If you’re not sure if you want to do this, I strongly suggest you do. There’s something really wonderful about holding your work in printed format, even if you only do it to put on your shelf for yourself. Past participants in our region have done the following with their copies – 1) self-published their poetry collection and sold it, 2) printed in double spacing and used it for editing and revision, 3) given away copies as gifts to friends and family. This year I’ll be giving my story to my kids and godchildren as I wrote it for them.

Let’s start with deadlines – the code from Nano can be used up to June 30th, 2012. The process with Createspace takes about 2 days from start to finish (and about four hours work on your behalf). But you’ve got to get your book to a good state first, so factor in time for that. If you want to print a proof copy to amend before approving the actual five free printed books that will take time (and money) to ship – so factor in at least a month there. I’d recommend you don’t leave this to the last minute like I did last year and end up missing the deadline.

Step 1: Win NaNoWriMo and get your codes

There are two codes. To redeem the offer, you’ll need a special NaNoWriMo winner’s password. To get this, you must be an official NaNoWriMo 2011 winner, and be signed into the NaNoWriMo site. Once you are, your unique password will be displayed on your winners page. Jot it down.

To get the Createspace discount code take this Nano password to www.createspace.com/pub/l/nanowrimo_winners.do and enter it there to receive your promotional code from CreateSpace. Jot it down. It will work up to June 30^th, 2012.

Step 2: Finish your novel

Any word count is fine – I printed 106,000 words using the 2009 offer and 51,000 words using the 2011 offer.

Step 3: Edit your novel

Do this in your word processor of choice. Typical things would be grammar, punctuation, flow of the story, clarity. You might want to add a title page, acknowledgements, about the author, table of contents etc – it’s up to you. If you’re really serious about this it’s really useful to get someone else to read it on paper with a red pen. They will see things you (and spellcheck) have missed, I promise.

Step 4: Create a cover image

They have a gallery of images you can use. I can draw, so I did my image in ink, and scanned it at 300 dpi as a jpeg. You need a size 5.5” by 3.25”  image for the Sycamore theme cover. I’m not sure if that varies for other cover themes. If you want to sell the book, make sure you own the copyright to any image you use for the cover.

Step 5: Log in to Createspace at www.createspace.com

If you don’t have a free account, create one.

Step 6: Set up your book

• Add New Title
• Name: Red Sails
• Paperback/audio/mps/dvd/video – Paperback
• Setup as Guided or Expert – Guided
• Get Started

Step 7: Title Information Page

• Title: Red Sails
• Author: Grace Tierney
• Description : This is the short blurb for selling on Amazon
• Add Contributors: none – all work done by me
• Subtitle: none
• Volume: none – this is not part of a series or multi-volume book
• Save and Continue

Step 8: ISBN Page

ISBNs usually cost money – Createspace gives you one. Having an ISBN doesn’t mean the book is published, but it does mean that you can sell it (if you chose to). This ISBN is used if you chose to sell your book via Amazon. If you later publish with a traditional publisher, the book will get a new ISBN from them. Note, if you’ve self-published (and sold) first, some traditional publishers may not like that too much. Note – it is completely possible to use this offer to print 5 copies of this book purely for yourself and to never offer it for sale – hence it is not published. That’s what these instructions focus on.

• Your book has been assigned a CreateSpace ISBN.
• Continue

Step 9: Interior Page

• This is where most of the work happens
• Black and white text, on white paper : yes
• Trim Size is the size the book will be (ie. the front, not how thick). They default to 6×9 inches. I went with 5.06” by 7.81” as that’s a size I’ve used before and like.
• Download the Word template for your selected trim size. This gave me a size 11 font and 1.5 spacing which looked ok in print preview.  Save a couple of copies of this.
• Enter the titles, author, ISBN, dedication, acknowledgments, and chapters into that template.doc. I decided against some of the suggested pages in the templete and deleted them. I also removed the header with author name and title, as I didn’t want that. Use your own decision on what you want here.
• If you copy and paste in the text of the novel it will keep font and size for you.
• This takes a while to do, so you may time out of your Createspace session during this process, just log in again and you’ll be back on your novel project page and continue. Remember to save and close your novel’s formatted file before next step.
• Upload your book’s text (formatted for right trim size template) – pdf,doc,docx,rtf
• Save
• You’ll get a message box about uploading the file, processing it, and checking for printing issues – this took seven minutes for my novel (366kb Word document, 260 pages long, 51,000 words)

