Authors2You

Many moons ago New Writers UK merged with the authors’ group Authors2You. The group was run by Taff Lovesey. Whilst remaining with NWUK, Taff has continued to maintain the Authors2You website, which still showcases the work of independent authors and publishers. Many of our members have their novels listed at the site www.authors2you.co.uk

This website is separate from New Writers UK so if you’d like to be listed with Author2You then please send the following information to Taff at info@authors2you.co.uk

·         Book title/s

·         Book cover/s (jpg)

·         Short synopsis (approx. 100 words)

·         Author image (jpg)

·         A link for your author image (usually your author website)

·         A link for where you want readers to buy your book/s (usually your 'buy page' on your own site or the Amazon listing)

There is no charge, the site is run voluntarily by Taff. Every two years he requests a voluntary donation by authors listing their work to cover the hosting and domain fees for the site.

In fact the last one occurred in Feb this year and sufficient funds were made to pay for the IT services for 2 years  and to run a Pay Per Click marketing campaign on Google for a couple of months.

If you have any questions about the site then contact Taff via the email above or via his website form at www.lovesey.net

Lowdham Writers' Group - New members event at Southwell, Notts

1pm Saturday 2nd of April.

Local writers groups are meeting in Southwell for an afternoon's literary exploration of the town and its characters. In a fun, Apprentice style activity, the team that develops the most compeling, horrifying or romantic piece, will receive some kind of recognition.

Meet by the north porch on the cafe side of the Minster at 1pm. There will be a short talk to orientate you, then you're off.

For more info, contact Nick Sparrow, chair of LWG, on 0115 9144057 or at ncksprrw@yahoo.co.uk

NWUK at the 2011 Lincoln Book Festival



Official Poster

  


Proposed leaflet



 


 


 

Inspiring Young Writers

On the back of the release of our Creative Writing Competition's short story compilation, is the introduction of FREE membership of New Writers UK, for all under 18s. Young writers will have the opportunity to see their work on our website, blog and newsletter.

More information will soon be placed on our website.

Children Tell Tales - Creative Writing Competition

Congratulations to the finalists in our children's writing competition: Bita Yazdani, Emily Seidel, Lauren Miller, Matthew Yon, Natasha Armstorng, Isobel Branch, Christina Schoonakker, Rebecca Young, Romanie-Jade Tulloch, Tabitha Daniels, Trinity Daniels, Sasha Kowal, Isobel Shier, Luke Shore, Hannah Steiner, Miriam Turner, Yueh-Chia Lo, Halina Broniewski and Liam Donaldson.

The book, featuring the finalists stories,is now avaliable from FastPrint.
All profits from sales will go to The Danielle Beccan Memorial Fund.

Present at the reception were the Chairman of Nottinghamshire County Council, Cllr Tom Pettengell; the Vice Chairman, Cllr Keith Walker, and his Lady, Inga Walker; the Mayor of Gedling, Cllr Pat Blandamer; Cllr Bob Tait, the Deputy Leader of Gedling; Cllr John Allin; Cllr John Clarke; Cllrs Peter and Sandra Barnes from Gedling Borough Council; Ms Nina Dauban, Chief Executive of Nottinghamshire Community Foundation; NWUK President, Julie Malone; NWUK Chair, John Baird and author Michael J Smedley.

Pictures by Andy Kowal.
More images are available on the NWUK website.

Accountant works the books

There was a nice newspaper article on NWUK member Philip Neale. To read it, please click here.

Where faith meets science fiction

There is a really good article on New Writers UK member, Joanna Z. Ray, on the BBC website.

For Reverend Joanna Ray, faith and science - and even science fiction - are all compatible. She sees the hand of God at work in the laws of physics, chemistry and biology, and is comfortable combining those disciplines with theology and creative writing.

You can read the article and listen to Joanna’s radio interview via this link.

Press Release: NWUK member, Catherine H Cooper

The second book of Catherine’s four book publishing deal, Glasruhen Gate, is due to be released on the 22nd of February, published  by Infinate Ideas. Meanwhile, check out this press release with an interview from the author.

