News about my writing
I've made a big decision about my writing: I am now going to
self-publish. The House on Schellberg
Street goes out of print on 8 December. I'm trying to get a new edition out
for the 9 December and it's looking as if it will happen. In the meantime, Clara's Story is out with an editor and
I'm aiming for that to come out in March. I have two further novels in the
cycle ready and will release them at timely intervals. I'll soon be writing the
fifth and sixth. The play is complete and will soon be ready for others to look
at.
These books have such a niche market. If I have full control
of the books it's easier to work with that niche market.
Self-publishing is now much more respected. It also seems a
little odd not to have faith in my own publishing house. It seems right to
publish my own work there. It's like saying "This is good enough for me as
well."
In a roundabout way I've done reasonably well financially
with my writing. I earned well during my ten years at the University of
Salford, especially after I was promoted to become a senior lecturer. There has
also been some income from royalties, school visits, Public Lending Right and the Authors Licensing and Collecting Agency.
I've now retired from the university though do a little teaching for them now
and then. I'm left with the state pension, my teaching pension and my
university pension. The royalties, school visits, and the PLR and ALCS payments
continue. I'm not rich and famous but I'm not poor either.
I also have to remember that every year at the University of
Salford we've had Conrad Jones speak to our students on this very matter.
Talks at the recent ALCS and Society of Authors AGMs also
reinforced the idea.
Meanwhile I'm also continuing my work on a fourth Peace Child book and now have a title: The House of Clementine. I've been
struggling with this one but it's beginning to work.
1940s Group
Recently for this
group I've been sourcing other books set in the 1940s. There are a lot of these
and some of them are better than others. We're really looking for stories and
even pieces of non-fiction that give us insight into the era. If they're well
written and engaging as well, so much the better.
This is a Facebook
group for those of us who write about the 1940s. This group is for all
people who write about the 1940s. Fiction and non-fiction, for young and old.
Topics might then be: the Holocaust, World War II, Civilian Experience (all
sides) and the battle front. We can exchange ideas about research and
marketing. We may promote books and stories, - the last day of every month and
on launch / release day. In particular, we might work together to make use of
the many 1940s' weekends that take place.
Dreamteam
The Dream Team
continues to grow. The other Friday I was on an excellent course on using
social media for marketing. Two seats away was Catherine Lansdale, former art
teacher who is now illustrating children's books. See what else Catherine does here.
Other people
include: Roger Noons, Alyson Rhodes, Bartosz Milewski, and Karda Zenko. Do take
a look at what they can offer. There are a few others on the site, too. Find
them here.
This is a personal recommendation. Initially I intend to use
my Dream Team a lot myself but gradually I would add in people that friends and
friends of friends have recommended.
What happens?
You sign up to a mailing list and every time a request comes
in we mail it out to you or the enquirer contacts you directly via my web site.
The conversation then carries on between you and the person making the request.
You may also have a page set up on my blog and you may update that once a
year.
Interested? You may sign up for more than one category.
Beta readers sign up here.
Reviewers sign up here.
Editors sign up here.
Illustrators sign up here.
Designers sign up here.
Proof-readers sing
up here.
DO REMEMBER THAT
AT ANY TIME YOU’RE APPROACHED AND YOU’RE BUSY IT’S PERFECTLY FINE TO SAY NO.
Bridge House
We have had pretty
well three books come out at once. As ever, we welcome reviews. I can send you
the mobi-file for your Kindle or a PDF if you prefer. It's great then if you
can post a review on Amazon, Good Reads and on your own web site and / or blog.
A book needs 50 reviews for Amazon to start promoting it.
Of course we also
welcome more book sales.
Here are a few
details about the books and the links to buy them on Amazon.
