My Writer's Manifesto - from the archives

(This was first posted in 2010) According to my Oxford Concise a manifesto is ‘a public declaration of a policy and aims’.

I’m currently planning a tour in October for 3 teen/tween writers – 3 days, 3 cities, 3 remarkable writers – title yet to be decided, but we have some pretty nifty names already. The writers involved are Judi Curtin, writer of the fab Alice and Megan series, Sophia Bennett, writer of the equally fab Threads series set in the London fashion world, and moi!

And I came up with a tongue in cheek manifesto:

No vampires No werewolves No boys that go bump in the night

Real girls Real drama Really amazing stories straight from the heart

We all write books for age 9/10+ with characters who are in their early teens. We all deal with real life issues – family drama, friendship problems, bullying – hence the no vampires, no werewolves bit.

So it got me thinking – maybe I should have my own writing manifesto, a Writer's Manifesto. A ‘public declaration’ of my writing intentions.

So here goes:

I guess my most important aim is to entertain.

The first commandment of popular fiction of any kind or for any age is (as the lovely Claudia Carroll once said): Thou shalt not bore. Quite right too.

Second aim – to say something.

I know this sounds a little vague but sometimes I read books that don’t actually say anything. They just potter along, telling a nice story, but don’t really going anywhere. I think books should have something solid rooted at the heart of them – a theme if you like. Sometimes that theme doesn’t make itself fully known until you finish the 1st or 2nd or even the 3rd draft, but it’s often bubbling away under the surface of your words, slowly rising to the surface. For example in the first Amy Green book I wanted to tell readers that it’s OK to be yourself. In fact it’s pretty darn cool to be yourself. It’s a theme that runs through all the Amy Green books.

My third aim is to write with passion and with confidence.

I’ve been writing for many years now and I’ve started to understand what both of these things really mean and how important they are. Write without passion and you’re doomed. The confidence bit – that can be learned over time. But if you can write with both passion and confidence – then you might just have a pretty good book on your hands.

So there you have it – three aims for my own personal manifesto.

What are your aims when you write?

Do you have a writing manifesto?

Yours in writing,

Sarah XXX

Ode to a Bookshop and a Very Special Bookseller

I was saddened to hear last week that one of my favourite bookshops in the whole world, The Exchange Bookshop in Dalkey, South County Dublin has just closed. The lovely owner, Michael has decided to retire and it’s uncertain as to what will happen to the shop. Will it become yet another coffee shop or restaurant; will another enterprising (and brave) bookseller take it over? We will have to wait and see. In the meantime I wanted to celebrate the shop and what it meant to me as a child and as a teenager growing up in Dalkey. When I was younger Dalkey village had a small children’s library that was housed in the Town Hall. Once a week special green wooden shelves would be rolled out and we’d be taken there to pick our books. Unfortunately there wasn’t much of a range and, as I became a more confident reader, I craved more choice. So Mum took me to The Exchange Bookshop and we looked through the second hand books together, searching for novels that would be suitable for a young teenager.

Gradually Mum allowed me to rummage on my own, and I managed to unearth some gems that she might not have ‘approved’ of had she know the contents, Flowers in the Attic example which I devoured, staying up all night to finish it, racing through each page like a teenager possessed. Michael in the shop did sometimes question the ‘suitability’ of the books I picked, but to his credit never stopped me buying them.

James Herbert, Stephen King, The Outsiders by S E Hinton, books about possession, haunting, vampires – this was my staple reading diet as a teenager (YA or teen fiction was only in its infancy in those days and many of the books were far too ‘worthy’ for my strangely blood-thirsty teen taste). They were interspersed by Maeve Binchy, American teen novels (Sweet Valley High), Judy Blume and the classics, but only ones concerning love and relationships, especially doomed relationships, most notably Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre, Jane Austen. Darkness and light, black and pink.

From the age of about eleven I read passionately and voraciously and The Exchange provided much of my story fuel. Unusually it sold both new and second hand books and had a special ‘exchange’ system (hence the name) whereby you could bring back books you’d read and ‘swap’ them for other books. And yes, I admit I ‘exchanged’ many of my mum and dads’ books for Stephen King novels.

Without The Exchange I would not have read so many books as a teenager, it’s as simple as that. And those books – both black and pink - made me the writer that I am today. So I owe a lot to Michael and his wonderful bookshop, as do many other readers (and writers) I suspect. And I wish him all the very best in the future. Maybe now he’ll have time to read himself for a change!

Today, on Shakespeare’s birthday and leading up to World Book Night later, I give thanks for Michael and all the other amazingly hard working and booking loving folk who power the bookshops of Ireland. Booksellers, I salute you! I’m proud to be an ex-member (and hopefully a future member in years to come) of your fold.

Yours in books,

Sarah XXX

Write a Story That Matters

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I've just finished reading The Beginner's Goodbye by Anne Tyler, one of my favourite writers. I was struck (as always) by her wonderfully simple yet evocative language. She's a genius with verbs; makes them work. She paints pictures with her words:

'I tilted my face up and squinted against the sunlight to follow the arc of the spray, which sashayed left, sashayed right, like a young girl swishing her skirts as she walked.'

Her sentences have the power to make you gasp. And you can tell that she's mad about her main character, Aaron despite his glaring flaws.

It's a masterful book and it got me thinking about fiction and why writers write.

I have a great fondness for first novels. Writers throw everything into their first book - passion, joy, heartache; hopes, dreams, failings - it's all there in one heady mix. With a first book you have years to craft your sentences. Once you are a published writer deadlines sneak into the writing equation.

You also think about your readers - will they like your new book? Your editor - what will she/he think? Reviewers - if you are lucky enough to get reviewed. The page is never fresh.

But there is nothing jaded or knowing about The Beginner's Goodbye. Anne Tyler is telling the story that she wants to tell in the her own peerless way. She is writing for herself, telling a tale that she just has to share. And that is how we should all write - telling the story that we just have to tell, regardless of readers/editors/deadlines. We need to get back to the voice of our 1st book and reclaim the joy that we felt, the sheer wonder at creating a fictional world and living, breathing characters.

It is not enough to write a story that you like. If you had three months to live what would you want to tell people? Write that book - a book that matters.

Yours in writing,

Sarah XXX

How to Write a Bestseller – The Secret Ingredient

Last weekend I spoke at the Waterford Writers’ Festival. The subject of the panel discussion was How to Write a Bestseller. The chair of the session, the very able Vanessa O’Loughlin from www.writing.ie asked us to consider the key elements of fiction writing and what makes a bestselling novel: character, dialogue, plot, making your book stand out. Also on the panel were fellow popular fiction writers Monica McInerney, Sinead Moriarty and Niamh Greene. It got me thinking about the nature of the ‘bestseller’. A ‘bestseller’ is simply a book that sells a lot of copies, a book that has thousands of happy readers, all actively recommending it to their friends and family, and on Facebook and Twitter (which I think is the way most bestsellers are created – by word of mouth).

So I thought I’d jot down some of the things that came up during the panel discussion in case they are useful. And at the very end I’ll let you in on the secret – how to write a bestseller – as yes, there is a secret!

First of all: Character

We all agreed that creating big, interesting, real, lovable yet flawed characters is the key to writing good popular fiction. Monica McInerney said she creates her characters before plot; for Sinead Moriarty it’s the other way around. But when it comes to characters, you have to think BIG. (I covered this very topic during the 8 Week Write a Book course on this blog).

Monica writes warm, funny family dramas; Sinead’s books tend to have an issue at the centre – breast cancer, anorexia, breakdown of a family unit – and she takes her research very seriously indeed.

Research

Sinead said something very interesting – she said that you can write about anything as long as you do your research, which she finds very freeing. You keep reading until you know your subject backwards, she said. One of her books, Pieces of My Heart (about an anorexic teenager and her family’s struggle to help her get well again) took a lot of research and after the first draft she had to go back and unpick the chapters that were too research heavy and rewrite them. She was very honest and open about this, which I think was helpful for people to hear. Rewriting is a topic that came up a lot. More about that in a second.

But next: Dialogue

Niamh Greene talked about dialogue and how important it is to get it right. She reads out her dialogue and works on it until it’s perfect. I talked about how each character has to have their own way of speaking in a book, their own voice. If you are unsure about how to approach dialogue, read some of the masters - Roddy Doyle, Marian Keyes, Anne Tyler.

Plot

I explained how important it is to select a subject/setting that you really, really want to write about. It has to be something that fascinates you and that you’re dying to tell your readers about - eg zoo keeping (my latest novel, The Shoestring Club has a zoo keeper in it), the life of a young ballerina (Ask Amy Green: Dancing Daze – now that research – in Budapest – was such fun!).

I always say there are two types of people, the planners and the seat of the pant-ers. Planners know where their passport is weeks before travelling, seat of the pant-ers don’t. If you’re a planner, you may need to plan your book. I’m a planner and I make detailed plot notes for every scene of every book. Now, often these change once I start writing, but I need the plot notes to start a book in the first place – it’s like my safely net in case I get stuck along the way. A book takes a long time to write, and you need all the help you can get!

Monica is not a planner, her books evolve as she writes; Sinead is a planner. We are all different writers, just as we are all different people.

Theme

I talked about theme, about how your book has to say something. At the heart of The Shoestring Club is a family secret and the book is about how a buried secret can have devastating consequences.

