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Want to be a writer? New programme urges people to put pen to paper

Three successful Irish authors will offer tips to budding writers through YouTube videos as part of the new National Emerging Writer Programme.

IF, LIKE SO many people, you’ve ever thought you have a book inside you just waiting to burst out, this could be the year that you actually do something about it.

A new national programme is offering budding writers tips and advice from three successful authors as part of a joint project between Dublin UNESCO City of Literature and writing.ie, a site aimed at authors.

The National Emerging Writer Programme has made free videos featuring writers Sinead Moriarty, Declan Hughes and Carlo Gebler about essential writing techniques in a bid to get people writing.

The bitesize videos can be seen on YouTube from today, on writing.ie, and on DVDs which will be distributed to libraries across Ireland from 9 January. Extra support materials will also be available on writing.ie.

“Writing is a solitary profession and support is essential,” said Vanessa O’Loughlin of writing.ie, adding:

The programme gives all writers the benefit of the expertise and experience of three of Ireland’s leading novelists, allowing new writers to view content at a time that suits them and to work at their own pace.

Dublin is the fourth city to be designated as the UNESCO City of Literature.

Jane Algar, the director of Dublin City of Literature said she hopes the programme will have a “significant and tangible impact on writing in Ireland, a legacy that will result in many new writers emerging on the world stage.”

This video has more information about the programme:

(Video: writingeire/YouTube)

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    Mute Nina Ni Cionaoith
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    Jan 1st 2013, 7:40 PM

    Once upon a time….

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    Mute Sarah Keyes
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    Jan 1st 2013, 10:04 PM

    …there was an enormous white…

    26
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    Mute Nina Ni Cionaoith
    Favourite Nina Ni Cionaoith
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    Jan 1st 2013, 10:13 PM

    ..hedgehog called Eugene . He didn’t have a lot of friends because …

    ( finally someone got it!!!!)

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    Mute Aoife Brosnan
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    Jan 1st 2013, 10:25 PM

    …of his distinctive body odour, which was a cross between….

    21
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    Mute Nina Ni Cionaoith
    Favourite Nina Ni Cionaoith
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    Jan 1st 2013, 10:33 PM

    …spilled stale beer and garlic. Eugene was a happy hedgehog and oblivious to his body odour until one day…

    19
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    Mute Angela Barrett
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    Jan 1st 2013, 11:15 PM

    clodagh came along…. and the smell of summer flowers filled his tiny nostrils!

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    Mute Angela Barrett
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    Jan 1st 2013, 11:18 PM

    and he rememberd the long forgotten scent of a woman!

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    Mute Ryan Murphy
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    Jan 1st 2013, 11:19 PM

    The first time he saw her, his little heart somersaulted within his chest.

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    Mute Angela Barrett
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    Jan 1st 2013, 11:32 PM

    and without thinking.. his little feet tap danced to a tune inside his head

    11
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    Mute Nina Ni Cionaoith
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    Jan 1st 2013, 11:34 PM

    ..but Clodagh kept her distance, it wasn’t his enormous spikes that made her uneasy, after all, you know what they say about a hedgehog with enormous spikes, it was Eugene’s BO! She wanted to be nearer to him so…

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    Mute Ryan Murphy
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    Jan 1st 2013, 11:35 PM

    All thoughts of his distinctive musk forgotten, and oblivious to the spectacle he presented, of a large, white, slightly flushed mammal, Eugene resolved to approach her with all the confidence he could muster.

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    Mute Angela Barrett
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    Jan 1st 2013, 11:43 PM

    so he slicked back his spikes, shoved back his shoulders and said to the faries around him… “tis now or never Eugeine”

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    Mute Ryan Murphy
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    Jan 1st 2013, 11:59 PM

    “Um, who are you talking to?” asked Clodagh, who despite the desensitizing effects of ten Bacardi breezers, still knew that fairies were even more fictitious than talking hedgehogs.

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    Mute Angela Barrett
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    Jan 2nd 2013, 12:08 AM

    ahh…. hows the goin there? sure twas only meself i was talkin to!

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    Mute Angela Barrett
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    Jan 2nd 2013, 12:15 AM

    this hedgeog is going hibernating for a few hours!!

