Writing Buddies Friday 8 July 2011

The Southampton Writing Buddies met at The Art House Café on 8 July to discuss writing matters and welcomed Penny back after her much earned break.

Elizabeth continues with her Writers Bureau course and is about to start the third assignment.

Jan met Barry Cunningham of Chicken House Publishing at the Winchester Writers Conference and he is reading her book, which is aimed at 8 – 12 year old children. She does not like the title of her book so is considering changing it. Jan expects a response from Barry within 6 – 8 weeks.

Jacqueline entered the Inktastic competition - she didn't win, but enjoyed entering. She has entered a competition in Freelance Market News which calls for a story of no more than 140 characters. She more or less has the plot for her Humble Boy entry and has sent two submissions to Nosy Crow, children's book publishers. Jacqueline has approached Waterstones at West Quay regarding a small self published gift book suitable for Christmas. She was informed that if the book has a good cover Waterstones could, in theory, sell about 100 copies. To help keep her abreast of her writing activities Jacqueline uses a white board on which she has two columns showing the competitions she has entered and her other projects.

Tessa reported that the Inktastic competition has now been judged and the winner picked. There was a disappointingly low number of entries. Tessa is working out a contract with a London Agent who wants 10% on gross sales. Tessa has rewritten the contract and sent it back. The more normal commission rate is 7 -7½% on net sales. She has been working on various projects and the last book of her trilogy should go to print by the end of July.

Mo emailed all Writing Buddies on 10 July regarding a reading of her book, A Blues for Shindig, which will take place at the Vegas Gallery, Shoreditch, London on 14 July.

Rhiannon is re-working a novel she started 15 years ago and has written 12,000 words so far. She is currently aiming at freelance work and has been blogging. She saw two magazines on the internet requesting submissions and is now thinking about what she could submit to them.

Jimmy has sent three chapters of the first book of his trilogy to Legend Press. He is actively promoting his published book, Growing up in Wartime Southampton: Other People's Trousers and has a signing booked for 21 August at Asda, Totton. He has finally secured an answer from the Echo and they will be in contact with regard to reviewing his book. Andy Dyke, a presenter on Radio Solent, will be interviewing Jimmy on 14 July. The blog on his website www.aloejimmy.com is now up and running.

Penny has signed three more contracts with The History Press.

· Eastleigh Then and Now – Penny has recently taken photos of the railway works.

· Bloody Southampton – Penny already has plenty of material for this book.

· Under the Queen's Colours – this will be a commemorative book for the Queen's Jubilee. It will be published in May 2012 and has to be finished by the end of December 2011 to be ready for the publishing date. Donations will go to the Poppy Appeal.

Penny is collaborating with Martin Baum on a new book, which they will consider self publishing. On 19 July Penny will be attending the Queen's Garden Party and she will be at Winchester Cathedral on 15/16 July promoting her book, Winchester: History You Can See. She has been invited to the Society of Authors lunch on 14 July.

General discussion followed. Jacqueline will send another email about the stories required by the Talking Echo. It has been suggested that the writer's record them and Jacqueline advised that this could either be done at her home, or in a quiet room in the Central Library. Penny mentioned that The History Press are now publishing historical fiction whereas previously they only published non fiction. Members were reminded that the items displayed in the Art House Café window will shortly need to be removed.

The next meeting will be on Friday 22 July at 2.00pm, when the Writing Buddies will welcome Chris Litton, from the Eastleigh Talking Pages.

Post written by Elizabeth Streatfield.

Writing Buddy Mo Foster at Vegas Gallery, London

Mo Foster, one of the Writing Buddies, has an exciting night ahead of her:

Vegas Gallery is this summer embarking on a new era and are proud to present: Storytelling/Chapter One, the first performance event curated by Alexander Vega.

Storytelling is a contravention to the recognized exhibitions at the gallery, aiming to showcase and promote artistic expression in the field of live art, performance, writing and video.