What with over 10,000 downloads and Hollywood negotiations, Catherine is living the dream.

Author Interview - Richard Denning

John Baird: Your new book is called Tomorrow’s Guardian. Please explain the title?

Richard Denning: The story is about time travel: its opportunities and its dangers. If you could travel in time you might use that ability for self gain. Maybe pop back and steal an original Da Vinci painting, a scroll written by Plato or the sword of Julius Caesar and then come back and sell it. You might decide to change history and mould it to your will. Perhaps you admire Napoleon and decide to warn him not to fight Wellington at Waterloo. Or you could use the ability to protect history from those who would use their talents to change it. In Tomorrow's Guardian there is an organisation whose objective is to do just that- to protect time and make sure it progresses along the path it should do into Tomorrow. The motto of the Hourglass Institute is - more or less - "Tomorrow's Guardians". The book is about a boy who having discovered he has these powers must choose how to use them.

John: Is this book for boys?

Richard: Well I would have said yes, it was a boy's book for 10 to 14 year olds BUT that said I have had several readers who are ladies in their 40s, 50 and 60s! So I guess I am aiming it at the Young Adult market but with the knowledge and hope it will appeal to the wider audience who read that type of book.

John: If an eleven year old Richard Denning could travel back in time, where would he go?

Richard: Oh, now that is a hard one. At 11 I was interested in War Movies and adventures. I also loved the medieval era. Erm ... not a million miles from me at 43 actually. So maybe I would take a trip back to 1940 and climb in a Spitfire or else the camp of Henry the Vth on the eve of Agincourt. Big events in history have always appealed to me. Yes – pivotal days, critical moments upon which history turns. Those are the exciting times I would love to see.

John: What’s the worst piece of advice you’ve been given?

Richard: I think the way I will answer this is to talk about some things I did wrong. Firstly I rushed to get some of my books published back in 2009. The initial result was poorly presented books. It is well worth getting the books edited and a nice cover and taking your time. Next I wasted a lot of time on sites where you put up your manuscript and other readers come and comment. Most of the time these sites work on the basis that “if I review your book favourably will you do the same for me”. You can spend hours on these sites hurtling out book reviews hoping that you can get to the top of the lists to get some attention and maybe get a publisher to take notice. You can also waste a lot of money on similar sites that talk about “this is where you can get your work read by readers”. By experience these many websites are full of writers trying to get attention. It is far better to be active on sites where real readers are – Amazon, Good Reads, Shelfari maybe but also to get links to book blogs. Get your readers who have told you they like your work to post reviews on these sites. What you need to do is engage the reader. If you get readers who enjoy the books then the word will spread.

So I think the worse advice I had was to spend many hours on sites which I later learnt were inhabited only by writers and not real readers. That is not to say you won’t learn from writers – of course you can and will. But you need to be making contact with the folk you hope will read your book the priority.

John: And your best advice for new writers?

Richard: This I will split into three: How to write a book, how to get it published and how to promote it.

Firstly, focus on your characters. Characters make books. It is their beliefs, their motivations and their desires that drive the plot. Work out first what the main characters want, what the obstacles to getting it are and what they will do to get it and actually the plot sorts its self out. I would also encourage you to get the book edited. When I first published my books they went down OK but later I learnt that a good edit of the book can move it from a decent story to publishable. For that I firmly believe you need an editor. In my case this has been, these last few months, Jo Field (a NWUK associate member). I strongly encourage other writers to contact her and see about her editing their work. This goes further than just checking typos. A good editor will spot continuity errors; she will tell you when you have someone running down a street who got shot in the foot ten pages back. She will tell you when you need more description here or have a factual error there.

