by Sandra Gulland | Mar 17, 2012 | Adventures of a Writing Life, Publication, Sandra Gulland INK, The Many Lives & Secret Sorrows of Josephine B. |
I mentioned in an earlier post that I’ll soon have my Sandra Gulland Ink e-books up. In the words of a youngster I know, “Soon is a very long time.” We are close — very close! — but for the concern that a few typos remain.
I proofed the files in France last summer, in the backseat of a car full of film crew, radio blaring. Not ideal!
Since then, Kris Waldherr, designer and tech wizz, read about half the chapters, and found typos. There are others, no doubt, and I’m on deadline revising This Bright Darkness: so no time to spare!
Here is the request. Are there any of you who 1) have an iPad, and 2) would be willing to read the new digital edition of The Many Lives & Secret Sorrows of Joséphine B.?
If so, I’d email you the file with instructions on how to get it into iBook. Then all you would have to do is read it, highlight whatever errors you find, and email them to me. (iBook makes this very easy.)
If you are interested, let me know! sgulland AT sandragulland DOT com.
by Sandra Gulland | Mar 3, 2012 | Adventures of a Writing Life, Mistress of the Sun, Promotion, Publication, Sandra Gulland INK, The Shadow Queen, The Sun Court Duet |
A few weeks ago, as I’ve likely mentioned on this blog, I gave a workshop at the San Miguel Writers’ Conference: Net Book Promo for Luddites. I had given this workshop two years before at the Kingston WritersFest, but quite a bit had changed since then.
My intention is to someday offer the content of this course as a free e-book on this site.
The workshop went very well, but the experience, for me, was a bit fraught because:
1) of course the Wi-Fi didn’t connect,
2) we needed to track down a cord that would connect my newish Mac to the projector,
3) only to realize that I didn’t have the files I needed on my computer (because I was expecting a different type of projector).
And then Naomi Wolf slipped into the class: she of the kazillion Social Media followers! (If you haven’t read her book — or seen the resultant movie — The End of America: do. Extremely important.)
During the conference and after, writers Merilyn Simonds, Wayne Grady, Margaret Atwood and Graeme Gibson stayed with us. Do you think we talked about writing and publishing? You bet. It was a wonderful week.
With the help of novelist, designer and tech wiz Kris Waldherr, I’m getting closer to launching Sandra Gulland Ink, my e-book publishing venture.
The covers have been finished, accounts set up with Kobo and Amazon — iTunes yet to come. (Apple is so slow!)
I read a lot of e-books, and I want these to be special. Kris has done a beautiful job of designing the books inside and out. I’m imprint proud!
Also, of course, I’ve had to re-read all my books, to proof them. Also, of course, I’ve made changes.
I’ve been putting off re-reading Mistress of the Sun, however — but the time has come. It’s timely, because right now I’m working on the final draft of This Bright Darkness (working title of what will become The Shadow Queen), and the two novels are linked.
As I’m rewriting, I think often of Ariel Gore‘s summary of the revision process: lather and rinse, lather and rinse. Right now, I’m lathering, working up detail, adding scenes. Then I’ll edit (rinse) before I send the manuscript to my editor.
And then it will be time to dive into the next novel, my YA about Josephine’s daughter Hortense.
Busy: yes!
by Sandra Gulland | Dec 13, 2011 | Adventures of a Writing Life, Publication, The Shadow Queen |
I suffered two losses yesterday: Touchstone (a part of Simon & Schuster), my long-time publisher in the U.S., has turned down The Next Novel. I have four novels with them — with extraordinary sales overall — so I’m sad about this.
Ironically, the editor loved the novel, but the numbers just didn’t add up — and it’s all about numbers these days. Mistress of the Sun didn’t sell as well as the Trilogy — Who could out-sell Josephine? — and when the sales of your last publication tilt down, that’s all that matters. [See a post I wrote on this for Writers Unboxed, “Tyranny of the Numbers.”]
