Authors Electric

Hey, no kidding. Listen up! My own Great White was out there-- online invisibility-- waiting to devour my next book like the twelve before. But I'd grown extra-protective, you see; the new book was so different from all of rest. And I'd pledged my life to save it-- when the Great White finally surfaced after showing its dorsal for years. And it surfaced more than once. First, my cover artist declined to work on the new book, citing her 'moral objections'. The title included the last name of an actor she didn't approve of. Neither did I but the actor, who doesn't appear in the book, sells a giant stick that does. Next, I learned that I'd been dropped from an April radio interview that would have helped market the book. And the path to blurbs for life support was paved in equal parts with Yays, Nays and silent snubs. I'd started to wonder if I should jump ship. But then I heard Chief Brody's cry, followed by the captain's roar to start ge...

‘Buy me!’ yelled the cover. ‘This book is for you.’ One of my all-time favourite covers  - and books  What is it about a book cover that makes you want to read the book? Like much of advertising – for, of course, that’s at least partly what cover design is about – the process is shrouded in mystery to many of us mere authors. You can often see which bits of you a particular cover is getting to – part of it is genre and sub-genre information but I think there’s more to it than that. Those new(ish) style moleskin-like covers have the feel of ‘quality product’ about them, perhaps with the attendant ‘you’re worth it’ and ‘you deserve it’ connotations which, even though we can see what’s happening, are hard to resist. Some book covers have tactile appeal – ‘Stroke me!’ – and of course, once you’ve checked to see if anyone’s looking and then run your finger across the front cover and received the thrill, it’s difficult not to take a respectful peep inside or at lea...

KI have never been a fan of the  People of Walmart  internet meme. It seems to me that much of it simply stuck-up jacktards making fun of poor people by taking snapshots of them at their most vulnerable: shopping at  America's #1 haven of low-priced, cheaply produced crap (Seriously, who isn't going to look like a sideshow freak when trying to shop with small children in tow?). It's a way for idiots to feel superior by laughing at other people just trying to get in, buy some batteries, groceries, and ammo, and get out. The message is clear: We are so much better than poor, uneducated people. Clearly the only people who shop at Wal-mart are these freaks and the rest of us taking pictures of them. That or "No matter how bad your life is, at least you're not middle-aged guy buying crappy films in a fat ballerina costume bad." Over the last couple of weeks, I have come across several internet articles showcasing what is rapidly becoming the publishing wor...

This month I've gone retro. I’ve been playing with print. Yes, I know that on this blog we are brilliantly electric. But it’s a year since I released my novel, My Memories of a Future Life , and I thought I'd celebrate. On a whim, I created a special, limited print edition of the book to be given away as a prize. It wasn’t premeditated. As with most of my ideas, it was a side-effect of something more purposeful. As part of the anniversary celebration I ran a twist on my blog series TheUndercover Soundtrack . Usually, authors write about using music in their creative process, but I flipped the concept and hosted two musicians who make work inspired by novels ( here and here ). So there I was, footling with PagePlus, creating an adapted logo. I swiped the cursor over a thumbnail of the Future Life cover and it flashed into negative, like a premonition. The blood piano and ethereal sky became copper-green and thunder. In a book that looks at reincarnation the wrong ...

When it comes to ebooks, unless you sell by reputation, it’s often accepted that there’s an order of things by which people might be persuaded to buy your book. Impress your potential reader with all 3 and you’ll likely have a sale: 1.        Cover 2.        Blurb 3.        Sample A cover is what generally first attracts the reader.   For my first attempt at my first ebook,   Hamelin’s Child , I didn’t have a clue. I had a lovely image designed by a talented friend of mine which worked well as a big image but not so well at thumbnail   (Pete also did the cover for my short story collection, Maniac , which works beautifully and I absolutely love). I subbed Hamelin’s Child to Criminal-E - an interview/review site run by crime writer, agent & editor Al Guthrie. Al kindly told me the cover didn’t work, but he introduced me to his designer JT Lindroos and held my hand ...

          It’s boom time in the world of self-publishing but in the vast majority of cases the creation of any book is a team effort, not a solitary one, however much some of us might wish to the contrary.           Traditionally writers have recruited valuable team members by persuading an established publishing house to join in the creative endeavour, providing financial backing, editorial, design and marketing assistance all in one package.           If self publishing writers want to gain the support of a similarly experienced team they either have to call in a lot of favours, or they have to hire the necessary editors, designers and publicists themselves. The flaw in the argument there, of course, is that without the “financial” contribution of a publisher, not many writers can afford to do that. The result can then be the badly edited texts ...

Cover Design by Rob Tysall   Fear. Fear. A fanatical devotion to the.... no, fear again. I'm not a complete e-publishing newbie. Last November, the Coventry Writers' group, to which I belong, ventured into e-publishing with our Coventry Tales . It was a rewarding and educational experience and the sales, while not amazing, have not been bad. Nor am I a stranger to conventional publishing (or whatever it's OK to call it now... I can never remember). I've had two books for adults and one for YA published that way and I have another series commissioned, this time for younger readers. So I'm not a complete beginner, though I'm relatively inexperienced in comparison with many of  my esteemed co-contributors on this blog (I'm learning lots from them). And I now have a book ready for e-release. Well, almost ready. It's been revised to within a jot and tittle of its life. It's been edited and proofed. I've hired a professional designer and pho...