Authoring & Playwriting

Haha Amazon is cloaked in mystery, but the publisher decides on the pricing and marketing strategy. Generally a good thing, and I am in no way unhappy to be up there in the top 100 'shop window', it's just the revenue stream is limited. It's a really common option for publishers to put out boxsets (mostly of midlist authors like myself) for 99p/0.99c because it hits the target market so well. On the plus side, it is lovely treat for my readers!

Got it. I only questioned because I have a book on Amazon and, yes, the publisher set the price. I thought perhaps their policies had changed. Thanks for the response!

Wow! Congratulations D.E. White! Can't wait until I can have a boxset haha

Congratulations, D.E. White!!! :D Top 30 out of what, hundreds of thousands!?

Congratulations, D.E. White!

Good luck!

Hi. I have too books published; I do however have a manuscript that I'd love someone to have a look at. Any leads?

Hiya! Check out the Joffe submission guidelines on their website and give it a go!

Valuable share, D.E.!

Thank you for the lead, D.E. I just went to the site and subscribed for the newsletter and connected on Facebook.

You definitely should, GiGi! They also released the album that the band is creating throughout the season, on Spotify. It's called Aurora and it's a jam.

I'm so torn - in love with the book, but not quite so much with the adaptation! But yes loving the soundtrack too ;-) My fave of hers is Malibu Rising - I must have read it about 5 times.

I've heard really good things about Malibu Rising! I definitely need to give it a read.

May I ask what isn't quite working for you in the adaptation? I'd love to know what your thoughts are.

I think it's just far glossier (and maybe younger?) than the book. The pace is great and it probably really is that I am not seeing the actors as the characters I had in my head! Malibu Rising is awesome and definitely one of her best.

I completely understand that, D.E. White. I've had trouble getting hooked by adaptations in the past if the cast feels too different from how I imagined the characters to be. It's almost too difficult of mental gymnastics for your brain while you're trying to get lost in a story. For me, I've been really impressed by how similar Riley actually is to how I pictured Daisy, but Sam is quite different from the Billy that I had in my head.

Great tips, D.E. White! I really like "Be business-like, and positive, not 'Hey, I have this book but it might not be good enough...' Believe in yourself (or blag it like me)." That's like what I used to do when I sent query letters to producers, directors, etc. for my scripts. Sometimes I wrote things like "This might not be a fit for you," but I stopped doing that. I'm sure I got some passes because of it.

Great knowledge, D.E. White! Thanks for sharing!

Maurice Vaughan so hard isn't it? I used to feel like crawling under a rock and hiding after the rejections, but now I try not to take it personally. Places like Stage 32 are great because we are all going through the same thing ;-)

I'm like you, D.E. White. I used to wanna crawl under a rock and hide after rejection, but I try not to take rejection personal now. I've gotten better at bouncing back up and submitting my projects other places. :D

Yeah, it's nice to be in a community where we can get support, encouragement, and motivation after rejections. Stage 32 is a great pick-me-up. :)

Hi Mark, Congratulations on your book! If you want to get a literary agent, I suggest Googling the agencies and checking out their Submission pages. That way you can personalise each sub. Briefly, you will need: Query letter (1 page with intro, comps and tagline), Synopsis (max 500/800 words), first 3 chapters. This will vary from agent to agent, but a strong, businesslike query letter will hit the mark. There is no fee for submitting to a genuine agent, and you can submit to as many as you like, just pay attention to what they want ie. Check they are looking for your genre. Good luck!

Example:

Dear Mr Stevens,

Thank you for taking the time to look at my 85,000 word, psychological thriller, Remember Me.

Tagline *** 'Eight different memories, eight versions of events. One missing girl.

Eleven years ago Ellen Smith vanished from her small Welsh village after teenage party in the woods.

Now her best friend, LAPD cop Ava Cole is back in Wales, and determined to find out the truth.'

***The blah bit... Remember Me is my sixth book, and I have been published by/bestsellers/awards etc. I also play the drums in a rock band/live in a treehouse/have pet worms etc...

