Until recently I had myself down as a suburbanite, but not any more. The fight of DD and DS into the city centre has given me the chance to explore the waterfront, the old centre and the university area all over again and I’m suddenly finding even more excuses to go there. Visitors are now being dragged to … Continue reading Circus comes to town
Would you blog your novel? Obviously Mr McCall Smith has done just that with Corduroy Mansions, and has doubtless been suitably rewarded, so let me rephrase it. Would you blog your unpublished novel? Because that’s the idea behind the Telegraph’s latest creative writing competition and if you have a novel languishing in a drawer (or even on … Continue reading Corduroy challenge
I’m pleased to say that Ted of YWO did get back to me quickly with an answer to my query on the 5000 deal, and I’m not the only one who’s been raising questions on the site. In brief, it seems like this is pretty much a ploy by YWO to increase its membership and its profile generally, and , to be fair, YWO always did intend to offer a self-publishing platform. Ted doesn’t answer the question of ‘why self-publish’ but strictly speaking I don’t suppose he has to. I think there are times when self-publishing makes sense, but right now I’m with another YWO member sho says,
‘I’d love my novel to be published, but what kind of feeling would it give me if I could only say that the sole reason it was published is because I answered an e-mail quickly and could drum up £40? I’d like to think it got published because it was good.’
For my question and Ted’s full answer, please read on.
Continue reading “The story from YWO”
As a long-time member of You Write On I somehow missed its latest initiative until Jane Smith’s blog entry came to my notice. Basically, YWO is offering a Publish On Demand deal to the first 5000 writers to sign up by 31st October. I’ve now checked out the YWO site myself (the offer is on the Home Page … Continue reading What’s the story?
The more I’m advised as an unpublished novelist to avoid a first person narrative (on the grounds it will be ‘harder to sell’ to an agent or publisher), the more I’m struck by how many successful novels (literary or otherwise) use this device. A case in point is Kashuo Ishiguro’s Never Let me Go, a compelling read I … Continue reading First person problematical
Ali Bacon, Author 