In Chapter One we will visit the darkest alley ways of 1950’s Soho, with writer Mo Foster. Become aroused by the alluring Femme Fatale from the avant-garde music duo, Bother. Then before you wake up, artist J.D.A Winslow will confront you in his interactive performance piece: "I'd Like To Shake You By The Hand"

For our first evening we are pleased to present writer and journalist Mo Foster. Living between Southampton and London, her provocative plays, ‘menopausal punk’ poems and the novel ‘A Blues for Shindig’ have been critically acclaimed. The latter follows the life and loves of a louche London girl in the seedy blues clubs of 1950s Soho. When people speak about the fifties as a dull monochrome time, they were perhaps in the wrong place. And certainly hadn’t met Shindig. She doesn’t go out of her way to find trouble, but it finds her… and gets a welcome. Louche Soho of 1956 is just the place for Shindig. A strange brew of dissolute characters, surround and engulf her. She adapts, but can she survive the turmoil that she’s created? And somehow we do care about this oddly endearing, infuriating bird on a wire. She wanted the blues and she got them!
To read her story this evening, we have invited the London based actress and singer Rebecca Whitbread. She trained at The Guildhall and has since worked in theatre and film. She is currently working on a one woman musical show to take to the US at the end of the summer. She also sings in two bands: the 1940s duo, 'The Bluebirds of London' and a post rock/punk band, 'Motherhood'). She produces and acts within a film production collective, making short films. She also works with various writers and poets to bring their work to the stage.

Bother is the brainchild of Adam Perchard and Ian Godden, and is a chaotic fusion of performance art and pop with a flair for the ridiculous. Born in 2008, amid despairing games of 'Exquisite Corpse' played in country pubs and gin-fuelled jams in Ian's mother's garage on their home island of Jersey, Bother's distinctive blend of film, music, satire, fashion and performance has since become a familiar presence at the Branchage International Film Festival and in the streets of East London. In 'The Dreary Mademoiselle’, Bother is blending candy-pop camp with eighteenth-century fall from grace narratives like Defoe's Roxana and de Laclos's Les Liaisons Dangereuses, 'The Dreary Mademoiselle' is a joyfully anachronistic fusion of wanton Enlightenment sexuality and MTV raunch. Watch as the shameless, proto-feminist mademoiselle, swept along on a sea of eighties montage, masquerade, melodrama and bubble-bath, sleeps her way to the top and then completely loses her head...

Coming all the way from Edinburgh, artist J.D.A. Winslow will be enacting a performance piece throughout the evening. "I'd Like To Shake You By The Hand" is based around the concept of a conversation being more life-affirming than most works of art and certainly more life-affirming than his own art. By blurring the boundaries between existence and art it emphases on the idea that mundanity is necessary. The piece celebrates quotidian and how the simplest pleasures are often only a hello away.

So it is our pleasure to invite you to the first night of storytelling at Vegas.

www.mo-foster.co.uk

www.soundcloud.com/motherhood

www.thebluebirdsoflondon.com

www.youtube.com/botherchannel

www.jdawinslow.tumblr.com

Writing Buddies, 24 June 2011

The Southampton Writing Buddies met at The Art House Café on 24 June to discuss writing matters. In the absence of Penny Legg the meeting was chaired ably by Jimmy Marsh.

Eileen informed the group that her book, Miss McGuire is Missing, is now available in large print. Her second novel, Blackmail for Beginners, will be out soon. She was very pleased to inform everyone that the Canadian Publishing Company, Harlequin, have made her an offer on the paperback rights.

Rhiannon joined the Writing Buddies for the first time and hails from Fareham. She has been writing all her life and has had two short stories and one poem published. She was short listed for the Ashmore Award. She is currently working on a novel she conceived 15 years ago when she was in Sheffield.

Mo is in talks with a potential new collaborator and has a reading at an art gallery within the next month.

