Happy Holidays from Notes from the Slushpile!

2016. 'It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. It was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness. It was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity' ... doesn't Charles Dickens describe this outgoing year to perfection? Rather than dwell on the worst, the foolish and the incredulous, we thought we'd celebrate the festive season by looking back on our personal highlights and reflecting on the inevitable lessons learned. May the holidays be a time of friendship, love and creativity for all our lovely readers. 

Tommy Donbavand: Learning From the Best

by Jo Wyton


A couple of weeks ago, I wrote an article for this blog about the usefulness of finding a good network as a writer. Not long after voyaging into the world of Actually Talking To Other People, I signed up for a writing retreat (which you can read an article on here). I don't really know what I was expecting, but I do know that I turned up on the first night a bit of a trembling mess, really. I recall a room full of people sitting on the floor listening to a talk on building a platform (I think. The nerves really were terrible. It might've been a talk on koala bears for all I would've noticed.)

Mostly the nerves were because I hadn't really met many published authors. I had met some at the end of teetering signing queues. And I think it's fair to say that some of those had ended with me nearly getting 'Never Meet Your Heroes' tattooed on my forehead, but quite frankly my forehead is big enough without calling further attention to it. 

This particular writing retreat had as its Writer in Residence a certain Tommy Donbavand. It was a great few days - cake, wine, writing - but my favourite moment was something unrelated to the main business of the retreat.

This is Tommy. See? Serious Business.

This might be a good time to point out that this article is a little different from those that normally appear on this blog, but it's part of something Big. Important. Put That Piece Of Cake You're About To Eat Down And Pay Attention Important. Because Tommy has cancer.
And he needs the support of fellow writers.

And he didn't turn out to be terrifying, after all. In fact, he's one of the nicest bloody people I have ever met.

My favourite moment of the retreat? Several drinks into Saturday night festivities, along with another published author, we retreated into one of the classrooms to... that's right - gather around Tommy's iPad to watch Doctor Who. That's right. Doctor Who. And it was an AWESOME episode.

But what was important was that Tommy invited me in. Made me feel like being a Published Author wasn't an exclusive club. Not an unreachable dream but a much-dreamed-of reality. 

He also, incidentally, introduced me to somebody - the other published author staring at the iPad, waiting for the internet to reconnect in time for the big reveal at the episode's end? He's now my other half.

Tommy shooting Tim Collins (said other half) with a balloon crossbow. Because cakes and wine can't keep you entertained forever.

So I have quite a bit to repay Tommy, you see. This blog isn't much of a way of doing that, I don't suppose, but I do genuinely think that meeting Tommy played a big part in my existence as a writer, and I'd only encourage others who haven't spoken to many published authors to seek them out. They were once dreamers, too, and they're really very nice (the occasional signing queue aside).

And if you feel like supporting Tommy, who's had to give up the school visits that sustain him financially, you can do one of three things:

1. Buy a copy of Doctor Who: Shroud of Sorrow (which is, naturally, brilliant fun for kids, with a few serious bits thrown in - reviewed here)

2. Enter one of the fabulous competitions being run. You can win TONNES of books. They will appear on some of the blogs, which are listed on the image at the bottom of this blog. The first one can be found here.

3. Visit his blog. Join his Patreon scheme, where you sign up to loads of 'how to write' content.

4.

(Yes, I know I said three, but it's a good one.)

4. Leave a comment on his blog. Offer some support on Twitter or Facebook. Or just raise a glass to his continuing brilliance and friendliness and to your own dreaming. Go on.

The Importance of a Good Network: Finding Fellow Writers

by Jo Wyton

Writing is a lonely business, or so the saying goes. But I haven't found that to be true. Writing requires time spent alone, for sure, but there is no requirement for it to be lonely.

And, thankfully, there are many ways to find connections in the world of writing and writers - you just have to look. Not that this fact occurred to me whilst I was writing my first manuscript. No. For many years I worked on that book. And it was terrible - I mean, really terrible. And it didn't particularly improve in that time. It simply changed. Over and over and over again.

Oh, the endless rewrites! Oh, the endless exhaustion!

Writer's Software: Is it any good?

Thanks giphy.com

A writer can scribe on anything - if you have an idea and you're  anything like me, you've probably scrawled stuff down on napkins, the  back of your hand and old bus tickets. None of these are very practical though - and you'd probably struggle to write a novel on them. I used to write mainly in Word, with a notebook by my side to make notes as I went.  Then I discovered writer's software. For the disorganised amongst us ( me) it's an absolute godsend.

Scrivener is my software of choice but I've drafted in a little help from Jo Wyton, to speak up for Word, and Philippa Francis for yWriter. If you're a fan of something  else, please let us know the pros and cons, and where you can get hold of it, in the comments!

 Philippa Francis on yWriter 

Price range:

Free download.

Platforms it works on:  Windows only.

