Discovered today meandering through the Images for Curd the Lion on Google:
from the website http://www.26.org.uk (way back in 2008)
THE AMAZING ADVENTURES OF CURD THE LION (AND US!) IN THE LAND AT THE BACK OF BEYOND
Alan Gilliland
Raven’s Quill, £14.99 or £10.72 on Amazon
Strolling through Waterstone’s on a recent Saturday afternoon, we
were virtually accosted by a man waving this book at us. Listening to
him, it turned out he was in fact the author of this children’s book. I
asked a few questions that revealed he was once graphics editor of The
Telegraph. He waffled on a bit about four soft toy animals in search of a
stolen brooch and then showed us some quite superb black and white
illustrations. We were quite taken by the old fashioned storytelling and
the nod towards Lewis Carroll and Edward Lear. He signed a copy and I
merrily trotted towards the checkout with book under my arm. My daughter
Martha (9) has not stopped reading or talking about this book ever
since. John Fountain
What a nice young lady she is, and her father too.
Saturday, 24 November 2012
A story of self-publishing – the hard way!
About The Author
A Potted History:Born in Malaya in 1949 and brought up on a garrisoned rubber plantation during the ‘Emergency’, Alan Gilliland’s first, mountaintop, boarding school was reached by means of a 1930’s American armour-plated car, WWII Dakota aeroplane and Saracen armoured personnel carrier. A year later, aged six, he was transferred to a new school, memories of whose white hot sandy beaches were to remain ingrained upon his psyche long after leaving for this drizzly island we call home.
With his departure, Malaysia became independent and its anti-colonialist insurgency lost its rationale. Alan quickly learned the uses of the cricket bat, macintosh and other essentials of integration into English society. Performing passably well throughout his boarding-school years, he fell at the final hurdle, being expelled for revising for his art A-level exam.
Undeterred by this setback, he did not go to art college, preferring devious paths to the realisation of his creative ambitions via film-making, architecture, photo-journalism, newspaper cartooning and news information graphics – with 18 years and 19 awards as graphics editor of The Daily Telegraph – before finally arriving at the decision to write and illustrate fictions less ordinary than his own life.
Casting himself adrift with his long-suffering wife upon a tiny barque of of talent with its pencil-mast, he draws from the very winds the inspiration to fill the sheets and carry them across the ocean of scepticism that lies between hope and fulfillment. On the shoreline, his six children and three grandchildren, wave their little hankies, litorally wondering if ever he will make it.
Now what happened next?
First he exhibited on a tiny stand at the back of the London Book Fair, to both promote his graphics to publishers and to promote his own work. He found some admirers, including the founder of Alibris, a website for books in the US, and a young lady, daughter of a US publisher.
She was so enamoured of his first book ‘The Amazing Adventures of Curd the Lion (and us!) in the Land at the Back of Beyond’ that she recommended he take the Ms to Cornerstone’s Literary Consultancy to get an in-depth report on it and ever-so-kindly offered to pay for that report.
The report, critical but also very enthusiastic about it, was carried out by a fine author of children’s fantasy. It advised changes which he mostly carried out (saddest of which was the ‘murder’ of one of the characters – in real life, not in the story).
Buoyed by her enthusiasm, and because his financial situation was becoming critical (the consequence of a near-fatal spinal infection that destroyed a disc at the base of his spine and his ‘seed-fund’ by the time he recovered) he decided to throw aside caution and take the plunge, completing the text and illustrations, designing the book with its 80+ pencil illustrations as a hardback and finding a Chinese printer for the first print run of 1,000 copies, to be sold at £14.99.
Next he persuaded nearly 60 independent booksellers to order a copy in advance of publication, and following that, Gardners wholesalers to order 400 copies.
He went, as a visitor, to the Frankfurt Book Fair and traipsed the stands, trying to sell his graphics to UK publishers (with some success) and his book to foreign publishers (without).
On the Saturday after his return, he did an inaugural book-signing at the Guildford High Street branch of Waterstones and sold, he was told later, more books than many of the authors invited to the Guildford Book Fest that week.
This mild success gained him access to that chain at which he has been assiduously signing ever since.
His micro-publishing company, Raven’s Quill Ltd., joined the IPG and PA and then exhibited under their aegis at the Frankfurt and Bologna (children’s) Book Fairs, receiving UKTI grants. Through these he acquired a South Korean agent, Amo, who immediately sold Curd to a publisher there, a Spanish/Portuguese agency, Ilustrata, and a Far East agency, Big Apple, who have just sold translation rights to a mainland Chinese publisher. At Bologna his exhibit was seen by an Israeli publisher who subsequently bought rights to Curd, and by Kassie Evashevki of United Talent Agency in Hollywood, who subsequently acquired the rights to Eat, Pray Love, the Twilight Saga last film and Stieg Larsson with the result that Curd was relegated to the twilight zone.
Meanwhile, back home in its first year, Lovereading4kids (the children’s bookselling website) discovered Curd and made it first a ‘Book and Debut of the Month’ then ‘of the Year.’ This drew the attention of a Fox Films executive who asked for it – but this was stymied by Disney announcing Toy Story Three the week it arrived there.
I had forgotten to mention Curd’s first positive reviewer was the political philosopher, John Gray (Emeritus Professor of European Thought in the Department of Government at the London School of Economics) who wrote an incredibly kind appreciation (link at bottom of article).