Julia, the main character, blames herself for her mother’s death – this is at the heart of every mistake she makes in life. And until she comes to terms with this, she will never live a full life.

What’s your book about? Can you tell me in a few lines? If not, you need to work on your book’s theme. And this doesn’t always come easy. Sometimes the theme won’t be clear to you until after your first or second draft.

Rewriting

The difference between a published novel and an unpublished novel - the rewrites. Simple as that. Your first draft is just a starting point. Keep working on it until it's a perfect as you can make it. Again, see my Write a Book Course for more on this.

Motivation

You have to want to write more than anything in the world. If you don’t have this overwhelming drive and passion, there’s no point in writing. Marilyn Munroe once said:

‘I wasn’t the prettiest, I wasn’t the most talented, I simply wanted it more than anyone else.’

Do you want to get published more than anyone else?

Because that’s the secret. Motivation, tenacity, drive. And the willingness to be honest, to cut a vein and bleed all over the page; to write about things that scare you, upset you, terrify you. You have to dig deep. It has to hurt. If it doesn’t, there’s no point writing. Unless you have to write, unless you have a burning need to tell people about something that means everything to you, don’t bother.

I’ll leave you with these final words from Pablo Neruda:

‘For me writing is like breathing. I could not live without breathing and I could not live without writing.’

Yours in writing,

Sarah XXX

My Writing Resolutions

I made three writing resolutions this week which I’d like to share with you: 1/ To put 100% into my work every single day. To hold nothing back for another day or another book. To use it all, straight away.

One of my favourite writing quotations on the topic of putting everything into your writing every day is this gem from the American writer, Annie Dillard:

One of the things I know about writing is this: spend it all, shoot it, play it, lose it, all, right away, every time. Do not hoard what seems good for a later place in the book or for another book; give it, give it all, give it now. The impulse to save something good for a better place later is the signal to spend it now. Something more will arise for later, something better. These things fill from behind, from beneath, like well water. Similarly, the impulse to keep to yourself what you have learned is not only shameful, it is destructive. Anything you do not give freely and abundantly becomes lost to you. You open your safe and find ashes. Annie Dillard, The Writing Life

She’s so right.

2/ To write scenes that I’m insanely proud of and am itching, yearning to read out loud to anyone who  will listen.

While writing The Shoestring Club (out in February) I discovered two things – a/ that making myself cry while writing isn’t such a bad thing, it means I truly care about my characters, and if I care there’s a good chance that my readers might care too. And b/ that I can’t wait to read two particular Shoestring scenes out loud to an audience, really can’t wait. Luckily I’ve been invited to a literary festival in March to read, so I won’t have to wait much longer. I truly feel I’m learning more and more about writing and about connecting with readers with every single book. I’m not afraid of tackling big subjects or creating HUGE characters, in fact, I relish the challenge.

Speaking of which 3/ is to think elephant ENORMOUS for the next two books – a new series for children and a new stand alone novel for adults. I’ve blogged before about creating larger than life characters and it’s so important to make your characters memorable. I have two new books to create and I’m going to put my heart and soul into both of them. I have an Amy Green (age 10+) to finish and two books waiting to be edited and once that’s done, I’ll get cracking on the new ideas. I’ve already started filling two new notebooks with character and plot ideas (yellow paged legal pads naturally – if you’re a regular reader you’ll know I have a thing about them!) and I’ve started doing some research. More about developing a new book from initial idea to final manuscript later in the year.

So there you go, my three resolutions – do you have any writing resolutions?

Yours in writing,

Sarah XXX

How to Catch an Agent’s Eye + 9 Free Book Ideas

Yes, I’m offering nine free ideas for popular fiction novels (and a couple of longer book blurbs). The only catch – they’re ideas that never made the cut. My deleted scenes so to speak. But if you want to write successful popular fiction and catch the eye of a great agent, read on. I'm a firm believer in learning from mistakes (especially my own!). I recently gave a six week workshop on writing. On the last day we talked about book proposals, and how to ‘sell’ your book to an agent. I explained that a book (and I was talking about popular fiction here, but it goes for pretty much any fiction) must have a very strong, original story and brilliant characters to make an agent sit up and take notice.

Exactly how strong and original, they asked? How about a sweet story that’s nicely written, will that cut it? Absolutely not! I told them. It has to be brilliant.

To illustrate this I pulled out some of my old ideas that never made it – because the plot or the premise or the characters weren’t strong enough. It seemed to help them understand, so I’ve copied some of them below for your entertainment.

I’m lucky, I get lots and lots of ideas. Most of them end up never being written. Some of them are terrible, and some of the ideas below are ten years old, so please don’t judge my present/future books on these snippets. I cringed reading them, but hey, if it’s helpful, what the heck.

It’s really important to find an idea that excites you as a writer and down the line, excites an agent and an editor. But first of all, and most importantly YOU have to be so darn excited that you can’t but write the book. And if you can get that excitement across in your proposal, you’re in!

Remember – these ideas below never made it. Some of them aren’t all that bad. However others stink. Some are written in note format, so apologies for any roughness.

Yours in writing,

Sarah XXX

PS I have given them all marks out of ten. Just because. Yes, I should have been a teacher!

The Last Man on Earth

“I wouldn’t go out with you if you were the last man on earth, Owen Scally!” “Really?” Annoyingly he just smiled. “We’ll just have to wait and see, won’t we?”

Donna’s ex-marine boyfriend, Curtis, is putting pressure on her to get married. They’ve been engaged for two years but she’s not sure how she truly feels about him. Her friends and family think she’s mad - he’s good-looking, attentive and a hugely successful business man, but Donna feels there’s something missing in their relationship. And when she meets the infuriating house painter and artist, Owen Scally things begin to get complicated.

Poppy’s got the opposite problem. Her boyfriend, professional rugby player Ralph Driver, the self-professed ‘heart-throb’ of the Irish rugby scene, won’t commit to their relationship and she’s getting fed up and her life strangely feels empty.

Ellen knows all about feeling empty. She’s been trying to have a child with her husband, Colm for over three years now. Her job doesn’t exactly help. As one of Dublin’s most popular Doulas or birthing helpers, she has daily contact with pregnant women and babies. But she’s determined not to give up hope just yet. 

The three women have been friends since school and their weekly Saturday brunch keeps them sane. But things are about to change for them all in unexpected ways. But sometimes friendship is the strongest bond of all.

Why it doesn’t work: it’s been done before and none of the characters sound very exciting looking back at it! I’d give it a very lukewarm 2.

Wedding Belle/Never the Bride/The Wedding Planner/The Reluctant Bride/Planning for a Miracle

(Not bad titles actually come to think of it, some of them!)

Plot - weddings - different ones - the 3 friends lives change with each wedding

Belle is a wedding planner and very anti-marriage She was jilted at the altar and swears she’ll never do it again

Her best friend Chloe is living in wedded bliss with her husband and 2 children - seems too good to be true but is it? Chloe has an affair and her marriage is threatened Was in art college Husband - now lecturer in art college - has an affair with one of his young students Not working - artist - paints on silk scarves and sells them in exclusive boutiques at end - feels more fulfilled

David - their friend - holding out for the right woman - can’t see what’s good for him - and that he’ll never have everything in a woman Refuses to settle or to change his ‘wants’ in a woman - needs to be more flexible Property investor - buys up old houses and does them up and sells them on Ex architect

Belle - organises a wedding for a girl she thinks would be perfect for David - tries to change her mind but ends up changing her own

Chloe - does her table plans for her

David - looks at the properties to see marquee etc - good with houses and design

Why it doesn’t work – again ,not original and my heart wasn’t really in it. I’d give it 2.

Never the Bride

Always the bridesmaid, never the bride . . .

Or so Amy O’Sullivan thought before her boyfriend, Steve Jones, world famous children’s book author, pops the question. But, in a fit of panic, instead of getting married, Amy runs away and travels half way around the world to New Zealand to visit her sister, Suzi.

Suzi’s just opened ‘The Ruby Red Make Up Store’ in Auckland and has her own problems in the shape of her predatory nanny, Wilma, who has her eye on Suzi’s rugby coach husband, Matt.

In Auckland, Amy meets the dashing and impossibly good-looking English America’s Cup sailor, Gray, and just as life is looking up, unwittingly gets caught up in a huge yacht design scandal.

Meanwhile Steve has just finished his latest book and is about to embark on a world-wide tour, last stop New Zealand, to try and win Amy back. What he doesn’t know is that Amy has gone missing. And back in Dublin, alerted by Suzi, Beth and Jodie, Amy’s best friends, are so worried about her that they decide to travel to Auckland to find her.

Together Suzi, Beth and Jodie set out to find Amy and talk some sense into her before it’s too late. But fate works in mysterious ways.

A comic tale of love, lust and long distance adventure, as Amy discovers the truth about love in the most unusual places.

Might have worked – the first book, Always the Bridesmaid was very popular (no 1 in Ireland for 9 weeks!) – and it has some interesting elements, but I should have done a sequel straight away, not 5 years later! Marks out of ten – 4.

 Almost Like Being in Love

When it comes to love - anything can happen

What is it about unsuitable men? Meet Martha. She’s a Fine Art Auctioneer with an Egyptian mummy obsession and a history of falling for the wrong guy. When she meets handsome young celebrity gardener, Gavin Tynan at a charity auction she falls head over heels in love immediately. But Gavin also has a history of terrible relationships, not to mention a well-documented (by the Irish tabloid news) sex addiction, and a vindictive American ex-wife who wants him back at any cost. Has Martha has bitten off more than she can chew this time?

