Melinda Szymanik: I should be writing but...

Procrastinator's anonymous...

2012-01-30T18:16:00.000-08:00

Just in case you've ever wanted to learn how to do a Standing Back Handspring, here is my eldest showing you how its done. If you are a novice don't attempt this without a trainer. Ideally you and the trainer should be in a gym at the time - preferably one with a sprung floor. There is a hint of an American lilt in my girl's voice. The venue for the video is the home of her host family in Homestead, Florida. Suffice it to say she landed on her feet in more ways than one. She is about half way through her time there.Things are going pretty well.

I have one child back at school and one not due back till next Tuesday. It is February tomorrow. It is fair to say that the fear of the year is now upon me. So many things I want to achieve and I am twiddling my thumbs instead. I am now an expert thumb-twiddler. Sadly there is little call for thumb-twiddling and none that pay. Ah well, off to ~~put some wine in the fridge for later~~, work my fingers to the bone writing on all three of my current projects.

Your title is a grain of sand on the world's beaches...

2012-01-27T18:17:00.000-08:00

I have felt sick and overwhelmed by the sheer volume of books available on Amazon and talked about on sites like Goodreads. Every day there are more. New series or their offspring being published at a rate of knots by traditional and not so traditional publishers. Plenty are being given away for free. And what chance do I have in the face of so much competition for the reader's attention. Jeff Bennington says over at The Writing Bomb your book is just one in a sea of books and I feel like I am drowning in that sea. If no one knows who you are why will they pick up your book instead of someone else's. The only path out of obscurity is by building your platform. As Mr Bennington says, there is no quick answer to growing an audience. And in the early stages it may seem as if we are not achieving any kind of growth at all. You can pop up on every book-fan site and comment on 5 blogs a day as recommended, beg friends to review you on Amazon and still not sell a single copy. And then when growth shows we may have already overstepped the too-much-promotion mark. I think we overcompensate by doing as much as we can possibly do, then end up writing less and annoying the pants off people as Nicola Morgan suggests in a recent post over at an Awfully Big Blog Adventure where she asks 'Do You Do Too Much Promotion'. To avoid book obscurity we flaunt ourselves and our wares in every venue available to us. Nicola wisely points out that too much can be a bad thing and as a citizen of the world I have to concede I am suffering from over-promotional fatigue. I feel inundated by product placement, this is the best-largest-smallest-most efficient-cheapest-most luxuriant messages, and sheer variety of products/experiences/interactions/services from which I must choose as I go about my daily life. I don't want to be one of these people flogging myself, my brand and my product in a loud voice to people suffering information overload. But if I don't promote and work on growing my audience, is obscurity guaranteed? I cannot keep selling to the same twenty friends and family members. Some promotion would seem essential. How much is too much? Where is the tipping point? And as Nicola says, if we promote and then don't actually follow up our first book with another book we run the risk of having our audience drift off like a school of krill on a heavy swell. Successful writers succeed because they keep supplying their fans with something new to enjoy.

Somewhere is a balance between writing and promoting/building a fan base. I think the balance shifts depending on a variety of factors like dates of publication, number of titles, any unsolicited praise/reviews or awards, experience, other events. I think Nicola is right - you have to keep writing to make any kind of promotion pay long term dividends and too much promotion will make your writing suffer. Bennington has a point too - building an audience is a slow (sometimes glacially so) process that never really stops. My award winning picture book The Were-Nana came out in 2008 but reading it aloud the other day won me some new fans.

Trust them, they know what they're doing...

2012-01-23T20:30:00.000-08:00

Hmmm, character motivation ... I should be thinking about this at the moment because the book I am rewriting has problems in this area. Character motivation is not a driving force, nor is plot, as historical events sweep the people in my story along. This kinda happens in 'memoir' but memoir is usually autobiographical so character motivation is kinda still evident. This whole writing experience is very different for me as the story was not devised in my head but is based on real experience. As it is not non-fiction, some fiction must be added. And as it is not self generated fiction it is requiring some novel thinking.