He made mistakes. The first print run of Curd the Lion had the two characters, Sweeney the Heenie (a hyena) and O’Flattery the Snake talking phonetic Oirish, which he had probably been advised against and which annoyed the pants off certain adults, though it seemed to affect children, with their more malleable English, not at all. Secondly, he enthusiastically put that first version of Curd up on an Amazon Vine program (whose reviewers receive free copies of any book they choose to review) and discovered exactly those people intolerant of phonetic Oirish. (For my own thaumaturgically therapeutic response to such rude reviews, see link at very bottom of this piece)
So he changed that and has received no negative reviews since then (touch wood) but has slowly acquired appreciative comments from book bloggers, academics and media people (see bottom link) along with a host of fantastically enthusiastic reviews from kids themselves, including some which can be read on this Lovereading4kids page, http://www.lovereading4kids.co.uk/book/3991/
and this lovely response to my half-term signings:
"Dear Alan,
I was thrilled with meeting you today in Bishops Stortford.
My teacher, Miss Jones, really enjoys reading 'Curd the Lion and Us' to my class. All my friends love to listen.
I wish I could be you. I can't wait to tell them I've met you.
When Mummy finishes reading the book to us I'll e-mail again and let you know what we all thought.
Thank-you,
William Shields (6 years old)"
(and mum's follow-up after I sent a pdf of a drawing)
"Dear Alan,
Thank-you for the picture that you drew for William.
He was absolutely thrilled and we'll get it printed professionally and put it on his wall.
Thanks again for making a little boy very happy and for helping him develop a love for stories and reading.
Lesley Shields"
Curd has been through five print runs (up to 3,000 at a time) and has now sold 9,000 plus copies at £14.99, with 42.5% - 57.5% (through Gardners – self-supplied at signings) return to the publisher.
In publishing his second book, ‘The Flight of Birds’ – a Gothic ghost tale – for which he confidently ordered 3,000 copies as a paperback with French flaps to be sold at £9.99, he made a second slip. The copy editor he thought had done the final edit before going to print left before doing so and that print run had its fair share of typos. He failed to double-check and the book went to print. He only discovered this mistake when a very literate teenager pointed it out, adding the rider that though she abhorred any typos in books, she adored the story.
This has now sold out of its first run and the author has introduced a ‘White Edition’ – which version has a different beginning and (happier) ending and was written at the same time as the original dark version – after receiving many reports from ladies who loved the story but were serious upset by the tragic ending. This version – and the Black – is being printed in digital short runs that are relatively unprofitable in response to an edict by James Daunt, head of Waterstones, that threatens the very continuance of his book-signings and the introduction of his books to new readers. See his BookBrunch article on that draconian edict here: http://alangilliland.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/my-book-brunch-piece-on-drastic.html
Until it becomes clear whether or not Alan may continue his business conducted through Waterstones so successfully to date, a decision to print the more profitable litho runs of thousands cannot be made.
This is a shame, since the author (of both) has personally put £140,000-worth of books (10,200+) through the tills of Waterstones and yet still finds himself under threat under this new regime.
For reviews of both books and a more factual analysis of Alan’s progress, see this earlier blog post:
http://alangilliland.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/updated-promotional-material-for-my.html
My own therapy, fresh from the South of Ireland: http://alangilliland.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/limericked-look-at-rude-reviewers-and.html
Oh, and a piece pertinent to the pervasive uninhibited vitriolic outpourings of some internet reviewers: http://alangilliland.blogspot.co.uk/2011/02/on-unrestrained-nature-of-vitriol-on.html
Monday, 12 November 2012
Could this be why book stores support introducing unknown authors to new readers?
I thought you might like to see this lovely response from a boy I met at one of my signings in Waterstones at half-term.
“Dear Alan,
I was thrilled with meeting you today in Bishops Stortford. My teacher, Miss Jones, really enjoys reading ‘Curd the Lion and Us’ to my class. All my friends love to listen. I wish I could be you. I can’t wait to tell them I’ve met you. When Mummy finishes reading the book to us I’ll e-mail again and let you know what we all thought.
Thank-you,
William Shields (6 years old)”
And Mum’s follow-up after I sent him an email pdf of one of my drawings.
“Dear Alan,
Thank-you for the picture that you drew for William. He was absolutely thrilled and we'll get it printed professionally and put it on his wall.
Thanks again for making a little boy very happy and for helping him develop a love for stories and reading.
Lesley Shields”
To the managers of Waterstones’ branches: Without your continued support, store by store, such responses would not be possible and I thank you all.
To any who read this: feel free to pass my thanks on to your colleagues in other branches, especially all those who supported me through the summer holidays and indeed, for the past three and a half years, resulting in roughly £140,000-worth of my books through Waterstones tills at signings (total sales £165,000).
I hope stores will continue to support my work and enable me to have a successful pre-Christmas (see 2011 autumn to Christmas results below).
On querying James Daunt on the purpose of the summer signings policy recommendations, I received the following assurance:
"Persistent, intrusive pitching to customers of books that often did not meet any reasonable standard which, as booksellers, we should have been maintaining, was unacceptable."
"If your books, and the manner with which you engage with our customers, is acceptable, the new policy on events will not hinder you."
I hope you share the view that the quality of my books and my manner of approaching customers are both sufficient to permit me to continue with my business conducted so far successfully through Waterstones.
“Dear Alan,
I was thrilled with meeting you today in Bishops Stortford. My teacher, Miss Jones, really enjoys reading ‘Curd the Lion and Us’ to my class. All my friends love to listen. I wish I could be you. I can’t wait to tell them I’ve met you. When Mummy finishes reading the book to us I’ll e-mail again and let you know what we all thought.
Thank-you,
William Shields (6 years old)”
And Mum’s follow-up after I sent him an email pdf of one of my drawings.
