Category Archives: Culture

TEN YEARS AN AUTHOR… JANE CABLE SHARES HER MOST IMPORTANT LESSONS

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Jane Cable self published her first book in 2013, after it reached the final of a major national competition sponsored by Harper Collins. After a brief flirtation with an agent and another publisher, in 2018 she signed to Sapere Books, for whom she writes haunting romances. Two years later she achieved her dream of becoming an Harper Collins author, writing as Eva Glyn. So far four women’s fiction titles have been published by One More Chapter, three of them set in Croatia.

This week, lessons five to seven:

Writers who have successfully self published tend to be more savvy

I started out by self publishing my first novel, The Cheesemaker’s House, because at that time in particular, publishers were afraid of ghosts. In romance books anyway. I knew nothing about the process, so put in into the capable hands of assisted publisher Matador, but even so it was a very steep learning curve.

I needed to understand retail distribution, I didn’t know book bloggers existed, and barely anything at all about Amazon categories, let alone going wide or narrow. The whole process of publishing and marketing baffled me, but I had to learn pretty quick. Also to moderate my expectations about the sales the book might achieve, although the ebook at least vastly exceeded them.

All of these were important lessons to take with me when I found a publisher. Everything from assessing the contract to understanding the control I would be giving up, and the promotion I would still need to do. If I hadn’t indie published first I would have been clueless.

 

Writer friends you really trust are invaluable

Ten years ago I had only one writer friend, introduced to me by a neighbour, and that was Claire Dyer. Through getting to know her I learnt the value of having someone to talk to about all aspects of our craft and of the crazy world of publishing we operate in, and we are friends to this day.

Writers talk about ‘finding their tribe’, and I found mine first in Chindi, a group of independently publishing authors in Chichester, where I was living at the time. Three of us moved on to find deals more or less together and we have remained close, but I learnt so much from almost every member of that group I will be forever in their debt.

As my career has changed, I have made many new writer friends, but there is a solid core of those I trust implicitly; people I can turn to when times are tough, and celebrate the successes too. Without them, being an author would be a very lonely business.
When you’re in the publishing wilderness, keep writing if you can

Overnight success in publishing is rare and most authors have periods they either feel they are never going to make it, or that they have been in the wilderness so long there is no possible way of crawling back.

It is so important to keep writing. One famous author described her work as her life raft when her publisher dumped her, and I totally understand that. Writing is as much a vocation as it is a profession, and without it many of us would feel even more lost. It can be a life, and mental health saver, but if you take a break then that is fine too. Your brain and body will tell you what you need to do if you listen to them.

Of course you also need to keep writing to have something to submit. Or even a drawer full of somethings, so that when that deal arrives you can offer more than one book, because you’re going to need it. It proves you have the work ethic, commitment and ideas it takes to succeed now it’s your turn to shine.

Lessons one to four were published last Wednesday, and lessons eight to ten will be published next week.

 

TEN YEARS AN AUTHOR… JANE CABLE SHARES HER MOST IMPORTANT LESSONS

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Jane Cable self published her first book in 2013, after it reached the final of a major national competition sponsored by Harper Collins. After a brief flirtation with an agent and another publisher, in 2018 she signed to Sapere Books, for whom she writes haunting romances. Two years later she achieved her dream of becoming an Harper Collins author, writing as Eva Glyn. So far four women’s fiction titles have been published by One More Chapter, three of them set in Croatia.

Today, lessons one to four:

Making connections through social media is fun

I know social media isn’t for everyone, but I do feel sad when authors say they hate it. I love interacting with other writers, bloggers and readers, chatting about books in general and hunting around for interesting content to post on my feed. On Twitter especially there are people from around the world who share my posts most days, and I of course reciprocate. I even feel I know them quite well.In my business life I used to do a fair bit of face to face networking, which being a shy person I did not always enjoy, but it taught me to treat my virtual networks in the same way; that to make it enjoyable (and successful) you need to put in more than you hope to get out. Although some days it seems like a uphill struggle to think of something to say, if I keep this in mind I still enjoy the interaction.

Twitter is LinkedIn for writers

So often people dismiss Twitter as ‘just talking to other writers’. Firstly, I don’t see the problem with that. Writers are readers too, and big recommenders of books other than their own. They have blogs and mailing lists you can swap with, and what’s even better is that their natural audience is the same as yours.But more than that, there are a large number of book reviewers and publishing professionals using Twitter every day. Pitches are announced, book deals, new publishers even. By connecting with these people they at least know your name. And you never know when that could be important.

