Write By The Sea
Welcome to a new blog section on the site where author Martin Baum will be passing on his weekly thoughts on a variety of industry topics
Written from a beach hut on the South coast of England, Martin Baum’s first book To Be or Not To Be, Innit, a Yoof-Speak Guide to Shakespeare became an overnight best-seller and what followed was the stuff of every author’s dream – self-published or otherwise – with a saturation of newspaper, radio and national television coverage.
DAILY MIRROR
“Shakespeare’s plays have been made chavtastic so teenagers will read them”
THE SUN.
“A dramatic impact in helping kids appreciate the works of Shakespeare.”
THE TELEGRAPH
“While the title of one of Baum’s books, De Taming of De Bitches, may make for uncomfortable reading for the purists, I think it’s a hoot.”
THE ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY
“We want people to have a lifelong association with Shakespeare, so this will help.”
As the media attention intensified Martin’s book was catapulted into the Amazon UK top 10. In the meanwhile he was contacted by celebrated theatrical producer Greg Smith to write a musical adaptation of the book. His list of musical credits included ‘Jolson’, ‘Buddy’ and ‘Great Balls of Fire’ and he wanted to work with Martin to write a musical adaptation of his book for the West End and, ultimately, Broadway. As he says, stuff of dreams.
Yet all this would never have happened had he not created a marketing ripple effect by using a common sense approach to self-promotion for next to no cost. What Martin did wasn’t rocket science and he knew, with a nudge in the right direction, that anyone else could do it.
On his website you can hear his radio series 60 Second Book Break which is there to help first-time writers with a nuts and bolts approach to writing, self-promotion and saving money, which is exactly what this blog is about.
In addition to writing a second Yoof-Speak book “Oi, Mate, Gimme Some More” a Yoof-Speak Guide to the Complete Novels of Charles Dickens, Innit“. Martin is pleased to say his literary consultancy commitments and media work keep me busy.
The Internet
“The internet is about interaction which is another way of getting your book out there” The internet is all things …
Writer’s Block
“A writer left a suicide note. There was nothing on it.” Research has shown 80% of people say they have …
Plot and Structure
“It’s not uncommon for many writers to see only positives but never negatives” Nobody likes criticism, least of all a …
Self-Editing
“Self-editing is about understanding common mistakes and fixing them” While complicated narrative, boring storylines and poor attention to detail are …
MEDIA PREPARATION (Part 3) TALKING TO THE MEDIA
“You don’t have to be an extrovert to be interesting, just be prepared” Although the idea of being part of …
MEDIA PREPARATION (Part 2) BECOMING YOUR OWN PUBLICIST
“Fame costs, but why get anybody else to do a job the writer can do for himself?” What is a …
MEDIA PREPARATION (Part 1) WRITING A PRESS RELEASE
“A press release should be as much about you as a writer” A press release is a single-page document about …
THE COST OF GIVING AWAY BOOKS FOR FREE
“If only publishers were as keen as friends were to own a copy of your book” Undoubtedly one of the …
Experts built the Titanic, amateurs built the Ark!
Considering how many books there are written by self-professed experts on how to get a publishing deal, be signed to …