Another Day, Another Reprint

After the great news that The Trouble with Sauce was having a full reprint, I got another email on Monday saying Lab Rats in Space is getting a digital reprint. Another of the benefits of being part of the Harper Collins stable is that they are set up for digital reprints. They're only doing 300 copies, but that's the beauty of digital, they don't need to commit to a big print run and it means as long as people order my books they will be available. Apparently the colours on the cover can sometimes appear a bit different but apart from that it's indistinguishable from the regular print run.

It's great news that they've sold all the original print run in two years. For a children's book aimed at 8-12 year old boys that's not bad. I'm hoping this means they will let me revisit the second book in the series. I know the editor who read the first draft didn't like it it, but I suspect space comedies really aren't his thing anyway. There is lots to improve in the text and a few big things to change, but that's all part of the excitement for me as a writer and I would LOVE to see the full series of 3 Lab Rats books that I planned out there.

It would also mean I could have give a definite answer to all the readers who keep asking me for the second one. Belinda, the publisher said we should wait until there are some more sales figures for my first ABC/Harper Collins book before putting it forward, which makes sense. Still the word REPRINT can only help make the case. I suspect the downside to being part of the Harper Collins stable (and to be honest this will be the first one I've come across) will be they'll want to sure of higher sales before they put something out there.

The merry-go-round comes round again
And so with Trouble with Sauce out in stores, the merry-go-round comes round again and I'm back wondering how to best to make the case for my next book. Hopefully I won't get thrown off the HC merry-go-round which I suspect spins faster than the ABC. Reprint, reprint, reprint, Bruno, just keep at the mantra.

The ex got in touch - they’re throwing my stuff out!

It’s always a bit awkward when you hear from an EX, as I did last week. Hachette wrote to me. French Letters (B format) is soon to be out of print. Hachette are disposing of the remaining 140 copies. I can buy them at $2.30. It’s sad but better than what happened to Beauty of Truth which got pulped without anyone “realising” and without me having an opportunity to buy. Ironically Hachette only found out about the pulping when some stores tried to reorder, couldn’t and so contacted me to find out why. 

I feel OK about this but I am a little puzzled. My understanding of my last royalty statements suggests there were far more than 140 unsold copies of French Letters lying around the warehouse. I’ve asked politely for an explanation because it sounds like I sold more than I thought. That can’t possibly be right.

Hopefully it will shed some light on what the figures on a royalty statement actually mean. I can never work them out. All I ever seem to glean from them is that stock has been returned without stock being sent out to the extend that they have more returns than they printed in the first place.

Kids say the darnedest things

Children’s Book Week spilled over into this week as I crammed school visits in and skirted very close to several book parades where the children dress up as characters from books. For 90% of the kids this means a Disney Princess or Spiderman, but with any luck one school may have ended up with a Captain Wetbeard or Zed, the boy with a third arm.

Tintin and the ill-read teacher

Most schools are great but every now and again you come across one that just seems bemused by the whole idea of authors and books. At one school this week, the younger kids really struggled to think of a fairy story that we could twist together. Even when I pointed to the girl dressed as a Disney Princess for the book parade I still got blank faces. It may have been to do with the kindy teacher who was so scary she even cowed me into silence. Going by her reaction, not sitting on your bottom is an offence akin to slapping a teacher. 

Perhaps the kids’ lack of imagination may have had something to do with her. She got the kids to say what costumes they were in with the delightful words ‘and who are you meant to be?’ One boy had really made an effort, he had eschewed the bought superhero costume and actually chosen a book character. ‘Tintin’ he answered. She simply shook her head, said ‘don’t know that one’ and moved on before I could shout ‘I do’.  I made a comment in my talk about how good his costume was, but I wish now I’d made a bigger deal of it. I remembered those times when I had my efforts dismissed so quickly at school. It would have been good to know that someone appreciated them, even if the teacher didn’t.

Fortunately there are plenty of moments that make up for ones like that.  There was the boy who kept asking Harry Potter questions regardlesss of the context.

Bruno: Who can think of a well known fairy story?

Boy: Harry Potter

Bruno: What would you do if you had a third arm?

Boy: Harry Potter

Bruno: Does anyone have any questions?

Boy: How many Harry Potter books are there?

Eventually the teacher had to explain that I hadn’t written those books (IF ONLY!). 

At another school a girl asked a question to which there is no satisfactory answer: 

‘How do you make your books small?”

A model student

After talking about Lab Rats, I always ask the boys what they would do if they woke up as a girl (and vice versa). In the fun schools the boys come up with ideas other than ‘kill myself’. This week, some would try make up, many would check out the girls toilets and in Menai one brilliant boy would become a contestant on America’s Next Top Model. Loves it!

Shock Triumph at Children’s Book Week Awards

It’s the Children’s Book Council of Australia children’s book week.  At 63 years the event is, apparently, the longest running children’s festival in Australia. I think we can safely expand that to ‘in the Southern Hemisphere’ until NZ or Argentina complains. Each year the week kicks off with a lunch at the South Steyne, a ship permanently moored at Darling Harbour with a dubious line in sausage-based catering.

It’s a chance for local primary school children to meet authors, decorate their tables and, more importantly, get out of school for a few hours. I was seated with a fun bunch of boys from Shore Prep School. I always seem to get the private boys schools - must be that refined charm I exude. At the lunch they also announce the winner of the various Children’s Book Council Awards. 

Was this my chance to finally win an award? 

