That'll be the Debut!

By Candy Gourlay


Featuring David Cousins, Katie Dale and Bryony Pearce

On Notes from the Slushpile, we chronicle the slings and arrows of trying to make a dream come true so we get embarrassingly excited about debut authors. This is the first of our new series That’ll Be The Debut, where we meet debut authors and get the lowdown on what life is like beyond the Slushpile. Our first three featured authors are all winners of the landmark Undiscovered Voices Anthology competition and also blog on The Edge, a blog set up by authors of edgy young fiction.

Bryony Pearce

Bryony Pearce won the UV in 2008 but rode the rejection roller coaster for two years – as well as struggling with dodgy hips, life and birth (of Riley, now two – she was taking down revision notes from her editor while in labour) - before she won a contract with Egmont for Angel’s Fury last year. It’s out on the 4th of July 2011 (yay!).  Photo: Charlotte Palazo

Dave Cousins

I’ve read Dave Cousins’ imminent teen novel 15 Days Without a Head, snapped up by Oxford University Press after he won the UV 2010 and I can tell you this is a title to watch in 2012. It’s heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time with the most loveable and memorable characters, Slumdog Millionaire in an English tower block. It’s out in 2012. Photo: Christian Colussi

Katie Dale

Katie Dale was the only absentee at the reception for UV 2008 winners because she was seeing the world. She was a bit nervous that the time lag might have lost her opportunities but she is now making up for it with a vengeance – check out ‘Katie Dale’ on Amazon and half a dozen books pop up! Someone Else’s Life, published by Simon and Schuster, is out in 14 February 2012. Photo: Faye Thomas

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Candy Gourlay So guys, how does it feel to have your dream come true?

Bryony Pearce It is amazing, I keep having to pinch myself and sometimes I can't believe how lucky I am - I've got everything I ever wanted (two amazing kids, a boy and a girl and my book is coming out in a couple of weeks).

I found out very quickly that this is just the beginning. Dave Cousins

Dave Cousins I feel very fortunate to be in the position of having a book coming out, but it took a lot of hard work to get here!

Katie Dale It feels utterly amazing. Like Bryony and Dave, I keep having to pinch myself, especially now it's coming to the stage of seeing the book cover and it's actually materializing - my work is actually going to be a real live book! I can't wait for that moment where I hold it in my hands for the first time! It's a little how I imagine motherhood to be - I can't wait to see my dream come true!

Bryony But like with everything, there's always scope creep. All I ever wanted was to get a publishing contract, but now I've got one I want readers to like my book, I want to see it in book shops, I want it to sell well and of course I'm worrying about whether or not I'll sell the next book. I guess there's always a new version of the dream ...

Cassie has suffered from nightmares her whole life,
after a terrifying school trip to Germany, she discovers that
she has lived before and that all of her past lives are
being manipulated by a fallen angel who is bent
on destroying mankind ...

Dave I'm the same. I have a tendency to worry about what happens next – if anyone will buy the book, if kids will like it. I have to keep reminding myself that this is a dream come true and I should enjoy each moment.

Candy It's funny how one goes from thinking that getting published was an end ... then realizing it's just the beginning!

Dave I found out very quickly that this is just the beginning. I hadn't really thought about all the other things that would come with being published (or even in the lead up to it)

With publication still half a year away, Dave's book
hasn't got a cover yet so here's something he made earlier.

Bryony Glad someone feels the same way I do, Dave, sometimes I feel like a really ungrateful cow when I start worrying about potential reviews, or sales figures. I have to keep reminding myself how badly I just wanted to get published and nothing else.

Katie Yes, with that thrilling excitement come the nightmares, the incredible nerves and fears - what if no-one likes it? What if no-one buys it? What if my agent and publishers realise they've made a huge mistake? And, as I've been lucky enough to get a 2-book deal, with a deadline set in stone, what'll I write for that...? And can I write a whole book by my deadline...?!!