Available support: Not sure how good the support is but there isn't much to go wrong - if you can answer this please add to the hive mind in the comments!

How do you use it: 

I use it from the beginning of a piece of work, and also during the editing process. It enables me to structure my work into scenes and chapters easily – with scope to move them around. The more I fill in the sections such as Goals, Locations and Scene Summaries, the more I understand my own story.

An old Kathryn Evans script on yWriter 5

Pros then?

The advantages are the price, the ease of manipulating scenes and chapters, and the different kinds of practical focus available; i.e. timescale or ratings which you can decide on yourself. All data is easy to read. The program can also read text aloud – in rather a robotic tone, I admit.

Cons?

The disadvantages are that it’s only suitable for PCs, it is definitely not pretty and the completed files are a little tricky to handle. When you export the finished story, you have to re-format it, and as yet, I don’t know how to move a completed work into a new project. You have to start each project from nothing as far as I can see (I am no PC expert!).

Still, I really find it practical - and would be happy to help with queries. 

Kathryn Evans on Scrivener

Price range:
You can download a free trial for 30 days and it only counts the days you actually use it.  To buy the full version is $40, forever.

 It's worth giving it the full time trial. I'd forgotten this until I looked up my blog from   four years ago

 The 30 day trial period is about right. It took me a while  to love this piece of software. I resented it in the way I used to resent tidying my room. Slowly, however, I learned to appreciate it.

So much so that I'm a complete convert.

 Platforms it works on:  Mac and Windows - there is a version in the pipeline for iPad but it's been a long time coming and no real sign yet.

Available support: Excellent - it might take a day but they respond to email and will always help - there's also some brilliant forums where you can quite often find answers to your questions.

How do you use it: 

I now write, and edit,  my whole novels in it. It's very easy to divide each chapter into scenes, add notes to the side, even pictures and character notes.  I'm lazy with it really - I coudl and should use it better - by giving my scenes titles, for example, I could more easily manage a structural edit - even so, it's clear to see and overview. Once I need to send it to my agent and/or editor, I compile the document and move it to word. I do all future edits in Word but this is mostly because they don't use Scrivener and it's easier to work with their tracked changes where they are.

My current WIP in Scrivener

Pros then?

I find it intuitive to use but if you don't,  the tutorials are easy to follow. Heaps of useful content and ways to use it. The word count / target word count box is invaluable. It's great for the more disorganised amongst us (me) and it looks nice too!

Cons?

There is a lot of potentially useful content that I don't access because I can't be bothered to work it out. Not really a con of Scrivener.

Jo Wyton on Word.

Price range:

It depends, but most people who own a computer already have the Office package I guess. If you work for a large company, it's worth checking whether they have an arrangement with Microsoft for a much cheaper version.

Platforms it works on:  Windows and Mac (for reference, I'm a Mac user)

Available support: Like with Scrivener, although probably to an even greater extent, there are forums galore for software support.

How do you use it: 

Fairly simply. I maintain a planning document and a separate file for each chapter. That way I'm not constantly drawn back to re-reading and revising previous chapters.

Full-screen mode in Word

Pros then?

I already know how to use it, so there's no time spent learning the how. It also makes it unbelievably easy to transfer files between computers to work on. For example, I have a desktop Mac as well as a notebook, and having things in Word just makes it so easy. I can also transfer to Windows computers for printing etc without worrying about having to reformat. I also love the 'full screen' mode, which is similar to Scrivener in that it block all else from your screen, has changeable backgrounds, etc.

Cons?

Some might find it overly simple for building a manuscript in. But for me, the simplicity is its main draw.



So there you go - I have to say I would REALLY miss Scrivener if I didnt' have it. I broke the target word count  last week and it drove me crazy not having it - it was like all the words I was writing didn't even count. Thank goodness for the support forums, once I'd fixed it I had a lovely ( 2000+ word) surprise.

Conclusion? If you've got an untidy brain , writer's software that can take you to a whole new level of organisation is really worth it. Do add your own experiences in the comments - it all adds to the hive mind!

Special thanks to Jo Wyton and  Philippa Francis, aka K M Lockwood

Kathryn Evans is a stalwart SCBWI member. She  tweets @mrsbung and hangs about on instagram kathrynevansauthor. She's got a book out too,: More of Me was published by Usborne in February 2016.

Confessions of a Part-Time Writer: Structure, Pacing, Plot and Everything Else, Actually

I typically open any given manuscript I’m working on knowing one thing: I haven’t got much time to work on it.

Writing exists around that other time-consuming thing in my life: a full time job. And I love my job, so that’s OK by me.

But is does mean that when I come to work on a manuscript, I feel under pressure to do something Great with it. 

I jump right in. Maybe I re-read the last few paragraphs I wrote, maybe I just get on with it. Maybe I pick up an existing scene, maybe I write a new one. Maybe it’s planned, maybe it’s not.

