Pitchapalooza- Ten Tips to Getting Published

((Drew this a while back of a scene that comes up early in JBTM. The words written are not exactly the text on the page but it summarises the mood of the scene. ^_^'' ))

The other day I attended my first Pitchapalooza. An event where aspiring writers gather to pitch their ideas to a pannel of judges who work in the publishing industry (agents, publishers & published authors).I will begin by saying that I walked away from the event discouraged/disheartened and a bit on edge. I will also add that it would have been nice if the adds for the event had a disclaimer stating that depending on the number in attendence there could be a chance not everyone would get to pitch their ideas, but negative thoughts aside the night, though disapointing for me, was certainly an experience and I cannot say I did not walk away with information did not have before.

Next I want to wish the winner of the evening Ms. Suzanne Wells the best of luck in the writing, editing and the publication of her book/memoir.

Now on to the evening!
I'd have to say that there were atleast 130 people in attendance (all aspiring writers). A greater number than what had been estimated by both the pannel and the location where the event was being held. Granted my numbers may be a bit off but when it's standing room only and shelves had to be moved to make room, the number appears about right. I didn't count when things started rolling, but once everyone was signed up we were told only 25 of the lot would be able to give their pitches, so at random names were called (the person right after me being picked >_<) and the night began. There were many ideas from a scratch & sniff kids guide to NYC to novels about heaven, hell and those that fall in between; handling loss; life in general; dieting; alzheimers; poetry; nature guides for kids shown through photographs; abuse; & a fantasy tale as told through the eyes of an imp; but not everyone had the proper pitch and only one could win the night.

So what was it that the judges said that I took away with me?
1) Make your pitch an elevator pitch.
What is an elevator pitch? To my understanding it is a pitch where you can compare or relate your idea to books already on the market while being able to discern your own from the already published.

2) To establish an elevator pitch you must read! Read anything that might have to do with your topic. (I have some work to do with this one >_<)Also do your research and see how you can put a spin on what's already been done.

3) Take advantage of organizations that might have something to do with yourself or what you want to publish. Get your foot in the door to get your writing out there. For example- During the night the judges told those with Alzheimer related books to contact Alzheimer organizations see if they could contribute their stories or poems to share with the community/ web sites. Another example was a young man with Autism who had a great idea for a kids fantasy series, he was told to contact Autism organizations to see if there was anything they could do to assist him.

4) Take advantage of social networking sites. You can market yourself/ your book on/in places such as Youtube, starting off small and working your way to larger productions that will give your idea/book more attention/notoriety. I was a bit surprised the judges gave this suggestion.

5) I was even more surprised to see the judges tell some of the writers that they could/should go the route of self publication (a route being taken by so many these days, a route that I was told some publishers frown upon. Guess that isn't so much the case anymore, hmm?)BUT with a word of caution for those wishing to add illustrations. Be cautious with self publication and art. You may have the best pictures in the world but that doesn't guarantee they will come out the same on the printed page. They said it was best just to get the words printed and worry about the quality of the art for if and when a publisher picks your book up.

6) Never be ashamed of your idea. Stand strong despite opposition to your idea. Example- one of the pitchers came up with an idea that was so unnerving the silence it brought over the room took the speaker aback and brought the pitch into the realm of near apology. There is always an audience out there for something, it may not be a big one but they are there so if you have an idea, run with it.

7) If you write, have a theme. For example- Poems. If you want to publish your poems try to sort them by theme. If you want them all together maybe place themes as chapters if there aren't enough of a single theme to make a full book. Readers can be picky and wouldn't want poems randomly thrown at them.

8) Be mindful of cost.If a publisher sees that your book/idea is going to cost more to produce than people will be willing to pay for it published (such as if there are extra/ special effects like sound, scratch & sniff, pop ups/ outs etc)then a publisher may not be willing to take the chance of producing the book.

9) You might want to write a series of novels but try to end the first as if there will not be another to follow. (I'm a bit torn on this one because of the sheer length of my novel if it isn't split into two separate books)Publishers are wary of starting a new author with a lengthy series because if the first does not do well they won't have the incentive to publish the rest of the series, a bit like in the movie industry, which brings me to

10) Depending on the type of book, write it like it could/ should be made into a movie. Alot of films are based on books these days. (I have considered this many times though there are things I would add to a film that would be out of place, or not included in the books. It's hard to not wonder who would fit the bill of my characters or how certain situations or characters could be represented and what might be omitted if time restraints forced chapters/events to be taken out.)

I hope this info might help another aspiring writer wanting to someday publish. Also, best of luck to everyone present at Pitchapalooza. It was certainly an interesting/ informative event.

Random note- I have never heard the name I gave my main char before and now in the past week I've heard it three times in different places. Not really sure what I should think about that... kinda thought I had just made it up. I suppose this is all for the better, a real name is more relatable, right?