“Dear Alan,
Thank-you for the picture that you drew for William. He was absolutely thrilled and we'll get it printed professionally and put it on his wall.
Thanks again for making a little boy very happy and for helping him develop a love for stories and reading.
Lesley Shields”
To the managers of Waterstones’ branches: Without your continued support, store by store, such responses would not be possible and I thank you all.
To any who read this: feel free to pass my thanks on to your colleagues in other branches, especially all those who supported me through the summer holidays and indeed, for the past three and a half years, resulting in roughly £140,000-worth of my books through Waterstones tills at signings (total sales £165,000).
I hope stores will continue to support my work and enable me to have a successful pre-Christmas (see 2011 autumn to Christmas results below).
On querying James Daunt on the purpose of the summer signings policy recommendations, I received the following assurance:
"Persistent, intrusive pitching to customers of books that often did not meet any reasonable standard which, as booksellers, we should have been maintaining, was unacceptable."
"If your books, and the manner with which you engage with our customers, is acceptable, the new policy on events will not hinder you."
I hope you share the view that the quality of my books and my manner of approaching customers are both sufficient to permit me to continue with my business conducted so far successfully through Waterstones.
Thursday, 25 October 2012
Folio Society’s facsimile edition: David Attenborough’s Edward Lear Bird illustrations
The Folio Society are bringing out the most amazing edition of David Attenborough’s bird illustrations. At £895 a snip!
The Folio Society @foliosociety
My dear friend Shabby Tattler (Right) insists I blog his (hah, hah) own watercolour set of birds painted for The Daily Tussock-grass (the UK’s leading ornithological ragwort).
He apologizes for the quality of reproduction here, but reminds me he kindly donated the originals to “cheer up” the gloomy cancer ward where my daughter was treated (successfully).
Personally I prefer the subtle monchromatic hues of his arctic tern
He counters with the gaudy oriole...
And parry with a holy roller!
Lost for birds, he fishes about for a reply...
“Nuts!” I say, that’s no watercolour, that’s just crayon
Check this link to a recent illustrated proposal in my blog, aimed at the Folio Society – or some illustration-loving publisher! LINK
The Folio Society
Delighted to announce a new limited edition: David
Attenborough's bird prints by Edward Lear, published in facsimile http://bit.ly/XZ5JEd
He apologizes for the quality of reproduction here, but reminds me he kindly donated the originals to “cheer up” the gloomy cancer ward where my daughter was treated (successfully).
 | ||||
| This cormorant he feels closest to in spirit, he says. |
Personally I prefer the subtle monchromatic hues of his arctic tern
He counters with the gaudy oriole...
 |
| Wild brown trout makes better eating – farmed rainbow, boxed ready for supermarket shelves |
“Nuts!” I say, that’s no watercolour, that’s just crayon
Check this link to a recent illustrated proposal in my blog, aimed at the Folio Society – or some illustration-loving publisher! LINK
UPDATED PROMOTIONAL MATERIAL FOR MY BOOKS
Book promo material update (and why not?)
GENERAL, ABOUT PUBLISHER:
• Raven’s Quill member of the Publishers Association and the Independent Publishers Guild.
• We are in receipt of UK Trade and Investment, grants to exhibit at international book fairs (Frankfurt and Bologna).
• We have sold translation rights to three countries – South Korea, Israel and now China this week.
• RQ is represented by Big Apple across Asia, Amo in South Korea and Ilustrata for the Spanish/Portugese bloc.
• Top literary scouts, Anne Louise Fisher Associates, have been showing Curd to their clients.
Faber Factory distributes its e-books.
Waterstones sales figures in more detail at bottom.
I, as author, have a literary agent at Sheil Land Associates.
My intention when starting this publishing venture was to achieve a critical level of sales above which publishers would find it difficult to ignore the quality and appeal of my books.
TWO BOOKS (so far - several in pipeline):
The Amazing Adventures of Curd the Lion (and us!) in the Land at the Back of Beyond - Alan Gilliland author & illustrator. 176pp. Hardback £14.99. 20 Oct, 2008. ISBN 9780955548611. An illustrated nonsense quest story with a real map. Sold nearly 9,000 copies to date.
The Flight of Birds - Alan Howard author (my pseudonym for adult books). 400pp. Paperback £9.99. 31 Oct, 2010. ISBN 9780955548628. A Gothic ghost tale set in Sussex between Elizabethan England and today, based upon a Greek Myth transposed into an Elizabethan context. Sold nearly 3,000 copies.
The Flight of Birds White Edition. Short run summer edition, 2012. (Different start and ending to original, Black, edition. This version produced in response to feedback from, mainly, females who loved the book but were often very upset by the ending. Both versions were written before original publication).
I also have available a book of short stories, poems and illustrations, Ana
Thema, 100pp. Paperback. ISBN 9780955548635. £6.99.
CURD THE LION:
•The Amazing Adventures of Curd the Lion (and us!) in the Land at the Back of Beyond” – Alan Gilliland author & illustrator. ISABN 9780955548611. £14.99. publ. 20.10.2008.
Sold nearly 9,000 copies to date in hard back at £14.99.
Translation rights sold to three countries – South Korea, Israel and now China this week.
Very nice reviews/articles from (see below): a Bookselling website (Lovereading4kids, Book of Year), an educationist (Margaret Mallett), an award-winning writer and radio broadcaster (Brian Sibley), a political philosopher (John Gray), an established children’s fantasy author (Katherine Langrish), a well-regarded children’s book blogger (BookWitch), the editor of Australian Children’s Book Council magazine (John Cohen), a well-known e-book pundit and organizer of international conferences (Mike Shatzkin), several regional newspapers and lots of children and adults.