Remember Me would be of interest to readers who enjoy Cara Hunter/insert comp authors/more blah.

I am always happy to work on any revisions and look forward to hearing from you.

Best Regards,

XXX

E-mail me at gregorj3 at gmail dot com. I've gone through the process.

Hey @Mark! We have a great webinar with WME Story Editor Chris Lockhart that I think might help -- https://www.stage32.com/webinars/What-Makes-Your-Logline-Interesting-for-an-Actor-Producer-Manager-or-Agent?affid=ejlounge

One thing to note is that this set up is more for screenwriting lit reps, as opposed to novel/publishing ones, but if you're a member of the Writers' Room, you can also check out this webcast of the Pitch Tank with Tessa Shaffer who does both film/TV and publishing, and covers verbal pitching https://www.stage32.com/webinars/Pitch-Tank-with-Special-Guest-Literary-...

Hi Mark, mega congrats on getting your book done! That list looks pretty comprehensive. With 5. (Pitch your author creds) - if you haven't had anything published before, focus on your expertise as related to your book - for example, if you're writing a comic novel, draw on your background in comedy, if a historical narrative, on your knowledge and interest in history, and so on. If you can think of a few selling points for your book (unique approach, who it will appeal to), add those in as well. It shows the publisher you are willing to help sell (this can count for a lot when submitting). Good luck meanwhile!

Morgan Aitken - yay for moving forward with projects! Have you surveyed through Fivver or Upwork yet?

Sort of, but not very seriously. I'll give it another look.

Yeah, this project has nothing to do with the mental run for our lives, and more to do with nearly being squashed flat by a UFO falling from the sky and digging a trench in our beach. If we hadn't been sipping fruity tropical beverages on deck, my dog, we could have been killed! Anyway, it looks like an extraterrestrial lost control on the off ramp, and it seems like something just right for a graphic novel based on a true story.

Morgan Aitken - I guess those are pretty limited! Here's an article I found on the topic ...

https://www.waveapps.com/freelancing/freelance-graphic-design-rates

Do you have potential designers in mind?

Shellie, just saw this now! Thanks for the link.

Thank you again, Julia.

Hello James Porteous welcome to Stage32 from a fellow author. It’s good to see you in the Author’s Lounge. How are you doing?

Hello Geoff. Thank you for your note. I am good, thank you. I am from Canada but I am in Germany at the moment. I am enjoying this site.

I, too, am in Canada. Get n agent before reaching out.

Thank you Jeff

I have a non-fiction ms out at various places. I actually forget to check emails....I think a kind of blanket falls over my subconscious that .... nah, they won't get back to me. Makes a nice surprise then when they do! XD

Haha I need that blanket! ;-)

Ps. Joffe publish a lot of previously self-pub'd books, and for the genre, I would check out Charlie Gallager and Steve Parker (also both ex cops and both pub'd by Joffe). Charlie was self pub before he was approached by Joffe, so always worth asking that question, especially as you have crossover experience in screenwriting etc.

Hi D.E. Thank you for your response. I'll look into Joffe and check out the writers you mentioned. I've had a ton of stuff optioned in Hollywood but it's always difficult with a bunch of people who have their own ideas or when development peeps switch out and the new team isn't as excited about the project cause they didn't discover it etc. So I am trying to make the transition to author so its not live or die by committee. I realize they are both hard paths maybe this will be less stressful. Ahhh who am I kidding. lol Thank you .

@joffeBooks Thanks for posting D.E. White! I self published a young adult fantasy adventure book on amazon

https://www.amazon.com/Its-Blood-M-F-Glass/dp/0692307796/ref=sr_1_1?crid...

Great cover, Maria Restivo Glassner

Julia Warren Thanks Julia!

For some reason the link doesn't want to go live ....

And don't forget the Easter Competition is still running too (https://crazycatstheatre.wixsite.com/ccats/easter-competition-2023)

... although the other one does....

Sounds promising Bill McCormick!

Nick Waters, from your keyboard to God's monitor.