n quentin woolf

on self-publishing and storming amazon

storming amazon a beginners guide by kyle wallace

Kyle Wallace, author of Dial M for Mascara, was on fine form again this week as he returned to Tiffinbites to talk about Storming Amazon. One week previously, he’d been discussing the ins and outs of self-publishing; working on the presumption that his audience now had the published book in hand Kyle this week led them step-by-step through the Amazon jungle, highlighting the many opportunities there are to make your book a success. But this makes it sound rather more mundane that it actually was. In a previous life, Kyle was a magician, and it’s easy to see how years of thinking wee outside the box informed his approach to the sales and distribution of books. Indeed, listening to Kyle unveil the process he used was exactly like watching a magic trick be explained, and his approach was carefully thought out dynamite-effective and simple. Now, I couldn’t promise that his method would work for everybody, but, rather than simply make assertions, Kyle did talk attendees through the reasons behind each stage of choices so that they could customise the idea.

The evening was full of valuable stuff; it made one properly consider a number of Amazonian features that can all too easily be taken for granted. Put it like this; if in the future I were planning to self-publish a new book onto Amazon, I would most definitely follow the steps outlined by Kyle, with every confidence that they would make my book sell more copies, achieve a high exposure, and generally improve my life.

We’re hoping to make the transcripts of this week’s talk, and last week’s available for sale. If you’re interested in these, and would like notification when they’re ready, please drop us an email at kyle@nquentinwoolf.co.uk

self-publishing a beginners guide by kyle wallace

On Thursday August 12th, it was my pleasure to host the first of two talks given by the author Kyle Wallace about the ins and outs of self-publishing.  Thanks to the generosity of those lovely people at our venue Tiffinbites, we were poppadom happy as Kyle launched into an engaging, honest and fuss-free explanation of how to take your book from final draft to bookshelf. As we know, those in the literary world are not always renowned for their stage presence, however, as an ex-magician and stand-up comic, Kyle had no problem holding his own. Kyle used the lessons learnt the hard way when he self-published his debut novel Dial M for Mascara, to deliver an engaging, thoughtful and extremely informative hour and a half of information gems and insider advice. From page layout to pricing, spine design to Amazon-readiness, Kyle was generous with his knowledge and flagged up a great many potential pitfalls for the newcomer to self publishing.

As attendees discovered, there is a great deal more to self-publishing than one might imagine. Throughout the talk, Kyle kept one eye firmly on the bottom line, offering great tips (all field-tested) on how to bring down suppliers’ prices, how to think through your cover design, and even how to sell copies of your book using the dedication’s page. Along with the factsheet of shortcuts for obtaining ISBN numbers and registering your book correctly, Kyle addressed those perplexing matters such as how to ensure that your book is properly registered with National Libraries, and how the colour of your cover can cost you more in postage. Feedback from the evening was very positive and we’re looking forward to Thursday the 19th of August when Kyle’s subject will be how to crack that massive, yet daunting, sales portal: Amazon.

literary events

RECITALS / READINGS

If you are interested in hearing about one-off or regular readings of short stories or poetry, book signings, written word performances and other literary events, please mail contact@nquentinwoolf.co.uk , telling me so; I’ll try to keep you updated.

LITERARY EVENTS

I co-ordinate an occasional calendar of readings, book launches, signings (many free) etc in Shoreditch, East London. A regularly updated diary of events is available  ; if you are interested in attending, reading from, or launching, a book, or would like to receive the email bulletin of new events, please email contact@nquentinwoolf.co.uk saying so.

heard and zine

Anna Goodall, Matt Haynes, Nikk Quentin Woolf

Having spent most of the day in the studio recording The Arts Show, yesterday evening it was my pleasure to host a live discussion about magazines, in front of a real life audience with faces. My guests were founder-editor of literary magazine Pen Pusher, Anna Goodall and founder-editor of Smoke, the magazine all about London, Matt Haynes.

The event was well attended: a big crowd of would-be ziners keen for intelligence on putting together a publication of their own. The conversation ranged across all aspects of magazine establishment, development and maintenance, from print practicalities to matters of finance. We discussed the different options available for publicity and the pros and cons of accepting advertising. Both speakers placed a high value on the aesthetics of their respective zines. Matt Haynes was particularly emphatic about the discussions he’d made in order to keep the look and feel of a fan-zine, Audience questions were pertinent and it was interesting to note the different approaches suggested by their variety. My thanks to both Anna and Matt for attending, I think we put on a good show. Issue 14 of Pen Pusher is out now and issue 15 of Smoke is expected imminently.

out on the weekend

Sarah Waters

A busy weekend at Eastside Books in Brick Lane, where amongst other happenings I had the chance of a sit-down with novelist Sarah Waters. A pleasant and unassuming sort, she told me she’s in a bit of a hiatus at the moment; various ideas for the next novel are bubbling away nicely in her unconscious but are yet to coalesce into something recogniseable. Having been nominated for the Man Booker probably goes some way towards assuaging the writerly self-doubts that often accompany such unanchored times between novels. I wonder how the attention over the nomination has worked for her – she seems rather a private person.