Basically, from a career-perspective, I’d need to write a strong commercial title to tilt those numbers back up. I’d need to write about a known historical person — a “marquee” subject.
I don’t write for the market — and no writer should, in my opinion (for many reasons, but in part because “the market” is an illusive beast). I write because there is something in a story that irresistibly interests me, and trust that readers will likewise find it worthy.
My other loss saddens me almost as much. I had a blog on Tumblr — “Ink” — where I tucked all the writing wisdoms I came upon. I had very few followers, but I loved this blog. I kept it for myself. By accident, I deleted it — and now it’s simply gone. There is no getting it back.
The wonderful thing about being a writer is the work itself — that’s what matters — so in spite of these losses, I feel buoyant. Today is a day to count my blessings: and I have quite a few, in fact. Many!
{Photo: At the South Pole, December 1911, from Wikipedia.}
More blessings: The rejected novel was picked up by the wonderful editor Melissa Danaczko at Doubleday US, where it was published as The Shadow Queen in 2014.
by Sandra Gulland | Mar 30, 2011 | Adventures of a Writing Life, Mistress of the Sun, Publication, Sandra Gulland INK, Tales of Passion, Tales of Woe, The Last Great Dance on Earth, The Many Lives & Secret Sorrows of Josephine B. |
I’m told by Allegra, the editorial assistant at Turnstone, Simon & Schuster, in New York, that ebook errors happen because the text is shrunk. I’m simply to let her know and they will be corrected. (Thank you, Allegra.)
So I returned to AmazonKindle to check what’s been highlighted by reader/proofreaders. Here’s what I discovered:
From The Many Lives & Secret Sorrows of Josephine B.:
–3 readers highlighted: In the light I see security, but in the shadows I see grief . . . in the shadows I see defeat.
–4 highlighted the typos “aman” (a man) and “aspisspotin” (as pisspot in)
–4 also highlighted: intelligent; she amuses; she is pleasing. She is grace and charm and heart. Unlike Rose: scared, haunted and needy. Unlike Rose with her sad life.
From Tales of Passion, Tales of Woe:
–3 readers highlighted, from the copyright page: Ogni talento matta. (Every talented man is a madman.)
–3 also highlighted: A woman’s truths, how secret they must be. Hidden, buried, only to emerge in the night.
From The Last Great Dance on Earth:
–6 readers highlighted the sentence: That we are born, we live and we die—in the midst of the marvelous. (A wonderful Napoleon quote, in truth. I worked hard to get it in.)
–3 highlighted: We are punished for our pleasures; if only we were rewarded for our pain.
From Mistress of the Sun:
–3 readers highlighted: Patience is the companion of wisdom, her father had often said, quoting Saint Augustine.
What does this tell me?
One, that there are not too many typos. And two, that readers like wise nuggets. And three: that the Amazon recording system may be suspect. It seems too coincidental. As a novelist, I’d never get readers to believe it.
You might be pleased to know that the second most highlighted text for all of Kindle is:
It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.
From Pride and Prejudice, of course, by Jane Austen: highlighted by 3547 Kindle users.
As for the #1 favourite? It’s a quote from Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese that begins:
The key to your happiness is to own your slippers, own who you are, own how you look, own your family, own the talents you have, and own the ones you don’t.
What do you think? Are you a highlighter? (I am: shamelessly so.)
by Sandra Gulland | Apr 7, 2009 | Adventures of a Writing Life, Mistress of the Sun, Promotion, Publication |
(Check here for more details.)
- April 7 — Historical Tapestry: http://historicaltapestry.blogspot.com/ Guest post: “Why I love unhappy endings.”
- April 10 — Reading Group Guides: http://www.readinggroupguides.com/content/index.asp Guest post: “How a bookclub changed me as a writer.”
- April 14 — Scandalous Woman http://scandalouswoman.blogspot.com/ Review.
