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Seeking publication? HERE’S AN ALTERNATIVE
By Jo Rafferty
Staff Writer
Thursday, July 31, 2008 | No comments posted.
Frustrated author? Join the club.
Many aspiring novelists have pounded the pavement, tied up the phone lines or explored Internet avenues, only to spend a lot of money on self-publishing, be told “better luck next time” or get flat-out denied.
For them, a new Bandon business may provide an alternative.
Jesse Spinella is a science fiction author who has written about a dozen short stories and novels and has been shown the door by publishers himself. He is striving to help other struggling fiction writers through his audio book production company. Pasta Studio is named for the old spaghetti westerns, in which the acting was done mostly by unknown actors.
Writers can earn royalties on sales of their CDs. But what the budding novelists will mainly come away with is proof of experience.
“The whole idea is trying to get your foot in the door because there are so many places that won’t even touch the new author,” the 27-year-old North Bend resident said. “It’s going to give a credit to their name, so if they end up going to a publisher, they’ll have something to show them.”
Working from the ground floor up, Spinella burned a three-minute demo disc, narrated by himself, of a portion of one of his novels, “Chicago, Neat.” This sample audio book is available at the company’s Web site, http://www.pastastudio.com.
He is looking for first-time authors of manuscripts. Copyrights remain the property of the author, according to the Web site. All the audio books will be saved digitally on CDs with MP3 capabilities and will be available for purchasing online.
Spinella’s plans include adding sound effects, developing introduction music and hiring paid local voice actors to play the characters.
“I plan on getting actors, like in old radio dramas,” he said.
Auditions for actors will conclude Nov. 1, for the first annual Spaghetti Audio Fiction Anthology, set for publication in March 2009.
To get his business started, Spinella is holding a fiction-writing contest, with a grand prize of $1,000. The entry cost is $15. The competition is open to all U.S. and international writers whose fiction has not appeared in a nationally distributed publication with a circulation of 5,000 or more. The top five winners will be included in the annual anthology.
For more information, visit the Web site, call Spinella at 347-4172 or e-mail pastastudio@gmail.com.
Many aspiring novelists have pounded the pavement, tied up the phone lines or explored Internet avenues, only to spend a lot of money on self-publishing, be told “better luck next time” or get flat-out denied.
For them, a new Bandon business may provide an alternative.
Jesse Spinella is a science fiction author who has written about a dozen short stories and novels and has been shown the door by publishers himself. He is striving to help other struggling fiction writers through his audio book production company. Pasta Studio is named for the old spaghetti westerns, in which the acting was done mostly by unknown actors.
Writers can earn royalties on sales of their CDs. But what the budding novelists will mainly come away with is proof of experience.
“The whole idea is trying to get your foot in the door because there are so many places that won’t even touch the new author,” the 27-year-old North Bend resident said. “It’s going to give a credit to their name, so if they end up going to a publisher, they’ll have something to show them.”
Working from the ground floor up, Spinella burned a three-minute demo disc, narrated by himself, of a portion of one of his novels, “Chicago, Neat.” This sample audio book is available at the company’s Web site, http://www.pastastudio.com.
He is looking for first-time authors of manuscripts. Copyrights remain the property of the author, according to the Web site. All the audio books will be saved digitally on CDs with MP3 capabilities and will be available for purchasing online.
Spinella’s plans include adding sound effects, developing introduction music and hiring paid local voice actors to play the characters.
“I plan on getting actors, like in old radio dramas,” he said.
Auditions for actors will conclude Nov. 1, for the first annual Spaghetti Audio Fiction Anthology, set for publication in March 2009.
To get his business started, Spinella is holding a fiction-writing contest, with a grand prize of $1,000. The entry cost is $15. The competition is open to all U.S. and international writers whose fiction has not appeared in a nationally distributed publication with a circulation of 5,000 or more. The top five winners will be included in the annual anthology.
For more information, visit the Web site, call Spinella at 347-4172 or e-mail pastastudio@gmail.com.
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