From blog to book deal

October 26, 2009 by Writers, Artists and Insiders
Filed under: Authors and Books, Digital publishing 

Tim Kevan copyright Jay StirzakerBack in 2007 I had been practising as a barrister for some nine years when I started writing a blog about a fictional young trainee barrister who I called BabyBarista, a play on words based on his first impression being that his coffee-making skills were probably as important to that year as any forensic legal abilities he may have.

One of the most satisfying things I found about blogging was the immediacy of the publishing process. You think it up, type it out on your keyboard and then publish. It also allows the writer in many ways to busk or play around with ideas and see how they work.

It’s a strange thing to say but I discovered that this bold, irreverent and mischievous voice along with a collection of colourful characters had simply jumped into my head and the words started pouring on to the page. I was hopeful it might raise a few smiles, but in my wildest dreams I hadn’t imagined quite the extraordinary set of circumstances which then unfolded.

First it received a glowing comment in a legal magazine and off the back of that I emailed a few publishers and started getting interest as well as taking on a literary agent who had approached me direct. In the meantime, The Times kindly offered to host the blog and finally, I was offered a book deal with Bloomsbury – all within the space of less than three months.

Since that hectic start, it’s been a long haul. I took a break from practising as a barrister and moved to North Devon, where not only have I been able to go surfing a little more frequently but I also finished the book. It finally came out in August and does seem to have been well received with broadcaster Jeremy Vine describing it as “a wonderful, racing read – well drawn, smartly plotted and laugh-out-loud”.

The book is called BabyBarista and the Art of War and centres around BabyB’s first year in chambers where he is fighting his fellow pupils for the coveted prize of a permanent tenancy. It’s a fictional caricature of life at the Bar and includes characters that probably exist in most workplaces. Alongside the pupillage race is an altogether different battle with BabyB’s corrupt pupilmaster whose dishonest fiddling of chambers’ records all starts to unravel and threatens to embroil BabyB’s entire career.

With the first book finished, I’m now working on book two in the series and very much enjoying life down here by the sea.

What can (and can’t) a blog do for a writer? “Blogging is definitely one tool which might help some writers. The need to keep it up-to-date can provide discipline and the diary format gives an immediate structure, particularly for first person narratives.” Read more in our full interview with Tim Kevan.

BabyBaristaTim Kevan is a barrister and writer and the author of ‘BabyBarista and The Art of War’ published by Bloomsbury.

Read an extract from the book BabyBarista and the Art of War

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Comments

7 Comments on From blog to book deal

  1. Tomscribe on Nov 4, 2009 at 11:31am

    2. I’ve just read Tim Kevan’s interview and found it most enlightening, especially the fact that a blog could prove so useful to a new writer. It’s an inspirational read.

    Though I’ve written many assorted online articles from sci-fi to humour, I’ve never really considered creating a blog of my own as there are millions of them out there, and I’d always assumed I’d be “spitting in the dark” so to speak. Well, till recently that is…

    I guess I’ll just have to wait and see how my blog shapes up [which is a tad hit-and-miss at present] and hope for the best. Humm, I’m not so sure the pen-name Bick Parker was such a good idea after all….

  2. Claire Fogg (Publisher, Yearbooks) on Nov 4, 2009 at 12:57pm

    3. Ah yes, blogging, it really can do wonders for an author, and best of all it’s free. When you want to market yourself as a writer it pays to take some time to think about how you could make good use of all sorts of social networking media, blogs included.

    Are you someone who blogs? I’d like to hear what you’re blogging about right at this very moment if so…

  3. Tomscribe on Nov 8, 2009 at 06:56am

    4. I’ve been a ‘hobby’ writer for some years now, though mostly online articles for Triond – username Bick Parker [yep, a real pen-name that!]

    I’ve recently began to publish my own works through MyEbook.com [username Tomscribe] which is steadily getting me hooked! You’ll find a good assortment of short reading material on MyEbook, and any feedback is always highly appreciated.

