Thursday, September 29, 2005
Crossroads
I can't explain it, but I actually felt quite happy today. At times as I sat at my desk and did the rounds I felt quite elated at something, though I'm unsure what 'it' was. Could it be the weekend approaching? Could it be the cup of cappuccino in my hand? Could it be the email banter with a couple of ex-colleagues when I worked in Glasgow many years ago? Who knows, but it made for a good start to this particularly Thursday.
I wrote my letters to the Press Complains Commission and The Times Editor, about Ross Clark's xenophobic article in Wednesday's issue. I believe him to have breached several paragraphs of the Press Code of Conduct as well as the main article and basis of the Public Order Act of 1986. I'll proof-read them tonight and post them tomorrow.
Cutting my ties with KIC is not going to be easy. I recently renewed my contract with them, which keeps me with them until March next year. I have to give a month's notice but this doesn't include them having to hand over my subscribers details. There may even be an issue with the Data Protection Act on this issue.
Even after my month's notice, I don't get the rights back to Hunting Jack for another 90 days - the end of January sometime. I intend to find out who my subscribers are, request they be refunded and send them the serial for free myself. It's only fair and I think a show of understanding and good PR would be not only welcome but a good idea at this stage.
A joint press release will also follow with some of my other colleagues who work for KIC and then hopefully I can repair some of the damage that has been inflicted.
As for Hunting Jack, well, it will no longer be in the public domain, so I will have to decide where to take it from here. There are several options:
1) Continue with plan to rework it into a novel and attempt to get it published mainstream.
2) Self-publish it and sell as a serial through my own website.
3) Leave it alone and move on.
Option 1 is the obvious choice. I always intended to turn Hunting Jack from a serial into a novel and pitch it to agents. The problem is, other work has moved in and taken over and after discussions with some readers of the serial, there may be opportunities to take it to a new level. I am coming round to the idea of joining Jackie McCann a few years later - real time (now) - and finding out what he's doing, what he's involved in and what has happened to him. Hunting Jack would then be the background to his life, which can be gone back to at a later date and of course referred to in the course of the next one or two novels about his life.
Option 2 is a no-go, because I do not want to self-publish any of my novels. I want these to be done the old-fashioned way with an agent and to build a career through them. The only reason I self-publish chapbooks is because it is fun, they help me to gain status and they give me loads of experience and opportunities. This doesn't apply to novels.
Option 3 (see Option 1). The temptation to write a series of novels based on what happened in Hunting Jack is growing strong within me. These would be the sequels to what has already happened and could be the way to go.
Back to today.
I spent my whole evening working on Fringe Fantastic. A problem with the title graphics has meant when they are printed they appear to be in a light grey box. I also spent time getting the layout perfect and inserting photographs into the main body of work to support certain poems. I decided to include a new section at the end called Images of the Festival, which is a small selection of interesting photographs to conclude the book.
It now stands at 73 pages, with another few still to be created! Value for money is a certainty!!
I wrote my letters to the Press Complains Commission and The Times Editor, about Ross Clark's xenophobic article in Wednesday's issue. I believe him to have breached several paragraphs of the Press Code of Conduct as well as the main article and basis of the Public Order Act of 1986. I'll proof-read them tonight and post them tomorrow.
Cutting my ties with KIC is not going to be easy. I recently renewed my contract with them, which keeps me with them until March next year. I have to give a month's notice but this doesn't include them having to hand over my subscribers details. There may even be an issue with the Data Protection Act on this issue.
Even after my month's notice, I don't get the rights back to Hunting Jack for another 90 days - the end of January sometime. I intend to find out who my subscribers are, request they be refunded and send them the serial for free myself. It's only fair and I think a show of understanding and good PR would be not only welcome but a good idea at this stage.
A joint press release will also follow with some of my other colleagues who work for KIC and then hopefully I can repair some of the damage that has been inflicted.
As for Hunting Jack, well, it will no longer be in the public domain, so I will have to decide where to take it from here. There are several options:
1) Continue with plan to rework it into a novel and attempt to get it published mainstream.
2) Self-publish it and sell as a serial through my own website.
3) Leave it alone and move on.
Option 1 is the obvious choice. I always intended to turn Hunting Jack from a serial into a novel and pitch it to agents. The problem is, other work has moved in and taken over and after discussions with some readers of the serial, there may be opportunities to take it to a new level. I am coming round to the idea of joining Jackie McCann a few years later - real time (now) - and finding out what he's doing, what he's involved in and what has happened to him. Hunting Jack would then be the background to his life, which can be gone back to at a later date and of course referred to in the course of the next one or two novels about his life.
Option 2 is a no-go, because I do not want to self-publish any of my novels. I want these to be done the old-fashioned way with an agent and to build a career through them. The only reason I self-publish chapbooks is because it is fun, they help me to gain status and they give me loads of experience and opportunities. This doesn't apply to novels.
Option 3 (see Option 1). The temptation to write a series of novels based on what happened in Hunting Jack is growing strong within me. These would be the sequels to what has already happened and could be the way to go.
Back to today.
I spent my whole evening working on Fringe Fantastic. A problem with the title graphics has meant when they are printed they appear to be in a light grey box. I also spent time getting the layout perfect and inserting photographs into the main body of work to support certain poems. I decided to include a new section at the end called Images of the Festival, which is a small selection of interesting photographs to conclude the book.
It now stands at 73 pages, with another few still to be created! Value for money is a certainty!!
Colin 12:22 pm
2 Comments:
It is kind of exciting to have all these options though, isn't it. Hunting Jack is a very compelling story - when I was reading it for the KIC PR stuff, the plot and your scenes stayed with me for a very long time. I think no matter whickh option you go with, you will find success. ;)
Leigh Clements, The Mystery Maiden, Shot In The Dark Mysteries.com, at Saturday, October 01, 2005 5:33:00 pm
Sounds like some great plans for Hunting Jack - keep us posted!