Martha’s best friend Holly hates her job as the interior design consultant for posh Dublin department store, Henna’s. She’d much rather pack it all in and work from home, restoring old furniture, but her husband, Ryan, a respected and feared food and wine journalist/writer, is dead set against the idea. Holly’s let him rule her life so far, so why should now be any different? But when the opportunity to change her life does come along, is she brave enough to take it?

And Olivia aka ‘Barbie’, a twenty five year old single mother with a sad addiction to designer sunglasses, has more than enough on her plate without taking on a new client. Her Private Investigation firm, Eagle Eye PI, specialises in spying on errant husbands, but she’s never come across anyone as bad as Gavin Tynan before. And, to top it all, her eccentric Great Aunt Hattie is convinced she’s Audrey Hepburn’s long-lost cousin and makes Olivia take her on a wild goose chase to find Audrey’s Irish roots. And boy, are they in for a surprise! If they could only let their heads rule their hearts this one time. A compelling tale about friendship, love and . . . life-changing surprises.

Actually this one isn’t that bad, I just never loved it enough to actually write it. The characters sound kind of interesting though. I’ll give it a 4 for potential.

Fortune’s Fools/You Will Meet a Tall, Dark Stranger/Cross my Palm with Silver/Horoscopes and other Horrors

(Terrible titles for a start!)

3 women visit a fortune teller and she tells them things and they go off and change their lives

The fortune teller is an out of work actress and feels bad afterwards – she’s been having a bad day – tries to trace the women – sub plot

Bee Clancy – interior designer – almost marries the wrong man Mona Clancy – mum, goes off traveling on her own – leaving husband and Bee and Alice behind her Alice – other daughter

The problem – I’m not all that interested in fortune telling – so I lost interest in this idea pretty quickly! 1 out of 10

The Bonus Baby

Emma thought her baby days were well behind her – but she was wrong

Emma, 43, has a new baby girl, Leonie. For most people this would be a blessing, but Emma doesn’t feel that way. She’s a highly reluctant third time parent. Her sons are 20 and 22 and about to leave home she was looking forward to having the house to herself for a change.

She’s just been promoted at work (radio presenter on a morning show in RTE) and having a baby to look after just doesn’t suit her lifestyle, thanks very much.

Emma’s life spills over into her presenting, she’s so tired that she just doesn’t care what she says on air sometimes and with every honest rant she gets more and more listeners.

On her enforced maternity leave (she would have much preferred to hand over the baby and go straight back to work) she meets Rowie, a young single mum, and Juliette, an old friend of Emma’s from work (they have lost touch as Juliette left RTE, married and had children young and Emma was too busy with her career to make any effort to visit) and a stay-at-home mum at the mother and baby clinic. Rowie’s only 17 but she’s made to be a mother. But Rowie has her own problems including a less than useless boyfriend.

And when Juliette, 34, starts disappearing for long days, leaving her children with the two other women (mainly Rowie, but it’s Emma who’s most outraged), they decide they have to take a stand. But they aren’t prepared for the consequences. (Juliette has breast cancer, but doesn’t want anyone to know, because it makes it real)

Together the three women learn that having a baby isn’t easy at any age. But sometimes blessings and miracles can happen when you least expect them.

Yawn, 3 out of 10.

The Baby Moon

One last child free break – one life changing holiday

Younger woman, 32 Older man, 39 Told from each point of view Worries, betrayal, secrets – they make friends with other couples in this ‘baby moon’ resort – Blue Moon – and learn that all couples have their secrets Several interlinked stories within 1 book

Double yawn, 2 out of 10.

The Shared Holiday

3 very different women, 1 extraordinary holiday

Eva is 34 and feels every year of it. With three children under the age of five and another one on the way working would be pretty much impossible. She knows she should be grateful for her stay at home life, but sometimes she just doesn’t feel all that bloody grateful.

Her oldest friend, Rebecca, one of only two female partners in her solicitors’ practice, commutes to Dublin every day to pay the mortgage on her glossy new house in Greystones. Her children, Denis, 17, Ryan, 13, and Bee, 8, are besotted with their ultra efficient Polish nanny cum housekeeper, Paulina.

Tully has a different kind of life. A hugely successful and robustly single children’s author, she spends most of her time flying around the world to promote her books. But is all as it seems? In reality she’s addicted to a younger man who treats her like dirt. And her body has slammed her into early menopause, making her swiftly rethink her childfree life.

Throw in Eva’s eccentric eighty-four year old granny, Bax, five assorted children, one sullen teenager, and one leggy twenty-year-old Polish nanny, and two husbands and it’s a recipe for disaster. Or is it?

Better – throwing different women together is always a good plot device – 3 out of 10.

My Utterly Fabulous Nervous Breakdown/Mothers on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown

What happens when your old life just stops?

Lauren, a working mum in her thirties who has a nervous breakdown and has to leave work to look after her own children and run her own house Previously she had a nanny and a housekeeper, now she just has a rather mad au pair She learns to be a good enough mother and starts to find out who she really is – previously work defined her

Yawn, yawn, yawn – 1 out of 10. Nothing original here!

The Suddenly Single Saloon

Dumped, betrayed, fed up with men . . . this is the club for you

Every week a group of women get together at an evening class – ostensibly to learn computer skills (from Vanessa) But they soon realise they have more than an interest in e-bay in common – they are all single Mona is 88 and has led quite a life – there’s a man in her sheltered housing who’s interested in her but she can’t be bothered – she’d much rather spend her remaining years in the company of other women Clare, a separated mum of three is 38 and spends most of her time and energy fighting with her ex-husband – she needs to stop fighting and start living Vanessa, 41, has never had much luck with men – she’s highly demanding and set in her ways. But she’s desperate for a child. The other women persuade her to try dating men she’d normally turn up her nose at. Rowie, 24, is a single mum who is fed up with meeting the wrong sort of men over and over again. But maybe she’s just looking for love in all the wrong places.

Again not very original and the characters sound pretty flat really. 3 out of 10. I did use that name again though, Rowie! So it wasn’t all wasted.

The End

(Boy am I glad to see the back of that lot – cringe-arama! But I hope it was helpful! Next time I’ll write about ideas and proposals that did make the cut!)

How to Promote and Market Your Book and Get Results

The good news is that every writer can do a lot to market and promote their own book. The secret – and yes, there is a secret but like most things it’s this – hard work, organisation and determination. A lot of work can be done behind the scenes months before your book reaches the bookshop shelves.

When I started out in books, I had no experience in marketing or publicity, I just used my head, so what I did, you can do too.

But before that some general points.

First things first, don’t worry about any of this unless you have written a book worth promoting. Put your time and energy into the writing first and foremost.

1/ Marketing - Marketing means promoting your book to the market and in the marketplace, ie the shops. It means getting information about your book to the relevant buyers and booksellers, backing up that information with display material – such as posters and bookmarks. And keeping the bookshops informed of any publicity you have lined up for the book.

In general, your publisher should be on top of the marketing, but if they don’t intend to do posters or bookmarks – say for example they are small, your book is self published, or published in England or the US (this is directed at Irish authors of course!) and there is no marketing spend - think about doing it yourself. And dropping postcards/posters/bookmarks in to your local libraries, bookshops and schools.

Think of investing in business cards, stickers, thank you cards – useful things are good – pens, post cards etc. Chris Judge had some lovely postcards printed up for his debut picture book, The Lonely Beast.

Yes, it costs money. But think of it as money invested in your future as a writer.

The more booksellers know about your book the better chance it has of being recommended, restocked, put on a table, put in promotions. But there is a fine line between being pushy and helpful. Never be pushy, never be arrogant. Treat booksellers like royalty, they are the ones who put your books on the shelves and into adults, parents and children’s hands.

If your book is not on the shelf, it is nothing personal. See it as your problem. Send them some information on your book – or even a copy of the book with a friendly covering note saying you are a local author and would be delighted to see your book on their shelves.

Always check with your publishers before doing this or before calling into bookshops and talking to booksellers. They may like to ask your sales rep to go along and intro you. They may like to use it as a sales opportunity. Work with your publisher.

But remember, no one cares as much about your book as you do. Be passionate and talk about your book with enthusiasm – and as Patrick Ness would say, joy!

And no bookseller wants to hear you grumble about how little your publisher does to promote you – get on with it yourself (and over yourself) – take control.

But one thing I’ll come back to time and time again – be prepared to work hard and do things yourself. Do not leave everything to your publisher. They have a lot of books to market and promote. Your book is your baby. Once your book is published, your journey is just beginning.

There are over 8,000 children’s books published every year. If you want to make your book stand out, and especially if you want to earn living from writing or part of your living from writing, then you must do all you can to promote your book.

The reality is that it is not enough to just write a book and sit back and see what happens. You also have to connect with children, with booksellers, with librarians, with teachers, with parents – with anyone who buys books. You need to make them aware that your book is a/ in the shops now and b/worth buying.

Looks do not matter in the least bit, but personality and professionalism do.

Above all, be yourself. Maybe a glittery, happy version of yourself but still yourself. I call it being on – be the person you’d be at a party, or at a job interview. And think about the image you are projecting. Think about what you are wearing when visiting bookshops/schools/going to book conferences.

