World Press Freedom Day 3 May 2013 - An Unexpected Award

Last week my friend Tonee and I went to the Press Freedom Awards at a central London hotel to celebrate World Press Freedom Day. There, I and a whole host of journalists from many different countries were each presented with a wonderfully grand engraved shield and certificate. 

The invitation came via Blackbird Digital Books' Associate Editor Sarah Tomley at editorsonline.org. The organisers, Alhaqiqa TV, had been in touch with her and had asked her to pass on the invitation to me. I contacted them to find out more. What for??? Why?? In thanks for my "high morals" in contribution to journalism. I was a bit mystified. The business of Blackbird Digital is run on Buddhist Diamond Cutter principles, but this was related to journalism. I haven't done much journalism lately, and when I do it's usually to do with healthy home cleaning tips and my long-running Guardian Space Solves column. It was to be a sit down dinner in a 5* hotel hosted by a royal Sheikh. I'm also a romantic novelist, so, having checked I could take a friend, off Tonee and I went...

We were greeted warmly by the Managing Director of Alhaqiqa TV, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Hashimi

and shown to our seats

We were placed next to a young Polish couple who were able to fill us in a little on the Sheikh and Alhaqiqa TV.  She was a nutritionist, a fellow classmate, who had studied with the Sheikh. It turns out he's a very wise and learned man - a doctor of herbal medicine, passionate about helping people find natural ways of recovering from illnesses. This work is affiliated to his tv stations which broadcast in Arabic all over the Arab world and in London. We were shown a film featuring all the different studio locations

He has also set up many health centres, including one in London: The Alhashimi Centre For Natural Herbs.

Alhashimi Centre For Natural Herbs

Honey is an important ingredient, the nutritionist told us. So the link to my work as a journalist became a little more clear. My very first ebook (and later paperback) being:

Done & Dusted -  The Organic Home On A Budget
  

As the cleaning guru for The Guardian’s Weekend Magazine Space Solves column from 2005 to 2011, Stephanie Zia has helped hundreds of readers solve their impossible stains and cleaning catastrophes. This book gathers together 100+ of the best of her columns. PLUS
• Cleaning without chemicals – the housework hater’s healthy, quick cleaning guide.
• Non-toxic stain removal – the knowledge. Learn the quick, easy way to identify and treat stains instantly without the need of a chart.
• How to avoid the nasty chemicals lurking in everyday household products with links to online experts for further study.
• What about the vinegar? The best uses for vinegar, baking powder, lemon juice etc – what works and what doesn’t.
And much, much more.

Done & Dusted is not anti-non-organic or anti-chemical – everything is made of chemicals – but about balance. How to avoid the possible nasties and make informed, affordable compromises. You’ll find plenty of top tips for using everyday non-toxic products you have around the home for cleaning and stain removal, but also the occasional recommendation for chlorine bleach and oxalic acid.
40,000 Words.

“I admit to being the worst house-cleaner of anybody who has ever lived. I hate housework. But not any more! Done & Dusted has CHANGED MY LIFE! BRILLIANT book. It should be required reading for every housewife/househusband.” See Full Review here

“I was partly expecting it to be yet another ‘lemons and white wine vinegar’ kind of book, but it’s actually full of interesting new ideas and products. ” Penny Golightly Consumer Website For The Bon Viveur

So it wasn't a mistake! Hurrah. 

When I was interviewed for Alhaqiqa TV I didn't speak about Done & Dusted, however, but my very first job at the BBC when I joined the Russian Section as an office junior, age 16. 

The iron curtain was very much still up at that stage. Though at the time it was all a little lost on me (I was a bit miffed I hadn't been placed at Radio 1) I appreciate now what a remarkable place it was to be. My prized role was selecting the fill discs for the end of the broadcasts. A job I took very seriously, blasting T Rex and David Bowie into the Russian heartland.  So I was able to say my bit about what freedom of speech meant to me. Along with the engraved shield came a certificate:

and a slap up meal

It just goes to show, when you're a writer you really don't know what's around the corner. 

