Maria Savva's Blog - Posts Tagged "conference"
Guest Post: When Indie met the establishment! by Laxmi Hariharan
**Today, I'm featuring a guest post from a fellow author, Laxmi Hariharan, about the The Literary Consultancy's upcoming conference: 'Writing in a Digital Age', which takes place next weekend in London.**
When Indie met the establishment!
Cut to twelve months ago—as a just born Indie, I listened to Kate Mosse (author Labyrinth) talk about how she was not on Facebook, Twitter or any of those necessary evils, which help Indie authors like myself build a platform. On a panel discussion she made it very clear that she preferred not to have her peace of mind destroyed by social media chatter, in order to really focus inwards and write. A fellow author confessed how she was beyond the point of being a social media junkie—she stayed connected even when she took her dog for a walk. It was clear to me that as a writer and a marketer I needed to find the sweet spot somewhere between the two. I needed to become a spider—a black widow?— an arachnid who sat square in the entre of a 720 degree social network web, and controlled everything that went around me, not the other way around.
It was about choice. I absolutely had the right to decide when I wanted to dip in and went I wanted to unplug. Isn’t that being an Indie author was all about.
Exercising your right to be read, to be seen and heard unadulterated by veils. Just one of the many insights I gained from attending the writing in a digital age conference, held by TLC. I will be back at the 2013 instalment of the same, as part of the storytime sessions, talking about where I am twelve months on—wiser, more confident, and in the throes of completing Return to 7 Islands (#2, Bombay Chronicles.) If you are wondering whether to go Indie or if you are Indie and pondering what next, then this is where you want to be. You will get the chance to meet fellow Indies as well as published authors, publishers, and agents too (some of them are really nice too, I promise.)
Writing in a Digital Age, June 7-8, London. Tickets on sale till June 6th.
Laxmi Hariharan is a content branding strategist and award winning author of epic fantasy. Find her at LAXMIwrites
When Indie met the establishment!
Cut to twelve months ago—as a just born Indie, I listened to Kate Mosse (author Labyrinth) talk about how she was not on Facebook, Twitter or any of those necessary evils, which help Indie authors like myself build a platform. On a panel discussion she made it very clear that she preferred not to have her peace of mind destroyed by social media chatter, in order to really focus inwards and write. A fellow author confessed how she was beyond the point of being a social media junkie—she stayed connected even when she took her dog for a walk. It was clear to me that as a writer and a marketer I needed to find the sweet spot somewhere between the two. I needed to become a spider—a black widow?— an arachnid who sat square in the entre of a 720 degree social network web, and controlled everything that went around me, not the other way around.
It was about choice. I absolutely had the right to decide when I wanted to dip in and went I wanted to unplug. Isn’t that being an Indie author was all about.
Exercising your right to be read, to be seen and heard unadulterated by veils. Just one of the many insights I gained from attending the writing in a digital age conference, held by TLC. I will be back at the 2013 instalment of the same, as part of the storytime sessions, talking about where I am twelve months on—wiser, more confident, and in the throes of completing Return to 7 Islands (#2, Bombay Chronicles.) If you are wondering whether to go Indie or if you are Indie and pondering what next, then this is where you want to be. You will get the chance to meet fellow Indies as well as published authors, publishers, and agents too (some of them are really nice too, I promise.)
Writing in a Digital Age, June 7-8, London. Tickets on sale till June 6th.
Laxmi Hariharan is a content branding strategist and award winning author of epic fantasy. Find her at LAXMIwrites
The Literary Consultancy's Conference 2013: Writing in a Digital Age
I have just come back from a two-day conference at the Free Word Centre.The conference was organised by The Literary Consultancy, in partnership with The Times Literary Supplement.
I am very grateful to my fellow indie author, Laxmi Hariharan, for telling me about the conference and arranging a press pass for me so that I could attend the event.
I enjoyed the conference and learned a few things that I am sure will help in my ongoing publishing adventure. Highlights for me were:
1. The keynote speech by Audrey Niffenegger (author of The Time Traveler's Wife). I picked up a signed copy of her novel, Her Fearful Symmetry, which I am very much looking forward to reading.