They found 4 issues – so I launched the Interior Reviewer application

1. Trim size incorrect – despite using their template – I used page scaling to fix this
2. Text outside the margins – vanished after scaling
3. Insufficient gutter – vanished after scaling
4. Myriad pro font not available – OK by me

• I looked through every one of the 256 pages and they seemed OK
• It is worth taking your time to review the book interior carefully here, especially if you’re skipping getting a printed proof copy and want to avoid blank pages, typos, and weird formatting errors.
• Ignore issues and save
• Ignore issues and continue

Step 10: Cover Page

• Build your cover online/pay for cover design/upload a pdf of the cover (which is tricky as you need to adjust for how thick the book is)
• Build your cover online
• I picked the Sycamore theme as it could take my own cover image.
• OK
• Setup theme, title, author, front cover image, back cover text, background colour, font colour
• Pick a text theme. Try them all out and pick the best one. I liked Simplicity.
• Image – upload a jpeg or tiff of 300 dpi at least, 5.5” by 3.25” ….or they have a large gallery for you to use
• Submit Cover – takes a minute to generate the preview
• Complete cover
• Look at the fullsize preview – save this as a jpeg for your records
• Continue

Step 11: Complete Setup Page

• This is where you submit for their review. It can take up to 48 hours but only took 16 hours for me. In the meantime don’t edit the project at Createspace.
• Submit Files for Review
• They put me onto a Sales Channels page
• Remove Amazon and Createspace estore if you don’t want it up for sale
• Got an email to tell me that the book has been reviewed and met submission requirements.
• Logged back into Createspace
• Book Status : awaiting proof order
• Click on Order Proof

Step 12: Proof Order Page

• Order a printed proof (mine would have cost $3.92 plus p&p).
• I picked no proof because I’m fairly experienced at this process.
• Approve File as-is.

Step 13: Review Proof Page

• Title Setup is complete – congratulations
• Mine is not available for sale as I’ve got no sales channels setup – correct
• Click on Order Copies

Step 14: Shopping Cart Page

My book was priced at $3.92, this is based on size of book and cost for them to print it, I think. So five free copies meant the prize discount code was worth $19.60 or €14.80 to me. If you’re selling the book I assume there’s a page where you set how much you want the book to cost the consumer, but I didn’t get into that.

• Quantity=5
• Enter Discount Code and press Apply Discount – your subtotal will now be Zero – Hurrah!
• Click Checkout and fill in delivery address – note you will need a zipcode – if you’re in Ireland and hence don’t have one – enter 0 (i.e. zero)
• Pick a shipping speed – I went for standard shipping $15.94 or €12.03 est. delivery date of 28 March ie. 48 days shipping – pretty long but I can live with it.
• Billing address
• City/province/postal code – Stamullen / co / meath
• Get confirmation email on the order

Now sit back and wait for the parcel to arrive. I hope my notes help you.

happy writing,

Grace (ML for Ireland NorthEast)

Did you get the message from Nano HQ this morning about Pitchpalooza with the Book Doctors? I hope you did, because it sounds pretty cool.

They did this last year too, but somehow I missed it. This February I am definitely entering. The idea is that you email them your (less than 200 words) pitch for your novel. The pitch is the synopsis you would use to convince an agent or publisher or reader to want to read your book.