REVIEWS for CURD:
• Recently, Brian Sibley, author & broadcaster, WINNER of BEST ADAPTATION for The History of Titus Groan in the BBC Audio Drama Awards, 2012, and author of the official Lord of the Rings and Hobbit film guides, wrote: “Alan Gilliland's delightful book for children is a heady mix of the tried and trusted format featuring nursery-toys-come-to-life with riddling, punning, nonsense in the style of Lewis Carroll and Edward Lear punctuating a twisting, turning roller-coaster adventure story filled with dangers, outlandish encounters and weird and wonderful beings.
There are a mass of subtexts and literary and historical allusions within the story (it is not accidental, for example, that the creature encountered named the 'Dodongs' is an anagram of that Carrollian alter ego, 'Dodgson') and readers armed with the map can trace the route of Curd & Co's adventures in the real location of Brimham Rocks in the Yorkshire Dales.
With delightful illustrations by the author, this a perfect read-aloud book for bedtime readers - and their listeners! A unique and wonderfully quirky book.”
Lovereading 4kids website: Book of Year, Debut of Year and Personal Choice of Founder, wider age-range than ever given before: “Reminiscent of the writing of Lewis Carroll and Edward Lear, this brilliant debut children's novel is completely unputdownable as well as being almost uncategorisable. …a terrifically funny yet mysterious story, full of larger-than-life highly improbable characters that I couldn’t begin to do justice to…other than to say they are wild and wacky and completely original. …full of tongue-in-cheek humour and skilful wordplay …will be loved by anyone from 7 to 107.”
British academic, Margaret Mallet’s book ‘Choosing and Using’ (for student teachers) won the UK Literacy Award: “In a necessarily selective account, I have been concerned to pick out some of the best writers and most memorable titles which have survived over the years and which I think are likely to continue to be read.” On Curd: “It is not surprising that this story has been compared to the work of Lewis Carroll and Edward Lear: riddles and word play, mysteries and surprises are wonderfully interwoven. The play on names is superb.”
The philosopher, John Gray:“Gilliland's mix of upside-down logic and serious whimsy is nonsense of the highest calibre. The best thing to have happened to children's literature since Alice went through the looking-glass. I was particularly taken by the Labyrinth chapter. The whole seemed to me delightful - in the magical tradition of George Macdonald, but with an extra dimension of nonsense and wit of its own.”
Author Katherine Langrish: “I agree this is a really unusual book – with brilliant illustrations, too. Think Edward Lear, Lewis Carroll, lots of wordplay and paradoxical fun, and you’ll be there. Not for every child, perhaps, but any budding chess players or crossword puzzle fiends will have a whale of a time. It demands something of the reader, and that’s not a bad thing at all.”
HiT Entertainment (TV company) wrote of Curd: “We really enjoyed the inventive witty narrative and surreal humour in the book. We can see that Curd the Lion might work very well as a family feature film.”
John Cohen, Editor, Reading Time (journal of Children's Book Council of Australia, Feb. 09, extracts from review). "This is an extraordinary book from a former graphics editor of The Telegraph, UK. What Gilliland has done is to lift what might have been another toy story onto a literary gold plate. His ability to play on words as well as to keep the story moving is a rare skill. The result is that the story can be enjoyed as a simple adventure as well as for its tongue-in-cheek word repartee that is reminiscent of Lewis Carroll and Edward Lear."
Mike Shatzkin (the US e-book pundit and adviser to top publishers): "Alan, what a great story! I'm glad you didn't ask me before you undertook to do this because I would have told you it was nigh on impossible! But, having achieved this much, I think your Korea sale is just the first of many you'll make around the world. You should find a literary agent to sell rights for you in the US, Canada, and Australia right away." (He organizes international e-book publishing conferences)
THE FLIGHT OF BIRDS:
The Flight of Birds - Alan Howard author (my pseudonym for adult books). 400pp. Paperback £9.99. 31 Oct, 2010. ISBN 9780955548628. A Gothic ghost tale set in Sussex between Elizabethan England and today, based upon a Greek Myth transposed into an Elizabethan context. Sold nearly 3,000 copies.
REVIEWS:
• Steve Sharpe, SVP, European Goldfields: Tweet to @OnundTreefoot: “Just finished The Flight of Birds - fantastic! it had me deferring theTimes Crossword on the commute to London each morning.”
Review: “This is a truly astonishing book. The cleverly spun threads will draw you into a web of intrigue and mystery that will have you gripped throughout. If you enjoyed the Quincunx you will love this - I can't recommend it highly enough.”
[Times crossword expert – 11-28 mins]
Waterstone’s staff reviewer: “The reader is thrust straight into an atmospheric drama, weaving history and fantasy together in this Gothic Danse Macabre, in parts reminiscent of some original brothers' Grimm tales, and the writing is so addictive there's never a good place to put the book down. As for the ending, nothing prepares you for that! I really was not expecting when I started this book for it to have such depth and diversity, horror and enchantment. It combines the magical twists of Neil Gaiman with atmosphere of Poe or Machen.”
Egmont on The Flight of Birds: “The Flight of Birds and its intended sequels make up what is obviously a very ambitious project, but after much discussion our editorial team felt that in some of its themes, and taking into account the literariness of its prose and complexity of its structure, it might be more suited to an adult publisher, or perhaps a teen imprint that is part of an adult publishing house.”
