Book trailer in final cut

I've just completed the final draft of the first 30 second book trailer, chased up the permissions and made sure all the images, sounds and software are given the correct credits. It is now up on Youtube, but don't go rushing in searching for it, since it's private. Right now I am after views and opinions, and would be grateful for feedback on it. If you would like to help and want access to it, please drop me a note or a PM on the proboards.

Any comments can be shared in the comments here, or on the proboard if you want a more active discussion.

Please don't leave comments on the video. If I have to revise it that involves deleting and reuploading, which would wipe your feedback.

Acquisitions & editors - an odd irony

Getting through the editor isn't the last stage either. Once an editor likes it, they have to put their case to an acquisitions board which includes sales, marketing, distibution etc. The acquisitions board then decide if the book is worth buying. These boards often meet once or twice a month.

I am trying hard not to remember that my first book got through all the editorial levels with one publisher but was rejected at acquisitions as they did not think they could market it. If I'd known then what I know now - how rare it is for a first novel to get that far - I'd probably have sent it to more than five agents and one publisher. Instead I trunked it, and wrote the one that's now on submission as "Firestorm".

It is rather ironic that my first book failed to get published because of potential lack of demand, and my next lost a deal because of too much...

Hope for the best - Part 2

There is a problem with my post in part 1. The worst case scenario isn't that the publisher says no, it is that they say nothing.

This could occur if the manuscript or SSAE gets lost in the post, although that's unlikely. I may joke about them, but Royal Mail are usually pretty good.

The more depressing alternative is if the manuscript gets stuck in the slushpile and left unread. For a good assessment of how this could happen, see "The Sobering Story of Myrtle the Manuscript" by Tappan King. It's a good read, not just amusing but also useful for anyone considering writing. However it's a completely nerve-wracking article if you have a manuscript on submission. Be warned.

This worst case scenario comes with the difficulty of politely and delicately chasing an editor about a book, while not doing anything that might make them drop it.

This part of publication in general, waiting on feedback while racked with nerves, is what agents are good at. Since I don't have one, being in the rare position of selling my first novel myself, I'm learning as I go.

However, for prospective authors, it is worth remembering that if I had stopped trying when the agents said no I'd never have landed the first book deal, far less been discussing a second.

Hope for the best - Part 1

As you probably already know, the book is sitting with a publishing house at the moment, and with luck I will hear back later this month about whether they want to publish it. Given that, why all the contingency planning?

Hope for the best, plan for the worst.

The best is if they pick the book up. The worst is if they pass.

If they say yes, then great. The book gets published by people who can make the most of it. My marketing and distribution (trivial compared to what a publishing hosue can do) are simply there as a base that they can take over or integrate with their own contacts.

If they say no, then the book is adrift. If I haven't planned ahead, then all the marketing and distribution I set up is lost. At that point, final galley or not, the book simply becomes another unpublished manuscript doing the rounds. Having got this close to seeing print, that seems like a waste, so I am planning for contingencies.

This doesn't mean I'm not hoping for the best.

(Continues Tomorrow in Part Two)

Why so nervous?

I had an interesting chat last night about getting published, from a friend trying to give me a pep talk. After all, he said, since the manuscript's already been through this once, why be so nervous? Surely it can make its way through the slush again, and at least we already know it is publishable.

Well, I definitely have good reason to be nervous, because the answer to the second question is both yes and no.

There is a brilliant analysis of the slushpile and what it takes to get out of it on Slushkiller by Teresa Nielson Hayden (scroll down to 3. The Context of Rejection)

Going through her fourteen point list, I don't need to worry about items one to ten (covering illiteracy, plagarism, and authors with "problems") which are the reasons for 95-99% of slush rejections.

This leaves three more reasons for rejection before reaching point 14 "Buy this book". All three are to do with the preferences of the publishing house. No matter how good the book is, if it isn't what they are looking for, they may not pick it up. Just because one publisher liked my work, it does not guarantee another publishing house will.

Editorial taste is the one thing that it all hinges on. Well, that and Royal Mail...

An anthology and still waiting.

Three weeks to wait until I hear back from the publisher, and not much else I can do on the novel itself until then.