- April 15 — Reading the Past: http://readingthepast.blogspot.com/ Guest post: “What to leave in . . . and what to leave out: crafting a story from history.“
- April 16 — Marta’s Meanderings: http://martasmeanderings.blogspot.com Review, giveaway, guest post: “The ups and downs of historical research.”
- April 17 — Travels of the Bookworm: http://travelsofthebookworm.blogspot.com/ Giveaway, guest post: “Viewing history through a kaleidoscope.” Hosting the giveaway right now!
- April 20 — Historical Novels: http://historicalnovels.info Q&A
- April 21 — Devourer of Books: http://www.devourerofbooks.com/ Guest post.
- April 23 and 24: Peeking Beteen the Pages: http://peekingbetweenthepages.blogspot.com Review and guest post.
- April 24 — Epicrat: http://epicrat.blogspot.com Q&A
- April 29 — Planet Books: http://planetbooks.wordpress.com/ Q&A
- April 29 — Booking Mama: http://bookingmama.blogspot.com/ Review, giveaway and guest post.
- May 1 — The Tome Traveller: http://thetometraveller.blogspot.com Review and giveaway.
- May 1 — Racous Royals: http://blog.racousroyals.com Review and guest post.
- May 4 — Shhh! I’m Reading: http://shhhimreading.blogspot.com/ Review and guest post.
- May 5 — My Friend Amy: http://www.myfriendamysblog.com/ Review and guest post.
- May 7 — Enchanted by Josephine: http://enchantedbyjosephine.blogspot.com Review, giveaway and guest post.
- May 8 — Skrisha’s Books: http://www.skrishnasbooks.com Review.
- May 14 — Linus’ Blanket: http://linussblanket.com Review and giveaway.
- May 15 — Kris Waldherr http://kriswaldherr.com/blog Review, Q&A and giveaway
- May 20 — Books Love Jessica Marie: http://bookslovejessicamarie.blogspot.com Review and giveaway
by Sandra Gulland | May 22, 2008 | Adventures of a Writing Life, Mistress of the Sun, Publication, The Shadow Queen |
James Macgowan has published an article in the Ottawa Citizen, “After the End,” asking writers what they do after a novel is finished. I’m in that space now (and starting to feel a bit too much at home in it). I was somewhat pained by Alan Cumyn’s claim that the novel is never really over, reassured by Andrew Pyper‘s “cut adrift” feeling, and totally related to Scott Gardiner‘s getting onto all the chores that were ignored in that all-consuming last push to finish. Gail Anderson-Dargatz‘s answer was romantic and charming:
I have a confession to make: I have an “affair” with my next project before I finish the first, just so I avoid many of the feelings of separation that come when I “divorce” my main novel project and move on. And I do go through real separation at the end of a project, with many of the accompanying feelings of grief, anger, exhaustion and general stress, before finally coming to an acceptance that yes, the relationship is over and it’s time to move on. After all, I’ve spent the better part of five years with this novel. Moving on to that new project before the old “marriage” is over means I have something exciting to look forward to, a place to redirect my focus, so I don’t stay in the doldrums as long. So a little fling is a good thing. I think those feelings of separation as we move out of a project are necessary in giving us distance from it, so we can move into the editing process with a new perspective. It’s very much like that moment when you see your old love on the street (after the divorce is over) and you can see the guy for who he really is, and can judge him accordingly, without the fuzz of love to distort your perceptions.
It took me a moment to realize that this is exactly what had happened with Mistress of the Sun. I’d finished The Many Lives & Secret Sorrows of Josephine B., and decided to have “an affair” with Louise de la Vallière‘s story before returning to the very long marriage of the Trilogy. After finishing the Trilogy and writing an early draft of Mistress, I took a detour into the life of La Grande Mademoiselle—whose story I may well write about now. It reminds me that writing is more of a meandering journey where nothing really is wasted.