Usually character motivation is not an issue. My main protagonist turns up with his or her own identity and like a sculptor I slowly chisel them out of the rock, not so much revealing, as discovering what they look like and who they really are. And the important thing for me is to respect who they turn out to be and not impose on them what I would like. Writers often say that their characters do unexpected things they hadn't planned on and this is true for me. But by respecting the character that is emerging I find it easier to write and plot. Characters will behave according to their nature and personalities and other factors like socioeconomic status, background etc... If you have a feel for 'who' they are, 'how' they will behave becomes apparent. Once you place them in the plot and throw your juicy 'precipitating event' or predicament' or 'problem' at them how they react won't be so hard to figure out. What drives them? You'll know. And it's not enough to have a juicy, awesome problem to throw at them.Do we care whether they solve it or not? What will the solution of the problem do to them? Some rules of thumb: 1) Do you like your character? 2) Do you care what happens to them? 3) Do you believe that they could do the things they are doing? If it works for you there is a good chance it will work for the reader.

Watch out for perfect people who are too beautiful to be true and never put a foot wrong. No one is perfect. Everybody makes mistakes. They don't always have to do the 'right' thing. But they should be true to their own nature. They might mature, they might learn, they might change but only in response to the stimuli you, the author, applies. And if your character is doing something you don't want them to you may just have to suck it up and work it in to your story. Trust them, they know what they're doing.

Finished The Hunger Games - could eat more...

2012-01-21T17:31:00.000-08:00

I have just finished The Hunger Games - a book I enjoyed immensely for its novelty, its plotting and the spunk of its main characters fighting to survive in a barbaric 'entertainment' devised by a cruel and heartless society. I wished I could write like that. I thought it an excellent read even though I felt frustrated and more than a little annoyed when I finished it. Folks, the main protagonist seemed inconsistent to me. So wise, so practical, so intuitive and yet with a bit of a mental block when it came to male/female relationships. But in every way the author showed her control over her plot, and her characters - maybe it was just that this reader didn't always like how Katniss Everdeen behaved? I wanted her to do things differently, to understand what she refused to grasp. She could read between the lines when the gifts turned up from her mentor. She could 'read' the subtleties of the game she was participating in and respond just as subtly. She understood the emotions and psychology of other events in the book, why couldn't she understand Peeta's motivations? She didn't really seem to even understand herself. Okay, I know she's a teenager and that's par for the course, but she was too knowledgeable about everything else to get away with this. And sometimes she seemed to 'get' it and then do an about-face in the next chapter. So no, it wasn't just that I wanted her to do things differently, I think it was a bit of a cheat, with one result being that people would feel compelled to read the next book. Its like those tv series where the sexual tension between characters is almost another person in the room, its so fully realised, but they refuse to even kiss. Its a cheat to keep us hooked. I guess its effective because I'll read the next book and really, I loved the first one. But I wish the author had been more true to Katniss's character, and not pulled the strings quite so much.

Shiny new things...

2012-01-18T19:01:00.000-08:00

I drove over to publishers Duck Creek Press this morning to pick up some more copies of my picture book The House That Went to Sea. I'm appearing at the Bloom Festival in Matakana this Saturday morning (storytelling at 10.30 and 11.45 and workshopping little stories from 11 to 11.30) and I wanted some books for prizes. Was most excited to be handed, hot off the press, this

Woot! My new picture book title with Duck Creek Press - Made with Love - Releasing in April!! And then was handed this

not only because there is a fiesty adventurous gingerbread woman featuring in the story but there is another sweet and unexpected connection. All will be revealed soon.

My good writery friend Maureen Crisp (who can be found blogging here) has just released an exciting new contemporary novel Craic in a range of digital formats for 8 to 12 year olds. Go check out this fab looking book here. Or better yet, buy a copy :)

A muse on the inside...

2012-01-14T14:20:00.000-08:00

Okay so while I was busy disproving sacred cow's theories in my last post I think I succeeded in proving that at least part of what she said is true. Old Kitty you are right, it is 'how you say it'. A specific topic is not the problem, the way we deal to it is what engages potential readers. You learn something new everyday - this is a good thing.