And get involved with your own publicity but keep your publisher informed of what you intend to do. It can be daunting at the beginning but having a plan makes everything easier.

Publishers are only too delighted to have help – well organised, professional help – talk to them about how you can help.

2/ Publicity - Publicity means using the media to tell people about your book: print, radio, telly.

4 to 6 months before your book is published set up a meeting with the publicity person in the publishing house (if possible) and bring a list of possible publicity angles - I’ll talk about angles in a few minutes - and any media contacts you might have.

In a moment I’m going to fly through the different stages of an ideal publicity plan.

But first – my first book – for my first book I started local. Everyone can do this!

Kids Can Cook – I had no profile at all

I rang Southside News and wrote a piece on cooking with children for them.

My church newsletter – I wrote a piece for them. I also did a piece for my sailing club newsletter.

The Evening Herald did a piece on me - the first cookbook for children in Ireland - I friend of mine worked in the Herald and she set this up. I had an angle, Dublin single mum gets kids cooking.

I did a lot of school events during the Children’s Book Festival that my publisher set up and that I set up. Because I did hands on cookery with the children during the sessions it was something different, and they really liked the idea. And I did several special needs schools also. Also library events. Mostly for free.

If I was bringing out a first book now I would certainly use the internet to reach readers – see below for details.

For Ask Amy Green: boy Trouble, my first children’s novel for age 10+, the publicity plans were a lot more elaborate – Walker Books created a special Amy Green website, and did some super posters, fanzines, pink leather luggage tags and hand outs, but I still did some of the publicity myself.

Here is what I call the ideal publicity plan, with all bases covered. If you can do even some of this great! I hope it will make you think and consider the possibilities. It is not meant to scare you, just to point out what can be done . . .

4 months before publication

Meet the pr person in your publishing house Draw up your pr plan with the pr person

Set up your website – I would advise every writer to get a website – and put the details of the website in your book so readers can contact you and also teachers and librarians can contact you (to book events if you write for children).

Set up a Facebook page and a Twitter account.

If you do not want people to know too much about you, invent a writing persona, a writerly version of yourself. I find it easier to just be myself, but not everyone is comfortable with this. But you must connect with people online these days. Especially if you want an international career.

3 months before publication

Submit feature ideas to magazines Now this many take months, years to get anything taken but keep at it, once you have one piece published, it is so much easier. Are there any specialist magazines you subscribe to? Try submitting an article to them, it's a great place to start. Or internet magazines/newsletters – again, good experience.

You could offer to review for Inis magazine (specialist Irish children’s book mag) – which is how I started reviewing – for free of course – but I got a/ experience and b/ some lovely books! (Contact their review editor here)

2 months before publication

Submit feature ideas to the magazines of newspapers

Set up your book launch if you would like to have one (organise your own in a local bookshop or venue, and yes, you may have to pay for the wine!)

Children’s writers - Set up some school and library events – use your contacts – your child’s school etc But make the events interesting, don’t just expect to go in and read to them. I spend several days a year working on new content for talks, workshops and readings and making it fresh and exciting. Work at it! Practice! Watch other authors in action and pick up ideas. Once these events are fixed, send the details to the listings of the newspapers and also local newspapers.

And on that subject, network, go to children’s book events, join CBI, join the Society of Children’s Writers and Ilustrators.

1 month before publication

Submit ideas to the features pages of newspapers – yes, you need to come up with these ideas yourself – depending on you and your life/book

Think of column ideas for guest columns (realistically this will be down the line when you have some experience of writing articles etc)

Write your press release for sending out with review copies (your publisher will probably do this for you)

3 weeks before publication

Send out the invites to the launch

2 weeks before publication

Send out review copies of your book to relevant newspapers and magazines with your press release, eg Inis, Book Fest etc (your publisher may do this, check with them), the Irish Indo, the Irish Times.

Set up radio interviews – using your press release (again, your pr person may do this) Don’t forget local radio – a great place to start – East Coast for eg. Send a book and a press release and then ring them politely, with the blessing of your publishers of course. Local radio stations love local authors! You could do a competition and give away copies of your book.

After Publication

Start your school events and library events

If you have any news stories, this is the time to use them – advances, film deals, winning competitions, your dog winning a dog show (for the local papers!).

Angles

An ‘angle’ is something that makes you stand out as a person for pr purposes.

Some of the ones I’ve used:

Single mum Parent of teens and toddlers at the same time Partner of a hopeful Olympic sailor

Other people’s angles: Teacher – Eoin Colfer Librarian – Patricia Scanlan Movie geek and ex screen writer – Derek Landy

Anything that makes you different is good – and that you are prepared to talk about!

Everyone has something - Do you keep bees? Can you shoe a horse? Do you dive? Travel a lot? If so, you can write about it

I hope I’ve given you some ideas to think about. You put 100% into writing your book, so why not put 100% into doing the best you can to promote that book? It deserves it. Writing for children, getting published and visiting and meeting young readers are rewarding and joyful experiences, and worth fighting lions and sweating blood for. I wish you all the best of luck with your own journey to publication.

Yours in writing,

Sarah XXX

It's Not Enough to Write a Brilliant Book - You Also Need This

What Do Readers Want From Their Writers These Days? The answer is – as well as a brilliant book - connection!

Once upon a time you could write a book, then sit back and relax. You might get a few letters in the post from readers and you’d answer them in your own good time.

But things have changed - it’s not enough to write a brilliant book anymore, readers want more. They have high expectations. They expect at the very least a website, complete with some way of contacting the writer directly through a message board, forum or email address. If you are also active on Facebook and Twitter this is a bonus. They want to connect with writers, talk to them about their books, and ask questions; sometimes they just want to say ‘hi’.

But how do writers cope with all this extra ‘work’ on top of their writing commitment? At the Patrick Hardy Lecture recently bestselling teen and tween author, Cathy Cassidy spoke about this issue. She gets over 150 emails a day from her readers and responds to them all. That’s a huge time and energy commitment.

‘I get more e-mails now than when I was an agony aunt,’ she said. ‘They don’t all need to be answered immediately but it’s a lot and it’s growing all the time.’

‘I appreciate the input from children and their feedback,’ she added. ‘They share their life with you and ask for your feedback and there may not be other processes available for them to do that.’

Like Cathy, I get emails from children every day, in much smaller quantities however (I have no idea how she deals with 150 a day!). And like Cathy I try to answer one of them honestly and thoughtfully. Yes, it takes time, but if someone has made the effort to write to me, they deserve an answer. And as Cathy says, there may not be another outlet for them. And it’s not hard for people to find me.

Each of my Ask Amy Green books (for age 10+) has details of my Amy Green website – www.askamygreen.com, plus my direct email address – sarah@askamygreen.com and Amy Green Facebook page. As I also write for adults (plus younger children) I also have my own website for my other books – the website hosting this blog - and an adult Facebook page and Twitter account @sarahwebbishere. I have two blogs, one on the Ask Amy Green website and this one. I also blog on the Girls Heart Books collective website once a month. If you google Sarah Webb, you’ll find me!

Luckily I like social networking, I’m a chatty, open kind of person and I’m happy to share some of my thoughts on-line. And I genuinely enjoy meeting readers, in real life, or via email or Facebook messages. It makes me feel more connected to the ‘real’ world, whatever that is! After hours sitting at my desk, I like reading what people have been up to via Facebook or Twitter.

Social networking is also great for running competitions and for letting readers know about book events and festivals. It’s revolutionised the reader/writer relationship. Yes, writers have to work hard to answer all the messages, deal with all the requests, but it’s a small price to pay for all the benefits.

I limit the time I spend on Facebook and Twitter to first thing in the morning, and late afternoon, when I have my writing done, which I think is important. Otherwise large chunks of time could be chewed up and writing is my number one priority.

If you’re a writer, how accessible are you to your readers? If they google you, can they find you? Or does the very thought give you the heebie jeebies? If so, you may want to think again!

Here is an older post for writers about Facebook, Twitter, blogs and websites. And there's a useful piece on setting up a blog here by Michelle Maloney-King.

Yours in writing,

Sarah XXX

Are Bestsellers Taking Over? + Puffin Ireland News

The Bookseller magazine has an interesting article in a recent edition (18th November), looking at children’s frontlist (new) fiction. It says that the received wisdom is that bestselling books and brand authors dominate the children’s market. It quotes agent Caroline Sheldon who says that publishers are now looking for ‘bestsellers’, in any category. They want a book that bowls them over. Curtis Brown (London literary agency) adds that publishers are being very cautious. ‘Authors have to reinvent themselves to have much more high-concept ideas that are instantly appealing, or literary, with prize-winning potential.’

Francesca Dow, MD of Penguin Children’s Books plans to cut output of Penguin Children's titles over the next three years in response to high street bookshops who are reducing their range. This is her strategy (Bookseller, 30th September): ‘To make our big brands bigger, to reinvent our classic brands . . . and to create the brands of tomorrow.’ (For brands, read authors or characters.)