    4
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    Mute Ryan Murphy
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    Jan 2nd 2013, 12:20 AM

    …stuttered Eugene bashfully, because, as his appearance dictated, as well as being striking, as in, frequently, by a particularly unattractive piece of two by four, he wasn’t a particularly urbane character.

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    Mute Conn Rogers
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    Jan 2nd 2013, 3:36 AM

    “Hibernating?” thought Clodagh to herself. “For a few hours?” she wondered.
    She called after him “Stop talking to yourself and watch out for those cars on your way home, ya nutjob!”

    4
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    Mute Hugh Chaloner
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    Jan 2nd 2013, 10:24 AM

    Too late! As Eugene meandered along the Ennis Road avoiding the lethal swishing tyres, he fell into the deepest, darkest pothole known to Hedgehogkind. Dazed and confused, he lay …

    3
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    Mute Nina Ni Cionaoith
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    Jan 2nd 2013, 11:07 AM

    …there thinking ‘ this must be one massive pothole, even bigger than the one in cork!! If only I had a phone so I could send the pic to The Journal’ Eugene was an enormous hedgehog so he knew this pothole was something special. So Eugene lay there, thinking, wondering if he’d …..

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    Mute Conn Rogers
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    Jan 2nd 2013, 11:32 AM

    …be able to one day persuade Clodagh to join him in residency in this pothole, where they could…

    4
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    Mute Nina Ni Cionaoith
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    Jan 2nd 2013, 11:51 AM

    …get down and dirty, literally, Eugene began to get excited. The pothole was indeed dirty and mucky and Eugene, who was by now aware of his unique scent, wondered if the dirt and muck would mask his odour, if clodagh would look past the pieces of Tarmac and pebbles stuck in his spines and the mud that was slowly drying on his once white furry face.
    Eugene decided to go find clodagh, he was not normally one to make the first move but he thought ‘ feck it, YOLO you know’ and he set off…

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    Mute Cy hendrix
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    Jan 2nd 2013, 1:08 PM

    Enda and Michael stood beside each other in the street surveying the less than bustling crowd.’Where have all the flowers gone’ played in the 10cent shop and irony passed them by. Ireland is a special place and the worst is over they thought,again and again and again.

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    Mute Conn Rogers
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    Jan 2nd 2013, 3:35 PM

    So Eugene took out his gun and shot Enda and Michael for trying to take over his story. He realised, however, that he would need to dispose of the evidence quickly so he called his friend Barry the Badger (through a high frequency squeak, audible to only hedgehogs and badgers, since we know Eugene didn’t have a mobile phone)…

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    Mute Nina Ni Cionaoith
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    Jan 2nd 2013, 4:00 PM

    …but he did know morse code, and there happened to be a lot of stones lying around! Eugene, the very resourceful enormous once white hedgehog grabbed a rock and started banging on the ground ‘ tap tap tap tappity tap tap ….tap tap tap…tap…tap tappity tap.. Tap tap..tap..tap tap tap’
    Thoughts of clodagh pushed aside by the urgency of the situation, if only they hadn’t barged in and tried to derail what was/is to be the greatest story ever told. Eugene stopped stapling and waited, listening for ….

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    Mute Nina Ni Cionaoith
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    Jan 2nd 2013, 4:00 PM

    Tapping*

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    Mute Conn Rogers
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    Jan 2nd 2013, 4:09 PM

    Within minutes, Barry was on the scene with his briefcase. He approached the two bodies and opened his briefcase, releasing 6 more badgers who set about devouring the remains of Enda and Michael. These badgers had not eaten in weeks so the job was sure to be complete within a matter of seconds, allowing Eugene to return to his previous train of thought…

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    Mute Nina Ni Cionaoith
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    Jan 2nd 2013, 4:41 PM

    ..Eugene shook off the tension, took a deep breath and refocused his thoughts. He had to find clodagh, he didn’t want to wait another second, he knew clodagh was for him…he just had to make her believe it, But how…

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    Mute Conn Rogers
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    Jan 2nd 2013, 5:14 PM

    Hypnosis! Of course! He would need to enrol in a hypnosis class…
    Suddenly his mind raced at the world of other possibilities this could lead to…

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    Mute Nina Ni Cionaoith
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    Jan 2nd 2013, 5:57 PM

    ..the possibility of finally giving up smoking and that secret physical addiction that had driven him into the arms of so many random, strange hedgehogs in so many dark and damp hedges. Eugene even dared to think that maybe, just maybe he’d…

