The Writing
Buddies met on Friday 4 July 2014, at 2.00 pm, at the Mercure Dolphin Hotel, High Street, Southampton. Penny sent her apologies and so Jacqueline chaired the
meeting. Twenty four writers were present.
Good News
Congratulations to
Calvin (Friends of Portswood Library) for his part in the organisation of the successful Armed
Forces Day Exhibition at the librarly, which was opened by Penny and also attended by Jimmy,
both holding book signings.
Tessa is trying to
organise a writing group/forum, which is at present very much a work in
progress. Please contact her via this website if you are interested in joining.
She won a Swift Writing Award, in a short story competition, for her book
Ladybird Fly.
Jacqueline won
second prize in a Union Learning Centre Competition (UNITE), in Writers' News.
Jimmy said his
2011 book Growing Up in Wartime Southampton, Other People’s Trousers has recently passed 1,000 sales. His book, A 1940's Childhood, has achieved sales
of 2,200 in just six weeks.
Ann said she had a
work in progress, a 2,000-word novel, which she writes by hand, edits, puts on
the computer, and edits again. This she is doing chapter by chapter.
Lisa is working on
a couple of projects. She re-told her Mills and Boon experience, the fact that
they left it too long to come back to her, that their processes were not clear
and that there was also no communication between departments. They then assumed
that she had moved on, so no formal request was made for the manuscript.
Calvin is writing
a short story and a book with James. They have completed about 5,000 words of a
historical novel, so he is getting off to a great start to his writing journey.
Discussions
Podcasting
Penny, Bill and
Lisa have been looking into the feasibility of this for the group. Bill
favoured setting up a YouTube channel, and Lisa said that she had some good
quality equipment that the group could use. It was suggested that the monthly
meetings could be video recorded, with the real benefit being that they could
be linked into, and also listened to at any time.
Lisa said she could do the
recording and editing, and switch to audio only when required. Penny and Lisa
had said that the equipment process was easy, and it would be have to be
operated on an 'opt out' rather than an 'opt in' basis.
The videos of
individuals, promoting their work would take place in a separate room.
Public Liability
Insurance
Penny has been
searching for a policy that could cover the group. A policy giving up to £2M
cover could be obtained for £252 p.a. Jacqueline said as treasurer she will
start circulating Annual Accounts. A hand vote was done and five were for, and
seven against, with the others abstaining.
The Writing
Buddies at Markets
The group has been
attending Bert and Gert’s Market at Marlands and West Quay. Future dates are:
6th
September - West Quay Shopping Centre
13th
September – Marlands Shopping Centre
Robert is
attempting to write some fan fiction, Halloween,
hell raiser, horror crossover including Jason and Freddy. He is
encountering some third party ownership issues. He is trying to work with the
movie people, but there are permission problems, regarding proof of concept.
There is interest but there are author/director relationship issues, with one
of the companies saying they don't accept outside submissions. Lisa gave him
some advice regarding his approach (i.e. not pitching a movie), and warned that
he could be charged for using their character. She asked if he could just ask
for profit from that particular story, and warned that he might need a
copyright lawyer, and even then there would be no guarantees.
Nita wanted to use
some music, and when she sought permission she was told it would cost her £200.
She was advised that it might be worth considering whether to pay an annual
fee, rather than a one-off payment as it could work out cheaper.
Tessa suggested
the group invest in buying a microphone, as some group members were having
difficulty in hearing the meeting. Three table microphones were suggested and
this will be investigated.
Jacqueline said
that there are rules about having to deposit as many as five copies of a work with
the British Library. She recommended to do it if requested but not to volunteer
them; rules may be different if you are using I.S.B.N numbers.
Jenny mentioned a writing group at The Avenue, St. Andrews Church Hall, every Saturday morning, 10 – 12.30, and extended an invitation to all.
Guest Speaker –
Tessa Warburg, The Thorn Press
Tessa owns The
Thorn Press, a small press publishing company based in Southampton. She gave some general advice on
publishing.
Publishing is when
the written word becomes generally available, even online. You can submit work
via an agent (more expensive) or self publish (a lot more work and complex).
There are a lot of self-publishing
requirements, and to assist Tessa sub-headed several areas, with a extensive
list of helpful website addresses and typical charges involved (in the form of
a handout).
The following
apply more to self publishing, but also cover jargon an agent may use. They are guidelines and you
may wish to seek further clarification on certain areas.
I.S.B.N – are
recognised as being unique for each edition, and small changes can be made
using the same number, however larger changes would require you to use a new
number.
As mentioned
earlier you may be requested to sent one copy of your book to the British
library and five other libraries. Remember you also need I.S.B.N. for e-books.
Editing – Editors
make sure reasonable standards of English are used, and they check for spelling
mistakes. They could not, however, check the validity of any information
therein. A copy editor corrects spelling and grammar.
Design – this
would be in respect to size, colour, weight etc. The range of possibilities is
large, but not unlimited. Contrast a textbook (non-fiction) and a novel. It must be able to be read in a
reasonable way. Margins, indents, fonts, italics, varied spaces are essential,
as the easier it is to read, the more likely it is to be read. These are all
decisions to be made, but don't make it difficult for the reader to enjoy. A
typesetting program is useful in doing this. Typesetting is not quite so
important for e-books. A style guide takes you through the processes that are
possible.
For formatting, typesetting,
aligning etc. there is an excellent book, Perfect Pages by Aaron
Shephard.
Also consider a
computer program Self Publishing with Microsoft Word.
Covers – are
crucial, people do judge a book by its cover. Decide on a hard or soft
(paperback) cover. Many would prefer a well-used reference book to be hardback.
Distribution –
these costs can be substantial so be wary. Talk to others in the group about
this, as they may have some recommendations. Are there carriage fees? Do you
have to pay a 'setting up' fee etc.
Some distributors
levy an annual charge to keep your book on their list. See if you have an
option to offer discounts.
It is now possible to publish
e-books in colour, but you would need an optic printer, as small office/home
type printers are not suitable, but this can be prohibitive as they are very
expensive.
Self publishing is
now available to everyone, but it does not mean you have to use it. It can be really rewarding, but beware
as there could be a financial loss, if the book does sell well enough to cover
all the outlay involved. It requires a large number of skills, and there is a
lot of additional work involved. You will need luck.
The next meeting
will be at the same venue, on Friday 1st August 2014, at 2 pm. The
guest speaker will be Josephine Shaw speaking about correct manuscript layout.