Thank you Alhaqiqa TV and Sheikh Bin Rashid Al-hashimi. 

Springtime in London

Lady Tree, Edwardes Square, London  W8

Browsing, London South Bank

Woodland path, Holland Park, London W8

London Book Fair 2013 - The Authors' Steal

Books are THIS big business. It's exhausting looking at it...

View from the International Rights Centre

Tiring yes, but a lot of fun. The most exciting moment for me was on the first day at my "author/agent speed dating" 15 minute LitFactor pitch. This had to be pre-booked in a frenzied Ticketmaster-Like Sell-Out-Gig finger on the button at the allotted opening hour.

It went, as they say, well. So well that I can now only have my extreme caution hat on. As this blog will testify, so much in publishing at every single stage can end in tears. This was brought home once more by the appointment that I and one of my Blackbird authors had with an established Japanese publisher who wanted to buy the translation rights to her book. The emails were full of love for said book and with promise of a contract being forwarded before our meeting at the Fair, arranged for noon on the Tuesday. I'm not an international rights agent of course but we had put plans in place for an expert agent to take it to the next stage. The cancellation email came 3 days before the Fair. That is publishing: a deal's not a deal until it's a deal. 

Great disappointment, and sadness for my author who'd already bought her ticket. But it did mean I had great company; together we learnt a lot, and we know there is everything to play for in the future, especially for her book in the Far East.

To up the current angst, I know the LitFactor agent is reading my novel this weekend because she emailed me on Friday afternoon to tell me. She totally knew all about the new, upcoming Boomer Lit genre; was excited to hear about the follow-on novel.... so, well. An interesting snippet that might be of use to other authors - when the novel was sent out by the original agent, it was sent to both literary and commercial editors. She told me that there is a real interest now in literary/commercial crossover novels... which raised my eyebrows in a happy way for a moment. Anyway it's wait and see time.  

There are 250 events and seminars to choose from, all covered by the 3-day entry ticket. 

SALT publishing's seminal seminar on social media on a budget,
sep post coming soon

Bestselling Indie Superstar C J Lyons at the Alliance Of Independent Authors' launch for
  Choosing A Self-Publishing Service 

  Granta's Best of Young British Britain's 20 brightest young writers under 40, event with John Freeman, A L Kennedy and Adam Thirlwell. 

Thirlwell, obv very well-known but new to me, was great. Loved his description of writing as "silently speaking to somebody who isn't there". He was almost apologetic at how well his career had gone right from the kick-off ("How's your love life then?" asked Freeman. "I got married last year.") & A L Kennedy was engaging & funny until, completely oblivious to what had been going on around her in the Author's Lounge, she dismissed self-publishing out of hand. 

Author As Entrepreneur hosted by Authoright

More ironic for Orna Ross' and Polly Courtney's inspiring Author As Entrepreneur talk that had featured on the same stage immediately before.  The joke that's been doing the rounds for a while that authors are as welcome at the LBF as cows in a slaughterhouse is well and truly dead. The buzz really was all about authors, and especially self-publishing, this year. If that sounds strange, it's only in the past few years that the Fair has been opening up. It always felt like, and was, a No Go Zone for writers where publishers and agents did their stuff. 

Will Self action as we R&R at our favourite base camp once
 more: the PENN Literary Cafe

This year even the hard salesmen of previous years had gone from the Author Lounge and instead it was curated by good guys Authoright. Sponsorship came from Amazon KDP, Kobo & Matador, with huge input from The Alliance Of Independent Authors, who had not only arranged for a large entry discount for their members, but open bar parties where Amazon rep Thom circulated asking authors what Amazon & Createspace could do better. Matt covers for Createspace I said, which has duly been noted and taken back to Seattle. 

Orna Ross of The Alliance Of Independent Authors at the book launch 

There was even a 2-hr slot for members to show off their wares.

Here are some snippets of seminar information authors might find useful. Scribbled down - apologies for note form.  