Whilst I have usually planned the plot out, I have always been someone more comfortable with winging it than properly planning it.

And that’s fine, except that I was reading Candy Gourlay’s post from a few weeks ago and felt the need to try to do things a little differently.

Why don’t I plan more? Is it because it doesn’t work for me, or because in the limited time I have I prioritise the writing itself? Or is it – gulp – because I’ve never taken the time to learn how? 

In an odd turn of events, I currently have the time, and it’s coincided wonderfully with having the inclination. Sitting next to me on my desk: Story by Robert McKee, Writing Children’s Fiction by Yvonne Coppard and Linda Newbery (from whom I have already been lucky enough to glean pearls of wisdom and kindness generously gifted on an Arvon course), On Writing by Stephen King and Reading Like a Writer by Francine Prose.

Just as importantly I have surrounded myself by my favourite books, and have gone through each wondering for the first time why exactly they stick in my mind as favourites. Michelle Magorian's Goodnight Mister Tom and Elizabeth Wein's Code Name Verity for the depth of friendship invoked, Margo Lanagan's Tender Morsels and Bernard Beckett's August for their wondrous use of language, Amy Butler Greenfield's Chantress for its use of setting to reflect the characters perfectly – the list goes on.

Reading these books again and trying to break them down goes against instinct, but as Sarah Waters wrote in a 2010 Guardian article, “Read like mad. But try to do it analytically – which can be hard, because the better and more compelling a novel is, the less conscious you will be of its devices. It’s worth trying to figure those devices out, however: they might come in useful in your own work.” 

Diving head-first into learning how to write better, rather than spending the time writing the manuscript itself, feels somewhat intimidating, but cometh the time, cometh the writer. Probably.

Hark! Season's Greetings from the Slushpile

Hang on, smile, keep your back straight and keep going into 2014! (left to right) Maureen Lynas, Addy Farmer, Teri Terry, Candy Gourlay and Jo Wyton

Joy, energy and hope (LOTS of hope!) this season, from all of us on the Slushpile!

These Are The Things That Make Us Anxious: Matt Haig and Writers' Neuroses

by Jo Wyton

For the past couple of months, Matt Haig has been blogging for The Book Trust. He's an honest guy, and a great writer, and many of his posts have struck a chord with me both as a writer and a reader.

A couple of weeks ago, he posted about the many (many many many) neuroses he has as a writer. I know A LOT of writers, and I can say that between us, we cover these particular neuroses. Several times over. I don't know many writers who aren't neurotic - but then, I don't know many people full stop who aren't neurotic in some way, and when you're doing something creative, and putting this huge chunk of your soul on show for people to judge, neuroses are pretty much inevitable.

Matt's neuroses are the inner buggings of a published author - these are the things we all have to look forward to. (Lucky us, eh?) For now though, whilst we're lingering on the slushpile, there are even more. Because, yes, we worry about what will happen once IT happens and we find our book on a bookshelf. But that's not enough to worry about, so we also develop a special set of neuroses to take us through the queries and rejections and dreams and knock-backs.

These are the Things That Make Us Anxious:

... and that's it from the Slushpile for 2012 (apart from our prize draw of course)

Concept, concept, concept – A publisher’s dream, a writer’s minefield

by Jo Wyton 

Over the weekend, I wrote and posted a piece on my own blog about High Concept books from a reader’s perspective.

But I’m not just a reader, I’m also a writer, so of course I spent the rest of the weekend tormented, sleepless and getting through an enormous amount of cake as a result. 

The Publishing Process as told by Nathan Bransford

Author Nathan Bransford put together something a little bit special and a lot funny this week. It's been doing the rounds on facebook amongst those of a writerly persuasion and is well worth a watch for anyone who hasn't seen it! (And a second, third and fourth watch, come to think of it.)

Seeing as even we on the Slushpile couldn't put it any better, here's the link:

http://blog.nathanbransford.com/2012/08/the-publishing-process-in-gif-form.html

Enjoy!

'Oh, my Daddy, my Daddy!' - Words that move in older fiction

by Addy Farmer

The blog that never ends. More choices of words that move from me and you... 

Behind the tired old words, Tog heard the harsh grate of fear and loved Allanza even more for his stupid bravery, even though the prat had got them into this mess. J.P. Buxton - I Am The Blade

I love this book and I love these words. Here, we arrive just at this point when our hero, Tog realises what lengths his friend will go to for him - even if the action is idiotic.What is bravery if not the act of doing something which scares you witless? And then when you do that something brave for a friend - well then, then it becomes so moving.

'Then Bella did something very kind' - Picture Book Words that Move

by Addy Farmer

Then Bella did something very kind.
'Would you swap this Teddy for my brother's dog then?' she asked.

