My First Love

Apologies if you’ve come expecting torrid tales of teenage romance.  But trust me, that would be a very dull tale about several duds who I thought I loved followed by one truly perfect fit who makes me very happy – a simple tale that would never be a best seller!

No, the first love I’m talking about is writing, and specifically writing plays.  I was lucky enough to go to a primary school that encouraged us to use our imaginations, and as it was in Wales we had an eisteddfod every year where we were awarded prizes for writing stories and poems.  But I do remember also being allowed to put on short plays that were written and directed by me, and usually also starred me in the leading role.  They were probably excruciatingly awful, but the seeds were sewn at an early age for a career of writing for theatre.

My secondary school did all they could to crush the creativity out of their students, but I was lucky enough to discover a youth arts centre where I was able to rise through the ranks in the youth theatre, and eventually ended up running one of their groups.  It also gave me the opportunity to put on a few of my own plays, but I still had no idea how to make a career from writing.  So I went to drama school where I quickly realised I didn’t want to be an actor, but I was lucky enough to be given an altered course, which enabled me to write for my fellow students.  The play I wrote for my final project was a piece of Theatre-in-education about pregnancy and sexual responsibility, which toured schools and youth clubs for several years and brought in a nice income for a while.  But as the first half was based around a pregnancy test, which in the 1980s took half and hour, the introduction of the five minute test eventually made the play obsolete.

Then twenty years ago I started writing science theatre for schools, and it sort of stuck.  And although the work I’ve produced has been extremely well received, I think that making a comfortable living meant the death of that little spark of creativity that made me so excited about the possibilities of each new day.  So when earlier this year the government cut all the funding to the organisations that booked our work into schools I had a huge panic about money, but creatively I haven’t had such a good year for ages.

Now here’s the teaser.  I have some really exciting things in the pipeline, and promise faithfully to blog regularly as each project unfolds.  But for starters I can announce that I have two short plays going on at the Everyman Theatre in Cheltenham during November, and I’ll be teaching a course at the Guildhall Gloucester on play writing for beginners on 5^th November. 

Does this mean I’ve given up on the novels?  Absolutely not!  But I am thoroughly enjoying this torrid affair with my first love.              

Safe Sex and the Romantic Novel

Romance novels are all full of idealised relationships, which give women an unrealistic idea of sex and get them into trouble.  That’s the impression of many people who love to knock the very idea of the romance novel, and much as I’d love to leap in to defend the genre I write in, I have spent some time this week thinking about both sides of the argument.

I followed a comment thread on Facebook, which had been stimulated by an article in the Sunday Observer by Catherine Bennett (10^th July).  Her article was responding to an article by Susan Quilliam in the Journal of Family Planning and Reproductive Health Care.  The gist of the whole debate was about Romance novels making women sexually irresponsible.

I agreed with most of the Facebook comments about women needing to take personal responsibility, and that policing romantic fiction to make sure the safe sex message gets across would be ridiculous.  But putting aside the idea that women reading endless idealised love stories would emulate their heroines and fail to use a condom, another idea struck me when following the debate.

Romantic novels sell.  They are hugely popular and account for a massive share of the book market, and yet they are constantly attacked as being a lower form of literature.  It’s no wonder romance authors leap to defend their genre when attacked, but criticism can often offer an opportunity to improve, and this week’s debate is offering just that.

Like any good writer I read widely in the genre I am working in, but find far more books to hate than to love.  The problem I have with many is that I just don’t believe what I’m reading could actually happen.  For me to get a thrill I need to believe the possibility that what’s happening in the book could happen to me.  Safe sex is something we all have to think about, and although we’d all like to give into our passions, there comes a moment in every relationship when the condom discussion has to be done.  Many romantic novels do tend to gloss over this awkward moment, but putting aside the responsibility argument, what about the literary argument.  Isn’t it more interesting to read about the complexities of starting a sexual relationship than to have the bedroom door closed in our faces?  And taking two possible heroes: the one who ruthlessly takes what he wants, or the man who cares enough to buy and use a packet of condoms, I know which one would make my heart race.

I have worked with young women trying to teach them about safe sex, and although it is wrong to say that they were never influenced by romantic books or films, it is too simplistic to say that sticking a condom on our romantic heroes would eliminate STDs and unplanned pregnancies in an instant.  But making our books more realistic could make them more readable.