Debz's Canvey Island
writers' group, Tales from the Upper Room,
retails at £7.00. £1.50 from every sale goes to the Havens Hospices www.Havenshhospices.org.uk . You
can find it here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Tales-Upper-Room-Janice-Gilbert/dp/1907335196
Glit-er-ary is also good to go. Quote from the back blurb:
"You will learn that all that glitters is most certainly not gold. The
stories are funny, sad, poignant …. The glitter comes in shades of dark and
light. Find it here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Glit-er-ary-Debz-Hobbs-Wyatt-ebook/dp/B077DV848P/
Then there is Citizens of Nowhere. I'll confess that
Theresa May both infuriated and inspired me when she said that global citizens
are citizens of nowhere. What a great title for a book. So, I approached several
writers I know who I thought might feel the same. Not all of them had the time
or the inspiration but several have contributed. A few stories that were
submitted to Glit-er-ary seemed more
suitable for this collection. Jenny Palmer also has a story in here. This will
be the fourth time that we've published this one. She is on the CaféLit site,
in the Best of CaféLit, in her own collection and in this book. Debz and I have
also put our money where our mouths are. We each have a story in the anthology.
Find it here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Citizens-Nowhere-Gill-James-ebook/dp/B077DD7XN3/
Honestly,
whatever your politics are, you shouldn't find anything to offend here but maybe
something to make you sad, to give you hope or to make you think.
We've produced a
couple of book trailers. Do take a look and share them.
We’re getting plenty
of interest in our single-author collections. These are for authors we’ve
published before and they may include stories we’ve already published, ones
they’ve had published elsewhere and new ones. The description for this is now
on the web site. We’ve already had some enquiries and we’re currently working
on several anthologies. You may
recycle stories we’ve already included in another anthology, and you may reedit
these if you wish. You may also add in new stories. We’re aiming at a total
word count of between 30,000 and 70,000 words.
Dawn Knox's Extraordinary
is now out. It is available here.
If you’re interested in having a single author collection, contact
me here.
Also in progress are collections by Paul Bradley, Phyllis
Burton, Jesse Falzoi, Jenny Palmer, Dianne Stadhams and Paul Williams.
AND NOW A HEADS-UP ABOUT NEXT YEAR. Our theme is Crackers. Not necessarily the Christmas
variety. We want stories that make you smile or laugh. They can include pathos –
remember the story about the girls who had her hair cut to pay for her
husband's watch to be repaired? Whilst he sold the watch in order to buy some
pretty combs she'd wanted for her hair? Or something that gives you a great big
belly-laugh. Ot mayb something tha is just plain nuts. We're not accepting
submissions until 1 January but at least you can get ahead of the game by
thinking about it now.
CafeLit
An urgent request.
I still need a few Advent / Christmas stories. Tell all of your writing
friends. If we get too many, we can
programme ahead for Christmas 2018. I'm still also keen to get a story a day
out.
Stories are now
all being will be posted at 4.00 p,m, Afternoon Teatime, Kaffee and Kuchen time and it's also when the
kids are home from school. Just the right time for a cuppa and a good story.
We're getting
quite a few submissions now but still not quite up to one a day. Sadly, of
course, we have to reject some.
In November, we
had stories from Glenn Bresciani, Angela Haffenden, Sarah Howlett, Dawn Knox, Roger Noons, Allison
Symes, Alun Williams, Lisa Williams and Robin Wrigley. There were sixteen stories
in total, so I'm half way towards my goal.
We're always open
to submissions. Find out to submit here. Remember,
this gives you some exposure, you can add in a short CV each time, and there's
always the chance that your work might be accepted for the annual anthology.
The Best of CaféLit 6 has been produced and copies are on sale. As
usual we welcome reviews. I can let you have a PDF or an e-mobi copy if you're
willing to review. You can also buy copies here.
On offer for
CaféLit authors is a page on our web site. See examples here. The list is growing. Click on the names to
find out more about the authors and to access their work. If you're a CaféLit
author and would like a web page, use the ones there to get ideas. You need to
send me between 250 and 350 words about yourself, an attractive image, a list
of up to six publications, up to six awards and up to six links. I then also
link the page to your stories on CaféLit. Send to gill at cafelit dot co dot
uk.
Chapeltown
I'm now trying to
build up the Chapeltown readers list. I'm giving away a free copy of my January Stones 2013 to anyone who joins.
See details here: http://www.chapeltownpublishing.uk/
I'm also having an
audio version of this book made. This is going well so far. If this continues
to go well, we'll roll it out to other authors. The profit share will equal 10%
of the cover price of the audio file.
Christopher Bowles' Spectrum,
a challenging but very satisfying read. Again reviews welcome. The Kindle
version was quite a challenge. He has some fabulous reviews. See them here.