Just look at Dave - heartbreaking. Shirley Hughes' illustrations perfectly match the tone of the text

What is it about this bit of Dogger by the genius Shirley Hughes that moves me so much? What is it that makes my voice wobble? First of all, there's Bella's kindness towards her brother, Dave (for me kindness is an under-rated quality).

Going back to your writing roots, with Celia Rees

I think it's fair to say that no list of top children's authors is complete without Celia Rees.

She is most widely known for her historical novels, including Witch Child, followed by Sorceress, Sovay and Pirates!, but her writing career began in contemporary teen thrillers. This year Celia has gone back to her roots with another contemporary thriller: This Is Not Forgiveness. Here Celia talks about writing This Is Not Forgiveness, and the process of going back to the future...

The question I’m asked most often is, ‘Where do you get your ideas from?’ And it’s a difficult one. Every book I write begins with an idea, but ideas can come from anywhere. All I can say for certain, is I know when one is there. You can’t dial up ideas and it doesn’t do to search too hard for them. Virginia Woolf once likened ideas to fish swimming in the great pool of the mind. Look too hard and nothing will break the surface. Turn too fast when you catch a glimpse of that great leaping fish, and it will disappear, leaving scarcely a ripple. You have to be subtle and you have to be quick.

Virginia Woolf

When I have an idea that could become a book, I feel a kind of thrilling excitement and I know to go with it. To dismiss that special feeling would be pure foolishness. To start on anything without it, would be like trying to breathe life into something that is already dead.

The idea for This Is Not Forgiveness came to me when I was watching Francois Truffaut’s film, Jules et Jim. What interested me was the triangular relationship between the two men, who are close friends, and this extraordinary girl, a real free spirit. They both fall in love with her, and I was thinking: You could update this. Make it now. I’d been writing historical novels. The book I was working on, The Fool’s Girl, was based on Shakespeare’s comedy, Twelfth Night. Shakespeare was one of the characters. So this new idea did not exactly fit my current profile but I knew that it would be my next novel and it would be contemporary.

Every Step You Take, Celia's first novel, and Fool's Girl, a historical novel - the style for which she is largely known

The story starting to tell itself in my head was happening now. That is when I got my second thrill of excitement. When I began writing, all those years ago in the early nineties, my first novel, Every Step You Take (now long out of print) was a contemporary thriller. I would be going back to my roots.

Could I still do it? Could I connect to modern teenagers? Could I mirror their world? Echo their voices? It was easy then. I was a teacher. My daughter was a teenager. But things had changed. I no longer teach. My daughter has grown up. Did that put me out of touch? Could I write something that would interest and engage teen readers, keep them turning the pages? It was a challenge but one I would have to take up. Once an idea is there, it is impossible to un-think. Once it is in my head, it has to be done.

I often have the first chapter a long time before I start writing, so I didn’t find that hard to do. I began to write in the voice of the main narrator, Jamie, who is seventeen. I was writing in the First Person, Present Tense. I’d written in the FP before, but not Present Tense. It took a bit of getting used to, but felt right for the book. My first idea was that the book would be written entirely from Jamie’s point of view.

Then came a piece of writer serendipity by the way of an Arvon Course with Patrick Ness. I was there as Patrick’s co-tutor, but the Arvon magic can work for us as well. We sat in on each other’s sessions and took part in the workshops. Anyone who knows Patrick’s work, knows that he is passionate about voice. He is also a daring and innovative writer. He made me think that I could write in other voices, too. So I made Jamie one of three narrators, joined by the other male character, Rob, his older brother who is a soldier, and the charismatic, enigmatic Caro.

Arvon + Patrick Ness = a golden equation even for the practised amongst us

Once I decided this, the book really came alive. I didn’t have any problem with the voices at all. It was almost like taking dictation. I wrote the book very quickly. Far faster than my historical fiction because I didn’t have to keep stopping. I enjoyed being able to write without the constraints of period life and language and writing in different voices was exhilarating.

The resulting novel is very different from that first book but I’m glad I decided to go back to my roots. The book is finished now and published. Did I succeed in meeting the challenge? Only time and the reader can tell.

Slushpile note: I was lucky enough to receive an early copy of This Is Not Forgiveness, and am happy to attest to its brilliance! It's a book that stays with you long after you've finished reading it. Jo

Surviving the Slushpile: Editing Your Manuscript... After Feedback

by Jo Wyton

Notes from the Slushpile attempts to make some sense out of the mad scramble for a publishing deal. As the newest slushpile guinea pig, I'm going to attempt to take you all with me... This is the third in new series Surviving the Slushpile, where we'll highlight some of the highs and lows of the slushpile journey.

Today, it's the turn of the feedback helter-skelter..

The editing process is one of the trickiest things to learn. I think it is, anyway. You have to figure out how to stand back, remove those rose-tinted glasses you didn’t realise you were wearing and see your novel for what it really is. It’s a skill, and experience teaches you what you need to know.

You get the knack of it, and all is good in the world until...