Martyn Drake Blog: “The story itself is hugely intriguing. After the death of her mother, Kate Pegler moves to a small village with her father where she befriends a local boy whose father works on the estate of the Tercel family. But things take a strange twist when Kate encounters the mysterious Shabby Tattler whose very appearance triggers a series of strange events in which Kate finds out about the terrible massacre that took place back in the village during the Elizabethan times. Kate’s future lies in the past and terrible secrets and revelations come to the surface. Intrigue is the key here. I absolute loved the story. Alan has created a rich history filled with high drama through to delicate relationships and some truly shocking moments. Buy this book.”
• Cyberbookworm Blog: “The flight of birds is a modern gothic novel with a twist. It is full of lyrical prose that transports you back into the world of the gothic novel. Full of dark metaphors and an uncomfortable back story that brings the horror alive. It is a story of love, hate, and vengeance on a grand scale. For those that love the gothic genre this will hit the spot. The flight of birds is the first book in an exciting series that promises more thrills and chills to come. Look out for The Toadman and Reprise, the second and third parts of the “Danse Macabre” trilogy.”
LOVEREADING WEBSITE: top of their ‘Horror, Fantasy & Sci Fi’ in December. “The reader too will feel utterly drawn in to follow Kate's story through the author's masterful storytelling powers and the two worlds, modern and historical are woven together in to a web in which the reader has no desire to leave but instead continue turning the pages to the surprising denouement.”
• Littlewriter, Waterlooville (age,18): “This is a book which fills your mind with wonder. The characters live on in your mind long after the last page has been turned and the story is clever, deserving applause for the gripping plots. This book is a book to read if you want to experience a beautiful piece of writing which will stay with you forever.”
• Catherine Hodgson (Teen) Blog: “I really, really enjoyed it. Okay, maybe it was a little bit gory in places (maybe a lot), but I thought that it was really clever and a
really good read. It’s what I’m always looking for - a mystery, stuff from the past, betrayal, horrid stuff like that; but that's just the sort of thing that is really very exciting. There is as much interest in the chapters set in the present day as there
is in the tales from the past; I love it I love it I love it. Thaaaank you, Mr. Alan Howard!”
Chris Bushe, 53: “A book that's sounds frankly weird. A girl goes back in time, whilst remaining in her current time and follows her family’s history back 400 years. This sounds all nonsense but in reality is one of the best books I have ever read. Readers of medieval whodunit novels (CJ Sansom lovers) will love this book. This is an author with great ideas, way beyond many others. He also could easily write separate books about many of the characters in this book.”
OK, these may not carry the same weight as the Curd reviews, but they give you an idea of the sorts of people who like the book.
O/A SALES FIGURES (WATERSTONES ONLY)
Rounding up the business aspect of what I explained there: over the last three and a half years I have built a successful business around the Waterstones group through signings, selling a total, through Waterstone's signings alone, of 10,197 books, or £139,643.03 worth through tills from Oct 20, 2008 to 1 Sept. 2012, earning me £59,348.29 through signings over 46 months at av. £1,290 pm. or £15,482 pa..
The last financial year was my best, with Raven's Quill income (before costs) from sales at over £19,700. (Compare with traditionally-published author average in Britain)
• Last summer I sold over 1,103 books (£13,459 through tills) over 28 events averaging 39.4 per day (boosted by 3for2 offer on all fiction pb)
• From autumn half-term to Christmas 1,058 (£13,638) over 26 events av. 40.7. [more Curd books sold]
• This summer 809 books (£10,769) over 31 events, av. 26.
And finally – lots of lovely Children’s reviews for Curd on
www.lovereading4kids.co.uk/book/3991
(If you are tempted to buy – support them and buy from them!)
GENERAL, ABOUT PUBLISHER:
• Raven’s Quill member of the Publishers Association and the Independent Publishers Guild.
• We are in receipt of UK Trade and Investment, grants to exhibit at international book fairs (Frankfurt and Bologna).
• We have sold translation rights to three countries – South Korea, Israel and now China this week.
• RQ is represented by Big Apple across Asia, Amo in South Korea and Ilustrata for the Spanish/Portugese bloc.
• Top literary scouts, Anne Louise Fisher Associates, have been showing Curd to their clients.
Faber Factory distributes its e-books.
Waterstones sales figures in more detail at bottom.
I, as author, have a literary agent at Sheil Land Associates.
My intention when starting this publishing venture was to achieve a critical level of sales above which publishers would find it difficult to ignore the quality and appeal of my books.
TWO BOOKS (so far - several in pipeline):
The Amazing Adventures of Curd the Lion (and us!) in the Land at the Back of Beyond - Alan Gilliland author & illustrator. 176pp. Hardback £14.99. 20 Oct, 2008. ISBN 9780955548611. An illustrated nonsense quest story with a real map. Sold nearly 9,000 copies to date.
The Flight of Birds - Alan Howard author (my pseudonym for adult books). 400pp. Paperback £9.99. 31 Oct, 2010. ISBN 9780955548628. A Gothic ghost tale set in Sussex between Elizabethan England and today, based upon a Greek Myth transposed into an Elizabethan context. Sold nearly 3,000 copies.
The Flight of Birds White Edition. Short run summer edition, 2012. (Different start and ending to original, Black, edition. This version produced in response to feedback from, mainly, females who loved the book but were often very upset by the ending. Both versions were written before original publication).
I also have available a book of short stories, poems and illustrations, Ana
Thema, 100pp. Paperback. ISBN 9780955548635. £6.99.
CURD THE LION:
•The Amazing Adventures of Curd the Lion (and us!) in the Land at the Back of Beyond” – Alan Gilliland author & illustrator. ISABN 9780955548611. £14.99. publ. 20.10.2008.