Meanwhile over at Puffin Ireland, they have just let their children’s editor go. David Maybury says in today’s blog – (the full piece is worth reading if you are interested in Irish publishing): After launching the Puffin Ireland editorial post two years ago and the first books earlier this year with much fanfare, Penguin Ireland have decided that they don’t require an editor in-house. Michael McLoughlin (Penguin Ireland MD) insists that Puffin Ireland has not closed, that manuscripts submissions are still very welcome and that he and and Shannon Park (Puffin UK) will be working with the authors and titles already assigned. David goes on to say: Removing the Puffin Ireland editorial position may make good sense if you crunch numbers – but the investment in children’s fiction and the growing relationship and goodwill with reader markets, organisations, booksellers, media, libraries and beyond has hit a hitch. I heartily agree. I’m glad that Irish authors can still send in their manuscripts directly, but saddened that they have let such an experienced and knowledgeable Irish editor go. No doubt Puffin Ireland, like Puffin UK  is looking for books with ‘brand potential’.

Interesting The Bookseller article points out that the received wisdom is incorrent, that only 19% of all children’s sales come from the top 10 authors (2010 figures). Even so, many publishers are looking for ‘instant bestsellers’ and are not publishing the range of books they used to. But young readers are veracious, and boy do they read fast! My daughter has recently taken to re-reading her favourite writers' books, as there are not enough new books being published to satisfy her book habit. I have to buy my son American books on amazon.com to supply his need. I just can’t find enough of the right kind of titles to keep them in books, and I know I’m not the only parent finding this problem. And I live in a house full of books, I have access to review copies and all kinds of book information, and I have publishing and bookselling friends. I can’t imagine what it’s like for average parents.

I am well aware that publishers (and writers!) need to make a living, but don't they also have a responsibility to make sure that young readers, the readers of tomorrow are well served? Too idealistic? Maybe.

Must publishers seem to be following the market, what about trying to set the market? What about grouping together several new authors who write family/friendship tales and promoting them together? Yes, it’s probably a lot of work for not much return, but what if one of these authors goes on, in time to be the ‘next’ Cathy Cassidy or Jacqueline Wilson? Ditto with action/adventure books for boys. And animal tales. And funny books for younger readers. My daughter reads a Wimpy Kid in two days - what's she supposed to read then?

I’m concerned about the new writers coming through and the message they are being given – write a bestseller or an award winner with a good hook, or else don’t bother writing at all. No writer is born fully formed – everyone learns by writing and by making mistakes. Many of the bestselling Irish and international children’s writers have years of experience writing in other mediums or genres. Derek Landy wrote screen plays, some successful, others not successful before writing his Skulduggery series; Eoin Colfer write many books for O’Brien Press before coming up with Artemis Fowl; Judi Curtin cut her teeth on adult popular fiction; Jacqueline Wilson wrote dozens of teen books before inventing Tracy Beaker; Charlie Higson wrote for television and adults before his Young Bond and teen zombie books.

‘New’ Irish children’s authors and Irish Book Award senior category nominees, Anna Carey and Denise Deegan have many years of writing behind them – Anna is an experienced journalist, Denise wrote several adult novels before turning to teen fiction. And this experience shows in their work. (Anna won the award, beating off Darren Shan, Denise and Derek Landy, no mean feat.)

New writers need both experience and encouragement, they need to be allowed to make mistakes and to develop. Maybe the first few books they write are not ‘big’ books, maybe they are funny and charming family and friendship dramas (like Eoin Colfer’s first books), animal tales, or time slip stories. If no-one will publish books like this, which don’t have a huge ‘hook’ and ‘bestseller’ potential, that particular author may get discouraged and stop writing altogether. Which would be a shame. No Artemis Fowl is a horrible thought!

I’ve published nine adult novels and four young teen novels (as well as many other non fiction books) and I feel like I’m only really getting started. And I’m very grateful to the editors and publishers who took an early punt on me and my work, and who are still supporting me and my writing journey.

Luckily there are still children’s publishers out there like my publishers, O’Brien Press and Walker Books (and there are others) who are willing to look at unformed authors, willing to publish books that are sweet and wonderful and not all bells and whistles and bestseller lists (although they publish those too of course – Judi Curtin – O’Brien, and Anthony Horowitz – Walker - for eg), books for thoughtful young readers who want more than just the top ten titles on their bookshelves, and for that I am grateful. Long may they prosper!

Yours in writing,

Sarah XXX

The Truth About Writing Popular Fiction

I have a friend – a much published, very experienced writer of popular fiction – who is worried about finishing her latest novel. She’s almost 50,000 words in and she knows she has at least another 40 to 50k more to write. Her pre-Christmas deadline is looming and she’s freaking out a little. She has no idea how she’s going to finish it in time as she says it’s like pulling teeth. Plus she’s not enjoying the writing anymore. In the same week, another writer – again, popular fiction - posted her worries about finishing a book in time on Facebook. Both have young children to mind, husbands to listen to, bills to pay, other writing jobs on the side. This is the writing for a living story that often goes untold.

Publishers are under more pressure than ever to produce novels that sell widely. With ebooks starting to make inroads into the market, things are very uncertain at the moment. Writers are under extra pressure to write faster, deliver earlier. Popular fiction writers are expected to produce a book a year without fail. Recently I’ve heard several top authors say they are now being asked to write a book every nine months, or to consider adding a book of short stories to their yearly output.

I believe that putting writers under this sort of pressure is counter productive. I’m lucky - I’m a fairly fast, consistent writer. I write 2,000 words a day, four days a week (five if I have a deadline). I write full time. I can sit down at my desk at 10am and stay there until 2pm which is a great luxury. Some weeks – during the Children’s Book Festival and around book publication time - I have other things on like school visits, shop visits, interviews, and I have to take time off from writing. But generally I’m at my desk. Even so, I still find it stressful sometimes.

Stress is the enemy of the writer. It can physically stop you writing as my friend has found. It can block ideas, it can stifle your flow; it can start making you think ‘I can’t do this/I’m rubbish/I’m not a writer/This is all a joke’. And once you start thinking that you can’t write, then you can’t physically write.

The year before last – 2010 – I had a bit of a writing meltdown. I was working flat out on 2 Amy Green novels and an adult novel (and an early reader in fact) and I just couldn’t keep up the pace. Towards the end of the year, I was trying to finish my adult novel but it just wasn’t happening. I didn’t like the story all that much, the characters weren’t working and I just wanted to crawl into bed and forget about writing ever again. So I called a halt. I told my agent and my publishers that I couldn’t deliver my manuscript, that I needed a lot more time. They weren’t exactly thrilled but they were very understanding and they gave me the time I needed to find my way out of the slump.

I took some time off. I read good fiction. I stopped beating myself up about not being Wonderwoman Writer. And gradually when I got some energy back, I started picking apart the book I had been working on and I pretty much started again. I decided I needed to put everything I had into the book, and everything I’d learned over the years about writing popular fiction – big characters, high stakes, drama, emotion, dealing with subjects that matter both to me and to readers. And the book (The Shoestring Club – out in early 2012) is a far better book because of it. In fact, although it has flaws, I think it’s the best adult novel I’ve written so far. And the next one (the one I’m working on at the moment) is even better. Because I’m enjoying the writing process, I WANT to write and, most importantly, I’m minding my writing energy. If I need a day off writing, I take a day off writing. I’m not agreeing to any deadlines I can’t meet and I’m not saying yes to any projects that take me away from the desk unless they are very special.

Writing is a tough business. I’ve been writing full time for nine years now and it’s not getting any easier. But I still love it. And that’s the truth. It’s still my dream job. So I’ll cling to it tooth and nail. But my life is also important, my kids, my partner, my family, my friends, my health. We all need to mind ourselves as writers AND mind ourselves as mothers, partners, girlfriends, aunties, sisters too.

Will writing popular fiction always be so pressurised? I’m not sure. I’m hoping the market will settle down soon for all our sakes. 

But at the moment if you want to write popular fiction, you need to keep strong, keep mentally and physically fit, and keep writing about things you truly care about.

Yours in writing,

Sarah XXX

Why Writers Need to Run Away

 Today I’m writing to you from West Cork. I’ve run away! I’ve always wanted to write a book about a woman who runs away from her life and starts up anew. And let’s be honest, we’ve all thought about it, haven’t we? Just grabbing the passport and a few things, emptying out the current account and running off to Paris, or Montana or wherever the first flight out of Dublin takes you. Life can get pretty stressful sometimes, and it’s normal to want to escape now and then.  I haven’t really run away (as you’ve probably guessed). I’m on a writing retreat. I’m hiding away in my parents’ holiday home in a quiet little village. There’s no internet connection here (so I won’t be posting this until I get back), no mobile reception and the only people who know I’m here are my family and close friends. I can’t play with Facebook or Twitter, I can’t check out clothes I can’t afford (and don’t really need) on Netaporter, I can’t read blogs. It’s only when I’m down here that I realise what a distraction the internet truly is.

 I’ve only been here a day now and I’ve already written a 5,000 word short story for a teen collection called ‘And Then He Kissed Me’ which will be out in 2013. This evening I’m going to work on Amy Green 5; tomorrow I’ll do more Amy 5, plus talk to two local schools in the afternoon. Friday I’ll do more Amy and write a review of the new Maurice Sendak, Bumble-Ardy, hardly a chore! I ADORE Maurice Sendak.

 I’ve also walked, day dreamed, scribbled some notes for a new children’s series, danced around the living room to Madonna’s Like a Prayer, and Eye of the Tiger (I probably shouldn’t admit this but hey!). I haven’t brushed my hair or looked in a mirror once. And I LOVE it. I feel free. And my mind is full of ideas, all kinds of wonderful thoughts – some completely crazy, some not so crazy. At home my brain is so full of ‘stuff’ – a lot of it other people’s stuff – that it doesn’t have time to breath, let alone invent.