Today's juicy link is a lovely long list of things to pique your interest and tickle your grey matter. I particularly liked Meg Rosoff's run down on how to write a book and the lovely link on revision - “If I stop believing, I know I won’t have a book at the end of this.” I inherited a sound logical brain and smidge of pragmatism from my Dad, and a more spiritual and artistic world view from my Mum. I tend to err on the side of pragmatism in my day to day life but when it comes to writing there is an elusive magical quality that defies a rational approach. In the course I took last weekend on Writing for Children I kept telling the class to trust their intuition, to write what spoke to them and to believe that solutions to problems would come. Most of all you have to believe in the story you are telling. Sometimes the way it appears in your head, beautiful and stunning and perfectly formed, refuses to transfer to the page in front of you. How can that clever plot twist so clear in your head refuse to take shape in the letters you type. Why won't the words behave? After all, are we not responsible for what we write? Do we not control the story? I think we are, and we do. I used to wonder where the ideas and inspirations, the phrasing, style and humour cam from. I don't talk like that, so how do I write like that? Plenty of writers/creative folk talk about the muse and how all those things come from some external source. For a long time I agreed. But now I think its all in me. A seething soup of everything I've ever read and heard, seen and learnt. A mishmash of my favourite stories and poetry; fun, escapist movies and television programmes, Greek myths and legends told over the radio in primary school, science and history and literature lectures I've attended, personal experiences I've had and people I've met. There has been an awful lot over the years and now I know somewhere in there will be the answer to my problem, the ending I need, the right metaphor or imagery. Its all there and it will bubble to the surface when the surface is a little less cluttered or when I am not searching so hard. Sometimes the harder I try the more distant the answer becomes. The bubbling is more effective when i am more relaxed. Running hot water is a successful trigger (shower anyone). I don't have to know how it happens I just have to trust that it will. I just have to let my mind do its own thing and believe the answer lies within - cos if I believe, i will have a book at the end of this.

If we ever met in the street you'd shake my hand...

2012-01-11T14:33:00.000-08:00

So fellow writer Yvette Carol alerted me via facebook to this juicy post about writing about writing perhaps not being the best thing to write about (in my blog), and it has me thinking. I'm thinking this person has a point. There is only so much you can say about writing. And what many people want from writing advice is the penny dropping moment when they get what they need to do, write or say to make all their writing dreams come true. Which doesn't happen. Like magical diets or exercise equipment or fitness regimes (Zumba anyone?) nothing works like eating less and exercising more. Its the same with writing. Write more, and follow the rules of good writing. The magic has to come from inside. Its in there already. Its growing from the seed planted by the way you felt when you read that book that you loved. That book you loved that made you think "I want to do that too". And its getting in touch with that magic that I reckon makes all the difference. So maybe telling you things about writing in general isn't the best use of my blog?

So okay I do think its good to share the ups and downs of the writing to publication journey sometimes. When you are on that road it can seem endlessly long (are we there yet?) with no glimpses of the destination. And to know you are not alone on that road can help you place one foot in front of the other and keep going. And writing is not all I am and think (okay it is mostly) and...and...okay actually I'm thinking that link is a little cynical and I don't write this blog just so I can find readers and sell my books to them. My blog is me thinking out loud, forming my opinions, sucking it to see. And in this current publishing climate when things are changing and morphing and evolving faster than you can say dinosaur, its good to surf the internet and find out what's happening, how it's happening and how people are responding and share what I can with y'all. Its good to try different things, maybe even new things, and realise that mistakes and failures are not the worst thing that can happen and actually if one book dies a death or never gets to see the light of day, maybe even because I did the wrong thing, I'm still breathing air, my heart is still beating and my brain is still thinking oh my god how young did Daniel Craig look in Lara Croft Tomb Raider and I am so going to buy the latest Vanity Fair with him and George Clooney and Matt Damon on the cover... And I hope that reading this you nod your head, or laugh out loud (no loling here thanks) or think you'll keep writing a bit longer or search a little harder for that magic, or think if we ever met in the street you'd shake my hand or give me a hug and laugh with me about things like old friends.