Jacqueline has finished the short story she was working on and sent it to Take a Break (Fiction Feast) magazine. She has entered a flash fiction competition (500 words), which closes at the end of June. Jacqueline went to the Inktastic launch, organised by Tessa Warburg the owner of the publishing company The Thorn Press, and bought a book. There is a competition in the book for a story constructed around one of the pictures contained it, the prize being the original picture. Jacqueline also has plans to start on Humble Boy and is writing non fiction articles.

Veronica showed the group a book containing photographs, which are currently on display in The Art House Café.

Lisa has been in talks with a representative from Rebellion publishing who she met at The London Book Fair. She is trying to challenge herself away from the zombie theme and would like to write more romance. Lisa feels she does not want to be involved concerning production of her novels unless she is being paid and she might possibly sell the rights.

Suneda has finished university and this is her last visit to the group. She will now start writing her book – a ghost story.

Tessa reported that the Inktastic book launch went well. Unfortunately, the interview Tessa had set up with the Echo did not take place as the author changed his address. Tessa has finished her third book, Ladybird Soar. She is preparing the contract for Ann Robert’s book, The Master's Tale, which is due for publication on 20^th September 2011.

Elizabeth has finished her second assignment for The Writers Bureau.

Laurel is still submitting her stories to competitions and she has entered 2 poems, 1 short story and 1 flash fiction for the Bridport Prize.

John advised that Apples and Snakes are offering a free seminar for poets. He has written two more reviews for the Echo and reminded the group about the email he sent to members about the Bush Green Theatre.

Jimmy has 13 books still to be published and is working on them with a view to sending them to a publisher. His published book, Growing Up in Wartime Southampton: Other People's Trousers is now on sale at Tesco's at Bursledon.

Ivor joined the group towards the end of the meeting. He is not a great fan of typeset and prefers to write in longhand. On his way to the meeting he found himself writing down his observations, viewed from the bus.

Various topics were discussed including being consistent with your writing and the need for many proof reading sessions. John was keen to learn the proper way to lay out a script and Jacqueline mentioned that even Ian Rankin has had to do re-writes due to mistakes in his writing.

The next meeting will be on Friday 8 July at 2.00pm.

Post by Elizabeth Streatfield.

Writing Buddies, 10 June 2011

The Southampton Writing Buddies met at The Art House Café on 10 June to discuss writing matters. The meeting was ably chaired by Jacqueline in the absence of Penny.

Tessa received a telephone call from Caradoc King, who is a top agent from A.P. Watt, Literary Agency, www.apwatt.co.uk asking her if she would like to publish Ann Robert’s book about the Titanic. Tessa will start as soon as possible. She will need a proof reader and received some offers of help from Writing Buddies.

Janice had felt encouraged by her first visit to Writing Buddies and has been gathering together all her poems into a little book.

Mo was disappointed that, after her meetings with the American Director, despite his interest, she still has no contract or fee. She has gone back to writing her third novel and is considering writing a play. Mo recently attended a SWWJ meeting and found it very worthwhile going.

Elizabeth is still working on her second assignment for The Writers Bureau and has nearly completed a short story which she will consider entering into a competition.

Jimmy has been contacted by The History Press who are arranging signings of his book, Growing up in Wartime Southampton: Someone Else's Trousers, in Asda and Tesco. His blog, on his website, www.aloejimmy.com will be up and running in a few days. His third book of his trilogy is beginning to take shape and he is also editing previous work.

Jacqueline is working on a children’s novel. She has sent back the first free one of the books she is reviewing, (not as previously reported on 27 May) and found it interesting to see what mistakes other writers make. She is brushing up on three stories for schoolchildren and has written a short story which she is considering sending to Take a Break magazine. Jacqueline won a Toblerone chocolate bar on Twitter and has received two tweets from the author, Ian Rankin. She has not heard from Yours magazine so assumes that her article has been accepted.

