It’s Thursday 4th March, which means it’s World Book Day. Hurray! Encouraging a love of reading is particularly important for children, but books are important for everyone, no matter how old or young.
To celebrate, why not listen to an excerpt from my debut novel Gods of Avalon Road. It’s also on sale for £5.00 from my online shop Meandi Books with free shipping worldwide using code ZDP85H at checkout. Enjoy!
This has been a crazy week. Two weeks ago, part of our livingroom ceiling collapsed. We’ve had builders and plasterers in over the past few days, which has made working from home more cramped, though I’m grateful for the much-needed repairs.
I’ve been trying to stick to a schedule for my full time job while working remotely, and my writing on lunch breaks and early evening time, before picking up the babe from childcare. Lots of literary things have been going on. On Wednesday I got the proof copy of my forthcoming poetry book, The Redundancy of Tautology, from the publisher, Cyberwit. Pleased to report that I only noticed one typo and my super editor hubby, Joseph Robert, spotted one more. The manuscript is now going to print – yay! More about this in the coming weeks.
Earlier today I also got my bi-annual royalties statement for my novel, Gods of Avalon Road, from Blossom Spring Publishing. A happy, Friday pick-me-up!
In the meantime, it’s business as usual on my lunch break as I tackle the current round of edits I’m doing on my hopefully soon to be published second novel, which is under consideration by a US publisher. If you’ve read my earlier posts on this novel, you’ll know that I received detailed feedback on suggested revisions to make before another read-through by the editor. Exciting stuff, but also busy work!
Decades ago, the only type of publishing that was reputable and viable was traditional publishing – to submit a book to a publisher, who then handles production costs and pays an author an advance sum of money with royalties to follow. The publisher would market and promote the book, getting copies into all major bookstores and the author would be free to write books.
The option to self-publish in yesteryear existed alongside this and namely involved sourcing a printer to produce X-amount of copies of one’s own book, before selling them, usually at a car-boot sale or local fair. Then, about a decade ago (maybe two), online printer-publisher companies such as Lulu and Createspace, among others, appeared allowing authors to self-publish their work with ease and for free. Suddenly everyone and their neighbour became a writer. Yet the process was still straightforward: you either go with a royalty-paying traditional publisher, or you go-it-alone.
More recently a third option has been thrown into the mix: hybrid publishing. This is where an author submits work to the hybrid publisher and if accepted, the author pays a contribution towards publishing costs. The hybrid publisher then pays the remainder of costs to have the book produced. This type of publishing is often known as partnership publishing. It’s relatively new; as far as I’m aware, it has only been around in the last few years.
For an author at the start of their career, which option is best? Ultimately that decision comes down to the individual. However, I can certainly share my experience and the costs involved, to help others make informed choices. With that in mind, here is my experience of being published traditionally, with a hybrid publisher and through self-publishing.
Traditional publishing:
I have been traditionally published 3 times, each time by a different publisher. I define ‘traditional’ here in the sense that I didn’t pay any money to have my work published; some also include receiving an advance as indicative of traditional, though in this post, my definition is inclusive of only the former, rather than latter.
COSTS: None. The publishers paid for production costs of typesetting, cover art, ISBN, editing, etc.
Continue readingCover reveal! Finally I can share my big news. My third poetry collection, The Redundancy of Tautology, is forthcoming from Cyberwit Publishing. This is exciting news as it marks the publication of my first full book of poetry: A Model Archaeologist (Eyewear Publishing, 2015) and Chemotherapy for the Soul (Fowlpox Press, 2017) were both chapbooks.
I’m definitely thrilled. Hope you can share my exciting news. I’ll post links to buy a Paperback copy once it’s published. For now, if you want a taster of some poems in the collection, here are links to read them, for FREE, in the magazines where they were first published:
“The Redundancy of Tautology” first published in Dead Snakes Magazine, 2016.
“New-sense” first published in The Open Mouse, 2014.
“A faraday cage will keep you safe, Thou dost protest too much, Life is a-changing, Long haul, Show not tell, Ripe fruit” first published in Mudjob Magazine, 2013
“Landmass” first published in Jellyfish Whispers, 2013.
“English Litter-ature” first published in Boyslut Magazine, 2013.
And now I’m off to do a happy dance. Whoop, whoop! 💃
We’re celebrating Valentine’s Day the Japanese way, as we always do, which is for girls to give chocolates to guys – and await their turn on March 14th, or White Day. Here’s a chocolate cake that I made for the special guys in my life. As you can see, I’ll never be a professional cake decorator, but it’s the thought that counts! This one is made with almond flour, a perfect low-carb, high-protein treat.
