Authors Electric

Image Credit:  All images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos. I have the joy of being published with the indie press, as a contributor to various anthologies, and with my two flash fiction collections via Chapeltown Books . I decided early on I didn’t want to self-publish as I wanted to have a traditional publishing contract. I’m not against self publishing, far from it. It was something I didn’t feel equipped to handle.   What has been lovely is I’ve had the best of both worlds. Yes, I have to do the promotion but who doesn’t these days? I had input into the covers of my flash collections and I know many writers have no say on that.  My favourite quote on that topic comes from a letter P.G. Wodehouse wrote saying “God may forgive Herbert Jenkins Limited for the cover of ………….. But I never shall”. Book title not revealed to protect the guilty! Reading that made me laugh and wince in sympathy with Wodehouse. I’ve had the joy of having a straightforward process to ...

There are lots of good reasons for self publishing and ebooks. Being in control of your own work is obviously top of the list. The downside, I've found anyway, is never being quite sure if what you've written is good enough to be published. Fine when it's one of your out-of-print books. But when it's a brand new book it can be a little bit scary.      Last year I dragged an old manuscript out of the filing cabinet which I'd written years and years ago. After re-writing it, I thought I'd see if I could get a conventional publisher interested, as I really didn't know if it was good enough.      I can't actually remember why I hit on the publisher that I chose, they were American and I'd never heard of them, nevertheless I was delighted when they said they wanted to publish - who would't be?      They appeared genuine because of the blurb on their website and because they offer an advance. The contract, when it came seemed ...

It might not be the most optimistic note on which to start the New Year, but I offer this cautionary tale on the subject of agents and rights. If I have one piece of advice to give – and this applies to all creative people, not just writers – never give away your rights unless you absolutely have to, and when you do give them carefully and in small pieces. I have always tried to live my life being fair. In contract negotiation, I aim for a win-win outcome. I like to build long-term relationships and would never shaft anybody, because I believe that what you give out you get back. In January 2007, I had the idea for the Sprite Sister books and approached Brenda Gardner at Piccadilly Press. I had worked with her before when she published my ex-husband’s first picture book in the 1980s. She liked the idea of ‘four sisters, four elements, four powers’, and a few weeks later offered me a contract for the first Sprite Sister story. The Society of Authors helped me negotiat...