What's luck got to do with it?

 

The other day, I discovered I hadn't even been shortlisted in a novel writing competition I'd hoped to win. But, I shouldn't have been surprised.

This isn't the real lilac pen. I'm too superstitious to take a picture of it.

You see, when I recorded my entry in my diary, I didn't write it in my lucky lilac pen.

Let me tell you a little bit about my pen.

Every time I've written things down using that pen I've been lucky.

Lucky strike.1 - A publisher asks to see more of one of my novels.

Lucky strike.2 - Two days after sending my revenge novella Hell To Pay to Sassy Books, I sign a contract. The book will be out in 2013.

Lucky strike.3 - I noted the details of an idea for an article I sent to an editor. I got the commission.

Writers and their superstitions, eh?

I know I'm not the only one who's very superstitious when it comes to my writing. I have a friend who writes in longhand. Whenever he makes a mistake he scrunches up the paper and throws it in the bin then starts again.

Extreme? Maybe. But, we all have our ways.

Now, where's that lucky pen?

Commissioning Artwork on a Budget by KeriLynn Engel

I'm delighted to welcome KeriLynn Engel to my blog.

 

In these days of self-publishing, finding someone to do the cover for your book can be a nightmare. That's why KeriLynn's fantastic piece is so topical.

Commissioning Artwork on a Budget

It can often be true that when buying a creative service, you get what you pay for.

An experienced professional who makes a living off their artwork is necessarily going to charge you more than a college student trying to make some cash on the side, and you’re more likely to have a smoother experience and more polished product from the experienced professional than from a part-time noob.

Still, as a writer, you know that countless factors go into determining a price for creative work. Just because someone is “cheap” doesn’t mean their work will be. It could just be they don’t need to make a living from their artwork and enjoy making affordable pieces for people on a budget! You never know.

There are ways to purchase creative services within your budget without sacrificing quality. It might require a little more work on your end, or a willingness to be a bit more flexible, but it definitely can be done.

If you think you’re stuck searching through endless pages of cheap stock photography looking for a model who’s “close enough” to the character you’ve envisioned so clearly in your mind for years, because you’re on too tight a budget to ever afford artwork commissioned just for you — that’s just not true.

I’m going to share with you a few tricks on using the magical power of the interwebs to find artists who will be willing to work with you within your budget to produce custom art you’ll love.

Budgeting & Payment

Firstly, you must have a clear idea of how much you’re able to spend on your art.

Some artists have their prices posted, and with your budget in mind, you’ll know right off the bat whether you can afford them. For the ones that don’t have prices posted, you can tell them exactly how much you’re able to spend. Then they can let you know whether or not they can work with you within your budget.

It might help to set up a savings account specifically for this purpose (or just for your book budget in general). I use Mint.com for my finances, and they have a feature where you can set up savings goals for specific purposes. It lets you input a target date and amount, and lets you know what you need to do to get there. (I’m not an affiliate, I just really like Mint!)

Most artists accept payment via Paypal. The generally accepted practice is to put down a deposit or the entire payment upfront.

What if you fall in love with an artist outside your budget?

If they’re not TOO much outside your budget,  I would still contact them. Tell them how much you love their work, and be upfront about exactly what your budget is. Let them know you don’t expect a discount for no reason, but you want to know if there’s any way they can work with you. They might consider bartering services for part of the cost, or come up with other ways to accomodate you. Some artists might be insulted at this, but I think it’s worth at least asking as long as you make it clear that you respect their work and time.


Finding an artist

Etsy

Etsy is known for having lots of sellers with handmade crafts, from the mundane (scarves, jewelry, purses, notecards), to the bizarre (check out Regretsy.com for a laugh... some posts are NSFW).

It may surprise you to find out that Etsy has tons of artists and designers on it as well. Some sellers specialize in custom work like painting pet portraits from your photographs, or creating custom digital clip art or even logos.

Etsy used to have a feature called “Alchemy” where you could post a request for a custom item. Unfortunately, they discontinued Alchemy in February 2011, supposedly to revamp it, but there haven’t been any updates yet that I could find. Instead, they encourage you to find an artist you like and contact (“convo” in Etsy lingo) them to request an item.

Searching for an artist on Etsy

Etsy has a tag system for items — it works like tags for blog posts. Sellers can tag their items with any number of keywords, which makes it easier to search for them.

When searching for potential artists for your custom work, you could try searching for “custom art”, but then again you’re limiting yourself to artists who have done custom items in the past, or who have custom items posted. What if there’s an artist out there that perfect for you, but hasn’t done any custom work on Etsy yet?

Instead, try searching for the specific style you’re looking for. Some keywords to consider might be:

1. Oil painting
2. Character illustration
3. Digital art
4. Abstract painting
5. Steampunk art (or whatever genre you write in)
6. Romantic portrait
7. Paper art

Here’s a really cool piece of art I found with the last search: 2 ORIGINAL ARTWORKS Mr & Mrs Giraffe posing- Mixed Media, Hand Painted on 1922 Parisien Magazine 'La Petit Illustration' by Coco De Paris.

