Tuesday 29 April 2008

So Close, And Yet So Far

Those of you who follow the fate and fortunes of the publishing industry may already know that The Friday Project - a small publisher set up in 2005 with the aim of converting the best of the web to proper books - went into liquidation last month.

What you probably won't know is that last December I had quite a jolly meeting with the (entirely lovely and very amiable) folk at The Friday Project, with a view to publishing a proper, fully-fledged Lord Likely book. With pages and a cover, and everything.

The meeting went very well, so this news is doubly sad, as it means the end of what could have been the Greatest Literary Event of All Time. But hey ho, such is life.

I'm making quite a habit of getting tantalisingly close to having my work published or screened. As well as the Lord Likely book, I also managed to get very near to getting an animated series made based around another of my characters, The Carrotty Kid. I got all the way up to the pilot episode stage, before the UK kid's TV market seemed to implode in on itself, and the series never came to pass.

Still, I got a shiny DVD out of it, containing an exciting glimpse of what could have been:



So, I'm still struggling on, and still hoping that one day one of my ridiculous ideas will finally earn me some money.

Now, can anyone spare me a tenner?

- Fanton.

3 comments:

Alistair Coleman said...

You could always self-publish the Likely book through Lulu.com.

It'll be harder work, on account of having to do all your own promotion, but that's the rub.

I'd pay GENUINE CASH MONEY for ten inches of his lordship in my hot, sweaty hands.

crpitt said...

That is bloody awful news! I am sorry to hear that you got so near but then the buggers go into liquidation.
But its just another bump in the road, now get on with it. There is always 'Britain's got Talent' :)

Marmelade said...

listen, at least you know for a fact that your work has potential and people are genuinely interested in it.
you just have to try some more. go talk to another publisher. i'm sure eventually you'll find one interested. the thing is, it's never easy nor should you expect it to be.