvis impersonator or the vengeful ghost of Elvis? 4) What possible connection could there have been between Fat Elvis and the princess, who was sixteen years old when he died? 5) How can I handle the whole thing without enraging fans of Diana or the King? 6) What if Fat Elvis didn't really kill her--not the real Diana? What if a, well, manitou* o...