Anthology Production Tips (Otherwise known as amateur chaos)

The first point to consider in taking on such a thing is HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MARBLES?  Why? Because while it is undoubtedly a worthwhile project, it can be a total nightmare!

Have you considered the time or effort it requires?  Are you prepared to eat, sleep and think Poems, Prose and worse of all Punctuation?  Can you type, select, edit, liaise, confer, beg, borrow and emotionally blackmail?

Will you attend meetings, write cheques, create and paint at 2 in the morning, compute, reboot and frequently rehash for 12 hours a day.  Will you trek all over; telephone and co-ordinate till you forget what your home looks like.  If so then maybe you have some of the qualities necessary to begin the process.

Where to start? The beginning obviously, ah seems so simple but at what part do you consider the beginning, the idea, the finance, the printers, or the collection of material?

Take my advice. Don’t start!  Think, liaise, research, do anything but actually start.  Why? Because you don’t know anything about it and starting in the wrong place can be a major headache later on.  It’s enough that you need the patience of a saint, the foresight of a fortune-teller and the determination of Hercules without adding to the workload.

Still interested? In that case read on.  There are two ways of going about it, either in a team or on your own.  If you decide to work on your own then all the decisions are yours so you have to be prepared to make them.  If working in a team then everyone needs to be committed and work well together.

There are advantages in working on your own.  You are the head honcho and the buck stops here, nobody to argue with or tell you what to do.  However this means the workload can be crippling and you have to be up for it.  Working in a team has the advantage of sharing the responsibility but if you don't keep each other constantly briefed on developments you may find you are duplicating work or even worse overlooking vital aspects.

Timescales are important.  Don’t make yourselves deadlines that you can’t possibly keep.  Rushing can lead to silly mistakes and spoil all your hard work. Have a budget in mind and be prepared to make tough cost cutting decisions, unless of course you have unlimited resources.

First stop is research.  Talk to your local printers, after all they produce material everyday.  By getting an idea of cost for different sizes, covers, black and white or colour can help with deciding how you want to stylise your anthology.  Try several companies to find the best value. 

If you are entering a competition it doesn’t hurt to check out the competition.  Find out what the judges like and adhere to the criteria.  Review past winners but don’t copy.  Individuality is impressive and will stick in the judge’s mind.

You can't have an anthology without material to put in it.  Start collecting early.  The more you have the more varied and interesting it will be.  If you can get the work typed or better still on disk life will be far easier.  Just make sure that the computer programmes are compatible, if it’s not then you can spend hours trying to sort it and worse of all having to retype.

If you do have to type up work a good tip is to get the author to proofread it.  The content may be exemplary but spelling and punctuation can be a major headache especially if it’s not the typist’s strong point.  Remember computer spell-checks are stupid and won't tell you if you put and instead of an!  After you have typed the work get the author to check it.  Not everyone’s handwriting is their strong point. I know mine isn't.

Regarding money, if you have an unlimited budget then lucky you.  Otherwise you need to raise the cash. Sponsored events, car-boot sales, cake stalls, donations and grants are all good ways to finance your anthology.  Just remember to use the money wisely, use scrap paper and quick print for draft copies.  For alterations and proofreading use different coloured pens then more than one person can work on the same copy.  If you are planning on having illustrations black and white are cheaper but if you insist on colour, a picture thumbnail size costs the same as a full page.  Is it really worth it?

How do you decide what order to put your entries in? It’s entirely up to you. It could be alphabetically, themed, alternative or just personal preference.  When all else fails put them in a hat and pick them out. It really doesn't matter but take the audience into account.  Too many long items at the beginning can put people off.  You want them to think ‘this looks good’ so start with an eye-catcher.  There’s nothing like personal recommendation and generally the first and last items are what people remember. 

The best way to actually see if the anthologies the way you want it is by good old fashioned trial and error.  Once you think its right put it down and come back to it later.  Rereading after a break can make you change your mind. Don’t be afraid to ask for another person’s opinion. You do not HAVE to their advice, but you can be too close to a project to see errors that may be glaring to other people.  Once in print there’s not much you can do about it unless you alter them prior to distribution, which can be an expensive business.

The main thing is to enjoy what you’re doing.  There maybe times when you could pull your hair out.  That’s only natural, but unless you are very lucky, lack of enthusiasm is bound to be reflected in the final product.  It really is a labour of love and if you aren't prepared for it then think twice before starting.

