Obligatory PitchWars Post

It's the most wonderful time of year... Ding! Dong!

No! Not that... Hey everyone, it's PitchWars! The awesome competition run by writers, for writers. Run by Brenda Drake to be precise, who has got together a pretty awesome list of Mentors to look through our (us writer's) manuscripts and pick one to polish and champion to the equally impressive list of Agents.


Now that's out of the way, I've been scanning through the list of Mentors and trying to select the Famous Five that I want to submit my manuscript of Alexandra Frost and the Dragons of Overearth to. Boy, it's been tough! The first selection was easy, narrow down 105 to just those accepting Middle Grade. Done! The section part was easy too, remove all those who are definitely not accepting fantasy (in particular High fantasy).

After parts one and two were complete, I was left with a list of ten or so Mentors who could have been a fit. So now I've been reading through their blogs, twitter posts, eking out reactions on twitter and just generally trying to find out who loves dragons the most! Ten became 7, became 6 and now, I need to make one final cut. This is the hardest part of all, everyone in my final 6 seems open to fantasy and dragons and so I could be cutting the one Mentor who would have chosen my manuscript!






I will just have to bite the bullet, go with my gut, and many more clichés, hoping that one of the five loves my manuscript as much as some of my beta readers and critique partners!

There are hundreds of other writers out there, competing for spots. So the likelihood of getting one is very low, but I feel like I've now given my manuscript the best possible ass-kicking to ensure it stands the best chance yet of making through the slush. If you're reading this and you're a hopeful mentee... Good Luck! If you're reading this and you're a Mentor... PICK ME!! I promise you, you won't regret it :)

Monday 17th August is the submission date, so I'll be working on finishing touches to openings, query letter and synopsis before then... as well as stalking Mentors on twitter. Here's hoping!

Finally, I thought it would be fine to meet some new folks through PitchWars so I set up a linky bloghop. Enter your blog below and visit the other links. The community works by helping each other out, so pay it forward :)

Can you draw like I write?

Last week, I was thinking about how I can get something done with some of my other pieces of work as a little distraction from my work on AF. It struck me that I have a number of picture books I have written that have no pictures to go with them.

It's a minor problem for a picture book... not having pictures. So I thought, there must be some highly talented artists and illustrators out there who have some pictures with no words to with them. If a picture paints a thousand words, then why has no one painted mine? Probably because I've never asked anyone.

A few beta readers & critique partners have kindly read one or two of my picture books and have given relatively positive feedback. I wonder if there is someone out there, who might read this, who knows someone that sat next to some dude on the bus who's sketching on the back of fag packet and could say, 'Hey! I know this guy who's looking for someone just like you! And not in a romantic sense!'

And here's my proposition.

Dear Illustrators,

I am putting forward one of my picture books for illustration. I'm looking for someone who really gets my writing and can make my words dance and sing across the page. Bring my story to life. If you think it might be you, please get in touch. I am posting below a snippet from one of my rhyming stories that I would love to see some examples or submissions for. What's in it for you? Well if we get on, we can work together, make a book and sell it online. I'll do all the hard graft posting about it every and trying to get recognition. I'll compile the eBooks and paperbooks and set them up for sale on my distribution account.

The joy for me is just to see my stories come to life. And we might... just might... make something out of it.

As the great band ABBA once sang, 'Take a chance on me!' You won't regret it :)

So here is the snippet from my picture book, 'Who's afraid of Monsters?' I'll leave it completely open to your interpretation.

"Sleep well," my dad said as as he turns out the light,
"Tuck yourself in, pull that duvet up tight.
Don't be afraid that the bedbugs might bite,
There's no monster or ghost to go bump in the night.”

For a moment I'm fine, for a moment all's well.
But... Hold on, what's that noise? Was it dad? I can't tell!
Maybe he tripped down the stairs and he fell,
Or it's maybe a monster who gave that stark yell!

A flicker, a glimmer, a whisper of white.
By the door, now the window, it's faster than light!
It's closer, I feel it, but it's just out of sight...
Then gone without warning, not wanting to fight.


So that's it. Do one picture or a small collection, it's your choice. I may get zero submissions, which is fine too. But I truly hope that someone is inspired and wants to make a go of it. Here's to hope and ambition... every writer's fuel for life!

May & June... Where art thou?

Wow... where the @#$% did those months go?!

