Zombie-Col

Quick Buttercup update. Two weeks back, I met Steve from Maverick. Before he became a publisher, he used to have his own photography business, so he wanted to do some promo shots.

We spent a stunning, but cold, Sunday morning flying around North East landmarks including The Angel of the North, some strange statues in South Shields, Stadium of Light and Penshaw Monument.

The best shots are going to be used for press releases early next year, but this one makes me smile. When we went to the Angel, it was early so there weren't many people about. The same in South Shields. There were a few learner drivers in the car park of the Stadium of Light, but by the time we took this one, at Penshaw, there were people walking past giving us some strange looks while I staggered down the slope, zombie style.

All part of the fun of being an author-superstar.

On the illustration side, things are going well. The drawings are taking much longer than I thought. I draw directly onto a computer, so I knock out a first sketch, then zoom in and do a more detailed drawing, then zoom right in and draw the final outlines. It means each image takes about an hour but it has the advantage that when it comes to editing them, I can change things quite easily.

Writing stuff - Editing time

The book is written, I've done the pitch, made a sale and got a top agent to negotiate the contact. Now it's time for the real fun to begin. It's editing time!

Working with an editor is very much like being back at school. You've done your best piece of work ever - and it must be good if you've got an agent and a publisher, right? Right, but that doesn't mean it's perfect. It's the editor's job to take a good script and make it even better. 

Here's a screen shot of a page somewhere near the end of Buttercup. There are two colours of comment box because I've got two editors working on this. 

No one writes a perfect script. Even Stephen King says that every writer needs and editor. That's simply because it's often impossible to see your own mistakes. Not just typos but continuity errors - someone out of breath in one scene, fine in the next. Wearing a yellow scarf on one page, a purple hat in the next. Also, because you have the full story in your head, if you haven't managed to get all the details across to the reader, some parts might not make sense. An editor will see those things, and a lot more. They also come up with suggestions to improve or strengthen the story, they spot areas where the story dips or moves too quickly. 

For a writer, there's something genuinely exciting about receiving a manuscript filled with edits and comments. Someone has read your work enough to really, really think about it. You also have to weigh up suggestions - if you really don't feel a suggestion works, argue the point. This isn't someone pulling your work to pieces for the fun of it - you're all in the same boat, trying to build the best sail that will take you to Land of Commercial Success. Or at least, trying to make the book the best it possibly can be.

So here goes...

Wheelie bin terror on wash day.

I love hearing how other writers get things moving. While sitting here, reading a post on Facebook, I could look out and see my wheelie bin standing in the street. It's bin day so there's a few lined up next to the road. The windows are wide open and the translucent roller-blind with the butterflies, that is usually there as a thin, white barrier is up, because I've been washing our fabric sofas and the whole place stinks of washing up powder. The result is a perfect view of my wheelie bin. And although I know what is in there is really an old brown towel all wrinkled up from being stuffed in the top, from here it looks just like three fat human fingers poking out the top. Can't shake he need to go and double check.

I'm an illustrator!

I'm illustrating Buttercup Sunshine and the Deadly Undead Zombies of Dooooom!

I'm very happy about this, but also a bit nervous. I had to pitch a load of doodles then rework Buttercup herself until I got something the editor thinks is heading in the right direction. The contract is still being finalised, so I can't say anything official just yet, but I have bought a new graphics tablet to illustrate directly onto my laptop.

So just for fun, here's one of my early fine-liner sketches redrawn and coloured.

Buttercup sequels

Originally, Buttercup Sunshine was just going to be a stand alone story in a series set in the same little town. I had an idea that something had happened to cause a degree of calamity to the town and thought it would be great to show that through different events. What I didn't expect was for Buttercup herself to become the star of the series.

The publishing deal isn't signed as yet - contract negotiations take time, so while things got underway, I began thinking of what to write next. I had bounced a few ideas about, but they just didn't have the same edge. So, just for fun, I started a story with Buttercup walking back to town, having escaped from events that ended the first story. And the words began to flow.

Around this time, Agent F asked if I had any ideas, or if possible, a detailed synopsis for a second book. Perfect timing - things were going well with Buttercup #2. A week later, I sent the full script.

And then I sat waiting. Like I said, negotiating contracts is a slow process. I'm going to meet Agent F this week, so obviously my mind is very much focused on Buttercup and what could happen next, which inevitably led to a few scene ideas, a couple of jokes, and before I knew it, a totally unplanned story in the form of Buttercup #3.

Even better than that, it was playing with scenes and ideas in book #3 that I see how the series ends. At least, I think I can. Right now I've got some cleaning and fixing to do on #3, an edit and a polish and next week can get to work on the final story: Buttercup #4 - all before I've signed the contract for book #1.

And that, in the business, is what's known as blind optimism. 😜

Buttercup update

Things are moving with Buttercup. Don't want to tempt fate, so I'll steer clear of details. But I did get to work on a few illustrations to see if I could settle on a style for the internals. An editor may well want to use their own illustrator or have a particular style in mind, and that's fine. This was purely for my own entertainment.

I had to go round the houses to find a style that suited the story. It took about a week. At one point, she was very refined with crisp, clean line work, bunches in her hair and a neck like ET - something between Disney and Manga. Far too refined, and very difficult to redraw in different scenes and situations. What I really want is something I can draw fast, the way I draw when I'm teaching or reading a story in class, but as far as my own finished artwork goes, I've always had this habit of developing things too far (if you have a look at the line work in the ARTWORK section of this site, you'll see what I mean - especially the Easter drawings and Dr. Lobotomy).

I got fed up, decided I couldn't draw a thing and was ready to give up. In sheer frustration, I drew something as fast as I could - exactly the way I'd draw on a whiteboard at school, and sat back. It looked okay - very scribbly, but okay. So I kept going and things got better and better. Here's a couple of examples...

The same day I settled on these drawings, I was contacted by an agent. I was utterly bowled over by her enthusiasm, not just for Buttercup but me as a writer and where I'm going next. In short, I've never felt so excited! Announcement soon...

A nibble!!!

I only sent my submission of Buttercup Sunshine... out on Tuesday. On Friday I got a nibble from one publisher showing interest and wanting to know more about me!

Really, really happy about this because I only targeted four, but also because it's good to know that authors can submit directly and get a positive response. What's good about this is it means a writer can get the contract first, then the agent second. This sounds an upside down way of doing things, but getting the top agents is tough, so approaching them with a deal, rather than just a manuscript, stands you in a very attractive light.

Colin Mulhern