R. L. Stedman

Writer

Publishing

How to Get Published

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How to Get Published –

How to Get Published

So you’ve got a story you’re aching to share?  Here’s a step by step guide to getting published.

This is the fifth post in a series called Options for Publishing. This series is based on a talk I did recently in Taranaki.

Before reading this post, I suggest you go back and read the other posts in this series, as they tie together. Here’s the links:

This is a long post; you can download the PDF here.

Here are the slides from the talk:

 

How to Get Published:

1. Write

Keep a journal, a diary or a blog. Write poetry. The more writing you do the better. Think of it like fitness training; you don’t build a muscle without exercising it.

2.  Read a lot

Read books from diverse genres. Read classic books, read contemporary novels. I prefer reading books that are ten + years old more than the latest blockbusters, because I find time sifts out a lot of dross. However, I know that’s not always the best idea if you’re trying to work out what the market wants, and writing styles are constantly evolving. But you can NOT write well if you do not read. Period.

3. Write for free

Writing for a wider audience is good discipline, and helps you to get used to criticism aka “feedback“. I edited a professional magazine; it taught me about deadlines, formatting and word redundancy. School or universities generally have magazines and often welcome contributors. If you’re in a community or church group you could either start or contribute to a magazine or blog.

4. Training

Doing a writing course is not essential, but it does help. There’s nothing like intensive tuition to improve the craft of writing. Personally, I wouldn’t suggest spending enormous amounts of money or time. Gaining a Masters in Creative Writing is expensive and may not be any more beneficial than say a twelve-week course at a polytechnic. I prefer face-to-face to online, but there’s nothing right or wrong. Just make sure you participate. You won’t learn if you do not do.

5. Develop networks

Often in this world it’s not WHAT you know, it’s WHO you know. Talk to other writers. Join professional societies, like the New Zealand Society of Authors. Attend meetings. Read the magazines. Interact in forums. Talk to writers on twitter. Be helpful. Only one rule: Don’t be a dick.

If you write romance, or novels with a romantic theme I strongly recommend joining your national Romance Writers Association. RWAs are generally very commercially savvy and they’re highly internationally networked.

6. Go to conferences

In New Zealand there are very few writing conferences, alas, but if you’re in the States it’s a lot easier. Reason for conferences: you meet other writers (networking), you can have lessons in craft (training) and most usefully of all: you can often do cold reads or pitch agents/publishers. This can short-cut a lot of slush piles.

7. Submit to competitions

This was my break. Competitions are frequently listed in the forums of various professional organisations, and you’ll find more online. I suggest the smaller comps, as anything with thousands of entries are almost a lottery. But with some of the smaller ones, like the RWA ones, (another reason for joining), you’ll get feedback from the judges, and if you’re shortlisted, you may get your manuscript read by an agent or publisher.

8. Publish your own

The last four posts are my explanation of why this isn’t as crazy as it seems! There are pluses and minuses to publishing your own work, just as there are to using a publisher. These days, it’s more about understanding your options than recommending one particular path.

But whether or not you use a publisher to reach your audience, or you do it yourself, I would still follow steps 1 – 7 above.

How to Get Published

How to Submit to Agents/Publishers

If you decide that you don’t want the hassle of publishing your own work, then you’ll probably need someone to publish for you. Generally this involves an agent or a publisher. This is the classical approach, and until 2010 (ish) it was pretty much the only way to get your book published.

Warning: This can take a long, long time.

1. Write your book

2. Find out who the publishers and agents are that might be interested. You want to know who’s looking for new writers, what kind of work they want (no point in sending erotica to a children’s publisher, for example!), what format they want you to submit in. FOLLOW THIS!  Generally, this information will be on their websites.

Here’s what to do:

3. Make a list of who’s looking in your genre.

Be strategic – don’t submit to everyone at once. I’d start with 5 established agents with a great track record and 5 new ones who are hungry. Follow their submission instructions (have I said this before?!).