Reading Out Of The Box 
Is genre snobbery fading? With young adult science-fiction and fantasy authors winning prizes and accolades, paranormal romance and dystopia attracting huge sales, and graphic novels and illustrated books getting more respect in mainstream channels than ever before, author Matt Haig explores whether children’s publishing still needs the concept of genre. Joining Matt will be author Chris Priestly and Brenda Gardner of Piccadilly Press.
hosted by Booktrust Children's Books.

Sales after awards not always as fantastic as you'd hope...
Children's books, no genre in shops, done by age - apart from a few stand-out displays.
Lit fiction - character led
Genre fiction - plot led
Matt: All good fiction is character led. Plot is character. 
Genre fiction more mechanical.
Girls are more loyal to writers than boys.

The agents' hang-out at the top of the escalator 

How to sell books to film and television companies in a rapidly changing world

Join a panel of leading TV producers to discuss how they are overcoming the difficulties facing new developments in television today, and how this is impacting on the optioning of new dramas and literary adaptations. 
Impressive panel chaired by Julian Friedmann, co-owner of Blake Friedmann Literary Agency, with 3 development executives - from Michael Winterbottom's Revolution Films, Channel 4 Film & BBC Film.

Producers claim not a great deal of development money around.

Budget polarisation
 - Ludicrous high budget movies
-  Low budget movies

Don't pitch direct to broadcasters. Pitch to independent producers. If you go to a broadcaster first and then go to an independent producer you'll have to tell them you've been turned down by broadcaster and then there'll be no hope. 

What does one look for in a book? 
Great story. Great characters. 1st person internal can be a headache. SPACE in a book to have director's vision.

TV longer form series coming into its own. Longevity... TV having more filmic ambitions...

Q from audience. Protecting the information in work, the work, sent in to film companies?
If information is in several places, it's hard to protect. There are some tricks people use. Eg, a map company put in a few fictional tiny landmarks that aren't actually there. Then if anybody copied they could sue as there would be no secondary source. 

Writing a film pitch
PRESENT TENSE
Imagine a DVD of the movie and make a synopsis in the present tense.
NO he thoughts, she felts etc.
Tell your pitch letter with visual images.
First 10 pages incredibly important.
Starting point - think of films you love...
FIERCE competition between independent producers for good material.

If can link your pitch with a famous person all the better. A one line pitch example that got them wanting to know more instantly was Hitchhiker's Guide To the Galaxy meets Blade Runner + famous person...

Who to pitch to?
Look at PACT website.
Go to Edinburgh film festival, tv festival
Not Cannes.
London Screenwriters Festival, October, London
Read Screen International for film, Broadcast for TV

Editorial coverage is absolute gold-dust ie a hot news item related to pitch that can be exploited with PR...

The Invitation Only Ivy box at the agents' centre

We headed for somewhere FAR more exclusive:

 The Troubadour Coffee House secret garden

& later still, unbeatable chips & friendliest hosts at

Gourmet Burger Kitchen, Earl's Court Road

To be continued soon... over at Author's Electric....

Charles Dickens Museum Reopens - Hidden London

The Charles Dickens Museum  has been closed for refurbishment for quite a while but is now up and running again.

Charles Dickens' house, 48 Doughty Street.

Charles Dickens and his wife Catherine lived here at 48 Doughty Street, Bloomsbury, central London (not that far from the British Museum) from 1837 to 1839. This is where he wrote Nicholas Nickleby and Oliver Twist, two of their children were born here and this is where the tragic death of his 17 year old sister-in-law, Mary, occurred. This is a wonderful museum in so many ways, it's small, friendly, full of atmosphere, you're allowed to wander about the house on your own, there are many authentic pieces from Dickens' life on display up close and personal and there is very good cake. Get there soon before the crowds rush in...

http://www.dickensmuseum.com/your-visit/

V old blue plaque, the museum opened in the 1920s

Charles Dickens' pathway

Charles Dickens' doorstep (good to see it's unrefurbished)

Charles Dickens' letterbox

Charles Dickens' door knocker

After hanging about outside for some time, waiting for my friend and opening time, finally got inside...

