Happy new year from Quiet Corner
Hello, and welcome to the first blog entry for Quiet Corner Publishing!
This year, I have finally got my hands on a Pilot Writers’ Diary, thanks to a writing colleague. It’s quite a novelty having a diary so early in the year. I don’t usually think of things like diaries or calendars until about mid-February. Then I suddenly realise the year is underway and I have things that need doing or remembering, so I go out and see if there are any diaries still left, heavily discounted, on the shelves.
So, fingers still sticky with Christmas cake, I’ve been leafing through my Pilot and have to say it’s makes the year seem full of promise. It’s got a nice practical layout, and there’s just the right combination of inspiration and tips from other writing folk to make you think you might, just possibly, be able to achieve something substantial this year.
However, as Carrie Bradshaw would say, it made me wonder: Does someone need to publish a Publisher’s diary? As an emerging publisher, I’m in no less need of inspiration and encouragement. In fact, my needs are far greater in that department than as a writer. I mean, writing, when it comes down to it, is a pretty simple process. There’s not much you need to learn, logistically speaking. You pick up a pen, or fire up Word, and away you go. But publishing – boy, it’s hard. There are quite a few simple but vital facts that it would have been useful to know when I set out to publish Where’s my Mummy? For e.g., novels, without exception, are printed on cream paper. And who knew you have to actually write to Google to ask them to put your website on their books? (It’s called indexing: like everything, except this website until very recently, you can Google it to find out more.)
It’s certainly been a learning experience, but a fun one. And I’ll be sharing what I can, when I remember, on this blog. Perhaps this time next year you might be seeing a Quiet Corner Publisher’s diary sitting, heavily discounted, on the shelves.