17-year-old Rosie thinks she has a 50 per-cent chance
of inheriting the disease that killed her mum
but then discovers she was swapped at birth. In her
quest to find her real mother, she uncovers
deeply buried family secrets

Candy So let’s hear some war stories. What has your journey to publication been like?

Bryony Suffice it to say there were a lot of rejections on the way and I worked damn hard (setting my alarm for 5am so I could write while the baby was asleep, doing edits while Riley was newborn and so on). But I think there are different definitions of hard - if I didn't love writing, I wouldn't do it. Who would? So I can't say I've really suffered because I've loved writing my books.

Riley and Maisie

Dave Yes, I did the 5am shift for a while too, trying to get a couple of hours in before going to work. I also wrote in my lunch breaks in the local library. I now work the graveyard shift as the dawn thing wasn't working for me. Like Bryony says, 'hard' is a relative term and I do love writing – but at times it does feel like work and it takes all my effort to climb into the loft at 10pm having already done a full days work, to then put in a few more hours on the book, especially when I know the rest of the family are downstairs, hanging out together.

Katie Wow, I really admire your dedication, Dave and Bryony. My brain doesn't even function at 5am, but I've pulled the odd all-nighter when I've been really into it - or had a looming deadline! I'm lucky enough that acting sort of meshes quite nicely with writing - there's a lot of sitting around on jobs, and then there's also a lot of time "resting"!

Dave I've had to give up things to write which is fine, I'm happy to do it. It's been easy to give up TV, even reading or listening to music as much as I'd like. But time with family and friends, even weekends away have all been sacrificed to hit writing deadlines.

All I ever wanted was a publishing contract ... I guess there's always a new version of the dream. Bryony Pearce

Bryony The worst part for me, the part that really did cause suffering (for me and for everyone I come into contact with) was the waiting part - waiting to hear about a manuscript, a deal an edit - and everyone, published and unpublished will I'm sure, identify with that one.

Candy Oh my god, waiting was a killer! I do think though that endless waiting seems to be in the very fiber of this industry. You wait to get noticed as an unpublished writer. Then you wait for your book’s publication. Then you wait until you can get up the inspiration to write the first words of your next book.

Katie My journey to publication has been quite a varied one! You can read the long version here. The short version is that after pursuing both an acting and writing career, and travelling a lot, my quest for publication become a whole lot easier after the fabulous competition launched for Undiscovered Voices. After the first chapter of Someone Else's Life (Then entitled Someone Else's Footprints) was chosen as one of the competition winners, it made a wonderful change to have editors and agents contacting ME! (The only problem was the book was only half-written, and I was on the other side of the world in Vietnam when they wanted to meet me - doh!)

Katie was busy doing THIS when she should have been hawking her novel

Dave I'm my own worst critic and didn't send anything out for years. My wife persuaded me to send an early draft of 15 Days without a Head to Undiscovered Voices. Through that I got my agent and interest from a number of editors and the rest as they say – is history!

Bryony We're all Undiscovered Voices winners, so I think that says a lot about how great that competition is!

Dave Ha! Yes, indeed. Having editors and agents and booksellers as judges in the current UV is a brilliant idea – as these are the people your book is going to have to excite. To be chosen is a huge confidence boost!

Bryony And you get to meet lots of lovely people :)

Katie Suddenly, after piles of rejection letters, I had FOUR offers from agents, and now the book whose first chapter appears in UV is due for publication next Spring!

Dave's attic desk top. He is known for his tidiness

Dave I'm currently writing my next book too Katie and it does feel different knowing that somebody wants it! Which of course is fantastic but it does bring its own pressure. It took me a while to get into the flow. In the end I made a conscious decision to go back to my old writing habits and now I'm really enjoying it and not thinking with every other word that this is going to end up in print!

Katie I agree, Book 2 is a whole new ball game! You have to "sell" a story to your editors before it's even written, through a synopsis alone, which is a whole new challenge, as it's very difficult to convey character, and impossible to express a "voice" in a synopsis, plus, it's made me plan out everything that will happen in the book before I even start writing. It's a wonderful feeling to have a publication date already set (always nice to have a little job security in the Arts!) but it's also incredibly terrifying!