So, just as I was beginning to get a decent number of hits to my blog (by decent I mean more than 1 or 2) and May & June happen. As an unpublished, aspiring author, two things usually get in the way of raising my profile: Life and Work - not necessarily in that order.

Work has been busy, busy, busy - so much so that hours have been long, travel has been nauseating and my time at home, writing, has been restricted.

Life has also been busy, but in a good way. If I thought raising one child was hard... two is unencroachable (not sure that is a proper adjective but hey, artistic license et cetera). But at the same time it is full of the joys and wonderment of parenthood.

Full of joys and wonderment of parenthood... yes. Conducive to effective writing... No. But I wouldn't change it for the world.

So, just a few months ago, I was hitting all my writing goals and in an almost euphoric place in terms of creativity. The last two months has seen me confined to scribbling ideas on the back of a notebook while riding a train to the airport; typing paragraphs into an iPad (other quality tablets are available) and emailing them to myself so I can retype them into Scrivener; and dreaming up sequences in my head only to forget them when I wake up upon landing in a different country.

But progress has been made. Much progress. Significantly more than I had realised.

My initial push was going to be trying to get the novel published a few months ago, but after a series of rejections, I decided to get some external input (see Plot Changes and Editing), take on the advice and rewrite.

Alexandra Frost & The Dragons of Overearth is now developing into an Epic/High Fantasy split into multi-book format. I was unsure about this at first, but it is really beginning to take shape and the whole first part of the story now has a clear purpose, obstacle and is driving head first into a proper resolution.

My writing pace is picking up; the path is mapped out; and I've conjured up a few more ways to make poor Alex's life more difficult. But she's strong and we know/hope she can pull through!

My new goal is to get the book finished ready for My Editor to go through with a fine-tooth comb so I can submit the book to the upcoming SCBWI Anthology in mid-August.

As my favourite record-breaker host famously said at the end of every show, 'Dedication's what you need, if you want to be the best'. So dedication is there, I think a little blood, sweat and tears is all that's left to give.

I may not be a successful writer... but I am still a writer!

Transformations and Thank you's

When I was growing up, I always envisioned writing as a lonely business. Few writers work in a collaboration - notable from my youth were Margaret Weiss and Tracy Hickman. My picture was of a slightly crazy person, living in isolation, churning out novel after novel. Johnny Depp's portrayal of Mort Rainey in the adaptation of Stephen King's Secret Window, Secret Garden sitting squarely in the forefront of my mind.

When I first began writing properly as a hobby, this view was reinforced in my mind. Living in a small community with few writing groups or resources available, I quite easily could have slipped into the stereotypical role. I wrote on my own. I sent my writings to a few friends who I knew wouldn't laugh in my face. I had a view out of a window that was pleasant but by no means spectacular. Coffee was at hand. I was all set to be the lonely writer.

But the world has changed since the 80's and 90's. Being 8,000 miles away from someone no longer prevents you from collaborating, meeting, speaking and bouncing ideas off each other. In the early 2000's I was blissfully unaware of the various communities available on the Internet. My first discovery was WriteWords, a UK-based writing group. I stayed there for a short while, but very quickly real life took over and writing faded gracefully into my background.

Several years later, my studies complete and family well underway, I re-immersed myself in my writing. I wrote a very poor attempt at a novel and joined a group called Scribophile. Another writing group, allowing writers to critique each other's works. However, to get the most out of the website, a premium account was required - something I feel is fundamentally wrong, charging people for offering each other support.

I decided to seek alternative routes and discovered Twitter. At first I was apprehensive, but in mid-2014 I created my account and started building followers. Soon after arriving I discovered the phenomenon that is pitch contests. The thing that drew me into these contests wasn't the opportunity of getting my novel in front of agents. It was the community that was immediately apparent. A group of humble writers, seeking solace in each other's company through online social media.

Months later and I have built up a following of over 1,000 like-minded, and some not-so-like-minded, followers. But true wonder that has transformed and revitalised my writing ambition was the introduction of Critique Partners and Beta-Readers. Through various pitch contests, I met a group of writers who have now contributed considerably to my learning curve in writing. I'm nowhere near perfect, but I'm a damnsight better than I was nine months ago!