Thank you to my new subscribers who have opted to receive email updates for my Newsletter. Your readership is very important to me and I hope you can stay tuned as I have some exciting publishing news coming soon…
Thanks also to my wonderful readers who have bought copies of my poetry or debut novel as part of the Valentine’s Day promotion I’m running. Remember, there is still 24 hours left to grab a book at an awesome discount – and on top of that, you’ll get free shipping with code Y5NLNJ. Such a steal!
Happy Valentine’s Day, hope it’s a good one for you! ❤️
In my earlier posts on 8 December and 27 January, I mentioned that my novel (WIP 3) is under consideration by a US publisher. After my work is done each day, I’ve been taking a couple of hours in the late afternoon and early evening to read through my final draft, which I printed on Lulu last year, in preparation to make suggested edits that the publisher recommended.
Having a fresh set of eyes to look over my work is a good thing. I was so absorbed in the final draft and then the process of sending it out to publishers that I overlooked some issues with the characterisation and point of view that, thankfully, are minor and fixable. The point of view issues were intentional to show an unreliable narrator, but the publisher felt they could be too confusing for readers. I’m willing to straighten these out since it doesn’t take anything away from the story in the process. In addition to that, the opening chapter needs tweaking a little and a scene towards the end of the novel needs cut; on the reread, it wasn’t a good scene and doesn’t fit the protagonist’s character arc.
What could possibly be a distraction from my work? The Chalk Man! This book has been on my reading list for a while and arrived today in the post. To edit, or to read? Ah, the dilemma! One way or another, lots of tea is in order!
Happy World Read Aloud Day 2021! To celebrate, why not listen to a poem from my debut poetry collection and an excerpt from my debut novel. After all, sharing is caring! 😉
Since we’re still in lockdown here in Northern Ireland, I haven’t been able to do any live book events as I had planned, therefore I still have a few paperback copies of my novel for sale. I’m running a Valentine’s Day promotion on both A Model Archaeologist and Gods of Avalon Road until February 14th with free shipping using code Y5NLNJ.
Enjoy! 😊
Valentine’s Day is almost here ❤️ To celebrate, both my debut poetry collection, A Model Archaeologist and debut novel, Gods of Avalon Road are on a discount offer at my online shop, Meandi Books, as a February promotion just to spread a little love! Both have archaeology-themes so would make a perfect purchase-couple if bought together, though equally will give you a good read as solo and proud! On sale until February 15th, and you’ll get a dedicated poem written, just for you with any purchase. 😉
Remember back in my post on 8 December I mentioned getting a full manuscript request from a publisher? (Here if you want to read it). Well, good news has arisen via a follow-up email. The US publisher sent me two pages of detailed feedback: a page describing parts of the story that the reviewer enjoyed as well as a page of points to improve. The acquisitions editor asked that I make some suggested revisions and resubmit the novel to the team.
Exciting or what? I’m definitely thrilled that there is strong interest in my book and that this seems to be more of a bite than a nibble. Here’s hoping my next post on this topic will be even better news. Stay tuned!
I’ve decided to write a post to share my experience of being an author with a small press publisher, mainly since in the past month I’ve been PM’d for advice: first from a former colleague and teacher at a secondary school where I worked, asking about how to get published on behalf of a student, and more recently by a writer who has been offered his first contract seeking advice.
To date, I’ve had three books published with small press publishers: my debut poetry collection, A Model Archaeologist with London-based Eyewear Publisher in 2015; my second poetry collection, Chemotherapy for the Soul with Canadian publisher Fowlpox Press in 2017 and my debut novel, Gods of Avalon Road with UK based Blossom Spring Publishing in 2019.
Why did I choose small press publishers rather than large publishing houses?
Large publishers generally don’t allow unsolicited submissions; they only accept manuscripts submitted by agents. Since I don’t have an agent (hopefully some day) I felt it would be better use of my time to search for small publishers accepting in my relevant genre.
How did I find relevant small press publishers?
Primarily by searching for what I wanted. A good starting point is ‘publishers accepting unsolicited poetry/fantasy/literary (etc) manuscripts’ and going from there.
What helps to get a publisher’s attention?
Writing a punchy cover letter is key, since often this is as far as a publisher will get when reading your work. Rejections are just one of those things in the life of a writer; whilst never welcome, you get used to them eventually. For novels, having a sample of three chapters with your contact details included at the start, and a header with your name, email and page number helps too. You should also prepare a one page synopsis of your novel including all twists and turns and the ending.
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Leilanie Stewart 