Posts Tagged ‘Publish’
‘TLC’s editorial advice was outstanding, as was their support through the traditional publishing environment,
out in to self-publishing which seemed the best place for my hybrid memoir/ inspirational business book ‘All you Need is Love.’ My story ended up being featured on Amazon’s Gateway. One thing is very clear, I wouldn’t have had this opportunity to make my book work without the advice and support of TLC’Pete Smith, All you Need is Love
I guess like everyone else writing a book I experienced those mood swings from ‘this is hopeless’ to ‘I think this could be really interesting’. Most of that you simply have to deal with on your own; maybe get some help from a writer’s group along the way. However, there comes a point when you need to know how good your work is. That point will vary from writer to writer, but there is a moment when you know you need a professional insight: a proper, independent professional assessment. That was how I first came across TLC. It was late on in the writing process. I knew I was walking a tightrope between different types of book, and that it fell between various genre stools. The initial support and advice I got from TLC was outstanding. Firstly, the TLC reader Karl French, immediately grasped the problem I had been struggling with and articulated it far better than I could. He explained that the publishing industry tends to think in terms of genres, and doesn’t really have a way of looking at books that don’t fall neatly in to one or another. He said that this attitude to genre applied in general to agents as much as to publishers. He then gave a huge amount of advice about the content and structure of the book, but was also incredibly supportive as to its underlying merit.
Karl and Rebecca Swift, Director of TLC, made it clear that although they couldn’t see a clear road to publication for what was an unusual book, they were nonetheless willing to help and advise me in the process as they liked the work. Rebecca offered excellent advice on how to target particular agents and the sort of cover letter that might work, but before long I think we both knew that Karl’s original assessment was spot-on: agents were looking for specific types of book and this didn’t fit. So self-publishing loomed as an option, and as soon as you look at that road the Amazon products Createspace and Kindle Direct Publishing stand out. Rebecca pushed me hard to get the book professionally copy-edited; something I was initially reluctant to do – partly because of the cost, but more due to the emotional side. It felt as if I was drifting towards vanity publishing and I wanted to be published. It was difficult because self-publishing was not my original goal. In the end I took Rebecca’s advice on getting it copy-edited and proofread, and was stunned at the result. My basic English is fairly good, but there was hardly a paragraph that wasn’t marked up by the copy-editor. Ouch!
My relationship with Amazon developed and I found myself being featured in their homepage Gateway. I am delighted. One think is clear I wouldn’t have had this opportunity without the advice and support of TLC. You can work out what you think for yourself here.
Quercus Books, famously known for starting the Scandinavian thriller trend by publishing the Stieg Larsson series, recently published TLC client Max Kinnings‘ Baptism. The book is a thriller that tells the story of a terrorist hijacking of the London Underground by Christian fundamentalists .
Max first heard about TLC in 1997, when a friend passed him a leaflet about TLC’s services. His first novel, Hitman, was assessed by TLC and Rebecca Swift was able to place the novel with Literary Agent Annette Green, who managed to interest a couple of publishers in the book, among them Hodder & Stoughton, who bought a two book deal.
Baptism is Max’s third novel and the sequel to it will be published in 2013. Max writes about TLC, “I have always been extremely grateful for the service that TLC provided which basically opened the door for me to become a professional writer.” Today, Max lectures in Creative Writing at Brunel University in London.
TLC is delighted about Max’s recent publication. The book is also available as an ebook. Click here to check out the opening pages.
TLC client Alan Clark’s novel, Rory’s Boys, recently gained an excellent review in the New York Journal of Books. Rory’s Boys was published by BLISS in June 2011. The book is described as “an extremely racy yet almost mainstream book centered on a very modern gay man.” The novel explores the conflicts, relationships and possibilities that unfold as Rory tries to establish Britain’s first retirement home for gay men. Reviewer Viv Young writes about the book, “Sharp wit—by the bucketful! . . . what a journey! . . . an incredibly good read . . . Rory’s Boys will undoubtedly be acclaimed as one of the most funny books of 2011, and is deserving of a wide audience . . .”
TLC is delighted on Clark’s behalf and wishes him all the best with his writing in the future.
TLC has helped thousands of writers over the past 15 years. Once in a while the editorial feedback leads to a swift sale or contact with an agent, but in most cases the journey is still long and winding. For many writers the exchange with an editor at TLC and the knowledge that they ‘can write’ encourages them to be persistent. In the case of Jim Powell his tenacity helped him to attain terrific results in a notoriously unpredictable industry.
Jim Powell writes: “the immense encouragement and sound practical advice I received from The Literary Consultancy proved to be the bridge between the dream of being a published author and the reality of becoming one.” Nearly ten years ago, when Jim was in his early fifties, he decided he wanted to write novels. He submitted his first novel to agents, but it wasn’t accepted. One agent, however, recognised its potential and suggested he send it to TLC for an objective assessment. Although his reader, Charles Boyle, was immensely positive towards the manuscript and TLC championed his work, agents still did not bite. Then in 2007, Jim sent his second novel The Breaking Of Eggs to TLC for another assessment by Charles. Again TLC was encouraging and after many more twists and turns, Jim was taken on by insightful literary agent Susan Armstrong at Conville & Walsh. She immediately sold the world rights for a six figure sum to Arzu Tahsin at Weidenfeld & Nicolson. The novel was published in March 2010 in the UK (hardback), and in July 2010 in the US by Penguin (paperback). In March this year it was chosen as one of the best 12 first novels of the past two years by the BBC’s The Culture Show.