The times have changed.  Women have changed.  Contemporary romantic fiction needs to constantly evolve to reflect the reality of sexual relationships, and in doing so it may satisfy our readers in ways we never thought possible!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bitter-Roots/dp/B004RPWJEE    My contemporary romance novel in which I have tried to adhere to my argument above.

Dealing with Rejection

This blog is aimed at writers, but everyone faces rejection now and then, and the emotions experienced are likely to be the same, but in varying degrees, so I hope this will prove useful to all who read it.  But every writer will have to deal with rejections, and it can be hard to handle.  This is meant to be a positive guide to handling rejection.

The chain of rejection

Agents will reject you:  If you’re going down the traditional route of trying to get an agent there will be that first battle to find one who likes you and your work.  You’ll probably collect a nice pile of standard rejection letters, but if you’re very lucky you might even get a few words of encouragement.  Hold on to these! 

Publishers will reject you:  Even if you’ve managed to get an agent on your side, you will still probably have to deal a lack of enthusiasm from a number of publishers, until you hit on the one who’s going to make your dream into reality.  It does happen!

Readers will reject you:  Once your work has made it to publication, there are then the reviews to handle.  It’s unlikely that everyone will love your beautifully crafted work, and this can often be the hardest rejection to handle.  But you really can’t please everyone!

THE GOLDEN RULE!  Do not take any rejection of your work personally.  All opinions are subjective, and you have to learn as you go through the process, taking any useful advice you’re given and accepting criticism gracefully.

So, how does rejection affect people?  There is a theory that people go through 5 stages of grief.  This is usually applied to bereavement, but knowing these stages can be a useful aid to help deal with rejections, which in a small way are the death of a hope or desire.

The Five Stages

DENIAL: How can they reject my work; it’s brilliant!  Well, maybe it is brilliant, but just isn’t right for them.  Take on board any useful comments, but accept the rejection and move on.

ANGER: What does that arsehole know?  At this stage DO NOT under any circumstances communicate with the person rejecting you.  Remember, it’s not personal it’s just one person’s opinion.  Do whatever non-harmful thing you need to do to release the anger then let it go.

BARGAINING: I don’t think you read it properly, if you’d just take another look.  Unfortunately, unless they’ve asked you to make revisions and resubmit, no means no.  Find someone else to send to.

DEPRESSION: Everybody hates my work!  I’m a failure!  When you’ve received nothing but rejection you’re bound to start feeling like this, but look at it as a process.  You’re just trying to find one person amongst hundreds who will value and champion your work.  YOU need to have faith in your work, so it can help to collect any positive comments you receive from anyone then to type them up and stick then on your wall where you can see them.  If you’ve not received any positive comments then look at the criticisms – is there a pattern?  Is there anything you can do to make your work better?  Constantly look for anything useful that will help you to move forwards.  And if you really need it, there is lots of professional help out there.  It can cost lots of money to go through a literary consultancy, but you could go on courses, you could network with other writers, go to talks, read writer’s magazines.  You don’t have to do this alone.

ACCEPTANCE:  If you get a rejection, or even a pile of rejections, feel free to pass through the four stages above, but then pick yourself up and move on.  Think of the stories you’ll tell at Literary Festivals in the years to come of how you struggled to achieve your goal.  And if you don’t ever achieve your goal, perhaps it wasn’t the right goal for you.  But at least you can be happy that you put yourself out there and tried.  Think of another goal and start all over again.

Try, try again, try harder, and then maybe try something different. 

Good luck!

  

E-publish and/or be damned!

When you start writing a novel the first piece of advice you’re often given is to write for yourself.  But once you’ve toiled for what may be years on this mighty tome, the next question you’ll be asked is, ‘who is it for?’  And apparently the answer, ‘well it’s for me’ does not lead to publication.  New authors seem to be expected to slot neatly into fairly exact categories.  The advice when submitting to agents or publishers is to state clearly what genre, and which authors it would sit next to on a bookseller’s shelf.  For example, it is an Urban Fantasy aimed at the Young Adult market, and would sit next to Neil Gaiman or China Mieville (you hope).

