Calling all fans of Cassandra Clare. We need YOUR help.
Clockwork Prince, the second book in the Infernal Devices, comes out in the UK in December, and we need your help to create a winning marketing campaign. Whether it's creating a piece of atmospheric art or conjuring up a sensational slogan, we want your ideas...
We’re looking for two winners. One winning artwork entry and one winning campaign slogan will be developed into an advertising campaign for Clockwork Prince.
We're particularly interested in atmospheric artwork that captures the three major characters - Tessa, Will and Jem - and the world they inhabit.
For the slogan, all we're looking for is something short and powerful, that might entice someone to pick up a book in the Infernal Devices series.
To enter, all you have to do is email your winning slogan or artwork to marketing@walker.co.uk with Infernal Devices in the subject line.
To put yourself in the right mood, why not pay a visit to www.infernaldevices.co.uk - you can watch the atmospheric trailer for Clockwork Angel there, take a tour of Cassandra Clare's Victorian London, and read descriptions of some of the major characters in Clockwork Angel.
At Undercover HQ we're always keen to find out more about our amazing authors, and share it with you! But behind every wonderful book is the invisible guiding hand of a great editor. So we asked Zoë Marriott and her editor, Annalie Grainger, a few questions about their daily jobs, and about Shadows on the Moon.
Zoë, what made you decide to be an author?
Zoë: The first time that I opened a book and read it for pleasure, I knew I had discovered some kind of secret magic. The wonder of living in someone else’s world, painting the characters experiences with the colour of my own imagination, transformed me forever. I wanted to be a writer just like that. I had no idea at the time what it actually meant to be a writer, how you went about it or the challenges involved, but I was a stubborn kid and I spent the next twenty or so years doing my research and finding out.
Annalie, what made you decide to be an editor?
Annalie: Like Zoë, I’ve always loved reading. I used to drive my mum crazy as a kid because I was forever “just going to finish this chapter” before starting on my homework/getting ready for school/tidying my room etc. It’s a total cliché but it only takes one book to make someone a reader – and the thought that I could be involved in creating that one book and sharing the pleasure I get from reading with someone else just seemed too great an opportunity to pass up.
Zoë, what’s the best part about being an author?
Zoë: Seeing other people react to your work. Looking at a book cover or a piece of fan art, or getting an email telling you that your book is the reader’s favourite and describing all the bits that they loved the most. Reading a review where someone really got all the things you hoped they would. Having a young person walk up to you in real life and tell you that this scene or that made them cry. That’s when you realise it’s real. You’ve done something impossible. You’ve literally gotten into someone else’s head and communicated with them, and they understood. Like I said: magic.
And the hardest thing?
Zoë: Seeing other people react to your work. Getting reviews that miss the point of, or deliberately misinterpret your work, or having someone dismiss your books without reading them because they’re young adult, or fantasy, or for some other arbitrary reason. Seeing that someone has given you a one star rating on a site like Goodreads but hasn’t explained why. Realising that you failed to communicate with that person, and that they don’t understand.
What’s the best part about being an editor?
Annalie: Feeling like you’ve played a small part in making a book the success the author hoped it would be. It’s an amazing feeling when an author says “Thank you. Your comments really helped.”
And the hardest thing?
Annalie: Getting reviews are hard for editors too – you so desperately want your author to get good ones, because a bad review can be heartbreaking and will be remembered by the writer long after everyone else has forgotten about it. But, personally, I find sending an edit off to an author the hardest thing. A writer can have spent upwards of a year on a book and it feels like an enormous responsibility to be their first reader. It can be a fine balance between offering constructive criticism and plunging someone into the depths of despair. It takes a lot of time, care and masses amount of tact to talk to an author about their work. I still feel physically sick each time I click send on an email with editorial notes in it. I’m just praying that the author will get where I’m coming from and either agree, or if they don’t, not be offended - and certainly not cry!
