Sunday, April 13, 2014 spring "looking ahead" event

[Jen Sookfong Lee]

Hey guys, I have to run. Thanks for a great morning! Also, one thought: no, I don't have a day job, but, for money, I turn to my radio work, teaching (only writing, I have no qualifications to teach anything else) and freelancing. So all of that is writing work, but actually takes time away from writing fiction, which is what I would do all the time if it were possible.

 

[Kimmy Beach]

My publisher certainly has. I think most do. In the past my experience has been the youtube interview. A bit static. Again, we need more imagination on this front and, of course, its out there. I would love to just have fun with this one. Play, dive into humor. Just need a book that would lend itself to that.

Yup! My newest book would have fallen nicely into this medium as it's about James Bond. Nothing much more visual than that guy. But we didn't do anything along these lines, and I'm fine with that. I'm great on the radio, but I don't like doing video.

 

[Sonal Champsee]

We haven't talked about money yet, but traditionally published authors I know say they get $2 for each $20 book sold. If that is so, does everyone have a day job?

Call me cynical, but I went into this assuming I would never make a living on publishing. Self, traditional or otherwise. If it works out as such, great, but I manage the financial portion of my life assuming I won't.

(I come from a long line of accountants, I can't help being pragmatic about money.)

 

[Gail Anderson-Dargatz]

We haven't talked about money yet, but traditionally published authors I know say they get $2 for each $20 book sold. If that is so, does everyone have a day job?

Pretty much.

Writing, whatever the form, rarely provides a full income. I was lucky for a long time because I had international sales, so I did make my living solely from writing. Even for a well-known established writer there are up years and down. I do hear self-published authors talk about having more control over their income, which is appealing.

 

[Kimmy Beach]

Hey guys, I have to run. Thanks for a great morning! Also, one thought: no, I don't have a day job, but, for money, I turn to my radio work, teaching (only writing, I have no qualifications to teach anything else) and freelancing. So all of that is writing work, but actually takes time away from writing fiction, which is what I would do all the time if it were possible.

I know you're off now (have a great day!), but I agree that we all must do the writing work that isn't actually our true passion. Barry Dempster's post over at Open Book Toronto today is about that very thing. He's an inspiration every day, but today's post hit me: http://www.openbooktoronto.com/barrydempster/blog/poet_hire

 

[Deanna Kawatski]

That's really interesting, Deanna. I agree that we have to be more than just good writers. In some cases, it truly is who you know. I'm close friends with a well-known poet in Ontario and he's invited me to read at his annual poetry gala next weekend. If I didn't have him in my corner, I wouldn't have an Ontario reading of any kind. As a prairie publisher, UAP doesn't have a lot of clout down there. But because my friend asked me, I'm in. We'd been trying (my press and I) to get me a gig down there for a year with no success. So I agree that we have to do more than just write good books. I don't see that changing.

Congratulations on the reading! We need other writers in our corners and to seize the opportunities as they arrive. I just read at the library in Nakusp, BC last weekend. Because I'm a member of TWUC I'm eligible for two funded readings a year. It is wonderful. But would anyone show up on a Sunday night in that tiny town? Twenty listeners materialized, filling up all of the assembled chairs. And not a single cell phone went off. I will admit I like peaceful backwaters out of the grip of modern technology. I think there are a few out there.

 

[Georgie Binks]

I know some authors who speak on subjects related to their writing and that can help but it's certainly making a living and continuing to write.

 

[Gail Anderson-Dargatz]

Hey guys, I have to run. Thanks for a great morning!

Thanks for coming Jen!

 

[Kimmy Beach]

Congratulations on the reading! We need other writers in our corners and to seize the opportunities as they arrive. I just read at the library in Nakusp, BC last weekend. Because I'm a member of TWUC I'm eligible for two funded readings a year. It is wonderful. But would anyone show up on a Sunday night in that tiny town? Twenty listeners materialized, filling up all of the assembled chairs. And not a single cell phone went off. I will admit I like peaceful backwaters out of the grip of modern technology. I think there are a few out there.

That's a great story! And thank you for the congrats. I'm really looking forward to it. And I understand that fear. It occurs to me that this reading I'm doing is Easter Saturday, but if my friend isn't worried about getting people out, then neither am I. I'm just going down to hang out with him anyway. If a reading breaks out, well, I'll do it. ;-)

 

[Gail Anderson-Dargatz]

I know some authors who speak on subjects related to their writing and that can help but it's certainly making a living and continuing to write.