4. Send your submissions

  • Submissions generally consist of a query letter, a brief synopsis and, if requested, the first three chapters. This may vary, so again: check.
  • General rule of thumb seems to be that simultaneous submissions are okay to agents (that is, you it seems acceptable for you to submit to more than one agent at a time), but a definite no-no to publishers. If you are submitting to multiple agents at a time, I would let them know this; at the very least, it’s polite.
  • Here’s instructions on query letters and Marissa Meyer’s really good blog post on synopsis writing.
  • If an agent likes your work you’ll generally hear reasonably quickly. Publishers seem to take longer.
  • I allow 4 -6 weeks for an agent, and then I follow-up with an email.  If I still don’t hear anything I follow-up with another email advising I’m sending elsewhere. If you’ve submitted to a publisher you may  not hear anything for 4 – 6 months. Longer than that, and I usually send an email.
  • If you don’t get a good response to just a query submission, it might pay to rework your query letter.
  • Keep a spreadsheet of who you’ve submitted to, the date and the outcome.
  • Try not to get depressed. I know of writers who have submitted 1000 times before landing a deal!

If you want to short cut this process, enter competitions and go to conferences (see above!).

5. While you’re waiting, write another book. Or two. Or three…

An alternative approach:

Be famous or otherwise notorious!

Publishers and agents LOVE writers with an audience. If you’ve got a million followers on wattpad, SAY this. If you’ve got a huge youtube following, again: mention it in your pitch.

Options for publishing

What’s best?

This depends on your goals.

If you are desperate to see your book in book stores, you may be better to follow the classical approach of using an agent/publisher. Book stores tend to work through established channels, although there are signs this is changing. If you love literary fiction and you prefer to write richly textured novels, you may be better to approach traditional publishers. If critical acclaim and acceptance is important, again: a traditional model may be better.

However, if you’re just wanting to find people who want to read your work, if you write in a commercial genre with a huge readership (such as romance) and you’ve previously run a small business, my suggestion is self-publishing.

I say this because in the long run, you may be better off by finding your own route to market than by relying on a publisher third-party, who may or may not have the same goals as you. It’s also about the rights. Given that your copyright can last 50 + years, and that rights are constantly evolving, you may be better off in the long run to own the lot.

The good news: nowadays writers have options.

A Question of Rights

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What are Rights?

A Question of Rights

Copyright

Copyright is an automatic right generated by the development of an original work. Sometimes you see it written as ©

In New Zealand, copyright lasts for fifty years after an author’s death. In the United States, it’s SEVENTY years.

The copyright is owned by the creator, but he or she may allow another person to use their work. While the copyright remains in place, someone has to have permission to use it. In the publishing industry, permission is often called ‘licensing’, and permission is usually granted through a formal contract.

You may need to prove that you are the copyright holder. General practice among authors is to register their titles with the US Copyright Office. This is not essential, because copyright is automatic. But if you have a problem with your titles being pirated, this may help.

Copyright is a property right. You can’t hold an idea, like you can hold, for example, a house. Copyright is Intellectual Property; an intangible but valuable product. Sometimes “intellectual property” is shortened to simply “IP”.

There are other forms of intellectual property, like designs, patents and trademarks. This means if you’re writing a book, the front cover and the layout of the words (typesetting or formatting), which are design work, may belong to the publisher or cover designer. It also means you should check the licensing of any art you use in your cover. Don’t forget poetry or songs are also original work. So before using someone else’s ideas, make sure you have permission to do this.

You can find out more information at the NZ Intellectual Property Office (this is a really user-friendly site, and is worth a look even if you’re not based in New Zealand.)

If you want more information on rights, check out Joanna Penn’s podcast here.

Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer and this does not constitute legal advice. For legal advice, see a legal professional!

Rights in Space
Image Source

How are Rights Used?

Rights can be sliced and diced in many different ways. Here are some examples:

  • By format: digital, audio, print, radio, screenplay, braille.
  • By location: World, Asia, Europe, Australia. There is a new rights location, called simply Space! This may sound crazy. But remember: if your rights last for at least 50 years after your death, it’s very possible that people will be in space before your rights expire. I love the thought of astronauts listening to my books on audio!