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    Mute Conn Rogers
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    Jan 3rd 2013, 2:36 AM

    …be able to stick with his current hygiene program, given that he could hypnotise Clodagh into finding his odour more alluring than any bottle of Lynx Africa.
    Hell, he could hypnotise her into accepting, even EXPECTING, that he would take more than one mate.
    His mind raced back through his precious conquests and he began to re-think the idea of giving up that lifestyle. After all, he would hold all the cards now… He could have his cake and eat it… He rubbed his little front feet together as a cheeky grin crossed his face… He thought back to Marsha, and how she’d dumped him for consistently leaving spikes on the couch. He thought about Rebecca and her aversion to his drinking habits. Soon, they would all be his again…
    “Muwahahahahahaha” he whispered to himself…

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    Mute Conn Rogers
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    Jan 3rd 2013, 2:38 AM

    *previous (not precious)

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    Mute Nina Ni Cionaoith
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    Jan 3rd 2013, 9:36 PM

    He had to be careful, he really didn’t want clodagh running into Rebecca or Marsha. They’d ruin his plans!! Eugene headed to the library, searched around, decided on a book and headed home to his cozy pothole with a battered copy of ‘Hypnosis for dummies’ stopping only to pick up some red bull, tayto and cheesy popcorn… It was going to be a long night!
    The following morning Eugene emerged from his pothole with a cheeky grin on his face and small bits of popcorn stuck to his fur…He was confident that his plan would be a success. Marsha lived nearer than rebecca so he plodded off through the field towards the river, Marsha’s home was on the other side and he knew it would be risky crossing at this time of year…last time he’d seen Marsha it was high summer and the river was low and he could wade across quite quickly, which was lucky for him because Martha was fit to kill that day. Eugene was deep in thought as he walked, however, he hadn’t travelled far when he bumped into a reporter from The Journal… ‘ oh no’ he thought to himself….

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    Mute Tom Keating
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    Jan 1st 2013, 7:29 PM

    Great idea to kick start writing….

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    Mute Shane O'Regan
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    Jan 1st 2013, 8:42 PM

    Great idea, It’s time we get back to what we’re good at.
    May the ink ebb and flow from the rich well of the Irish.

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    Mute Kevin Higgins
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    Jan 1st 2013, 7:59 PM

    I love this I’ve always wanted a kick start to my writing and this should help!

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    Mute Orly
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    Jan 2nd 2013, 12:27 AM

    Me too, very excited. My notions wall might finally come together into some sort of coherent piece.

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    Mute Murdock MacCumhaill
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    Jan 1st 2013, 8:26 PM

    Writing and self publishing is so in at the moment, it hasn’t been this fashionable since the pamphlet of 1700, beside 1 or 2 how many can you remember.

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    Mute Fiachra Maolmordha Ó Raghallaigh
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    Jan 1st 2013, 10:38 PM

    Most bookstores (still a significant source of revenue!) won’t accept self-published books, although things are changing. Not so much a revolution, as a quicker-than-usual evolution.

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    Mute Ryan Murphy
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    Jan 1st 2013, 11:20 PM

    An excellent initiative. Well done to all involved.

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    Mute Journal Comment
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    Jan 1st 2013, 8:48 PM
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    Mute Randy Fisher
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    Jan 2nd 2013, 5:32 AM

    Try not to write in Starbucks.
    Do you hear me mac people…:)n

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    Mute Kemberlee Shortland
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    Jan 2nd 2013, 12:27 AM

    For anyone interested, Ireland’s only all digital publisher, Tirgearr Publishing, is reopening for 2013 on 7 Jan. Actively looking for all genres and cross genres. http://www.tirgearrpunlishing.com for submission guidelines.

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    Mute Teresa Scanlon
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    Jan 2nd 2013, 2:25 AM

    Link not available?

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    Mute Kemberlee Shortland
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    Jan 2nd 2013, 9:27 AM

    Sorry, Teresa. Sticky fingers…www.tirgearrpublishing.com.

