Editing Tips: Reloaded

In February 2015, I completed the first draft of the first part of my next novel;  Gabriel’s Game

This story is in two parts, written as two novella’s.

Book 1: The White Queen
Book 2: The Black Knight

I’m working on book 2 at the moment, with book 1 due out in July 2015.

At the time, I published a blog on the editing process. Well, I've revamped it and the updated version is now on my shiny new blog:

Go to Amy's Shiny New Blog

I've now just completed the first draft of my first non-fiction book:

Operation Author: So You’ve Published a Book… Now What?

This is the first in a series of non-fiction guides for writers ‘Operation Author’, inspired by the content from this blog.

This blog post is proving invaluable as I plough through the tedious editing process. Hope you find it useful too.

On the Trail of Book Art

It was Southbank Bristol Arts - Southville Art trail over the weekend and I've put a blog update on my website:

Amy's Lovely New Blog Here

where I've relocated:

2015 is Authorpreneur Almanac year 

Join me in my 365 Adventures 
in Writing and Entrepreneurship... 

One thing I will share with you through is the inspiration of a young man, Sennen Hurley, who was a big fan of my book art and sent me an animation he made while he was enjoying my stall (and eating the freebie Smarties and Kinder chocolates with me!)

It's super short, only 6 seconds, but I was really pleased that Sennen and the other children who visited the stall and got stuck in to the book art, enjoyed it:

Turning Your Hobby Into a Business

It's time to move on...

My new website is now up and running and I'll be transferring my blog to:

www.AmyMorse.co.uk

This is the last installment of 'Idea-ism' as I know it - Come across to my much nicer and sexier blog for more pearls of authorpreneurial wisdom...

2015 is Authorpreneur Almanac year. 

Join me in my 365 Adventures in Writing and Entrepreneurship...

I love Pinterest. It's such a fantastic tool for collecting content and it appeals to my hoarding instincts. I can collect lovely things without filling my house with junk! 

It's also a powerful research tool, allowing me to access valuable information that may not be otherwise obvious in the endless ocean of the internet.

Here I am. Come and join me in the Pinterest playground:

Visit Amy Morse - Authorpreneur's profile on Pinterest.
 

During one of my recent cathartic pining frenzies, I came across this great article by Tilly of Tilly & The Buttons

In the post, Tilly offers 5 tips to turn your hobby into a business. It's packed with sensible and practical suggestion and a reality check.

For the past four years I've worked as an Enterprise Coach, supporting people facing just this dilemma; 'how to turn a hobby into a business'.

These are some of the the things I challenge people on when I first meet them:

One of the first questions to ask yourself before considering whether to take this step is "do you actually want to?"

The immediate response might be; "well yes of course, why else would I be here'?" but let's dig deeper...

Being self employed is not easy. It's much more difficult than being employed - where you turn up at an agreed time, do what you're there to do and get paid at the end of the month. It's a straight forward contract.

Another aspect to this is: if your hobby becomes your job, will you lose your passion for it?

Doing what you love sounds wonderful in theory, but when you're struggling to make ends meet and get regular work in, it's easy to start resenting it.

Let's assume that you've done this soul searching and addressed these questions before you seriously consider the move to self employment. The advice Tilly offers is great, however, I have 4 things to add:

1) Get help  

You definitely need to be a do-er, but you also need to recognise your own limitations.

One of the biggest mistakes I see starts ups making is trying to do everything themselves. Often, when they come to me for business advice it's because they went ahead and did things without considering the consequences and got themselves into a pickle or made expensive mistakes.

If I had a pound for the number of people who buy a limited company package off some dodgy website without understanding their statutory responsibilities, then I'd have... Okay, only enough for a round of drinks - but still it's a messy and expensive problem to fix. 

2) Learn about business 

(I don't mean a Business Studies qualification, I mean practical enterprise support) 

It's one thing being good at something, quite another to turn it into a business. And a whole other substantial step to make it profitable and sustainable.

Just because you have a brilliant skill or lovely product doesn't mean you can run a business. (tweet this)

A small business (and that includes being a one-person band or freelancer), has a multitude of different processes and functions. You're not just the maker, you will also be; the salesperson, the marketer, the quality controller, the manager, the bookkeeper, the designer, the health and safety person, the HR person, the credit controller, the administrator, the purchaser, the negotiator, the payroll person etc etc.

You can only learn so much by looking online, reading books and blogs etc. There is no substitute for going on a course or talking to a professional.

If you don't know what you don't know, how do you know you don't know it!

Recent research conducted by the Federation of Small Business, suggests that the second biggest reason businesses fail in the first year (after financial problems) is: not getting training or support. 

3) Be prepared to pay for some things

A bad homemade website (unlike Tilly's, which is gorgeous), some poor quality marketing materials you printed off on your bubble jet, emails filled with errors etc, all these things make you look like an amateur.