Next: about getting published. I have not (yet) got a publisher. I do have work away with some and I am hopeful I will get one. Getting an agent and a publisher is hard. Most writers will not get one because publishers will only take on a small number of new authors each year. That does not mean you are poor. What I want to say is if you don’t get a publisher that this is not the end. Not these days in particular. Self publishing is really very easy. I went the whole hog and registered with Nielsen as my own publisher, got my own ISBN numbers and via Lightning Source published my books. If you are not very IT savvy you can get companies to do it for you of course. Producing E-books is also very easy (check my blog for some guidelines on that). The hard part is not getting a book printed to sell it is SELLING the book and marketing it.

 Marketing your book is where you need to focus a lot of attention. You can't just print the book and expect it to sell. You need to be active out there on forums, on Facebook and Twitter. You need to get reviews and you maybe need to do a Blog Tour like I am doing right now. I am doing a Guest post on Helen Hollick's Muse and Views on 10th February if you care to find out more. There is a lot of material on the web on this subject of course so read about it. Make a plan and put it into practice. Oh and get a good website. I can recommend Cathy Helms of Avalon Graphics who not only did my sites (and book covers) but did them at a decent price too.

John: Where can readers find out more about your books?

Richard: My own website has readings from the books, sample chapters, book trailers and news on release schedules. Check out: http://www.richarddenning.co.uk/

The publisher site is Mercia Books: http://www.merciabooks.co.uk/

The Book Show (Talk Radio Europe). Interview with the author, Neale James.

Hannah Murray:  Welcome back to today's Book Show.  Joining us on the line now from the UK is Neal James.  He's been an accountant for over thirty years, but got into writing after entering a short story competition in 2007.  His third book, his most complex work to date, is a gripping detective thriller called Two Little Dicky Birds.  Welcome to the show, Neal.

Neal James:  Good afternoon, Hannah.

HM:  Thanks for joining us today.  Now, I mentioned that you entered this short story competition in 2007.  What made you enter it in the first place?

NJ:   It was something that I'd been toying with for a while.  My wife picked up something in the local Derby Telegraph.  It wasn't sponsored by the Telegraph, but it was a site that had taken up space in the Telegraph, and they were asking for entries.  Maximum of five stories, maximum word length 2000 words, and I thought, well, why not?

HM:  And how did you decide what to write about?

NJ:  I didn't.  I wrote five stories.  I thought, five stories, different genres, see what happens.  And one of them made it into the top ten.

HM:  Which was the story that made it into the top ten then?

NJ:  It's Chance of a Lifetime, which is in the Short Stories Volume One.

HM:  And what was it about?

NJ:  It's a brother and sister, cat and dog.  Parents dead, she's in control of the company, he's just taking money out of the company as and when he wants, and she wants to get back at him.  And the idea, he wins the lottery, yet he doesn't win the lottery, and he's made a fool of in front of all his friends.  So she tapes the lottery, gets a birthday party organised for him, plays that week's lottery the week after, having bought the identical numbers on the ticket, and gives him the ticket as a present. 

HM:  What then?

NJ:  He goes absolutely loopy, thinks he's won, and when she tells him, that's the joke.  What she doesn't realise is those numbers crop up again.

HM:  Oh, God!

NJ:  And she's already burnt the ticket.

HM:  Oh no, how awful!

NJ:  That's the twist in the tale.

HM:  Yeah, great idea for a story though.  So, how did you go from short stories to writing your first book, A Ticket to Tewkesbury?

NJ:   That was a short story in itself. It was centred on the love story between Madeline Colson and Roger Fretwell, and a letter found by Julie Martin in her Aunt Molly's bag after the woman had died.  Never been posted, goes back to the late Forties, and it's basically saying 'I love you, come and live in the South West.'  But it never gets posted.  Julie finds it, and thinks, 'I wonder, are they still alive?' and it goes from there.   The idea of the story was she reunites two people, and they sail away into the sunset.  But I got to the end of it and thought, 'What if Roger Fretwell brought something back from Europe?  Something so secret, so powerful, that people would kill to get hold of it?'  And the story went from there.

HM:  So this book, Two Little Dicky Birds, is actually your first full length novel then?

NJ:  No.  A Ticket to Tewkesbury was first to be published, but the second one to be actually written.  Dicky Birds was the first one to be written, but it's the second one to be published.  It's a little bit back-to-front.