On the right side of the page, you can click on the artist’s shop name to see their storefront. Here you can read about them and see if they mention anything about custom work. This artist does paintings and illustrations over antique paper- love it! Doesn’t say anything about custom work, but you can always contact the artist using the “Contact” link on the left. Even if an artist has never thought about doing custom work before, they may be flattered you ask and excited about the prospect, so give it a shot!

deviantART

Deviantart is a more well-known source for commissioning artwork.

It’s easy to browse or search through artists right from the front page. You can use the search bar on the top if you’re looking for something specific, or choose from categories on the left such as Digital Art or Traditional Art. In each broad category there are tons of subcategories, so it’s easy to get as specific as you’d like. You can sort your results by “Popular” or “Newest”.

Once you find a piece you like, view the artist’s page by clicking on the “More from [artist]” link on the right. From here, you can view their entire gallery of artwork. Contact the artist using the “Send a Note” link on the top-right (you’ll have to login first).

Sometimes the artist will say on their profile page that they do commissions. If not, don’t be afraid to contact them anyway and ask if they would be interested in doing a commissioned piece. You never know, they may have never thought about it before, or are dreaming about making money from their art but just don’t know how to get started! You might be the first one to make their dream come true =)

Other Sources

Even if you’re not quite ready to commission your artwork yet, or are still not 100% sure what you want, it helps to keep your eyes open for artists you like. You never know where you might come across the perfect one!

“I found out about Sarah Ellerton from her web comics. My boyfriend was the one who pointed out that she opened for commissions a few months ago, and when I saw her style, I knew it would be perfect for the book cover.” N. M. Martinez, author of Ruin

“I found the artist that I'm working with Lisa Falzon via an incoming link to my blog. I'd never heard of her before (sorry Lisa if you read this) but followed the link back to a post on another blog where she said in an interview that my blog was one of her favourites. I had a look at her art work after that and was hooked! I also immediately knew that she would be the perfect person to illustrate the cover of my upcoming book.”
Madame Guillotine, author of The Secret Diary of a Princess: a novel of Marie Antoinette

Advice from other writers
“My budget is about nil as I'm a housewife and mother, who fundamentally lives off my husband. However, I knew that having a good cover can really make a book POP and capture attention so was prepared to forgo a few shopping trips to make it happen. It's definitely something that should be done properly so I was prepared to save up and make some sacrifices for it!

“I think my main advice is that covers are very important and definitely worth doing as well as possible. I was lucky in that I found the perfect artist quite by chance, but if I hadn't then I would have asked around friends until I found someone who was right for the commission.”
~ Mme Guillotine http://twitter.com/MmeGuillotine

“Know how much you can spend. Make sure that you are very clear with the artist what you are going to do with it and what you want it for. Most of the time the prices artists list on their websites are for personal use only, not commercial use, but you can still get an idea of how much they charge from seeing the pricing on their work.