First things first, a perfect café

Charles Dickens' writing desk & chair! No ringfencing, no touching is the deal...

Cutting & pasting, Charles Dickens style

Sculpture from Charles Dickens' death mask... long neck...

Charles Dickens' writing block! (His routine was mornings, every morning...)

Some interesting adjuncts on Dickens' concern for the poor & dispossessed

A nearby mews, first time I've seen original stable doors still in place...

Mews front door

Mews doors

Ungentrified gents & ladies

So rare to see such ungentry in Central London

How To Find A Literary Agent - New UK Service Agent Hunter

This blog used to be all about the struggles of becoming a writer and all the emotional swings and roundabouts that entailed. In pre e-book days we were completely dependent on agents to sell our fiction to publishers. I have had two agents and one 2-book fiction deal alongside several buy-out (ie no royalties) non-fiction, non-agented commissions.

Whilst getting a literary agent isn't the only route to success any more, if you can find a trustworthy professional to champion your work, the benefits are obviously many. Because my novel contracts were negotiated by a good, experienced agent I had the all important get-out clauses there which meant my rights eventually reverted. My work now belongs to me again and I am free to publish and sell my novels as ebooks today. Translation deals are the other big one, with agents (and their companies) having spent years, decades, building up trustworthy international relationships.

I'm so busy with the publishing side now I'm not actively seeking an agent at the moment. But if the opportunity arose I wouldn't turn away. Well, it did recently, not so recently, when my first agent, contacted on another matter for one of the authors I was editing, agreed to read my 3rd novel, The Born Again Virgin. This was so many months ago. And that's all fine. It's a pass. With yet another cover, the Virgin is gradually finding her mojo. Thankfully there are many agents in the sea and unbridled enthusiasm for one's work has to be the kick-off point for any such relationship. And thankfully too it looks like the job of finding an agent just became a whole lot less stressful.

A fantastic new service called Agent Hunter has just been launched in the UK by The Writer's Workshop (founder Harry Bingham did a guest post here in 2011). You can sign in for free and take a preliminary look around. Full access is £12.00 a year with a 7 day free trial.

Much like Michael Macintyre's joke about how all of us when first subscribing to Google Earth immediately look up our own houses, so I went to have a look at my ex agents. The information was good. My first agent is on the hunt for several genres. High-concept novels; a crime writer planning a series plus she'd like to find a Marina Lewycka-style contemporary literary author who writes about current issues like immigration. She's also looking for intelligent fiction for older women (!) - and mentions Joanna Trollope (who she did compare me to when we had our first exciting meetings).  That's pretty good, detailed information for a database. There's also a link to the agency with clear submission requirements (my God they accept email now, how amazing)... My 2nd agent I see has 82 clients, and under the "Advice & Dislikes" section says she has a particular pet hate for writers who display a sense of self importance or need to prove something in style and content which she'll reject as over-written and under-confident.

Online agent databases have been running in the US for some time now, the UK has always been so far behind. This one promises regular updates and looks to be the business. A great service for writers, and for the agents who presumably will soon be getting more suitable manuscripts coming through their In Boxes. Congratulations to Harry, Laura and The Writers' Workshop and hurrah for progress.

There's a publisher section as well which I still have to investigate...

Agent Hunter

Ebook $2.99/£2.03 Paperback $15.99/£8.98

Film Continuity Girl - Blog Hop - The Next Best Thing - French Twist

I’m honoured to have been tagged in “The Next Big Thing – French Twist” blog hop by the lovely Transworld/Blackbird Digital travel author Susie Kelly who in turn was tagged by romantic comedy author Victoria Corby. 