Until you start getting other people’s feedback. Oh lord above, what to do now? Tom says he likes chapter one but doesn’t think chapter two is necessary. Dick thinks chapter one is redundant and the story should start with chapter two. (Harry isn’t impressed with any of it. You casually buy him a beer and hope he'll change his mind.)

You sit, and you stew. Different versions of your novel clutter your brain. It feels more like trying to play Giant Jenga than writing.

In the end, you delete chapter one, and start with chapter two instead. Hmm. Dick was right; it is a punchier beginning. And look – the main character seems more real already. Unfortunately it does mean that you’ll have to slot that lost information from chapter one in somewhere else, but that shouldn’t take too long, right?

Two and a half months later, you’ve finished your new draft. Punchy opening? Check. Lost information placed elsewhere? Absolutely. You even remembered to fix that bit in chapter fourteen that relied on chapter one living long enough to see the light on the other side.

You put your beloved manuscript to one side and start writing your covering letter and synopsis.

Oh, FOR GOODNESS SAKES. Your synopsis isn’t working. This isn’t the novel you wanted to write at all. The novel needs chapter one. No, it won’t do. You’ll have to start again.

It only takes a few attempts to find the old version. Ah, hello again chapter one. Long time, no see. Now then – what was it Tom said? Ah, that’s right – chapter two isn’t necessary. Well, maybe he’s right. Your finger hovers over the delete button for a mere twenty minutes before you finally hit it. Chapter two vanishes. OK, so now you just have to drop the bit about the pig into chapter eight and the drop about the time Bruce spent breeding crickets into chapter four.

Taadaa! Done.

You put it to one side again, and get on with that synopsis.

Argh! It still doesn’t work. Why can’t you just get it right? And what exactly IS the book you wanted to write again?

There’s one last person who hasn’t read it yet. Maybe they’ll know what’s wrong with it...

And so you continue, until any idea you had of what book you were trying to write fled a long time ago. You’re left with a jigsaw-puzzle of forced-together ideas that you know nobody will ever enjoy reading. It doesn’t even feel like it’s yours anymore.

Maybe you should send it out anyway. Maybe someone will take pity on you and publish it. After all, you can always keep editing whilst you’re waiting for the rejections to come through.

That’s pretty much the process I went through with my first attempt at a novel. Constantly trying to take everyone’s suggestions and opinions on board. Some of the suggestions may have been exactly what the book needed, and some of them may have done more harm than good, but truth is I’ll never know! Because I used just about all of them.

I’m at the same stage right now with my current attempt. Different people suggesting different things. But it feels a little easier this time. This time I have a better idea of what I’m aiming for, and what I want the story to be about. Just for a change, before I launched into editing, I wrote a synopsis. It helped me see which suggestions allowed my idea to come through better, and which changed the idea itself. (Which coincidentally gave me an idea for a shiny new novel!)

It’s still a struggle, separating advice that will change the book from advice that will make it better, but I guess I’m the only one who knows what book I want to write, and what story I want to tell. Taking the bits of advice from Tom, Dick and Harry that I think make the book more like the one I was aiming for all along, and leaving the rest behind, sounds good to me. I love getting friends to read my writing, and love getting their feedback. Some of the feedback has done amazing things. But it's important to know what is right for you and your book. because it is, after all, Your Book.

A friend gave me a great piece of advice the other day. ‘If you had each version of your book in front of you, which one would you want your name on?’

Think I’ll have to remember that one for next time.

Surviving the Slushpile ...as a dyslexic

by Sally Poyton
Guest Blogger

Notes from the Slushpile attempts to make some sense out of the mad scramble for a publishing deal. As the newest slushpile guinea pig, I'm going to attempt to take you all with me... This is the second in new series Surviving the Slushpile, where we'll highlight some of the highs and lows of the slushpile journey.

Sally Poyton is knee-deep in the slushpile just like the rest of us - and you think you've got it hard!

I’m dyslexic, and just like Winnie-the-Pooh, my spelling wobbles, unfortunately sometimes with embarrassing results. This can be problematic, especially as I’m trying to write a novel. As if breaking in to the world of literature isn’t difficult enough with dropping book sales, slushpiles and all manner of other obstacles to avoid. How about adding this to your list: having to translate your manuscript from your own version of English, to one that other people can read.

So here are a few words about my daily battles with, well, words.

Case One: Napoleons Ice Cream

It’s an easy mistake to make, and I made it. As a kid, I read the top of the ice-cream pot as ‘Napoleons Ice Cream’ as opposed to ‘Neapolitan Ice Cream’. So, yes, I really thought it was named after the little French man with the big chip on his shoulder. I thought he couldn’t decide which flavour of ice cream was his favourite, and therefore got them all put together in one pot (dictators can do this can’t they?).

