SELF-PUBLISHING = SPEED

If time is of the essence in reaching your readers then take the alternative publishing route, but don’t cut corners.

There’s something exciting about being able to create a product – for your book is that – and get it to market at a good lick. It used to be a year, sometimes two, for a book to make its way through the publishing channels and out to the shops.

Nowadays, once the text is edited and formatted and the jacket illustration approved, e-publishing takes a matter of hours and print-on-demand a matter of days. It’s so darn simple. No doubt in a year or so it will be done in the blink of an eye.

The flipside, of course, is that you’re not featured in a publisher’s catalogue, so your book is unlikely be purchased by the library service. Your print-on-demand book is just that – so you are unlikely to find it on booksellers’ shelves. If customers find you, they will have to order your book. And any publicity will be all your own doing.

But – if agents keep a weather-eye on up-and-coming e-book authors, what’s the point of wasting months sending them your precious manuscript, unless you are known to them or have some kind of connection. Sending an agency your manuscript blind is the literary equivalent of cold calling – and the hit rate is miniscule. The chances are your book will join the slush pile and you’ll wait months before you receive a rejection slip.

In those months, and the months that follow as you send it out to another agency, you might as well have published it yourself. Then you can send the paperback to the agent instead.

But be warned. An independent bookseller friend told me he would never take a book that didn’t have a good jacket – even if the writing was okay. We live in a visual society, so get the best illustrator and designer you can afford (and that’s after the best editor – and a formatting expert is not an editor, whatever they will tell you).

You can publish your book for peanuts or you can see it as an investment. The global market is a big place and your book could be out there a long time. It might, even, get picked up by a top publisher. My advice is to get it out there, but don’t cut corners.

WRITING A SERIES

I am currently writing my seventh Sprite Sister title. Here are some of the things I’ve learned about writing a series for children.

One chance to make a first impression

Your series stands or falls on the strength of your first book. It’s your starting point and everything comes back to that. It defines the characters and their world, and sets up an expectation of what is to come. You have to get it right. If your readers don’t like it, they won’t bother with the second story. 

A series relies on the strength of its characters

It’s the characters you come back to. What’s going to happen to them next? They are your friends: enjoy them and listen to them. Their voices become familiar. You know what they will say and how they will react, but, like your friends, your characters are not static. They need to grow through the challenges you have set them – and you need to move with them.

Continuity

Between 2007-2009, I wrote five Sprite Sister stories in 30 months for Piccadilly Press. On signature of each contract, I had three months writing time. Each book was written in six weeks, and edited in six months, one after the other. It was quite a pace to keep up, but it provided continuity. I enjoyed working fast and it proved financially worthwhile, as Fischer Verlag bought the German rights, pushed the Sprite series and sold over 200,000 books. I’ve lost some continuity with Book 6, which will not be published until 2103 – so a two-year gap. I realise I need to get the Book 7 written as quickly as I can, to make up for lost time and keep my readers with me.

Have a formula

I write each Sprite title to around 55,000 words, with around 24 chapters. I know the shape of the story, where I want the action to arc (at the end of each third of the story), and where to have a ‘beat’. Apart from helping me, having a formula means the reader knows what to expect. For each Piccadilly title, I wrote a synopsis in which the plot was worked out until the last section. The ending came to me as I was ‘in’ the story, fighting the battle. Without the need to provide synopses for Book 6, The Boy With Hawk-like Eyes, and Book 7, Magic at Drysdale’s School (because I am publishing them myself), I’ve worked out the plots as I go. It’s proved a much slower process.

Pace

Come to the point: your reader does not want to faff about. My editor allowed description, but not at the expense of pace. My books are aimed at girls aged 7-12 years. Young readers like detail, especially if it’s quirky or funny, but they want the story to move along at a lick. Action sustains interest.

Play to your strengths

I love reading thrillers, but I’m not sure I could write them as they require such detailed plotting. My strength, I believe, is writing family drama. I come from a big family and understand the dynamics of a group of people pushing and pulling against one another. I hear the conversations and arguments in my head, as I write them. It feels natural.

Consistency

The idea for the Sprite Sisters come to me in a sentence late one night: ‘Four sisters with magic powers, east, south, north, west – fire, water, earth air’. The stories developed as I wrote them, one by one. I didn’t make copious notes on filing cards, as I didn’t feel I had time to stop. Inevitably, I forgot some of the character and location details I had written in earlier books. By the time I got to Book 4, The Ghost in the Tower, the editor and I were tracking back and forth to find what I’d said about this and that. What colour are Quinn’s eyes? Did the girls open the portal in the East or West Tower? If the map is the secret of Sprite Towers, then what is the Crossed Circle? You need to know: readers spot inconsistencies.

Multiple points of view

How do you manage them? You listen. I believe it’s about balance. In my case, I have a good ear. I seem to know which character needs to speak and what they say. My four Sprite Sisters each need a share of the ‘voice’. Inevitably the eldest girl, Flame gets most of it, but I move the story along through the different voices. Each sister has to be a part of the overall voice of the story.

