Tales and thoughts from the coal face of writing and life from Scottish crime writer Jennifer Lee Thomson.
Tuesday 25 September 2012
Tuesday 11 September 2012
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.
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.
Friday 7 September 2012
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.
Thursday 6 September 2012
Things I wish they’d told me about being a writer
1-You will see the
world in a way that others will find extremely disturbing. To others an ice
pick is for breaking up ice, to me, it's a potential weapon for my main
character in Hell to Pay to use on the most vulnerable part of her
attacker's anatomy.
Sadly, I don't earn as much as this guy. I wish. |
2-Non-writers think
you earn way much more than you do. That you're in Stephen King's league and if
you're not they think your writing can't be that good. Well, it's easy to make
money writing. No, sadly it's not.
3-When you try and
build a platform for yourself to promote your work, you may attract unwanted
attention. See Sinister side of Facebook post.
4-You'll have a
deathly pale pallor from all those hours sitting in the near dark, crouched
over a laptop/scribbling away. People will keep saying, 'Are you ill?'
5-You'll develop a
belly from all that sitting down writing. There's no time for exercise unless
it involves walking the dog. Well, he listens to you outlining possible plots
(with his ears plugging up his lug holed).
6-People will think
you're being rude when you don't acknowledge them, when you're really
preoccupied with working out how your character can get away with killing
someone.
Monday 27 August 2012
The sinister side of Facebook
A few months ago, I set up a
page for my bullying book, Bullying A Parent's Guide, on Facebook. I did this
for two reasons - to help promote the book and two, to stimulate debate about
bullying, a subject I feel very passionate about.
I was not prepared for what
happened next.
The page started well, with
people who had been bullied as I had (that's what inspired me to write a book I
really felt would help those being bullied and their families) telling their
stories. I thought, 'great, this is why I set up the page.'
Then someone who was a
stranger to me, posted about their child being bullied and adults who could and
should have helped not helping. Of course, I was sympathetic. I left the post
up, as they'd named no names. If they had, it would have been deleted.
There's some creepy people on Facebook |
Then all the craziness
started. Another person I didn't know
posted and complained about me not deleting the first comment, saying it was
aimed at them, which meant they'd named themselves. I ignored it. The person
who wrote the first comment had named no names, as far as I was concerned it
was a legitimate comment.
The complainer then sent me
an aggressive message demanding I take down the comment. I politely told them
the person who'd written the comment had named no names, that they'd done it
themselves. They could delete their own comment, if they wished.
Then the personal and public
slagging match between these two people began with the complainer doing most of
it. ON MY PAGE In exasperation, I deleted the comments and blocked the two
people. This was difficult to do as from what I could tell the complainer had
four different aliases/made up names. At least. I'd block one then more
bullying/aggressive messages/comments would turn up.
The last came yesterday,
demanding that I block someone from the page (this person was a friend and one
of the nicest people I know), despite the fact, they'd done nothing wrong. I
deleted the message, as I will with any other nasty messages I get from them.
I've now been forced to ban
people who are not friends from posting, because this person's aliases keep
turning up, again with comments aimed at an individual who’s child was bullied.
What have I learnt from this
whole episode?
Note - this is an
abbreviated version of what's been going on, as it would take too long to go
through it step by step, not to mention bore the pants of you:)
Tips for posting on Facebook
Don't post anything you
wouldn't happily let anyone read. If you do, delete it as soon as you can.
Don't leave it and bitch about it as though it's someone else's fault YOU
posted it.
Don't harass a writer on FB
or you may find your way into their next book. The last person who annoyed me,
was eaten by his own dogs.
Maybe this is why I write revenge fiction like Hell to Pay and How Kirsty Gets Her Kicks, because in my books the creeps always get their comeuppance.
Wednesday 15 August 2012
Hell to Pay Publication (cue, happy dance:)
If you see this logo, it's a sassy book. |
I'm delighted to have signed a contract with Sassy Books today for my revenge thriller Hell to Pay.
Here's a taster of what to expect -
Nancy Kerr refuses to be a victim. She walks in on her parents’ killers and is violently raped and left for dead. Fourteen months later, she wakes up in a psychiatric hospital with no knowledge of how she got there. Slowly her memory starts to return.
Released from the institution, she has just one thing on her mind – revenge.
Two men brought hell to her family home. Now they’re in for some hell of their own.
If I had to describe this brand of fiction, I'd call ir Die Hard for Girls. The novel's aimed at those of us who like our heroines sassy and kick ass.
Hell to Pay will be published in 2013.
Monday 6 August 2012
www.con – 4 ways to spot a vanity publisher
Don't get your pocket picked by a vanity publisher |
1. Their email address is a free one like a yahoo or gmail account.
Reasoning - a legitimate company should own their domain name i.e. JMcNumpty@welovetopublishgreatbooks.com
2. There's no phone number or when you call, it rings out and nobody answers it.
Reasoning - reputable companies will always have a phone number you can call, so you can ask them questions. Those that don't aren't to be trusted.
3. They'll mention money. You giving them money. This may be for things like 'photocopying fees,' or 'administration fees.' They may also ask for a 'reading fee.'
Reasoning - Genuine publishers don't ask you for money. Vanity publishers do.
4. They'll say they welcome all submissions and there seems to be no restrictions on what they 'publish.'
Reasoning - Genuine publishers are very picky about what they publish. They have to be to invest their time and money in a particular book.
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