Heh.

Now looking at my page of pitch notes I have to laugh at how nervous I was. The page is in taters from having been folded and unfolded, twisted and crumpled in my shaking hands. I suppose it was for the best I didn't get a chance to voice myself. I was far too nervous and would have rushed my words, not to mention the fact that my pitch did sound a bit too much like another in the respect of it being about a characters journey of self discovery but, dear reader, in case you were curious
this is about what I was going to say: (Each person was only given 60 seconds to voice their novel, so it is indeed a short summary.)

(Note:If I had done an elevator pitch it probably would have involved comparison to Philip Reeve's "No Such Thing as Dragons" - which I have read- or Christopher Paolini's "Eragon", which I have to honestly admit I have not yet read but know through synopsis' found on the web. Again if you look back at number 2, I still have many many books to read, Eragon is on the list. ^_^')

"Growing up in an isolated village led Gaillen to believe that everything he had heard about the world outside was nothing more than fairy tales and stories made up to scare little kids. But when the heat of the summer threatens his people and bandits ravage his ailing home, Gaillen is forced beyond the safety of the mountains and into the tyrannically ruled kingdom of Aisur where he must face his fears of the unknown to survive in a world more fantastic than the tales he had grown up with. Lost and alone, Gaillen is befriended by the bird like people, the Tsubakin; is robbed and rescued by a renegade knight; and has his heart stolen and broken by a crafty young mage. Together with his new comrades, Gaillen unwillingly becomes involved with the secrets of Aisur and finds that his once sheltered life will never be the same."
"Journey Beyond the Mountains" is/will be a young adult fantasy/fiction novel (series).


12/10- Edit- Just to note there had been 250 people in attendance and only 20 of the lot got a chance to pitch.

Standards...?

((Another look at the JBTM Cast. I'm still trying to figure out my style and though this still doesn't represent the cast as I see them in my minds eye, its better than what I had before. Yet I didn't mind so much representing them with animals. Perhaps those images shall make their way here at some point in time. ))

This post is going to be more about my art than my writing. At present I'm on ch 23 and the editing is just crawling along, inch by sluggish inch, until I feel it's right to pass on. Alot is being changed with the characters and their interactions, but I feel great attention must be payed to this chapter since the two featured do become important. Spoiler? Perhaps.

But on to more pressing matters. Recently I was offered the opportunity to draw up some comic strips for another web blog (rant blog as it may be)since it's author claims to have lacking abilities in the scribble dept. At first I was excited. Someone actually liked my art enough to ask me to draw for them! So in returned I asked for a few scripts and waited patiently until they arrived with roughly, stick figure drawn story boards. What I received however was not quite what I was expecting. While I understand that everyone is entitled to their opinions, I was taken aback by some of the articles I was given. While some were "cute" others were to my opinion, somewhat offensive or lacking in tact.

Now when I used to take acting classes I was always told there is no such thing as bad publicity. That even if you do wrong, it will gain you attention you would have never gotten otherwise, and okay... this is for acting but it sort of does apply here, if'n you recall that untimely printed comic for Garfield back on Vets day. That got some good hits on the Internet because alot of people wanted to know what the hubbub was about, but I digress. As much as I appreciate the offer I don't feel I can take the opportunity. As much as I would like to get myself out there and have my drawing/writing/what have you, seen I don't feel right about it. I want to find my way through good, not controversial means and though I could possibly do one or two of the "cuter" comics I don't think that could be part of the plan, even if I put a disclaimer stating the opinions drawn are not my beliefs.

No, for now I think I will stick with my novels and story illustrations, keeping with ideas I can agree with rather than ones I have to struggle to stomach. Even though I may/will eventually have to touch upon controversy with character development, those are just characters and they are not alone. There will be those my readers can agree with and those they cannot, and they can read into it all they want but they will know it is all just part of the story. They can choose their sides and question whose I am on, but that is all part of the fun of reading, isn't it?

I ask you dear readers. What would you do?

T-Nooler now Twitter Accessable!

Hope everyone who celebrates it had a Happy Halloween! And those who don't well... I hope you get the chance to go out and get yourself a pumpkin and some yummy candy. Above is a pic I doodled of the JBTM crew dressed up as the characters from Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, one of my favorite animes, for Halloween. Just so ya'll can get an idea of who makes up the main cast and what their personalities are... sort of like... (Eli is a little more modest than Yuko and Dru at first is alot quieter and seemingly grumpier than Kamina... but that will change... hopefully.) So enjoy and while I'm up to adding new surprises, you can now follow me on Twitter! Granted I will only be able to tweet after work hours (9 pm or later- accursed long hour days) but I generally don't have a whole lot to say to begin with and I feel it is a better way to update with how my editing is going than waiting for me to find a topic to post here, right?

heh ^_^'

Well have a nice first of November everyone. Turkey day is lurking just around the corner.