Advice : Don’t trust anyone! Because until recently, nobody corrected me…

Napoleon and his favourite ice-cream

Case Two: Fooling the spell checker

This must be the bane of any dyslexic writer’s life – spelling one word wrong, but inadvertently spelling another word correctly in its place. This is BAD! Spell checker doesn’t pick it up, and as it has no red squiggly line underneath it, neither do I.

If you thought Napoleons ice cream was bad, think again. Imagine working for an educational computer company, and selling, say, Brothel printers instead of Brother Printers. Thankfully, I had a boss with a sense of humour. That’s not my only work place mistake, but I’ll spare you the details of the castrated chips.

Advice: Ignore the advice in Case One. Always get someone you trust to proofread your work.

Case Three: Google is for life, not just for searching for websites

Spell checker, that’ll fix everything, right? Well let me tell you – this is a myth. Spell checker most of the time has no idea what word I’m trying to write. Usually I end up spending precious minutes retyping the word in as many different ways as I can think of to try and get it to recognise my intended word, and advise me of the correct spelling, but with no luck.

Should've gone to Google...!

In fact my spell checker seems to have developed an attitude recently. If it was actor, it would have stormed off to its trailer long ago. Yesterday, it point blank refused to check my spelling saying that there were too many mistakes in the manuscript.

Oh dear. Word rebels at last.

Advice: When Word spell checker fails, copy your misspelt word and paste it into the search bar in Google. This will then bring up websites featuring the word you meant, just like magic. How can this be possible? Information. Google saves and remembers all of the searches done worldwide. This includes all of the people who search for something but spelt it incorrectly. It also then remembers what sites they went to. So far has it has never got it wrong for me. It’s a great tool, and it’s also reassuring to know there are other people who are not only really bad at spelling, but spell the same way as you.

Case 4: The Unreadable Manuscript

After ten months of researching, plotting and writing, I completed my first ever manuscript. Feeling an enormous sense of achievement, I printed it off and asked a friend, who happens to be an editor of children’s books, to read it. After two weeks came an awkward conversation. It turned out that my draft novel was unreadable. Why? Well it was one paragraph with a mere 115000 word count. Plus the only grammar used was full stops and the occasional comma.

Advice: Don’t let this deter you. Grammar can be learnt. Writing is a craft, and grammar is one of the tools which you will learn on the journey. (Unlike spelling, which eludes me completely). Get some kids workbooks on grammar, and learn. It’ll take a while, but it can be done.

Alternatively, get help. If you’re serious about writing, budget in some money to get your work proofread, or copyedited, to pick up any errors that you miss. But most important of all: don’t give up.

Case 5: An Ode to Dyslexics Everywhere

Some of the all-time greatest author were dyslexic – Roald Dahl, A.A. Milne , William Butler Yeats and Hans Christian Anderson to name a few. Having dyslexia can be an obstacle, but it is also a gift. Being dyslexic, your head is wired differently, using more of the right side of the brain, the creative half.

At least there's one word you always know how to spell in Scrabble! It's worth 21 points, too.

This means that you think differently, which can be very useful for a writer. Being dyslexic you see and experience the world differently, and then process that information through the creative part of your brain, meaning one thing – ideas. What’s a story without ideas? A story with the absence of creative ideas would be a barren narrative.

So, yes, we may have trouble with words, but that can be fixed. What’s important is having the ideas, and being able to tell a story.

So if you’re dyslexic and you want to write, then write. It won’t be easy, but that not why we do it. There is one thing that unites all writers, dyslexic, and non-dyslexic: we all write because we love to write.

Sally Poyton has done everything from admin to hand-rearing parrots. She studied Art at university and produced works based on fairy tales. With a desire to write, Sally eventually overcame her fear that her dyslexia would prohibit her, and started writing. Now, many hours and manuscript re-writes later, she thinks of herself as a writer. An unpublished and un-agented writer, but still a writer! She enjoys all forms of narrative, from graphic novels to films, but her passion is fairy tales, and the darkness within them.

http://sallypoyton.blogspot.com/

Oxfordshire Book Awards - or 300: The Remake

by Jo Wyton

Last Thursday was the day of the Oxfordshire Book Awards, held at Abingdon School. I attended as part of a team of volunteers/well-bribed peoples (Sally Poyton and Gabby Aquilina) to help the brilliant Mostly Books independent bookshop sell books to the children / teachers / librarians in attendance.

The Oxfordshire Book Awards have been running for a few years now - the books are voted for by the students of local schools - both primary and secondary - in three categories:

Primary picture book

Primary book

Secondary book

Check it out - a cake of Axel Sheffler's winning book, Zog!

The day started off well - I arrived in time for lunch, which is always good, then helped load the books into a car to go to the school. I won't try to estimate how many boxes of how many books we carried, but I can tell you that my spine changed trajectory between starting and finishing. We also had a fun game of Dodge the Car Whilst Not Dropping Box or Being Able to See Your Feet.

