Not Judging

What would you do if you really couldn’t judge a book by its cover? This is the proposition being offered by one Melbourne bookshop which is giving customers the opportunity to choose and buy a book in plain packaging.

The idea is not really new. We’ve seen it in other contexts; the ‘cleanskin’ approach to wine, the mystery hotel or destination booking and the good old lucky-dip. But will it catch on for books?

From a marketing point of view an eye-catching cover will attract the reader (and buyer), but in the digital age you can buy an e-book from a list (no cover in sight). When you make the download, many e-readers jump straight to page 1, by-passing the cover altogether. I have one friend who refuses to buy an e-reader for this reason. With recent data showing a 2.2 per cent jump in hardcopy book sales in Australia this past year, she's not the only one opting to see the cover first.

What do you think – is the cover an essential ingredient for a quality reading experience? 

Grand Designs

2015 opens up the possibility of a fresh start, a renovation or at least a makeover. 

I’m not referring to something requiring an architect’s plan although knowing the overall design, understanding the purpose of the various compartments, crafting the specifications for all the fixtures and fittings, and placing the details on the page seem apposite. 

I mean a re-write; in this case for my HARDCOPY novel. I’m taking it apart, adding a new room or two, improving the entrance for maximum impact and giving it a new colour scheme. 

Like all good makeovers, there is an estimated time to completion and an expected blow-out. Seems like I’m the project manager so here goes…

Adding a new room

The Caravan has Arrived

Tonight at Gorman House, the Emerging Writers Festival Canberra Caravan took a virtual tour through Cambodia, China, Dubai, the United States and Mongolia as writers shared their stories and poems. Across the landscape of relationships, adventure tourism, 'anti-semantism', escape routes and equine entrails, the panel touched down before heading to Sydney tomorrow. And not a guide book in sight !

Canberra Caravan Panel

A Day at the Races

K.A.L.O.I.

This past month has been a rollercoaster of emotions. The excitement and intensity of the three-day HARDCOPY 2014 workshop on 26-28 September was followed by a week of introspection while I tried to process all the information that we had been privy to. How on earth is it possible to juggle my writing, my social media strategy, my networking activities and my ongoing professional development while holding down a full-time job, raising a family and staying even a little bit sane? The jury is out on which ball will fall first. Assuming of course that I can get them all in the air at once.

Then I spent ten days being too afraid to check my emails.  This is not the ordinary form of technophobia but a much more visceral concern. Although quite common, there is no official definition for this but I can say with authority it has something to do with the possibility of finding a rejection letter lurking behind a benign subject line.

The un-Ken HARDCOPY workshop at Tilleys reminded me that all of us HARDCOPIERS were in the same boat (some even brought their computers...but I can’t speculate on the level of email checking that occurred). And let’s not get started on the implications of a mixed metaphor in which electrical implements could be juggled in a flotation device. It seemed at that time that the HARDCOPY Round II result was still weeks away.

So buoyed by the prospect that my current email list was in fact benign, I chanced a look and found to my amazement a missive from the ACT Writers Centre (one juggle ball takes a tentative throw and catch). I had to read it three times to double check that I really understood what it said. My manuscript had been selected!  This was followed by a feeling of euphoria (all balls thrown wildly into the air) which was immediately tempered by the Facebook posts of others who had not made it through (balls on the ground).

This morning I woke up and realised I’ve been holding my breath all week, waiting for the official results to be posted on the ACT Writers website.  Using a sporting analogy, I’ve been Keeping A Lid On It.  Strangely, the emotional rollercoaster came to land at the feet of my high school PE teacher, whose astute observation that I had no ball sense might even have nudged me closer to my writing future.  So thanks Mrs Barnes. And by the way, I think my ball sense is improving. 

Don’t Forget the Barcode

Scenario goes like this: enter shopper with a list in hand and a worried expression. The supermarket shelves are lined with all kinds of products. It’s impossible to tell one from the other. It’s impossible to tell which one is on the list.

Conversation on mobile phone goes like this: ‘Umm, darling, there are too many here. Which one did you want? Wait, I’ll take a photo.’

Scenario goes like this: shopper takes a photo and sends it to their darling. Shopper calls back. Shopper has a close look at the products, picking some up and putting them back while holding the phone to their ear. Shopper smiles. Shopper selects product.

Just like the problem faced by our shopper, publishers are often overwhelmed with the supply and variety of manuscripts. So what makes one manuscript stand out from the others? According to Michael Bollen from Wakefield Press it will be well written and presented, meet the needs of the publisher’s list, but above all it will engender a visceral response. It will make the publisher think:

‘I love this’

‘I know how to talk about it’

‘It pins me to the page.’

If you can’t pin your manuscript to the publisher’s list, don’t despair. You could always consider self publishing. In the digital age, Michael’s advice here is practical, ‘Don’t forget the barcode’ !

HARDCOPY and the AFL

(or how becoming a writer is just like walking onto the MCG )

I realised I was committed to my writing when I agreed to attend the HARDCOPY program scheduled on the same weekend as the AFL Grand Final. But as I asked myself, ‘What would Buddy do?’ the parallels between these two great events suddenly crystallised.

Buddy Franklin and the Sydney Swans checked in their luggage and travelled to Melbourne today in preparation for the big weekend. I checked I had a notebook and a pen, then worked out how to catch the bus to Ainslie. On Saturday, while Hawthorn and Sydney are getting ready for the kick-off, my writing skills will be getting a kick along with the session on digital publishing.  When Buddy is making connections with the footy, I’ll be learning about connections in the publishing industry. The fourth quarter will be ticking its way to the final siren as I try to hand-ball a serious question to the panel in the final session of the day.

So while Buddy takes a deep breath and dreams about walking onto the MCG, I’ll take a deep breath and dream about the day my manuscript becomes a novel.