HM:  So, tell us about this latest one then.

NJ:  Dicky Birds?

HM:  Yeah.

NJ:  88,000 words, the chase for a serial killer.  Two timescales, 1975 to about 1992, and then present day, which is pitched at 2002.  The serial killer re-emerges, and threatens a new campaign and gives the Met 28 days to catch him.  And away it goes.  And you'll have seen the little grid on the chapters marking down the 28 days to day zero, and that controls the current line in the plot.  The rest of it is kind of a series of flashbacks to 1975, when Paul Townley kills his father in a fit of rage, and the story rolls on from there.

HM:  And where did you get the idea from for this story?

NJ:  Basically I wanted to see if I could write a detective thriller, but I was unsure of the background of where to pitch it.  Being a football fan, I thought, 'Hang on a minute, I've watched Field of Dreams.'  And this is no more a book about football than Field of Dreams was about baseball, so using the rail network to carry you up and down the country, hidden amongst thousands of football supporters, seemed to me to be an ideal blind to conceal a series of murders.

HM:  How long did the whole thing take?

NJ:  About nine months from planning it out using a spreadsheet, colour coded over four shades to make sure that each individual strand did actually tie back in at some point into the main plotline.

HM:  You're the first author I think I've interviewed who's spreadsheeted his plot.

NJ:  It's just second nature.

HM:  And colour coding and everything!

NJ:  It's the accountancy training.  I'm afraid I'm a spreadsheet freak!

HM:  So, did it help, the spreadsheet?

NJ:  Yes.  I've tried mind mapping, and things like that in the past, but they just don't work for me.  A spreadsheet, I can look down on the screen, as I'm sitting here looking at the screen now, and I can think, 'Right, that's where I am.  This is what he needs to do, then she needs to do that, then they need to do this.'  Then we move down three chapters, and we can weave the plot, almost like a strand of DNA, in together.  And it seemed to work beautifully with Two Little Dicky Birds.

HM:  So, can you ever change your mind?  Can the spreadsheet go wrong?

NJ:  Oh yes!

HM:  OK.

NJ:  I mean, in Ticket to Tewkesbury,  I had to be very careful with old people and young people, that I wasn't killing somebody off, and then having them say something two chapters later.  So I had to spreadsheet a family tree, and colour code births, marriages and deaths, and the deaths were all blotted out in black, quite appropriately!  So, you meet a black mark, and you can't use that character again.  So, some things do go wrong.  This is where  Rob Eldridge popped up.  He's my editor.  Rob is... merciless with his editing.  He'll say, 'Hang on a minute, Phil.  Are you sure you want to do that?  Because this character isn't actually in the country at the time.'  And this is the kind of guy he is.  He will take all the things I've written to pieces, and put them back together and say, 'Right.  That now fits with that.'  You get so close to something, and you can't see what's wrong.

HM:  Hmm. 

NJ:  Now this is one of the dangers.  And Rob's absolutely brilliant.

HM:  So, your name.  Why have you used the pen name Neal James?

NJ:  Because Philip Neale is an accountant.  Always has been, always will be.  And accountants don't write books.

HM:  I see.

NJ:  Neal James is the reversal of my son’s name.

HM:  Ahh, OK.

NJ:  And he's expecting a commission………I don't think so.

HM:  So, what's next for you?  Have you started on another book?

NJ:  Well, the next one, and the book cover's being designed, is called Threads of Deceit.  Just needs a final editing.  And the designer is a guy called Dennis Eldridge, who is a professional photographer.  The one after that is Full Marks.  This is Dennis Marks, my stock detective.  He's under investigation.  All kinds of things being suggested about his character and his professional abilities.  And it's how he gets out of it.  And he's tied in with a guy called George Watkinson, who pops up in Ticket to Tewkesbury.  So we're pulling characters in from two of the books I've already written.  And that one, Rob's got that for editing at the moment.  So we'll get that back after Christmas.  And then we roll on to other books like Day of The Phoenix, which is a sequel to Ticket to Tewkesbury.  I'm writing that at the moment.  And that will pick up at the end of Ticket to Tewkesbury and drive the plot forward to 2010.  So we're going to be covering eight years there, up to the General Election.  Oops, I gave the plot away, didn't I?!