What Does This Mean For Me?

You should think of your rights as assets. When you write a book, you are in effect creating something that could generate income not just for you, but for your children and your grandchildren.

You need to consider this, when you consider a contract from a publisher. You should ask yourself: Is the amount a publisher offers me more than the amount I may make from this book?

And you should also think: can I exploit these rights myself?

For me, I’m not so worried about having worldwide rights for A Necklace of Souls in say, Chinese. So if someone was to send me an interesting rights offer for Chinese worldwide rights, I could be interested.

However, if translation services go the way that is widely expected, it’s possible I might be better off holding onto translation rights and waiting for a few years.

Take The Long View

The value of your rights may increase as you produce more books. So don’t get discouraged early on. (This is something I am constantly telling myself!) Remember, too, that technology and platforms are constantly evolving, and that something you never dreamed of having a commercial value (like Space) may one day be a real possibility.

I guess at the end of the day it always takes time to create something of value — whether its a book or a house. But an asset is generally worth having!

What Does a Publisher Do?

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What does a Publisher Do?

What does a publisher do?

There are many types of book publishers: traditional (large house) publishers; niche publishers or small press; assisted self-publishing and author-as-publisher. It’s a rapidly changing market place — by 2016 42% of trade fiction in the US was from non-traditional publishers.

This post discusses what publishers do for fiction authors, and what is expected in return.

This post is the third in a series of four posts. You can read the first and second posts here.

Agents

Publishers had so many submissions they began using specialists in finding and sourcing quality work. These specialists are called literary agents. Nowadays, many large houses will only look at work if presented by an agent. This does vary between houses, so check a publisher’s website before applying.

An agent is a broker, a negotiator, and editor and sometimes a coach. They may offer advice to an author as to which publishers are short of work, and frequently have a deep understanding of the industry. I don’t have an agent, and they’re not essential. However, many highly successful independently published authors have them, just as traditionally published authors do.

Publishing Process

Traditional book publishing process

From Visually.

 

Types of Publishers

Large house

The publisher provides full editorial, printing, distribution and some marketing support.

Editorial Process:
  1. Developmental edit. An editor will provide an overview of the plot, characters, and identify areas for improvement. For example: you need to bring out one character’s story. Or: it’s too long, you need to lose twenty thousand words. Developmental editing sometimes feels like a dance, and as in dancing, you need to trust your partner.
  2. Structural edit: this is more like a continuity edit – checking for consistency in terminology, things like locations, directions and timelines are correct within the plot. This process sometimes includes a light copy edit – things like em dashes, speech marks, spelling.
  3. Copy edit: detailed spelling. A style sheet for the work is developed and applied consistently.
  4. Line edit/proofing edit: this usually happens just after the work is set for printing; the edit is done on the print proof. This is the last chance to catch any major errors.

Nowdays, many large publishers, having downsized their editorial teams, are likely to outsource to a freelancer. although sometimes they’ll do the copy and line-edit in house.

Marketing:

The publisher may use a PR agent to put out a press release and arrange interviews — radio, TV, newspaper and so on. Sometimes they may organise tours, like attending book festivals. Marketing teams have been downsized, so often they’re small on resource.

Social marketing, like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, is usually done by an individual author; unless you’re a big name author, it seems unusual for the house to provide support in the social space. Some well-to-do authors hire assistants to do these activities.

A publisher works with distributors and printers to make sure the book is printed and ready for bookstores to order and arranges disposal of unsold books.

Other services :

If the publisher has world-wide rights for all formats, they may work with translators. They’ll make sure your book is set out in electronic format, and they may do audio versions.

Other (unspoken) benefits of a large house:

There is more catchet with a large house. If you have a contract with, say Penguin Random, my feeling is you’re more likely to be accepted for residences, have your work in stores, and asked to present at conferences/book tours. In New Zealand you are more likely to be supported by state agencies. For example, the NZ Book Council told me I ‘do not qualify as an author.’

