Thursday 4 February 2016

10 things I learnt about myself by getting published, and things I would have liked to have known before I was

I got lucky.

The journey from starting my manuscript to getting it published was remarkably short. Two short years. And I do mean it when I say 'lucky' because luck plays a huge part in getting published. Of course, you need more than just plain old 'luck' to have a publisher pick you out from the millions also trying to get spotted. You need to be able write, and write well, but 'writing well' can mean far more than putting good words down on paper. It means being smart about the way you go about writing, about pacing yourself, how you know when to continue with a manuscript and when to change tack, as well as how to approach agents and publishers.

My debut novel, The Damned, came out in May 2015 (UK and OZ) with Duckworth Overlook, and will be published in the US and Canada in May this year with Overlook Press. It made it into the Book Depository's list of 'Best Books of 2015'.

In my time as an unpublished and then published writer, I've met a number of published authors and they're all completely different. None of them fit the same mould, other than it's clear they've been tested in some way by the experience of getting published and its left its mark upon them. It's also clear that they possess that vein of iron determination and grit about them. They've fought for, and they've survived the experience of, getting published.

I'm not sure if, like them, I carry this mark of getting published, an ambition I'd held since I was eight. But there are things I have learnt about myself that I never knew since writing and there are things I would have liked to have known before I had begun.

So here's a list of 10 for you, budding author, of what I've learnt in my journey so far;

1. Your first, second, and possibly third, manuscript will be rubbish
When I first started writing 'sincerely' I spent four years slogging away on my frankly ludicrous first manuscript that was to be 'my masterpiece'. Consisting of two towers and a band of dwarves (you can immediately see the problem here), I worked on this monstrosity for more hours than I care to remember, caressing every page, every line. It wasn't a total waste of time, because it helped me to begin to find my writing voice and proved to me that I loved sitting on my own in a chair writing for hours, days and weeks on end. However, I know I would have been far better setting myself shorter writing challenges and seeing where my direction best lay, rather persevering with my Tolkien-ripoff. Also, don't worry about finishing your first novel until you know it's something you genuinely want to put your name to. Writing, at the start, is about finding your edge, your voice, your love. The Damned was the first novel I ever completed.

2. Write your manuscript quickly, then rewrite it
In the early days I wrote and rewrote every page until I was utterly delighted by it, until it was, in my warped opinion, perfect. Then I moved on to the next page or scene, did the same, then the next, etc etc and so forth. What a ridiculous way of writing a novel! Writing is like art. When an artist sits down to paint, they don't work up in precise detail one part, then move on to the next. The five year old child at pre-school does this. The artist roughly sketchs out the piece, then they get in the tones, then initial colours, building up and up until the piece is finished. Writing is exactly the same. Write your first manuscript lean, get it mapped out, and then go back and rewrite over the bones.

3. Write every day
Whilst it took just two years to get published with The Damned, from first writing it to seeing it on the shelves, the journey to this point took me twenty years and over a million words. Writing is rarely something which hits like a bolt from the blue and empowers the writer to produce award winning prose from the start. It's like any skill, you have to work at it and a lot of this time feels soulless and pointless. But like elite athletes, you need to put in the shift if you're going to shift any units. I didn't write everyday. In fact, there were long periods of my life when I stopped writing completely. The longing and the ideas never went away, but I just, frankly, couldn't be arsed to write - and I regret this now. Would I have managed to get published sooner? Possibly, although see point 10. However, writing is a joy and I know I missed out on a lot of ideas and fun by not writing when I was doing something else. Which leads neatly on to…

4. If you'd rather do something else than write, give up and do something else
If you'd rather be out having fun than sitting at your desk and writing, give up and go and be amongst your friends and family. Writing is not a choice, it's a calling. Writers write, not because they have to but because they must. I felt it when I was eight years old and heard 'The Hobbit' read to me for the first time. It was like a calling. I understand why some people believe in God. It's as if a light comes on inside you, something which guides and commands - exactly the same as you feel as a writer. If you don't feel this compulsion, this drive, I suspect you won't make it - and you'll hate the journey trying to make it.