You never stop honing your craft

And you never should. Every single book you write is a learning experience. If I had the time I would love to go back and rewrite my first novel, The Cheesemaker’s House – my skills as an author have improved so much. But perhaps I’m being too fussy, because readers still absolutely love it.Like most authors I take great pride in everything I produce. And I want that pride to be justified. After all, I am asking readers to invest not only their money, but their valuable leisure time, and in return they deserve my best.

 

Publishers acquire books because they think they will sell

There is no other agenda here. It doesn’t matter how beautifully you write, or how lovely a person you are; publishing is a business and money talks. Of course your contacts and reputation as a writer will put you a notch further up the slush pile, but without a book that will work in the market of the moment (which of course changes all the time), you will still be rejected. It’s nothing personal.It is the way of the world, and understanding this will help to protect your mental health. I’m lucky that I have a reasonably thick skin, but of course rejections still hurt. I have just learnt not to dwell on them. It only takes one book to land on one desk at the right time. Keep believing.

Lessons five to seven will be published next Wednesday.

 

 

 

JANE CABLE REVIEWS…

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The Rescue by S L Rosewarne

What a triumph, writing a whole book for adults from the point of view of a dog. Not something quirky like a comedy, but an at times gut-wrenching novel of human love, grief, desire and second chances.

Told from terrier Moll’s point of view, The Rescue is about what happens after Suki’s beloved husband dies and how Moll resolves to help her to build a new life. Everything is seen from Moll’s eye view and for the author to think herself inside a dog’s head to this extent takes not only exceptional observational skills, but also huge talent as a writer.

 

The Beach Holiday by Isabelle Broom

Although the very first line of this book drew me in, I groaned inwardly when I realised this book had a celebrity protagonist, because it’s a trope I don’t generally get on with. However the setting was son wonderfully drawn I thought I would read on for a while, if only to learn more about creating a sense of place from a writer at the top of their game.

I am so glad I did. After their initial meeting the characters, Honor and Kellan, have real depth and I found them very believable, so I was increasingly drawn into their story. I knew there would be up and downs, ins and outs until they reached their HEA, but this is a romance novel after all. A very good one too, and the perfect book to devour from your sun lounger or on the plane to your perfect holiday destination.

 

Everything is Beautiful by Eleanor Ray

It took me a little while to sink into this book, to properly get a handle on Amy, but I guess that was the point. And I loved the premise of the book as it revealed itself; that everyone has baggage of one sort of another, but it shouldn’t stop you from living your life.

Amy’s life – and house – are filled with things she considers beautiful, and hark back to her relationship with Tim who disappeared in mysterious circumstances some years before. The structure takes us back in time, object by object, which was appealing, as Amy’s life begins to move slowly forwards.

The book is really well written, but I did wonder if every plot strand was strictly necessary, and some fell into place a little too snugly at the end. But overall I thought it a very good read.

 

The Invisible Women’s Club by Helen Paris (published 3rd August)

The main character, Janet, was so harshly drawn in the opening chapters I almost put the book down, but I am so very glad I didn’t because I ended up absolutely loving her story.

Janet is in her early seventies, intensely prickly and full of her own importance. But that hides a terrible loneliness, so achingly described; the loneliness of never having a meal cooked for you by another person, of going through whole days, weeks, months, without having a conversation. Her one solace is her allotment, but even there she seems apt at falling out with other gardeners. The point being, that when you are alone so much you are likely to lose your social skills.

But then the allotments are threatened and Janet smells a rat. She decides to consult a former colleague at the other end of the country and by fluke her outgoing neighbour, menopausal midwife Bev, ends up taking her. And then Janet’s adventures really begin.

This book is all heart and all soul, with a huge dollop of feminist militancy and just the right amount of humour. The more I read, the more I adored it and I thoroughly, thoroughly recommend.

 

BEST MEAL OUT EVER: THE NEW DINING EXPERIENCE AT WINTERINGHAM FIELDS

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It’s always a scary moment when your favourite restaurant announces a new dining experience. Exciting too, but for me the predominant thought was ‘please, please, don’t mess this up.’ Especially when for us, it’s a seven hour drive to get there.

I need not have worried. The friendly welcome from Janet at reception, the freshly baked gluten free cakes waiting in our gorgeous room; our stay started on a resounding high. We even had time for our favourite walk out to the Humber and through the village – a place I love so much I set Endless Skies there.

But dinner was, of course, the main event. And dinner was the part that had changed. A new dining room, now advertised as being part of the kitchen, hidden behind a curtain as you take your pre-dinner drinks and snacks (oh, what snacks!) in a cosy new bar. And when you are ready, you are led down the hallways of the old farmhouse and into the bright, modern kitchen.