Sold nearly 9,000 copies to date in hard back at £14.99.
Translation rights sold to three countries – South Korea, Israel and now China this week.
Very nice reviews/articles from (see below): a Bookselling website (Lovereading4kids, Book of Year), an educationist (Margaret Mallett), an award-winning writer and radio broadcaster (Brian Sibley), a political philosopher (John Gray), an established children’s fantasy author (Katherine Langrish), a well-regarded children’s book blogger (BookWitch), the editor of Australian Children’s Book Council magazine (John Cohen), a well-known e-book pundit and organizer of international conferences (Mike Shatzkin), several regional newspapers and lots of children and adults.
REVIEWS for CURD:
• Recently, Brian Sibley, author & broadcaster, WINNER of BEST ADAPTATION for The History of Titus Groan in the BBC Audio Drama Awards, 2012, and author of the official Lord of the Rings and Hobbit film guides, wrote: “Alan Gilliland's delightful book for children is a heady mix of the tried and trusted format featuring nursery-toys-come-to-life with riddling, punning, nonsense in the style of Lewis Carroll and Edward Lear punctuating a twisting, turning roller-coaster adventure story filled with dangers, outlandish encounters and weird and wonderful beings.
There are a mass of subtexts and literary and historical allusions within the story (it is not accidental, for example, that the creature encountered named the 'Dodongs' is an anagram of that Carrollian alter ego, 'Dodgson') and readers armed with the map can trace the route of Curd & Co's adventures in the real location of Brimham Rocks in the Yorkshire Dales.
With delightful illustrations by the author, this a perfect read-aloud book for bedtime readers - and their listeners! A unique and wonderfully quirky book.”
Lovereading 4kids website: Book of Year, Debut of Year and Personal Choice of Founder, wider age-range than ever given before: “Reminiscent of the writing of Lewis Carroll and Edward Lear, this brilliant debut children's novel is completely unputdownable as well as being almost uncategorisable. …a terrifically funny yet mysterious story, full of larger-than-life highly improbable characters that I couldn’t begin to do justice to…other than to say they are wild and wacky and completely original. …full of tongue-in-cheek humour and skilful wordplay …will be loved by anyone from 7 to 107.”
British academic, Margaret Mallet’s book ‘Choosing and Using’ (for student teachers) won the UK Literacy Award: “In a necessarily selective account, I have been concerned to pick out some of the best writers and most memorable titles which have survived over the years and which I think are likely to continue to be read.” On Curd: “It is not surprising that this story has been compared to the work of Lewis Carroll and Edward Lear: riddles and word play, mysteries and surprises are wonderfully interwoven. The play on names is superb.”
The philosopher, John Gray:“Gilliland's mix of upside-down logic and serious whimsy is nonsense of the highest calibre. The best thing to have happened to children's literature since Alice went through the looking-glass. I was particularly taken by the Labyrinth chapter. The whole seemed to me delightful - in the magical tradition of George Macdonald, but with an extra dimension of nonsense and wit of its own.”
Author Katherine Langrish: “I agree this is a really unusual book – with brilliant illustrations, too. Think Edward Lear, Lewis Carroll, lots of wordplay and paradoxical fun, and you’ll be there. Not for every child, perhaps, but any budding chess players or crossword puzzle fiends will have a whale of a time. It demands something of the reader, and that’s not a bad thing at all.”
HiT Entertainment (TV company) wrote of Curd: “We really enjoyed the inventive witty narrative and surreal humour in the book. We can see that Curd the Lion might work very well as a family feature film.”
John Cohen, Editor, Reading Time (journal of Children's Book Council of Australia, Feb. 09, extracts from review). "This is an extraordinary book from a former graphics editor of The Telegraph, UK. What Gilliland has done is to lift what might have been another toy story onto a literary gold plate. His ability to play on words as well as to keep the story moving is a rare skill. The result is that the story can be enjoyed as a simple adventure as well as for its tongue-in-cheek word repartee that is reminiscent of Lewis Carroll and Edward Lear."
Mike Shatzkin (the US e-book pundit and adviser to top publishers): "Alan, what a great story! I'm glad you didn't ask me before you undertook to do this because I would have told you it was nigh on impossible! But, having achieved this much, I think your Korea sale is just the first of many you'll make around the world. You should find a literary agent to sell rights for you in the US, Canada, and Australia right away." (He organizes international e-book publishing conferences)
THE FLIGHT OF BIRDS:
The Flight of Birds - Alan Howard author (my pseudonym for adult books). 400pp. Paperback £9.99. 31 Oct, 2010. ISBN 9780955548628. A Gothic ghost tale set in Sussex between Elizabethan England and today, based upon a Greek Myth transposed into an Elizabethan context. Sold nearly 3,000 copies.
REVIEWS:
• Steve Sharpe, SVP, European Goldfields: Tweet to @OnundTreefoot: “Just finished The Flight of Birds - fantastic! it had me deferring theTimes Crossword on the commute to London each morning.”
Review: “This is a truly astonishing book. The cleverly spun threads will draw you into a web of intrigue and mystery that will have you gripped throughout. If you enjoyed the Quincunx you will love this - I can't recommend it highly enough.”
[Times crossword expert – 11-28 mins]
Waterstone’s staff reviewer: “The reader is thrust straight into an atmospheric drama, weaving history and fantasy together in this Gothic Danse Macabre, in parts reminiscent of some original brothers' Grimm tales, and the writing is so addictive there's never a good place to put the book down. As for the ending, nothing prepares you for that! I really was not expecting when I started this book for it to have such depth and diversity, horror and enchantment. It combines the magical twists of Neil Gaiman with atmosphere of Poe or Machen.”