My first novel, a thrilling story about a female wrestler battling to keep her past under wraps when fame finds her, was un-publishable because there was no category that it easily slipped in to.  So when I started writing ‘Bitter Roots’ I decided that I would aim it at the Romance market because at the heart of the story there is a couple who are clearly destined to be together.  But ‘Bitter Roots’ is a dark novel, inspired by gothic writers, although it is set in the present.  There is also a thriller element, and a hint of the paranormal.  Thinking of a classic novel such as ‘Rebecca’ would you class that as romance, thriller or paranormal?  Lucky old Daphne DuMaurier didn’t have that hurdle to jump.  And even within the romance category there are many sub-genres: historical, contemporary, paranormal, and chick-lit to name but a few. 

So after categorizing my book as Modern Gothic Romance I started sending it out to agents and publishers, and quickly gathered a pile of satisfyingly encouraging rejection letters.  All said that ‘Bitter Roots’ was a well written book with a strong story BUT that there is no place for it in the current market.

So e-publishing seemed the only way to go.  It was extremely easy.  With only moderate computer skills I was able to get a Kindle version onto Amazon both in the UK and US, and by using social networking to get as many people to buy it at the same time I was able to propel ‘Bitter Roots’ into the top 50 on the Contemporary Romance chart.  So with a best seller on my hands I embarked on a publicity campaign.  After one simple press release to the local paper I had one article printed, followed by a full-page spread, and then an interview on local radio. 

I feel very proud of myself.

But I’ve been following many online discussions about e-publishing, and there is a very clear split between the US and the UK.  In the US there is a thriving network of Indie authors pumping new and exciting work into the market, and more importantly supporting each other with many ways to develop readers and build sales.  In the UK there is a much more cautious approach, with many negative comments directed at e-published authors.  I won’t bore you with the arguments; you can find them easily enough online.  But I simply looked at how the music industry has evolved and thrived with online sales and I decided to be a part of this exciting new opportunity.

I am very happy to share information on any part of the process I’ve mentioned above, and I am always happy to meet or communicate with other authors.

My website has contact my details as well as more information about 'Bitter Roots' and how to download it from Amazon www.jarekadams.com

And you can find me all over the web by simply Googling my name.  It seems that there is only one Jarek Adams!

Citizen and Echo Weekend feature

I've searched for a link to the article about me featured in the Gloucestershire Citizen and Echo's Weekend supplement but there doesn't seem to be one, so here is the text, along with something nice that happened as a result of this article being published.

It was an interesting way of promoting Bitter Roots, and did help to boost my sales.  By asking me about my reading habits it seemed like an opportunity to promote my book without being pushy about me, me, me.

Here is the interview:

What books do you remember reading as a young child?
I loved reading about magic and witches. I remember one called Late for
Halloween about a witch who had to live in a girl's garden for a whole year
as she'd missed the big Halloween party. I imagined I was that little girl
and shared her adventures as I read the book. I also loved ghost stories as
my mother was always telling me what the ghosts in our loft were getting
up to.

What books shaped your childhood/teenage years?
I read anything I could lay my hands on by Joan Aiken.  She died a few
years back, but I still think she is one of the best children's authors I've
ever read.  She shifts events in our past creating an alternative history, and
invents a world that is so incredibly vivid.  I wanted to be my favourite
character from the Wolves of Willoughby Chase series, Dido Twite.  If you
love Philip Pullman's books, you would love Joan Aiken. She's the one
author from my childhood I still go back to and re-read.

What are the most memorable book(s) you've ever read and why?
Without a doubt, that would be The Colour Purple by Alice Walker.  I read
it in my early twenties and it has lingered in my mind ever since. I love the
story of strong women battling to break free of their dreadful lives, and
without giving the end away, I cried buckets of happy tears.

How many books do you have?
Walls covered with them in every room, which is why I bought a Kindle.

Do you have a favourite author(s)?
Anita Shreve and Alice Hoffman, who are both are both amazing
storytellers.  They're both American, but I am always on the look out for
UK authors I can love as much.  I did love Mad Joy by Jane Bailey who I
think is from somewhere in Gloucestershire.

What are you reading at the moment?
I'm re-reading Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre, which I downloaded for free
onto my Kindle.  As you may be able to tell, I have a bit of a thing for
Gothic.