More are welcome. I can send you a PDF or mobi file. Be warned: there is some
adult material in this. There is also a lot of beautiful writing. If you would
like to buy the book, see details here. You may also be interested to read that
Christopher secured himself a new job recently. In the part of the interview
where they wanted to know about other aspects of his life, he mentioned Spectrum and his performances. He will
now be using this in his work.
Chapeltown has now
successfully published its first picture book. Colin Wyatt’s Who will be my friend? – is a delightful story about friendship and
accepting others. Yes, Colin is Debz’s dad. He is a Disney licensed illustrator
and his previous publication is The Jet Set. We feel very
honoured to have published him.
The book is out now and available at https://www.amazon.co.uk/Who-Will-Be-My-Friend/dp/1910542121/
Reviews welcome. We can provide the
PDF.
We’re very pleased with this book and now aim to publish
more picture books. We're working on an illustrated book by Philippa Rae and
we've offered two more contracts for picture books.
If you're interested in reviewing any of the above, just
email me.
Coming soon: work by Anusha VR, Gail Aldwin, Mandy Huggins and Roger Noons.
Creative Café
I've added two cafés
from the US IN November. The Arts at the Armory Café http://www.creativecafeproject.org/2017/11/arts-at-armory-somerville-ma-usa.html
offers a really big range of creative café activities so we've been able to
extend our repertoire. The Inspire Café, in Dubuque, http://www.creativecafeproject.org/2017/11/inspire-care-dubuque-ia-usa.html
also offers a couple of new activities: inspirational speakers and space for
hire.
I've restarted my
tour of creative cafés where I collect stories for an anthology. In some cases,
writers may offer them and in others maybe customers may tell me their story
and I'll write it for them. Do you know of a café that might be interested in
this? Let me know if you do.
Remember you can
now buy merchandise for the Creative Café project. The profit on anything you
buy here goes to the Creative Café Project. Check this out here.
We’re always
looking for new cafés. If you visit one
of the cafés in the project
and would like to write a review of between 250 and 350 words – nice, too, to
have a couple of pictures – send it to me here.
Do the same if you find a new café.
I’m also now proactively encouraging cafes to stock The Best of CaféLit. Do you know anyone who
might like to stock it? We can offer a 35% discount to retailers. Query gill at
cafelit dot co dot uk.
The Red Telephone
Our mentoring programme
is now full. I’m working quite closely with three very different authors: Charlotte Comley, Dianne Stadhams, and Nina Wadcock. They are all
presenting some fascinating material. University of Salford graduates Lauren
Hopes and Christian Leah have also joined our happy band.
I was delighted to
see Lauren at our recent Celebration Event in London. She read from her novel.
Book tours
If you’re a Bridge House / Red Telephone / CaféLit / Chapeltown
author and you want to get serious about book tours, consider our author’s kit.
We provide twenty or so books (exact number is up for negotiation) you take to
the bookshop and the bookshop can put these through the till. We then invoice
the bookshop, with a 35% discount for any sold and top up your supply to
twenty. At the end of the tour you can either pay for the remaining books at
cost + 10% or keep them until you’ve sold them and then pay the normal price of
75% of RRP. The latter can in any case be set against royalties. You need to
allow at least ten days between events. Contact me here if you’re interested
in this.
School Visits
I’m proactively promoting my school visits associated with The House on Schellberg Street
project. I’ve now developed a whole workshop for this. It starts off with a
board game, includes some role play and creative writing and ends with a
discussion.
I did a presentation about my work on this at the 2017
NAWE Conference. It became apparent
as I talked and partly from the reaction of one of the delegates that the
workshop has more impact than the book. Mind you, that had partly been the
intention.
Costs for my workshops = travel expenses plus £400 for a
full day and £200 for a half day. This includes all materials and some
freebies. Two schools near to each other might consider splitting the day and
halving the travel expenses and fees. This is open to negotiation in any case.
I also offer a free half day visit, though you pay my travel
expenses, if you allow me to promote my books.
I’m continuously adding materials for schools to the site
that are different from the ones I use for the workshops. I’ve recently added
in resources and books to do with the topic. See them here:
Query for a school visit here.
I’m also happy to tailor a visit for your agreed donation.
