This summer at Merricks we had heaps of new and returned junior sailors. It was great to see, and wonderful that they seemed to all have a blast on and off the water. here’s some footage of some of the kids at play.

Merricks Yacht Club Junior Sailors is a post from: Richard Jagger

We got the Sharpie out this weekend – first time for the season. We borrowed a friend’s GoPro to strap to the back. The wind was a little light to make dramatic pictures, but it was fun anyway.

Sailing with a GoPro is a post from: Richard Jagger

I am writing my second novel at the moment, and just passed the 100,000 word mark and again noted my manuscript still doesn’t have a title – not even a working one. I’m not too fussed about this, but thought I would spend a few moments looking for some ideas on where to find the perfect name. I came across this small post on yahoo answers, written by someone named “Maryn”. Unfortunately there were no more details about Maryn, but I think the advice was worth reading. Take a look yourself.

Choosing a title for your book

Start by looking for the perfect one-word title. Jaws, Deliverance, Kidnapped… It’s probably in your story already, or is what your story is all about, even where it’s set.

Look up the significant words in at least one dictionary of quotations. (For your sweeping saga about a brewery, for instance, look up beer, ale, brew, drink, drunk.) Sometimes a portion of a quote makes a good title. Don’t rule out nursery rhymes (Along Came a Spider), Biblical references (The Quick and the Dead), Shakespeare (Halcyon Days), the Romantic poets (Sick of Shadows), ancient Greeks and Romans (An Unexamined Life), etc. just because your work has no relation to them.

Consider types of titles which catch the eye of a shopper or reader. You want a title that screams, “Look at me!”

There’s the contrast title (Talking Dirty with the Queen of Clean) containing two words that are opposites.
There’s the reversal title (How Two Boys Rode the Internet Out of Idaho) which includes an unexpected word.
There’s the pun title (Carl’s Bad Tavern).
There’s the rhyming title (Dress for Success).
There’s the alliterative title (The House on Hope Street).
There’s the repetition title (First to Love, First to Die).
There’s the paradox title (Hello, He Lied).
There’s the blunt statement title (Friday the Rabbi Slept Late).
There’s the imperative title (Bang the Drum Slowly, which is also a lyric-based title).
There’s the musical lyric-based title (‘Scuse Me While I Kiss the Sky), usually borrowing from very well know rock or pop lyrics but also from folk, jazz, etc.

To test your title, ask these questions: Can it be pronounced easily? Is it bland? Does it describe or fit the subject matter? Is it a cliche, or corny? Is it too sweet? Does it tell too much? Is it memorable?

The last bit of advice

Word of mouth sells more books than anything else, and you don’t want your reader to tell a friend, “I read the best book, but I can’t remember the name…”

Richard Jagger formerly worked in the biotechnology industry, and has completed his first novel “The Cure“. Apart from writing his second novel, he works as a professional photographer. He has had two solo photographic exhibitions and one joint painting exhibition. Further information can be found at www.richardjagger.com

What’s in a name? How to choose a title for your novel is a post from: Richard Jagger

I’m sure most people have come across the wonderful world of TED.com. If you haven’t, you’re in for a real treat. TED is essentially a library of fantastic, inspirational talks by some of the world’s most interesting people. The topics are vast, and you will no doubt find many that peak your interest.

I was told of one recently about the source of genius and creativity. “You’re a writer, you’ll find this interesting.” This particular presentation is by author Elizabeth Gilbert, best known by her work ‘Eat, Pray, Love’. Elizabeth presents a very interesting view of how people receive the inspiration. I don’t want to pre-empt what she says, but will suggest that if you are a creative person, and have ever suffered from or been worried about “block” (ie writer’s block), then you will find this very interesting.

Take a look!

Elizabeth Gilbert on Nurturing Creativity

Where does creativity come from? is a post from: Richard Jagger

Okay, so you’ve written something magnificent, and you’d like the world to see it. You’ve sent it to a few publishers and agents, even entered it in some competitions, but unfortunately no one’s taken up your book. So what are your options?

