I’ve been in Leeds for a week and already done so much!
Where do I start?
Reading & Blurb-ing
First of all, there has been lots of reading! But that shouldn’t be a surprise, I’m working in a publishing company after all.
I have to say, one of the best things so far, is reading some great – and some not so great – writing for free!
The reading has mostly been fiction and poetry. Along with reading submissions, as I mentioned in my last post, I’ve been reading an upcoming poetry collection which I have to write a blurb for.
It was like being in class, taking out a pencil, annotating the manuscript, taking notes and analysing the text. Nothing like a bit of close reading to keep you humble!
The interesting part was how to write the blurb itself. I thought I knew how to do this, but that wasn’t quite the case. I went into default review mode and started writing how I write for DURA.
It’s not quite like that. It seems to sit on the fence between a review and a newspaper article, with all the most important info coming first. My blurb had to be around 250-300 words, but I was surprised to learn that it could be extracted by a magazine, for example, and only the first 18-30 words used.
After a few editing suggestions, I went back to the blurb and refined it.
Now I’ll just have to see if my blurb makes it on to the actual book!
Advert for The Bookseller
One of the most enjoyable things I have done so far is to flex my graphic design muscles and make a half-page advert for an upcoming issue of The Bookseller.
Peepal Tree has half a page to advertise the company and promote its latest titles. So, I’ve been spending some time with Hannah, discussing different ideas and designs.
I suggested that we use a poem from one of the our latest releases, A Portable Paradise by Roger Robinson, to capture people’s attention. His poem ‘Black Olive’ is certainly one that will do that. The final version of the advert includes the poem, several book covers and general information about Peepal Tree.
Other bits and pieces
I was lucky enough to attend an Art Council Meeting with Jeremy to learn about how publishers can make the most of their digital and social media presence.
And, not strictly publishing-related, but Jeremy was one of the speakers at a conference on Post-Colonial Studies, where I met various students and academics and listened to some fascinating presentation.
Up next…
Currently I’m working on Peepal Tree’s catalogue for 2019. I have to make sure it is updated with the correct information and in the correct order before it goes to print.
In the coming weeks I hope to have a stab at come formatting and editing, but so far so good!
Before you go…
If you’d like to learn more about Peepal Tree Press, check out this interview I did with Jeremy and Hannah.
I’ll be back with more later,
Hamzah