2. Steve Bohme's statistics about book sales (Bowker Market Research).
3. The speech by Robert McCrum, an associate editor of The Observer, about his perspective on the change in the contemporary book world.
4. Audience Storytime, where we heard from some independently published authors about their experiences with self-publishing.
5. Canon Tales: Stories Behind the Book, where we heard from various industry professionals about their love of literature and their hopes for the future of literature.
I'm going to be reporting back on what I learned at the conference in a short series on my blog in the coming weeks. There was a lot of information about how the book world has changed with the digital revolution. There were discussions about self-publishing, editing, what works best for marketing both traditionally published and self-published books.
It was well worth attending the conference. I met a few fellow writers who I will be keeping in touch with too. All in all, it was an enjoyable experience, and an informative and entertaining couple of days.
I have taken some comprehensive notes of all the speeches and discussions and will be writing about those soon.
Notes from The Literary Consultancy's conference 2013 - Writing in a Digital Age: Audrey Niffenegger
I attended The Literary Consultancy's conference at the weekend and really enjoyed it.
In the coming weeks I am going to be sharing some of the highlights of the conference with you, and also my thoughts on the event.
I'm hoping the series of blogs will be useful to writers and readers.
*******************************************************************************************
The first speaker at the event was Audrey Niffenegger, author of The Time Traveler's Wife.
I found her speech interesting and inspirational.
Audrey is a visual artist as well as a writer. She said most people's reactions in the publishing industry to the way the digital age is developing is "jumpy and alarmed".
The backdrop for her speech were various slides based on the history of typography and how the letters of the alphabet developed over the years and in different languages. I think she said the pictures were from Meggs' History of Graphic Design.
Audrey Niffenegger was trained as a visual artist and she said that the way she thinks of a book is in terms of putting images and words together. She was 40 when she wrote her first novel.
When she trained as an artist, she said it was all about expressing ideas, not going with the flow, not following trends, breaking new ground. She was inspired by Aubrey Beardley.
In Niffenegger's last two years at art school she wrote a book that was mostly pictures with a bit of text, The Adventuress. When she graduated she tried to get it published but it was rejected because it was too original and different. She went on to show it at an art gallery and sold a few copies.
14 years later she wrote another illustrated book, The Three Incestuous Sisters and sold only a few copies. In the process of doing that, she got involved with other people doing conceptual books. She and a group of other book artists, papermakers, and designers founded a new book arts centre, the Columbia College Chicago Center for Book and Paper Arts. The idea was to tie in art with computer, sound, film, video, interdisciplinary arts.
Tn 1994 they started offering classes and a couple of years later graduate dregrees (MFAs Master of Fine Arts). Many of the students were graphic designers. The idea behind the book art centre was to allow students to do what they want.
While working there as an assistant director, she was in charge of writing the catalogues describing the classes and she wanted to find ways of making the descriptions of the classes more interesting, so she started writing them more creatively and this made her mind think differently. It was around that time she started writing The Time Traveler's Wife.
The idea behind that novel, for her, developed by asking questions. She began to find that her own reality worked its way into the fiction, for example one of the characters in the book is a paper-making artist.
When she sent the manuscript out, it was rejected more than thirty times. Then an independent press picked it up and published it. At the time, that independent press MacAdam/Cage only had 14 employees. The novel has since sold 7 million copies and has been translated into many different languages, and of course there is now a film.
She found that the success of that book allowed her the freedom to experiment with other publishing. Her first book picture book, that had been initially rejected, was then picked up by Abrams and has sold well.
Audrey stated that the reach she now has, due to the success of that one book, has created opportunity. Her current project is a fairy tale that has been made into a ballet, Raven Girl.
The whole nature of publishing has changed since she first published The Time Traveller's Wife. She explained how when she signed the contract, the concept of e-book rights wasn't even considered, so she found she still owned all the rights. She didn't publish it in e-book for quite a while, wanting to wait for the right moment.