Self-publishing has often been seen as a bit of a poor brother to the big publishing houses, but there are some important things to consider here.

The positives of self-publishing.

If no one has an opportunity to see your book, how will you become a success?

Self-publishing does not mean paying someone huge dollars, only to be left with a thousand copies of your book piled up in the garage.

Self-publishing can still get you access to on-line stores such as Amazon, The Book Depository etc, that can enable you to be seen by thousands of readers.

The Royalties for self-publishing are typically way higher than going through a publisher.

As an unknown author, a publisher would expect you to spend a lot of time and even money self-promoting yourself and your book before they put any investment into the process. In that case why not do it yourself and keep higher royalties?

In the digital world of book reading, you can easily make your book available to customers with all types of electronic readers, for little or no cost.

But how do you do this? I’m going to show you how.

The easy and inexpensive way to publish your book yourself.

There are a number of companies around that help you to self publish, but I’m going to use one as an example – Createspace. Firstly, let me say that I am in no way affiliated with Createspace, other than I used them to publish a book of mine. I feel I can therefore give you an unbiased and real view of my experience with them, and how you go about doing it.

Createspace (I believe) was purchased by Amazon to provide a ‘print on demand’ facility for their stores. That means it is very easy for your book to be listed on Amazon.com if you use Createspace (In fact it is done automatically, and for free). You can also get access to other major suppliers, such as The Book Depository.

Do some, or all, of the set-up work yourself – your choice.

I liked using Createspace, because I could do as little or as much work preparing the book as I wanted to. I have a good handle on software such as Word, Photoshop, and Indesign, so I decided to do all the setup myself. It’s not that hard to create the files for hard copy books – the website gives you plenty of tutorials and videos to show you how.

I also had a friend who was a professional editor, so I used her (and a bunch of other friends) to edit and proof read my manuscript. I had heaps of fun designing a cover, and even found a tutorial on the web to help design my cover.

Createspace do offer professional services for interior design, editing, marketing, etc, but it is up to you if you want to use them or not. When you have created your account, and uploaded your manuscript, you can then order a proof copy to make sure all is looking as it should (I managed to get a free one from a promotional code, so keep an eye out for those). Once you are happy you can sign it off, and order copies for yourself. The price will of course depend on the book size, and number of pages, but I found it to be extremely good value. For my 95,000 word novel, it was US$4.78 a copy. The thing that hurts a little is postage, but is was still cheaper to have a copy sent from the U.S. than for me to ship a copy to Sydney from Melbourne (thanks so much Australia Post!). You can order as many or as few copies as you like, and you can order more whenever you want.

They offer a “pro-plan”, which makes it cheaper to buy your book, increases your royalty, and gives you expanded distribution. For US$39 per year, it was a no brainer for me.

Creating Digital Versions of your book for e-readers.

To get your book into digital format, Createspace offer a service to do this. You may also consider using a company called Smashwords, that will convert your book into a number of formats suitable for all types of e-readers, and even give you your own page on their site. They have a great tutorial to help show you how to do it, and best of all, it’s free! I used this service also, and found it quite easy to use.

The end result.

If you would like to see how these companies portray your book on their sites, visit my “book” page of my website and have a look – www.richardjagger.com/books. There you will see links to Amazon, The Book Depository, my Creatspace page and Smashwords. If you have an iPad, you will find my book in the iPad bookstore as well. As you can see, there are many effective ways for customers to find and purchase my book. My job now is to help them become aware of it!

And against self-publishing?

Let’s be honest, most of us would prefer to be published by a big publishing house, and be able to see you book on bookshelves across the country. Unless you are willing to spend time dropping into bookstores and sell them on the idea of stocking a couple of copies of your book, this won’t happen with self publishing. If your book does well with a publishing house, they will put more and more resources behind you to make the results even better for your future work. They will take over the marketing, and you can spend your time writing, or attending readings and book signings, chatting with your adored fans. However, if you find it difficult to get your manuscript read at a publishing house, or have been knocked back so many times you are starting to wonder if your book will ever see the light of day, consider self publishing.