We were greeted by James, the sous chef, as Gareth, the head chef, was unwell. He told us not to worry, we were in safe hands, and we definitely were. And this is all part of the experience; you feel you get to know the chefs a little as you work your way through the courses. Think chef’s table, but brought to a whole dining room, and in a relaxed and friendly manner.

After chatting to James over a delicious bowl of lovage soup (food miles are second only to ingredient quality at Winteringham Fields, and lovage had come just a few yards from the bed in the garden outside) we were taken to our table, which had a great view of the pass so we could see and hear everything that was going on. It takes great confidence in your team to open a kitchen to that extent; some guests who hadn’t visited before were even invited to walk around.

Dinner at Winteringham Fields is a lavish tasting menu, and we always play a game where we rank the courses in order. This time there was a clear winner; the Isle of Wight heritage tomatoes with watermelon, ponzu and nori. Tomatoes and watermelon? Who knew? And the consommé was one of the most spectacular things I have ever tasted. Almost as good as the langoustine terrine we had on our first visit… and when I told chef James about this he said he would try to track down the recipe.

We discussed our second favourite course for a very long time, without really coming to a conclusion. The huge hand dived scallop in laksa sauce was genius, but the lamb belly with asparagus, curds and mint such a clever blend of flavours and so completely melt in the mouth, it was hard to separate them. And both dessert (Winteringham Fields’ take on a Solero with mango, passion fruit, coconut and basil) and the lemon, thyme and honeycomb pre-dessert, were top notch.

Each course is brought to the table and introduced by the chef who prepared it, with as much or as little information as you like. It isn’t formal or stiff, there is genuine enthusiasm here, especially from the young lady who cooked the duck. The amount of care and attention poured into the dish was astonishing – and it showed.

So I need not have worried. Yes, it’s expensive. Yes, it’s a treat, but I would rather save up to eat here a couple of times a year than have pub grub every other week. Winteringham Fields, once again, you have smashed it!

 

All photos courtesy of Winteringham Fields, who have extended their midweek offers to cover the whole summer. Find out more here: https://winteringhamfields.co.uk/

WRITING CAREER CROSSROADS BY SUE MOORCROFT: PART 4

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The happy-ever-after ending

This is the fourth and final instalment in my journey from the crossroads in my career to becoming a best-selling, award-winning author. After securing Juliet Pickering of Blake Friedmann Literary Agency as my agent and Avon HarperCollins offering me a two-book contract, The Christmas Promise went into production while I finished writing Just for the Holidays.

Credit: Silvia Rosado Photography

The Christmas Promise came out. Joy of joys, my original goal was met when supermarkets took the paperback, although Tesco was a little late to the party and only took it for the last couple of weeks before Christmas after they’d seen the performance of the ebook.

The ebook was going crazy.

For five days in the run-up to Christmas 2016, it was at number one on Kindle UK.

It’s hard to describe the joy and euphoria, mixed with disbelief. I laughed and cried. Twitter went mad with big-hearted compliments from other authors, from my agent and editor jumping in with their own cries of joy. My book had outsold every other ebook on sale in the UK. I don’t know about pinching myself – I felt as if I had to punch myself in the face to make sure it wasn’t a dream.

I won’t take you through every rung on my ladder, nor pretend that it has been an uninterrupted upward trajectory, but the milestones continued. Just for the Holidays was nominated for a Romantic Novel Award. A new contract was offered – three books, this time – and my editor Helen Huthwaite stated that her next goal was to make me a Sunday Times bestseller. I laughed out loud and said, ‘Well, good luck with that!’ The very next book, The Little Village Christmas, was a Sunday Times bestseller. The rights team at Blake Friedmann sold my books into translation and The Christmas Promise became a paperback bestseller in Germany. My books charted in the Top Fifty and even the Top Twenty. Avon extended the scope of my contract to include Canada and the US. A Summer to Remember won the Goldsboro Books Contemporary Romantic Novel Award and One Summer in Italy scored me my first Top 100 position in the Amazon Kindle US chart. My books have also appeared in the Kindle top 100 in Canada, Italy and Germany. Research trips have taken me to France, Italy, Malta, Sweden and Switzerland. My very first published book, Uphill all the Way, originally published in 2005, was rewritten by me, then rejacketed and relaunched by Avon as A Home in the Sun. It did well in the UK and was #1 in Malta (where much of the book is set) for most of summer 2022. That gave me particular satisfaction, as I lived in Malta as a child and part of my heart will always be there.

I won’t kid you – publishing two books a year takes hard work, not just from me but from everyone at Blake Friedmann and Avon. But it’s wonderful. Even the editing and the promo is wonderful.

