Author: Lor

When we work with our authors, we always make sure that we work closely with them to ensure that the edits and critiques we carry out are relevant, personal and the very best they can be. Each author we work with is different; they will have their own vision for their book and their goals, they will come from different backgrounds, have a unique writing style and they may approach us at varying stages of their writing process.

Although all of our authors differ, the way we approach their manuscripts will be the same; with a personalised approach unique to the author.

Writing a book is a very personal process; it may have taken years to get down onto paper, it may come from a very difficult place within the author’s past, it could have been a huge learning process for them… sometimes, when sharing the first draft to someone else, it can make the author feel quite anxious- it’s the first time someone else has read their words and what’s more they are going to do so from a critical stance too! We appreciate how difficult it can be for an author to hand over their manuscripts to us and so we always want to know a little more about our authors than simply what their manuscript contains.

When we work with our authors, when they send their manuscripts, they also send us a little bit of information about themselves. We ask for them to write as little or as much as they would like- whatever they feel is relevant- to tell us what their aims are for the book, is there a specific message or moral they are wanting to achieve? What has inspired them? Sometimes authors include previous work, samples from their illustrators and a large amount of background about themselves. Other times, authors simply send a sentence or two about their manuscript. Whether it be a lengthy background or a concise one, we find that it is very useful and it helps us to ensure that the book we are working on together remains on track.

When providing an edit or a critique, our aim is to always keep the authors’ aims in mind. This enables us to read the draft with that as the main focus and to make sure that the edits and suggestions we make help to pull that aim out. There can be times that the main focus of a book can become lost in detail and it is our job to find a way to make it be found again and to shine through.

Sometimes, a simple change can make an entire book so much tighter and really shine. There are times when our suggestions are bigger and can involve big rewrites and a change of style, however, with both variations of feedback the result is still the same; an enhanced manuscript that can stand out against all of the other books out there. This is a competitive marketplace and we aim to help our authors’ books shine whilst still keeping their own personal goals at the forefront of what we do.

Offering a personalised service like this works well for both ourselves and our authors; our authors feel as though they are being listened to and respected, they can see that their book is being improved with their own opinions being kept in mind and for us it helps us to relate to our authors, communicate with them and enjoy watching the incredible progress that is made when we work closely together.

After I have critiqued a children’s book, the author often asks me for advice about marketing. I often see the same questions asked again and again within writing forums; authors wanting to know the best ways to get their books ‘out there’ and enjoyed by many. It’s a competitive market so just how do you market the book you’ve poured your heart and soul into?

1. Start before you even begin the manuscript.
   Promoting your book has to begin early. Before you start to write your story, consider your audience. If you want a book that is ‘marketable’ then consider the subject area you could cover- is there an event or news topic coming up that you could latch onto- the Olympics coming up, a big trend towards raising awareness of a certain area, an anniversary of a big event that you know will make the news. If you write about something which is relevant, you’ll find it easier to establish your audience, join in with discussions, target specific people and so forth. You can use the hype of the event to talk about your book
2. Build up social media.
   Again, this needs to start early- it’s no good having your book in your hands and THEN starting to try to sell it. Who are you selling it to? A blank platform on social media or a ready built up audience? Establish yourself on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Join in with discussions by using hashtags that are relevant, connect with other authors, bloggers, people who often tag specific books that are similar to yours or on a subject matter which your book covers. It takes time but it creates an audience ready for when you’re hoping to put them in the direction of your book.
3. Create a blog tour.
   A blog tour is where bloggers will post about you/your book. A blog tour should be about a fortnight long and have the first week the week before your book is published and the second week being the week after. This will help to drum up the hype and reach a whole new audience. You can ask in groups for bloggers who would be willing to review your book, do an interview with you or post excerpts from your book within their blog. You can also recruit bloggers by using the hashtag ‘bloggerswanted’ on Twitter and Instagram. Check their blogs first and their audiences to make sure that they are relevant, offer them a free copy of your book and provide them with enough notice to be able to read it and create the post ready for the tour to begin.
4. Talks.
   Advertising on social media is all very important but what about the community outside of the Internet? Establish yourself within your local community. Arrange to give talks at schools- you could read your story, create some activities for the children to do based on your story, answer questions about what it is like writing a book and so forth. Children can go home inspired and talk about your book. You could take part in an event at your local library giving a talk or craft activity. Look around and see what options are out there to get yourself within your community. Always make sure you have a stack of books with you that you can sell and sign too.
5. Competitions.
   Everyone likes to win something! Create a competition and have it help build your audience; perhaps entrants have to simply ‘like’ your post and tag a friend that they think would enjoy your book- this will help to expand your audience so will help in future publications too. Choose your prize carefully- a free copy of your book and something relevant to the age-group too.
6. Be present.
   The main marketing tip is to make sure you’re present. Respond to people who send you Tweets and emails, post regularly about what you are doing, the book’s progress, what the weather is doing… let people see you are active; interaction is vital and keeps you present within the market.
7. Wording!
   Be careful how you word things; NEVER post “NOBODY is buying my book, PLEASE go to Amazon and check it out.” “Why is it so hard to promote a book??” Instead be positive “I’m really enjoying reading the lovely reviews people are putting on Amazon about my latest book” “I have been working on another book and can’t wait to see people enjoy it as much as my latest one!” Keep it positive, people don’t want to read that you’re having insecurities!