The chances were slim. I wasn’t aware if had even been nominated, but that could have just been ABC Books being slack. In the end, like an Australian male swimmer at the Olympics I did a PB  and came my closest yet to winning a Children’s Book award. My table took out the coveted third prize in the table decoration competition. I’d like to think I played a vital role in this near win, but sadly my main contribution was knocking a glass of coke over and soaking half the table along with the paper hat the boys had made for me. In my defence the boat slopes horribly at the edges so it’s like eating on the side of a steep hill.

Authors v Illustrators - it’s war!

Book awards and decorated tables aside, the real competition at this lunch is between illustrators and and word-based authors such as myself. It can be humiliating for non-drawers. Last year just before Sydney Writers Festival I was asked to participate in children’s events. It was obvious that I was a ring in after someone else dropped out but organisers rubbed it in by telling me they normally ‘preferred’ authors who were illustrators because they were more entertaining. Thanks!

Today there was an illustrator at my table, Mathew, a nice guy who took an early lead in the ‘coolest guest at the table’ competition because he could do drawings for the boys and show a T shirt he’d designed. However at the right moment I wheeled out the big gun:

‘I need a photo for blog, everyone gather round.’ 

Then I pulled out my new 3G Iphone and waited for the chorus of delight. Going in for the kill, I let them take photos with it. Just when the illustrator was recovering from that blow I delivered the knockout:

‘Why don’t you all email it to yourselves?’

More coos of joy as they all punched in their email addresses into the Iphone and mailed the picture off to themselves. 

‘You must be really rich,’ said one boy.

‘No, I’m just on a good plan.’

Victory secured.

This was a rare triumph for my species. Normally at this event it’s illustrators all the way. Part of the proceedings is a chance for the kids to go around and collect autographs. Of course those damn illustrators whip out a felt pen and draw something fantastic. The drawing process has the added benefit of taking time which then creates a queue, making them look extremely popular and drawing more children to them.

When I looked at the autograph books as they came to me, I felt like slapping the authors that had just done their scribbled name. Cowardice under fire. I did my best to compete to the bitter end, chatting to each child, asking their name and writing a unique sentence for each one. This did extend my queue quite nicely and brought a smile to some kids faces too, but still it was not nearly as cool as a drawing. 

700% increase in sales

There’s also a bookshop at the event. This year’s crowd seemed far more receptive to my books than last year. At the 2007 gig only one copy of my books was sold: the teacher on my table obviously felt sorry for me and ducked out to buy Lab Rats. This year I’m pleased to report that unprompted by sad puppy dog looks from me, 7 copies of my books were sold - an exponential increase which could be the start of ‘sleeper hit’ status.

Contact has been made

The agent called!

You wait for ages and then two come at once...I finally got an email back from the ABC about the manuscript of my next children’s book, the Lab Rats  sequel, Lab Rat Liberation (submitted early March) and I was reading through that when the phone rang and it was the agent! She called but seemed to have no idea why she was calling.

I explained the situation and she sounded suitably pessimistic, but thought we should have a talk after I’d had the feedback from the editor in July to see where we could take thing from there. Obviously she was confident enough to let me have her phone number. The conversation was very much focussed on placing this book rather than representing me as a writer, but it was only a preliminary chat, I can hardly expect the full representing philosophy in five minutes. She thought she might have met me a few years ago at some lavish Hachette ‘Harlequin’ theme party. She didn’t, I never got invited to that one. I did get taken to see the State of Origin one year. The seats were great but it was generally agreed to have been the dullest match in Origin history. She wasn’t at that.

Lab Rat Termination?

The ABC feedback was more challenging. The editor there while loving Lab Rats 1, really doesn’t like Lab Rats 2. While he would be happy to work on it with me, he thinks the better option would be to work on something else. As much as I was surprised about his feedback (other views I got had been v positive) there have been so many delays and set back on this, it feels a bit terminal. My poor little Lab Rats, I do love them.  The day after this email I got another message from a mother in UK saying her children were now ‘playing lab rats’. What a joy!

I guess I’ll just add this onto the pile of things to think about while I’m away. Actually I won’t be thinking about them at all, I’ll be absorbed in other things and hoping clarity will simply emerge without trying.

A new name for Crash Tactic

Ploughing the manuscript of Crash Tactic and everyday is a different story. Yesterday it was all utter drivel. Today it wasn’t too bad. At the weekend someone read out a few lines over my shoulder and it sounded like such hackneyed rubbish I completely rewrote those lines. It’s always like that and the more you go over it, the crapper it sounds.

In this edit a possible new title is emerging, It could also be called Die for the Deal. Without knowing anything about the contents which is better?  Die for the Deal or Crash Tactic 

Let me know by posting a comment.

In the meantime #1 Children's books

In the meantime I’ve had a few children’s books published through ABC kids. 

Captain Wetbeard, a first chapter book which has sold OK (teetering on the brink of earning out it’s advance at the 9 month mark). 

Dorothy the Dinosaur’s Rosy Tea Party. Written for the Wiggles I am credited as the author but I don’t get royalties (just a lump sum). This is sad it’s probably my best-selling book.

Lab Rats in Space - for 9-11 year olds this is the first book of 3 - a comedy space adventure. Released last, it had a mixed reception. A lot of booksellers didn’t like the cover so many didn’t stock it. However the few that did, did really well out of it and are keen for the next book. Despite poor overall sales, this persauded ABC to go with volume 2. It’s been written and it’s with them waiting for editing.

I’ve a couple of other concepts in the pipeline but no commitment on them. ABC books are going through major upheavals (of course!) so can’t commit to anything right now!