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    Mute Deadly Buzz
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    Jan 2nd 2013, 9:56 AM

    People can self publish on amazon…

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    Mute Kemberlee Shortland
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    Jan 2nd 2013, 10:43 AM

    Yes they can, Deadly Buzz, but not everyone wants to self publish, and frankly most who do are doing so with books which aren’t ready to be published. The market is filled with substandard work. Not that the stories aren’t any good, but that they’re very poorly edited. Many are first drafts and the authors use reader comments as a way to edit their work, thus creating untold versions of the same book and confusing readers. That’s the biggest bugbear in the self publishing industry at the moment . . . poorly edited books flooding the market.

    There’s also the cost of producing a professional quality book with self publishing. Cover art alone can cost €100-500. Professional editing services start at €1000 for around 200 pages . . . each go-round! A book is never done editing on just one edit, even with professional editors. Typically, authors are looking at a minimum of THREE edits on a book before it’s ready for the proofreader, who starts at €200 for a 200 page book. Then there’s formatting, starting at €250 for a 200 page book. Don’t forget advance marketing, launch day promotions and on-going promos, the cost of which are astronomical.

    So, going by minimum fees, to self publish a book today, costs start at €3550 before marketing and promo comes into the picture. Let’s say the initial fee for promo brings the minimum cost of self publishing one book up to €5000.

    I don’t know anyone who has €5000 laying around which isn’t earmarked for rent/mortgage, bills and food. Not in today’s economy in Ireland. Or anywhere. This is the main reason why writers are just putting any old cover on their books, claiming the cover doesn’t matter (it does!) and tossing their rough draft online for sale. And having a book edited by your mammy or best friend doesn’t count. They will not tell you what you *need* to hear. They tell you what you *want* to hear. Vast difference.

    And for the first time author who’s going the self publishing route, they’re starting at the bottom and working up . . . to gain readership, reader trust, learn the industry one mistake at a time, and usually throw good money after bad on countless mistakes. Why?

    And how many books does that author have to sell before breaking even? The average cost of a 200 page digital book is roughly €2.50 ($3usd). If an author has spent €5000 to make the book market ready, that means the author must sell 2000 copies of that book before the author makes his/her investment back. And has to turn over a further 2000 copies in order to justify self publishing a second book. AND has to turn over a further 2000 books in order to make a profit. That’s basic retail formula for you. Make back your initial investment, make equal to sell another product and make equal again to put into savings so the author can pay the rent/mortgage, bills and food. So that’s 6000 copies of the book to make self publishing a viable option.

    A publisher takes these costs off the author and makes that book the best it can be before the book sees the light of day.

    A publisher also has the connections for cover designers, editors, and proofreaders, and knows the business of marketing and promotions. Letting a publisher handle all of these aspects frees up the author to do what they want to do most. Write.

    Something important to keep in mind is that when an author ventures into self publishing, they cease being an author. They become a publisher . . . and a cover designer, and an editor, and a proofreader, and a marketer and promoter, etc. The writing will ALWAYS take second chair behind everything else with the self publisher.

    Why do people what to self publish? Two main reasons –

    1) They think it’s cheap and easy, and
    2) They can’t get published by traditional methods because they don’t want to put in the work to make sure their book is ready for submission and going through the submission and rejection process . . . and not realizing that self publishing MUCH harder than taking some time to make a submittable version of their book. I can’t tell you how many self publishing authors I’ve met over the years who start out self publishing and went back to traditional publishing because they realized how much time and money is involved.

    But yeah, anyone can self publish on Amazon. If you have a spare €5000 laying around, have a lot of spare time on your hands and want to be a publisher, cover designer, editor, etc, go for it.

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    Mute Randy Fisher
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    Jan 2nd 2013, 5:29 AM

    Try not to write when you are drunk. Priceless.. lol

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    Mute Sheena Lambert
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    Jan 2nd 2013, 1:16 PM