Egmont on The Flight of Birds: “The Flight of Birds and its intended sequels make up what is obviously a very ambitious project, but after much discussion our editorial team felt that in some of its themes, and taking into account the literariness of its prose and complexity of its structure, it might be more suited to an adult publisher, or perhaps a teen imprint that is part of an adult publishing house.”
Martyn Drake Blog: “The story itself is hugely intriguing. After the death of her mother, Kate Pegler moves to a small village with her father where she befriends a local boy whose father works on the estate of the Tercel family. But things take a strange twist when Kate encounters the mysterious Shabby Tattler whose very appearance triggers a series of strange events in which Kate finds out about the terrible massacre that took place back in the village during the Elizabethan times. Kate’s future lies in the past and terrible secrets and revelations come to the surface. Intrigue is the key here. I absolute loved the story. Alan has created a rich history filled with high drama through to delicate relationships and some truly shocking moments. Buy this book.”
• Cyberbookworm Blog: “The flight of birds is a modern gothic novel with a twist. It is full of lyrical prose that transports you back into the world of the gothic novel. Full of dark metaphors and an uncomfortable back story that brings the horror alive. It is a story of love, hate, and vengeance on a grand scale. For those that love the gothic genre this will hit the spot. The flight of birds is the first book in an exciting series that promises more thrills and chills to come. Look out for The Toadman and Reprise, the second and third parts of the “Danse Macabre” trilogy.”
LOVEREADING WEBSITE: top of their ‘Horror, Fantasy & Sci Fi’ in December. “The reader too will feel utterly drawn in to follow Kate's story through the author's masterful storytelling powers and the two worlds, modern and historical are woven together in to a web in which the reader has no desire to leave but instead continue turning the pages to the surprising denouement.”
• Littlewriter, Waterlooville (age,18): “This is a book which fills your mind with wonder. The characters live on in your mind long after the last page has been turned and the story is clever, deserving applause for the gripping plots. This book is a book to read if you want to experience a beautiful piece of writing which will stay with you forever.”
• Catherine Hodgson (Teen) Blog: “I really, really enjoyed it. Okay, maybe it was a little bit gory in places (maybe a lot), but I thought that it was really clever and a
really good read. It’s what I’m always looking for - a mystery, stuff from the past, betrayal, horrid stuff like that; but that's just the sort of thing that is really very exciting. There is as much interest in the chapters set in the present day as there
is in the tales from the past; I love it I love it I love it. Thaaaank you, Mr. Alan Howard!”
Chris Bushe, 53: “A book that's sounds frankly weird. A girl goes back in time, whilst remaining in her current time and follows her family’s history back 400 years. This sounds all nonsense but in reality is one of the best books I have ever read. Readers of medieval whodunit novels (CJ Sansom lovers) will love this book. This is an author with great ideas, way beyond many others. He also could easily write separate books about many of the characters in this book.”
OK, these may not carry the same weight as the Curd reviews, but they give you an idea of the sorts of people who like the book.
O/A SALES FIGURES (WATERSTONES ONLY)
Rounding up the business aspect of what I explained there: over the last three and a half years I have built a successful business around the Waterstones group through signings, selling a total, through Waterstone's signings alone, of 10,197 books, or £139,643.03 worth through tills from Oct 20, 2008 to 1 Sept. 2012, earning me £59,348.29 through signings over 46 months at av. £1,290 pm. or £15,482 pa..
The last financial year was my best, with Raven's Quill income (before costs) from sales at over £19,700. (Compare with traditionally-published author average in Britain)
• Last summer I sold over 1,103 books (£13,459 through tills) over 28 events averaging 39.4 per day (boosted by 3for2 offer on all fiction pb)
• From autumn half-term to Christmas 1,058 (£13,638) over 26 events av. 40.7. [more Curd books sold]
• This summer 809 books (£10,769) over 31 events, av. 26.
And finally – lots of lovely Children’s reviews for Curd on
www.lovereading4kids.co.uk/book/3991
(If you are tempted to buy – support them and buy from them!)
Wednesday, 24 October 2012
Comment to Janet Reid’s Hard Numbers piece
Janet Reid, US agent with sharp teeth, wrote a “hard numbers” piece in her blog:
http://jetreidliterary.blogspot.co.uk/
It starts (forgive me for lifting a few lines – my comments won’t make any sense to anyone otherwise):
My query in-box has a new category these days: authors who've self
published with the goal of a larger publisher noticing. There have been
some amazing stories in the news about authors who've done just that.
We watch those stories very carefully of course. We're in this biz for money, not love, and if there's a place to find projects we can sell, you bet we're there. If you're thinking of doing this, here's what to consider:
1. To get noticed, you have to sell a lot of books. By a lot I mean more than 20,000.
If this number doesn't daunt you, ask yourself this question: have you ever sold 20,000 units of anything?
If the answer is yes, ask this next question:
Have you sold something to 20,000 people, one by one?
If you self publish you are no longer just the author, you're the salesperson for your book. Do you have any experience selling?...”
