Authoring & Playwriting

Welcome to the Stage 32 community, Julie! We're so excited to have you here!

Are you working on anything new that you're excited about?

Also, I love that your favorite superhero is Deadpool. Fantastic choice!

Hi Ashley. Thank you! Yes, I’m currently editing in conjunction with my agent, my seventh feel-good romance for HarperCollins, The Bookshop by the Loch, which is out Spring 2024.

Julie Georgina Shackman, I love that title! Is it a stand-alone novel or part of a larger series?

Hi Julie Georgina Shackman! Glad you're here!

You can do it for free, self-publishing.

https://www.kobo.com/ww/en/p/writinglife

Is all for free.

From someone who's been published and worked in the publishing industry for 30+ years... The short answer is yes, some authors have used Kickstarter to put together the money to live on as they write and publish their work. All of them (that I know of) already have a following of fans who are waiting for the newest book.

But as others have mentioned, you can self-publish the book through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple, and a variety of other platforms like Draft 2 Digital.

You're out of pocket for editing and cover art, as well as formatting costs, which can add up.

Amazon, IngramSpark, and Draft 2 Digital offer print book services. Each have their own formatting requirements for cover art and manuscript set up. Amazon has templates available. D2D will do the entire thing for you. IngramSpark has a relatively nominal cost.

IngramSpark is the place to go if you want your print book distributed/available to bookstores and libraries. Draft 2 Digital has just opened up their print division and they work directly with Ingram. I haven't tried their print service yet, so I can't tell you how well it works. The majority of friends who have used it like what they've seen.

Sounds brilliant and I get the regional dialects, but I'm just thinking from an editing and reader pov will they understand or will they think it's a mistake? Especially if you have a reader who isn't from the UK? I love the concept but honestly if I read the 'out meeting' I would think it was typo for 'our meeting.'

I actually had a similar thought as D.E. White did. At first, I thought it was a typo and I had to go back and re-read the post. I admit that I'm not as familiar with regionally specific UK dialects. Within the story, is it clear that Lilly often drops her 'L's when speaking and that her family and others around her do as well? As long as it's layered into the world, I think the reader will adjust and understand. If it only happens once or twice, I could see it becoming confusing.

Congratulations on your book! Are you self-publishing?

Bloggers are a great asset, Morne. Even if they are too busy to give you a review, they will often give you a mention/do a Q&A with you or participate in a cover reveal. You can find them if you look up childrens books bloggers and there should be a few you can approach. If you are happy to spend a few dollars, you can also have a Blog Tour organised for you, which is great publicity.

Thanks for the good feedback. Yes I am self-publishing. I will see how it goes before possibly changing my approach.

I'll also reach out to a few bloggers thats a great idea.

Thanks again :)

Hi Morne Patterson, congratulations on your kid's book! If you ever decide to promote the book, or any of your future projects here on Stage 32, be sure to do so in the Your Stage lounge. That's the area of Stage 32 where you can post about and promote your projects and achievements to our community. That way we can celebrate you!

You can find the lounge through the toolbar at the top of your browser window. Simply click on "Lounge", which will direct you to a new page listing all of the current lounges available to you. Then select "Your Stage".

But Ashley Renee Smith I apologise to your grandmother in advance - my mum won't read my darker books at all! ;-)

I think it's important to be true to the characters. Readers who don't like swear words will migrate to other authors. Nothing wrong with that. They aren't your target audience.

I think characters that would believably swear is fine. But if the character hasn't been established as the type of person to do so and then suddenly swears on page 250, and it seems out of character, then I'd say no. But I'd say that for anything. Like the same could be said if the character kept drinking beer throughout the novel and then walks into a bar in the final chapter and orders cranberry juice. The problem is inconsistent character writing, not swearing.

Hello:

As an individual who does not cuss, I grasp as to the readers reviews - though shouldn't equate to a one-star rating. If someone intentionally reads and/or embraces a creativity with such elements - leave no review and/or leave a review around the language, though mention such.

Thankful for your roads.

God Bless,

John German

D.E. White, if you are getting in trouble for swear words, I'm in big trouble. My novel, The Calling Dream, which was just released as a second edition is in the Christian section of Barns and Noble. However, Christians who might read it are in for a big surprise. I do not hesitate on using swear words or graphic descriptions of both sex and violence. I finally decided that I have to just write and stop being afraid of offending people. I think my use of language is what keeps certain characters real in their profile. I'm not endorsing hate speech or anything like that, in fact, quite the opposite. So, backlash over swear words and descriptions of sex and violence in a Christian novel? We'll see. My concern is that Christian readers might avoid it entirely when they see that the figure on the cross on the book cover is a partially nude woman, and non-Christians might avoid it entirely because they think it is just a Christian novel and they don't look closely enough to recognize that the figure on the cross is a nude woman. The novel is actually about a very troubled televangelist who is struggling with his own compulsions to seduce women and is trying to keep his second life a secret from his wife, the church, and his following. However, it is also much more than that.

Thank you so much for sharing D.E. White. I just submitted my book to her. I appreciate it!

Thanks for sharing! It's great to see community members helping other members.

Thanks for sharing such a great resource with the community, D.E. White! You're the best!

Fantastic share, D.E. - Thanks for always bringing the goods!

Hello:

Good grief what an amazing opportunity for authors abound. Depth of gratitude for your marketing of such.

Grateful for your path.

God Bless,

John German

Thank you all. I really enjoyed writing it and my design was quite easy for my illustrator to follow. A positive mind and a happy soul creates a beautiful story.

You're welcome, AK Cooper-Elliot. It's tomorrow, so congratulations on your book release day!!! :D

Well done!

Hello:

Illustrations colorfully playful and drawn exquisitely. Fun story potential in the conceptual depth that your cover presents.

Great job.

Grateful to your steps.

God Bless,

John German

Congratulations, AK! Wishing the book great success!

Hi Matthew McKinney! Nice to meet you! First, I would say that most writers get a manager before they get an agent (here's piece on their different roles: https://rb.gy/0odhgk). Here's a great post on how: https://rb.gy/kapfwz). But the first step is writing a script. Feel free to shoot me an email at success@stage32.com and let me know what you're working on

Write first. Agent later. Much later.

Yes, I wouldn't worry much at this point about agents or managers (the latter I'm not even sure you really need). Just start writing and try to enjoy the journey, especially since for most, it's a marathon and not a sprint. Good luck.

My advice is to keep writing. The more samples you have, the better position you'll be in to get representation.

I literally just saw this and love it!

They continue to make bold moves.

Great share Ashley Renee Smith

One thing I'd definitely recommend is finding a regional theater and get involved there. Audition for some of their shows (if they do children's theater, that's a good way to get your foot in the door). Once there, study those who work offstage -- director, stage manager, props, costumes, you name it. Ask questions. Volunteer. Get involved.

Thank you for this advice. I will volunteer and get involved