Disadvantages of a large traditional publishing house:

It is very hard to get a book contract with a large house, and it’s normal for a large publisher to take up to a year before confirming they’ll accept your work. Over this time it’s bad form to submit to another house (simultaneous submissions). So submitting to a traditional house may tie your manuscript up for a long time.

Contracts with large houses are frequently drafted in favour of the house. For example, they may not have a termination date, and may require world-wide rights. If you get a contract, read it, and if you’re not sure, check with an author’s advocacy agency, such as the New Zealand Society of Authors.

Although a publisher may sign you up for worldwide rights, they may not exploit them. This can mean you only have your books sold in one territory. Even if you think readers in other places may be interested you’re unable to sell to them. So again: read the contract.

Large houses usually take around 85 – 90 percent of the sales price of the book, although this varies depending on print run and locality. The usual advance in New Zealand for children’s fiction seems to be around $2000 although it is higher internationally. Any advance is paid of over sales of the book, so the author doesn’t receive anything more until the royalties are paid off. In New Zealand, this seems to take around 2 years, although again it can vary between genres and publishers.

If you want to read more information on average incomes, royalties and advances, here’s a useful 2016 article by Horizon Research 

Anecdotally, if you write literature for New Zealand children it is fairly common to receive the $2000 and then that’s it: unless your book is exceptionally popular, your work is unlikely to be reprinted.

A word of warning: If you’re fortunate enough to be offered a large advance, do not spend it; you should see it as a loan. Because if sales do not meet expectations a publisher may seek reimbursement of this advance.

WTF

Small Press

Small presses have low overheads and may be owner-operator, that is, they only have one or two people working with them. As they usually service niche industries and operate with tight margins they can be insecure.

However, a small press may be very collegial, and the authors may act to support each other.

Generally, they’re full-service, offering editorial and other support. They may be only work in ebook format, so you may not be able to access bookstores or print-based distribution.

A small press can be a great option if you’re new to writing, as you get the editorial support and learn how the publishing process works. You’re less likely to receive an advance, but you may still be seen as being ‘published’ by the establishment, so therefore you may still be eligible for residencies and book tours.

Because small presses are vulnerable to closure or acquisition, make sure any contract you sign will give you your rights back. Sometimes if the publisher closes their author’s rights are sold off as an asset; make sure this doesn’t happen to you. If you’re not sure, talk with your local author’s society.

Assisted Publishing

Assisted publishing is basically a fee-for-service. A company may offer some or all of the services of a large traditional house, but rather than paying the author, the author pays for the services. Sometimes this is called ‘partner publishing’ or ‘vanity publishing’. The model varies between companies so make sure you know what you’re buying.

Assisted publishing is frequently very expensive, and sometimes is a scam: do your homework before you sign any deal. The New Zealand Society of Authors and the Writer Beware websites can offer you more guidance on how to avoid being scammed.

Keep Calm and Carry On
From PinkPot Design

Do-it-Yourself or Independent Publishing

Indie publishers, like me, generally follow a similar process as a traditional publisher: editorial, design and marketing. But instead of an advance, we pay for it ourselves. We source editors and cover art. We may hire a formatter, engage a marketer and source our own PR. Some of these tasks we may do ourselves — for example, I do my own formatting. Sometimes we use software to help. Link to useful tools HERE

Independent publishing is a lot of work. However, royalties are around 30 – 90% on each sale, PLUS the author owns all the rights.

You’re unlikely to be offered a residency as an independent; frequently newspapers and other media are scathing of your abilities.

While it’s not technically difficult to do-it-yourself, it is time consuming. There is one mandatory requirement: you MUST be comfortable with computers.

Other models of publishing:

Publishing is changing all the time. Here’s a few examples:

Over to you – any other publishing processes I’ve missed out?

Publishing and Profits

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Publishing and Profits —

This post is a continuation of the previous blog post. So if you’re starting here, I suggest that before beginning, you read this.

fairytale book
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Publishing Industry

Today there are five large publishing houses. They’re headquartered in NYC and are international; that is, they publish work across the globe.