Dave Do you find having the plan has helped or hindered the actual writing, Katie?

Katie I'll have to get back to you on that Dave, as I'm only at the early stages of Book 2. It's a new way of working for me, and I'm hoping that (especially as I've got a deadline) it'll help me write more quickly, but characters often have a mind of their own so I'm not sure how well they'll stick to the guidelines!

When we're worrying about what agents and editors and bookshops will think, we must remember that it's really all about the reader. Katie Dale

Bryony You guys are so lucky that you have second books in the bag, as it were. I'm in the opposite position; I got a one-book deal, but have since written two more novels. My current fear is that I'll be a one-book wonder - I'm facing the pressure of selling my new books rather than writing them!

Dave I can understand how you feel Bryony, but for now try to enjoy being a debut novel wonder! Then you can move on to being a two-book wonder, which will naturally be followed by your third book triumph … Make the most of each stage and don't worry.

Bryony That's what we need to keep reminding ourselves - make the most of each stage. My husband keeps saying ‘all you wanted was to see a copy of your book in a shop’ and that happened on the 20th when early copies were sold in Pritchards, Formby!

Bryony, Nick, Riley and Maisie

The best thing happened recently too - I got a letter from a teen reader who had been given an advance copy of Angel's Fury by a local independent bookshop. She really enjoyed the book and the fact that she'd taken the time to write a real letter is just overwhelming to me. I'm dreading the bad reviews (one of the dangers of putting ourselves so far 'out there' I guess) but getting something like that from someone is just so special. I don't think there are many jobs where you get real letters saying what a great job you've done. Her letter is now on my website

Dave That's fantastic. Getting a response like that from a reader is what it's all about.

Katie Absolutely. When we're worrying about what agents and editors and bookshops will think of our book, we must remember that it's really all about the reader, the teens who pick up our books, and what that experience will mean to them. They're the ones who really count.
Thanks for the chat, guys!

Bryony It's so nice knowing other people are as crazy as I am!

Dave It's the sane ones you have to watch out for!

Candy I’m glad that your experiences have been more mad than sad and yes, I so agree – we must celebrate every high because this business is a rollercoaster. Do it for the money, do it for the fame, but ultimately, don’t forget that you do it for the joy. Thank you to our soon-to-be-published authors – I hope our readers will all rush out and buy your books as soon as they’re in the shops.

Read the rest of our That'll be the Debut series:

• Part One - Dave Cousins (15 Days Without a Head), Katie Dale (Someone Else's Life) and Bryony Pearce (Angel's Fury)
• Part Two - Janet Foxley (Muncle Trogg), Caroline Green(Dark Ride) and Helen Peters (The Secret Henhouse Theatre)
• Part Three - Angela Cerrito (End of the Line), Sara Grant (Dark Parties) and Paula Rawsthorne (The Truth About Celia Frost)
• Part Four - Juliet Clare Bell (Don't Panic Annika), Julie Fulton (Mrs MacCready Was Ever So Greedy) and Linda Ravin Lodding (The Busy Life of Ernestine Buckmeister)

Candy Gourlay's debut novel Tall Story was published in June last year. Her second novel Shine will be published by David Fickling Books in March 2012.

School Visits: It's Not all Wizards and Cake

by Addy Farmer


You know how it is. The Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry rings you up (again) and says please can you come and do your spellbinding session on muggle stories.

They'll pay a hefty 1000 galleons, a complimentary set of Gryffindor robes and as many packets of Hob Nobs as a house elf can carry.


No?

Well, maybe you arrive un-noticed at a school and find that you're doing a free workshop on the fun of physics for 453 children while the staff drink strong liquor and plan a train robbery.

Not exactly?

So what is the Truth about school visits? I asked a few uber authors for their views.

Now, these writers - Linda Newbery, Penny Dolan, Katherine Langrish, Jane Clarke - LIKE school visits. They recognise the importance of them.

