A Little Bird Told Me that No Bookmarks Are Required

A little while ago I invited top writer/teacher/publisher chap, Nicholas Royle to come on the blog and say a little about Nightjar Press, the small press he runs which publishes individual short stories as chapbooks (an idea that I think is just brilliant).

And, top chap that he is, he agreed.

So here’s what he had to say about Nightjar Press:

NO BOOKMARK REQUIRED

We don’t give away free promotional bookmarks at Nightjar Press. We don’t need to. You don’t need a bookmark for something that’s only 12 or 16 pages long, and four of those are prelims. Nightjar Press publishes individual short stories in the form of chapbooks. What are chapbooks? They’re not books for chaps. Well, no more than they are books for women. They’re not books either about or made from leather protective coverings for trousers. They’re pamphlets or booklets. They used to be sold by travelling salesmen or chapmen. Chapbooks.
In 1987 I read a story by Joel Lane, ‘The Foggy, Foggy Dew’, in The Year’s Best Horror Stories XV edited by Karl Edward Wagner. It was a wonderful story, poignant and creepy; the editor’s notes said it had been published originally as a small-press booklet. I wanted to own an original. I wanted to see what form that might take. How could a short story have been published on its own? It didn’t quite make sense, somehow. It didn’t add up.
Some time later, having made contact with Joel Lane, I received from him a photocopy of the original publication – the chapbook – in which it had appeared. It was almost as good as the real thing. Almost. The name of Mark Valentine, the publisher, acquired iconic status for me. I gazed admiringly, longingly at the elaborate typeface he had used for his colophon. There was no point in writing to him, though, as Joel had told me the title was out of print.
Later still, I did get an original. Either Joel sent me one or Mark did, or I bought it online from a collector. I don’t remember and it’s not important. What was important was that the seeds had been sown. I wanted to publish some of these things. In the early 90s I dabbled in small-press book publishing (a couple of anthologies and a collection of Joel’s stories) and a few years ago I felt the urge to return to that shadowy world. This time with chapbooks.
I do two in the spring, two in the autumn. Editions of 200 or 300, all copies numbered and signed by the author. There’s not a lot of money in this game, but I am enriched. I get as much enjoyment and satisfaction from publishing these tiny things as I used to get from editing anthologies for Penguin and Gollancz. Short stories are special; sometimes they deserve their own individual covers. I’m enormously fortunate to be working with a brilliant designer, John Oakey, who understands that simplicity is the key. A clean, simple, consistent look; attention to detail; peerless professionalism. And no less lucky to enjoy the support and understanding of my hard-working wife. There are now six chapbooks. The first two – by Michael Marshall Smith and Tom Fletcher – are sold out. I receive requests for copies almost daily. The next pair, by Joel Lane and Alison Moore, are still in print and available. And the two latest Nightjars, by RB Russell and Mark Valentine, are just out. I am, of course, delighted to be publishing a new story by Mark Valentine, without whom I might never have developed a taste for the chapbook in the first place.”
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Thanks to Nicholas for that. And if anyone would like to get in touch with him, they can do so by emailing him at nicholasroyle at mac dot com.

Sling Ink + Stuff

So, a good portion of the weekend was spent reading through the entries for the first round of the SlingInk Scribbling Slam. Lots of short story goodness, I can tell you.

What impressed me, as well as the quality of the stories, was the range of them. Some of them had been written to prompts and, as I find when I set prompts for my writing group, the way different authors respond to the same prompt is something that I’ll always find both wonderful and interesting. It’s a truly wonderful thing to see such originality in people’s imaginations and how varied their interpretations are.

So, Scribbling Slammers, I have marked the stories and sent them back to the site. I’ve also left some general comments, which I hope will help. I think they’ll be up for viewing at some point over the next couple of days.

And, to say it again – I was impressed by all the stories. They were all good. There is no need for anyone to worry.