  1. PenguinRandom
  2. HarperCollins
  3. Hachette
  4. MacMillian
  5. Simon and Schuster

Mergers and acquisitions have become common in the publishing industry. You can see this in the names of these companies: PenguinRandom, for example, was once two separate  publishing entities: Penguin Books and Random House.

Each house has a number of specialist imprints, such as Mills & Boon, Tor, Picador and Doubleday. My first book, A Necklace of Souls, was published under the Voyager imprint of HarperCollins; Voyager being a specialist Scifi-Fantasy imprint.

Although some of these large houses have an office in New Zealand, the NZ based office is really an offshoot of an Australian-based industry. Interestingly, some of these publishers operate in regional territories. Thus, rights that are held by one branch are independent of another.

So, if you sell your rights to the NZ office of say HarperCollins, you should not assume that the English branch of the same house will publish your work in the UK. The UK office have told me that an author holding a publishing contract with the NZ based office is a disincentive to obtaining the rights, because they will have to pay an additional fee to the NZ-based enterprise than if they, the UK office, owned the rights.

It is worth considering territories before you sell your work to a NZ based publisher; because in so doing you may build a barrier to reaching a global audience. This is particularly problematic in today’s ebook publishing industry; after all, Amazon and iBooks have a global audience.

history of publishing - the online store
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Retailers

Traditionally, publishing was broken up into the following functions:

  1. Selection, curation and distribution
  2. Printing
  3. Retail

All three arms of publishing were quite separate and (generally) performed by different entities.

But today many online retailers act as publishers. Some, like Amazon, also have a print division (CreateSpace). In the online space the differences between the functions are blurred.

Changing Technology: Online Bookstores

There are four main online bookstores:

  1. Amazon
  2. iBooks
  3. Kobo
  4. Nook

Amazon is the dominant player. See the image below for the US 2015 market share (image from Author Earnings). This proportion and market share is likely to be reflected around the globe, although some significant non-English speaking regions, such as Russia and China, are dominated by language-specific stores.

Market share by publisher
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Books for children and adult nonfiction are still mostly sold as print. This is probably not surprising, as parents want kids to have less time on screens, not more. However, with the rise of Augmented Reality (AR), schools purchasing ePub files, and the increasing use of AI and voice activation technologies, its likely this may change.

It’s already changed for adult fiction. In the US, adult fiction sales are now 70% digital. That’s a MASSIVE shift.

2016 book sales by format
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I don’t really know how I feel about this. Personally, I love my bookshelves, and there’s something deeply satisfying about holding a book in the hand. But when I’m travelling it’s a simpler to take a kindle, and it’s a lot easier (and cheaper) to buy with one-click. So because I’m a book lover I mourn the decrease in books, as a reader, I love having access to cheaper and plentiful stories.

publishing market
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As a writer, though, I’m pretty excited. Because not only are most fiction sales digital, nearly 42% of sales are NOT through the large traditional publishers. So although there are only 5 major international publishers, there is an increasing proliferation of small-time and independent presses. It’s easier now to have your work published than it ever was. Publishing is no longer the provenance of the wealthy and well-connected.

As long as you have a computer, time, energy and a little money, it’s possible to share your work with the world.

The History of Publishing – How Everything Changed

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The History Of Publishing –

Picture Book
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Publishing is sharing of ideas and information.

Think of the town crier; the temple scribe; the playwright — these are all publishing, and they’ve all been around for thousands of years.

history of publishing

Pre-1440, dissemination of ideas was necessarily limited. A scribe can only pen so many books, and many people couldn’t read. New ideas spread slowly, limited by distance and education. The printing press arrived in 1440, and mass production of writing emerged. Books, tracts, magazines and newspapers could be read and shared.

And nowadays, publishing can be virtual and/or physical: blogs, journals, blogs, newspapers, books, radio, television, film…all is production and dissemination of creative work. The computer, and how we use it, changed everything.

Talk Transcript

This post is a transcript of a talk I will be delivering next week. Because the talk is quite long, I’ve set it out over three posts. I’ll put the slides for the talk at the end of the final blog post.