A great influence on Audrey has been her agent, Joe Regal. In 2011, he started a company called Zola Books, named for the writer Émile Zola. Audrey helped Joe set up the company. The idea behind it is that e-books could and should be better. The idea is also to bring the community together through social networking and partnering with independent bookshops and authors.
For The Time Traveller's Wife e-book, she is writing a sequel to go with it.
Audrey says that things that succeed are: "Useful, beautiful, friendly, and make themselves available to you." These are the ideas behind book production on Zola Books. She mentioned that there is an idea to make e-books available on 5 devices so that you can register on the site and move your e-book to any of your reading devices.
She believes that distribution is the most important thing when it comes to e-books.
She recommended a book, "The Gift" which is a study of creativity.
She says that she believes creativity has to be somewhere people can interact with it. She pointed at fan fiction as one of the most active ways this is happening lately, with readers becoming writers and back again.
In her book that is now a ballet, she has an idea to include sound and animation that would be an extension of the text. Although, she did say that she finds it distracting to listen to music with lyrics when she's writing. I do too. I know that there are some writers that can write and listen to songs at the same time, though.
Audrey's experience in the publishing industry is a good example of how much has changed, and at quite a rapid rate, over the past twenty years or so. What Audrey's students were once doing in the paper arts centre is now being done on computers and in digital form for e-books. Despite all the changes, she says that in the publishing world everyone depends on everyone else, and she doesn't see e-books as a challenge to paperbacks.
Audrey's speech affirmed to me some things that I already knew about the publishing world and writers in general, but it was good to hear it from a multi-million bestselling author. She has her feet firmly on the ground even after all her success, and I believe that is because she had to work hard to become successful and didn't quit.
**************************************************************************************
In the coming weeks I am going to be sharing some of the highlights of the conference with you, and also my thoughts on the event.
I'm hoping the series of blogs will be useful to writers and readers.
*******************************************************************************************
The first speaker at the event was Audrey Niffenegger, author of The Time Traveler's Wife.
I found her speech interesting and inspirational.
Audrey is a visual artist as well as a writer. She said most people's reactions in the publishing industry to the way the digital age is developing is "jumpy and alarmed".
The backdrop for her speech were various slides based on the history of typography and how the letters of the alphabet developed over the years and in different languages. I think she said the pictures were from Meggs' History of Graphic Design.
Audrey Niffenegger was trained as a visual artist and she said that the way she thinks of a book is in terms of putting images and words together. She was 40 when she wrote her first novel.
When she trained as an artist, she said it was all about expressing ideas, not going with the flow, not following trends, breaking new ground. She was inspired by Aubrey Beardley.
In Niffenegger's last two years at art school she wrote a book that was mostly pictures with a bit of text, The Adventuress. When she graduated she tried to get it published but it was rejected because it was too original and different. She went on to show it at an art gallery and sold a few copies.
14 years later she wrote another illustrated book, The Three Incestuous Sisters and sold only a few copies. In the process of doing that, she got involved with other people doing conceptual books. She and a group of other book artists, papermakers, and designers founded a new book arts centre, the Columbia College Chicago Center for Book and Paper Arts. The idea was to tie in art with computer, sound, film, video, interdisciplinary arts.
Tn 1994 they started offering classes and a couple of years later graduate dregrees (MFAs Master of Fine Arts). Many of the students were graphic designers. The idea behind the book art centre was to allow students to do what they want.
While working there as an assistant director, she was in charge of writing the catalogues describing the classes and she wanted to find ways of making the descriptions of the classes more interesting, so she started writing them more creatively and this made her mind think differently. It was around that time she started writing The Time Traveler's Wife.
The idea behind that novel, for her, developed by asking questions. She began to find that her own reality worked its way into the fiction, for example one of the characters in the book is a paper-making artist.
When she sent the manuscript out, it was rejected more than thirty times. Then an independent press picked it up and published it. At the time, that independent press MacAdam/Cage only had 14 employees. The novel has since sold 7 million copies and has been translated into many different languages, and of course there is now a film.
