Sharing the Process (6) – Trusting the Publisher

kathysharp2013

Sep 5

'Couldn't we just plonk the chapel on the east side?' asked Diane the publisher. Eek, I thought, that's an alarming change.

Let me explain. I began writing my Isle of Larus stories more than a decade ago, and they were published as three novels, now long out of print. Since then, with a new publisher, I have written two 'prequels' to the original tales, and we were putting the final touches to the second one, The Merman, when Diane made me jump with her alarming request. Why did she want to do this? Well, because the change in location of the characters (rather than the building itself) ties in with pagan beliefs. Why does it matter? Because Veneficia Publications, who have given new life to my books, largely specialise in all things magical, witchy and pagan – and pagan readers would find the characters' original locations on the imaginary Isle of Larus confusing, especially since the characters situated on the north and south of the isle do tie in with pagan beliefs. Are you with me so far? And paganism is apparently a fast-growing belief system. OK, Diane, I understand.

But could I change the location of major characters without causing myself a major headache and a major heap of plot problems? I thought about it.

Actually, after a spot of meditation, I realised the problem is largely in my own head. I'm so used to visualising characters in their original locations, that's all. I decided I could indeed 'plonk the chapel on the east side' without too much difficulty. The only people who might notice would be anyone who read the original novels, and that's a chance I'm happy to take.

So, I changed The Merman, slightly, to suit the sensibilities of a pagan readership. In short, I trusted my publisher to know the people who buy the books she publishes. It's a leap of faith, of a sort, and who knows, it might just find me a whole new audience for my stories.

It has also resolved another question for me: what do I write next? Answer, I rewrite my first novel to suit these changes. I had half a mind to rewrite it anyway - but circumstances have decided the issue. Oh, and I'm off to read a bit about paganism before I start. No, I'm not having some sort of Damascene conversion – but it will help avoid any further bloopers, and I suspect it might turn out to be a very rich seam of story ideas. I'll let you know.

Kathy