The Internet has transformed the solitary writer into a thriving, buzzing (tweeting) community of authors eager seek each other's opinions, offer praise where it's earned and encouragement where it's needed. I can honestly say, that without this community, I would definitely not be writing today - and would not have properly finished my first novel. Well, I'm not quite there, but almost!

So thank you all! And thank you for reading.

Plot changes and Editing

Having very nearly given up on Alex Frost, I decided on one (or two) last hurrah!'s.

#PitchSlam and #NestPitch - two contests that I thought would be a great opportunity to have one last go on getting noticed and before shelving the project. #PitchSlam was the first catalyst, two more were to follow.

The first phase of #PitchSlam is a critique on a 35-word pitch, provided by 6 of the judges of the competition. The feedback was constructive and led me to rethink a few things. This in turn made me realise something, the structure of the book was such that explaining the plot in few words always confused the reader.

I needed change. I liaised with a couple of my Critique Partners who agreed that the changes seemed positive for the manuscript. I was left with a conundrum: do i start improving the script and pull out of the two competitions or leave it as is and try my luck.

I knew the story needed some fixing up, so I decided to press on with changes and pull out of the competitions.

Changes were written and reviewed and, again, feedback was positive. And then catalysts numbered two and three arrived.

I received glowing feedback from a beta-reader in my target audience (9+ year old readers). After all the rejections, critiques, discussions, negative thoughts, the level of response from a reader in my target bracket brought everything in crystal clarity. This is the person whose imagination I am trying to capture. Who i am trying to bring the joy of reading back into their lives - away from computers, iPads, TV and countless other distractions.

And then, moments later, further strong positive feedback from a beta-reader who has just got through my initial revamp - pre-most recent changes.

Spurred on, I decided that I needed to finish the re-write and get some professional help. In steps freelance editor and literary agent Jessica Schmeidler (The Write Shadow).  Jessica will be working with me on an initial manuscript review to help me polish this story until it more than shines. I will post some more info on my experience with the review process and (if I push on) the editing phase too.

Onwards and Upwards!

The Great Publishing Question

Over the past months I have been engaged in querying various agents in the UK and US with my Middle Grade fantasy, Alex Frost and the Dragons of Overearth. Not with much success, I hasten to add. Every author goes through the struggles of finding an agent, some find their match immediately, others can take longer - one fellow I know on twitter took 6 or 7 years. But now he has one!

Unfortunately, I find myself stuck thinking about AFatDoO (great acronym!) whilst it remains unpublished. I have a few queries outstanding, but given the feedback so far I think it unlikely that it will strike a chord with any of them. I am almost set on publishing, even though it's Middle Grade and difficult to crack the market through a publisher, let alone as a self-published author. But I have one last option before the self-publish button gets pushed.

I recently discovered Inkshares.com, a website that crowd funds books through pre-orders. You pitch your novel, readers review it and pre-order of they like it. If you get enough pre-orders, the book gets published.

I read through the terms, wrote out a project. Deleted it. Wrote it out again, procrastinated a bit more and then, eventually, hit the submit button. Then changed my mind. I've still got lots to think about, many options and lots of writing to do before this book is ready for publishing. It just takes time!

Thanks for your support (if you give it) and thanks for reading if you don't!
Argyle

What's in a name?

I have been thinking for some time about changing the name of Alex Frost: Overearth to something more catchy and descriptive. So here it is...

Alex Frost and the Dragons of Overearth

Hopefully it works and it tells you a lot more about the story!

Here is the current synopsis:

All Alex Frost wants to do is get home without being coated in mudballs by the school bullies... again! But events are already set in motion that ensure mudballs are the least of her worries.

When strange events begin happening around her, Alex's parents reveal to her that they are dragons hiding on Earth from an evil tyrant. When other dragon children begin to disappear, she is sent to a world called Overearth to train in the dragon arts. With the help of an ancient human wizard, Merlin, and her dragon teacher, Erbas, Alex and the other dragon children learn how to shape shift, breath fire, fly and control the elements.

Alex's best human friend, Lilly, visits Overearth during the Christmas holidays. But the sanctuary they are staying at comes under attack and Lilly is snatched in a case of mistaken identity. With her friend's life in danger, Alex disobeys her parents and sets out in an attempt to rescue Lilly. Guided by Erbas, Alex must cross a strange world, battle dark legions and face an ultimate sacrifice in order to save her friend's life. But at what cost to her and all of dragon kind?

I welcome any and all comments!