Fiona Veitch Smith
I MET FIONA VEITCH SMITH online via the Association of Christian Writers facebook group, where she was telling us a bit about her experiences of trying to persuade Christian bookshops to stock her new children’s book, David and the Hairy Beast.
Curious to know more, I checked out her website where I found, to my delight, an excerpt — and loved it. Hopefully, you will too — and you might even find your customers like it as well, but there’s only one way to find out about that…
I invited Fiona to tell us all about it. She writes:
David and the Hairy Beast claws its way to market
When we read of bookshop chains shutting down, publishing contracts becoming scarcer than a footballer without a super injunction and the bogey man of the e-book market changing the way we consume books, then you would be forgiven for raising an eyebrow at a new company launching its pilot title – in hard copy. Add to that the fact that the pilot is ‘self-published’ and the more business savvy among you may well be tutting in disdain. And yet, that’s what Crafty Publishing is doing. My husband Rod and I felt called to start Crafty Publishing using some of the redundancy money he received after being ‘released’ from the NHS. Our vision is to test out the market and distribution chains with a series of children’s picture books that I’ve written and then, if all goes well, start taking on other titles.
But we’re not going into this blindly. I am not a wannabe author who is so desperate to see her name in print that I’d sell the family silver to see it happen. I am already published and produced in a variety of genre including theatre, film and books. I’m currently working on a non-fiction book contract with Lion Hudson and a devotional booklet contract with CWR as well as continuing to work on a series of ghost-written children’s books for the secular market. In addition, I have worked as a freelance editor for Tafelberg Publishing in South Africa as well as for a number of magazines (in the UK and SA).
So why am I publishing my own work? I got a taste for the business side of self-publishing about eight years ago. My first book, Donovon’s Rainbow, was published in South Africa by Vineyard International Publishing (who have subsequently discontinued their children’s line). The book was not distributed beyond Vineyard bookshops in the UK, so when I moved back here in 2002 I asked permission from the publisher to distribute it. Effectively then I took on the job of a self-publisher. I entered the book for the Writers’ News best self-published / independently published children’s book of the year award in 2002 and won. The award gave me confidence to tackle the market and I was able to distribute the book to around 20 bookshops in the UK (secular and Christian).
It was a steep curve and I quickly had to learn about things like wholesale discounts the pros and cons of sale or return, the horrors of cold calling and the shaky financial footing of independent booksellers. I also realised that the title I was trying to sell did not fit easily into existing age categories and that the cover made it look as if it was for a younger readership than it actually was. Despite that, the book went into profit, but we would not do it the same way again.
So when my husband and I decided to launch our own title this year, we had some background to draw on. In addition, since 2002, the internet has become a much more effective marketing tool and as he is a professional software developer, he has been able to tackle that side of things.
But it’s still a scary world out there for a new publisher, not least when dealing with some bookshop managers who consider any ‘retelling’ of a bible story with the same abhorrence they normally reserve for Satan (or Rob Bell). However, there are some great folk too and in the month since the title’s been launched, five bookshops have agreed to stock us and our online sales are ticking over very nicely.
David and the Hairy Beast
Our pilot title is called David and the Hairy Beast (retailing at £5.99) and is the first in a series of six books about the childhood of King David. The illustrations are by my design partner, Amy Barnes. We’re working on the next book, David and the Kingmaker, now. It will be ready for distribution in October, in time for the Christmas market. We’ll see how sales go in the New Year before launching the third in the series David and the Giant.
To find out more, please visit www.craftypublishing.com
Fiona Veitch Smith
e: Fiona AT thecraftywriter.com
www.thecraftywriter.com
www.craftypublishing.com
facebook.com/pages/Crafty-Publishing/229271997105270
August 26, 2011 at 10:43 am
Phil,
Nice to see you featuring Fiona.
August 26, 2011 at 10:59 am
Have to say that one of things that’s impressed me with Fiona’s approach is that she’s not undermining her prospective retail partners — bookshops — by selling direct at a discount.
It always disturbs me when I see publishers doing that: they set the price; then they sell it at a lower price and claim to be offering a discount when, in truth, it’s nothing of the sort (hence the long-running saga with Kingsway last year).
So kudos to Fiona, both on her business ethics and on what looks to be a superb retelling of David’s story
August 26, 2011 at 11:52 am
Congratulations, Fiona. I’ve read a good deal about you and your book, David And The Hairy Monster, via Facebook and, as a fellow author, through the Association of Christian Writers. However, it was good to be able to see the story of your publishing venture set out in its entirety. It made for a great read, and I’d like to be the first on Phil’s blog to wish you every success.
Mel Menzies
http://www.melmenzies.co.uk
August 26, 2011 at 2:56 pm
Thanks Mel and Dave. And thanks Phil. It never occurred to me to undercut the bookshops. Now there’s a thought … just kidding!
August 27, 2011 at 2:15 pm
Thanks Phil for sharing this. The Goodbookstall have been in touch with Fiona so hopefully we can also promote her books.
September 1, 2011 at 2:42 pm
Review now appeared on The Goodbookstall website http://www.thegoodbookstall.org.uk/review/9780956914101/fiona-veitch-smith-illustrations-by-amy-barnes/david-and-the-hairy-beast/
[Link corrected (missing ISBN) - Ed]
September 1, 2011 at 2:48 pm
Carole,
I clicked on your link, only to get an error message: ‘Sorry – that book’s data couldn’t be read from the database.’ Is all well?
September 1, 2011 at 3:01 pm
Hello Dave, I got the same message but then did a bit of a search and found it here http://www.thegoodbookstall.org.uk/section/43/children-pre-school/ Thanks to Carole for arranging this and Mary for reviewing it.
September 1, 2011 at 3:02 pm
Oh, and just to point out, the book is not just available from our website. It’s also in selected stores (hopefully increasing all the time).
September 1, 2011 at 3:08 pm
“Available from all good bookshops” is the phrase you’re after, I think
September 2, 2011 at 8:08 pm
Good post, Fiona. Good luck to that Hairy Beast. smile. I look forward to your guest spot on International Christian Fiction Writers soon.
September 3, 2011 at 9:43 am
Shouldn’t that be good luck to David, with the hairy beast on the run??
September 5, 2011 at 8:46 am
I’ve actually been considering giving the Hairy Beast a series of his own – a bit like the Gruffalo. It will be a story of redemption. Perhaps way too lateral for the ‘thou shalt not change a comma in the original text lest thou lure the brethren (who can’t think for themselves) into error that will lead to eternal damnation’ brigade, but hey, I’m only gonna live once.
September 5, 2011 at 10:02 am
Brilliant idea: go for it. Some food for thought as you do so: Howling at the Moon and a Failed Messiah
(I was damned by the strict-and-particular thought police long ago…)
September 5, 2011 at 10:19 am
Great story. Particularly pertinent: ‘Beware of wolves in sheep’s clothing, he said, but be warier still of sheep who think only as sheep.’ Problem is: where are the sheep who do not think as sheep shopping?
December 1, 2011 at 9:01 am
[...] me to the dizzy heights of guest blogger for UKCBD [flattery will get you everywhere - Ed] (David and the Hairy Beast claws its way to market). Now in this second instalment of the trials and tribulations of a small start-up publisher trying [...]