So much for weekly blogging. August blogging got lost. Well, I was blogging but on our Writer's Choice website. October 17th, our launch date draws near and we are all going flat tack trying to be ready and perfect. We can but try.
A long time online writing friend emailed this morning to let me know it was a month now since I was banned (tut!) from the AbsoluteWrite forums and I was missed. Kind soul. And another emailed to say he'd tried to get me reinstated to no avail. Bless him for trying but it was bound to be a waste of time. Two particularly intolerant moderators and the Big Boss have been trying to get rid of me for a while. No way would they have me back especially after the nasty trick they played to get rid of me.
It used to be that one could discuss and swop opinions at the AbsoluteWrite forums. Now you must brown nose or expect trouble. How dare anyone disagree with or have ideas which are different from the inner clique moderators. If you do then expect to be abused. Interesting isn't it that a member can be banned for being rude to a moderator but moderators can be extremely offensive and it's fine? A bit pointless to have a rule which says don't be rude and then allow the board officials to be highly offensive. Really silly.
It seems to me that if the AbsoluteWrite forums have degenerated to the extent that Moderators actually delete and alter one's words to deliberately get one banned then the place isn't worth visiting. I am just sorry that someone I thought of as a writing pal would allow herself to be used to get me banned permanently. PM'd apologies are hardly worth complaining about.
Friday, 14 September 2012
Wednesday, 25 July 2012
Hurray for Writer's Choice!
Winter blahs, short dark days, so much to do, no money to do it with! Ah me, isn't life grand.
But with Writer's Choice getting closer to launch day things feel positive. My anthology is ready to go, George's novel is just about ready for formatting. Sharon is beavering away. Ann is still holidaying in the U.K. but promised to return with the novel perfected!
The website and blog are growing nicely. Friendly authors agree to be interviewed. The banner and logo are perfect. And I'm scared silly that all our work and effort will not be enough. Still, no use pothering about it, it's an experiment and I feel better knowing I have tried. It's no use sitting about moaning about bloody agents and traditional publishing, epublishing might just pay the bills!
I have been impressed by our covers though. We have a really good artist and she seems to know exactly what makes a good, eye catching ebook cover. I knew people bought by eye, but not how much it influences a book buyer.
I've been observing people and books in our library. This morning I spent time as I did my volunteer work shelving non-fiction and watched people picking up the new books and checking them out. Where the reader did not know the writer the cover played an important part in the choice. "It looks all right," they'd say if they decided to borrow the book. I am glad we have Dawn to create our covers.
But with Writer's Choice getting closer to launch day things feel positive. My anthology is ready to go, George's novel is just about ready for formatting. Sharon is beavering away. Ann is still holidaying in the U.K. but promised to return with the novel perfected!
The website and blog are growing nicely. Friendly authors agree to be interviewed. The banner and logo are perfect. And I'm scared silly that all our work and effort will not be enough. Still, no use pothering about it, it's an experiment and I feel better knowing I have tried. It's no use sitting about moaning about bloody agents and traditional publishing, epublishing might just pay the bills!
I have been impressed by our covers though. We have a really good artist and she seems to know exactly what makes a good, eye catching ebook cover. I knew people bought by eye, but not how much it influences a book buyer.
I've been observing people and books in our library. This morning I spent time as I did my volunteer work shelving non-fiction and watched people picking up the new books and checking them out. Where the reader did not know the writer the cover played an important part in the choice. "It looks all right," they'd say if they decided to borrow the book. I am glad we have Dawn to create our covers.
Monday, 16 July 2012
What is it about emotions which make people so afraid?
I was treated to a trip to the cinema on Saturday. There was a Norwegian film I really wanted to see: 'Letters to Father Jacob'. People whose opinions I valued and a couple of intelligent, non-Hollywood watching critics had given the film excellent ratings.
I like to hope perhaps the audience was willing but not used to subtitles. They were older people I would have assumed had lived enough life to be able to listen and watch. The film was an exquisite production, the photography superb, the acting - mainly from just two characters - brilliant, the story a real onion of a plot with layer upon layer to plumb.
I don't usually weep over unreal situations, after all a film is a created artifice meant to work on the emotions. 'Letters to Father Jacob' made me weep. I noted the women next to me wiping away a tear, but as the lights came up a loud woman and her Aussie friend in the seats in front of me yawned.
"Just two people, a real budget film," she said to her OZ friend.
