George Ivanoff shows what the writing game is all about

George Ivanoff describes himself as a “jobbing author”, that is, an author who makes his living from his writing. He refuses to self-publish, as he considers that too hit and miss. His writing is his income and he has a family to feed, clothe and educate.

Much time is spent pitching to publishers and copyright and licencing holders, dreaming up an idea, writing a treatment, submitting it and keeping fingers crossed that it flies. It is still a good part of his productive time. Many are rejected, some get through. 

It takes hard graft. It takes patience. It takes tenacity. It takes talent and it takes an eye for a good story.

In the early days, all his work was obtained this way but now, as a well-respected author with over 130 books under his belt, he has an excellent working relationship with Penguin and other publishing houses. They now come to him. He has also built up a successful series of networks with licencing firms and the like.

On Saturday, at the Mentone Public Library, George spoke to a group about the art of navigating the tricky world of copyright and licencing. LIcencees have their rules to protect the copyright of their stories, but authors like George Ivanoff, who writes Sci Fi for the teenage market, often spin off stories from well-known series like “The X Files” and “Doctor Who”. They keep characters alive and take them to the next generation.  

George has also written series about everyday licenced bodies like the Flying Doctors and The AFL. They all have their rules, each entity a little different. On Saturday, George delved into a whole world which most of us knew almost nothing about. He walked us through the ins and outs. And it was fascinating!

An engaging speaker, George was as generous in his delivery and imparting of information as if he had been speaking to an auditorium full of academics. We were very lucky to have an author of his calibre at the Library. Thank you George.

It’s still not too late to join our "Writer Meets the Reader" Book Club Meeting featuring George on Wednesday 22^nd March at 2.00 pm. Entry to the event is $5. A copy of ‘Remote Rescue’ can be picked up from the library any morning between 10 am and midday this week.

Elsie Johnstone