Anybody on here ever written anything thats been published

**Block G Raptor** · 21/12/2007, 8:05 AM

You know gavinzac it never even dawned on me

as I said above though the names are likely to change, I see the SP as a more scholarly type that scrubs up well, if you know what i mean, think uma thurman in Paycheck

**green army** · 23/12/2007, 5:29 PM

spotted the lucy pinder name meself...plot sounds good. would be interested in reading it

**CollegeTillIDie** · 24/12/2007, 7:39 AM

Block G Raptor

Good luck with the novel. I did a creative writing course when I was unemployed ( yes young people such a word actually exists) back in the 1980's ( when Everyone Irish, of a certain age, was either unemployed or had emigrated). Here's a tip on sending it to a publisher or an agent.

Only send Chapter 1 and an outline of the rest of the story. In other words summarise each chapter's events in a series of bullet points or short sentences. If they want more they will ask you for more. You can then write the finished version of chapter 2 as far as you are concerned and take it from there. And that way you can be finishing the final draft while you are sending out feelers to publishers. And tips you get from one publisher can be incorporated into re-writes down the line.

The other thing I would advise is read true books about the criminal underworld in Dublin if you haven't already to get a feel for the sort of thing that is actually happening. It will help bring a gritty realism to the thing. One other idea as regards a pseudonym try a combination of the following First name, mothers birth surname. Middle name , real surname . Take two football players you admire use the first name of one and the surname of the other. Take two musicians names you admire and do the same as with the football players ( Don't knock it , worked for Pink Floyd!)

The only reason I haven't done novels myself is this one .I tend to go for cheap laughs when I am inventing characters . So all of their names are sort of jokes. I used to write sketches with some friends, back in the 1980's a collection of some of them were incorporated into a stage show and performed at the SFX back in 1988 and 89, and some of that residual is still in there. I never got a penny in royalties come to think of it.

Gavin Zac

Dr. Lucy Pinder = Post of the century

**Metrostars** · 24/12/2007, 1:43 PM

Had a letter to the Irish Voice(NY) published when I complained about Cathal Dervan.

**Lionel Ritchie** · 24/12/2007, 2:13 PM

Had a few songs published and recording contract.

Best advise I can give? I'm not so sure the same applies for literature as music but in music it's considered best practice to retain your publishing rights for as long as possible. A great idea and a noble concept but alas you can't eat either of them.

If and when a contract arrives get the best legal advice you can afford ...and try to find a specialist firm. If you can't afford specialist legal advice or any legal advice for that matter there's a handy tip I was once given.

1. photocopy several copies of the contract ...this might need a few runs.
2. take a highlighter pen, go through your contract and highlight every sentence that contains the word 'ALL'.
3. take a notepad and write out each of those sentences and write below each one a short paragraph stating what you understand the sentence in the contract means. By the time you've completed this you'll have translated much of the substantive content of your contract from legalese into plain English.
4. Back to the 'ALL's ...they are the battleground of your contract. You'll be wanting to get as many of them as possible deleted or replaced with a phrase like "certain specified" or "certain defined". The person/institution offering the contract will want as many as possible retained.

Hope this is some help.

**osarusan** · 24/12/2007, 3:15 PM

Originally Posted by Metrostars

Had a letter to the Irish Voice(NY) published when I complained about Cathal Dervan.

That reminds me. I had my voice on national tv when I called in to "Mailbox", or whatever the show was where viewers could call in or write in to complain about/commend RTE.

I never actually saw the show, but my relatives called me up all excited after they saw it.

**Block G Raptor** · 04/01/2008, 1:06 PM

Looks Like I'm Gonna have to go with a pseudonym after all as Someone with the same name and remarkably same age as me has recently been published- by a Cork based company -to some acclaim

Discovered it when I Googled my own name, strangely also discovered several artists with the same name as me (I'm a Graphic artist in my spare time)

**Ash** · 07/01/2008, 12:46 PM

I had a letter, giving out about RTE, printed in the Ireland on Sunday once ...
Still waiting for the cash to come rolling in

Just on the subject of writing ... I had several notions of writing a book based
on true events, just wondering how would you go about changing details that
might be seen by some as slander?

If it ever made it to the big (or small) screen ... I'd defiantly be played by Brian Denehy

**Block G Raptor** · 07/01/2008, 1:08 PM

Originally Posted by Ash

Just on the subject of writing ... I had several notions of writing a book based
on true events, just wondering how would you go about changing details that
might be seen by some as slander?

Some of the anecdotal stuff in my novel is based on real events, basically changed the names, and as the novel takes place in a fictional area of Dublin the locations are obviously different