THE RUMOURS ARE TRUE...

2012-01-09T16:42:00.000-08:00

I AM ON SPECIAL!!!

The Half life of Ryan Davis in all its glorious e-formats is on SALE for the month of January ONLY. For the fabulous price of only $US2.99 ($NZ3.99). Available at an e-tailer near you, including Amazon. Also available via the Pear Jam Books Shop.

The international water cooler of the book reader's world.

2012-01-08T14:09:00.000-08:00

I have been having great fun recently with goodreads. What an amazing community it is. A place where book-lovers from all over the world can hang out and talk about the books they've loved and loved not so much. I am cementing local friendships and meeting new people. I am talking about books and some people are even talking about mine. If you have read a book that blew your mind or changed it, that you are keen to share with other people who have also read it, then goodreads is for you. It is the international watercooler of the book readers world. If you were concerned that people might not be reading books anymore, at goodreads you can see them in their thousands consuming books like 2012 was gonna be the end of the world. And oh the books. Many more than you can hope to discover on your own, and reviews you can read to help you choose. Happy sigh - my faith is restored.

On goodreads I have discovered some new book review blogs here and here (feeling very curious about Amanda Hocking's upcoming series) and checked out a blog post arguing in defense of negative reviews here (save the fluffy pink unicorns?) . Over the weekend I taught a two day workshop on writing for children at the University of Auckland's Centre for Continuing Education. If any participants are reading this I just want to thank you for being a fantastic group. You made my task a real pleasure and I am looking forward to seeing your names on the front of books for children in the future. It is always a revelation to examine your own process to share the nuts and bolts of it with others. Writing is an inexact science underpinned by highly individualistic philosophical, cultural and psychological beliefs. None of it is gospel - it is a starting place from which you can develop your own opinions, beliefs and strategies. During the course of the afternoon session of the second day we were discussing the necessity and merits of having an online presence as an author. There was some concern about attracting negative reviews or comments online so Shiloh Walker's post defending negative press is timely. We live in an age where communities flourish online. It makes up a significant proportion of many people's social interactions. People hang out, chill out, and shop online. They make decisions based on what they see and hear online (no licking or sniffing the screen yet folks). It is a part of the social fabric of the world we live in. We can't prevent people from drawing a negative opinion about what we say, do, write or publish. And reactions to the products of creativity are highly personal. We all have different tastes. I know what I like and I assume you know what you like. Truth be told negative reviews do hurt. My books are my babies that I want to protect from unpleasant comments. But it would be foolish to think everyone is going to like/love my book or even this blog. I figure by having a presence online I can let people know who I am, and what I believe in and value. Then others can read my words, read the words of others and form their own opinions. As people much more famous than I have said, (and I paraphrase), "there's no such thing as bad publicity" and "it's better to be talked about negatively, then not talked about at all". I'll take my lumps, and then I can express my own opinion in my turn.

Help save an author...

2012-01-03T17:31:00.000-08:00

Readers, you can make a great difference and help writers keep writing. If you like a writer and their work, please buy their book. The sale of books is the measure the bookseller and publisher use to gauge the writer's value. They are commercial businesses and must sell sufficient product to keep their doors open. If you want to keep reading work from a particular person, buying their product will potentially help them keep writing and keep being published. If you really like them telling others about them will also help. If you cannot buy the book, talking about it is hugely helpful. Recommending it is even better.

If you are on the bones of your arts it is understandable if you would rather borrow from the library then buy a new book. If the library does not stock a particular title perhaps asking for it will encourage them to buy it. This is better than borrowing the book from a friend. In NZ every copy of a book held by a library potentially contributes to the total payment of the Public Lending Right to the author of the book (if they are NZers). Payment of this will also help them keep going.

Writer's can work hard on marketing and promotion of their books with little result. Their best advertising is you, the reader. If you like something, please talk about it. If you don't like a particular book, you don't have to say something negative about it. Saying nothing at all is probably more effective.