5. Be prepared for a long assault. Things don't happen quick
Someone once said to me, 'Writing a novel is like a war of attrition. You just have to be stronger than your book.' Novels take a long time to write. You should expect to put aside a year of your life to writing your novel. On top of this, you need to plan it (see point 6) and you need to research it. Once written, you then need to tout it around the agents and publishers. You might get lucky, like I did, and catch the eye quickly, or it might take years to get noticed. Whilst frustrating, if writing is your calling (see previous point), you will accept the time it all takes (begrudgingly, none the less.)

6. Embrace rejection. Love criticism
People in industry know best. You might not necessarily agree with them, but you have to listen to them and do as they suggest. You can be arrogant after your fourth bestseller. Up until then, listen and do as your agent, your editor or your published best friend mentor suggests. Don't see rejection as a bad thing. It's as much part of the industry as split infinitives and plot red herrings. Use it to guide and improve your manuscript. I've had some classic rejections. They've all been right and have helped in some way for me to become a better writer.

7. Plan your novel
The first two novels I wrote, The Damned, and a second unconnected novel straight after my first book, which might one day see the light, I wrote with no plan on paper, just a plan in my head. I got lucky (there's a theme here!). They were stories I had to write, and I knew how to write them. But luck runs out, as it did with me and Book Two of The Darkest Hand. I got myself in a pickle with it, a pickle which tormented me over and over again. The writing of the sequel took me too the edge of insanity and, at times, over it. Take the advice of a once broken man, plan your novel, and then write to this plan. It's so much easier and will allow you to concentrate on the quality of the writing, rather than on working out what's coming next - and if you're losing your mind.

8. Don't write for the money
I never set out to write for fame and fortune, so I'm glad I went into it with this knowledge already understood. But some people do write believing that they'll get published and never have to work again. The sorry truth is that only 1 in 10 published authors survives on writing alone. The average book sells 250 copies in its lifetime. It's not a business where you are likely to make any money at all. If this sounds unpleasant, scroll back to point 4 and reread. Remember, you write because you're commanded to, not because you see it as a cushy life everyone wants. It mostly likely will never be.

9. Always carry a notepad
Ideas come from the most weird of things and the most strange of times. Always have a pad at hand to jot them down. From the smallest idea, great things can grow. Writing is hard enough. Don't make it harder by trying to chase the good ideas in your head which have slipped just beyond your reach.

10. Magic happens, you just won't know when.
Magic is real. I know, because I've experienced it first hand. Sometimes you sit down and the book you're working on literally writes itself. The words come from somewhere inside you, a little magical store of them in your soul out of which they flow. Other times you can slog away and achieve nothing, and then this magical world reveals itself again and you power through. Whole parts of the Damned I read now and think, where did this come from? My second novel, I read it and think, did I really write this? I can't remember doing so! Magic. It happens. You'll never know how or when, but it happens. When it comes, harvest it, dear writer. Harvest it!

Good luck!

Wednesday 3 February 2016

My debut novel, The Damned, amongst the 'Best Books of 2015', according to the Book Depository

I was knocked out to discover that my debut novel, The Damned, had made the Book Depository's list of their best books of 2015!

The book depository, the world's leading specialist online bookstore (according to their web site), included The Damned, the first in my trilogy The Darkest Hand, alongside the likes of Man Booker Prize winning, "A Brief History of Seven Killings" by Marlon James and Jonathan Franzen's "Purity", as one of the best works of fiction of last year.


This news coincides with The Damned being one of Amazon's 'Picks of the Month' for February, currently discounted to a mere £1.69! A bag of greasy chips would cost you more and sit on your hips a lot longer than my dark fiction novel ever will.

So pass on the junk food snack and download The Damned today from Amazon UK or Amazon Australia - and see if my debut gets into your own book list!

You can also download the acclaimed prequel to The Damned, The Hunted, for FREE from Amazon UK and Amazon Australia.

For friends in the US and Canada, the wait is almost over. The Hunted and The Damned arrive 1st March, published by Overlook Press.

You can see the full list of 'best of' books at http://www.bookdepository.com/best-of-2015

---

For more information about me, visit www.tarnrichardson.co.uk

Monday 1 February 2016

The Damned, the first in my The Darkest Hand trilogy, is one of Amazon's 'Picks of the Month' for Feb. Get it cheap!

Just been told that The Damned, the first in my The Darkest Hand trilogy, is one Amazon's 'Picks of the Month' for February!