I set out to earn my living from writing novels and I that is what I do. An Italian Island Summer is my fifteenth book with Avon and The Christmas Love Letters will come out later this year. A further three books are contracted.

Takeaways:

  • work hard and work with the right people
  • aim high
  • never give up

CARIADS’ CHOICE BOOK REVIEWS: JUNE 2023

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Jessie Cahalin:

Summer of Secrets by Adrienne Vaughan

Take several leading ladies, a mermaid, Cinderella and a fairy godfather. Let the dreams take you to the magical coast of Ireland. Mysteries linked to the characters’ lives and the history of the place are cleverly interwoven. Like a skilled seamstress, Adrienne Vaughan has sewn the narrative together. Everything is held together by the wonderfully flamboyant Archie, a Hollywood screen legend. Before things change forever, Archie, wants to ensure, those he loves – especially Mia – are given the chance to fulfil their dreams. And to do this, secrets need to be told and their revelations resolved. I could not stop reading to discover if Archie was Mia’s father. Long after you have finished this novel, and the credits roll, you will be thinking about the magic of this story.

 

Morton S Gray:

The Guest House by the Sea by Faith Hogan

Faith Hogan does it again! I have now read all of her published titles and enjoyed each one and The Guest House by the Sea is no exception.

I loved Esme with her vulnerabilities and wise words for all of her guests. I admired Cora, was rooting for Niamh and Rob, empathised with Phyllis and Kurt and was suspicious of Tanya and Paschal. I cared about them all and even worried about how much Marta was doing. Really think Joel Lawson needs his own story please!

Faith Hogan has a way of writing that flows and carries you along as you get closer to the many characters and care about them as their stories unfold. By the time the book is finished, you wonder how you will get by without regular updates on their progress through life. Real issues and problems tackled in a gentle way. Bravo!

 

Jessie Cahalin:

Second Chances by Miriam McGuirk

The sun began to shine as soon as I met Molly. The mystery of her life intrigued me, but her kindness touched me. It is wonderful how she engages in the community, while dealing with her own problems. I also loved Florence, Boudie and Colonel Bryce Beckwith. This delightful multi-generational narrative, and you do not want to leave the people. The author places each single word with care and there is a poetic quality to the style. It was a joy to escape to India and the places in Kent. This is a novel with a great big heart.

 

Jane Cable:

The Book-Lovers’ Retreat by Heidi Swain

This is Heidi Swain’s first standalone novel, and I hope it won’t be her last. She has such an easy, accomplished, style of writing you feel as though you are being told the story by a friend, which only adds to the charm of this escapist book.

Best friends Em and Rachel have been looking forward to a very special holiday in the Lake District for years, but when Tori drops out at the last minute their plans are in jeopardy until the owner of the property gives her some options from her waiting list and after an exchange of emails they’re happy to choose Alex. Except this Alex turns out to be a man.

In the best traditions of friends’ fiction they all have secrets and they all need to revaluate their lives. Inevitably there are ups, downs, and misunderstandings – as well as the occasional curve ball I did not see coming. A really enjoyed joining them on their journeys and had just the tiniest book hangover the morning after I finished it.

 

 

 

 

PUBLICATION DAY SPECIAL: THE GILDED CAGE BY LUISA A JONES

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The Gilded Cage emphatically introduces Luisa A Jones as a fresh and modern voice in historical fiction. It’s hard-hitting, pulling no punches in the way it deals with the domestic violence that is at the heart of this Edwardian story, and the author doesn’t hold back when it comes to the love scenes either.

When Rosamund’s circumstances force her into marriage with Sir Lucien Fitznorton she is too young and innocent to even imagine the horrors that await, sharing her life with this controlling man. At the beginning of the story she is broken, with no allies, but that slowly begins to change when she uses Sir Lucien’s absence to learn to drive. Society and the servants consider her a little mad, but to her it represents a freedom she could never have imagined and she begins to recover at least a little confidence.

Although the story is a little slow to start, later it rattles along, its depiction of life in an Edwardian country house meticulously drawn, and by the end I was quite breathless to know what would happen.

What lingers most in the memory about this book are the brutally realistic depictions of the violence Rosamund has to suffer, particularly contrasted with the tenderness in some of the scenes which follow as she discovers her sexuality for the first time. I asked Luisa why she had chosen to write the book this way.

I was aware when approaching publishers for this book that certain aspects would be too strong for some readers, but I felt it was essential to tell Rosamund’s story honestly, and not to shrink away from depicting the harrowing impact of abuse. It was important to me to have her ultimately finding her own agency, and for her to experience tenderness and pleasure, despite her earlier dreadful experiences.