“Start a DA account and follow artists you think are interesting. I find DA a great place to find artists who do commissions, and it's easy to note them and ask more questions.
Also, pay attention to lesser known artists. Don't be afraid to approach an artist who doesn't have commissions listed. If you know what you want, be clear with the artist and ask if they'd do it for you. Maybe they won't, but maybe they've never thought about it because no one's ever asked them before.” ~ N. M. Martinez, author of Ruin
http://twitter.com/loudquietgirl
http://loudquietgirl.wordpress.com/

~~~~~~~~~~~~
Your turn

Have you ever commissioned artwork before?
How did you find the artist? What was the process like, and what advice would you give to others?

About the Author
KeriLynn Engel is a writer, artist, knitter, and crazy cat lady with too many hobbies. She blogs about all the kick-ass women the history books left out at Amazing Women In History, and will be using the advice in this post for her upcoming book based on her blog. Follow her on twitter as @womeninhistory!

The Lady Astronomer by Katy O'Dowd

My good friend Katy O'Dowd, who works harder than anyone I know, has a book out.

Called The Lady Astronomer, the YA steampunk book is available in the UK and USA.

Here's the blurb from the publisher Untold Press -

"Lucretia's quiet life as an astronomer and hat-maker is quickly turned on its head by her brother. He is commanded by the king to build the grandest telescope in the land. Unfortunately for Lucretia, she is introduced to his majesty as her brother's assistant. Her nights spent on rooftops gazing at the stars are replaced by adventure and danger. In a race to build the Forty-foot telescope on time for the king, her misfortunes take their toll. When Lucretia finds herself held hostage at the Clockwork Court, the innocent country girl doesn't know who to trust. The lady astronomer finds court life to be more dangerous than she could have ever imagined. Even if her brothers manage to build the telescope on time, she might not live to earn her freedom.
With the help of her brothers, Freddie and Al, and her constant companions Leibniz the Lemur and Orion the Eagle Owl, Lucretia embarks on a journey that could change her life forever. Can she find the strength inside to balance her new life and overcome the obstacles threatening her destiny? Only the stars will tell."

To find out more about the lovely Katy click here to go to her web page.

 

The good, bad and the ugly of social networking

These days, it's banged into writers that they need to get stuck into social networking, but it can be a minefield. And it can kill your writing.

Here are the things I've learnt -

 

The Good

The internet makes the world seem a smaller place. You get to meet people you might not otherwise meet (in the cyber world at least). It's a great place to meet other writers.

Through social networking, I've discovered markets (and competitions) for writers that I wouldn't have otherwise known about. Not just in the UK, but worldwide. This increases opportunities for writers. Now thanks to epublishing you don't need to live in say Australia to be published there.

As long as you set time limits, you don't need to spend hours on social networking. Twitter for instance can take no time at all and you can tweet when you're waiting at a bus stop.

You can join forces with another writer to write a book.

The Bad

Most people you meet on Facebook and Twitter are lovely, but there are some disturbed people out there. You may find yourself being cyber stalked.

Social networking eats into your writing time, big time. Sometimes you just have to pull the plug on your computer.

Having a presence on Facebook, Twitter and other sites can help you raise your profile, but I'm not sure it helps sell books. A blog - in my opinion and a website - is far more effective.

Sites talk big about all the precautions they take to stop bullying and harrassment, but often they are useless when you are targetted.

The downright ugly

There are trolls, or as I like to call them trawls because they trawl sites, especially Facebook and they deliberately set out to upset people.

For example, if you post something about racism they'll post a racist comment or say that black people are too overly sensitive about being called the n word. Note - this is a real example.

There are some seriously weird people online. Old men posting comments on sites aimed at kids. If that's not a paedophile alert I don't know what is. People paid by companies to post comments, who often don't even hide the fact.


Bullying A Parent's Guide is now out in Kindle in the USA and in the UK. Priced at £3.99.

Bullying A Parent's Guide Now out on Kindle

When I wrote Bullying A Parent's Guide, I wanted the book to be available to as many people as possible because I genuinely believed I wrote a book that would help bullied children and their parents.

So, I'm delighted to announce that the book is now available on Kindle in the UK, priced £3.99.

Royalties v flat fee

Today, I was asked by a writer friend, who'd been offered the choice of a percentage of royalties or a flat fee for his book what he should do.

So far I've had six books published, all a mixture of advance and royalties and just flat fees.

 

Flat fee

The book that has sold the most copies, took 2 weeks to write, but was my own concept. It has sold in the tens of thousands and is still in print over a decade later and still selling.

I was paid one thousand pounds to write it and it's made the publishers many times that amount.

There are days when I regret not pushing more for royalties (the publisher commission most of their books on a flat fee basis), but I estimate that in total, including the fee, I've made three thousand pounds from this book. This extra two grand came from articles I sold to magazines and newspapers on the back of the book.

Royalties

I was paid an advance of 500 pounds for my second book and given royalties. The book took months to write and was very stressful. The topic gave me nightmares.

So far, I estimate I have made round about 4 thousand pounds from the book. I've had to do a lot to promote it and a huge chunk of that money has come from the PLR and ALCS.

Without that money the reward for so much work would be an insult. Well, at an income of four thousand, I estimate I made less than a pound an hour. Only a writer would work for that!

So, what would my advice be -

If you want a guaranteed fee, opt for the flat fee. But, only if it's FAIR.

I would still always try and get royalties and an advance. Your book might sell well, like my flat fee one did. But, remember, with royalties you will be relying on the publisher to actually sell your book. Of course, you need to be proactive there too.

 

 

 

 

Great things about being a writer

 

One of my books, Living Cruelty Free at the Frankfurt Book Fair

Okay, I hold my hands up. There has been some complaining of late from me about how tough it is to be a writer with publishers giving your books away free without telling you and creepy people cyber stalking you.

So, I reckoned it was about time to look at the good stuff.

1. You can look up any website and claim its research. Last night I searched for 'how to kill someone and get away with it.' If the police think I'm up to something, I have a ready-made excuse, 'I'm writing a book' even if I am plotting murder:) Only kidding.

2. You get to develop multiple personalities without ending up on medication.

3. You can sit doing nothing for ages and still say you're working. Well, you can't expect those plot knots to unknot themselves.

4. If you're life is depressing you can create a better one. Become a character you’ve created. Immerse yourself in it. Live in it.

5. You can get revenge on anyone you like by having something awful happen to them in your book, and there's not a thing you can do about it. A dentist who was horrible to me, was eaten by his dogs, penis and all. I did change his name.

6. You will never be alone. You have all those characters to keep you company.

7. You can change the world; mould it into whatever you want. Create happy endings. Make sure the bad guys (or girls) get their comeuppance. Things you don’t get to do in real life.

8. There is no better feeling that a parcel coming containing the books you have lovingly crafted.