    Kemberlee makes some very valid points. We are living through probably the second most significant change in the history of the publishing industry, and the state of play is in flux, for sure. There are far more self-published books available now than ever before, and purely by virture of the self-publishing process, it is possible that the standard of editing is lower overall as a result.
    But I worry not.
    Like every other major change, the changing face of publishing will find its own balance. Consumers won’t buy poorly written books. Good writers, self-published or not, will be still left standing (and selling) when give-it-a-go others have given up. Maybe it’s comparable to the explosion of bloggers in the early days of the internet. Good blogs maintain their readers, bad blogs don’t and give up. And the bad blogs don’t impact negatively on the good blogs. Nor do the badly written/edited books impact on the well written ones. A well written book will gain its own following, notwithstanding anything else.
    I can understand that this is a frustrating time for traditional publishers. But I have to disagree with one point Kenberlee makes. I self-published my novel ALBERTA CLIPPER in November 2012. And not for either of the reasons Kenberlee gives. I failed to get a traditional publishing deal, but the traditional publishers who turned me down were very positive about my book, they just weren’t prepared to bet on a new novellist right now. In the women’s fiction genre, they were more comfortable working with existing authors who they knew had a following and could continue to write books for them at little risk.
    They too are trying to feel their way through these changing times. Their cautious approach is understandable. But it meant that unless I self-published ALBERTA CLIPPER, no one would ever read it, and I knew it was worth reading.
    There will always be good books, and bad books. Well written and edited books, and badly written and edited books. This is true for both traditinally published and self-published books.
    But the winners in all of this will be the good books and the good writers. And I’m not afraid of that.

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    Mute Eliza Green
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    Jan 2nd 2013, 2:49 PM

    Like Sheena, I agree with some of Kemberlee’s points but strongly disagree with her reasons as to why people self publish. Yes, there is a lot of rubbish out there but there are also writers/authors who take their time before releasing their work. I recently released BECOMING HUMAN, after having hired an editor and a book cover designer. Not until I completed many rounds of self editing did I hit that publish button.

    Yes, self publishing costs money, but I have no issue spending it on a product I believe to be worthwhile. It’s the least I can do for the readers that decide to purchase my book. I have a lot of respect for other self published authors that are doing it for the right reasons. I, too, went down the traditional publishing route and while I received some very positive feedback, they didn’t want to take a chance on a debut author. This is common.

    Self publishing has opened my eyes. I know the amount of work it takes to publish a book. I chose to do it, knowing it would take up all of my free time to do it right. You can read my journey to self publishing on my blog http://www.elizagreenbooks.com and examine my novel (cover art/editing) for yourself. Maybe you will see the effort I have put into making my debut novel as good as it can be.

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    Mute Kemberlee Shortland
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    Jan 2nd 2013, 9:31 PM

    Sheena – Were you able to attend the Dublin Book Fair in November? I spoke there about digital publishing. It was a great day of interaction between speakers and attendees.

    One of the areas of discussion was how there are so many writers today compared to the number of available publishers. Traditional publishers are having a hard time keeping up with the influx of submissions. Even small press publishing houses have a hard time keeping up with submissions. Just one more reason for authors to consider self publishing.

    I’ve been in the business for about 20 years now and back when small press first started, it was because the traditional publishers wouldn’t step out of the box to even consider books that weren’t traditional. Digital publishers opened those doors and today we have the likes of vampire stories and erotica as mainstream reads rather than getting them through ‘underground’ means.

    Now that self publishing is so much more readily available, there’s been a huge boost in those books going to market. Traditional publishers can be and are very selective these days. They follow the money. In doing so, they even go looking at digitally published authors and see who’s selling the best and offer them contracts. Some accept, but for those who are making money self publishing (a small handful, relatively speaking), it pays to just keep doing what they’re doing.

    Today, the biggest thing that separates traditional publishers and small press is that small press don’t offer advances. BUT they usually offer higher royalties . . . sometimes 3 times as high as traditional publishers.

    Don’t get me wrong, there are more than just two reasons why people self publish. The two I listed are just the top two. There are many reasons why people do anything they do.

    Aside from the fact that self publishing has become so easy, these days, anyone can put a website up and call themselves a publisher. Today, it’s very easy to do just about anything online . . . with a little know-how. Doesn’t mean they should. Just as being sure you have your editing as good as it can get, authors submitting to any publisher needs to be sure that publishers they’re submitting to are worth their salt. Even some established small presses have bad reputations. Just like researching for a story, research must be done before selecting publishers you want to represent your work.

    FWIW, I did look up your book at Google. Looks like an interesting read. As yourself how your marketing is going though to boost some sales. If you want a referral to a good and very affordable marketing company, contact me off this thread.

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    Mute Kemberlee Shortland
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    Jan 2nd 2013, 9:48 PM

    Eliza – I checked out your book on Amazon. Your work reminds me of Isabo Kelly. She’s a standard in the business these days of sci fi and sci fi romance. As a publisher, I’d say it’s too bad you didn’t submit to more publishers before going the self publishing route.

