Tag Archives: indie author

BUSINESS OF BOOKS: FIRST, LAST, EVERYTHING – CHILDREN’S AUTHOR CHRISTOPHER JOYCE

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What was the first piece of writing advice you received?

I armed myself with How Not to Write a Novel by Newman and Middlemark, which is both hilarious and packed full of tips, and The Art of Writing Fiction a rather more scholarly book by Andrew Cowan. 

The first book covers plot, character, style and much more. Each tip is accompanied by bad examples with headings such as ‘The Gum on the Mantelpiece’ where the author makes much play about said-piece of confectionery and then NEVER refers to it again. Anyone else guilty of that? Another of my favourites is a section entitled ‘Said the Fascinating Man” where the author tells the reader what you think of his writing. “Was it a fish?” the girl said eloquently.

The section on what not to name your cat in your story includes:

  • after a composer (Bartok, Mahler)
  • Mr + adjective + anatomical feature (Mr fluffy paws)
  • Magnificat – or similar pun

I think I got away with naming the cat in my book, The Creatures of Chichester – The One About The Smelly Ghosts. I decided on Purrcasso as she lives at the art gallery. What do you think? Did it stray into Magnificat territory?

Mr Cowan’s book is more learned with lots of writing exercises he used with his students at UEA, I believe. These include exercises on creating great dialogue, using all the senses and many more. I created a special notebook to do them all. It’s mostly still empty but – one day.

 

What was the most recent writing advice you gave or received?

Sometimes it really is okay to tell not show. Every course I’ve ever attended and blog you read talk about showing not telling. It can become obsessive. At some point, it’s better to just say: ‘it’s midnight’ rather than: ‘Bats passed silently by the ancient metal hands of the church clock as they moved into a vertical position.’ This is particularly true in children’s books where most kids want action. I am, however, a fan of using show not tell in dialogue though. Better to write His clenched fist was inches from her face, “I Hate you!” said Bob then “I hate you,” said Bob angrily. In fact, part of my editing process is to remove as many adverbs as I can.

 

What’s the piece of advice you’d most like to pass on?

Once you’ve written and edited your work get in proofread by a professional. This is not your sister, who is an English graduate; not your neighbour, who studied law and is very bright and NEVER yourself. It’s impossible. I would add that Grammarly is great at picking up many obvious errors, and it’s free too.

If you can afford an editor then this will also make a huge difference. There are lots of good books and courses on this but, like the proofreading tip above, it’s very hard to do this objectively yourself. reedsy.com is a great source of advice on what you need to consider and also provide experts who can do this for you.

Finally, if you decide to self-publish (as Mark Twain and the Bronte sisters did) then pay for a professional cover designer. If you’ve taken a year or more to write the best book you can, then surely this must be worth it? There are also lots of good books and webinars on this but it’s like me downloading a book on how to play the violin. All the information is there, but I can assure you that my mother would testify that even though I passed grade 1 at junior school, it does not make me a member of the orchestra. If you’re a good writer then write. Leave the editing, proofreading and cover design to somebody else.

 

Christopher Joyce has written six books in The Creatures of Chichester series and produced The Alien Cookbook with out-of-this-world recipes for kids of all ages. He also promotes self-publishing through CHINDI a group of independent authors in the UK. www.creaturesofchichester.com. www.chindi-authors.co.uk

 

BUSINESS OF BOOKS: FIRST, LAST, EVERYTHING – NOVELIST SANDRA DANBY

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What was the first writing advice you were ever given?

As a young English graduate longing to be a journalist, I chose a bad time to graduate. It was 1982 and publishers were closing their training schemes. Only two courses existed; one at the London College of Printing, the other at Cardiff Journalism School. Out of the blue I received a job offer on a new graduate trainee scheme run by business publisher Benn Publications. It was there in September 1982, sitting around the boardroom table in the impromptu Training Room, that I was given the piece of advice I still remember today and still use. Training editor Val Williams taught us Rudyard Kipling’s quote: “I keep six honest serving men (they taught me all I knew); Their names are What and Why and When And How And Where and Who.” It has stood me in good stead whether writing a news story, a feature, a press release or a novel. And the journalist in Connectedness, Rose Haldane, uses it too when she gets stuck in her research.
What was the most recent writing advice you were given?

That’s easy, it is something that had never occurred to me before until my copy editor pointed it out to me during the editing of Connectedness. It applied to the name of a character, Maud Nettlebed. I realise now I chose Maud’s surname because of a liking for the word, Nettlebed, which goes back to my days as a reporter writing about a furniture company called Brights of Nettlebed. The name stuck. However Dea Parkin, my editor, said it was an unlikely surname that took her attention off the page every time she read it. And that, she said, is a cardinal sin. Avoid anything that distracts the reader from the page, which breaks their concentration, which returns them to the real world, which stops them turning the page and reading another chapter. I guess this is a subjective judgement, but it appeals to the journalist in me who dislikes embellishments and sub-clauses in long sentences. So, I changed Maud’s surname to Nettles.
What is the piece of advice you’d most like to pass on?

Listen to the advice you are given but do not blindly accept it or reject it without consideration. Evaluate it, then adopt or discard it. There is no ultimate template of how you should write, what you should write, the rules you should obey or break. But, and it is a big but, you must listen to the advice and consider it before rejecting it. You must know the rules, before breaking them. You will be a better writer for it. We are bombarded these days with writing advice, never have novelists been so vocal about how they write, when they write, at what time of day. There is no right way and wrong way; there is your way. Be true to yourself. Listen to feedback and suggestions, be polite, be prepared to offer positive feedback and suggestions in return, always give the person giving the advice the respect of considering it. I have participated in many writing classes – as student and teacher – and watched as some students, whose minds were closed to advice, simply did not hear suggestions that could help them. I’ve also watched other students writing copious notes about how their work should be changed and I worry they would subsequently make changes without analysing why. Knowing who you are as a writer, having confidence in what you write, is not easily earned. There is a truth in Malcolm Gladwell’s 10,000 Hour Rule.

 

Novelist Sandra Danby is a proud Yorkshire woman, tennis nut and tea drinker. She believes a walk on the beach will cure most ills. Unlike Rose Haldane, the identity detective in her two novels, Ignoring Gravity and Connectedness, Sandra is not adopted. Follow her on Twitter @SandraDanby