 For a writer, getting away from everyday life once in a while is vital. Being alone is important. Having time to think or just be is important. Our lives are so busy, it’s increasingly difficult to find the time to just sit and think. We always think we should be doing something, filling up our hours – reading, writing, watching telly, Facebooking, cooking, socialising . . . it’s endless.

 It’s taken me a long time to enjoy being alone. Now I positively relish it. It refreshes me. It wakes up my mind, fires my imagination.

 When was the last time you allowed yourself some time out? Even one free afternoon, or one free hour wandering around an art gallery, sitting on a park bench, or walking in the park is worth fighting for.

 If you can get away for a few days, even better. Maybe someone has a holiday house they don’t use much in the winter? Or maybe there’s a mid week hotel break you can take advantage of. They’ll survive without you for a few days back home, honest!

 You’ll be amazed at how much writing you can get done AND how much bad dancing. And you’ll feel all the better for both, believe me!

 Yours in writing,

 Sarah XXX

Why Writers Need a Bit of Passion in Their Lives

passion

Passion. It’s a great word, isn’t it? It conjures up images of Mills and Boon-type heroes with bare, oiled chests; flame haired women in Gone With the Wind ball dresses . . . or maybe that’s just me.

The paranormal romances riding high in the current books charts are all about swoon and passion. In fact, the latest Lauren Kate novel in her bestselling Fallen series is called just that, Passion.

I was at one of Lauren’s talks in Eason, O’Connell Street, Dublin recently and she certainly spoke with passion about her characters and her plots. She based one of the love interests on her own husband, she admitted with a shy smile. And she wants Ed Westwick (Gossip Girls) to play the character in the movie version. I hear you, Kate!

But today I’m talking about passion for your subject, for your writing, for your characters, not romantic passion. It’s so important to write with passion, every day. To approach the page with all the energy, and enthusiasm and sheer ferocity that you can muster. And believe me, I know it isn’t always easy, especially if you’re tired, or feeling a bit glandy, or are in a dark mood. I’ve been there, trust me! But here’s the thing, if you want to finish your book, you have to work through that.

And I can genuinely say that in nearly nine years of writing full time, I’ve never once sat down to write and not managed at least 500 words. Usually I aim to write 2,000 words a day; often I don’t achieve it, but that’s the goal. I have a little notebook beside my desk and I jot down my word count every day. It’s one way of keeping myself motivated. (It probably sounds very stressy and controlling– and yep, it certainly is, but whatever gets you through, right?!)

In Friday’s Irish Times there was an interesting piece on social networking, Facebook in particular. The journalist, Karlin Lillington interviewed Carol Rozwell, an expert in these matters and Carol said (about Facebook): “It ain’t about the brand. It’s passion about an issue or a topic.” She (Carol) gives Adidas and Nike as good examples of companies using social media tools such as Facebook. “People are not going there because the companies have introduced a new sneaker. They’re going there because of their own passion about fitness and running and so on. So, via social media, the companies are taking what was a transaction and turning it into a relationship.”

Again, it’s all about passion. That’s why I think writers love Facebook and Twitter so much, they love sharing their passions with other people. And they love hearing about other peoples’ passions too. Writers are big passion fans! And that’s how it should be.

What are YOU passionate about? If you want to be a published writer, you need to put writing top of that list. And you need to make sure it stays there!

Yours in writing,

Sarah XXX

Why Do Writers Teach Creative Writing? Is It For The Money?

There was an interesting conference today in Dublin all about writing classes/workshops which I've been following on Twitter. A question came up - why do writers teach creative writing? Is it for the money? Book sales? To find material. And it got me thinking. Why do I teach?

In fact I was teaching only last night - Writing for Children at the Irish Writer's Centre. We talked about what makes a good children's book - unforgettable characters, beautiful writing, a cracking plot, emotion, drama . . . ? We talked about memory and using our past to shape fictional characters. And above all, it was fun. I learned a lot and I hope the other writers did too!

And that's the main reason I teach: because it's fun. Writing is a lonely old business, and now and again it's very healthy to step out from behind the desk and meet 'real people'. I also teach because I believe in passing things on. I've been very lucky in my writing life, many, many people have been very kind and helpful to me. And if I can help someone else, even in a small way, I believe it's my duty to do so.

I've been involved in the book world as a writer and a bookseller for nearly twenty years now, and I like passing on what I know about the business to people who are interested. Plus I adore talking about books, and as most writers are also huge readers, the book chat in workshops is always fascinating.

To answer the question posed on Twitter (and above): I genuinely don't do it for the money. Depending on the organisation, I don't always charge for workshops or talks. I don't do it for book sales - I'm not sure 15 sales (the max number I like to take in a class) would make the slightest bit of difference overall. To find material? If this means being wowed by the amazing people in the class and their life stories, then yes, often they do inspire me. I love meeting new people and, like most writers, I'm always curious about what makes or made them who they are. But their writing doesn't give me material as such, no. Writers have to find their own obsessions to write about, and my passion for Hungarian ballet probably isn't your passion for example!

For me the answer really is: I teach because 1/ I have something to share with other writers, and 2/ it's fun. Teaching children can be the most fun of all, but that's a blog for another day. Young writers can teach us oldies so much about writing.

Yours in writing,

Sarah XXX

PS The best writing talk I've ever heard was given by Patrick Ness who told the audience to 'write with joy'. If he's in Dublin again soon, check him out! He's a remarkable speaker.

How to Drive Traffic to Your Website – Tips and Suggestions

WEBB, S 28.11.08 0074

So you have a shiny new website and you want as many people to visit it as possible. After all, what’s the point of putting time and energy into the whole online shebang otherwise?I’m a writer, not an internet expert, but luckily I have access to many people who are far smarter and more net savvy than I am, and I’ve picked their brains just for you. The one thing they have all agreed on is that having a fancy smancy looking website is all very well, but CONTENT IS KING. Content is what drives readers to your website in the first place and it’s what keeps them coming back time after time. And a WEEKLY BLOG is a great way of adding to that content, and updating your website on a regular basis. Luckily, I like blogging. I like telling people about books, writing, the publishing world. I have something to say. And that’s so important – having something to say. When I started my blog several years ago it was originally called ‘The Launch Lizard’. I covered book launches I attended in Dublin and all over. But there aren’t so many of them anymore, and I tend to put any launch photos or info up on Facebook these days instead. So I decided to make it a blog about what I do – about writing. From the feedback (and thanks to anyone who has sent in a comment or emailed me), it’s been useful to other writers, and I’ve enjoyed and continue to enjoy doing it which is also important. Blogs work best if you are passionate about subject and willing to share everything you know with an on-line community. My friend David Maybury has a great blog

here 

where he posts all kinds of articles, reviews and links – all related to children’s books. It’s well worth checking out. He puts in a lot of work and he has a lot of readers because of this. If you are a writer or an author/illustrator, maybe you could blog about your own work – how you write your books, your techniques, and how you got published, found your agent etc. I’m always jealous of illustrators as they can make your blogs really come alive with their art. But everyone can share photographs – pages from their writing notebooks, book cover art etc. The important thing is to make your blog interesting, relevant and useful. Yes, it takes time and effort, but if you want readers, that’s what it takes, hard work and lots of it! Also think about your target market. Who exactly are you writing for? A good blog should also say something about who you are too. That’s why I believe that writers are ideally suited to blogging. They have a writing voice and they aren’t afraid to use it. And finally, post your blog on Facebook and Twitter and encourage people to share it and retweet it. Good luck with your own blog!

In a nutshell: 1/ Content is King 2/ Try to blog at least once a week 3/ Find something interesting and useful to blog about 4/ The more work you put into your blog, the more regular readers you will have 5/ Share you blog posts on Facebook and Twitter

Yours in writing, Sarah XXX

So Your Book is On the Shelves, What Next?

off the phone cork and autumn 2011 236

So what happens after a book is published? I’ve had two books out this month – Ask Amy Green: Love and Other Drama-ramas (Amy 4 for short) and Sally Go Round the Stars: Rhymes from an Irish Childhood. I know a lot of people think that all kinds of exciting things happen on publication day like fireworks and lunches with champagne, and maybe they do, if you are JK Rowling! But nice things do happen if you have the right publishers. Walker Books sent me a Happy Publication Day card, signed by my editors and all the other people I work with. This is a lovely thing to do, very sweet!

The publishers of my adult novels, Pan Macmillan always send me flowers on publication day (although I’m not sure if they still do this in the ‘current climate’ as I don’t have a book out with them this year). Again, a thoughtful, kind thing to do.

Sometimes books have launches, sometimes not. This depends largely on the marketing budget for the particular book, and the publishing house’s policy on launches. I had a very glam dinner for the first Amy Green book, with booksellers, journalists and reviewers. For Amy 3, I had a launch in a bookshop. I also launched two other books at the same time (it was a busy year!), Emma the Penguin and The Loving Kind. It was a really fun night and all my friends and family came along to celebrate the ‘christening’ of the books with me.

This year, I didn’t have a launch for either Sally or Amy 4. O’Brien Press didn’t have time to organise one for Sally (sadly), and I didn’t have the energy to do it myself after a hectic few weeks of book festivals and back to school activity. And I decided not to have one for Amy 4 as I had a lot of events organised around publication day anyway. I’ll definitely have one for Amy 5 however, as a launch is a fantastic way of celebrating a book and giving it a good send off.