Jane Clarke writes Dinosaur Cove and Puddle the Naughtiest Puppy.
Photo: Dennis Oberg

Jane puts it succinctly:

On paper, school vists account for around15% of my income as a writer - but in real terms this is likely to be more as school visits keep me in touch with my target market and promote sales of my books. They're great fun, too!

But anyone with an inner Trunchbull may find them ... a challenge.

Linda Newbery says:

Not everyone likes school visits, and it's a bit odd, really, that someone who's written a novel should be expected to stand up in front of year 9 for an hour and keep them interested.

Linda Newbery, award-winning author of LOB

Do it 'cos you get paid, you get out of the house and you love it. As Katherine says:

I get such a kick out of it, every time. I love doing it. I love telling stories.

But let's first hear what Linda has to say about having cake and not eating it ...

(No Cake sticker from Red Bubble)

I've been doing school visits for about twenty years, and have had a huge range of experiences: bad, funny and wonderful. Visits can vary tremendously, depending on the enthusiasm of the librarian or teacher in charge.

Most visiting authors have a fund of anecdotes about being ignored and belittled. My favourite (many years ago, but I'll never forget it) is the time I was sitting in a primary staff-room at break-time, apparently invisible - no one spoke to me, asked what I was doing, or offered me coffee.

It was someone's birthday, and three home-made cakes had been brought in. These cakes were cut up and passed round on plates, someone actually reaching across me to the person on my other side. It wasn't that I wanted cake ... but I did get up to make myself a coffee (still ignored).

Shame on them! But Linda goes on to say that:

But I mustn't get side-tracked from the wonderful visits ... Really enthusiastic staff ... eager children ... great preparation ... loads of questions - the sort of visit that makes me appreciate the privilege of working with children. Book sales were good, too, though that is a bonus and not something I necessarily expect on a visit.

Katherine Langrish. Photo: Helen Giles

Katherine Langrish of Troll Fell fame, gives her take on school visits:

I usually talk to Years 6, 7, and occasionally 8: but from Year 7 on, kids tend to be less well-organised: their parents and teachers are beginning to try and get them to organise themselves, so the all-important letter home ('Visiting Author; bring money for books!') often gets left in the bottom of the bag.

Plus, peer pressure and coolness points make it less likely that they'll arrive at my sessions /expecting/ to want to buy books. So I may not sell all that many.

But by the end of my sessions the kids usually wish they'd brought their money. My priority for a school visit is that it has to be fun.

I'm not there to teach them, I'm there to entertain them. If they don't have fun, why on earth would they want to read my books anyway? I write historical fantasy based on folklore and legends - rural and urban myths which have been passed down the centuries because people enjoy them!

So that's what I do - tell stories, throw some riddles and a bit of drama, do anything to get them interested in the stories shut up between the front and back covers of not only MY books, but any books.

Penny Dolan

Penny Dolan says it's important to find your own school visit way of doing things

Why do I do school visits? I meet children as they are now and not as I remember them from my earlier teaching life or my own childhood, which is useful when I'm working on a story.

I also love interesting the children in reading and in books, both mine and in general.

I try to show them that writing is a kind of making, an art form not a worksheet exercise.

My sessions are fairly fluid. Although I might use some of the same books, I will talk about the material differently for each age group. Over a long session, it’s important to vary the pace. My pattern might include telling stories, using the occasional prop, making up story with the children and being a bit funny at times, because that ‘s what suits my style. When I’m doing writing workshops, I use a much more serious approach.

I feel it’s important to become confident in your own type of "visitor" personality. It can be off-putting to hear that so and so is a really great performer, or comes with bells and whistles.

Go and see authors in action if you can, but learn to work to your own strengths. A quieter, reflective style can have long-term impact too!

And please forget fame and recognition! Schools are busy places. I don't even expect the children to know my name when I arrive. However, by the time I go, I hope they’ll remember it."

Let's not forget that we love to write. As Penny says:

The money has often been essential, but school visiting absorbs writing time. physical and creative energy. One can complete a busy “out there” year only to discover no books in the pipeline. It’s important to get the right balance in your life.