Style

There’s a marked difference between the writing in Book 1, The Circle of Power, and Book 6, The Boy With Hawk-like Eyes. My style has evolved and, I think, improved. It’s leaner, cleaner. There are bits of writing in the first books that now make me wince. Why did I feel the need to describe Ariel’s fluffy blonde hair so many times?

Rhythm and clarity

Stories need rhythm; words need rhythm. If your sentences have cadence and precision, people will enjoy your writing and stay with your series. Similarly, if your plots are clear, you’ll keep your reader with you.

Heed your editor

Over the course of the series, I came to really value my editor’s skill. She stood back: I couldn’t. She helped to shape the structure of each story, ensured it was logical and clear, kept the pace going and smoothed out any repetition, quite apart from correcting the typos. In the case of Sprites, each book had to work as a standalone novel and as one of a series – and that needed my editor’s eagle eyes. Editing is skill in its own right. If you’re self-publishing a series, don’t stint on professional editing: false economy, especially on the first title.

Clarity

You might know where you characters are and what they are doing but your reader won’t, necessarily. The plot, the location and any jumps in time need to be clear in your mind or your reader will get confused. I got muddled writing Book 4 and so did my editor. Bit of rethink and rewrite there. In a series each story has to tie in with the one you have written before – and the one you wrote before that.

Don’t be precious

I began as freelance journalist, learning on the hoof, so I’m used to having my work edited and chopped about. Instead of feeling my babies were being murdered, I stood back and used the newspaper and magazine editing process as a way to learn to write clear prose and shape features. It’s a useful experience to remember when your book editor disagrees with you – though I think the author is entitled to the odd fit.

Stick to your guns – but choose your battle

Mrs Duggery appeared to me in a flash. I saw the tiny old lady standing in front of me in her lilac knitted hat and her big brown boots. I saw her name flash in neon lights – ‘Mrs Duggery’. I knew she was meant to be part of the Sprite Sister books. The publisher disagreed. We didn’t need any more characters, they said. I had a battle to get Mrs Duggery into Book 2. Thankfully I won, and sure enough the magical old Sprite became one of the best characters in the series.

The pressure changes

In a way, writing a series becomes easier as you know your characters and the scope of their world. On the other hand, there’s pressure to find another new adventure.

The incentive to find that adventure is helped when you think it’s likely you still have readers out there waiting to know what comes next.

The value of re-reading

As soon as I finished writing the first five Sprite titles – in six weeks apiece – my mind washed clear of the stories. By the time the editor came back to me on the first (broad) edit, I’d completely forgotten what I’d written. I got back into the story for a few weeks, then forgot it again once the editing was completed. Recently, I re-edited Sprites for my new e-book and print-on-demand editions. It gave me the opportunity to re–connect with Flame, Marina, Ash and Ariel and their adventures, and provided a stepping-stone to the next story. It allowed me to remember the details: when a child asks a tricky question at an author talk now, I’ll be ready.

Be in charge

Don’t give away all your rights. Have a plan. Writing is the way I earn my bread and butter. Thanks to Fischer Verlag’s success with the Sprite Sisters, I can keep going. I kept the e-book, television and film rights, but recently bought back the book rights to titles 1-5.  I was able to sell Sprites 6 to Fischer Verlag, direct. I’ve approached a Japanese agency and a film agent. However, none of this would have happened if Piccadilly Press hadn’t made a leap of faith in the first place. 

The power of the title

Your story titles have to work separately, but also as a whole. Your series title is your brand. Don’t groan in creative dismay, for a brand is what you are selling – and the title will be a big part of its success.

Find a strapline

If only I had found it at the beginning! ‘The Sprite Sisters – four sisters, four elements, four powers.’ It’s the ‘elevator pitch’ that sums up the series in a sentence. It came to me recently – five years after I started Sprites. It’s on the jackets of the new print-on-demand paperbacks and the e-books – I put it everywhere I can.

Sheridan Winn is author of the Sprite Sisters series, which has sold over 200,000 copies in Germany.

http://www.sheridanwinn.com

CHRISTY'S PROJECT AND THE MAGIC OF READERS' LETTERS

 

There's nothing that gladdens this author's heart as much as an enthusiastic letter from one of my readers.

Authors of adult books may keep their readers for years. Genre writers, 

I suspect, keep loyal readers for decades. But as a children’s author, you capture your reader’s attention for a few years, if you’re lucky. There’s a 

small window in which your books may be cherished, then your readers are gone, grown and after new stories. But if a child likes your stories, they really like them and your characters become their world.