John has sent some of his poems to Isaac Sigley who is putting together an event in Southsea. John continues to write reviews for the Echo and was pleased to inform the group that 86 copies of his book have been sold, 84 at the full price, in less than one year.

Vijay is writing flash fiction – mostly fantasy, but as yet he has not submitted his stories anywhere.

General discussion followed on various topics ranging from using google to ascertain a particular song's copyright, suggestions for Tessa's search for a 'shout line' and how to ration time for writing.

The next meeting will be on Friday 24 June at 2.00pm.

Writing Buddies, 27 May 2011

The Southampton Writing Buddies met at The Art House Café on 27 May to celebrate their 2^nd anniversary and welcomed Janice, Jane and Dan to the group.

Richard is a member of the Totton branch of U3A (University of the Third Age) and edits the magazine. He also runs a discussion group.

Elizabeth is still working on her second assignment for The Writers Bureau which she hopes to complete and send to her tutor by the end of next week.

Jimmy successfully launched his book and his website www.aloejimmy.com blog spot should be up and running in a short while. He will be book signing at the Above Bar branch of Waterstones on Saturday 11 June from 11.30am – 3.00pm.

Tessa brought along the first book she has published through her company, The Thorn Press, for Andrew P. Jones. The title of the book is INKTASTIC and there will be a book launch and art display at Southampton City College on Monday 20 June from 5.00pm – 9.00pm. The Echo is writing an article on him. Tessa's third book of The Dohlen Inheritance trilogy will be out in July.

Jacqueline has finished the first draft of her children’s book and following a critique she finds she has to re-write it. Jacqueline won a set of saucepans as her prize for the star letter in the June edition of Sainsbury's magazine. The sleep article Jacqueline was writing for Yours magazine has now been completed. The magazine requested Jacqueline to include the health aspect and this she has done. Jacqueline continues to review books see www.chicklit.co.uk – she reads one manuscript a month and having read five for no payment she has been paid £10 for reviewing the next book.

Veronica writes poetry and informed the group about Amnesty International's 50th birthday party. She also mentioned Bully Boy at the Nuffield Theatre.

Tony writes about local history and brought two of his books with him. He informed the group that he was surprised that the publishers had changed the title by just one word. The History Press are still sourcing illustrations and he is currently submitting a story of the Battle of Wilton to a magazine.

Dan, new to the group, is studying law and currently writing a science fiction fantasy book. He has sent a draft to a literary consultant and received a reply back and is now working at improving it. He feels he has enough to write three books.

Janice noticed the Art Café window display advertising The Writing Buddies and was interested in what the group were about. She writes poetry and has done since school. She would like to write a book and is hoping her artistic niece will be able to illustrate it.

Jane was also attracted to the group by the window display and has written about her travels. She is not sure which direction to take yet with this.

Laurel continues to enter competitions with her short stories.

Mo visited Lisbon and had a great time. She received an email from an American Director and they met for lunch. He wants her to write her character Shindig, into his writing. The Sanctum Club asked her for 50 books to sell. Mo is currently writing her third novel.

Monica is working on a children’s novel. The author, Nik Morton, looked at it, gave her some valued suggestions and she has enlisted a 10 year old to read it. Monica mentioned that a friend has just published through Kindle and found it an easy experience. She is working on her third assignment for The Writers Bureau and has had one article published in a small local magazine.

Penny has finished The Writing Buddies anthology and it is set to be published in September 2011. She is about to sign two more book contracts for The History Press. She is to write Eastleigh: Then and Now, with publication towards the end of 2012, so as not to clash with Glen's book, Voices of Eastleigh, which will be published in April 2012. The second contract for Bloody Southampton, will be published in July 2012. Penny will be looking for anything up to WW2 and is hoping for about 30 stories.