HM:  So you're very busy then!   I mean, do you ever get confused where you are, and with which characters?

NJ:  No. I've got a science fiction novel of which I've written three chapter – it’s called ‘The Rings of Darelius’.  I've dropped that one now, that's on the back burner, and I won't pick it up again until there's time.  So, ‘Day of The Phoenix’ is the one at the front at the moment.

HM:  I can't believe I just asked you if you got confused when you have spreadsheets of things [so] you don't get confused.

NJ:  Oh, they are, you can have errors in spreadsheets.  Don't ever run away with the fact that spreadsheets are perfect.  They're not! 

HM:   Right

NJ:  But an idea popped up the other day for another book, and I've done the schematic on that.  It's called Dreamer.  What happens if you could dream, and the dreams came true?  And you could control those dreams?  That one's scary, isn't it?

HM:  Mmm.  Some people would say that's true.

NJ:  It's kind of prophetic, but the dreams only come true if you tell somebody about them.

HM:  Ahh, that's interesting.

NJ:  So, it's going to be centred on a little boy, who doesn't realise his power.  And nobody realises his power until he gets into his teens, then certain people in certain governments realise he has a power that they can use.  It's going to get very, very nasty and complicated.

HM:  OK.

NJ:   And that's another genre I'm sort of shooting off into.

HM:  I was going to say, would you experiment with other genres?

NJ:  Yes.  I mean the short stories cover all kinds of stuff, like crime, drama, adventure, fantasy, sci-fi, horror, humour.  Particularly my DIY disasters at home. Our cats.  I write about our cats.  Anything that can turn a story.  I was stuck one night, and I said to my daughter, 'Give me a title for a story.'  She said, 'Stick.  Write a story about a piece of wood.'  I did, but it wasn't about a piece of wood.  It was about an old guy looking for revenge in East London for the murder of his father in the Battle of Cable Street.  And he was a cripple.  And he had a series of sticks.  Hence they called him Stick.

HM:  Ahh, I see.  So you can make a story out of anything, you reckon?

NJ:  I could have a shot.  I wouldn't say that I could do a story out of anything!  But yes, it's fun.

HM:  Well, if listeners want to find out more information about you and all your books and stories, they can have a look on your website.  It's nealjames.webs.com. There's a link on our website as well. And if they want to get a copy of your latest book, it's called Two Little Dicky Birds, and it's available to buy on our website.  Neal James, thank you very much for joining us.

NJ:  You're very welcome Hannah.  Thank you very much indeed.

Review of 'Honesty Is The Best Policy' by Anita McNamee

"This is Anita's second poetry book and what a delight it is to read poetry that is so down to earth and honest. I love the story of June and her Victoria Sandwich early on in the book. People will be able to relate to most of Anita's poems because they probably know of characters like June in their own lives. The same is true of 'Flawed Judgement' - everyone will know someone like Mr Perfect. They will also be able to relate to the situations that she writes of - 'Coin' is just one example."

Amanda Morgan - Editor of Splizz Poetry and Music Magazine.

For more information about Anita's work or how to get your work showcased on her online magazine 'Poetry over coffee', please visit her website http://www.anitamcnamee.com/ or email her at buf85@hotmail.com

Guest post: Michael J. Smedley, A Very Short Story

Thor, the Norse God of War, grew bored with life in Valhalla so he decided to take human form, spend an evening on earth and indulge in a night of pleasure.  He met a very attractive woman in a bar and offered to take her to the best show in town and afterwards for the meal of her choice.  The woman had such an enjoyable evening and found his company so delightful that she willingly agreed to spend the night with him in a hotel.

    The next morning the God had feelings of remorse for deceiving the woman so decided he must tell her who he really was.  He drew himself up to his full height and put a hand to his chest.