Whereas I can only dream of living in France (and Brazil... well, it's a dream, right), Susie and Victoria both live in south-west France making their livings as writers. Dreaming of the good life in France is a British middle class preoccupation. We're currently being catered to in magnificent fashion as Monty Don's French Gardens airs on UK TV on Friday nights. The Gourmet Garden episode is still on iPlayer. Those simple garden restaurants to die for are only fanning my dream, especially as snow is falling in London today yet again and it's COLD!

Having recently read Susie's latest, I don't think I'll be attempting to run holiday gites.. I can, though, highly recommend Swallows & Robins, The Guests In My Garden to armchair travellers everywhere. Yes I publish it but the reviews speak for themselves. It's very funny and has already reached #1 in Amazon UK's Bestsellers France Travel chart.

'Laugh out loud funny and a must read for anyone dreaming of the good life running gites in France.‘  The Good Life France Ebook $3.99/£2.57/Euro3,07; Paperback $15.88/£9.97/Euro12,31


I used to go to the south of France every summer but haven't been able to get away for several years now. I nearly did go to live in Brazil once upon a time. Instead, I ended up writing a novel about it. And so this, then is my entry to the blog hop questionnaire.

What is the working title of your next book?

The Continuity Girl

Where did the idea come from for the book?

I used to work as a BBC Production Assistant. We had a million job descriptions and were expected to work across the complete range of programmes from Playaway to Newsnight.  One of our many location responsibilities was continuity. I was terrible at it. Take two people walking through an art gallery, one on right, one on left. One camera right, one camera left. Which shoulders are touching? When they turn away they're on opposite sides, it sometimes got VERY confusing. I once got a whole Howard Hodgkin at The Whitechapel Gallery wrong. The director and editor worked around it as best they could but Howard and his interviewer kept mysteriously hopping from side to side in the final show. Continuity is much more of a specialist skill in the world of feature films which is where I placed my central character Suze's job.

What genre does your book fall under?

Contemporary romance. Romantic comedy.

What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?

Haven't a clue.

What is the one sentence synopsis of your book?

The story of a film continuity girl searching for continuity in her own life, Suze’s interior battle is modern woman’s greatest dilemma, should she ever rely on anyone else for her happiness, or can she make her own? 

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

Self-published via my digital publishing company Blackbird Digital Books.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?

About nine months. 

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

I don't know of any contemporary romances set in the feature film world or in Brazil though sure there must be some. Goodreads has a listopia of books set in Brazil but they're all by Jorge Amado, a bit too grand a company for me that's for sure. 

Who or what inspired you to write this book?

I filmed twice in Brazil and loved it. Our film fixers became good friends. They came to London, stayed in my flat and offered me a job. I took their offer seriously and began learning Portuguese. I'm still not sure if their tongues were in their cheeks. My character moves to Brazil for love of a man rather than work. The reality of course doesn't turn out to be quite the romantic dream.  Brazil is the most fantastic country, the magic of the place and the warmth and spirit of the people hits the spot for many visitors from chilly northern climes. But visiting isn't the same as setting down roots. And Latino men most often come with families their woman is expected to become a part of. That's where it all starts to go wrong for independent cool Brit Suze.

What else about the book might pique the reader’s interest?

A behind the scenes look at life in feature films and life in everyday Rio de Janeiro. From the favelas to the fashionable Santa Teresa area. Suze joins a Samba Group and takes part in Carnival. Something it's easy for tourists to become a part of if they have the time to stay in Brazil a while and go to the rehearsals. 

An early draft cover in the colours of Brazil:

I'd like to tag two other writers to join the blog hop and share their writing talents:

Diana Morgan-Hill who is just putting the finishing touches to her incredible biography. 

And, bringing a US twist to the table, the New York author Catherine Hiller whose latest book retells Mark Twain's The Adventures of Tom Sawyer from his brother Sid's point of view. As one reviewer has put it, dealing "bluntly with issues of sex and racism ..but ultimately love and loyalty prevail." The Adventures of Sid Sawyer is published by Armadillo Central. Read Catherine's answers here.

Amazon US  Amazon UK