How much input does an editor have on the final book?
Zoë: Because I trust Annalie immensely, and value her opinion more than anyone’s, she has a lot of say in how my books develop. If she tells me she doesn’t think the character needs to do this, or that this scene feels repetitive, or that the ending is rushed, I know I must have gotten something wrong in my writing to make her feel that way. Sometimes we differ in how to fix problems like this, and sometimes I disagree on what the problem actually is, but nine times out of ten if she has highlighted something, I’ll look at it again and try to clarify or amend it so that it does what it was meant to do. And that goes from something as small as punctuation and word choice all the way up to character arcs and plot events.
Annalie: I think being an editor is about asking questions about parts of a novel (albeit plots, characters or a single sentence) that don’t ring quite true. But how many of those questions an author wants to answer is entirely up to them. One of the nicest things about working with Zoë is that she is willing to answer quite a lot of my pesky questions! But she also keeps me on my toes because I know that, while being incredibly receptive to my comments, she will challenge anything she disagrees with and so I have to be able to justify every suggestion I make. And it’s really nice to get a discussion going like that because often you find it pushes both of you to think of new ideas and solutions, and the final book is hopefully much stronger because of it.
How long have you been working on Shadows on the Moon?
Zoë: A looong time. I started work on it in April of 2008 and delivered the manuscript in October 2009. Then Annalie and I worked on it together doing major revisions until March 2010 (we cut out 30,000 words!). And then there were line edits, which are about smoothing out the prose, tweaking the pacing, making everything perfect, and finally copy-edits and pass-pages, which is the part where you go through the book with a fine-tooth comb looking for any possible mistake, from repeating a word too often, to typos, to fact-checking. So all in all…nearly four years. Good grief!
Can you tell us what Shadows on the Moon is about in one paragraph?
Zoë: It’s a Cinderella re-telling set in faerytale Japan, and follows the story of a young shadow weaver – a magical illusionist – as she is forced through a series of painful transformations and new identities in order to survive the hatred of those who destroyed her family. Eventually she must make a choice between the past and the future, between bitter truth and beautiful lies, and between the revenge she craves, and the love she needs.
What are you working on at the moment?
Zoë: Ah! That would be telling. I’ll just say that it’s completely different from anything I’ve worked on before – and that I hope Annalie loves it as much as I do, when she gets to see it!
What advice would you give upcoming writers?
Zoë: Read, read, read. Write, write, write. Rinse. Repeat. And don’t give up!
Annalie: I second that. Determination, persistence and lots of reading. Also, I’d say write what you love, and write because you love it. Good writing takes a long time and lots of practice – there are no shortcuts. And also, don’t despair. It can be tempting to read your favourite book and underestimate all the time, energy, sweat, blood (tears!) that have gone into it. Take solace from the fact that even the very best authors write, rewrite, write again, rewrite that and so on.
Is it necessary for authors to have agents?
Zoë: I know there are a lot of writers in children’s publishing who successfully represent themselves, and I respect them very much. But the world of rights, sub-rights, contracts and clauses is so complex that agents dedicate their whole careers to understanding it – and unless an author is willing and able to do that, they’re going to be at a serious disadvantage without an agent to take care of the fiddly bits. Once you find the right agent, you have basically found an advocate who believes in you and loves your work, and who will do everything they can to make sure that you are as successful as possible. And what’s more, they will often become a friend who you enjoy having in your life.
Annalie: I think that nowadays it is incredibly hard to make it as a first-time author without an agent. Publishers are inundated with manuscripts and some have a policy of not reading them. And then even if you are a published author, I still think having an agent can be really useful. They are the people that are always one hundred per cent on your side and will fight your corner whenever you need it. That’s not to say that publishers aren’t on your side, but it can be good to have someone willing to play the bad guy sometimes and say what you are too afraid, or don’t feel comfortable, saying.
What do you look for when you’re reading through submissions?
