published on 2010-07-06
In the second instalment in our Elevator Pitch series, we took to the elevator with writer Richard Denning who has published The Last Seal as well as a number of other books on CompletelyNovel. The idea is that you have just a couple of minutes to get over the essentials of your book and sell it to the publisher standing in the elevator next to you. Let’s see how Richard gets on!
published on 2010-06-30
A number of CompletelyNovel writers featured in my recent article for Publishing Industry newsblog ‘Publishing Perspectives’. It’s called The Rise of the Author-Entrepreneur The article is all about ways that authors (and in particular, the self-publishing authors on CompletelyNovel) are becoming more entrepreneurial in terms of the way they go about marketing, selling and building an audience for their book. This is great news for the publishing industry as it helps ensure that books get seen and heard amongst all the other noise that is going on out there, and that there is increasing innovation in the publishing industry.
published on 2010-06-28
Take your place amongst the greatest nature writers of all time! We are absolutely delighted that CompletelNovel has been chosen to host an brand new writing competition for unpublished authors being run by The Wildlife Trusts independent publisher Elliott & Thompson and Foyles Bookshop The winner will see their entry published in Nature Tales: Encounters with Britain’s Wildlife, a beautiful anthology of British nature writing which Elliott and Thompson will publish later this year in partnership with The Wildlife Trusts. From Gilbert White to Charles Darwin, from Robert Macfarlane to Kathleen Jamie, the book features some of the greatest nature writers of all time.
published on 2010-06-24
Just a quick blog post to say that writers, if you haven’t already come across Nathan Bransford you should definitely check out his blog. Nathan wrote this article in the New York Times entitled The Rejection Letter of the Future Will Be Silence (And Why This is a Good Thing). He makes a lot of really great points around the way that the publishing industry is changing. In his opinion, it is no bad thing that digital publishing and self-publishing means that there are lots more books available. He doesn’t like the fact that he has to ‘reject’ many manuscripts because they are not commercially viable for him to take on (and therefore trample on the dreams of many an aspiring writer). The fact is that they may have an audience out there, and now it is possible for an author to try and reach that audience themself.
published on 2010-06-24
There are many ways to promote your writing: blogs, Facebook notes with your friends tagged, Twitter, writing sites… but these always run the danger of attracting the same audiences. There are ways to reach new audiences, showcase your work, be at the same types of events as undercover agents (literary not spy). All you have to do is read… out loud… in front of people. Nikesh Shukla, writer and regular on the live literature scene offers some great tips on how to read to an audience and walk away smiling.
published on 2010-06-21
I recently posted an article on the Publishing Talk Blog. It’s called Four ways to make your life easier if you self publish It’s a fact that not every author is going to have experience as a designer, typesetter or book production manager. This article is about investing a little time initially to get to grips with a few aspects of publishing books to save lots of time in the long run and ensure that your finished book looks professional.
published on 2010-06-21
Bad Idea’s Future Human Club landed once again last Wednesday at the Book Club in Shoreditch, with their latest event, Immersion Drama. Immersion drama is exactly that: an emerging form that looks for more immersive, interactive and personal experiences when telling stories. The night looked at the evolution of storytelling with the advent of new technology and that great resource called the World Wide Web, and how storytellers can actively engage their audience in new ways.
published on 2010-06-15
What would you do if you suddenly found yourself stuck in an elevator with exactly the kind of publisher that might be interested in publishing your book? Would you punch all the buttons and run out screaming at the earliest opportunity, or would you grab the bull by the horns and pitch your heart out.* We took to the elevator with writer Alan Baker who has published The Martian Ambassador as well as a number of other books on CompletelyNovel, to see how he copes under the pressure! *Slyly pushing the emergency button so that they are trapped in there with you for hours is not an option by the way.
published on 2010-06-11
PRESS RELEASE Last night the “Free Word Centre”: hosted the launch of ‘All of These Things Are True and Not True’, an anthology made up of an unusual combination of new fiction, poetry and playwriting from nine writers who took part in the Jerwood/Arvon Mentoring Scheme. To engage with audiences online and off, Arvon has worked with CompletelyNovel.com to produce a print-on-demand paperback version of ’All these Things Are True and Not True and also make the book available to read and buy through the CompletelyNovel BookStreamer and website.
published on 2010-06-08
CompletelyNovel has changed a bit – here’s a run-down of the changes in case you haven;t spotted them, and also a quick word on what we will be working on over the next few months. Thanks to everyone who has given us such useful feedback!
Discuss article: The Rise of the Author Entrepreneur:
Great tips, thanks guys. It is especially good to hear how everyone has gone about this in so man…
Discuss article: The Rise of the Author Entrepreneur:
I think that facebok is cool if you’re happy using it butI know what Kathleen means about face-to…
Discuss article: The Rise of the Author Entrepreneur:
Who’s Kathleen? I rest my case!
Discuss article: Reading to an Audience: Tips from Nikesh Shukla:
Thank you for these tips about presenting your work live to the public.
As I want to avoid to…
Discuss article: Reading to an Audience: Tips from Nikesh Shukla:
Good luck with trying your first chapter out on an audience – I think it’s a great idea to get so…
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