Dialogue Debate

(Just getting in the Halloween spirit. Took this photo while visiting my brother in T.N. when we went to the Union Station Hotel.)

So I may have a bit of a setback. While editing today I noticed something off about the little icon that tells you how much battery you have left on your comp. It was loosing power faster than normal and when I plugged it in, it seems to have gotten stuck at 88%. Might just be a bad outlet but I'll have to monitor it. Just when I get my art computer back my writing computer starts to die... what's up with that? If it does turn out to be something with the battery (hope this has nothing to do with having kept it plugged in during the storm we had last night) I'll have less time to edit the novel since I can't tote around my art computer... and I was making such progress -_-

Now on to today's topic. Dialogue.

Dialogue can play a key part in character development and dynamic. Even if a character cannot speak they still have inner thought which can reflect on actions that have or have not occurred and the words they cannot speak may provoke the voices of others. I guess a good example of that would be found in the web comic Strays by Samantha Whitten & Stacey Pefferkorn. (I do suggest you stop by, its a great story with amazing art.)

In my novel I had a lot of scenes driven by dialogue which illustrated the clashing personalities of my two main characters but as one character changed the dynamic also changed, removing the necessity of many of their conversations. While I found many of these conversations witty and comical if not provocative, I now find that while I still do like the scripting and wish to keep the ideas, I just can't find a place for them anymore. None the less I hold on to the bits long enough to see if there is any chance for them as I cut down the chapters, eventually finding the strength to just let them go so the chapter can run smoother and the scene gets to the point faster. It does bug me a little when things tend to get to the point too fast, for example- the characters enter a town and less than five minutes in they encounter the antagonist and action ensues right after an eventful... event, an example being the film "Clash of the Titans" 2010 version where it was action after action with little pause and time to develop characters and their relationships with both their teams and the villains, but some people like that, getting bored of a story too soon when there is down time, and some publishers like that to for the same reason. But really that is up to you. There will always be readers out there who will love your writing and those who don't for one reason or another. Never let that deter you. You write for the love of writing, your story and your characters. Your audience comes second because everyone is different, everyone has their own tastes. Let them have the challenge of finding that book and earning the rewards of discovering their heart through the world that lies beyond the cover.

Just some thoughts.

Now dare I risk turning on my editing computer to do a little more editing?

Maybe

AH! and I just added a header to the Blog. Small portion of a larger image from the cover for JBtM before the book was split. Dunno if I will be keeping this but it's better than what had been there. Enjoy!

The Pixar Challenge

(This bluejay looks like a plush toy >_< I guess my office is right on their migration route because there is a whole mob of these guys hanging out in the trees of our parking lot. They are really smart and enjoy tossing acorns at our cars)

Man er... computer down!

My computer has died so there may not be any updates for a while. Already spoke to HP and am now awaiting their box so I can ship it back for repairs. Until then enjoy the doodle and remember... dragons and computers don't mix.

~_^ the dragon is a character from my novel btw.

Chocolate Croissants & Pink Dresses

(This image was the original concept design for the JBTM cover sleeve- however due to the change in the story I am rethinking a new cover and may save this for book 2 of volume 1- there is an incomplete computer colored version as well of just the front half. I may post that at some point as well.)

Today I went to a book signing for Cornelia Funke's new novel "Reckless" and I must say the Ms. Funke is so far the author I can most relate to. Originally an illustrator for children's stories she decided to write to give more depth to the ideas she had been illustrating. Luckily for her however, she found it easier to get published than I am. None the less writing never comes easy and sometimes you just have to keep editing (for example "14 times" for a single chapter).

Ms. Funke along with her co-author (and film producer) Lionel Wigram read part of chapter 1 of the novel (which has plans for a trilogy), talked about their collaboration in writing it and answered audience questions. Then came the signing.

Ms. Funke was a very lovely woman and Mr. Wigram, well to be honest he didn't talk much, but his smile showed warmth and when Ms. Funke read he closed his eyes and you could tell he was being brought back to that place they had met many times in coming up with their tale.

There may have been roughly 25 people/kids there for the signing which was kind of sad but it was made up for by their love of her books, especially the woman in the pink (hot pink... or maybe it was salmon) colored dress. A teacher for the fifth grade and a woman very passionate about reading and writing. Her favorite teaching tool was/is The InkWorld series, especially because of the quotes at the beginning of every chapter from other novels written by other authors. She compared herself to Aunt Elinor because she just loved books and loved to collect them.
I seriously wish I had a teacher like her when I was in school. I really do.

So here is to Ms. Funke, Mr. Wigram, Ms. Funke's Publisher (who made the signing despite canceled flights from Germany) and the teacher. Thank you and best of luck in the future for all and all they do.