You can use favours from friends and family to a certain extent, but you may not necessarily be able to guarantee the quality or rely on them. And what if you get your mate to design your website and you don't like it? You didn't pay for it, so you can't very well complain (not without losing a friendship!).

In particular, with regards to printing, especially leaflets, business cards etc. they can use a lot of ink and cartridges for home printers are expensive. Often it works out cheaper to go to a local printing firm (some of the online providers have hidden costs, a bit like budget airlines!). It also has the advantage that you're supporting local business and can build a relationship for discounts etc. You can also actually speak to a human about what you really want, rather than being constrained by an online template.

4) Think business. 

This is an abstract one - here's an example:

My first venture into self employment was as Tom Cat Designs (hence the Twitter handle!). My husband and I were refurbishing properties at the time, and as a finishing touch for the rooms, I painted some big, bold canvases. I had lots of positive comments, people asked about the art and friends commissioned me to do art for their homes. Someone then suggested that I should put on an exhibition. I booked a gallery space, giving myself a deadline, and set about producing a series of paintings. When the exhibition opened, I sold several pictures and then some commissions for more work followed. I was churning out paintings and making money and it got to the point that I should declare the earnings, so I registered for self assessment with the tax office.

Then that was that...

At no point did it dawn on me that I was now, by the most basic definition; a business.

I didn't have the mindset of a businessperson. In my head, Tom Cat Designs was a hobby that made me some extra pocket money. As a result, I didn't do any research into the marketplace, my customers, competitors etc. I didn't have a plan or think about marketing, I didn't cost it out and didn't think about branding or assess my skills and look at areas for development.

With no direction, no plan and no goals, inevitably it fizzled out and I gave up.

If you want to turn your hobby into a business you need to be businesslike and that involves a shift in your mindset if you want to succeed.

I don't mean becoming some cutthroat, hard-nosed meany-pants about it, just to tell yourself; "Okay, I'm serious about this, let's do it properly."

I'm now on the next incarnation of my ambitions to work for myself, this time turning my lifelong love of writing into my Amy Morse, Authorpreneur business.


With two fiction titles already published... 

 

I'm now working on some business skills books. Look out for the first of these: 

'Operation Author: So You've Published a Book... Now What?' 

Business Skills for Creatives

I already give regular talks at events for creative entrepreneurs, and I'm available for more of this. 

I'm also working on a programme of Business Skills for Creatives. If you'd like to know more, check the website: 

www.AmyMorse.co.uk

or bounce me an email and I'll keep in touch: amy@tomcatdesigns.co.uk

What tips would you offer to people considering self employment?

When Books Become Art and Other Shiny Things

This year my 365 day project is:

Authorpreneur Almanac: 365 Adventures in Writing and Entrepreneurship

Evey day this year I am working on my Authorpreneur business and regularly sharing content, ideas, tips, techniques and inspiration for creatives and entrepreneurs (especially writers).

This is the third 365 day project I've done, having completed them for the past three years.

I suffer with 'idea-ism' (hence the name of this blog). Idea-ism is the affliction of having too many ideas.

By doing a 365 day project, I find I can focus my attention and alleviate some of the symptoms of idea-ism and actually achieve my goals.  If I don't focus, I tend to get distracted by minutia and the next shiny thing - I move on to other things before seeing through the last thing.

In 2013 I completed my first of these 365 projects. It was called: Project Book 365, something creative everyday with books.

I put a daily update on a Facebook page as I completed each activity: 

https://www.facebook.com/ProjectBook365

Projects ranged from deconstructing books, to dioramas in books, book binding and most notably, I publishing my first book, The Bronze Box.


 

All these small acts of creativity had been packed away gathering dust in a cupboard and this year I'm bringing them back out.

Bristol has more art trails than any other city in the UK, creativity in all its forms is the beating heart of my eclectic home city. 

I've exhibited at a couple of trails in the past, but this year will be the first time I've exhibited at Southbank Bristol Arts as an authorpreneur.

Now in its 13th year, Southbank Bristol Arts art trail is one of the oldest and best in Bristol and each year thousands of people flock to this welcoming community on the south bank of the river Avon to see artists in their homes, open studios, community spaces and performances all over the area.

The trail spans the weekend of 16th and 17th May and I'll be exhibiting in the community centre at the heart of this area; The Southville Centre 

Check out their website for this years artists listings: 

http://www.southbankbristolarts.co.uk/

The trouble is, 365 things is a lot to cram onto a table in a community hall. I've had to be quite selective about what to exhibit. I've tried a few mock ups for my stall:

And I also found some children's books I'd written a few years ago, that my husband helped to illustrate: The Spoilt Princess and Dinosaur Dave. I only have about 3 of each left, so these little beauties are as rare as hens teeth.
 
The most challenging decision, however, was; which book dioramas to display? 

They take up too much room opened up, so in the end, I've decided to pile them all up and invite people to rummage through and discover the secrets inside these books for themselves.