She found that the success of that book allowed her the freedom to experiment with other publishing. Her first book picture book, that had been initially rejected, was then picked up by Abrams and has sold well.
Audrey stated that the reach she now has, due to the success of that one book, has created opportunity. Her current project is a fairy tale that has been made into a ballet, Raven Girl.
The whole nature of publishing has changed since she first published The Time Traveller's Wife. She explained how when she signed the contract, the concept of e-book rights wasn't even considered, so she found she still owned all the rights. She didn't publish it in e-book for quite a while, wanting to wait for the right moment.
A great influence on Audrey has been her agent, Joe Regal. In 2011, he started a company called Zola Books, named for the writer Émile Zola. Audrey helped Joe set up the company. The idea behind it is that e-books could and should be better. The idea is also to bring the community together through social networking and partnering with independent bookshops and authors.
For The Time Traveller's Wife e-book, she is writing a sequel to go with it.
Audrey says that things that succeed are: "Useful, beautiful, friendly, and make themselves available to you." These are the ideas behind book production on Zola Books. She mentioned that there is an idea to make e-books available on 5 devices so that you can register on the site and move your e-book to any of your reading devices.
She believes that distribution is the most important thing when it comes to e-books.
She recommended a book, "The Gift" which is a study of creativity.
She says that she believes creativity has to be somewhere people can interact with it. She pointed at fan fiction as one of the most active ways this is happening lately, with readers becoming writers and back again.
In her book that is now a ballet, she has an idea to include sound and animation that would be an extension of the text. Although, she did say that she finds it distracting to listen to music with lyrics when she's writing. I do too. I know that there are some writers that can write and listen to songs at the same time, though.
Audrey's experience in the publishing industry is a good example of how much has changed, and at quite a rapid rate, over the past twenty years or so. What Audrey's students were once doing in the paper arts centre is now being done on computers and in digital form for e-books. Despite all the changes, she says that in the publishing world everyone depends on everyone else, and she doesn't see e-books as a challenge to paperbacks.
Audrey's speech affirmed to me some things that I already knew about the publishing world and writers in general, but it was good to hear it from a multi-million bestselling author. She has her feet firmly on the ground even after all her success, and I believe that is because she had to work hard to become successful and didn't quit.
**************************************************************************************
Notes from The Literary Consultancy's conference 2013 - Writing in a Digital Age: 5 Key Stages of Self-Publishing - Part II
Part I of this segment of the series can be found here: http://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_...
Those of you who follow my blog will know that I have been writing a series of posts about what I learned at the recent "Writing in a Digital Age" conference. The staff at The Literary Consultancy have collated various press reports and write-ups on their website. Check it out here: http://www.literaryconsultancy.co.uk/...
My blog posts are included!
Now on to part 2 of this topic. Today I'll tell you what was said about the importance of book design.
There was a very interesting presentation about how book design (the cover and interior) can be an effective marketing tool for writers.
Lots of market research goes into creating covers that sell books. This is one area that I found quite eye-opening. I've always thought that little or no imagination goes into the book covers created by the big publishers, but there is a method in their madness. They know which covers sell, so why bother spending lots on a cover? They have researched the elements that have to be included on a cover for the book to stand a chance of selling to a target market, and they make sure that their covers have those.
Kristen Harrison, found of The Curved House, said that the covers of commercial books 'speak' to the target market.
An example given was that for chick-lit books, typically marketed at 30-40 year old professional women, the usual key requirements are:
1. The colour pink included somewhere on the cover
2. A font that looks like handwriting
3. A woman's legs from the knee down
4. A pencil skirt
Yes, weird, but true... Some covers were shown at the conference and it really was obvious that most of the chick-lit books had followed this winning formula to some extent using one or more of these elements.
Here are some covers I found that kind of prove the theory:
Lots of pink, and legs, and handwriting font there...
Another important point brought up at the conference was about brand identity and how that can help to attract readers and sell books. We see it with the bestselling authors, where they have many books with similar book covers that identify them as the author. For example, they may always use the same font type for their name, or maybe a similar picture on each cover.