Conclusion.

The companies I have mentioned here a just a couple of many that will help you get your book into print. For virtually no cost, you can have your book available through large book companies in a number of formats. The need for vanity publishers who command high fees to make your book a reality is a thing of the past – self publishing can now be a fun, inepxensive and rewarding experience.

Richard Jagger formerly worked in the biotechnology industry, and has completed his first novel “The Cure”. Apart from writing his second novel, he works as a professional photographer. He has had two solo photographic exhibitions and one joint painting exhibition. Further information can be found at www.richardjagger.com

Self Publishing your novel – a critical and practical review is a post from: Richard Jagger

This post relates to my blog series on the top ten tips to writing a novel. Visit my archives to see the full list, and other relevant postings.

This could be the most important tip of all. Everyone in this industry would agree you only get one shot with an agent or a publisher. They have too many manuscripts / ideas / proposals to get through to be able to come back to one of them after they have already knocked it back. So when you show it to a professional that you hope will want to take it on, make sure it is the absolute best that you can do.

After having partners, family members, friends, and teachers read your work for grammar, spelling, continuity, thought flow, etc, look into finding a manuscript assessor that has experience with your genre. This is good for two reasons. Being well versed in your style of writing, they will have some excellent tips on how to make it better for the paying customer, and as importantly, a publishing house’s editor. If they are well connected (and like your work), they may even be able to recommend particular agents or publishers who might have a fit with your work.

Bear in mind, that if your manuscript is accepted by someone, you can expect a publisher’s editor to suggest what you might consider to be dramatic changes. It might be re writing sections, deleting others, changing the narrative, etc. After all you have done, this might feel like starting from scratch, but it’s advice you have to take. And hey, isn’t it nice to have someone offering that advice?

Richard Jagger formerly worked in the biotechnology industry, and has completed his first novel “The Cure”. Apart from writing his second novel, he works as a professional photographer. He has had two solo photographic exhibitions and one joint painting exhibition. Further information can be found at www.richardjagger.com

Tip 10:Make sure your draft is the best it can be before you show it to a publisher or an agent is a post from: Richard Jagger

This post relates to my blog series on the top ten tips to writing a novel. Visit my archives to see the full list, and other relevant postings.

Well this should be pretty obvious, but sometimes we miss the apparent things. If you have an interest in writing, you no doubt have an interest in reading, and reading broadly. This is a good thing, but make sure you devote a significant amount of time to your own genre. Read the works of some really successful writers – writers that have been around for a long time, writers that have won awards, writers that reflect a style you would like to emulate.

The more of this work you devour, the more it sinks into your subconscious, so when you are on a creative roll, the style pours onto the page without you really having to think about it. Like exercise, you need to keep reading to ensure your mind stays ‘writing fit’ and in tune with your chosen style.

Of course, you should also read other genres too. A contradiction? Not really, great ideas will come from unexpected places, and you don’t want your work to become stale. Personally, I find it a great excuse to be able to call reading ‘work’, especially if you can find a comfy couch by a warm fire, or a deck chair by the beach.

Happy reading.

Richard Jagger formerly worked in the biotechnology industry, and has completed his first novel “The Cure”. Apart from writing his second novel, he works as a professional photographer. He has had two solo photographic exhibitions and one joint painting exhibition. Further information can be found at www.richardjagger.com

Tip 9: Read extensively within your genre is a post from: Richard Jagger

This post relates to my blog series on the top ten tips to writing a novel. Visit my archives to see the full list, and other relevant postings.

It’s really hard to come up with creative ideas “on cue”. Life just doesn’t work like that. I find that when you separate you mind from the problem at hand, you often have a solution pop into your head. When I’m walking the dog, I often bring myself back to the story line I’m working on, and see if anything new percolates. It’s amazing how new ideas can just begin to float before your eyes. Not that they are always good mind you, but the point is it gives you a chance to see things in a new light, with less pressure.

