Caroline Webber - Putting Pen to Paper: The Writing & Publishing Journey

Putting Pen
to Paper

Putting Pen
to Paper

The writing and
publishing journey

Caroline Webber

First published by Green Olive Press in 2009

PO Box 1417

Woollahra NSW 1350 Australia

Email: info@greenolivepress.com

Web: www.greenolivepress.com

Copyright Caroline Webber 2009

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher.

Cover design: Nina M B Nielsen

National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry

Dewey Number: 070.593

eBook distributed by www.edistributor.org

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Caroline Webber is a freelance writer and editor, and currently works for an independent publishing company in Sydney.

She has a Masters degree in Renaissance and Romantic Literature and a Doctorate from the University of Liverpool (UK) for her research on eighteenth-century literature, in particular eighteenth-century editorial practices and the Gothic novelist, Ann Radcliffe. As part of her thesis, Caroline edited a critical edition of Gaston de Blondeville, one of Ann Radcliffes less well-known works.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The author would like to offer her sincere thanks to Mark Beaumont for contributing to the chapter on the world wide web, and to Bhavna Khanna and Dorothy Beaumont for their scrutiny, suggestions, encouragement and support.

CONTENTS

There are hundreds of books about publishing. Some claim to teach you how to write a best-seller overnight; others attempt to explain the book production process in a language that is often far too technical for most of us to understand. There are even publications that declare your book will be an instant success if you follow the authors magical marketing plan.

This book does not claim to do any of these things. It doesnt proclaim that you will become a millionaire, or that your book will get to the top of the best-seller list. There is no magic formula that guarantees publishing success: if there was we would all be following it already. The truth is what works for one author, may not work for another every author has a different approach and has achieved his/her success by different means. Every book is different.

So what does this book do? you may ask. What is this book all about? Well, this is a book of questions. Its full of questions. There are questions to ask yourself, your friends, your colleagues and mentors, your publisher, the media, and even total strangers. This book guides you to ask questions that will help you make well-informed decisions that are right for you. It encourages and directs you to research and in seeking the answers, you will become more knowledgeable and able to make educated choices. It will give you a map and take you on a journey of discovery.

There are no right or wrong answers. Everyones answers will be different. All you have to do is to research, consider and answer the questions honestly. You will find some easy to answer; others will pose more of a challenge. You can dip in and out of the book. You can choose to answer all of the questions in one section at a time, or randomly pick them out. Make notes in the margins, gather your own answers, refer back to it over time. Just remember the more thoroughly you do the research, the greater your chance of success!

Each section explains why it is important to consider the topics and includes top tips, as well as directing you to places where you can find the answers. The answers you find will help you to identify your goals and make plans for achieving them. Towards the back of the book you will also find useful information including some exercises to help improve your writing, a glossary of publishing terms, a select bibliography and contact details of organisations that can provide you with help and guidance.

It is my contention my superstition, if you like that he who is faithful to his map, and consults it, and draws from it his inspiration, daily and hourly, gains positive support.

Robert Louis Stevenson

Sometimes when you go on a journey you know the route, other times you need a map, but on both occasions you know where you want to get to. You may have decisions to make at every crossroad, and you may make a detour (or two!) but you eventually arrive at your destination. Its just the same with writing and publishing.

Heres where your journey begins.

Bon voyage!

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didnt do than the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.

Mark Twain

THE FIRST WORDS

Writing is hard work. Even the most successful authors experience writers block and cant quite find the right words no matter how hard they try. Thinking about yourself and your lifestyle may help you to decide whether you need to change your priorities or develop new ways of coping with difficult situations. You should answer the questions honestly and be realistic.

If you write for long enough and often enough, it becomes in the end as natural a function as breathing or eating.

Fay Weldon

. Do I have enough discipline to write?

. How much time can I dedicate to writing? Is this enough?