Whilst the ceremony was going on in the Amey Theatre, we set about constructing our makeshift bookshop. Cue lifting of tables that realistically women of 5 foot 2 shouldn't have been lifting and then the shuffling of those tables into something resembling practical. It turns out that this is an effective way to realign your spine after all that box carrying.

There were several authors in attendance, including two of the winners - Malorie Blackman (Boys Don't Cry - secondary book, which incidentally I've just read and it's flipping brilliant) and Axel Scheffler (Zog, with Julia Donaldson - primary picture book). Sally Nicholls, Jo Cotterill and S.L. Powell were also there. (Michael Morpurgo was the other winner for his book Shadow, but was unfortunately unable to attend, although he was there last year.) All were doing book signings after the ceremony.

So, picture this, if you will...

A school canteen. (Still smelling suspiciously like canteens did in the 1980s. You know - bleach and custard.) Four long (and heavy) tables lined up, and covered with cloths (because nobody likes a dirty book) (jokes on a postcard). Three tables set at jaunty angles for author signings. Books set out on various stands, in order of target age range, separate stands for the winners and authors in attendance, series fiction in order (harder than you'd think).

Finished.

Peace and quiet reigns. Just calm old us and the books.

Wait a minute... Oh my God, they're all heading straight for us! Man your stations!

300 children, all with pocket money stashed away in folded-up envelopes and stuffed in their pockets. All wanting the same books. Mayhem! Soon there were pound coins flying everywhere, kids whose pocket money fell fifty pence short of the book they really wanted, a plastic bag shortage and a penny piece catastrophe.

And SO much fun.

It's so great as a (wannabe) writer to see 300 children running at you, looking for nothing more than the latest, bestest book. How on earth those lovely authors coped with sitting there with mere canteen tables standing between them and so many excited kids, I will never know, but they all looked incredibly relaxed and calm!

Malorie Blackman hard at work!

Axel Scheffler equally hard at work!

The calm after the (signing) storm.

I love getting involved in stuff like this - it's great for reaffirming your belief in kids' love of books (if you're not left hiding under the tables first). There will be more on volunteering at events like this on Notes from the Slushpile in a couple of weeks, from Mostly Books' Nicki Thornton, but until then I'll just say that it's a great thing to do for anyone, but especially if you're trying to become a writer.

Marketing for (Almost) Authors

By Jo Wyton

How much marketing is an author expected to do? How much does marketing cost? How do you go about marketing your book? What the hell is marketing?

All questions posed by Nick Cross at the recent SCBWI retreat.

He was faced with a standing-room-only room of writers: some aspiring, some nearly there, and others already there and figuring out answers to the above questions right now. Tough gig. Fab job.

Before I arrived, I got busy trying to summon all of my marketing knowledge. I quickly came to the conclusion that I didn’t really have very much. Oh, I had no idea…

You can find detailed answers to the above questions over at Nick Cross’ WhoAteMyBrain blog, but for now I thought I’d focus on what I got from it all as your average Slushpiler.

It all started so well ....

Conference organizer Sue picks a cozy spot

It all started so well...

The first question posed was all about what marketing means for a published author – nothing to worry about for the average Slushpile Resident – everything pretty much as you’d expect. National ad campaigns vs reader targeted campaigns – usually the latter for children’s books, unless you happen to be J. K. Rowling.

Nick tries to define Marketing. Tougher than you think.

The second question – how much marketing is an author expected to do for themselves? Here’s where it got interesting. (Or horrifying, depending on your point of view.)

It seems to me that you can do as much or as little as you like. Preferably the former, if you want to turn your novel into a career.

And yet somehow I think we’d all like to believe that once you’re on the bookshelves, either a) your book will sell itself (if only), or b) your agent/editor will don their superman capes and sort it all out for you (you never know. No, really).

Sadly, no. More and more it’s being left to the author to publicise themselves and their book. Sometimes they’ll have the help and money of their publisher behind them, other times it’s a more independent route. When I first thought about that, I found myself thinking, ‘Who better to publicise you and your book, than you?’

Easy to say, huh?

But if ever faced with the reality of driving my own marketing, I’m pretty sure my reaction wouldn’t be, “Sure, that seems like the sensible option.”

It would be more like, “ARGH! HELP! Please God, somebody tell me what to do!” yelled at the top of my voice just prior to my head exploding. Well, if I ever find myself shouting those words to the empty vastness above, I at least know that being surrounded by the most supportive group of people on the planet in the shape of the SCBWI will get me through.

Coming back to the original question though – how much marketing is an author expected to do? The answer, from those in the room, is ‘a significant amount’.

Do as much as you can – it doesn’t have to cost a fortune.

Marketing on a shoestring! Cunning, Nick Cross. Very cunning.

It’s up to you to generate your platform and expand on it. No harm in building that platform before you’ve had your manuscript plucked from the Slushpile either. Get building a network now – it’ll come in handy later.