I also believe the shower is a great place for creative thought. As are traffic jams, and train trips. There are plenty of opportunities in our day to open our minds up to creative thought.

You don’t need a lot of time, just the willingness to let ideas float in and out of your conscious, and be in the frame of mind to pick out the good ones. Don’t put any pressure on yourself – sometimes nothing good will come, but other days you will get pearls!

Of course the other piece of advice is to have a means of capturing the idea. Pen and paper is good, but not great in the shower. I just read about someone who thought up a song while walking down the street, and had to send texts to their partner to capture the verses. You can always call your voice mail and leave yourself a message. What do you do if you’ve forgotten your phone, pen, and paper while walking on the beach? Well I’ve tried getting my dog to help me remember, but when I ask her for her thoughts later on, it always translates into food.

Richard Jagger formerly worked in the biotechnology industry, and has completed his first novel “The Cure”. Apart from writing his second novel, he works as a professional photographer. He has had two solo photographic exhibitions and one joint painting exhibition. Further information can be found at www.richardjagger.com

Tip 8: Use your “down time” for being creative is a post from: Richard Jagger

This post relates to my blog series on the top ten tips to writing a novel. Visit my archives to see the full list, and other relevant postings.

I know a lot of people who would love to write a book. Wanting to do it is one thing, but actually sitting down and writing it is another. There are so many distractions to get in your way – jobs, kids, hobbies, study, family, etc. When you don’t have a deadline, which is most likely the case when you write your first book, it makes it even worse. Everything else becomes a priority. “I’ll get back to the book after I’ve checked out my facebook page, which will be after I’ve looked at my ebay auctions, which will be after I’ve mown the lawn.

Everyone’s habits, and best productive time will be different, but common to everyone is the development of a routine, and some goal setting. Some people get up early every morning and write before the kids get up, and before they head off to work. Others write once the kids are asleep. I’m a morning person, and feel best if I can sit down and get some words down before tackling anything else. I then feel justified in taking a break to do other things, and often then find myself returning to it later in the day.

I think it’s important to be disciplined with your routine. You need to write on a regular basis. Sure there are days when you can’t fit everything in – extra medical appointments etc, but in general you should try to write 5 days a week, and 1000 words a day (or whatever goal you set yourself). The more often you write, the more in tune with your story you will be, and things will just flow better.

Richard Jagger formerly worked in the biotechnology industry, and has completed his first novel “The Cure”. Apart from writing his second novel, he works as a professional photographer. He has had two solo photographic exhibitions and one joint painting exhibition. Further information can be found at www.richardjagger.com

Tip 7: Develop a Routine for writing is a post from: Richard Jagger

This post relates to my blog series on the top ten tips to writing a novel. Visit my archives to see the full list, and other relevant postings.

Everything in the book – characters, descriptions, and objects – should have a purpose; otherwise it’s just a distraction.

If you want to make sure your story stays on track, is fast paced, and readable, you must stick to the story line, and make sure everything you write about is there for a purpose. I read a great line somewhere that said if there is a shotgun hanging above the fireplace in the first chapter, it needs to have been fired by the end of the book (sorry, I can’t acknowledge the author!). Every minor character, location, conversation, and object has to have a purpose. Maybe that’s to help paint a person’s character, help them get from one place to another, or set up a twist later in the story, or be the reason your hero is driven to find the murderer.

As you write, make sure the things you are writing about – describing, including in conversations, etc – are there for a reason. Ask yourself – would the reader be confused if this wasn’t in the book? Would the book suffer in some other way? If you can’t answer yes, then pull it out!

Richard Jagger formerly worked in the biotechnology industry, and has completed his first novel “The Cure“. Apart from writing his second novel, he works as a professional photographer. He has had two solo photographic exhibitions and one joint painting exhibition. Further information can be found at www.richardjagger.com

Tip 6: Make every word Count is a post from: Richard Jagger