Speaking engagements can be very lucritive indeed. If you have some area of expertise you can spin into a book, even a book of fiction, do it. There are always organizations looking for speakers for conventions, ect.

 

[Gail Anderson-Dargatz]

What I'm really interested to hear from you all is what the book will look like. Like many authors, I've included photos and scraps of this and that in my novels from the start. The new media opens the door wide open on this one. My kid is incorporating animation and games he created himself into his essays for school and I'm thinking hey, I could do that! What will a novel look like ten years from now?

 

[Nikki Vogel]

Having spent a number of years not writing, and then doubting that I could write, I'm not sure that I'm willing to expend more time jumping into the new experiments.

This is my worry. I am very late entering the game and I feel extremely anxious to get published, and I was very much hoping to achieve this on the more traditional path.

 

[Kim McCullough]

How about those book trailers. Anyone have experience doing one themselves (or having them done for a book ...)?

I never have - but my students really enjoy them for YA books, and they love to create them, too. I don't know many fellow writers who've done it for adult books, but I have seen a few great ones!

 

[Deanna Kawatski]

Sitting where I am emerging into this in-between phase, this feels like a good model right now. I'd still like to be traditionally published as I think it gives me some credibility as an emerging writer. But then, I love to take control of my work and release it myself.

Mind you, given the years needed for the process, who knows what it will all look like then?

Yes, I think it beneficial to have traditional publishing credits, especially before setting off down the independent path. However sooner or later the majority of books do go out of print. In a sense I look at my books as my children. Each of them were many years in the making and I feel responsible for them. My way of looking after them is keeping them in print and in a form I can be proud of.

 

[Rose Nielsen]

I haven't seen my royalty statement for this year yet, Mary, but I can tell you that my first statement indicated that every one of my sales was print. Mind you, the book had only been out a few months at that time. I'll see what the statement says next month. I'd ask my publicist, but I'm hoping she's not at work answering emails!

Georgie Binks said: I go online to check my dashboard and it tells me daily if anyone buys an e-book, but it doesn't tell me who. I wish it did though. That would certainly be fun. I sell few e-books, many more in print.

This is pretty fascinating to hear how well you can track the number of ebooks vs. print. Some friends have ereaders, but many more are holding back from electronic books, enjoying the print experience much more.
I see many of my students with ereaders, but many more with print books of all types. I wonder who is buying the ebooks. Big population centres?

 

[Georgie Binks]

What I'm really interested to hear from you all is what the book will look like. Like many authors, I've included photos and scraps of this and that in my novels from the start. The new media opens the door wide open on this one. My kid is incorporating animation and games he created himself into his essays for school and I'm thinking hey, I could do that! What will a novel look like ten years from now?

I think if publishers are willing to take a chance that could happen, but I think it would have to be a high profile author like Stephen King who would need to pull it off.

 

[Kim McCullough]

What I'm really interested to hear from you all is what the book will look like. Like many authors, I've included photos and scraps of this and that in my novels from the start. The new media opens the door wide open on this one. My kid is incorporating animation and games he created himself into his essays for school and I'm thinking hey, I could do that! What will a novel look like ten years from now?

Yeah, I see this with my students, and my own children, too. They like the add-ons, the special multi-media items. In Maggie de Vries' YA writing class at UBC, we talked a lot about the different formats a book can take. I remember being struck by the fact that everyone was so blown away by Jennifer Egan's power point story, but when you look to YA, they've been pushing expectations like that for years. With the cross-over between YA and adult, it would be wise to take a look at what is already out there for the next generation of readers.

 

[Sonal Champsee]

What I'm really interested to hear from you all is what the book will look like. Like many authors, I've included photos and scraps of this and that in my novels from the start. The new media opens the door wide open on this one. My kid is incorporating animation and games he created himself into his essays for school and I'm thinking hey, I could do that! What will a novel look like ten years from now?

I love the idea, but I don't know that my mind bends that way... my writing process is more auditory (but not musical) rather than visual. But it's something that could be fun to work with a visual artist on.

 

[Mary Novik]

How about those book trailers. Anyone have experience doing one themselves (or having them done for a book ...)?

Even though Doubleday is a big publisher, I've never managed to talk them into doing a book trailer for me. However, the Italian publisher of Muse--it's called L'amante del papa, the Pope's lover there--came up with a totally cool trailer, which I absolutely love. You don't need to understand Italian to get the gist!

 

[Mary Novik]

... I'm really chuffed that I figured out how to embed that link. Maybe there's hope for me after all!