    Your comment about publishers not taking on debut authors at the moment is a little off. While they do prefer following the money, many publishers out there are looking for ways to cut costs, even if it means at the expense (pardon the phrase) of their house authors. Traditional publishers are still paying out advances. To publish a house author, the advance is really high because the house is paying forward knowing they’ll make the money back . . . ala Stephen King and Nora Roberts.

    However, some houses want to increase their stock lists. They operate on selling more books for less, rather than less book for more, if you follow me. For what they pay a house author in the advance, they can get 2-3 debut authors who are willing to take next to nothing just to say they’re being published at a traditional house. The publisher still wants the cream of the crop so competition is high. But there are contracts for debut authors out there.

    Some of the positive things authors will find today with some small press are not automatic rejections but invitations to revise and resubmit. The publisher informs the author what wasn’t working for them and invites the author to look at their work and see if the work does warrant some extra work. With the invite to resubmit, that’s being given a second chance. No guarantee, but authors are more likely than not to be offered a contract or at least be invited to submit something else. Traditional publishers don’t do that.

    And while small press don’t offer advances, they do offer royalties that are up to 3 times higher, if not more depending on the contract details.

    Good luck with your book. If you’re struggling marketing, contact me off the group and I can put you in touch with a good and affordable marketing team.

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    Mute Cassie Oh Dear
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    Jan 2nd 2013, 2:26 AM

    A conundrum:
    Who the flippin’ hell gives thumbs down to these comments…?
    I mean, WHO!?? and WHY??!

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    Mute Alison Wells
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    Jan 2nd 2013, 2:41 PM

    I agree with Sheena Lambert, this is a changing time for publishing, both self-publishing and traditional. In challenging financial times quality writers who may have previously found a spot with a traditional publisher might just miss out due to reduced lists. Publishers do want to find new authors but are sometimes constrained by marketing departments and how much risk the publisher can expose themselves to. They may go with the tried and trusted. Indeed traditional publishers are now looking at taking on the successful self-publishers who have produced quality books and sold thousands as they know they have a worthwhile product.

    More experimental and cross genre books can also find an audience through self-publishing where it may have not been financially viable for a publishing house to take on. For the writer there are many options and they can weigh up which work for them in different circumstances. I’ve self-published (through Createspace and using Catherine Ryan Howard’s tips in Self-Printed) Housewife with a Half-Life a book that publishers liked but found hard to put into a slot – it’s a sci-fi comedy featuring a mother who saves the universe. The book was launched and sells in Hughes & Hughes and is also stocked in Dubray Books as well as on Amazon. However I’m also submitting more literary work to traditional publishers. I believe that self-published books should be quality products. I paid for a designer and editor and readers know that I’ve been shortlisted in well-known short story competitions. My point is that the reader needs to know you have credentials and that they are getting a quality product. There’s an element to luck in everything but the most important thing in writing is to be optimistic, that means improving, submitting, and reaching out to readers in whatever way possible.

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    Mute Kemberlee Shortland
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    Jan 2nd 2013, 9:55 PM

    Alison – The reason we have easy access to experimental and cross genre books is because digital publishers opened the market for this over 20 years ago when traditional publishers weren’t ready to make that leap outside their comfort zones. Because small press opened those doors, it gave a huge push in the market for writers who wanted to read these kinds of books but couldn’t find anyone to buy them.

    Self publishing has really taken off since the likes of Smashwords made it so easy. There have been various ereaders around the place for most of the last 20 years, Sony being one of the first to supply them, but when groups like Smashwords started up, suddenly people were self publishing like crazy. It’s even given established writers a place to republish books they have their rights back on. Now Kindle is making it so easy too, including their print division.

    And now that Irish publishers are starting to think about digital and they’re thinking they’re reinventing the wheel. It’s not a new technology, unless you consider new within the last 20 years. :-)

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    Mute Alison Wells
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    Jan 5th 2013, 10:54 AM

    I should add (as I didn’t make it clear) that I haven’t ignored the digital route and have published for Kindle through Amazon and for all other formats through Smashwords. In fact digital is the main selling route for my books.