Keen as ever to hone my interview technique I asked her what her least favourite interview question has been. ‘Why the 19th Century?’, she decided. The question is lazy, of course, but it’s the frequency with which it is asked, requiring the same long-winded answer, that really gets her down.

I was keen to apply this new piece of intelligence. The very next day, an opportunity to put it into action came about as I interviewed, on The Arts Show, a clarinettist, a composer, an artist who works with pubic hair and a kids’ fantasy author, respectively. I carefully avoided making so much as a mention of the 19th Century. Lo and behold, the show went swimmingly. With this simple avoidance-of-19th-Century-related-questions ace up my sleeve, I feel equipped to take on the world.

Hm.

Alan Gilbey

On Monday evening the visually-oriented Alan Gilbey beat his migraine and put in a sterling 2-and-a-half-hour set on screenwriting. Highlights included a 100-year-old cartoon (the first ever to include a recogniseable character), a surreal, nightmarish example of production line animation, and a sweet stop motion short film, which he used to explain certain techniques of structure and pacing. Attendees were shown how to develop a pitch, too.

september

Nikita Lalwani

The summer lull is coming to an end and the cultural calendar is reviving. It starts on September 17th with my live interview with Man Booker contender Nikita Lalwani (Gifted was the book) who has also contributed to AIDS Sutra, a look at the Indian AIDS crisis. I think anyone who takes on so bold a topic will make for a fascinating guest. Besides which, how many Booker nominees have I

Snoo Wilson

run into recently? Following her in quick succession come writing masterclasses from playwright Snoo Wilson and screenwriter/script editor Alan Gilbey. Alan has a long history with the bookshop, having been the man behind the till some years ago. His screenwriting masterclass draws on the many years of TV experience since then and was a real hit when he gave the same talk way back at the start of the year. I was particularly struck by Alan’s high-octane warm-up excercises – almost worth the price of admission by themselves! That’s on September 28th and as with all of the events listed here lit@nquentinwoolf.co.uk will start the booking process. A week before Alan,

Alan Gilbey

Snoo Wilson, a newcomer to Eastside, will be talking playwriting in a masterclass which offers tips on structure, form, dialogue as well as other aspects of the playwright’s craft. Attendees will also be able to pick Snoo’s brain as required. That’s on September 21st. Both masterclasses are £12. The final dish for September is the start of the new season of creative writing classes for complete beginners, which starts at 7pm on September 17th (that’s a Thursday). This 8-week workshop, led by me, has proven very successful, with waves of positive feedback from each series so far. The course covers the fundamentals of creative prose writing: the best ways to use dialogue; using scenery to drive the plot forward; ways to structure a short story; how to use conflict; revealing character; and much more. Pre-booking is essential to attend this course, using the email above. I’m very much looking forward to it; there’s always a good buzz surrounding a meeting of creative energies – which is sort of what these events are all about. People finishing up the course recently said they found it very useful as a demystification of the writer’s craft. All of the events, classes and signing mentioned here will be taking place at Eastside Books in Brick Lane. For queries on any of them, or to receive information of future events, please mail me.

october, november

Beryl Bainbridge

There’s been a buzz among people I know around Post-Birthday World, Lionel Shriver’s most recent book, so competition is going to be fierce for places when she comes to talk at Eastside Books in Brick Lane on October 22^nd. She’ll be discussing putting

Lionel Shriver

the finishing touches to her new book, which is scheduled for release early next year, as well as talking on the issues raised by P-B W and We Need To Talk About Kevin. The following month (on the 15^th), no lesser writer than Beryl Bainbridge will be talking about her long career, its highs and lows, and the powerful fiction she has created. On the factual side, Fiona Rule, who earlier in the year delivered an illuminating talk about The Worst Street In London will be back, this time talking about the subject of her latest book, the East End docks. That’s at 7pm on October 8^th. As with all events listed here, an email to lit@nquentinwoolf.co.uk starts the booking process.