The success that the novel attained was due to a combination of Jim’s strong-headed approach, TLC’s support en route, and the fact that in the end Conville & Walsh recognised the writer’s potential. Jim writes of TLC: “both critiques gave me a much better insight into what I had written and how it might be viewed. Most importantly, the process helped to give me the self-confidence to believe I could write novels, and the stamina to go on making submissions despite all the rejections, and thus certainly contributed to what happened later.” TLC encourages writers to be realistic in their goals and to seek an objective opinion of their work before self-publishing or submitting their work to agents.
Check out Jim Powell’s website for more information about his previous and current writing projects.
Suzanne Joinson, a former mentee who came to TLC through the Arts Council and Writers’ Centre Norwich, agented by Rachel Calder, has recently been at the heart of an exciting five-way auction for her new novel A Lady Cyclist’s Guide to Kashgari. Bloomsbury, which has bought world rights to the novel, will publish the novel in the UK, US, Germany and Australia in summer 2012.
The novel, written after she finished the TLC mentoring programme, tells the story of two sisters who travel to Kashgar in 1923 to set up a Christian mission, paralleled by the present-day story of a woman who returns to London after a long trip and finds a man sleeping outside her front door.
In the Bookseller article editorial director Helen Garnons-Williams says: “In Suzanne’s Joinson’s extraordinary novel, we have found the perfect book and the perfect author for Bloomsbury. This beautifully written and utterly captivating novel, with its characters who are all searching and fleeing and discovering and connected to each other in ways that they do not, at first understand—explores ideas of history and religion, inheritance and belonging with delicacy and empathy. We are thrilled to be publishing it.”
Click here to read the full story in The Bookseller. We are delighted on Suzanne’s behalf and wish her all the best of luck with her novel.
Leaf Fielding had his first assessment with TLC reader Alan Wilkinson in April 2009. In mid-2011, Serpent’s Tail will publish his book. It’s not often that TLC experiences such a rapid progression of events, but when Leaf had his work assessed for a second time in October 2009, TLC reader Karl French immediately noted that this was one that we should look out for.
Leaf Fielding’s book is a thrilling personal story, but one which offers remarkable insights into a time, a mindset, a generation and a major chapter in British criminal history. As one of the drug-dealers jailed as a result of 1977’s famous Operation Julie, Leaf was sentenced to eight years for conspiracy to deal LSD. The story of how he ended up in such a predicament is a genuine page-turner. Now a completely redeemed character, Leaf has thirty years’ perspective on events, allowing him to tell – in To Live Outside the Law - the untold story of the LSD dealers brought down in the operation, which is thought to have reduced the amount of LSD in the UK by more than 80%. We look forward to seeing the book in print and wish him all the best.
TLC continues to make links in the literary world at a higher rate than ever. Check out our Success Stories page for stories about previous clients or keep an eye out for more updates in our news section.
TLC and Circalit have teamed up for a writing competition that will award writers a free in-depth editorial report on their novel as well as an invitation to a networking event at the Free Word Centre. Circalit is a free service enabling writers to gain feedback and market their screenplays to industry professionals. The Literary Consultancy has helped writers into print with many leading publishers including Penguin, Orion, Macmillan, Random House and Bloomsbury amongst others.
Please visit the competitions section of the Circalit website to enter the first 30 pages of your novel for free. Your novel need not be complete – simply upload the first 30 pages. Please make sure you include the logline, synopsis, type (novel) and genre of your project for it to be eligible. Please note: entries over 30 pages long will not be eligible.
You can read the full terms and conditions here or for more information about the competition, see their website: www.circalit.com. The deadline for entries is 2nd January 2011.
Good luck!
If you’ve just finished that last sentence of your first book and are wondering about the next step to take, TLC recommends the Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook. This comprehensive guide provides information and advice about how to submit your manuscript and how the publishing industry works.
For over 100 years the Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook has existed to help writers make it into print and to develop their career, and give artists advice on how to exhibit or publish work.
Quote from the Writers & Artists website
For more information about the handbook, see the video below with Jo Herbert, Editor of the Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook, published by A&C Black
Not a seat was empty at the Free Word centre, when the the Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook held their How to Get Published event last Saturday, 13 March.
The event, which was the second in a series of courses held by the Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook, was an event for writers who are serious about getting published. The Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook has published their bestselling media guide for emerging writers and artists since 1901.The full day of workshops, lectures and discussions provided a complete overview of how and what writers should do to prepare their manuscripts before submitting them. The days was filled with top tips, advice and feedback from industry specialists such as Liz Calder (co-founder, Bloomsbury Publishing and Full Circle Editions), Richard Charkin (Executive Director, Bloomsbury), Jo Herbert (editor), Alison Baverstock (writer, publisher and trainer), Katie Hickman (Bloomsbury author) and Carole Blake (Agent & Joint Managing Director, Blake Friedmann Literary Agency). Click here to see a video from the event.
Rebecca Swift visited China 25 March, 2008, to take part in the industry information section of the first Sino-British translation conference arranged by Arts Council England, Penguin China and China’s General Administration of Press and Publications. The translation conference was modeled on the British Centre for Literary Translation summer-school, which aims to forge links between Chinese and British writers, translators and publishers. In between the discussions, translations and general hubbub of forty-five translators who were lured to the top of a remote mountain in China, Rebecca also found the time to give some one-to-one writers’ surgeries. Click here to read Rebecca’s full Guardian blog about what she found and lost in translation.