So if there’s no launch what happens to the book?

Basically it is put on the shelves of the local and national bookshops after the ‘publication date’. Often the books appear on the shelves before this date. It’s quite a stressful time. You wonder ‘Will anyone buy the book?’, ‘Will anyone review it?’, ‘If they do review it, will they like it?’ It’s only natural to worry about your book’s reception. I always try to tell myself that I’ve written the best book I can, I’ve promoted it to the best of my ability, and now it’s out of my hands. Whatever happens, I am doing a job I love, every day of my life, and that’s the important bit. And that’s it pretty much! Doesn’t sound too exciting, does it? But of course, then comes the marketing and publicity.

Marketing and publicity

About a week after the publication date, my publishers (being proactive and organised people) generally invite me to visit the bookshops and do an informal stock signing. This means calling into the shops, saying hi to the booksellers (fab, hardworking individuals – I used to be one so I’m biased of course!), and sign the stock they have on the shelves. It’s a chance to thank booksellers for stocking your book. And if the shop doesn’t have the book at all, it’s a heads up for them to order some before you arrive.

If you’re lucky, you might be invited to do some pr for the book. I have a wonderful publicity team both here and in the UK, and I often get asked to appear on shows like Elev8 (RTE), the TV3’s morning show. I also write blogs for my own and other peoples’ sites around publication time, like writing.ie, articles for newspapers and other bits and pieces. I also visit a lot of schools to talk about my new books (this only happens for the children’s books obviously). And after the launch (if there is one), the ‘will anyone buy it’ angst, the signings, the publicity, life goes pretty much back to normal and it’s on to the next book.

I do try to celebrate publication day in my own special way – I often buying myself a special gift, take a day off to visit an art gallery, or meet a friend for lunch – just to mark the occasion. But for me, the actual writing of the book is the part I love the most. A good writing day, when everything clicks into place and I’m happy with my work beats a publication day hands down.

Yours in writing,

Sarah XXX

What Every Writer Can Learn From Cathy, Darren and Derek

Sarah Gets Strangled by Darren Shan

The Mountains to Sea Book Festival has just finished - phew - and I'm back to my desk. I programmed the children's events this year and had such fun watching the authors in action and helping at their mammoth signings. Three authors in particular really impressed me. Cathy Cassidy, Darren Shan and Derek Landy. They have such huge respect for their readers and do everything they can to send every reader home with a big smile on her or his face.

My own nephew isn't a big reader but after Darren's inspiring event went home and started writing a zombie story. My sister was astonished. Darren read two extracts from his work - one so spooky it made everyone jump in their seats and scream. Then he talked about his life as a writer and took questions from the floor. And then - then! - he signed for 3 hours solid, greeting each young reader with warmth and interest, chatting away to their parents and grandparents. It was a joy to watch.

Cathy Cassidy was equally charming to her long line of fans. She posed for photos, gave out sweets and chocolate, chatted to the girls and asked them questions about Dublin and what they liked to read. She basically made them all feel really special.

The last event of the festival was a hilarious delve into Derek Landy's weird and wonderful mind. His fans are something - I spotted lots of Skulduggery T-shirts, several hand-made Skulduggery bags and even a pair of Skulduggery runners. Again, he signed with patience and a big grin, making all his young readers laugh with him.

If a reader arrived with a pile of books, they all signed each and every book. If a child arrived with a grubby piece of paper, that was signed too. Nothing was too much trouble.

It was utterly inspiring and reminded me exactly why I love the children's book world so much - the writers are just so darned decent and lovely. To a man or woman - the picture book gang, the Irish writers, the UK writers, the Americans (Meg Rosoff and Patrick Ness) - all exceptional people. I'm sure they have their grumpy days like we all do, but they give everything they have to their readers and for that I salute them.

I'm so grateful to them all for making our festival so successful and giving so many readers an experience they will never forget.

We can all learn a lot about how to treat our readers from Cathy, Darren and Derek!

Yours in writing,

Sarah XXX

Welcome to My New Website

WEBB, S 28.11.08 0086

This month is a busy one for me, with two new books out: Ask Amy Green: Love and Other Drama-ramas and Sally Go Round the Stars, a nursery rhyme collection. I'm also involved in the Dun Laoghaire Mountains to Sea Book Festival (I'm the Children's Programmer), which is hard work but a lot of fun. And I’m also launching this lovely new website. So in true book form, here are my acknowledgements:

Thanks are due to Lisa Haran who designed the site and put up with all my daft questions! She has the patience of a saint and is wonderfully talented to boot – a great combination for a website designer. If you’re interested in hiring Lisa (which I’d highly recommend) you can find her here. Because of Lisa, I can do that clever link thing!

I’d love some feedback on the new site, so do comment below or Facebook me on my new Sarah Webb page - see, did the clever link thing again. OK, I’ll stop slapping myself on the back now. But you have no idea how exciting these things are to a computer muppet like me.

Thanks are also due to the wonderful Sarah Conroy who also did lots of clever teckie things to get the site up and running.

And to Ben, for endless ‘Which looks better, the pink type or the bold?’ questions. He also has the patience of a saint.

So to the website itself. It’s a Wordpress site, which means I can sneak in behind the pages and change things to my heart’s content. So expect lots and lots of updates, photos, blog entries, author interviews and You Tube clips. The media box on the home page will be added to over time – another clever feature. It currently has a pic of me and my latest book and an Ask Amy Green video clip.

I’ll be continuing my Yours in Writing blog, telling you all about my writing life. So please do stay tuned. Next week I’ll write about what happens once your book hits the shelves, plus what every writer could learn from Darren Shan.

The next newsletter will go out in December, so do join the mailing list for that also on the home page. As always, thanks for reading and I do hope you enjoy the new site!

Yours in Writing, Sarah XXX

Pre-publication Nerves

amy4

Out Next Week!

I have two books out this month – Ask Amy Green: Love and Other Drama-ramas and Sally Go Round the Stars: Rhymes from an Irish Childhood – and as always I’m dreadfully nervous. Will readers like them? Will they pick them up in a bookshop? Will they buy them? Are the covers right? Did I find all the typos? This morning I woke up at 6am, my head already full of my To Do list: finish putting content on my new website (more on that in a second), write Amy 5, think about the short story I have to write for a Walker Books anthology called ‘And Then He Kissed Me’, write articles for the launch of both books, write this blog, and let’s not mention the tax return hanging over my head or the rewrite of Shoestring 2! I also programme the children’s section of a book festival, Mountains to Sea in Dun Laoghaire which starts in, gulp, a week.

My new website is almost ready to go live – on 6th September. Lisa, the designer has done an amazing job. It’s fresh looking and easy to navigate, it has a Facebook feed and all kinds of clever things like a media box (for video clips and photos). I’ve updated all the content and added lots of new content, like exclusive background details to all my books – how the titles were picked, where the idea came from etc. I’ve very proud of it and I can’t wait to share it with you all in September. I will of course be continuing my writing blog, and do please keep reading!

Writers at every stage of their careers are riddled with doubts and insecurities, especially around publication time. I’ve written eleven adult novels now (nine published, two out in the next two years), I’ve written four Amy Green novels, and lots of other children’s books, but I’m still horribly nervous about the reaction to each and every new book.

Seeing your new book on the shelf for the first time is terrifying, yet exhilarating. Not seeing it on the shelves when it’s supposed to be there is of course, far worse! I’m in the very lucky position of having publishers behind me who believe in my work and do all they can to edit, market and promote my books to the very best of their ability. And I try to do my part, writing articles for papers, magazines, blogs and websites, being interviewed by journalists on all kinds of things – yesterday it was on proposing to Ben, my partner, for the Irish Examiner – visiting the bookshops to say hi to the booksellers and to sign stock, doing school events, library events, festivals. Around publication time I generally set aside a full month to work on the publicity side of things. There is no point spending a whole year writing and rewriting a book and then just sitting back and letting it find its own way in the market, I like to get out there and do as much as I can to help it on its way.

I know some unpublished writers look forward to the bookshop visits, the interviews, talking to school children or reading their work to adults, but many don’t. After over fifteen years writing and publishing books, I guess I’m just used to it; but publication month never gets any easier – it’s exciting, joyful, stressful and exhausting. But you have to embrace all the publicity and the marketing for what it is – part of every writer’s job. And I’m very, very grateful that people actually want to read my articles, want to interview me, want me to visit their students. October is Children’s Book Festival month and I’ll be travelling around the country talking to young readers about writing and my books. But in November it’s back to my desk to finish Amy 5. And I’m already looking forward to it. Sometimes I think publication month is there to send us writers scurrying back to our desks with added dedication and vim, ready to type again until our fingers throb.

But in the meantime I’m going to take a deep breath, jump into September head first and embrace all the madness of publication month. And now I can cross ‘write blog’ off my To Do list!

Yours in writing,

Sarah XXX

Rewrites, Don't You Just Love Them?

I’m on day three now of the first rewrite of The Shoestring Proposal (adult novel for 2012 – working title), and it was all going along nicely until I hit a major plot hiccup and had to start all over again. I’m trying to focus on the overall structure of the story this time but it’s very tempting to tweak at the dialogue and the sentences too. I’ve gone over the first six chapters about five times now and it’s time to let go and move on to the next section of the book. I’ll come back to the first section again later and then start the whole process all over again!