    ‘I am Thor!’ he announced. 

    And she replied, ‘Oh Thir, I’m thore too thir, but I’m thatisfied.’

The Calabash Literary Festival 2011

New Writers UK member, Rosemary Palmer, would like to make you aware of the Calabash Literary Festival; the only international literary festival in the English-speaking Caribbean. Authors and musicians from around the world fill the festival agenda with readings, discussions and musical events. Founded in 2001, Calabash is 'earthy, inspirational, daring and diverse' - and free and open to the public.

The festival is held at the Treasure Beach resort, in the Parish of Saint Elizabeth, Jamaica, in the month of May. Richard Branson offers some affordable flights on Virgin Atlantic, whilst Rosey can arrange a low cost writers’ camp at her yard. Alternatively, or you might choose a more classy, hotel option.

If you’re interested in testing the international waters, contact Rosey at delawithrosey@hotmail.co.uk and check out last year’s Calabash festival http://www.calabashfestival.org/

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow

Julie Gross (pen name  'Auntie Julie') would like to thank all the wonderful people sponsoring her head shave. So far, over £600 has been raised for The Moir Foundation, a charity that was initiated by her son, Joe, just before he died in 2009, aged 21. The money will be used to help set up and fund teenage cancer units at the City and QMC  hospitals in Nottingham.  

If you would like to make a donation, or learn more about the charity, then please visit  http://www.themoirfoundation.org.uk/    

The ponytail will go to the The Little Princesses charity which collects hair to make wigs for children going through chemo.

Guest post: David P. Elliot, What is ‘Literary Fiction’?

I suppose, not being an intellectual, I struggle with the concept of the categorisation of books as 'Literary Fiction'.

A few months back there was a discussion on one of the groups on LinkedIn when I asked the question what is 'Literary Fiction?' The question was a serious one as the issue had been exercising me for sometime.

As an author of fiction, I spent a long time concentrating on looking for an agent rather than a publisher as the conventional wisdom is that an unknown author of fiction will never make it passed a Trade

Publisher's 'Slush Pile' (that mountain of solicited and unsolicited dreams sent in by aspiring authors) unless it has effectively been pre-filtered by an Agent.

The theory is understandable; Agents make money based on a percentage of the author’s earnings. If the author earns nothing then the agent earns a percentage of that nothing, which is of course still nothing. So if the agent is respected, a publisher may take a more serious look at a book if the agent feels there is sufficient potential revenue from the author to make it worth his while.

There is still no guarantee the publisher will take the book on of course, but it raises the prospects.

But whether an author is talking to a potential agent or publisher the question of genre will certainly crop up.

It seems to me that people are obsessed with genre - and if you get it wrong, well you are pretty much banjaxed!

People are often very prescriptive - call it the wrong thing and many people will just refuse to read it! "I don't read - (horror/Sci-Fi/thrillers/crime/historical/romance)” - enter almost any genre you can think of - is often a knee-jerk response.

I called my book "a historical, supernatural thriller" my publisher called it "horror" - but then I think that's because he is a wimp!

Bookshops insist on knowing what genre it is - apparently unless they are told which shelf to put the book, on booksellers can be seen marching up and down their shops with a book in their hand not knowing what to do next until they collapse from starvation.

Then of course, what genre a book is, is very subjective anyway. Often people will tell me 'Clan' is fantasy. I try to explain it isn't - I don't even like fantasy, successful though they are Terry Pratchett and Tolkein leave me cold - I did struggle through The Hobbit once and I have read a Terry Pratchett - but I can't remember which one because it did very little for me - but at least I tried!

I have a deep respect for all writers - I know how hard it is so I feel the least I can do is finish it. I always feel I must get to the end even if I'm hating it - it is some kind of masochism I was brought up with - like finishing the food on your plate because children in Africa are starving. I even finished a Jeffrey Archer once - that's how dedicated I am!