Chris Winn's jacket design for the new e-book

My Sprite Sister stories are aimed at girl readers aged 7-11 years. Marketing with social media is difficult with this age group. My readers are too young to tweet or use Facebook, but they write to me on my website (and I ask them to get their parents’ permission). Mostly they write once or twice, often asking for information for their book project. Sometimes they write to me, on and off, over a period of several years. Always I reply, and thank them. A connection is made, a question answered, an autograph sent.

I have received letters in German, French, Italian, and one in Japanese. Among others, there’s Ellie in Northampton, Daisy in Brighton, Sabina in Switzerland, Hi in New Zealand, Afra in India, Chioma in Nigeria, Meera in Saudi Arabia and Sharon in Myanmar.

With 200,000 Sprite Sister books sold in Germany, a high proportion of my readers’ letters are from there. Here’s a typical one:-

Dear Sheridan,
my english isn't very good, too (So I hope you can understand me). I've got a question: Are you going to film a movie about the Sprite Sisters?
That would be great! I love the sprite sisters!
And I'm waiting longingly for the 7th book.
bye Sophia
PS When you need an actor for the movie, ask me and I'm instantly there!

Recently, Christy Cheung wrote to me from Hong Kong. She was doing a book launch project in her English class at the Discovery College, and had chosen The Circle of Power, the first of the Sprite Sisters books. Christy wrote a polite letter asking a number of questions for the author biography. I replied with the information and said I would be pleased to see photographs of her Sprite Sisters merchandising idea.

I was delighted with Christy's imaginative and ingenious solution and thought that I would share it with you (with her parents' permission).

Christy's Sprite Sister merchandising object

To explain the concept of the books, the Sprite Sisters each have a magic power that relates to one of the four elements and the four directions. Flame, the eldest, has the power of the East and Fire. Marina has the power of the South and Water. Ash’s power is Earth and she stands at the West. Little Ariel has the power of Air and stands at the North. When the sisters work together, their power is balanced and strong. However they are not  always balanced and their enemy is very determined – so many adventures ensure.

Here is Christy’s introduction to her merchandising item:-

‘This is a scene from the first spectacular book of the Sprite Sisters – The Circle of Power. With all the sister's powers balanced, I thought that this scene represents the spirit of the sisters the best, all hearts united to fight for one thing together. All the sisters concentrating on their music along with the united powers, it's the best thing you could do and this leads you on to their first adventure and success in the Sprite Sisters series.’

The complete object

The green knob shows the four elements

Another view of Christy's merchandising object

Terrific, isn't it!

And, as I work through the Sprite Sister titles, another hits the digital shelves: The Magic Unfolds. This is now available as an e-book and print-on-demand paperback, with another of Chris Winn's wonderful jacket designs.

My latest e-book and print on demand paperback

Sheridan Winn is the author of the six Sprite Sister books: 

The Circle of Power, The Magic Unfolds, The Secret of the Towers, 

The Ghost in the Tower, New Magic and The Boy With Hawk-like Eyes.

You can contact her through her website: http://www.sheridanwinn.com

NAVIGATING THE WATERS

It’s an up and down life, this writing business: feast and famine, highs and lows, and the constant pull between nurturing your creativity and producing what pays the bills.

My rights in the Sprite Sister books have been reverted: now there is no Piccadilly Press behind me. I have to navigate my own way. Ahead are the huge, and potentially choppy, waters of digital publishing: few 7-10 year old readers – my market with Sprites – are yet buying e-books. Still, I wouldn’t swap it, this writer’s life, and the freedom of sailing one’s own little boat.

My summer has been spent re-editing the first five Sprite Sister titles for publication as e-books for Kindle, along with a second edition of print-on-demand paperbacks. I have found it a relatively restful experience to focus on stories that are already written, and to further refine them. I have also reconnected with the plots – have been able to pick up the thread once again. That itself is useful with one more title to write. With that I will be done, and bring the Sprite Sister series to a close.

There is a certain satisfaction in this. First, because there is a lot of me in the stories. The experience of writing Sprites has been fun and a way of reconnecting with my childhood adventures. Second, the seven Sprite Sister books will represent a good body of work: over 200,000 hardback books sold in Germany and sales still going strong. The complete series has potential for a children’s film or play. I have my eyes on the Japanese and American markets.

But it is time to move on. Autumn is coming and the air is cool. New stories beckon and I feel the need to write for the adult market. My little boat sits head to wind: I can’t see which way to go yet, but I can feel the pull of a new current. Soon, I will bear away on a new tack and be off once more.

Meanwhile, here are the first two titles of the new Sprite Sisters e-books. By the end of this year, I expect to e-publish all seven books. Just waiting for the illustrator to design the covers! Question: what does one call the image for an e-book – as it isn’t a ‘jacket’?

 Sheridan Winn is a freelance journalist and author of the Sprite Sister books – see www.sheridanwinn.com

The Circle of Power and The Boy With Hawk-like Eyes are available on Amazon Kindle. 

The Magic Unfolds, The Secret of the Towers, The Ghost in the Tower and    New Magic will be available as e-books this Autumn.