Meanwhile I've started getting my short stories into an anthology. If I end up self publishing, I'll give it a limited release through the website on POD and e-book to accompany the novel. Done that way it won't cost very much, and it's a useful way to boost the novel.

However, this won't be released for a few weeks yet, since I've got to sort out cover art and either beg a favour from an artist or dive into iStockPhoto for raw materials. I'm also holding off for three weeks as I'm not sure whether releasing it would affect whether the publisher would be willing to pick up Firestorm.

Not good news

This morning Firestorm was officially released by Bewrite, for a reason that I honestly never expected to hear from a publisher. They have returned the rights free and clear so I can find someone who can exploit my marketing more effectively.

However this also leaves me trying to find a way to get the book published by the end of the year, preferably by someone who can take advantage of my ability to get things on shelves - and then sold off them!

I have one option already available, an offer from someone I've worked with before. Unfortunately as fiction and novels are completely outside that publisher's normal remit, they've agreed I should try to find a specialist first. As a result I am now busy trying to find another publisher prepared to take on an orphaned work with a lot of PR underway and pre-orders already coming in.

However timescales are short. If I can't find something by the end of the week I'll be going with the first option since they want to move quickly to exploit the marketing I've already done. Either way however, Firestorm will see print.

Please wish me luck. Finding an agent or publisher in less than a week is almost unheard of.

Themes and websites

I've spent the day doing a bit of research on Arts Council Grants, just in case I can get some help with researching my next book.

I've also got a theme for the actual website, since the google site I am using at the moment is not particularly attractive. Ironically, the URL is also not exactly search engine friendly. There's now a news list set up, so if you are interested in the book, you can sign up to get press releases, updates and more. Hopefully the full website will be up by the end of the week.

Unfortunately there is no word on preorders, although I have asked if Bewrite can clarify the launch date. Also, one of my old distributors from self-publishing may be interested in taking a few copies, which is always good news.

There's an Open Day at Gatwick Aviation Museum tomorrow, which I might attend. Due to an accident however it will depend on whether hobbling or walking is the order of the day...

Cover artwork

I just got an email asking about the cover and any restrictions, which is a problem. I'd like to avoid the standard, cliched, and usually inaccurate, "people running away with big aircraft overhead and flames in background" approach. Other than that I'm really not sure.

While I can supply reference shots and videos, deciding what to create from them isn't my strong point. I'm alright with digital stills and video work, but I am definitely not an artist.

So, a picture of the airfield? An overhead shot of the Vale? I really don't know. Anyone with ideas, please let me know.

The current situation

The back cover blurb has now been added to all the various web pages I have set up to promote the book. Between feeds, pages and forums the current situation is:

• 69 or so search results
• 4 or 5 dedicated websites
• Twitter (oddly the twitter account has only five followers but I keep running into my tweets in syndication)
• Two pre-orders.

Needless to say, the last one makes me very happy, since I don't have a release date yet.

The only problem I have is that the promo work is cutting into my writing time. I've got my next book half-written, and can't find time to finish it off!

Also, Bewrite just launched Liza Granville's "The Tor". All the best to Liza. This is her third book with Bewrite, but I'd imagine you still get just as nervous as you do about the first.

Endorsements and promotion

This morning I gingerly dipped my toe into the murky world of endorsements. This largely involved going through my address book and looking out anyone still involved with aircraft, and then trying to write something that might persuade them to endorse my book.

Yes, in the US and Canada these people may not be names in their own right, but the fact they've got the word "Air" "Aeroplane" or "Aviation" in their job title and that they (fingers crossed) liked the book enough to say so on the cover, might help sales in those areas. It would certainly help in the UK. However this does leave me to see if the publisher is prepared to give me permission to send out full bound manuscripts for their reading pleasure.

On the downside, after my last encounter with duelling experts it does lead me to wonder if I'll get them back covered in red pen and contradictory advice.

On the upside, I've already had two preorders based on the blurb I wrote for the back cover. It's now been added to:

• http://www.squidoo.com/firestorm

Why not have a read?

International issues

The joys of conflicting laws: on what should be the final edit I find out something about the US that means a plot point is actually illegal over there, while in three other countries it is standard practice.