The example given at the conference was Rachel Hore. If you take a look at her website, you can see how similar all her book covers are: http://rachelhore.co.uk/
Many indie authors (myself included) do not set out with a marketing plan when designing a cover; they will just choose a cover they feel suits the story and the book. There is a subjective feel to many indie authors' covers. However, from a marketing point of view this is probably not the best strategy.
Some indie authors are aware of the need for brand identity. A couple of authors that spring to mind are Terry Tyler and Susan Buchanan. If you take a look at their book covers, you'll see what I mean:
Susan's books:
Terry's books:
(click on the book covers to see larger images).
It definitely gives a more professional image when you have these types of 'brand image' covers.
******
It's not only the outside of your book that will influence what readers think of it; you have to think about the inside as well.
The type of font you choose is important.
The standard type fonts used by most independent authors are Times New Roman, Helvetica, Arial. At the conference, we were told that these types of fonts may put readers off as they are associated in their minds with office documents, and the look of the book will be 'home-made'. To elevate your book to a more professional status, it was advised that writers should move away from using the standard fonts available with MS Word.
Suggested fonts for use inside a book are benbo and garamond. But it was also mentioned that sometimes publishers will state which font is used at the start of the book on the book information/copyright page. If you read a book by a large publisher and like the font, you can try looking there to see which font it is. Most professional fonts can be bought. A few websites mentioned where you can buy fonts: 1001fonts.com, dafont.com, fontgrill.com, Google
Apparently, readers like the tried and tested book interiors. For example, it's usual in traditionally published books to start the first few pages by numbering in roman numerals, e.g. i, ii, iii, and then when the actual book starts you go onto normal page numbers.
Chapter drops are usually about one third of the page. It was advised that authors stick to this when publishing. The idea is to make readers feel at home, and to associate your book with traditionally published books.
This design strategy does not stop with your book cover. It was advised that things like the fonts used and the colours used on your covers should become your identity online also, for example on your website or your Facebook Page.
Make your website look interesting, add images and videos.
It was also advised that you should use good quality images on your website and other networking sites.
There are some great websites that provide free photos for book covers under the creative commons licence, i.e. you can use the photo for free and just have to credit the photographer. One example given was Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/creativecommons/
I've also found a good site http://www.morguefile.com
Another tip given was that you should complete fully your profiles on Facebook, LinkedIn, and other such sites. Often they are left incomplete. Make sure you add an image to your profile pages and a bio.
Wordpress.com was recommended as a good site for creating a website/blog as it has good quality images.
Something that was mentioned was how big publishers often have different designs for covers depending on where they are selling the book. Different markets around the world respond to books covers in different ways. The point was made, however, that indie authors do not really have the option of designing different covers for different countries because the way we can publish is limited. One book design goes all around the world with independently published books.
There is a website, that I had never heard of before, called Fixabook.com where you can get opinions on book covers, which could prove quite useful: http://www.fixabook.com/
********
Well, I think that is quite enough information for you to get your heads around today. I was going to write up this part of the series in two parts, but I will add a Part III. In the next part of this section of the series, I will pass on some tips from an author who switched from traditional to self-publishing.
**********************************************************************************
Those of you who follow my blog will know that I have been writing a series of posts about what I learned at the recent "Writing in a Digital Age" conference. The staff at The Literary Consultancy have collated various press reports and write-ups on their website. Check it out here: http://www.literaryconsultancy.co.uk/...
My blog posts are included!
Now on to part 2 of this topic. Today I'll tell you what was said about the importance of book design.
There was a very interesting presentation about how book design (the cover and interior) can be an effective marketing tool for writers.
Lots of market research goes into creating covers that sell books. This is one area that I found quite eye-opening. I've always thought that little or no imagination goes into the book covers created by the big publishers, but there is a method in their madness. They know which covers sell, so why bother spending lots on a cover? They have researched the elements that have to be included on a cover for the book to stand a chance of selling to a target market, and they make sure that their covers have those.
