|
|
Zine-Thyme
by Judy Bridges
Welcome to Zine~Thyme. A column dedicated to interviewing E-zine owners, Authors, and Publishers.
First of all I would like to say:
Welcome to the New Year! May we all be blessed with our needs met and our hopes fulfilled.
This interview is with Author Andy Davie.
Andy is from the UK, he came into a writers list I belong to and we have watched him grow as a writer.
Needless to say, things are a bit different in the UK as far as writing and publishing goes and Andy is working on making his mark.
My objective is to find some of the differences in publishing over there and how one goes about cracking the UK markets.
So, on with the interview:
Andy: What brought you to the world of writing?
Now that's a hum dinger of an opening question. For me it started with poetry. Back in 97 I found that poetry offered a vent for my emotions after the loss of my 8 day old daughter Kira. Someone, (a poet/writer) read the poems I had amassed and said I should do something more with them. One thing led to another and before I knew it I was attending a creative writing class, where I tried my hand at short stories. That's when I got the bug and haven't stopped writing since.
How long have you been writing?
Though I've written poems for as long as I can remember, you know, love poems and such. I only really started to write in earnest in early 98 about the time I started the creative writing class. So I've been writing with a view to being published for five and a half years now.
Are you one of those writers with a strict writing schedule?
Oh yes! I have a strict writing schedule. I wake up, I write. Basically I write at every opportunity I get and get extremely frustrated when I can't write for some reason or another. I think I should become more disciplined and set time aside specifically for writing and working on particular projects. I know many writers work this way and seem to get the job done more efficiently. But for now, I'll enjoy going with the flow.
How many UK publishers have you approached?
I've lost count of the publishers I've approached. My rejection pile is growing out of proportion if you include the agents. I suppose it's got to be at least ten, but I've approached them all more than once, with different projects of course.
What about Agents?
What about agents? The publishing industry here is a bit like the good old catch twenty two. You approach a publisher with unsolicited work and they usually don't give you much attention, unless you've written the next great work of the century, or you have an agent. Agents however are in much the same position in that they prefer to get work sent to them via a referral and prefer that you've been published. You don't really need an agent as a writer, but it certainly helps. Struggling along without one means a lot of your time is spent doing things that an agent might otherwise do while you're writing. Still, I for one am trying to get an agent and believe that sooner or later I will find one who loves my work almost as much as I do. Then I'll be onto a winner.
Agents are important in that they know things you are unlikely to know about, such as foreign rights, library royalties and so on. They can look out for your interests when signing contracts with the publishing houses and ensure you don't sign your soul away. Your interests are their interests and the better the deal they can get you, the better the commissions they earn. So yes, I think agents are very important, the trick is finding one who'll sign you up. The average sign up rate I believe is 1% per year! Pretty staggering statistic, which shows how hard it is to get taken on in this game, but it's well worth going for broke and never giving up in my humble opinion.
From your site, I see you have done a type of production of, "Diary Of A Curtain Twitcher". How does one accomplish that?
I wouldn't call the reading of the Twitcher screenplay a production as such, though it took a lot of organizing. Sara Dee suggested it and did most of the organizing, especially the actors. Craig MacLachlan, (who wrote the screenplay adaptation) and I did the rest.
Are readings important?
Well if you don't get your script snapped up really fast, you have to find ways to, a: get it in front of those you want to interest and, b: make it as interesting as possible. For these things a reading can be really helpful. The tricky bit is getting directors, producers and agents to come along. We invited over 60 UK leading movie people. Less than 10% turned up! However it did get Twitcher seen by some money people and a couple of producers, I'm still waiting to see what their response will be. Everyone involved enjoyed it a great deal and I learned a lot! One thing a live reading does, with a full compliment of principle roles filled by actors, is show up anything you need to work on, especially dialogue. There are obvious problems when trying to relate to an audience verbally that which would appear on a screen, like a pan from one shot to another to suggest the passage of time. On screen you know it would work, but when you describe it as it appears in the script, well, it loses it's edge. So yes I would say that if you can get one done, a reading is a very useful tool, but not 100% essential.
Have you approached any US markets? How did that go?
Yes, I've approached US markets and 'Diary of a Curtain Twitcher' is published by Metropolis Ink which is a US/Australian publisher of Print on Demand paperbacks. So approaching the US has worked in that respect. I've tried to get US agents to represent other novels I've written and tried other traditional US publishers, all with no luck so far. The biggest problem is finding a publisher or agent who is taking on new writers, that applies here and in the US. The next problem is wading through the competition. There are thousands of writers submitting unsolicited work every day, unless your work is 'noticed' by someone at the right time and liked a great deal, you can expect to be pushing your work in every conceivable direction in the hope that you’ll hit pay dirt some time. These days I take each rejection letter as a step closer to an acceptance letter.
Are there any sources of information you would recommend to anyone interested in submitting to UK markets?
Yes there are two books which I believe are available from Amazon.com. The first by which I swear is, 'The Writers and Artists Yearbook'. The second is, 'The Writers Handbook'. These books are the UK equivalent of ‘The Writers’ Market’ book available in the US. Consider all three of these books bibles for approaching agent/publishers, etc. The web is also a great source of information. Look up Predators and Editors and always check out the reputation of anyone you intend to approach.
What words of wisdom do you have for aspiring writers?
Words of wisdom? Hmm... Whatever your goals may be, published novels, movies, or both... Never, ever give up. Go for broke and believe in yourself. There is nothing you cannot do as long as you keep on going, it's only a matter of time and determination.
From this link you can view some of Andy’s works:
http://www.thejays.nildram.co.uk
Andy has also been working on a trailer for "Diary of a Curtain Twitcher" which can be viewed here:
http://www.thejays.nildram.co.uk/twtrailer.wmv
Andy supplied these links below so if you get a chance to read some of Andy's work, you can let him know what you think.
He and I have a discussion going now about endings, umm, or the lack thereof.
Go Forth and Enjoy!
OUT NOW! http://www.metropolisink.com "Diary of a Curtain Twitcher" in PAPERBACK!
OUT NOW! http://www.ableebooks.com all three of my ebooks!
for my own website go to http://www.thejays.nildram.co.uk
Working with Andy has been enlightening as to what one can do when determined, and learning a little of other markets. I wish him much luck with his writing endeavors!
Disclaimer: Any resemblance to any fictitious character is purely coincidental and all interviewees are genuinely human and not a figment or fragment of this writers imagination.
All information is current at the time of submission to "The Stump"
© Judy Bridges
|
|
|
|