Fortunately it is easily fixed to make it international, so it is not a showstopper just extremely irritating. At the current stage I will admit I am being pedantic, but I would like to reach the widest possible audience.

However for any later books, I will probably try to stick to one country and a definite location - it's easier than balancing multiple laws!

Promotion and proofing

Today has been an interesting mix of editing, spell-checking and promotion work.

I've finished a first look through on the manuscript, highlighted areas of concern, corrected the spelling errors that I found, and then switched to promotion work since I was having trouble focusing on the pages.

Things have moved rather quickly on the marketing front. There is now a site up at vhfolland.co.uk. It's bare bones at the moment, but does have a forum for interaction. Two teasers and a book trailer are now ready at my end, although unreleased. I'm not sure what the publisher intends on this front, but I thought I'd make sure there was something available.

Yesterday if you googled VH Folland you got a few links to Folland Gnat fighters with that registration. Today, I'm on the front page of search results, so I think the work is beginning to pay off. Now I need to manage the same with "adventure author" as the keyword, but until the book is out that will be a challenge.

All those years consulting in information, engineering, security, media and ecommerce have come in surprisingly useful. The first three gave me something to write about. The last two are helping me let people know that I've written it.

Is a Publication date approaching?

According to the editor, if we agree this version it will go out. Good news, but unfortunately this is where first novel nerves become a problem. I'm doing a final proof and re-read to make sure it is in the best possible shape before release.

Catching two typos that have survived the rounds of re-reads is not unexpected. However, sentences and scenes that have been in since the first version suddenly no longer make sense to me. I find myself second-guessing sentences as simple as "Hello." and wondering 'who said that?' or 'why does that happen?' about the most trivial items, while redoing research that I did for the very first draft.

The problem is that with non-fiction the problem of artistic licence does not arise as everything is factual and cited. With fiction you have to decide what facts to leave out or gloss over, because essential as it is, it would bore or distract the reader. With my other fiction work, it has largely been giving directions for others to interpret, and when I have occassionally self-published the buck begins and ends with me. With this book, there is a publisher prepared to trust my judgement and put their funds and effort behind it, and for some reason having other people relying on my untried skill as a novelist worries me. At least I know that they think the story is good, or it would never have got this far.

Unfortunately this does not particularly help with nerves, and a sudden and unexpected lack of confidence. When you find yourself thinking that you should take a bound galley to the people who helped with research to check if they really want their name on it (with thanks), that is a genuine confidence crisis. Fortunately it can be overcome by common sense.

What has thrown me is that I have been working towards this for years now, and suddenly it seems to be happening very, very, quickly. When you've been told the editorial process should take 6-8 months and instead it takes 6-8 weeks, things seem to be moving incredibly fast.

On the internationalisation front I have given up trying to make it perfect. Instead there is one country on the earth (three at a pinch) where professionals will read it and, hopefully, nod. Elsewhere, the labyrinth of differing laws and procedures will almost certainly trip it up for them. However, the book is now at a point where the layman located anywhere should read and enjoy it - and they make up a much larger share of the audience.

And now I need to stop blogging and get back to editing. Wish me luck.

And a second round of edits begins

I received the manuscript back this morning. The editor is apparently happy with it. The problem is that I am not.

The book was originally written to be true to one particular country's laws and regulations. The themes could fit a number of others, so I widened the scope and made it less specific. Unfortunately making it fit an international audience causes a number of conflicts between varying laws and practices worldwide. While a layman can enjoy the story, some of these may take a reader who works in the field out of the book since there is no longer anything to tell them it isn't set in their country.

The issue is whether to let it go out now as a good story, or whether to continue to work on refining the internationalisation to make it accurate to as many countries as possible.

Second edit in process

The manuscript has returned to the editor after the first round of edits were completed.

One of the interesting things about writing adventure is the detail needed - readers who will accept unlikely or illegal actions by characters within the plot will get taken out of the story if a door opens the wrong way.

Firestorm - an aviation adventure

Firestorm is a new aviation adventure due out from Bewrite Books Canada in the near future.

My debut novel, the story focuses on a small airstrip caught in a wildfire and the operation to extinguish it with the scant resources available to them.