    @Kemberlee Shortland Yes, small press and digital publishers have and continued to play and very important role in taking chances on books that are experimental and niche and I hope to see many more arrive and thrive over the coming years.

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    Mute Kemberlee Shortland
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    Jan 5th 2013, 11:25 AM

    Allison,

    Digital is certainly a great place for what you call experimental books, but these days, digital publishers act exactly as traditional publishers. The main differences being that digital doesn’t usually offer advances, print versions only come to the best sellers, but books are usually available much sooner than print . . . and for the publisher, digital is SO much cheaper to produce and manage.

    If you’re using Smashwords for reader format options, and if you got onto their premium catalog, you’ll find your work is also available from other vendors like Sony, Kobo, Nook and iTunes. If you’re not on the premium catalog, find out why. It’s usually down to a formatting problem within the book itself, or something as simple as your cover graphic isn’t big enough.

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    Mute Luke O'Brien
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    Jan 2nd 2013, 12:51 AM

    I’ve been thinking of writing a fantasy novel or novelette, this could help kick start the process. Great idea.

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    Mute Fiachra Maolmordha Ó Raghallaigh
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    Jan 2nd 2013, 1:17 AM

    Make sure you read Limyaael’s rants on clichéd fantasy. They’re a good laugh too!

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    Mute Shuki Sadan Byrne
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    Jan 8th 2013, 3:09 PM

    In the words of Christopher Hitchens, “Most people have a book inside of them, and that’s probably where it should stay.”

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    Mute Orna Ross
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    Jan 2nd 2013, 3:58 PM

    As Director of the Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi), I just wanted to correct some inaccuracies about self-publishing. The Alliance is a global association of self-publishing writers, working together for each other. Many of our Author Members (including myself) are previously trade-published writers who find self-publishing more rewarding, creatively and commercially. The average costs for editing and cover design come in at half the figures cited above — and are an investment in earnings. A good book, well marketed, will earn back its costs very quickly, sometimes within days. Self-publishing is not for every writer but it is a viable option for many and is changing the face of publishing and bookselling. The best way to know whether it’s good for you is to try it. Further information: http://www.allianceindependentauthors.org

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    Mute Kemberlee Shortland
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    Jan 2nd 2013, 10:00 PM

    Thanks for your link, Orna. I’ll check it out.

    I would correct you to say that my figures are accurate. Yes, there are cheaper ways to go, but you get what you pay for. Some people get lucky in finding that one rare person or company who work for next to nothing. It’s nice when that happens. But self publishing can an expensive and time consuming business.

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    Mute Serge
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    Jan 2nd 2013, 1:55 AM

    The supports seem to be aimed at people writing full length books, or novellas. I only write short stories, and my friend writes poetry. Are there literary magazines we can submit content like that to? My college has a few literary journals, but apart from that is there anything available?

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    Mute Kemberlee Shortland
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    Jan 2nd 2013, 10:48 AM

    Serge — There’s an area between short stories and novellas called novelette. Novelettes generally fall between 10K and 20K words. There is a growing market for this length.

    The problem with short stories, those stories falling between 1K and 10K, is that they’re not profitable for the author or publisher. Readers do not want to pay the minimum 99c (re Amazon/Kindle) to by a 1K story. They will though if the book is 10K or more though.

    If your short stories are consistently under the 10K threshold, why don’t you write several in the same theme, then put them together in a collection to sell in one book, similar to an anthology (anthologies are generally several authors writing short stories and publishing them in the one book; it’s a collection if the same author pens all the stories in that book). Write five or ten short stories and get your word count up. Ten stories at 10K each is a 100K novel length collection in which is much more attractive to a publisher and the reader.

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    Mute Serge
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    Jan 2nd 2013, 7:56 PM

    First of all thank you for such a detailed reply!
    What I meant is submitting work somewhere for nothing, for the sake of being printed and not making a profit from it. I’m not a writer and I will probably never make myself out to be one, it’s unprofitable as heck (I’m a Business and Economics student). But it is a nice hobby for me, and people have been very interested by some of the stuff I write and I would love to get that printed anywhere, for free. Just to get some readership and hopefully critique on my work. Critique is very important to me. Any print publications that can facilitate that?

