The evolution of the publishing team

The recent Avengers film does not only show that a great selection of Superheroes can pull audiences. It also highlights the importance of working in a team to achieve your goal, even if you are a superhero. When Kia Garriques first began her publishing journey, she was alone, working on her manuscript day and night. The minute she realised that she could do with a helping hand, her dreams started to materialise...

We all have great ambitions whether it is to achieve international success as a recording artist, find the first miracle cure for cancer or seeing the world in 80 days. But ambition can often be blind and it presumes that you can achieve your dream alone. Our dream is only important to us; we do not need anyone else to make it happen.

Kia loves reminiscing about back in the day:

“I never thought that anyone would be interested in helping me achieve success as an author. I just believed in the normal route of submitting proposals to editors that I respected. My story ideas have always been over the top – I suppose it comes with being young and wanted to see the world in a different light.”

But, of course, why would any editor just accept any proposal, no matter how good it is? If it was really as easy as that then the publishing industry would not be as competitive. Editors are very subjective creatures and their acceptance of a story idea can depend on their personality, their mood and whether they personally feel that you idea would sell.

It is easy for prospective authors to criticise editors for not accepting their proposals but have they ever tried building a personal relationship with the editor? Editors in publishing are similar to editors in the print industry. When you start freelancing for them, you do not expect them to accept your first idea and it is all about tailoring your idea to what they would like to see. Once they know you better, they are willing to take a chance on other ideas you might have.

So who did Kia start building her relationship with to get her ‘publishing team’ started? She began with getting an agent.

“I knew of his work previously and was impressed, “Kia says. “ He had great contacts with editors, journalists and PR people as he had also published books before. I thought he would be the perfect person to take me on. He did not make it easy though... he wanted me to work further on parts of my script before he felt it was really for editors”.

After much persuading and preparation, her agent found a new, yet upcoming publishing company to take her on.

She says, “They understand me as a young author really well. They learn things from me as I do from them.”

So, in addition to her agent, Kia now worked with an editor to get her perfect her novel, a marketing and publicity team to sculpt her image and to start profiling her work to the public and a design team to create her new websites, blogs and products.

Over the new few weeks, you will be provided updates on how Kia is working within her teams as she gets closer to her book launch in October. Although writing comes easy to her, it helps to have people around you who are also focused on taking your dream and making it their own.  

The Evolution of Kia Garriques: small beginnings

In the previous blog posts, I wrote about how you can achieve publishing success. But, it is now when things get more exciting as Kia gets closer to D – day and her first published novel. So how has she evolved and got to this point, you may ask?

Creating your alter ego is a great way to reinvent your image. It allows a writer to show a different side of their personality or developing their second self. In a way, the writer performs their latest character so that their audience can gain an ever better perspective into their newest publishing venture.

Kia Storm was born out of a need to showcase a new breed of fantasy fiction writer. Although she was new and yet to make any noise in the fantasy fiction arena, Kia knew that writing a great novel or story does not always come from your previous experience of being published.

It comes from a passion, a yearning to inform readers of worlds beyond their imagination, especially in the case of fantasy fiction.

She understood how hard it was to get published when you are a novice and wanted to change this by transforming into her alter ego who could create magical storylines, all with the touch of her imagination.

Kia says:

“It wasn’t hard to think of an alter ego. Not at all. When at school, I always sought solace in the fact that I could escape to magnificent worlds where I could meet beautiful characters. I felt that I could relate to them as like me, they always dreamed bigger and better.”

She wanted to be a star through tantalizing others with material. But who was going to take her seriously, especially when they knew she was a young writer? The only way to publish her fantasy fiction stories was to become a character that, some would say, emerged from the stories themselves. And so Kia Storm was born.

But Kia Storm was not always going to be a transcendent character. Remember when I talked about taking small steps to achieve your publishing dream? Storm formed the building blocks of an author who had bigger aspirations.

When making waves in short story writing, Kia noticed that the publishing world and the writers in it had become boring. Writers were famous for writing great books but when it came to socialising and thinking of new ideas for the new generation; they were all the same.

They were nothing more than brainiacs who were not interested in reinvention or shaking things up.  Their audience could expect them to write the same genre of material with no controversy.

Kia felt that this media generation in this new technology age needed someone to shake up the current literary world and show people that writing is an art and can be exciting. That someone would be her confident but still young self.

She had written her novel and was now on her way to publishing it with the backing of professionals behind her. So she had now evolved into Kia Garriques, who not only wanted to write but to inspire others through the written word.

She says:

“Writing is also a healthy way of expressing yourself especially in diaries which are not redundant after your childhood. We need to be inspired and encouraged to get excited literature again. Video games kill a healthy imagination. The imagination is something that I am passionate about instilling in the younger generation again when I write my novels.”   