And A final word from Cliff McNish :

The secret is keeping them down to one or two a month, then they're fine.

Cliff winning the Salford Book Award in 2007 with Breathe

No, Cliff, I'm not jealous, not jealous at all. Write long and prosper.

How to Take a Critique on the Chin

By Maureen Lynas

There are two types of critiques, the face to face, the report that lands on the doormat...

There are three types of critiques, the face to face, the report that lands on the door mat, the online supportive group of friends...

There are four types of critiques... the first three plus the online site where no one knows anyone and you get a message that says, I'll critique yours if you critique mine and can I be on your bookshelf, I'm slim at 20 thousand words and my cover is gorgeous. And I'm cheap to buy.

There's probably more.

But how to cope, how to take the knock when it's face to face? Because it will be a knock. There will be something wrong. There always is. Why? Because you're asking people to CRITICISE! So, people, being kindly folk who like to please, will do as you ask.

Let's take a closer look at The Face to Face

We have a habit in our face to face SCBWI York and Middlesbrough groups of critiquing anonymously or pretending we don't know who's written the piece.

Why?

Because two things happen when an author is being critiqued face to face.

One – the author defends their work – Oh, but I meant this. Or. But you don't understand, he does that because he fell over when he was six and trapped his nose in the drain cover. He's ultra sensitive about the size of it.

Two – the critiquers address the author directly with solutions. I think you should add in three more characters, move the whole thing into space, and get rid of the drain cover. It just blocks the characters POV.

So, number one – the author defends their work. But why would you?

This is your baby, this is something you have poured yourself into, sweated over, checked and re-checked so even letting someone else look at it is a major accomplishment and deserves chocolate. As silence descends and the other authors read your work you sweat a bit more and secretly scan their faces for a flicker of a hint of interest. Was that a glimmer of a smile? A raise of an eyebrow? Then papers are shuffled and the critique begins.

You glow under the obligatory first layer of the critique sandwich. 

The 'say something positive' first layer of wholemeal bread.

You sag and deflate under the Marmite/mustard/difficult to digest layer of tough criticism.

Then you glow again (hopefully) as another layer of wholemeal is slapped on top. 

If you can stay silent during all of that then you are a star! And it's very important to try. Because these are just opinions, just what a group of people think. But, if you listen hard you'll see that although everyone will have different opinions some of them will match. And it's these that are the important ones. If you jump in to defend, you'll miss them.

Make a note of what's said, it'll give you an excuse to look down. Think about the comments. Forget about them. Remember them. Think about them again. Do you agree with them? Do they have a point?

Analyse them – are they subjective or objective? Focus on the objective ones – I don't know what the character's goal is. The protagonist doesn't make his own choices. The use of that particular metaphor is inappropriate.

Coping mechanism - Pretend this is not your work. Forget the protagonist is based on your son. It'll make it easier if they don't empathise with him. Forget the time spent writing the work and focus on the learning that has been gained through writing it. Focus on the insights the critiquers are giving into the craft of writing. Focus on what would you say about the work if it was not your work.

Number Two – the critiquers address the author directly with solutions.

It's so tempting for a critiquer to come up with solutions. And they can be useful to you. But it isn't their job to come up with all the solutions. That's your job. The critiquer is there to point out the good and the bad. 

So what to do if your group constantly tells you how to cure your plot, beef up your character, and inject a bit of humour into your dystopian darling. Before the crit begins ask them to focus. Give them a job. Please can you comment on how I've used food to define character. What do you think about the introduction of the antagonist, is he bad enough to hiss at? Have I deepened the relationship between the squid and the jellyfish, is it believable?

Coping technique – write them all down, all of the ideas. Then put them in the bin when you get home. And probably one of them will stick in your head and trigger an idea of your own. And that will be the best one. Use that.

Good luck and don't forget to avoid this at all costs.

Maureen Lynas also blogs on her own blog which she creatively named - Maureen Lynas