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And, speaking of wonderful things…

I got so see my friends’ new baby last night. She was 8 days old and particularly beautiful. Actually the whole thing was really beautiful. I got the sense that the world’s become that little bit more special.

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I was also very pleased to see that the launch for Tom Vowler’s collection went well – wishing him all the very best.

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I thought Dan Powell reading his story, ‘What Precise Moment?’ here was excellent. Thoroughly enjoyed it.

D J Kirkby Interview

I am thrilled to welcome D J Kirkby to the blog to talk a little about ‘Without Alice’ her novel. (This was actually scheduled to go up tomorrow (Sunday) but, as I’m not sure I’ll have time to post it then, I’m popping it here.)



Hi DJ! Welcome to the blog. So, ‘Without Alice’ – who’s it for and what’s it about?


Without Alice is for every adult reader – male and female – who enjoys contemporary fiction.
It’s a bout a man named Stephen who has a secret that is tearing him apart. It’s about love, loss and redemption.
This is the blurb:
Have you ever had a secret? One so important that it feels as if it will tear you in two? Stephen’s got one. He’s also got a great job, beautiful wife and an adorable son. Outwardly his life seems perfect but it means nothing without Alice. Read Without Alice and meet a man who you will love to hate until you learn to love him.

Why did you write it?
I’m autistic and have long been fascinated by complexity of communication . To be able to function well in a predominantly neurotypical world I have had to make a lifetime’s work of studying communication in all its forms. I find it fascinating how easy it is to misunderstand what another person means and the major events that can occur because of a simple misunderstanding or through lack of communication. Without Alice came about as a result of me messing about with different scenarios to see if I could figure out what would happen to a person trying to communicate effectively when in a prolonged stressful situation.
What’s the reaction to the book been like?
Overall the reaction to Without Alice have been exactly what I had hoped for in relation to each of the characters. The readers have been mostly female to date and I am hoping for feedback from more male readers.

Could you tell us about your route to publication? Was it a rocky path or was it like cruising down a motorway?

Well I would say it has been very rocky. I was offered a publishing contract and almost a year later I ended up having to invoke the termination clause in the contract. Then I had to begin the search for a publisher all over again. Finding a publisher is a challenge at the best of times but I think I probably went through the worst of times trying to raise interest in Without Alice. If anyone reading this post wants all the gory details then my blog post all about it is over here: http://djkirkby.blogspot.com/2009/08/without-alice.html
How did you write the book? Could you tell us a little about your writing process?

As I said above, I began to play with various scenarios to see what could happen when I placed the characters in situations of prolonged stress. I wanted to know if their personalities would change. What would happen if they fell in love? What if they hated each other? What kind of miscommunication would occur and how might it change the path of their lives? I didn’t do any plotting, just sat down and wrote and eventually all the stories merged together into a complex novel of which I am very proud. Reading back over this it sounds as it was much simpler than it really was. It took me two years to form it into anything resembling a novel and then many months of editing to make the characters and dialogue believable.
What do you think makes a story great?
Are you talking about short stories here? That is what I am basing my answer on….For me a story has to be vibrant, full of lush descriptive passages and rich with high impact events. A story where everything is more significant than it seems a t first.

Which stories do you think are great?
I like your writing Nik, for the reasons I mentioned above. I also really enjoy stories written by Sarah Salway, her writing sweeps me away from my life. What more could anyone ask for from a book?


Any tips you’d give to people wanting to be published?