You can now own this first episode in the life of Inquisitor Poldek Tacit for just £1.69 or $3.24 in Australia. (Sorry, for my friends in the US and Canada, it arrives 1st March on your shores!)

Critically acclaimed, The Damned follows the adventures of Catholic Inquisitor Poldek Tacit at the start of World War One as he hunts down the killer of a Catholic Father within the city of Arras close to the trenches of the Western Front. However, quickly he discovers a far greater and more sinister plot which could have ramifications not just the church he serves but for the whole world.

"Engaging, intense and full of visceral descriptions, 'The Damned' is a sublime work of dark fiction meets mystery, meets horror that recalls the likes of 'Anno Dracula', 'Hellsing', and 'Constantine', with a hint of 'Fight Club'." (Intravenous Magazine)

"Richardson does a wonderful job of setting the scene; there’s plenty of atmosphere…The historical elements are fascinating, as is the author’s twist on the werewolf mythos, but the brooding, conflicted Tacit is the most compelling element. The conclusion will leave readers looking forward to the next installment." (Publishers Weekly)

"Allegorical and erudite, this imaginative first volume establishes a world, a monolithic villain, and a catapult for Tacit and Isabella, Sandrine and Frost to confront the evil lurking in the volumes to come." (Kirkus)

"Richardson's debut has mash-up leanings ... It works surprisingly well." (Daily Mail)

Download the The Damned, the Amazon Pick of the Week, from here UK or here Australia

You can also download the ebook preview to The Damned FOR FREE from UK or here Australia

Finally, the second installment to the Darkest Hand is released May 5th on Trade Paperback format. Reserve your copy now!

Friday 29 January 2016

Making a comic out of your novel

The early 1980s were a great time to be a geeky kid with a big imagination. On the back of a crop of really great films for kids (both large and small), such as Star Wars, Indiana Jones, ET, Krull, The Goonies, The Black Hole, the world of Dungeons and Dragons was just taking off. Alone in a big old scary house, with just the resident ghosts and my imagination to keep me company, I was in heaven.

The invention of Dungeons and Dragons arrived just as my eyes, ears and mind were starting to open to grand stories and story telling. Into this maelstrom of exciting possibilities, three of my biggest literary inspirations then turned up in my life; J.R.R.Tolkien, Fighting Fantasy books and 2000AD.


At the age of eight, when I heard our class teacher Mrs Jones read us The Hobbit, I knew straight away that I wanted to write stories. 'The Warlock of Firetop Mountain', the first Fighting Fantasy book, taught me the excitement in telling a fantasy story. And when I peered into 2000AD, I knew that some of those stories I wanted to tell would be comics.

I haven't told a story as a comic - yet. But I know I'm halfway through a trilogy which would make a blinding comic and I was lucky enough to meet a supremely talented artist called Warwick Fraser-Coombe at Comic Con London 2015 who was able to take my vision of the main character from The Damned, Inquisitor Poldek Tacit, and turn him into a comic character on shiny paper.

What little I've seen and experienced of the comic book marketplace suggests that it's a huge and vibrant industry, but one where, unless you get your break and make it with the big boys, it involves a huge amount of effort for very little financial return - a bit like any form of publishing then! Comic book artists are driven, spirited, passionate individuals who produce their work because they love the medium, the art of telling stories and seeing them come to life.

If you can, visit the next ComicCon at your nearest city and spend a couple of hours chatting to comic book writers and artists at their stalls. They'll renew your faith in humanity and fire your imagination.

One day Tacit might grace a tome or tomes courtesy of Image or Dark Horse comics? In the meantime, enjoy staring into the stony face of the main man drawn by Warwick. And be sure to say your prayers tonight! Tacit's armed, and he's not afraid to use his revolver and his faith against you!


Sunday 24 January 2016

Always back up your manuscript on the cloud!

Seeing a grown man weep is never a pleasant thing. For goodness sake, avoid witnessing it or experiencing it at all costs. Back up your work - and not just on your computer!

The Fallen proved to be the most difficult novel I have written to date; follow up pressure to the critically acclaimed The Damned; trying to keep the momentum and energy going from that first book; the 'Difficult second album' syndrome.

Nine months into the project and I had sixty thousand words, all of which took me to dead ends and cul-de-sacs. Unlike The Damned which poured onto the page and which I wrote without a deadline, with its sequel, things were not going so well and I had a deadline which was looming. I was in trouble. I was panicking. I decided a long weekend away in a lonely caravan on the cold Dorset coast would be just the ticket.