So keep following her and get the latest know – how on how exactly this young author did it. It wasn’t easy but she will help by starting you off with the basics.

Till next week.... 

The Author 'career' ladder - part 1

In a recent 2012 book titled The Power of Small by Linda Kaplan Thaler and Robin Koval, it mentioned that individuals should start small so as to change their lives and power through uncertain times.

Being an author is not a ‘get rich quick’ scheme. Many authors have to wait years before they are published let alone before they start getting recognised and can then call themselves a success.

Kia Garriques a.k.a Kia Storm was no different.

“Even though I was very young when I thought of my first book idea, I knew exactly how I wanted to see it in print. I was not put off by my lack of experience and  I carried on doing what I thought best; pitching my book proposal to prospective book publishers and agents and believe me, it’s not an easy thing to do.” 

Whatever the case, Kia knew that she would have to try a different strategy. 

However, time after time, publishers failed to see the potential in her idea. Her book proposal did not fit in with the publishing company’s criteria or it did not fit in with the editor’s mindset.

“The rejection slips kept pouring in one after the other and I remember feeling worthless. I was ready to give up. I mean it was easy for me when I was sending off my work to short story magazine editors because they loved it.

Although I had got many rejections from editors, I was sending other editors so many proposals that I found that when one editor rejected a story idea, another editor would accept that same story. Before long all of my stories were published,” she says.  

“However, my book was a different matter. The rejections really knocked my confidence and honestly if it wasn’t for my mother taking action into her own hands and physically seeking out my agent, I probably would have stop sending them out for a while. My mother found my current agent and begged him to have a look at my work. Thankfully he did and here I am today getting ready for the launch of my debut novel in October.”

“I am an extremist and I am always thinking of how I can get better. I wasn’t content with writing a book; I wanted to write the next big thing. I also wanted it to be seen and heard and so I knew that I had to get involved in every single process. This included the branding, packaging and marketing of not only my book but also myself as an artist.

I don’t think many authors view themselves as an artist. Too often they separate their book from themselves but I strongly believe that I must become my product and that’s what I set out to do.”

So how did Kia make the jump from young writer to marketing professional/ published author? 

New year, new directions

Well, hello readers and hope you are enjoying your New Year so far. So far, we have a lot of interesting new developments in store that will be revealed soon. That’s what has kept us busy for the first few weeks of this New Year but we are back with a mission to engage and entertain.

Last year, we talked about how important it is to make a plan for the New Year and then stick to it. Now Kia would like to share her experience of how she got her publishing dream on track in just one short year. So here are the secrets to her success:

-          Always know that there is no limit to bettering yourself

From the start, Kia knew that bettering her young life experiences could help her on her journey.

So she decided to become a young marketing expert and got her first managerial role in a leadership company after learning and practicing several marketing techniques herself. Her skills were furthered as she landed new opportunities in education and fashion.

Always be realistic and believe in the importance of transferable skills. She is now a force to be reckoned with and is much more than a traditional young author!

-          Know your market and take your craft seriously

Kia has always loved writing and has sold several short stories to publishers before landing her dream opportunity to publish her book. In addition, she does various marketing jobs during the day to earn money so that she can sustain her publishing dream during the evenings and weekends.

-          Have a Plan

A plan helps you to stay on track with your goals that enables you to set milestones in order to track your success and failures so that you can become better at what you do.

-          Look in various areas for inspiration

Kia goes to a lot of events and meets a lot of interesting people through her day job meaning that she does not lead a traditional author life. The benefit is that she can then advertise herself in new, unseen arenas and can source new opportunities to work with people that she would normally not come into contact with in the publishing industry. As I have said before, creativity really does pay off and will help you get noticed.

-          Take Risks

Do not be afraid to take risks. Like the saying goes, feel the fear and do it anyway!

-          Be Patient

Success and achievement always takes time to materialise therefore it’s important to understand that patience and resilience is the key to getting from the bottom to the top.

-          Raise your Standards

Always aim to be the best you can be and keep striving for excellence.

-          Last of all, never give up hope!

I know that from shadowing Kia that she has been rejected by editors and publishing companies on more than one occasion telling her that her idea will never work. However, she has continued to believe in herself and her writing dream is now a reality.

She continues to ensure that her writing will be known by everyone and soon enough she will be recognised for her initiative to help the world fall in love with literature again!

So don’t any of you ever give up on your dream.... As the saying goes, try and try until you succeed. 

Wishing on a star

Excited about fantasy? It has exploded in bookstores and onto our TV screens, in the last few years and has changed the lives of many forever. Young, upcoming authors within this exciting spectrum now have new challenges and opportunities; new ideas are imperative as well as understanding that your audience is constantly evolving with the rapid growth of new technology and media.

