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plumboz
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Quote: YouWriteOn, Saturday, 16 Aug 2008 16:05Quote: Lorraine, Saturday, 16 Aug 2008 16:03Hi, do we wait until Doug has answered one question before posting another? Hi Lorraine, you can ask away, and Doug will do his best to keep up and answer all questions over the hour. Ted Ha! A free for all! Excellent. Poor Doug. Did you find it at all difficult to make the changes suggested that turned The Emperor's Elephants into Caligula? Or maybe the better question would be, what was the most challenging aspect of doing so, and what fell into place with the most ease? Oh, and what are you wearing right now? Everybody is anxious to know but nobody wanted to ask.
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Callant
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Quote: plumboz, Saturday, 16 Aug 2008 16:04Hi Doug. I have a lot of questions, but we'll start with Why Rome? How long have you been interested in this period of history and what was the trigger for this story? Alan (plumboz) Hi Alan, hope your well. I grew up in a town calledf Jedburgh that buzzed with history. It had a huge 12th century abbey ruin that had been burned down by Edward 1 and half a dozen other English kings (not that I hold it against you lot), and the area is famous for the Border Reivers who were a lawless bunch of 15th century raiders. I first got interested in Rome and the Romans when I restored a Roman camp near where I lived. It was by pure chance that I got the job, but it was fascinating to be doing the same work the legions had done there 2000 years ago and it really captured my imagination.
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dannyg
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Hi Doug - many congratulations on your success. I wondered, have there been any parts of the publishing process that you really haven't enjoyed, or at least haven't been as much fun as you hoped? I'm thinking along the lines of proof reading, arguing with editors etc.
This post was last edited by dannyg, 16 Aug 2008, 16:14
Will You Love Me Tomorrow is now available. Click here to find out moreI have a blog now. There's nothing on it, but at least it's there.
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Callant
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Quote: KatherineW, Saturday, 16 Aug 2008 16:04Hi! Huge congratulations on the success of your book! Did you have to do a lot of reworking once you had an HC editor on board? I've heard from an insider that these days agents and publishers look for manuscripts that are more or less perfect rather than committing to working on them with new authors. Does this reflect your own experience? Thanks! To be honest I didn't have a huge amount to do on the Caligula manuscript for the publisher, but I think a lot of that was down to Stan, my agent, who pushed me to perfect it and helped to develop it. Simon, my editor at Transworld, came up with a few improvements which I'd always had at the back of my mind but was probably too lazy to do and he asked me to beef up the ending, but that was about it. Hope that's helpful Katherine
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madridhibs
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Hi Doug Did your experiences in a newspaper office help you write about a power-crazy despot?  Seriously, Caligula is a real psycho. How difficult was he to write considering you're not a power-crazed despot?  (Hibs are winning!)
Find out what life's really like in Spain. Please visit my blog: Tales from La Terraza
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josiehenley
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Hi Doug, I think the others have already asked the questions I had which were about marketing and how much time you now have! Do you feel your life has changed considerably since being published, i.e. is it the holy grail we expect it to be?
"I have nothing to declare except my genius" Oscar Wilde www.josiehenley.net
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Callant
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Quote: Anasazi, Saturday, 16 Aug 2008 16:05Hi Doug, Huge congrats on your success with Caligula. It's a cracking read. My question is, now that you're a published writer do the demands of your publisher/agent as well as the time constraints of writing a sequel and other books put you under any pressure to "give up the day job" and do writing full time? Presumably balancing writng and your newspaper job has become that bit more difficult now. Bob Thanks for that Bob, I don't think I'm under pressure to give up the day job, but obviously that's a long term possibility. I write for two hours a day on the train, but I'm pretty prolific, between 900 and 1500 words, so working intensively I'm very comfortable about hitting any publishers' deadlines. The job I do is pretty high pressured, so a little bit more does't make a hige difference, although I have to say I often hanker to be my own boss.
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goldiebeth
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Hi Doug,
Congratulations on your great success! I have two questions at the moment. 1. I live across the pond in a little place called Texas and Caligula isn't available in bookstores here until February 2009. The dollar is really taking a beating against the pound right now, so I suppose I'll have to wait. Any suggetions? 2. My finished novel, Night Journey, came about from an epiphany after a dream and a vacation (kind of like your idea about the elephant in Rome). I've had problems with genre classification, since it encompasses several of them and I've had a problem getting past the query stage because it's difficult to sum up the plot in a snapshot. Did you ever have that trouble before joining YWO?
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Callant
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Quote: missmorston, Saturday, 16 Aug 2008 16:10Hi Doug - may congratulations on your well deserved success, and here's my quetion: What were your reactions when your editor asked you to split your story into two - from what I gather there must have been some extensive rewriting - did your heart sink at the prospect, or were you champing at the bit with new ideas? Were you happy with the result, or does a part of you still cherish that initial draft of 'Emperor's Elephant'? All the best Jo Hi Jo, I'd actually come to the point where I didn't know where to go next with The Emperor's Elephant. I thought it was good, but I wasn't sure how to make it better. When it was suggested that I split the story and turn the first 40,000 words into a new novel I have to admit I suprised myself by looking on it as a huge challenge and was right up for it. I knew that If I brought it off it would take me to a new level as a writer and I was confident that I could do it, which was a bit arrogant,
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David Milnes
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Doug - could you tell us about the business-side of translation rights? Your book is now in Poland and Italy and . . . And does Random House give you regular updates on world-wide sales?
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