But rewriting is an interesting process. To give you some idea of what I’m up to, below is a short section of a scene from near the opening of the book, with notes (in italics) as to why I’ve added or changed things. Read it if it interests you. I’ve given you both the original version and the new version.

But first - Other things I’m working on during the rewrite – some of these are minor, some are big:

Changing the name of a secondary character from Rebecca to Jessica – I had a Rachel and a Rebecca – mother and daughter, and I was getting confused as to who was who – so I’m sure a tired reader might confuse them also.

Making my main characters – Jules and Pandora – stand out more. Adding lots of detail – clothes, mannerisms, giving them each a very particular way of speaking. A lot of this was in the first draft, but it wasn’t consistent enough. It needs to be perfect.

Making sure I’ve got all the continuity correct – Pandora was 14 when her mum died, Jules, nine; birthdays; childhoods. Is this all consistent throughout the book?

Upping the drama – making the reader FEEL is vitally important in popular fiction. Have I made the most of each and every scene?

Fact checking – lots of fact checking. I need to talk to a medic for a start – luckily I have a friend who’s a surgeon who will be able to help me. All the facts need to be 100% accurate.

Adding a rabbit (don’t ask).

Making Pandora’s meltdown BIGGER.

Putting in two new scenes – taking out other scenes, ones I know are not working.

And that’s just for starters – once my agent and my editor get their hands on it, the work really begins! Fun, fun, fun. But all part of every writer’s life.

At the end of the day, the more work you put into a book, the more love and passion and enthusiasm your pour into the pages, the better it will be.

The Shoestring Proposal (First Draft) Old version: (Bits in talics are my notes)

I knew I’d get a mixed reaction when I first suggested the trip to Paris.

(I deleted this line as I want the Paris bit to come as a surprise to the reader.) I’m standing behind the till at Shoestring, the second hand designer shop I run, along with my sister, Jules, and Bird, our spritely eighty-four-year-old granny. It’s a quiet day and Jules has wandered over for a chat.

(all a bit bla – needed more of a sense of who Jules and Pandora actually are – and I haven’t actually given Pandora a name - I want the reader to know her name early on as she’s the narrator)

  ‘Have you thought any more about your birthday present?’ she says without preamble, leaning over and plonking her elbows down on the desk. ‘How about hand-made leather gloves? There’s little place in town that makes them to measure and you can choose the leather and the lining. I know you like practical presents and it’s something a bit different. I’m not giving you a voucher again, not for your thirtieth.’ It’s now or never, I decide. ‘I’d much prefer a weekend away, Jules,’ I say, trying to keep my voice light. ‘How about Paris?’ She twists around and stares at me. ‘Paris? Are you sure?’ She has every right to be surprised. I’d spent three months studying at the Paris Institute of Fashion and Design in Montmartre in my early twenties and I’d come home with a lot more than notebooks jammed with dress ideas, and conversational French.  

OK problem here – Paris is a big deal – Pandora left Paris in a hurry and has never been back – so wanting to go there for her 30th is a HUGE deal – which isn’t clear her – and also would stop the conversation – it wouldn’t just be – Paris . . . Jules in shock . . . then back to the previous conversation – wrong, wrong, wrong! I nod. ‘I’d prefer to be out of the country when I turn thirty. That way I can pretend it isn’t really happening. Thirty’s so ancient. I can feel the crow’s feet coming on already.’ My hands flutter to the outer edges of her eyes and I start rotating the skin gently under my finger tips.

New version: (Second draft - and still a long way to go yet!)

I’m sitting behind the till at Shoestring, the second hand designer clothes shop I run, peering at the computer screen when my sister, Jules wanders in the front door pushing her road bike in front of her with one hand. She’s only ten minutes late which isn’t bad for her.

My mind’s all over the place this morning; I’m supposed to be updating our website before the shop floor starts to get too busy – adding new stock and taking down anything we’ve sold - but I’m finding it desperately hard to concentrate, so I’m glad for the distraction. ‘Hey, Pandora, have you thought any more about your birthday present?’ she says without preamble, propping her bike against the desk, swinging her bag off her shoulder and dumping it the floor, and then leaning over and plonking her elbows down on the desk, making the bracelets on her wrist jangle down her arm. She’s wearing a very odd-looking outfit today – nothing new for Jules – red knitted leggings, yellow cut-off denim shorts and a purple bat-winged top.

‘I had an idea on the way over,’ she continues, oblivious to either my stares at her get up or the fact that she’s late for work. ‘How about hand-made leather gloves? There’s little place in town that makes them to measure and you can choose the leather and the lining. I know you like practical presents and it’s something a bit different. I’m not giving you a voucher again, not for your thirtieth.’ I’ve been mulling over how to work my birthday into a conversation for a good week and now that Jules has given me the opening, I may as well get it out there. Trying to sound as breezy as possible I say ‘I’d much prefer a weekend away than a present, Jules. A city break maybe. I’d like to be out of the country when I turn thirty. That way I can pretend it isn’t really happening. Thirty’s so bloody ancient. I can feel the crow’s feet coming on already.’ I start to rotate the skin at the corner of my eyes gently under my finger tips. ‘You have to massage your face several times a day, apparently,’ I add, trying to make my ageing-concern believable. ‘And do special exercises.’

It still isn’t perfect, but it’s a hell of a lot better than it was. Several more rewrites and I might actually be brave enough to show it to my agent. Maybe . . .

Right, back to work.

Yours in writing, Sarah XXX

Rewriting and Taking a Leap of Faith

I’m just back from holidays and about to start working on the first rewrite of The Shoestring Proposal (working title – sequel to The Shoestring Club which will be published in February 2012 - so for 2013, gulp!). After this rewrite it will go to my lovely agent, Peta for her notes. And once we are both happy with it, the rewritten draft will wing its way to my editor in Pan Macmillan. So step one: I’ve printed out the manuscript, made some early notes and this morning I’ll start reading through the pages and make even more notes. It's slow going, but it works for me.

I know it needs a lot of attention, I know one of the characters in particular isn’t quite right yet and I’m not sure about one of the story strands. I also need to do some fact checking. Rewriting is a vital part of the writing process and demands a clear head and a brave heart.

Yesterday I read JoJo Moyes’s blog (with thanks to Melissa Hill for the heads up on Twitter). This is what she said about rewriting one of her books:

So, four days ago I took the decision to cut 70,000 words out of my finished book, and rewrite them. Yup, I’ll say that again. Seventy thousand words. Or, to put it another way, a shortish novel. I didn’t do it lightly; even now, a few days on, it feels a bit like an amputation. The most I have ever cut at one time is around 5,000 words (a chapter). When I talked about it to friends this weekend I found myself saying the words with a slightly-too-giddy laugh “I’ve just deleted 70,000 words of my latest! I know! hahaha!” and using the kind of voice that suggests an imminent lurch towards a gin bottle. But I had handed the manuscript over to my agent in June, and a month’s distance – and a barely perceptible edge to her words which told me that while she loved it, she didn’t love it as much as the last two – meant that something had to give. In today’s unforgiving publishing landscape, you can’t afford to put out a book that you – or your agent – doesn’t believe is not just good, but the best darn thing you have ever written. And here is the galling thing. I think I knew. The book – The Girl You Left Behind – is a dual timeframe epic about love, betrayal and nazi-looted art. Half of it is set in German-occupied France in 1916 – a subject I thought I would struggle with. But no, that part of the book flew; it was the modern plot-line that refused to take off.

And from 20,000 words on, a little voice at the back of my head kept whispering that it wasn’t quite working. I tinkered. I rewrote. I told myself that it was a huge subject, a complex plot. I reassured myself that I had often felt ambivalent about finished work. As writer Debi Alper tweeted me afterwards: “It’s hard to draw the line between clever gut and inner critic.” By the time I handed it over, I knew I had done a good job. But that little voice was still there, muffled but insistent. And then I sat down and checked the proofs of my finished book, Me Before You, which will be published in January, and I made a horrible realisation. The Girl You Left Behind was just not as good. So here I am, 2000 words in to a 70000 word rewrite. I have no idea how I will get it done in time. I suspect a return to the 6am writing stints will follow (bleurgh). It will be stressful and, as a freelance, it will cost me money. The good news is this (and believe me, I need some good news): even 2000 words in, the new plot feels right. (I’m going to assume that’s my clever gut talking. And not an ulcer.) But it has taught me a valuable lesson. Firstly, that buying yourself a month away from your work in progress is a really useful thing. And, secondly, that if a little nagging voice is repeatedly telling you something is wrong, then, guess what? It probably is. And the sooner you can accept that, take a step back and re-work it, the less likely you are to be working out how to rewrite an entire novel during your summer holidays.

70,000 words! Brave, brave woman. But sometimes courage is what it takes; courage and conviction and, above all, the will to work hard and to stick with it until you get every scene, every word right. As I’ve said time and time again, writing is all about rewriting. It’s part of the craft of writing; it’s part of every writer’s life. And it’s also what separates the published from the unpublished.

So here I am – at stage one. I’ll let you know how I get on and what changes and decisions I make along the way as it may be useful to you. Documenting it will certainly be useful to me and help to keep me motivated. And as my head is still drowsy from my holidays, I need to focus. Focus, Sarah. Back to the book! (And there is the small matter of Amy Green 5 also – which I’ll be starting next week – ah yes, the joy of juggling!)

Yours in writing,

Sarah XXX