"Yeah and I can't believe people live in rotten old houses like that."
I nearly throttled them. For me the film had been a cathartic experience, rare and precious. They just chattered. I muttered rudely. The women next to me patted my arm. "They're just hiding their emotions," she said.
I hope that was it. Otherwise they were simply insensate louts!
I was treated to a trip to the cinema on Saturday. There was a Norwegian film I really wanted to see: 'Letters to Father Jacob'. People whose opinions I valued and a couple of intelligent, non-Hollywood watching critics had given the film excellent ratings.
I like to hope perhaps the audience was willing but not used to subtitles. They were older people I would have assumed had lived enough life to be able to listen and watch. The film was an exquisite production, the photography superb, the acting - mainly from just two characters - brilliant, the story a real onion of a plot with layer upon layer to plumb.
I don't usually weep over unreal situations, after all a film is a created artifice meant to work on the emotions. 'Letters to Father Jacob' made me weep. I noted the women next to me wiping away a tear, but as the lights came up a loud woman and her Aussie friend in the seats in front of me yawned.
"Just two people, a real budget film," she said to her OZ friend.
"Yeah and I can't believe people live in rotten old houses like that."
I nearly throttled them. For me the film had been a cathartic experience, rare and precious. They just chattered. I muttered rudely. The women next to me patted my arm. "They're just hiding their emotions," she said.
I hope that was it. Otherwise they were simply insensate louts!
Friday, 6 July 2012
Sometimes...
A magic wand! That's what I need. Or more properly a belief that the future will be less crazy than the last four years.
To be jobless is demeaning. Trying to create work by setting up and running a Language School and Writer's Retreat is dispiriting when the P.R. and adverts attract lots of queries but few bookings. (Four this year so far.) The idiot neighbour's daily harassment is wearing, especially as he's taken to creeping along the boundary hedge and suddenly leaping up with deafening hyena-like laughter or shouts every ten minutes.
And it is so depressing to note that I have not been able to afford to plant anything like the number of hazel, almond and fruit trees which would bring me in enough money to buy more trees and pay some bills.
Thank God for the Writers' Choice co-operative and my three colleagues egging me on. If we can get all our books launched in October, work hard at the PR, maybe there will be a small income, and I will be able to say that the chaos of the last four years is over and my fifth year home in N.Z. will finally be one where I can stop worrying about where the money will come from for this week's food and afford to buy some new underclothes. At last!
To be jobless is demeaning. Trying to create work by setting up and running a Language School and Writer's Retreat is dispiriting when the P.R. and adverts attract lots of queries but few bookings. (Four this year so far.) The idiot neighbour's daily harassment is wearing, especially as he's taken to creeping along the boundary hedge and suddenly leaping up with deafening hyena-like laughter or shouts every ten minutes.
And it is so depressing to note that I have not been able to afford to plant anything like the number of hazel, almond and fruit trees which would bring me in enough money to buy more trees and pay some bills.
Thank God for the Writers' Choice co-operative and my three colleagues egging me on. If we can get all our books launched in October, work hard at the PR, maybe there will be a small income, and I will be able to say that the chaos of the last four years is over and my fifth year home in N.Z. will finally be one where I can stop worrying about where the money will come from for this week's food and afford to buy some new underclothes. At last!
Friday, 22 June 2012
Why on earth...?
I've been shelving the newest purchases at the library. I found a new Shona MacLean, which was a nice surprise, but I did start to wonder what has happened to book covers and book blurbs.
They are all the same!
Historical novels have a photograph type cover, usually a female in fancy dress, or part dress, and nearly always made to look sexy despite the title of the book or its contents.If it's a male on the cover he has to be unshaven and brooding, leaning against something with a sexy scowl. Oh yes, the shirt's half open, of course. The title will be scrawled illegibly in imitation of a quill pen's writing or old style printing press printing.
If the genre is vaguely chick lit then the cover has what I call stick drawings of people, usually women. It's not quite a cartoon style cover but getting close. Murder Mysteries have brooding landscapes, Cozy detective stories have village scenes.
But no matter what the cover pictures the darned words are always the same. 'Best Seller', 'Must Read', 'Unforgettable', 'The Read of the Year' on every book.
Really?
Don't tell me what I must read. And if the book's a best seller how come all the others are too? What does a best seller really mean? Why can't we have more blurbs which tell the story without all the screaming puffery?