Then came the next, truly alarming thing – the list of possible marketing techniques you should consider.

We’re talking websites, facebook, twitter, YouTube, trailers, t-shirts, bookmarks, banners, business cards, school visits, mugs, mugshots, posters, festivals, workshops, ads in the yellow pages. OK, I might have made that last one up.

The list went on, the published folk in the audience continuing to offer up titbits of wisdom freely and without a thought for my slowly dropping jaw.

Let’s start at the very beginning – the internet. (A very good place to start, apparently.) The advice from the room? Keep it professional.

You’ll probably need a Facebook page designed to represent you as an author – same goes for twitter. Your readers (i.e. kids) may be looking at this, so make sure you’re comfortable with the material you’re putting out there.

You’ll also need a website – the first place most people will go. It needs to represent you as an author, but it also needs to show off your book. Especially when you’re writing for kids – anything interactive is great, as is anything that keys into the tone and themes of your book.

It doesn’t have to be expensive – as with everything else, find some friends to help you.

Here are the websites for Candy’s Tall Story, Tommy Donbavand’s Scream Street and the author site of Sara Grant (Dark Parties).  if you want to take a look.

Then there are trailers. As trailers go, those for books are quite unusual, because generally speaking the only people who are going to see them are those who already know they exist and are deliberately searching for them.

Tommy Donbavand's Scream Street book trailer

Unless they screen yours at the local cinema ten minutes before The Hobbit starts. You never know. The limited audience reach of a book trailer raises questions over whether it’s necessary.

Candy Gourlay's book trailer for Tall Story

Then again, as somebody on the night pointed out, a trailer does at the very least guarantee you a spot on YouTube – and considering that a lot of kids avoid search engines and go straight for searching directly through YouTube itself, it seems like it’d be useful for something to pop up.

Trailers are also a good tool to have to hand for school visits. Lots of trailers are home-made, too, so again, no need to worry about cost.

The only cost here seems to be time and effort, and it’s up to you how much of both you want to put in.

Sara Grant's German book trailer

In terms of bookmarks, banners, posters etc – from what I can tell, the appropriateness of that sort of thing is going to depend on your book. And target age-range It seems an effective way of getting your name out there though –something good to hand out when you score that spot at the local literary festival.

Candy with the Human Topiary at the recent Pop Up Festival. Photo: Bridget Marzo

Last but not least (which I say because I’m sure there’s lots I’ve missed out here) come the festivals and school visits themselves. This is probably the most intimidating idea around marketing for most writers – at least, I find it pretty scary to think about.

Again, everything depends on the age range you’re writing for. If you’re lucky enough to be writing for an age group where visits to primary schools are a possibility, then look no further.

The brilliant Tommy Donbavand retreated with us to Surrey, and he brought his Amazing Box of Wonders.

Tommy reveals the contents of his box of wonders.

Werewolf's Claw

Mummy's heart

Zombie's tongue.

Now, Tommy’s a guy who can transform a room of 30 grown-ups into a bunch of giggling five year olds in thirty seconds flat. If you’re ever wondering what authors do on school visits, check out Tommy’s pdf guide for schools wanting to know what he does here, or even better, look out for any festival appearances.

Tommy used to be a clown. Really truly. So his school visits involve balloon shapes and gags - including this William Tell re-enactment (assisted by award-winning Wimpy Vampire author Tim Collins)

At the retreat, Tommy showed us (because we’re writers and telling is so last season) what he does.

Cue vampire hissing (camp as you like), werewolf growling (no better) and toilet paper shenanigans (I’m sure you’ve seen the pictures by now).

Maureen Oakley (who writes Puddle the Naughtiest Puppy series for Ladybird) gets toilet papered as part of Tommy's school visit demo. Photo: Wendy Jones

It was all about bringing the book to life – showing kids how much fun books can be, and how much fun getting involved is.

Tommy winning children to reading. Photo: Mostly Books blog

The brill Addy Farmer blogged about this exact topic the other week too, having spoken to Linda Newberry, Penny Dolan, Katherine Langrish and Jane Clarke about their experiences of school visits.

And of course, with Skype and so on, school visits don’t even have to be face to face anymore. Embracing the international market is becoming more and more accessible from the comfort of your armchair (do try to change out of your jimjams first though).

Of course by the end of this session, I wasn’t thinking about ‘embracing the international market’. No – by that point, my jaw was firmly on the floor, my glass of wine virtually untouched and hidden away under my chair lest my dropping jaw knock it over.

All I could think was: how on earth do people find the time? Let alone the willpower and enthusiasm. So much to do – and how on earth do you even go about building a platform, let alone expanding on it?

Then again, we’re writers, aren’t we? Futile enthusiasm is what it’s all about. Until, one day, you find yourself calling on a few friends, developing your website, drawing up some posters and visiting your first school.

Can’t wait!

With photos by Teri Terry and Candy Gourlay