I thought it would be of interest to you, the reader (plus, I’m lazy; it’s a lot easier to write a talk twice than invent a whole new blog post!). The talk is called Your Story, Your Way: Options for Publishing, and I’m delivering it as part of a workshop for the Ronald Hugh Morrieson Awards. 

Now, before I begin: a disclaimer. I am not a publisher, an expert in the publishing industry or a lawyer. Think of me as a gifted amateur — all information offered here is my own opinion. That being said, I have an MBA and I’m continually analysing markets for the Day Job.

This post is mostly about fiction because that’s what I write 🙂 but some points in here are relevant for non-fiction too.

The Costs of Traditional Publishing

Up until the mid-nineteenth century, book publication was a costly enterprise. Print was laid on a page, often by hand. Printing presses were expensive and cumbersome, and print runs had to be large to reduce the per unit cost. Books are relatively large, heavy objects, so freight was expensive. And because paper is susceptible to damp they had to be stored in good conditions; inventory cost was high.

Mid-1800s

Not surprisingly, then, publishers tried to reduce the risks of printing books that might never sell. Works were published in serial format, like Dickens and Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes , or an author might fund or part-fund the initial print run. Walt Whitman, Mark Twain and Virginia Woolf all paid for early productions of their work. Woolf, I suspect, was motivated by creative control, but Twain, an entrepreneur, was frustrated by his publisher.

Mark Twain - history of publishing
Mark Twain

Twentieth Century

Throughout the twentieth century, print costs reduced. Skilled labour was replaced by machines and cost-effective distribution and supply chains were developed. And in the 1900s, a new model of publishing developed: venture capital.

Throughout the nineteenth century, and still into this day, large publishing houses offer advances to authors in anticipation of monies earned. In return, the publishing house gains the lion share of sales, and provides all the work to get the book to market.

The mid-late 1900s were the hey-day of print publishing.  It took a lot of capital to buy the presses to set up a publishing house, and it took a great deal of time and experience to develop the distribution networks of bookstores, libraries and bookclubs to purchase the books. So there was limited competition. And in times of limited competition, margins are high.

So, by the mid 1900s, trade publishing of fiction was probably a highly lucrative industry, as judged by the number of bookstores, newspapers and publishing companies.

THEN… along came the computer.

‘Frame-breaking change’ is business-speak for when rapid changes are enforced upon an industry, usually through technology. This isn’t a phenomenon unique to publishing: in the eighteenth century railways did this to stagecoaches.

What did the computer do?

Initially, computer-induced alterations were small. Typing became faster and it was easier to edit. But rapidly, the changes increased and increased, and this highly networked, traditional industry struggled to adapt.

And then — there was AMAZON.

And the everything changed, almost overnight.

history of publishing - the online store
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In 1994, Jeff Bezos created Amazon as an online bookstore. Bezos used this new computing technology to offer books to purchasers directly from printers. This meant no inventory costs, and a wider selection: a virtual store could stock thousands more titles than a traditional bookseller.

I’ve heard it said that although Bezos always dreamed of Amazon being a general store, he began with books, because he saw the high-margin publishing infrastructure a being ripe for change. I don’t know if that is true, and I also don’t know if its true that Bezos doesn’t care about literature; he’s certainly been very supportive of open access content creation.

But whatever the motivation, Amazon fundamentally changed the publishing industry, possibly even more than the introduction of the printing press.

Because after selling physical books, Amazon went three steps further. It digitised the books; it allowed content creators open access to its publishing platform, and it created a new, mass-market format for reading.

The e-reader.

history of publishing
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So, here’s what computers have done (so far) to publishing:

  • Per unit print costs have dramatically reduced.
  • Books can be digitised.
  • iPads, kindles, phones are all reading devices.
  • Print books can be bought and sold online, anywhere in the world.
  • Books can be downloaded as digital versions instantly, with no shipping costs.
  • Publishing platforms for trade fiction are open-access.
  • International cross-collaboration between creators is easy
  • Relationships between suppliers, distributors and content users can be developed across borders
  • Formatting and design are constantly improving, and ebooks are looking prettier than ever
  • Cross-content creation is emerging: say, books with music, or videos with vlogs
  • Piracy is easy
  • Increased competition for leisure time

Excited about what might come next?

history of publishing
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I am!