So many books don't even carry a blurb any more. I can't tell what they are about. If I have to delve into the book itself then it's bye bye book. It's obviously not my style with its half naked couple on the cover, and a MUST READ shouting on the back cover.
I reckon the publisher who goes back to plain coloured, gilded tooled leather (well, look alike tooled leather) covers with clear legible titles and actually has a plot description blurb which matches the contents of the book is on to a winner.
They are all the same!
Historical novels have a photograph type cover, usually a female in fancy dress, or part dress, and nearly always made to look sexy despite the title of the book or its contents.If it's a male on the cover he has to be unshaven and brooding, leaning against something with a sexy scowl. Oh yes, the shirt's half open, of course. The title will be scrawled illegibly in imitation of a quill pen's writing or old style printing press printing.
If the genre is vaguely chick lit then the cover has what I call stick drawings of people, usually women. It's not quite a cartoon style cover but getting close. Murder Mysteries have brooding landscapes, Cozy detective stories have village scenes.
But no matter what the cover pictures the darned words are always the same. 'Best Seller', 'Must Read', 'Unforgettable', 'The Read of the Year' on every book.
Really?
Don't tell me what I must read. And if the book's a best seller how come all the others are too? What does a best seller really mean? Why can't we have more blurbs which tell the story without all the screaming puffery?
So many books don't even carry a blurb any more. I can't tell what they are about. If I have to delve into the book itself then it's bye bye book. It's obviously not my style with its half naked couple on the cover, and a MUST READ shouting on the back cover.
I reckon the publisher who goes back to plain coloured, gilded tooled leather (well, look alike tooled leather) covers with clear legible titles and actually has a plot description blurb which matches the contents of the book is on to a winner.
Friday, 15 June 2012
A name at last. Writers Choice is born. We are a multicultural, international group of writers - sounds serious doesn't it? - who think it's time to experiment with some of these non-traditional means of publishing. Does that sound convincing?
Our Logo is being discussed. We have a rather novel idea from an artist friend which I really like. Have to have a vote of course, but all is proceeding amiably.
Suddenly we have a September/October Deadline and it's all a bit panic inducing. I am having doubts about my work being good enough yet the anthologies of stories I will e-publish have already been published in journals and magazines in Australia, Canada, the U.K. and the USA.
What we writers do to ourselves in the way of put downs and self doubt is crazy. My novels are off to competitions and then to some Small Presses. Maybe I will be able to earn money and self respect again!
Our Logo is being discussed. We have a rather novel idea from an artist friend which I really like. Have to have a vote of course, but all is proceeding amiably.
Suddenly we have a September/October Deadline and it's all a bit panic inducing. I am having doubts about my work being good enough yet the anthologies of stories I will e-publish have already been published in journals and magazines in Australia, Canada, the U.K. and the USA.
What we writers do to ourselves in the way of put downs and self doubt is crazy. My novels are off to competitions and then to some Small Presses. Maybe I will be able to earn money and self respect again!
Wednesday, 6 June 2012
So how is the publishing cooperative going?
Slowly.
Step one, find a group name that will be our brand.
As yet we cannot find something with panache. We have several good names but nothing exceptional. Fortunately everyone is good humoured about it. No fussing. Rule number one is professional polite and civilised behaviour at all times and we abide by it. It's the only way to get a group working together without misunderstandings.
Email is a poor form of communication because voice and tone are lost. It's easy to misunderstand what is said. And those wretched smiley faces don't really help. They merely make an email look like a kindergarten effort! As we email short notes to each other we stick to Rule One! It has helped.
We started with six and are now four. I think we'll hold at that and see how we do. There is a so much to do but the bulk of the work requires that group name. I think it's time to chase everyone for suggestions, again!
Slowly.
Step one, find a group name that will be our brand.
As yet we cannot find something with panache. We have several good names but nothing exceptional. Fortunately everyone is good humoured about it. No fussing. Rule number one is professional polite and civilised behaviour at all times and we abide by it. It's the only way to get a group working together without misunderstandings.
Email is a poor form of communication because voice and tone are lost. It's easy to misunderstand what is said. And those wretched smiley faces don't really help. They merely make an email look like a kindergarten effort! As we email short notes to each other we stick to Rule One! It has helped.
We started with six and are now four. I think we'll hold at that and see how we do. There is a so much to do but the bulk of the work requires that group name. I think it's time to chase everyone for suggestions, again!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)