Where do you like to read?
I like to read in bed, just before I go to sleep.  That way my dreams are
often coloured by whichever story I'm currently wallowing in. Tonight I'll be
going back to Thornfield Hall to find Mr Rochester.

Do you think the way we read is changing for the better with e-books?
E-books are certainly better for the environment as there's no paper used,
but they will also open up publishing to new authors as publishers will not
have to risk the cost of a huge print run.  I am a committed book lover, and
I was resistant at first, but I've had my Kindle for a couple of months now
and I am a complete convert.

Why do you think reading is so important?
It expands our minds opening us up to new ideas and ways of looking at
the world.  We get to meet people we might otherwise never meet, and to
travel places we may never be able to go to.  In a word - escapism.

And the nice thing that happened?
A few days after the article was published I was contacted by Jane Baliey who I mentioned in the feature.  She was very happy for the plug and generously offered me advice that will help to get Bitter Roots out there to more readers. 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bitter-Roots/dp/B004RPWJEE

Wild excitement!

It’s been two weeks since I launched my novel Bitter Roots on Amazon as an ebook.  It shot up the charts from 64,000 to 49 and stayed in the top 100 all over the weekend making it an instant best seller.  Although it has dropped down quite a bit now, I have been using that huge leap up the charts to get some publicity.

So far that’s working.  I was in the local paper yesterday, and now BBC local radio want to interview me on their afternoon show next week.  I’m really looking forward to that, and hope I can get some more sales from it.  I’ve also been asked to talk to a writer’s group about my experience of writing and publishing Bitter Roots, which is really good as I am very happy sharing the tips and knowledge I’ve picked up so far. 

This all goes to show that having a support network of friends and social networking with other writers can really help to get a new author’s work out to a wider audience.  But I now need to ask one of two things from all of you –

If you’ve bought my book, first of all THANK YOU!  But once you’ve read it please let me know what you think of it.  I’ve already had excellent feedback on Amazon and Bitter Roots is currently rated at 4½ stars, which is amazing.

If you didn’t get round to buying it two weeks ago, then thank you also.  If all my sales had come at once then I’d have no where to go but down the charts.  So if you haven’t bought Bitter Roots yet, please do.  Climbing back up the charts would be a huge help to me, but would only cost you £1.71

and with the Easter break coming up, what better time to have a dark, modern Gothic romance to wallow in?

To buy a copy just follow this link   http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bitter-Roots/dp/B004RPWJEE

No eReader, No Problem - If you don’t have an eReader you can download a kindle app from Amazon for free, and then as well as downloading my book you can download many others cheaply or even for free.  If you’re not sure about how you would enjoy reading a book on your computer, I’ve spoken to a few friends who downloaded my book to their computers and the consensus is that it’s fine.  One writer friend said that she works at her computer all day then she reads my book for half an hour to wind down before facing the world!  

News next week of how I plan to build my sales in the US.

Help I'm slipping away!

First of all I have to say that last night was really good fun.  It is so gratifying seeing your work rocketing up the charts, and knowing that it’s all down to the support of your friends.

But now the hard work really starts.   Bitter Roots is already slipping down the charts, so I need to ask more of everyone out there.  If you haven’t yet bought a copy, please do so.  It’s only £1.71, and I think the last time I bought a book that cheaply it was from the Puffin book club in my Junior school.

If you have bought a copy, once you’ve had the chance to read it, please let me know what you think of it.  Leave feedback on Amazon, and I will humbly accept any words of criticism.  Love it or loathe it, I need to know what you think.

A number of people have asked me why I decided to e-publish.  Why not get it published through the usual channels?  I know there is a certain level of snobbery against authors who self publish.  If it’s good enough to be published it would be, right?  But how many books have you read and cried out loud – how the hell did this get published?

I’ve had really good feedback from the RNA, and from other people who know what they’re talking about, but Bitter Roots just hasn’t managed to break through the agent/publisher barrier yet.  I will keep trying, but a part of me thinks that the whole world of publishing is changing, and it feels good to be a part of this revolution.   

jarek Adams, Bitter Roots  www.amazon.co.uk/-/e/B004TF37ZW