o Believe in yourself
o Develop an online presence through a blog and open social networking sites such as twitter – this will give your readers a place to find you and an opportunity to get to know you.
o Always remember that publishing is a small world and as an author it’s important to behave professionally at all times
o Write something worth publishing
o Have it professionally edited by a reputable firm such as BubbleCow
o Submit it with a catchy tag line, robust blurb, a synopsis that meets their requirements and concise cover letter.
o Have any publishing contract vetted by the Society of Authors
o Sign the contract
o Drink champagne with loved ones to celebrate.
o Begin writing your next novel.
o Be prepared to do a lot of self promotional work
o Don’t expect to earn a living from writing for a long time.
What’s next for you?
Lots of book signing events which I am hoping will be a valuable source of unpaid writing research. There should be lots of time to people watch while I wandering around the bookshops looking for the next person that I’ll get brave enough to approach and engage in conversation about Without Alice. I am also currently writing two novels. The Plump WAG’s Club – A year in the life of four fat forty-something friends and A Dappled Life – A young man struggling to leave his past where it belongs.
Anything you’d like to add?
My dedicated website is almost ready to go live. On there is a forum where readers can come and have a chat – with me and each other. I’d love to see you and your readers on there so please do join in. You’ll find the forum tab on http://djkirkby.co.uk/

I spent my childhood knowing I was different though I didn’t get to prove myself right until I was diagnosed with a form of Autism called Asperger’s Syndrome at the age of 40. I spent my childhood in the wilds of the Canadian West Coat not realising how very lucky I was to have room to roam and longing to be a grown up so I could do something with my life. I developed a passion for reading at four years old, progressed to writing quirky stories at an early age and then produced volumes of dire poetry full of teenage angst at just about the age you would expect such behaviour. When the opportunity arose to actually do something different with my life I came to England to pursue the dream and never left. I now have a husband, son and 2 stepsons whom I love with every beat of my heart. My home is often filled with the sound of laughter as well as two crazy cats, a grumpy tortoise, two timid hedgehogs and loyal friends who stop by from time to time to make sure I’m not writing anything about them.

What I’ve Been Doing

It seems that I’ve been pretty naff with this blog over the past few weeks. I offer no excuses,but I do offer my sincerest apologies. I’m sure you’ve all missed me like, err, well – something you don’t miss all that much.

But I have been busy. And I thought it only right and proper to say what I’ve been doing. (And I thought it would make for a longer blog post. Cunning, I know.)

Mostly I’ve been catching up. Catching up with emails and people. That sort of thing. Getting my office in order. Clearing my desk. And I’m almost there. Almost up to date.

I’ve been writing again, which has been fun.

I have been getting Peter Cook confused with Peter Sellers.

I have been resting. Trying to take things a bit easier. With the book and promotion, this year has been a busy one.

I have been doing a fair amount of thinking too (which has been an interesting experience). I’ve been considering perception – the difference between how one thinks they’re perceived and how others actually perceive a person.

And I’ve been thinking about the timing of things and things happening for a reason and at the right time. That kind of thing.

So there you go.

Now, I’m going to try to reply to the rest of everything that should have been replied to ages ago. And I’ve interview questions to answer.

And talking of Peter Cook – I think this is possibly the funniest monologue in the world. Ever.

Ace!

First – a huge thanks to Tom Vowler for saying some rather nice things about Not So Perfect here. (You can read me interviewing Tom about his own short story collection, The Method and Other Stories here.)

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And even more people are recommending books. And that makes me happy.

The splendidly princessy and wonderful writer Sarah Salway’s five poetry recommendations are here.

Great recommendations from Decoding Static here.

And the lovely novelist Aliya Whiteley (who I’ll be interviewing soon) jumps on the bandwagon here.

I love it that people are doing this. Sharing is good!

People Are Recommending Books

Hooray and hurrah and joy! I’m pleased to report that after yesterday’s post about spreading the word of good books a) it turns out that people do read what I write hear! and b) that some have done something about it.

Benjamin Judge recommends some here.

Rachel Carter recommends some here (and there’s ME, in a list with The Time Traveler’s Wife. Blimey!).

Becca’s are here.

And Dave Hartley gives us his recommendations here.

An excellent start.

Anyone care to share? And don’t forget, it’s not JUST about blogging or tweeting or social media. Word can be spread in any way you choose.

So if you have enjoyed a book (and feel free to include any of mine by the way!) tell your friends, write something on amazon, review it – just spread the word! If you like. There’s no pressure…!