Open discussion covered Jane's travelling experiences. Jane sold up in this country and went to New Zealand for a year to trace her family history. She found family members that she had not seen for 40 years. Mo mentioned that SWWJ were looking for travel writers and she will forward the information to Jane. Jane mentioned that a publisher is interested but she will need to put all her writing into order first before furthering this.

Penny reminisced about how she and Pam Whittington had started the group two years ago. The first meeting was held at Borders bookshop, when 10 people turned up for the first meeting. The group has grown considerably since then.

A fantastic birthday cake (chocolate, of course) was enjoyed by everyone together with a glass of wine – or two! A good time was had by all.

The next meeting will be on Friday 10 June at 2.00pm.

Writing Buddies, 13 May 2011

The Southampton Writing Buddies met at The Art House Café on 13 May for a discussion dedicated to self publishing and welcomed Ann, Jan, Veronica and Tony to the group, who were joining for the first time.

Penny had invited author Martin Baum along, to talk to the group about self publishing, but before Martin began, James Marsh shared his experience of self publishing his Davie Collins series of books. They were published by Lulu. Jim explained that the company do not charge for publishing but take 20% of all sales. The author is expected to lay out the book in the correct manner, set the selling price, print size, paper weight and decide on the front cover. Lulu do not provide an editing service, so no proofs are sent to the author for checking. Jim's advice is that anyone thinking of self publishing with Lulu should take care to ensure they are aware what is expected of them before embarking on this route.

Martin addressed the WritingBuddies, explaining that he is a satirist and wrote a condensed Shakespeare book in modern language, for his son, to make it easier for him to understand. After failing to get his book published through an agent he decided to self publish. He did his research in depth and self published through Richard Fitt at Authors Online. The company charges £750 to set up and publish the book, and the author receives 6 free copies. Authors OnLine send proofs, which need to be thoroughly checked. The company charges to have any mistakes corrected. Martin emphasised the importance of proof reading '7, 8, 9 or however many times it takes,' to get your work accurate, and he advised involving one or two people to help.

Following publication, the author will need to do much leg work. This will involve a press release and Martin advised that 200 words maximum be used, with bold letters in red. When his book TO BE OR NOT TO BE, INNIT (www.yoofspeak.net) was released, it invoked upset amongst the Shakespeare purists. This led to interest from the press and Martin found himself giving interviews on television and newspapers, and much more.

Martin's sources of advertising included information gathered from either the Writers' Handbook or Writers' and Artists' Yearbook. He contacted television and everyone relevant with press releases, including local radio and the Bournemouth Echo.

Martin recommended contacting the library service and provided the group with the website address for libraries nationwide As librarians from each library meet and select books, it is advisable to make them aware of the release of a self published book. Royalties of 6p per book are gained each time the book is taken out of a library (and even photocopied), but it is necessary to register for Public Lending Right and also with The Authors' Licensing and Collecting Society. Perseverance is needed as it is very repetitive contacting the libraries. Martin advised the group to be prepared to be asked questions. He also stresed how important it is important to put everything on your website.

Martin explained that although he has written short stories for magazines and had them published, together with three plays, he had been unable to get his book accepted for publication by a main stream publisher. His view is that having short stories previously published held no sway when it came to trying to get a book published. On Martin's website he gives advice see: 60 second book break. His conclusion regarding Authors OnLine is that they are an honourable company. Martin suggested using google or flickr for pictures for a front cover of a book. Martin added that he is willing to answer any questions if you email him.

Tony, new to the group, has self published books through Authorhouse and has the impression that they are a genuine company so he can recommend them, but, just be cautious. Tony decided on the price and size of his book and found that the company gave a lot of advice. Previously, Tony had set up his own publishing company; with his son setting up a website. He visited bookshops and within two years sold his books on a sale or return basis. He used to publish other writers' books, but now prefers to have a publisher and limit himself to his own work.

Penny thanked Martin for a very informative talk and sharing his experiences with Writing Buddies. She also thanked James and Tony for sharing their self publishing experiences.