Assumption is the Devil

Assumption can be a bane for both the person conveying information and the person receiving it. So why do we all do it? Many would argue it saves time and mostly it is obvious* to everybody what the subject is about. That in itself is an assumption and here is why often it doesn't work.

Firstly it assumes knowledge

Example

Woman to Child

Look at that big cow in the field.

Child to Woman

What is a cow?

The Woman assumed the Child being nearly in Junior School would know what a cow looks like. However the Child was born and raised in the City and had never come upon a cow.

Secondly it assumes understanding.

Example

A Person orders a cabinet off a website. It arrives as a self assembly flat pack. The company assumes that the Person will be able to put it together. They have delivered the correct cabinet complete with all its relative parts and instructions. However the person cannot put the cabinet together.

The Person knows that they have a flat pack. They know they have all the pieces and tools. They know what the end product should look like.They know that they have instructions. What they do not have is the understanding to transfer the 2 D instructions into a 3 D object.

Thirdly it assumes ability.

This can be divided into categories

Mental Example

A Woman asks a friend to move the washer out of the flat. The friend agrees and begins to move the washer. Water begins to pour out onto the floor. The Woman knows the water has to be turned off and understands what will happen if it is not. She merely forgot to do so.

Physical Example

A Woman is doing a sponsored silence. A relative shouts a question from another room. The woman understands the question and knows the correct response. She is physically unable to answer the question because of the bar on speaking.

All of the above scenarios are true especially the washer when I got very wet. I assumed that she would have turned off the water but I was wrong!

The reason this topic came to mind is because I am finding more and more that I am (at least technologically speaking) on the wrong end of the assumption. Since you are reading this you are making the assumption that I am reasonably competent at writing a Blog. Ha!  I usually save things like hell and press an icon and cross my fingers. It wasn't even until a few weeks back that I even found out what Blog meant. Oh I had a rough idea it was some sort of personal thing on the Internet but that was about it.

I had to look up what Blog meant on Google.   Apparently it is an abbreviation of Web Log = Blog. *So obvious is it not? The reason I mention this is because today I have had to look up what the difference is between a Blog Post and a Blog Page. I found the answer at http://theedublogger.com/2008/06/20/differences-between-blog-pages-and-posts/.

I needed to understand the difference in order to make a better Blog. As of yet I haven't made any real division between topics nor have I yet included any pictorial pieces. I am hoping to do so very soon. So please bear with me whilst I trawl through lots of techno waffle that I am assumed to be able to comprehend. 

P.S I have just discovered that the spellchecker does not recognise the word Blog. Need I say more?

To C or not to C - Clichés

What is a cliché? Roughly a Phrase so over used that to derive meaning is like trying to get Blood out of a Stone.

Writers walk a knife edge between a rock and a hard place.  With more words available than you could shake a stick at, it should be simple in the extreme to make certain phases conspicuous by their ABSENCE.

However pride comes before a fall.  Any writer worth their salt knows that the proof of the pudding is in the eating.  Though technically theses ‘phases’ should be avoided like the plague, in truth it is an uphill task to worm out those little devils and often it seems that the writer has bitten off more than they can chew.

To some with an apparent eagle eye the glaring errors may jump off the page.  These people are on the whole regarded with deep suspicion.  They seem to treat the subject with a cavalier manner; though it must be stressed that it is not necessarily the case.  Indeed it would be churlish to have everyone tarred with the same brush.

Serious writers hold a dim view of this ‘give a dog a bad name and hang him’ approach.  We must concede that some persons who shall remain nameless delight in putting the cat amongst the pigeons.  Fortunately mostly these are in a minority and obviously have a touch of the green eyed monster.

With their nose to the grindstone writers try to earn a crust for their daily bread by bashing the keys.  It may appear as broad as its long but if possible it is better to bite the bullet and edit whilst jogging along than after the event.  Otherwise it may be difficult to see the wood for the trees.

Of course if you CAN edit with your eyes closed then it’s a feather in your cap and as fellow writers we take our hats off to you.  Though it may appear that this issue is making a mountain out of a molehill it has to be said that many people find it an uphill struggle.  Certainly there are others who will contest this view until they are blue in the face.  However, generally without question, ‘if in doubt leave it out’ is the best policy. 

Anybody who disagrees should either be prepared to counter with their own suggestions or alternatively throw in the towel.

P.S.

If anyone spots any error sticking out like a sore thumb, far from sticking my head in the sand I would be interested to know about them.   So please don’t worry about letting the cat out of the bag.

No of Errors spotted

What Cliché was.