Business - apart from print and ebooks, what other formats have you explored - such as audio books, foreign translations, film rights? Do you have advice for a newbie writer exploring additional income streams from the same book?
I've traditionally published two books and they are both available in print, e-books, and as audio books. My agent has fielded inquiries from film companies, but as is common, nothing came out of it. I don't sincerely imagine I will ever make a lot of money out of writing. I don't personally know anyone who has - and I know some really successful writers but they all have day jobs. I don't really have much more to add...I'm not a case study of someone who has created a good income stream from writing.
Like everyone, I would love one of my books to be turned into a movie. A few years ago I made a short 7 minute film based on my novel Bay of
Fires and entered it in Sydney Tropfest. I filmed THE BONEYARDS using a small home video camera. The location was in the Bay of Fires area on Tasmania’s beautiful east
coast: in my parents' old shack, on the beach, at a campground, and in some of the neighbours’ shacks. I cast my sister and husband as
love interests, my brother in laws as disgruntled campers, my dad as an accused
murderer, mum’s best friend as the local gossip, and my brother as a deranged
eccentric. My brother, an aspiring DJ at the time, made some original music for
it. I learned that the sound is
hard to get right – especially when you’re filming next to the ocean. I spent many pleasurable hours editing it - I really enjoyed the tinkering. It was fun to make, and I thought it was
cool, but I wasn't surprised that it didn't win any prizes in Tropfest.
Making my own DIY short is probably as close to Hollywood as I will ever get. I admit, if Reese Witherspoon called, I’d pick up the phone. But failing that, I believe what I tell my writing students.
Publishing deals and film rights are something you can’t control. You must focus on the writing - for your sanity, and for the beauty of the writing process. When famous bands reminisce about the days before they were famous, they often talk about the fun of rehearsing in someone’s parents’ garage, with no pressure, just the joy of making music with your friends. For the writers I know, those who are writing and meeting other writers, attending workshops and talking craft, hanging out in bookshops at author talks, these are our garage days. Don't wish them away by being too caught up in your publishing wish-list.
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