Annalie: A good central character, a strong plot, beautiful writing, an original take on the world… A hundred and one things and also just one thing: a story that you are desperate to share with everyone you know (and those you don’t). It is impossible to define what makes an amazing book – it just is amazing and you can’t wait to tell everyone about it. I felt like that the first time I read Shadows on the Moon (Zoë, you can pay me later!).
We have got three possible titles for the thrilling sequel to Long Reach by Peter Cocks, and we're throwing them into the ring together.
Which is your knock-out favourite? To make it easier for you to decide, we've put each of them onto the cover, so you can picture it on a bookshelf near you.
Place your bets below...
Which title do you prefer for the Long Reach sequel
Shadows on the Moon, Zoe Marriott's brilliant new novel, has hit the shops.
If you haven't already seen it, watch the trailer here on Undercover. What do you think? Watch the trailer and post your thoughts below and your email address, for your chance to win a copy!
Next week, we'll be posting a Q+A with Zoe and her editor, Annalie, about the process of writing and editing a book.
In the week-long run up to publication we set up a blog tour, which ends today on the Overflowing Library. There are guest posts from Zoe, competitions, short extracts and more, so check it out.
Zoe Marriott took five minutes to write about her favourite books - she also took some great photos of her bookshelf and writing area for us.
My Favourite Books To be honest, asking any writer what their favourite books are is likely to make them break out into a cold sweat. That's because every writer I've ever met or heard of loves to read, and we have too many favourites. Most of us have too many books full-stop. As you can see, I'm cramming them two deep onto my bookshelves. I didn't dare take a picture of the pile next to my bed. I think pygmy goats have made their home at the top, and they're camera shy. So maybe it's better - or at least easier! - to talk about the books that have had the most influence on me. The books that have changed me the most as a person. The books that have made me a better writer. The books, most importantly, that I would recommend to everyone.
I'm a huge fan of Tamora Pierce's feminist, multicultural, novels. Her kick-ass heroines, who are brave, resourceful and kind, taught me who I wanted to be. And even though I don't fight duels on a regular basis (or at all), and my only sword is a wooden one (just for practise!) I know that her work had a huge influence on me. In fact, without her Song of the Lioness Quartet, it might have taken me much longer to realise that YA novels were my One True Calling. Tamora's books are equally as appealing to boys as to girls - especially the aforementioned Song of the Lioness books and her Lady Knight series. She's also written a series called Circle of Magic for younger readers.
I firmly believe that Terry Pratchett is one of the great unsung writers alive in Britain today. Anyone who can read The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents without laughing, crying, and feeling a sudden urge to get a rat as a pet is harder hearted than I am, Gunga Din. His Tiffany Aching books are already children's classics. But it's probably his adult Discworld novels, particularly the Guards series, that taught me the most. People don't realise that you can learn when you're helpless with laughter, but actually that's the best time to slip lessons about bravery, compassion and self-respect into their brains.
Another funny author who isn't nearly as well known as she ought to be is Diana Wynne Jones. I never met her, but when I heard about her untimely death of cancer earlier this year, I'm not ashamed to say that I cried. I'm stunned that anyone managed to survive adolescence without some Diana Wynne Jones in their life. Like Mr Pratchett, Diana Wynne Jones' books are the kind that seem to be about one thing, but reveal deeper meanings under the surface with every re-read. I highly recommend Howl's Moving Castle and sequels, Archer's Goon, the Chrestomanci Books, and A Tale of Time City.
Finally, the author I nearly always recommend to people who want more books that are a bit like mine - Robin McKinley. Not that I believe I'm anywhere near Ms McKinley's level as a writer, but I know that she has probably had the greatest influence on me in terms of the stories I chose to tell. Her books are always written in dreamy, lyrical prose that sweeps you away into another world without even realising it, and her characters are always endearingly real and flawed. Start with Beauty if you're a girl - if a boy, The Blue Sword.