They will randomly select 25 from the pile to review online and the best one gets an intro to suitable agent/publisher. The one that gets most public votes (the Fan’s Fav) gets a free copy of their book and a 20 minute consultation with them on improving their pitch.

All the details are here.

The 25 pitches from last year (and their critiques which are really useful reading) are here.

Yes, we can take part even though we’re in Ireland.

Yes it can be any novel, not just the one you wrote in 2011.

Yes the novel doesn’t have to be complete – although you’d want to be sure of the plot to write the pitch, I think.

It’s one pitch per nano participant.

Deadline is 29th February 2012.

Good luck and let us know if you’re shortlisted so we can all vote for you to become the Fan’s Favourite.

I’m off to finish submitting my Nano2011 novel to Createspace for the free copies. I’ll post How To details here once I’ve completed the process. So watch this space – or better yet, subscribe – press the Sign Me Up button on the top right to get emails when we do a post)

Until next time, happy writing,

Grace (ML for Ireland NorthEast)

Writers’ Groups in Ireland NorthEast

Note: This is not a comprehensive list – if you know of others, please let me know via a comment and I’ll add it in. Thanks!

The Saltwater Scribblers are a Drogheda-based group who meet every Monday. Find them on Facebook and twitter, or email them at saltwaterscribblers@hotmail.com. Several of their members do Nano every year. They also host a monthly event on the last Wednesday of the month where published authors/poets read from their work.

The Laytown Scribblers formed this year and have yet to find a permanent meeting place, but meetings are usually every second Monday evenings and are arranged via Meetup – see http://www.meetup.com/Coastal-Arts-and-Culture-Meetup-Group. The organizer is Nicola Blendell.

The Meath Writers Circle meets on the first Thursday of every month in the Trim Castle Hotel. Contact Tommy Murray at 046-31747 or tommymurray06@eircom.net.

The Boyne Writers group meets on Thursdays twice a month in the Castle Arch Hotel, Trim. The emphasis is on constructive feedback in a non-threatening atmosphere. New members are always welcome. Contact the group by email: editor@boynewriters.com, post to Castle Arch Hotel, Summerhill Road, Trim, Co. Meath, or web : www.boynewriters.com

The Ardgillan Castle Writers’ Group meets every Saturday morning 10.30-12.30. There is no charge. Contact them via Ardgillan Castle, Skerries, Co. Dublin.

Sadly the Balbriggan Library Writers’ Group is currently on a break. It may re-form during 2012, so if you’re interested let me know and I’ll pass it on to the rest of the former members.

Apparently there is a Dundalk Writers’ Circle but I have been unable to get contact information for them.

Monaghan Song and Poetry Writers – again I don’t have contact information for this group

Cootehill Writers Group – contact Kay Phelan at 049-5552321 or Station Road, Cootehill, Co. Cavan.

The Cavan Lit Lab – contact 4 Gardenrath Road, Lower Kells, Co. Meath. They have been heavily involved in the recent Fleadh Ceoil na hEireann festivals in Cavan town.

Useful Market and Contest Ezines

The Irish Writers Centre runs a variety of courses and has recently begun a Novel Fair (they got 600 applications for 20 spots at the fair to pitch your novel). Their weekly newsletter often has details of Irish contests and magazines seeking submissions.

Hope C Clark’s Funds for Writers weekly newsletters are the best I’ve come across. She lists contests, arts grants, jobs, agents, and publications seeking submissions. Many are in the US as that’s where she is based, but she regularly features Irish/UK items too and the feature article and her editorial are valuable sources of information too. She is open to Irish submissions for the feature article.

Brendan Nolan’s Ask about Writing site is a good weekly source for UK and Irish writing news and submission calls (http://www.askaboutwriting.net)

Links to Writing Sites

See the list of links on the right of this post. I strongly recommend www.critiquecircle.com for help with revising your novel.