This can be for either a Schellberg Cycle
visit or a creative writing workshop. Any monies raised this way will go
specifically to a project I have for a non-fiction book about a journey that
will follow the footsteps of Clara
Lehrs. I’m hoping to do the whole journey by train, including departing via
my nearest Metrolink station. It’s important to feel the rails beneath my
feet.
I offer as well standard
author visits which include readings from my books, Q & A sessions and
creative writing exercises.
It is now possible to purchase the kit to work on on your
own. Find details here.
Please remember, with these as well, I’m open to negotiation
if you can’t afford the full price.
Upcoming events
More specific
details of the following will be posted later.
- I'm hoping to run a workshop on marketing for indie writers / publishers. This will be free of charge but you may make a donation if you wish. This will enable me to put on further events.
- A Pushing Boundaries, Flying Higher Master Class about writing the young adult novel.
- Manchester event in the summer.
- London event 1 December 2018 (Save the date!)
Past events
 |
| Some of our successful writers |
 |
| Yours truly reading |
 |
| Speed-dating |
Our event on 2 December at the Princess of Wales went well though twenty
delegates had to pull out, all for good reasons: illness, awkward trains, family
problems, job inductions etc. and I too suffered from "awkward
trains".
Nevertheless, we all had a great time. We also sold half of
our stock of books within the first five minutes. I didn't have to bring all
that much back home.
I actually managed to join in the "speed-dating"
this time. The little bell that I bought worked really hard. She is a young
woman in a crinoline dress. Esmeralda. It was good to put names to faces. I read
a little too from January Stones. We
also had readings from Margaret Bulleyment, Penny Dale, Shanta Everington, Lauren
Hopes, Dawn Knox, Paula Readman, Allison Symes and Robin Wrigley.
Writing opportunities
Remember I keep a
full list of vetted opportunities on my writing
blog. See them here. New
ones are added several times a day. Roughly once a month I go through it and
take out all of the out of date ones. At that point I send it out to a list. If
you would like to be on that list, sign up here.
I have recently revamped
the way this works and made it much more user friendly. Let me know what you
think.
Current reading recommendation
Kid Gloves by Adam Mars-Jones
I shouldn't have
liked this book but I did. It's supposed to be a biography or memoire but it's
more of an auto-biography. It's sub-titled A
Voyage around My Father. It doesn't use the fiction-style narrative I prefer
for such works. In fact it's one continuous narrative. I'm not even all that interested
in the type of family that Adam Mars-Jones describes, though the details about
the flat in Gray's Inn are fascinating. The book is awkward to hold.
And yet I thoroughly
enjoyed reading it. Mars-Jones writes in a very engaging voice. I have the
hardback version and it is truly a beautiful book. Find it here.
Calling all writers
I'm running an occasional series of interviews on my blog.
Take a look at my interview with Allison
Symes and Dawn Knox. If you would like to be on my blog just
answer the questions below and send them with appropriate images to gill dot
james at btinternet dot com.
Please feel free to pick and choose which of these to
answer.
1.
What do you write? Why this in particular?
2.
What got you started on writing in the first place?
3.
Do you have a particular routine?
4.
Do you have a dedicated working space?
5.
When did you decide you could call yourself a writer?
Do you do that in fact?
6.
How supportive are your friends and family? Do they
understand what you're doing?
7.
What are you most proud of in your writing?
8.
How do you get on with editing and research?
9.
Do you have any goals for the future?
10. Which
writers have inspired you?
Please write as much or as little as you like for each
section and supply as many pictures as you like. Also let me know your latest
publication and supply me with a link if it's not on Amazon.
Giveaway
This month I'm
giving away The Best of CafeLit 5.
Download here.
You will also find
in this dropbox:
·
An
extract from Clara’s Story
·
Some
seminars for schools about The House on
Schellberg Street
·
Some
fiction writing exercises
·
The
opening chapters from my manual for writing the young adult novel
Note, that normally my books and the books supplied by the imprints I
manage, sell for anything form £0.99 to £10.99, with most on Kindle being about
£2.99 and the average price for paperback being £7.00. We have to allow our
writers to make a living. But we’re offering these free samples so that you can
try before you buy.
Happy reading and
writing.
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