Kristen Harrison, found of The Curved House, said that the covers of commercial books 'speak' to the target market.
An example given was that for chick-lit books, typically marketed at 30-40 year old professional women, the usual key requirements are:
1. The colour pink included somewhere on the cover
2. A font that looks like handwriting
3. A woman's legs from the knee down
4. A pencil skirt
Yes, weird, but true... Some covers were shown at the conference and it really was obvious that most of the chick-lit books had followed this winning formula to some extent using one or more of these elements.
Here are some covers I found that kind of prove the theory:
Lots of pink, and legs, and handwriting font there...
Another important point brought up at the conference was about brand identity and how that can help to attract readers and sell books. We see it with the bestselling authors, where they have many books with similar book covers that identify them as the author. For example, they may always use the same font type for their name, or maybe a similar picture on each cover.
The example given at the conference was Rachel Hore. If you take a look at her website, you can see how similar all her book covers are: http://rachelhore.co.uk/
Many indie authors (myself included) do not set out with a marketing plan when designing a cover; they will just choose a cover they feel suits the story and the book. There is a subjective feel to many indie authors' covers. However, from a marketing point of view this is probably not the best strategy.
Some indie authors are aware of the need for brand identity. A couple of authors that spring to mind are Terry Tyler and Susan Buchanan. If you take a look at their book covers, you'll see what I mean:
Susan's books:
Terry's books:
(click on the book covers to see larger images).
It definitely gives a more professional image when you have these types of 'brand image' covers.
******
It's not only the outside of your book that will influence what readers think of it; you have to think about the inside as well.
The type of font you choose is important.
The standard type fonts used by most independent authors are Times New Roman, Helvetica, Arial. At the conference, we were told that these types of fonts may put readers off as they are associated in their minds with office documents, and the look of the book will be 'home-made'. To elevate your book to a more professional status, it was advised that writers should move away from using the standard fonts available with MS Word.
Suggested fonts for use inside a book are benbo and garamond. But it was also mentioned that sometimes publishers will state which font is used at the start of the book on the book information/copyright page. If you read a book by a large publisher and like the font, you can try looking there to see which font it is. Most professional fonts can be bought. A few websites mentioned where you can buy fonts: 1001fonts.com, dafont.com, fontgrill.com, Google
Apparently, readers like the tried and tested book interiors. For example, it's usual in traditionally published books to start the first few pages by numbering in roman numerals, e.g. i, ii, iii, and then when the actual book starts you go onto normal page numbers.
Chapter drops are usually about one third of the page. It was advised that authors stick to this when publishing. The idea is to make readers feel at home, and to associate your book with traditionally published books.
This design strategy does not stop with your book cover. It was advised that things like the fonts used and the colours used on your covers should become your identity online also, for example on your website or your Facebook Page.
Make your website look interesting, add images and videos.
It was also advised that you should use good quality images on your website and other networking sites.
There are some great websites that provide free photos for book covers under the creative commons licence, i.e. you can use the photo for free and just have to credit the photographer. One example given was Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/creativecommons/
I've also found a good site http://www.morguefile.com
Another tip given was that you should complete fully your profiles on Facebook, LinkedIn, and other such sites. Often they are left incomplete. Make sure you add an image to your profile pages and a bio.
Wordpress.com was recommended as a good site for creating a website/blog as it has good quality images.
Something that was mentioned was how big publishers often have different designs for covers depending on where they are selling the book. Different markets around the world respond to books covers in different ways. The point was made, however, that indie authors do not really have the option of designing different covers for different countries because the way we can publish is limited. One book design goes all around the world with independently published books.
There is a website, that I had never heard of before, called Fixabook.com where you can get opinions on book covers, which could prove quite useful: http://www.fixabook.com/
********
Well, I think that is quite enough information for you to get your heads around today. I was going to write up this part of the series in two parts, but I will add a Part III. In the next part of this section of the series, I will pass on some tips from an author who switched from traditional to self-publishing.
**********************************************************************************
TLC's Writers' Conference 2014 - How can writers get funding?