Rosamund’s story was inspired by several people I know well who have been raped and/or otherwise abused. I was, and always will be, incensed by the idea of anyone deliberately subjecting another person to sexual, mental or physical harm. A disturbingly high proportion of women report that they have experienced at least one incident of sexual assault in their lifetime. Rape within marriage was only made illegal in Britain under the Sexual Offences Act of 2003, and until at least the 1990s the law held that by marrying, a wife was effectively consenting to sex whenever her husband wanted it. Marital rape is still legal in many countries.

Alarmingly, a survey in 2018 by YouGov revealed that a third of British people believed non-consensual sex wasn’t rape if it didn’t involve violence, even though anyone with any understanding of psychology will tell you that freezing and flopping are common responses to threat, along with the perhaps more well-known responses of fight or flight. The same survey showed that a quarter of Britons believed non-consensual sex within marriage isn’t rape. I can’t read those statistics and not feel deeply angry.

I am aware that many will find aspects of Rosamund’s experience uncomfortable to read. If I upset any reader, I feel for them. Those scenes are included in the hope that her story will challenge people to rethink, and highlight that nobody should be used as another person’s sexual plaything. Everyone should have the right to decide who touches their body, whatever they wore when they went out for the evening, no matter whether they’ve flirted with the other person, and whether or not they once agreed to marry them.

Most of all, I hope I have honoured the real-life survivors I know and love, and that readers will not perceive Rosamund solely as a victim. I hope they will rejoice with her when she experiences kindness and feel uplifted at the end of the novel. For me, she is a victor.

WRITING CAREER CROSSROADS BY SUE MOORCROFT: PART 3

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Working with my new agent

In my last two pieces, I explained how I’d set myself the goal of getting a publisher who could get my books into supermarkets, which had led to me finding a new agent. Telling my old publishers that I was now agented effectively changed our relationship because they didn’t work with agents. They would continue to publish my backlist but, inevitably, after the book we were working on, they’d concentrate on their front list authors.

Credit: Silvia Rosado Photography

I wrote the first few chapters of what became The Christmas Promise. I roughed out a few other things I thought would happen – more of a vision than an outline. Juliet offered to represent me! I was over the proverbial moon. I could not sign that Agreement letter fast enough. All the years of writing and running workshops and then, shazam! I was the client of a big agency.

All I had to do was:

  • write the rest of the book
  • whilst continuing to write short stories and serials, and run workshops for income to add to my royalties from my novels

An important note here: relaunching my novel-writing career eventuated in a distinct dip in income for two years. To have a spouse with a steady income and supportive attitude helped a lot. I also got the opportunity to convert my writing guide, Love Writing, into an online course. Though it felt as if I was spinning my wheels, I took it because every penny was welcome.

The novel was written. I sent it to Juliet. The editing process began – and it was rigorous. I think I did three structural edits, influenced not just by Juliet’s suggestions but by comments from other people in the agency who read the book too. For anyone who thinks of being edited as someone interfering or instructing, I should point out that a process like this is something likely to happen to any book in any publishing house. I think of editing as other people helping me write the best book I can. I listen. I negotiate. I talk through ideas.

Takeaways from the edit:

  • this deep-dive process is not for wimps
  • it feels like a lot of structural work yet, in the end, the changes are nuanced
  • the book is a lot better
  • I probably didn’t know as much as I’d thought
  • my agent is on my side (This has become so important to me)

I began the next book, which became Just for the Holidays, sparked by a friend saying to me, ‘Let me tell you about my summer holiday from hell,’ and me replying, ‘Yes, please!’

Juliet sent the first book out to editors. We got a lot of interest, only one flat ‘no’ and some meetings to attend. As an aside, just to let you know how character-building the process was, some major interest led nowhere because the editor in question was going on maternity leave and guess who was coming from another publishing house to cover? The one person who’d given the flat ‘no’. But I wouldn’t want an editor who wasn’t wowed by my writing, so I took that on the chin.

The exciting day of meetings dawned, and I turned up in London to meet Juliet who was, of course, coming with me. The first was with Avon Books UK, HarperCollins. Just as it had at that first meeting with Juliet, everything clicked. The Avon team and I got on well, we shared similar visions. They gave me chocolate cake. By a stroke of good fortune, a slot for an author writing a winter book followed by a summer book had arisen on their list, just as my agent rocked up with a winter book and a summer book! The winter book was ready and the summer book not, so that played into there being a longer dip in income than might otherwise have been the case but still, once outside I said, ‘I think it’s going to be Avon.’ Juliet got down to terms with them for a two-book contract.