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    Mute Kemberlee Shortland
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    Jan 2nd 2013, 10:06 PM

    Serge – It costs you nothing to submit your work to publishers. If you’re contracted, it costs you nothing to see that book come to print. A good publisher will have an editor who is contracted to work one-on-one with you to see your book properly edited. A good publisher will also let you work, so some degree, with the cover artist to design an appropriate and attractive cover. Again, costs you nothing.

    What does cost you money, or at the very least time, is your marketing plan. At the end of the day, your book is your product. You made it. The publisher acts as the manufacturer. As the creator of your product, it’s up to you to do the marketing . . . autographings, blog tours, ads, etc. A publisher will do a certain amount of that, mostly around launch time, but the majority is down to the author.

    Some people like to write just to write; publishing isn’t even a thought. Some people like to write because they want to see their name on something published. Some people write hoping they’ll make a lot of money from it. Whatever your reason, do it for that reason.

    If you want print and want self publishing, then go to Create Space on Amazon. They charge you a basic fee for your book, you provide all the content. When the book sells on their site, they subtract the fee they take and you get the rest. For a 300 page trade size paperback, their fee is $4-5 right off the top, so you’d want to be sure your book is priced appropriately so you can make that investment back and make some money to make a profit.

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    Mute Sean McNally
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    Jan 2nd 2013, 11:44 AM

    I’m thinking of a cartoon lobster character for the French market. I’m calling him Homard Simpson.

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    Mute Sheena Lambert
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    Jan 2nd 2013, 1:19 PM

    Kemberlee makes some very valid points. We are living through probably the second most significant change in the history of the publishing industry, and the state of play is in flux, for sure. There are far more self-published books available now than ever before, and purely by virture of the self-publishing process, it is possible that the standard of editing is lower overall as a result.
    But I worry not.
    Like every other major change, the changing face of publishing will find its own balance. Consumers won’t buy poorly written books. Good writers, self-published or not, will be still left standing (and selling) when give-it-a-go others have given up. Maybe it’s comparable to the explosion of bloggers in the early days of the internet. Good blogs maintain their readers, bad blogs don’t and give up. And the bad blogs don’t impact negatively on the good blogs. Nor do the badly written/edited books impact on the well written ones. A well written book will gain its own following, notwithstanding anything else.
    I can understand that this is a frustrating time for traditional publishers. But I have to disagree with one point Kenberlee makes. I self-published my novel ALBERTA CLIPPER in November 2012. And not for either of the reasons Kenberlee gives. I failed to get a traditional publishing deal, but the traditional publishers who turned me down were very positive about my book, they just weren’t prepared to bet on a new novellist right now. In the women’s fiction genre, they were more comfortable working with existing authors who they knew had a following and could continue to write books for them at little risk.
    They too are trying to feel their way through these changing times. Their cautious approach is understandable. But it meant that unless I self-published ALBERTA CLIPPER, no one would ever read it, and I knew it was worth reading.
    There will always be good books, and bad books. Well written and edited books, and badly written and edited books. This is true for both traditinally published and self-published books.
    But the winners in all of this will be the good books and the good writers. And I’m not afraid of that.

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    Mute Eliza Green
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    Jan 3rd 2013, 11:11 AM

    Kemberlee, thanks for the comment about my work.
    Just to say I haven’t turned my back on traditional or small press publishing and I certainly don’t envy the job they have to do in trawling through thousands of submissions and taking the plunge with a new author.
    By going the self publishing route (for now), I’m merely thinking laterally and I believe the effort I’m willing to put in as a SP author can only help my future chances of success. Because I’m assuming all the risk, I’m more willing to push myself.
    Who knows? This might make me a more attractive prospect to a publisher if I have a good product and I’m prepared to market myself.

    Thank you for the suggestion to contact you about marketing. I’ll certainly consider that.

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    Mute Kemberlee Shortland
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    Jan 5th 2013, 11:28 AM

    Probably wouldn’t hurt for you to talk to authors who do publish with the small presses to see what that side of the fence is like. I find it’s always best to see both sides of a story before making up my mind how I feel about something.

    I hope the promo contact I sent you helps.

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    Mute Robbie O'Neill
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    Jan 2nd 2013, 12:53 AM

    This is excellent!

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    Mute Michael O'Reilly
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    Jan 2nd 2013, 12:06 AM

    Glossy copy of what had been happening in schools for years !

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    Mute Barbara Byrne
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    Jan 2nd 2013, 3:46 PM

    Great article!

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