I packed up my laptop, reference books, notes, plus provisions; beer, whiskey, snacks and headache pills, and went down there. The caravan was just what I needed, bleak, bare, cheerless and perched on the very top of the cliff top.

I opened my laptop and  … my writing software crashed. Knowing I had saved it just before I headed down to the 'writing cell', I restarted it only to find my manuscript had corrupted, sixty thousand words crushed and mangled together in some weird 1960s beat poem of epic proportions. Chapter 1 had been thrust into Chapter 62. Half of Chapter 13 had been sliced and chopped and inserted into 12. One minute the inquisition were chasing demons and the next they were in bed with them. The whole thing was a disaster. And my only copy was the one which I had saved to my machine. The previous saved version was two weeks and thirty thousand words old.

I wept and held my shuddering head in my shaking hands.

If only I had backed up off my laptop.

It's obvious, but sometimes you just don't think about it. You must. I do, now.

Dropbox, OneDrive, Google Documents, there are loads of these cloud services which connect to your machine just like additional hard drives at your disposal. Not only is your work safe, but it's also accessible anywhere. So if you happen to touch down in Timbuktu and wished to do a spot of writing on the local PC, as long as you can get a wi-fi connection to grab your work, you're all set up.

Don't become a weeping casualty. Don't suffer experiencing a grown person cry. Back up your work on the cloud.

NB: I spent the entire first night in the caravan, about 6 hours, unpicking the entire mess of words and phrases. I don't use that story writing software anymore.

Saturday 2 January 2016

2016 - the year of thrills, spills and mystery!

Happy New Year!

December turned out to be the perfect book end to the year. After toiling hard all of 2015 with book two of The Darkest Hand trilogy, The Fallen, my editor at Duckworth and I finally finished it and put it to bed - or at least under the nose of the line editor to sort out my misspellings!

It was a huge relief to finish it before the year was out and have some time off from writing to recharge the batteries. When I started to write the second novel in 2014, I was warned that The Fallen could prove be the difficult second album, and it certainly was. It sent me to the edge of sanity and, at times, over it. Writing a novel is a difficult thing to do. You doubt your abilities, you lose your writing voice and style, you question where you are going with the story and what you are trying to say - and with a follow up novel, these troubles are magnified.

We got there, in the end, just, holding on to the last of my marbles. The church bells rang in celebration that I had finished - and my mates breathed a sigh of relief that I wouldn't be moaning any more to them about the trouble I was having.

And, most importantly, we've ended up with something I am proud of. It takes the thrills, spills and mystery of its predecessor The Damned and stretches them close to breaking point. The action and pace is unending and, perhaps at times, unnerving. I think I've written something which really can be called a 'page turner' and which hopefully will not disappoint fans of my writing.

With the The Damned I set out to write something which would be my statement to the world, something to move and perhaps make people think. With the The Fallen I've written something simply to entertain and excite. I sincerely hope it does.

It was lovely to have most of December away from the writing pad. I needed it, a chance to recharge the batteries, let the imagination restock and appetite return. At times I did find myself picking up my writing pad and jotting down some ideas but when those possible nuggets of inspiration do fall out of the fountain of creativity, you have to jot them down.

Now, fatter than I was a month ago but more fired up and raring to go, I've started to structure book three, The Risen. And it's already shaping up to be an appropriately huge conclusion to the trilogy. This detailed planning of a novel is a new thing for me. With The Damned, with Ripped, (a second unconnected novel I wrote), and The Fallen, I wrote without a coherent plan in place. I had a vague idea of where I wanted to get to and let the joy of writing take me there. I got lucky two times out of three, but the third time cost me dear in heartache and headaches, grey hairs, fingernails, my agent's patience, my mind and several of my years.

With The Risen I am taking a different tack and planning everything out meticulously. Story plan, chapter plan, character paths, everything worked out to the letter before I start. This way I'll hopefully save the sanity of all connected to the project, not to mention my own personal well being! Also, being a conclusion, everything needs to fit together and end beautifully. Or as beautifully as Inquisitor Poldek Tacit will allow.

And then that really will be the final 'book end'.

At some point in January, the plan for The Risen will be done and the writing will commence. By early summer I am hoping to have the first draft completed.