Marketing a book takes hard work, it needs to begin way before you put pen to paper and has to continue throughout the whole process. It’s important to remember you need to build an audience up, create a presence both on social media and within local communities, use blog tours and competitions to get people talking about your book and always, always be careful about the words you use when posting updates.

The year is going by really quickly at the moment, how is it July already?!

We have begun this month with a fantastic review from one of our authors Gill Paul who we have been working with for several years. It means a lot to receive such positive feedback from the authors we work with, it makes us feel very proud of the hard work we put in and all of the hours we dedicate to going through manuscripts.

At the end of June we edited a children’s book about penguins. It was super-cute and had so much potential so we were delighted to receive the updated version of it today and see how much it has progressed. As well as seeing how the story has changed and began to really shine, we have also had a sneak preview of some of the illustrations which will go along with it. The illustrations are all created by hand by the very talented artist Ben Nicholls. The pictures I have been lucky enough to see so far show the skill this artist has as there is so much atmosphere in his work it’s clear he takes his time and really considers what he is working on. His great pictures, coupled with our author’s hard work on improving her book, is going to be a great combination for success. Ben’s work can be seen here https://m.facebook.com/benanlsdesignanillistrations/

Later this month we are expecting a new manuscript from an author we have worked with before. This author has shown us several of her manuscripts, all of which have been full of potential with a moral message behind each story which we have just loved. The draft from her that we are expecting later this month is a Christmas story which is incredible in this heat but the speed that the months are going by we know it’ll be December before we know it! We are really looking forward to seeing what she has created with it.

Also this month we are writing the blurb for our award-winning author Laura Day whos next book has been picked for publication next year. This author has worked incredibly hard on the book and we are so pleased that she has landed the publication deal!

With several other manuscripts lined up to hit our desks this month we just know that July is going to fly by!

How can it be June already?! It only felt like a second since it was the beginning of May! We have been really busy over the last month with working with an author for the BBC and the Royal Wedding, reading lots of incredible manuscripts, synopses and articles and also establishing our presence on Facebook too!

We have received some wonderful feedback lately from authors who are happy with our services and I think the phrase which really made us smile was an author who said that she ‘felt inspired to start taking in the alterations right away’. It means a lot to know that our critiques are inspiring our clients.

Over the next month we are working on some more children’s books including one which has arrived for its second edit. The first time we saw this manuscript we thought it had so much potential and suggested that the author change the book to make it a full-length chapter book and so it went from being 3,000 words to now being a 10,000 manuscript which we cannot wait to read later this week. We are also working on a second draft of a children’s book all about going on holiday and has some fantastic imagery.

We are also working on maintaining the Instagram account for one of our authors who is busy working away on her next novel whilst also promoting her previous one and building up to the publication of her most recent one in the autumn so she is finding juggling social media with all of her other jobs a challenge. It’s always enjoyable to work on the social media of our authors as it’s great to see how much readers are engaging with the books and enjoying them.

We do have a few spaces towards the end of June for critiques of manuscripts and so if you’re feeling at a stage where you’d like us to take a look at your work then please do get in touch.

It is only early May but we have been very busy so far this month and really enjoying working with some new as well as past authors.

One of the projects we have been working on is a children’s book written by an author who aims to encourage children to be kind and inclusive to one another. The book has great promise and we were excited to receive the manuscript at the beginning of this month. This is a story which shows children how important it is to think about others and to share their feelings with them. It shows, quite simply, how easy it can be to reach out to someone and how that act of kindness can make more than one person feel happier. There are some great moments of humour and imagination within this book and there’s a real sense of adventure. We are very much looking forward to seeing how this story develops once the author takes in our suggestions.

Another project we are working on is the first read through for a published author. This manuscript is historical fiction and so far we are really enjoying it. It’s a brilliant book which, even in this first draft stage, is proving hard to put down! It’s always an honour to be trusted with a first read through of an author’s hard work and we appreciate that this can be a nerve-wracking time for them but this one is looking like it is our favourite of her works yet. Watch this space!

We have been carrying out research for an author who is working with the BBC soon. The research is proving to be lots of fun- yes research can be fun! It’s enabling us to find out some facts we weren’t aware of before and throwing up some interesting traditions- did you know that there are over 100 cars within the Royal Mews Estate? No, we didn’t either!

Throughout May we will be carrying on with the research for the author working with the BBC, critiquing the historical fiction manuscript and working with other authors on their children’s novels. It’s going to be a busy month but we are looking forward to it!