Is creating your own web site a new tool in the armoury of writers seeking out that elusive book deal? Ian Vince tells Phil Ogley how developing his own satirical website led to the publication of his first book.
One could be fooled into thinking that on visiting www.socialscrutiny.org you had entered a new government department you had previously never heard of. With the humble P45 now reading, ‘Hooray you’ve been fired,’ you may start to wonder whether you’ve jumped into an alternate reality.
It is only when you have phoned your mother to check that she hasn’t turned into a frog, that you realise it is a very clever piece of satire.
The man behind this site is Ian Vince, a self-styled satirist, who for years has been writing comedy sketches for television and radio, including Channel 4’s Bremner, Bird and Fortune.
Ian then used his website as a platform to sell the idea in book form. The result is Britain: What a State, which explains what it means to be British in today’s weird secular paranoid society.
If you’ve ever asked the questions 'Why are we the way we are?, Why do we like cheap lager? Eat spaghetti from tins? Have a passion for sleeping with traffic cones?', then this is the gift book for you. It explains everything from tea to fish and chips written in a mock governmental style which makes you wonder whether you should again check up on your mother.
The publication of this book demonstrates how a simple idea for a website has propelled Ian to greater things. For all aspiring writers Ian is great example of how hard work and raw talent can lead to a writer eventually achieving his goal of earning his living through writing. Ian spent 20 years living in Cornwall doing a whole range of menial jobs, but all the time believing that one great idea would release him from a life of drudgery.
Boxtree, the publishers of Britain: What a State, has been publishing ‘tie-in books’ from TV and film since 1990, as well as diversifying into pop music, humour and sport since becoming an imprint of Macmillan in 1996. However, this is the first ‘website-to-book’ Boxtree has published and demonstrates the ever expanding mediums there now are for writers to get their talents noticed. They added that all new writers should be constantly looking for new ways to get noticed.
Ian’s success with his book, which will almost certainly be on the bestseller list for Christmas, demonstrates this as well as highlighting the growing importance of the Internet as a marketing tool.
As Ian’s book was entirely his own concept, including doing most of the designing as well as the writing, he could approach publishers with a complete package, making it an even more attractive offer by sparing them the time and money of bringing in designers.
Success stories like Ian’s should inspire all writers. If you believe you have something good there is always a new angle for you to explore to get yourself known.
Britain: What a State: A User's Guide to Life in the UK is published by Boxtree priced £10.