You will see therefore I am the same as all other readers - by declaring "I don't like fantasy" I am making generalised and sweeping assumptions that I have no doubt will lead to me missing some excellent writing.
(incidentally the difference between fantasy and supernatural for me is that fantasy creates entirely fantastical worlds, Middle Earth, hobbit languages and all that kind of thing - supernatural is about strange things happening in the real world - hence SUPERnatural)

So genre is a minefield - but even that is not as difficult as this concept of so-called 'Literary Fiction.'

Agents and publishers will often tell you they are not interested in your book because they only handle 'literary fiction'.

So what is my writing - 'Illiterate fiction’?
That may sound a little defensive and maybe it is - but there is no doubt that the term is often used as some kind of intellectual snobbery. Ask twenty people what 'Literary Fiction' is and you'll get twenty different answers, I know because I've tried it.

Some will say it is beyond genre, it is about beautiful language rather than plot and story, it is cross genre, or simply that it can't be good if people actually want to read it - that's commercial fiction, no intellectual would be seen dead reading something that was actually enjoyed by the hoi-polloi. Popular means bad.

Some people have never forgiven the BBC for using Nessun Dorma sung by Pavarotti as the theme for a football tournament - God forbid that some builder/soccer fan should enjoy the tune without having dressed up in a dinner suit and paid £200 for a seat at the Royal Opera House!

There are still people who say Stephen King is not a "proper writer" because before he became one of the World's most successful writers he submitted short stories to Sci-Fi magazines. Whatever next!

One of my favourite quotes is by Robert Benchley "It was fifteen years before I realised I was no good as a writer, but by then I was too famous to stop."

So - until somebody can come up with real definition of 'literary fiction' that actually has to do with something other than intellectual snobbery I will continue to claim I write literary fiction as well as commercial fiction, thrillers, mystery, crime, romance, horror etc - even if in the end - they are actually all the same book!

So I think we should let readers decide what they like and spend a little less time trying to categorise things.

Guest Post: A. J. Bishop, 'The Book-buyers Dilemma'

Being an avid reader means one is always interested in buying books. This is self-evident. However in the modern world, the problem isn't in the choice of books but in the choice of book sellers. The major players in this field are online shops, chain bookshops, independent book shops and (quite recently) supermarkets. There are pro's and con's to all outlets but - to readers of specific genres such as historical crime - the current market is in flux ... with the independent shops fighting a loosing battle. The main elements in book buying are choice and cost. Other - lesser - factors include availability and physicality; the latter I shall explain later.

In choice and cost, the internet market will win the general reader's money right from the start. Using the computer, we have the world's book supplies at one's fingertips. You want a title only printed in the States? Search Amazon.Com (for example) and you'll have a particular book ready for the purchase. There's three main drawbacks to t'internet book market; firstly, postage costs and shipping delays, problems or losses. Not terrible but annoying. Secondly, the limitations on browsing, not the site but the book "shelves". In a store, ones eyes are cast over many titles and, while looking for one author or title, your attention might be drawn to another name. On the internet, it's possible to browse but you can take hours and hours without finding anything that catches ones eye. Thirdly, the "physicality"; it might just be me but there's something about examining the cover art, reading through the back-cover blurb ... even dipping in and reading a paragraph or two. This just isn't possible online. In general, the internet is good for availability, accessability and cost. Bad for aimless yet satisfying browsing.

The chain bookstores are easy to find in any major town and great for popular titles but - for the genre reader - incredibly limited in "browsability" and availability. In theory, it's possible to order particular books from any branch ... but you can do that on the internet (possibly getting the book for cheaper). The main "up-sides" to chain bookstores are accessability and physicality but choice is limited and price isn't always good.

Supermarket book departments operate along similar lines - with attendant pro's and con's - as a chain bookstore but with a major hinderance - the choice. They will stock best sellers but overlook any (they see as) genre authors. For instance, the publishers of Lindsey Davis or Steven Saylor might've worked hard to get a good distribution deal with a big supermarket chain but the fan of roman crime fiction might search in vain for other, lesser broadcast names. Push comes to the shove, a supermarket is in business to sell, period. Buy cheap, sell masses. If the general public, while out buying their weekly supplies, aren't interested in an author then they will not see "different" titles on the shelves.