Seeking clarification regarding what she deems significant, I wrote a comment to that piece that I reproduce here because I think it may have gone AWOL:
“The Agent Game retweeted your link to this. Query. Are the units sold e-books, hardbacks, paperbacks? At what price? I’m curious to see how you rate a smaller sum sold (in UK) as I have? I’ve hand-sold at signings 7,936 of my first book, an illustrated nonsense quest story, putting £118,960 through tills (of approaching 9,000 sold all told). 2,642 at signings of second Gothic ghost tale (£26,393 thro. tills) of nearly 3,000 all told. ie. 10,578 or £164,880 sold at signings. I collect 42.5 - 60% list depending on distribution method, but have to organize and pay for printing and warehousing. £15 book cost £1.75 per unit on 2,000 run including delivery to UK warehouse from China. £10 book cost £1,32 per unit on 2,000 run. Gardners wholesalers take from 300-1,000 at a time, saving some warehousing costs. Sold transl. rights for first book now to South Korea, Israel and this week to China. Have nice reviews from a political philosopher, educationist (UK Literacy Award winner), writer/broadcaster (winner of BBC Radio drama award this year), a Book of Year for Lovereading4kids website. My SP co. is a member of the IPG and PA in UK, receives UKTI grants to exhibit at international book fairs (Frankfurt & Bologna - but neither this year – terms became tougher). My company represented by Big Apple, Amo (Korea) and Ilustrata (Sp./Po). A lot of effort quite apart from the writing. I do this in my spare time when not illustrating for several publishers (adult non-fiction cutaways, 3D battlemaps – science through to archaeology). Now have UK agent. Shatzkin wrote he would have said beforehand what I have done is impossible and urged me to find US agent ASAP. I also illustrate for architects and developers incl. one several times winner of World Architect of Year. Previous careers in newspapers as photographer then graphic journalist – graphics ed. of Daily Telegraph (UK national) winning 19 international awards incl. UK Press Awards, Graphic Artist of Year (winner 3x and runner-up 2x) and quite a few of your US SND awards.”
This is not intended as any sort of boast, but posted to discover just what she means by significant.
It will deleted as soon as she responds here, if she does, to affirm she did receive my comment.
Have to ring off – blinded by a migraine..
See newer post for more detail on what I have managed on my own:
http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2892592229930113987#editor/target=post;postID=7845014395628244484
http://jetreidliterary.blogspot.co.uk/
It starts (forgive me for lifting a few lines – my comments won’t make any sense to anyone otherwise):
“Wednesday, October 24, 2012
some hard numbers
We watch those stories very carefully of course. We're in this biz for money, not love, and if there's a place to find projects we can sell, you bet we're there. If you're thinking of doing this, here's what to consider:
1. To get noticed, you have to sell a lot of books. By a lot I mean more than 20,000.
If this number doesn't daunt you, ask yourself this question: have you ever sold 20,000 units of anything?
If the answer is yes, ask this next question:
Have you sold something to 20,000 people, one by one?
If you self publish you are no longer just the author, you're the salesperson for your book. Do you have any experience selling?...”
Seeking clarification regarding what she deems significant, I wrote a comment to that piece that I reproduce here because I think it may have gone AWOL:
“The Agent Game retweeted your link to this. Query. Are the units sold e-books, hardbacks, paperbacks? At what price? I’m curious to see how you rate a smaller sum sold (in UK) as I have? I’ve hand-sold at signings 7,936 of my first book, an illustrated nonsense quest story, putting £118,960 through tills (of approaching 9,000 sold all told). 2,642 at signings of second Gothic ghost tale (£26,393 thro. tills) of nearly 3,000 all told. ie. 10,578 or £164,880 sold at signings. I collect 42.5 - 60% list depending on distribution method, but have to organize and pay for printing and warehousing. £15 book cost £1.75 per unit on 2,000 run including delivery to UK warehouse from China. £10 book cost £1,32 per unit on 2,000 run. Gardners wholesalers take from 300-1,000 at a time, saving some warehousing costs. Sold transl. rights for first book now to South Korea, Israel and this week to China. Have nice reviews from a political philosopher, educationist (UK Literacy Award winner), writer/broadcaster (winner of BBC Radio drama award this year), a Book of Year for Lovereading4kids website. My SP co. is a member of the IPG and PA in UK, receives UKTI grants to exhibit at international book fairs (Frankfurt & Bologna - but neither this year – terms became tougher). My company represented by Big Apple, Amo (Korea) and Ilustrata (Sp./Po). A lot of effort quite apart from the writing. I do this in my spare time when not illustrating for several publishers (adult non-fiction cutaways, 3D battlemaps – science through to archaeology). Now have UK agent. Shatzkin wrote he would have said beforehand what I have done is impossible and urged me to find US agent ASAP. I also illustrate for architects and developers incl. one several times winner of World Architect of Year. Previous careers in newspapers as photographer then graphic journalist – graphics ed. of Daily Telegraph (UK national) winning 19 international awards incl. UK Press Awards, Graphic Artist of Year (winner 3x and runner-up 2x) and quite a few of your US SND awards.”
This is not intended as any sort of boast, but posted to discover just what she means by significant.
It will deleted as soon as she responds here, if she does, to affirm she did receive my comment.
Have to ring off – blinded by a migraine..
See newer post for more detail on what I have managed on my own:
http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2892592229930113987#editor/target=post;postID=7845014395628244484
Thursday, 18 October 2012
Curd the Lion on the Long March into China!
We’ve just agreed to sell translation rights for Curd the Lion* to a Chinese publisher, Aurora Publishing, through Big Apple Agency.
Looking forward to seeing how their treatment turns out!
That’s now three countries: South Korea and Israel are the other two.
*The Amazing Adventures of Curd the Lion (and us!) in the Land at the Back of Beyond.
Looking forward to seeing how their treatment turns out!
That’s now three countries: South Korea and Israel are the other two.
*The Amazing Adventures of Curd the Lion (and us!) in the Land at the Back of Beyond.
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