The Writing Buddies display will be arranged at the weekend, 14/15 May, in the front window of The Art House Café.

Penny will be giving a talk at Woolston Library on Friday 20 May at 7.00pm. Tickets £1.00 available from Woolston or Weston Library, or by emailing carolyn.taplin@southampton.gov.uk

The next meeting will be on 27 May 2011, when the group celebrates its second birthday.

Post by Elizabeth Streatfield.

Writing Buddies, 15 April 2011

The Southampton Writing Buddies met at The Art House Café on 15 April for a discussion on writing matters.

Elizabeth is still working on the second assignment for The Writers Bureau and has completed a little more of her book.

Sunida is studying magazine journalism at The Solent University.

Jacqueline is once more flowing with her writing and has had a letter accepted for Sainsbury's magazine. The current issue of Writers News has her short piece about World Book Night and she is about to be paid for her contribution to Peoples Friend magazine. Also, Writers Forum magazine has printed her letter. Jacqueline is currently reviewing a self published book and is finding many errors. Last but not least, Jacqueline has received an email from Yours magazine who would like her to write an article on sleep, for the July issue. The magazine has planned it out and expects 800 words by 1 June, for which they will pay £200.

Glen is continuing with her book on Eastleigh which she has been commissioned to write by The History Press. She has written about 13,000 words so far and the requirement is 30,000 plus photographs. She is finding it a little difficult transcribing her interviews but is enjoying writing the book.

Mike is a new member and is in his 3^rd year at Chichester University where he is studying Counselling Psychology. He has written prose and poetry and is currently working on his dissertation of 12,000 words.

Jimmy has just completed a short children’s book which, when illustrated, will be dedicated to his grandson. He is working on chapter 5 of his latest book. His visit to The London Book Fair was productive as he was able to get two publishers interested in his books.

Mo also attended The London Book Fair and took three chapters of her book to Black Spring Publishers. She was particularly interested in the Russian section at the fair.

Catherine is editing her novel and is currently on the second draft. She aims to complete this by the end of April. Catherine has posted an interview with the author, Margaret James on her blog and the Writers in Southampton group have asked Catherine to do a talk on blogging in February 2012. Catherine was pleased to announce that she has been long listed for the Flash 500 competition she entered.

Penny went to The London Book Fair on the final day and was surprised to find some of the stands packing up. She visited The History Press stand to obtain feed back on her book sales and was very pleased to hear that her latest published title, Haunted Southampton, had achieved sales of 1,085 between 1 February and 31 March 2011. She has four further book proposals and on 1 May her Winchester book will be released. Winchester Cathedral, which will be stocking this book, have asked Penny to host an event. Waterstones have suggested to Penny that she hosts another ghost evening talk, following the great success of the last one.

General topics discussed ranged from the importance of a correctly composed covering letter to a publisher, to the need of double checking spellings instead of just relying on the spell check facility on your computer. As previously discussed, Penny confirmed that the meeting on self publishing would be arranged for Friday 13 May, which will be the next meeting of Writing Buddies. Jimmy self published through Lulu a few years ago and will be able to give some insight into the pitfalls that he encountered. Lisa has published on line and also John has self published his book of poems.

The Writing Buddies window display at The Art House Café was discussed and Penny will check if it is booked for 14^th or 15^th May. Mo will be able to contribute a laptop plus two posters, magazines and front cover of her book. Business cards and flyers will be needed and Jacqueline confirmed that she is able to contribute. Penny asked members to think about the display and requested help in dressing the window.

New member, Mike, explained more about his counselling services and that he has a website and would like to set up a regular blog. His website is www.livingchanges.co.uk He works privately and also with NHS referrals.

The next meeting of Writing Buddies will be on Friday 13th May. The meeting will be about self publishing and author Martin Baum will be welcomed as a guest.

Post by Elizabeth Streatfield.