At the recent TLC's "Writing in a Digital Age" conference, there was a panel of experts talking about available funding in the UK for writers.
Here's a breakdown of what is available out there:
Society of Authors
They give away £200K per year
Writers in financial difficulty can apply to them for funding. See the terms and conditions and details on their website, including how to apply: http://www.societyofauthors.org/grant...
They also have grants available for works in progress, and various prizes for authors: http://www.societyofauthors.org/grant...
Arts Council
Anyone can apply for an Arts Council grant to, but you have to pitch your project well. You have to demonstrate a good track record and a good reason for needing the grant.
In the past they have given funds to authors who, for example, had to travel abroad for research.
To be successful, you usually have to be endorsed by other organisations e.g. publishers.
Find out more about what they have to offer and how to apply on their website: http://www.artscouncil.org.uk/
The Literary Platform
Website: http://www.theliteraryplatform.com/
The representative talked about two arts programmes they have:
1. The Writing Platform Bursary: http://www.theliteraryplatform.com/co...
2. Annual prize also open to self-published writers - £5,000 to each of the 8 books selected. Find out how to apply here:
http://www.thebookseller.com/news/jer...
Other prizes and sources of funding that were mentioned:
Folio Prize. Read more about it here: http://www.selfpublishingadvice.org/i...
Guardian First Book Award: http://www.theguardian.com/books/guar...
Royal Literary Fund Scholarship Scheme: http://www.rlf.org.uk/fellowshipschem...
The Literary Consultancy has a Free Read Scheme to assess your manuscript. Follow the link for more details: http://literaryconsultancy.co.uk/edit...
IdeasTap Funding: http://www.ideastap.com/Funding
Winston Churchill Travel Fund: http://www.wcmt.org.uk/
Also, all UK writers should make sure they're signed up and have their books listed with Public Lending Right: http://www.plr.uk.com/ and ALCS: http://www.alcs.co.uk/
It was stated that there are more opportunities for funding/grants etc. in the UK than anywhere else in the world.
If you're a writer, have a look at all the sites above and see whether there's anything you can apply for!
Here's a breakdown of what is available out there:
Society of Authors
They give away £200K per year
Writers in financial difficulty can apply to them for funding. See the terms and conditions and details on their website, including how to apply: http://www.societyofauthors.org/grant...
They also have grants available for works in progress, and various prizes for authors: http://www.societyofauthors.org/grant...
Arts Council
Anyone can apply for an Arts Council grant to, but you have to pitch your project well. You have to demonstrate a good track record and a good reason for needing the grant.
In the past they have given funds to authors who, for example, had to travel abroad for research.
To be successful, you usually have to be endorsed by other organisations e.g. publishers.
Find out more about what they have to offer and how to apply on their website: http://www.artscouncil.org.uk/
The Literary Platform
Website: http://www.theliteraryplatform.com/
The representative talked about two arts programmes they have:
1. The Writing Platform Bursary: http://www.theliteraryplatform.com/co...
2. Annual prize also open to self-published writers - £5,000 to each of the 8 books selected. Find out how to apply here:
http://www.thebookseller.com/news/jer...
Other prizes and sources of funding that were mentioned:
Folio Prize. Read more about it here: http://www.selfpublishingadvice.org/i...
Guardian First Book Award: http://www.theguardian.com/books/guar...
Royal Literary Fund Scholarship Scheme: http://www.rlf.org.uk/fellowshipschem...
The Literary Consultancy has a Free Read Scheme to assess your manuscript. Follow the link for more details: http://literaryconsultancy.co.uk/edit...
IdeasTap Funding: http://www.ideastap.com/Funding
Winston Churchill Travel Fund: http://www.wcmt.org.uk/
Also, all UK writers should make sure they're signed up and have their books listed with Public Lending Right: http://www.plr.uk.com/ and ALCS: http://www.alcs.co.uk/
It was stated that there are more opportunities for funding/grants etc. in the UK than anywhere else in the world.
If you're a writer, have a look at all the sites above and see whether there's anything you can apply for!
