James McSill talks of opportunities…

I would like to introduce myself, I’m James McSill. For you to put into context what I will be posting suffice it to say that I am the founder and owner of McSill Ltd, which doesn’t say much unless you click on my main site (www.mcsill.com) and it is in… PORTUGUESE. I am a story consultant and operate from the UK but my clients mostly come from abroad; Norway, Holland, Germany, Portugal, Spain and BRAZIL.

I will talk about Brazil today.

I shall talk about opportunities.

The market has been so good down there that my Literary Agency in São Paulo (www.agency.mcsill.com) has practically been begging for English-language writers, including aspiring ones, to submit their manuscripts. Oh! You must be thinking at this point, don’t they have writers in Brazil too?

Brazil now has been a bit of a paradox, the market is growing like mad, but the locals are used to READING fairly adequate translations of all the international best-sellers (most written originally in English) from Harry Potter to Fifty-two Shades of Grey, from Dan Brown to the Disc World, but have no idea how these stories have been “built”. And the publishers want more of those types of constructed stories by writers of any nationality, Brazilian and Portuguese too of course - I have been working with many Brazilians, but it´s not enough as some are getting too busy translating their work to publish abroad too and cannot produce fast enough for the local market -; just remember, publishers demands have to be met by manuscripts or books with some resemblance to what is going on abroad in the English-speaking countries. Otherwise books don’t sell as much!

And what an opportunity there is out there for all of you that want to spread your wings far wider and explore a massive piece of land, from the freezing savannas of the south to the steaming hot forests of the north. If you feel bold enough to take on this challenge, here I am to help. Ever thought of working with Brazilian writers? Find out now!
Do contact me.

Another area which has been growing exponentially is the corporate storytelling/transmedia market. There are companies galore offering training to professionals that range from lower-rank corporate executives to high-powered admen. Every company in the fastest-growing country in the southern hemisphere seems to have discovered overnight that they have to tell their stories. Here the opportunities are for the more professional. Brazilians don’t take well to the American storytelling ways when they see their family businesses being advertised as if they were a famous chain of diners – even if they ARE a famous Brazilian chain of diners – the public does get put off by that kind of approach. Does that style “simplify” too much? Are storylines too punchy, too sweet, too over the top to the point of being unrealistic? Is it too Hollywood-like for a country that is becoming very rich almost overnight but retains vivid memories of when their citizens led a miserable life under a dictatorship supported by Uncle Sam? I don´t know. But what I do know is that Americans  that try to bring to Brazil, not the principles of storytelling (these are universal) but the “rules” only partially succeed. 

Let me digress here and say that we story consultants say there are no rules. If we, however, get some 45 admen to train in three days and don’t directly or indirectly present them with some rules, the entire training exercise would be pointless. We have to present them with training tasks which utilise principles as well as accepted sets of ´rules´. The American set of rules is too American, and Americans find it hard to adjust their language for Latin markets (why should they have until quite recently?). They say, let’s bend the rules, but show TV commercials from a famous company to demonstrate what is good or bad when you apply the ‘principles´.

And there comes the second great opportunity for us from the UK to brave that market. As Brazilians tell me, you are like them (i.e., Americans), but so different. And that difference sells…a lot!

I recently opened a new studio here in Yorkshire to deal specifically with corporation storytelling/transmedia demands, catering mainly to the Brazilian market. The speaking engagements have been flowing in; the projects from ads, to films, to stage shows are non-stop too. Through Brit Writers I hope to expand my network in the UK, so, should any of you think that you could become a story consultant, help Brazilian companies tell their stories and produce TV commercials that don’t use the scare tactics of US insurance and medicine TV ads, you are on! 
Do contact me – I want to hear from you (wherever you might be in the world).

Brit Writers have provided us with this wonderful opportunity to talk.

Let’s talk then.

More anon…

james@mcsill.com