PS- While waiting for the signing to begin I got a good chapter and a half edited before getting stuck with the changes I've made... and a dead battery. If only I was lucky enough to have some one to bounce my ideas off of like Ms. Funke was with Mr. Wigram.

Working on it

(The image above is supposed to be an animated .Gif from the anime Chi's Sweet Home- not sure if its going to animate but it's still cute)

I've found with the split of Book 1 there is a lot more I want to explore in the world I have created that I never had a chance to before. The problem with that is the fact that with all this new material Volume 1 of Book 1 is going to be as long as it was before the split of volumes. I don't have a problem with that... The publishers on the other hand *sigh*
None the less I am making progress, not the kind I wish I was making but when you work 12 hours a day, it's the best one can do, aye?

Now you might wonder why I decided to write.
Truth be told I never really planned to be a writer. I liked to make up stories when I was little but they were just stories to pass the time. Now I wish I had kept all the things I had written because I would love to revisit those ideas. I still have some old character drawings I made for them but I can't really recall the plot or characteristics of the main characters, just the setting and who was good and who was not.
My true heart was in other things. If I remember correctly I wanted to be a reporter when I was little. I loved to know everything and tell everyone what was going on, despite the fact I was usually the last to know anything. My dream died when a teacher, rather than approve the idea, shot down my dream, telling me to keep dreaming- it would never happen.
So from there I wanted to do something with music but again when I didn't seem to be making the same improvements as other students I was told I had no future in music. Later years a choir teacher would give me the same impression when he had no choice but to give me a solo and purposely gave me a broken Mic so another student could save the day.
Acting was another big thing for me but I'll just leave it as- as much as I love to act and as much as I would love to be in the film industry, I don't have what it takes. I'm not Hollywood material.

I spent one semester at a private university for art before coming back home. Disillusioned, I spent winter break trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life (honestly I still don't know the answer and at times it can really hurt) and it was then that I saw a movie that inspired my novel. It was a fantasy film based on a book and it was horrid. Sitting there, unable to walk out, I pondered about how I could do better, how I could write a better script. So when I got home I sat down and started to write.

The problem there was the fact I don't know how to write a script/ screenplay so what started as a rough storyboard for something bigger, became a novel- written with love, sweat and tears.
I managed to get 15 pages out before transfering to another university (and then a third) where I would jot down ideas during class and organize them for when I had the time to sort them out, which was not until after I graduated.

JBTM is still a work in progress but I've never been prouder of something I've done and I hope someday to share it and inspire others in some way.

I have other story ideas waiting in the wings as well, one of which was planned to be a web comic but that too, I believe, will be saved for the written word and the imagination of the readers.

Book Signings

The main theme of this blog is going to have to deal with writing, books and their authors. Sometimes maybe even movies.

As written in the last post- I would like to think of myself as a writer and presently the novel I am working on is in the editing process. I tried to submit the original script to a Lit agency and upon getting no response I came to realise that my story still needs some work. What was originally 600 pages and 90 (about) chapters has been now cut down into two volumes, their page count and chapter amount is changing as we speak.
For now that is all I will say about my work. Now it is time to talk about others.

I have been to (two) book signings in my life so far.
The first was for Rick Riordan- for the Percy Jackson Series. He was a really nice guy and the reception was amazing. Kids just loved him and his books. His fans were also very nice and I made a friend while waiting online. There he gave us all some advice about how to be a writer. It really doesn't take much at all. Just love the written and spoken word. Always read, and write down your thoughts. I thank him for his time and signature and congratulate him on his success. Best of luck in the future sir.

The next was this evening for Suzanne Collins- the Hunger Games series. I've just started the series and I'm enjoying the first book greatly. To be honest I had never heard of the series before and only happened to stumble on them by accident when I was looking for something new to read at market. I'm glad I did. None the less, the crowd was great (though I'm surprised at how young most of the readers were), everyone seemed so excited to meet her and she surprised us all when she read an excerpt from the first chapter of "Mockingjay". She looked so happy to see such a reception and grateful for it. My thoughts to Ms. Collins are thank you. I can't wait to read more and I hope your hand gets better. Congratulations and best of luck in the future.

I hope someday to have such great fortune in having that many people not only read my stories but to enjoy them. I would very much like to make people smile and feel excited to read.

Now those were two positive book signings. I bring you fair reader down to earth with how not all writers are fortunate. I went to a book store while I was still in university and saw there was a gentleman standing behind a desk with a pile of books. He was alone and looking very despondent. I later learned as I scoured the store for a good read that he was there for his own book signing. He had been there for three hours and not a single person had paid him any attention. If that was not bad enough, they stationed him right by the main entrance where he was passed by many and ignored by all.

I fear that is how I may be received, but I will try to be optimistic that someone out there will like my story just as much as I do.

Thank you and until next time - Keep reading!