Keeping up with this audience is essential as you divulge into undiscovered terrain to create your unique signature...

Meet Kia Storm of Story Star publishing, a bold intermediate fiction writer who encourages writers to move out of their comfort zone. Gone are the days when ‘brainiac’ writers only emerged from the darkness, after finishing their long awaited novel.

Instead, Kia’s name is fast becoming known in the literary world for her passion of networking at exclusive events. Inspiration comes from meeting diverse individuals and exploring new opportunities and reality.  It is not enough for young writers to only be great at writing; a vibrant personality coupled with their own sophisticated brand or attitude should also be presented to their readers.

In the age where video games seem to have replaced a love of creativity, Kia installs a deep affection for personal expression through her work and transports her teenage readers to a magical land of entertainment. Creativity is not only fun and glamorous but a way of life.

In reality Kia is also fast becoming known in the beauty and fashion world.

“You know life sometimes relishes in playing dirty tricks on you.” Kia laughs. “Whilst wanting to become a writer so badly, it is becoming easier for me to break into the fashion world without even trying. Opportunity presents itself to me. Yet the one thing I want from the pit of my soul seems almost elusive. Isn’t life funny?”

I guess I could fully understand that. I reflect on the jobs I had desperately wanted in the past and the ones I couldn’t care much about. Yet they were the ones brimming with enthusiasm to hire me for a post which I then begrudgingly accepted. All this whilst trying to get over a broken heart from a post that I had convinced myself that I absolutely must get.

I had accompanied Kia to a London fashion week show, where the company she worked for had sponsored a styling team for the event.

Glamour was present in abundance at London Fashion Week and created a beautiful mirage between reality and fiction; the perfect source of inspiration for a writer. Of course, it is true that the mainstream fashion catwalks might just follow mundane fashion trends and so might not instigate any new writing fodder. So what surprise was in store for me when I arrived?

Step forward ‘Fashion’s Finest’, a part of the fashion show that offers new/upcoming designers a chance to showcase their work. Through being a guest at the Sunday night show, I discovered that having no restrictions on what to produce and no brand to follow is very exciting and can arouse various creative thoughts.

Personal expression was explored to the fullest through a display of diverse fashion themes along the lines of nature, minimalistic as well as gothic. Traditional statements were simply pushed aside and the audience was propelled to another dreamlike dimension where beautiful creatures had their splendour enhanced through extravagant colours, exquisite fabrics and bold hair styles, in a candlelit arena.

“Isn’t it amazing?” Kia was having fun watching the models make their fierce and bold appearance on the catwalk. “It’s almost like the world I create late at night in my room. When I write I see things and can create an amazing colourful world before my eyes. Isn’t it just beautiful?”

I had to admit it was. I was getting to know Kia as someone so deeply engrossed in her work. She seemed fun and bubbly, kind of like me, eager to keep learning new things.

As I watch the magic, becoming even more immersed in it and this amazing new world, I asked myself the question:

Why is this surrealistic fashion world important? Like Jacqueline Wilson, one of Britain’s most popular authors, Kia considers a sense of imagination to be central to writing the perfect novel. The fashion shows, with its expressive concepts and designs presented new ideas that could be easily explored in her next fantasy novel. Inspiration for fantasy can be found in any situation and so exploring all avenues is critical.

Jacqueline said, “I had no brothers or sisters and from an early age I became one of those weird children who live in their imaginations. For inspiration I would cut out photos of girls from pattern books and stick cardboard on the back to turn them into paper dolls, each with its own personality.” 


Each model in show the show had their own personality which, was creating by their image but also by their unique swagger. Kia thinks that writers could not only have excellent writing material but could also learn important lessons about presenting/ marketing yourself as an author. 

As the saying going ‘seeing is believing’ and often seeing an idea in a physical form makes it easier to write about it on paper. Where else could you gain unique imagery set in a kaleidoscopic landscape than at a fashion show dedicated to showcasing the unseen part of the fashion industry? 


William Gibson, known as ‘the father of Cyberpunk’ felt that his latest book, ‘Spook Country’, came into being through visual impressions of places. He said, “My big imagination isn’t me sitting around at a coffee shop thinking I should write a novel about—that’s not it. It would be a bad novel. It would be all in my head and for me that would mean it would be dead. 


With Spook Country, it happened as visual impressions from a fairly consistent point of view.” Kia knows that the images seen at the fashion show will help keep it real for her readers and entice them into a world never experienced before.

So keep reading, keep writing and never forget to mingle… because you never know what you might discover!

Until next time…