Next Post: Show me the money: Where publishers make their profits.

How to Write a Picture Book

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Picture Book
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Want To Write A Picture Book?

There’s so few words in a picture book, surely it should be easy? Well, NO. Fewer words = every word counts. You cannot pad in a picture book.

Picture Books are Important Books

Picture books introduce kids to words and rhyme and the idea of sitting still. Often they become classics, enjoyed through generations.

Picture Books are fun for adults, too. I loved reading stories to my kids; it was fascinating to see what they noticed in the pictures and to hear their commentary on the story.

My boys are teenagers now, but they still remember some of the books we’d read together, and they can still recite the rhymes!

How to Write A Picture Book

I’ve never written a picture book, so I’ve no idea where to start. But I’m writing this post because I’m off to give a series of talks shortly in Taranaki* . As part of my preparation I reached out to Chrissy Metge, picture book writer at Duckling Publishing.

Chrissy has an intriguing background in screen animation, and has worked on major projects like The Jungle Book and Fast and Furious 7. She definitely understands words and visuals. She’s written four picture books now, about Max and His Big Imagination, and they’re fun, beautifully illustrated stories.

* I’m judging the Ronald Hugh Morrison Literary Awards in 2017. Want to know more about these awards? Click here
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Chrissy Metge’s Big Imagination

Chrissy Metge and her picture books

Tell me a bit about you. What made you want to begin to write?
I did creative writing at school and loved it! Because of the movie and animation industry I work in, I am always around great ideas and creative people so have had many ideas of my own.

I always wanted to write my own kids books and when my son was born six weeks early I had time at the beginning — so I began to write them down! 🙂

Are the stories about Max’s adventure based on real-life events?
They are inspired from true events. My nephew Max inspired the first two books and my son inspired the latest one.

How does Max feel about being in a book?
He thinks its pretty cool!

What things did you have to consider when writing a picture book?
It’s a huge learning curve! When I did the first book I had FIVE print proofs done before I was happy. Looking at it on the screen is not the same when you hold the printed copy in your hands 🙂

You have to think of composition, make sure it’s not too busy. You don’t want things too close to the top or bottom of the page. Everything has to be easy to see and read.

You’ve got an amazing background in film and TV. What’s the most exciting project you’ve worked on in your Day Job?
Oh that’s a hard one! I think to this day it is still Dawn of the Planet of the Apes — I had the most beautiful dedicated team. Also the Fast and Furious 7 — they were just blown away by what we achieved.

How does your Day Job help with your writing – what skills and/or qualifications have you found useful in your writing career?
I can see the images in my head and can convey to people what I see. For my day job it’s all about helping the director and artist’s vision become a reality. That’s helped so much in getting what I see to paper :).

You published your own picture books through Duckling Publishing. Why did you decide to run the process yourself?
I think the publishing industry in New Zealand is limited. They may only see a few books a year and you may not hear anything for six months. I believe in my books and I didn’t want to wait. I wanted to get them out there for the public to decide.

What’s been the highs of managing the process for yourself?
So immensely satisfying to see the books you have published in the hands of kids and in book shops and that they are loved! Plus, I have compete control of the whole process.

What have you learned?
Face-to-face is always best, I love going to markets to get feedback listening to kids and adults.

What advice would you give to other people thinking of writing a picture book?
Go for it! You never know until you try! Make sure you get an editor.

What advice would you give to people thinking of publishing their own work?
Do lots of research, sign up to Indie groups on Facebook and listen to lots of podcasts, also don’t give up!

What do you think Max will do next?
I have written books 4 and 5, I am so excited about book 4! Lots of adventure and imagination — that’s for sure!

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Want to know more about Chrissy? Check out this interview on TV’s The Cafe or read more at Duckling Publishing.