Irish Fiction Publishers and Agents

{Always research a publisher or agent before approaching them. Make sure your submission is right for them and that they are right for you too}

Irish Fiction Publishers

New Island (http://www.newisland.ie/)

Poolbeg (http://poolbeg.com/submissions )

Hachette Ireland (http://www.hachette.ie/)

Penguin Ireland (http://www.penguin.ie/)

Transworld Ireland (http://www.transworldireland.ie/)

Lilliput Press (http://www.lilliputpress.ie/contact/index.html)

Liberties Press – mainly non-fiction (http://www.libertiespress.com/submissions.html)

O’Brien Press – no adult fiction (http://www.obrien.ie/guidelines.cfm)

Little Island Press – teen fiction only (http://www.littleisland.ie/submissions)

Arlen House – mainly poetry and short fiction (http://arlenhouse.blogspot.com/)

Irish Agents

Geraldine Nichols and the Book Bureau – 7 Duncairn Avenue, Bray, Co Wicklow, Tel: (01) 2764996, Fax: (01) 2764834, thebookbureau@oceanfree.net

Marianne Gunne-O’Connor Literary Agency – Ireland, Suite 17 Morrison Chambers, 32 Nassau Street, Dublin 2, Tel: (01) 6779100, mgoclitagency@eircom.net

The Lisa Richards Agency – www.lisarichards.ie/literary.php

Jonathan Williams Literary Agency – Rosney Mews, Upper Glenageary Road, Glenageary, Co Dublin, Tel: (01) 2803482 , Fax: (01) 2803482

Font Literary Agency – http://www.fontlitagency.com/

Emma Walsh – www.walshcommunications.ie

Author Rights Agency Ltd – http://www.authorrightsagency.com/

Prizeman and Kinsella Literary Agency – http://www.prizemankinsella.co.uk/default.html

The Feldstein Agency in Belfast – http://www.thefeldsteinagency.co.uk

I hope some of that information is of help. If you know of something I left out – please contact me via a comment here. I’m especially interested in expanding my knowledge of writers groups in Cavan and Monaghan so I can invite them to join us on NaNoWriMo.

happy writing, Grace

How did your week three go?

Grace (day 24 and mostly on track with 39,657 words written so far)

Week two of my Nano guest blog is up at the Irish Writers’ Centre. Lots of tips on how to catch up on your wordcount if you’re lagging behind, like me.

Grace

If you’re curious about how an ML manages to write 50,000 words as well as manage a region on NaNoWriMo – check out my weekly blog posts as The Irish Writers’ Centre’s blog. There first one is up here.

Writing it is an excellent way for me to procrasinate about my novel this year, sigh.

Anybody else blogging about their Nano adventures in the NorthEast this year? I see rycardus is at her blog in Kells.

Happy writing, Grace (ML for Ireland North East)

There’s only 12 days to go until the start of NaNoWriMo 2011 and I’ve been setting up our region, Ireland NorthEast on the Nano site. Looks like there’s issues with setting your home region correctly, so do make sure you do that.

So what can you do while you’re waiting for the mania of writing 50,000 words in the 30 days of November to begin?

You can…

1. plan your novel – pick character names, choose a setting, rough out a line per chapter of a plot, buy a new notebook and pencil.

2. stock up on freezer meals and takeaway menus.

3. tell your friends about this adventure and encourage them to join you, or at least not expect you to be available during November.

4. make a note in your diary of our Kick Off Meeting in the D Hotel, Drogheda on Monday 31st Oct at 10a.m.

I’ve got a title and some character names, so far, for my novel. How about you?

Hope to see you online or in person during November,

happy writing, Grace (ML for Ireland NorthEast)

1. You get audience reaction. There’s nothing like hearing a roomful of people laugh at what you hoped was a funny line.

2. You raise your profile as a writer. It’s called building a platform and it’s more important than you might think.

3. You make contact with readers and other writers in a face-to-face world. It provides  moral support, advice, information, and a chance to speak with others who understand the world of words.