    I like to write in all genres, including children’s fun/fantasy verses [it seems adults find my children's verses entertaining - but why not, we're all kids at heart!] As for blogging, well, I’ve just got myself started on Spanglefish, there’s not much on it up to press, but that’s because I started on Bibliofaction too and I’m spreading myself very thin! But writing is what I love to do, I’m hooked on it, always have been. In fact, even though today is Sunday [06:55] I’m at it already!…

  4. pradeep on Nov 24, 2009 at 12:13pm

    5. I finished 2 novels and I need an agent to read my novels and get these published

  5. VioletFenn on Dec 30, 2009 at 21:43pm

    6. I am indeed someone who blogs! Although I have a ‘personal’ blog for random mutterings, I recently started another blog specifically to practise my writing. It’s done in first person and is the ‘diary’ of a teenage girl.

    I make a point of writing ‘in the moment’ as I think of the storyline, and I keep editing to a minimum. It does mean that it’s a bit rough around the edges, but I find it a good way to keep the creative juices flowing.

    I’d definitely recommend blogging as a practise tool, if nothing else.

  6. leedsjon on Jan 3, 2010 at 01:55am

    7. I’ve just started with the whole idea of blogging & am in the process of getting one set up with Wordpress.

    What am i thinking about at moment? Well, most of this week has been spent recoiling in utter horror at the events unfolding in China. I’m referring here to the execution a couple of days ago of the guy who had bipolar disorder (forget his name unfortunately) for allegedly smuggling drugs into the country. Various media reports have since revealed that the British Foreign Office had been trying to negotiate with China for 2 years for clemency and were simply ignored at the final ‘trial’ (which only lasted 30 minutes!). Various blogs & chat rooms on the net have been awash with all of this for most of the week but one thing which a lot of people seemed to have completely forgotten is that a British citizen has been murdered by a foreign power. What is worse is the fact that this particular foreign power has an appalling record on human rights throughout the world (remember Tianamen Square?) and it has the record for the most number of executions to be carried out anwhere in the world. Add to this its frequent attempts to sabotage various international conferences and agreements on the environment (eg Kyoto, the recent Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen) and it becomes clear that this is a country which is not exactly helping the cause of international peace.

  7. Stephen Brooks on Jan 23, 2010 at 22:42pm

    8. I did have a website set up for me as I’m technologically illiterate, (almost) but meant I was at the behest of this person. I’m a member of a creative writing site as is the woman who set up my blog. I only did this because a lot of the published writers on the site were urging me to do something with the blog I had been posting on there. It was called diaryofamaddrunkbastard and doesn’t relate to me in any way darlings! Unfortunately the woman who designed the site got so busy with her own things she had to drop out, and I was left high and dry. The blog was eventually closed down and of course because the address was out there someone has claimed it – but I have a new address in my head, which I won’t reveal here. I know all about people stealing my art as I was in the music business as a drummer (hence the stix in my email address) and I wrote songs and heard a band that I had gone to see that had our old guitarist in, and there they were playing one of my songs claiming it as one of their own. Was I angry! I told them that I’d copyrighted it (I hadn’t) But it stopped them using it. The creative writing site I belong to is abctales.com and it’s with no little pride that I have more ‘reads’ than anyone on there. Not bad for someone who left school with not an O level or A level to his name save for the ringing tones of the teachers telling me I wouldn’t amount to ‘a hill ‘o’ beans.’ My music teacher spat into my face that my life would ‘end in a ball of flames!’ I became a professional drummer and ended up backing a no.1 singer. My carpentry teacher said I was bloomin’ useless, I ended up with my own cabinet making business. Hah! Me? Bitter? The woman who set up my blog said that it’s the funniest thing out there and she swore that she wee’d herself ever so slightly when she was reading one of my posts. It’s pretty scatological and not for the faint-hearted, my mum or the Taliban. If you google styxbroox it’ll take you straight to me on the site. Scroll down to the bottom and hey pesto. No that goes on pasta doesn’t it?

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