Independent stores - for my money - are a wonderland. They need to work hard to get the sales in any event; they have limited access to mainstream titles at a good price (thanks indirectly to the abrogation of the Net Book Agreement), they have a finite stocking resource and they have limited advertising and sales coverage. Their benefits are great, however. The physicality is massive. Just think of working your way through high stacks of shelves, squeezed to bulging with books, the sales assistant happy for you (they are usually reading something themselves) and always ready to chat, discuss and recommend. Wow! If you get a small bookshop which specialises in a genre, then you've hit paydirt! These might not have a particular title but they sure as hell will have one (or ten) which will attract your attention ... and money. They have drawbacks; first, they will have limited stock and, therefore, availability of particular titles. Secondly, the cost probably isn't the cheapest. After all, not only do they get a poor deal in stock-purchasing (again with the net discount agreement!) but they have staff and premesis overheads which eat into their total sales far more than the chain store.

So much for the current situation. So what am I getting at? I see nothing wrong with using the internet for particular titles - especially for struggling authors trying to get their work out to a wide readership. Chain bookshops have enough on their plate, slugging it out with supermarkets over celebrity semi-autobiographies and the latest diet/cook/excercise/lifestyle titles; they needn't worry about genre fans. I think readers - at the risk of stating the obvious - should devote their loyalty to the small, independent book shops. But, in return, the shops should speak out a bit more; not only do local interest events but put themselves out on the internet (generally speaking, this is an advertising world that's next to nothing in cost), look to attracting attention, not only from genre readers but the general public.

A short word about the Net Book Agreement farce. The background - the NBA was a British price fixing agreement between publishers and sellers that was started in 1900. In 1962, it was examined by the Restirictive Practices Court which decided it was of benefit to the industry (it meant that publishers could afford to print important - yet little known - authors with the profits from best sellers. In 1994 the Office of Fair Trading decided that the R.P. Court should review the NBA. After several big publishers and retailers lay low during the review, in March 1007 the Restrictive Practices Court ruled the NBA illegal.

Now this would seem A Good Thing to book buyers. Ah ... no. Well, at first it seemed good with book prices dropping. But it strengthened the hold on the market by chain bookstores, it meant supermarkets (which could negotiate bulk discounts and sell incredibly cheap) started to threaten even chain bookstores - and it severely affected the business for independent traders. As a result, it's easy to get "best sellers" ultra cheap anywhere but has driven genre readers to the world wide web.
A recent report commissioned by the Booksellers Association has shown that while the US has a lower avarage selling price than the UK, the UK - along with Sweden - "enjoys" lowest levels of profitability in sales. This is considered to be a direct result of the loss of the NBA. The moral of the story? Cheap books do not mean more sales. Odd, isn't it?

NWUK Book Festival 2010, images

Please click on this text for a link to view the slideshow of our 6th Book Festival & Fayre

All pictures, courtesy Daniella Brian
Music, courtesy Derek Audette

NWUK – the future

The great thing about New Writers UK is that we are a club; not a clique or a crusading army but a club, utterly relying on the membership ‘clubbing together’ to get things done. Our agenda is not dictated from on high, nor is it set by a small band of people who just happen to live within easy distance of meeting places. If we are to thrive then our agenda has to be set by YOU. We all need to be thinking of ways in which we can promote ourselves and our works. But the key point is YOU ARE NOT ALONE!

Do you have contacts in schools? NWUK will do their best to support any visits you can organise.
What about links to a retail outlet? NWUK will help to stock shelves.
Organisations needing speakers? Many NWUK members would happily oblige.
How about a local mini book festival? NWUK will help with organisation (and of course participate).

So please don’t feel you are an unimportant person on the fringe of something. You can be right at the centre. E-mail your ideas, either to the whole group or to a few individuals. Even if you can’t get to meetings easily, we don’t want to lose your thoughts and ideas; and we certainly don’t want to lose your contacts and routes to selling books.

By Nick Thom