Why am I rambling about this? Because the Saltwater Scribblers writing group (contact them on facebook or saltwaterscribblers@hotmail.com) are now organising the Poetry in Motion event that runs monthly in the Droichead Arts Centre Cafe in Drogheda, Co Louth.

The next one is Wednesday the 26th of January at 7.30 pm. Special Guest poet and editor Christodoulos Makris will be reading but literally anyone can come along and read whatever poetry or prose they like, or just to listen and mingle with other readers and writers.

Several of their members did NaNoWriMo 2010 in our region. Go along and support them as they bring their words out in public.

Ardgillan Castle Writers’ Group. Meets every Saturday morning 10.30-12.30. No charge. No contact details, sorry. Ardgillan Castle, Skerries, North County Dublin.

Balbriggan Library Writers’ Group. Meets the last Thursday of the month (excluding August and December) 7-8.30 p.m. No charge. Contact Jane and Paddy at balbrigganwriters@gmail.com for more details or just come along. Grace is a regular here. We critique each other’s work, provide morale support, and regularly have themed evenings such as; writing for international markets, how to write a novel synopsis, etc. The group writes long and short fiction (youth and adult), non-fiction, memoir, screenplays, poetry.

The Viaduct Bards, Drogheda. They are run by Bunnacurry in our region, a.k.a. Emer Davies. For further details contact Emer at emerdavis@hotmail.com

Swords Writers – see www.swordswriters.ie

Boyne Writers, Trim, Co. Meath  – www.boynewriters.com

Meath Writers Circle – http://community.meath.ie/meathwriters/

I am sure there are more, but those are the ones I know about. If you know of others please let me know so I can encourage them to join Nano next year. I’m particularly keen to get in touch with Dundalk, Cavan, and Monaghan writing groups as I haven’t made many contacts there, yet.

Thanks.

It’s December and that means one thing (OK, two things) – NaNoWriMo is over for this year. So what happens next?

If you made it past the 50,000 words finish-line then you should check out your winner’s goodies, print off your winner’s certificate and put your winner’s badge onto your blog/Web site etc. Then, ensuring you are logged into the Nano site first, go to get your Createspace code at the Prizes Page. You will only see a code if you’re a winner and are logged in. Jot it down. It lasts until 30th June 2011, so you have some time to revise/finish your novel first.

You can include as many pages as you like, not just 50,000 words. Equally, if you have something else you’d like to print that’s OK too. Last year one of our winners printed her poetry collection with them and subsequently launched it in Ireland as a self-published collection. I printed one copy of my 2007 NaNo novel for my book shelf, and to lend to my sister. The formatting isn’t too hard but I kept notes, so feel free to pick my brains via email. Yes, postage is free. Yes, they don’t hound you to make it available for sale to the public. There’s a forum about the offer here which covers more than I can fit in this post.

Regardless of your final word count you should check out the What Next Page which is filled with hints and tips on revision and publishing etc.

If you are planning on bringing your novel further here are some pointers based on past experience of post-nano-life.

1. If you’re continuing your first draft – don’t stop! It takes ages to get back up to speed and you’re more likely to have inconsistencies in the finished manuscript. If you’re about to get into editing, taking a break first is a good idea – it helps you to spot mistakes easier.

2. Join/attend a writer’s group. My next post will be a list of them and I will add them to our links list, where possible. If you know of others, please let me know so I can suggest NaNoWriMo to them next October.

3. Join a critique group like Critique Circle. I can be tough to give/take criticism from someone face-to-face but an online group is a good solution. I’ve put an entire novel through (one chapter at a time) here and it’s much better as a result. It’s password protected and you must register (free). You also have to critique other people’s work and trust me, you will learn loads from doing so.

Even if you’re not going to lift a pen to fiction for the rest of the year, make a note now about next November, we’d love to have you back in NaNo 2011!

Happy writing, Grace