The next problem is what to charge for these random and unique pieces of art? 

The physical materials are inexpensive, but making them is fiddly and time consuming and each book is one of a kind. 

I've decided to sell these on a 'pay as you feel' basis. In other words, pay what you feel they are worth. 

The coolest thing about these dioramas is that when they're on the shelf they just look like any other book, until you open them up...

If you are in the Bristol area during the weekend of 16th & 17th May I highly recommend you visit the arts trail. 

There are over 170 local artisans displaying work as well as fun and games and activities for all the family. You can download the trail map here: 

http://www.southbankbristolarts.co.uk/download-map

It's free, but bring some cash so you can support some of these local creatives and buy some lovely things or at the very least, enjoy tea and cake at many of the venues on the route selling homemade goodies.

If you do visit, come and say hello to me, I'd defiantly appreciate the moral support. Also, if you tell me that you found out about the trail on this blog, I'll give you a 20% discount off anything you purchase from my stall.

Let's get inspired! 

A bit of fun...First Line Poems

I'm working on the first draft of the third book in the Sheridan and Blake Adventure series at the moment, Gabriel's Game.



In a fleeting moment of creative randomness, I wondered what would happen if I took the first line from every chapter of the first draft and put them together. I've switched the order around so it makes some sort of sense and here's the result - I call it, a First Line Poem:

Gabriel's Game a First Line Poem

 Tom leaned into the open passenger window of the blue London Cab, “Temple Meads please.”

Tom looked down the tunnel, hearing the familiar whistle and rattle as the train approached.

Tom blinked his eyes open, dreamscapes faded from memory and the comforts of sleep melted away.
Tom Sheridan pushed himself from the chair and shook his leaden limbs out, wrung his hands, rolled his shoulders and made for the window.

It had been a couple of weeks since Tom had been for a run.

Tom looked at the handset.

Harry hit pause on the TV and got up to answer the phone.

“Harry? May I call you Harry?” said Milton, a grin lubricating his face.

Milton Harkett looked up from his notes and offered a thin smile to the Agent he had summoned.

Milton said he was his best agent, Benedict Morris knew he was being flattered, but liked hearing it.

Benedict pulled up a chair alongside Angus and leaned his elbows on the table.

Benedict clutched the headset to his ears, listening hard for anything, any progress at all.

Sasha was swimming, at least, it was the best word she could come up with to describe the feeling.

Consciousness slowly returned in piercing waves.

“Sasha, come back to me,” whispered Tom.

‘My Tom’ – that’s what she’d said last night.

Tom had only told her what was necessary.

A rare insomnia had Sasha in its grip.

Sasha latched onto Tom’s arm for stability when he swiped the key card and jostled the door open.

“Nice place,” Tom followed Sasha into the apartment.

Tom’s socks muffled the sound of his footsteps as he padded across the lounge.
Tom ducked into the bedroom, a pink misty hue filtering through the French doors.

Tom set his glass of water down on the bedside table and moved around the bed.

Giraud la Riviere rose before the sun.

Giraud la Riviere tugged his cape around himself shielding his tired body from the autumn chill.

They’d tried two hotels already before stepping into the shiny air-conditioned lobby of this one.

“Aside from the obvious meteorological benefits, why Cyprus?” Tom assessed his white pieces on the chess board.

It was worth a try.

Tom pulled up to the high metal gate.

“Well, this is home,” Tom glanced back, smiling and held the door open.

Gabriel took the white cotton gloves from the desk drawer and slipped them on.

Kat leaned over the small heap of soft toys Elly insisted on sharing her bed with and pressed a lingering kiss onto her sleeping head.

“Where do you keep your car?”

Benedict polished the lens of his binoculars with a cotton handkerchief.

Rehu adjusted the focus on the binoculars.

“So what happens now?”

Hamed Moktari supped at his glass of mint tea, just the right temperature, crisp and refreshing, the fragrance filling his nostrils.

Sasha stood on the patio waiting for him, a warm fluffy towel draped over her arm.

Sasha worked it through in her mind, slotting the pieces into place.

Weirdly, it does capture some of the essence of the overall story. 
Here's a little more about it:



Bristol, 1205: A Templar Knight returns from the crusades seeking forgiveness. He failed to retrieve a sacred manuscript from the Library of Constantinople.



The Present: Archaeologist, Dr Sasha Blake is being hunted by an unseen enemy. Her only chance is to locate an ancient manuscript and trade it for her life.



Tom Sheridan is at her side, but is he really being hunted or is he one of the hunters?



They are offered shelter and assistance by a wealthy businessman, Gabriel Fletcher.



Can Gabriel be trusted or is he playing games with her?



Here's a bit of fun: 

Grab a book, any book

• Jot down the first line of the first 10 chapters
• Now mix them up and see what First Line Poem you can put together
• Share the result here, I'd be fascinated to see what you've come up with