I'll have a plate of achievement please, hold the side order of stress

2011-12-31T18:00:00.000-08:00

Wow, it's a New Year; all shiny, fresh and trembly with anticipation. For a fleeting moment I thought that this year I would try and achieve more than I did last year. Must work harder, more efficiently, exercise more (if only bits of me would stop hurting), eat less (only in my dreams), stop procrastinating and find more hours in the day. But really if I just achieve this year what I did last year I would actually be pretty darn pleased. The only thing I would change is the stress levels. People tell me its useful. If we had no stress we might not achieve anything. But then if i thought about the stress involved I would NEVER sign up for anything. Like the pain of childbirth, the memory of stress fades. Of course I will organise that conference, run that workshop, entertain those forty under-5's, tame that tiger, perform brain surgery with a teaspoon - it'll be a cinch. And then I reach that moment when I slap myself upside the head and say 'what was I thinking?' but its too late. So this year I intend to do a little more of what I fancy when I can (watch movies, read books, hang with the famdamily, blog, loll about in an incredibly indulgent fashion). And the rest of the time I will do the stuff I always do - some study, some writing, some editing, some work-shopping, the after-school taxi'ing and juggling, the homework cajoling and the usual domestic chores - and I will remind myself I'm not half bad at these things. And when I've slapped myself and the stress is kicking in I will remind myself that the last time I did the thing I'm about to do, it worked out pretty well.

Keep being the kind of writer you want to be...

2011-12-27T17:25:00.000-08:00

Borders on Queen Street in Auckland City is gasping its last. My daughter and I had a little time to kill before going to see Tintin at the movies on my birthday on Boxing Day so we wandered in and took a look. I stared at the children's novel by someone I know marked down to $2.00 a copy. I felt relief that only one of my books was in the sale and the price wasn't too hideously low. Then I went and bought a YA novel by another NZ author marked down to half price. I am a lowly paid author and a reader too and I guess I'm not apologising for buying a book at reduced prices. I can't and wouldn't stop folk buying my books at reduced prices. I would be a fool to think this might never happen to my books, and there always remains the chance that I find a new fan this way. When I can, I buy books from my local booksellers. Sometimes I buy from Amazon for my kindle or from Mighty Ape (they offered me a discount for my birthday and they had one of the books I couldn't find elsewhere - it was a no-brainer), today I downloaded a free e-book off Amazon which I didn't feel too bad about - I think Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and his estate have done well out of me over the years, and done exceedingly will in general. I try to spread the love around, and sometimes I am the recipient.

The Boxing Day Sales in general saw a positive increase in spending - a good day for retailers. But I couldn't help thinking how tight their margins might have been to lure customers in. Once all their bills are paid I hope they have enough to keep going. As has been said recently in the blogo-sphere (e.g. via Beattie's Blog) bookshops (and other retailers) can survive if they are smart/innovative about how they sell books (and other products) compared with the Amazons of this world. I'm rooting for them. Amazon has its place but it doesn't do everything a customer might want.

What can you do? Keep being the kind of writer you want to be. If your manuscript is rejected, it didn't fit with the publisher's programme or didn't quite make it through every hoop they needed it to jump through. If your book tanks, is remaindered or goes swiftly out of print, that's business. Sometimes business sucks. Perhaps you might be a bestseller or sell overseas, be reprinted or win an award. Yay!!! If you have written the stories that matter to you, in a way you feel proud of, then whatever 'life' your story has, you know you wrote the stories you wanted to write. Trends, fads, and publishers might come and go but your stories will always have your name on them.

Your chances are as good as ever...

2011-12-17T13:32:00.000-08:00

In response to my last post, Kath lamented that getting published in NZ today as a newcomer seems impossible. What are the chances?

From where I sit Kath I have to say the chances seem as good as ever. Chances were never good, but newcomers still do get published every year. In the wake of the recession, publishing lists were cut and several boutique publishers (Mallinson Rendel, Longacre) were absorbed by a couple of the big international publishing names (Penguin and Random respectively). Publishers across the board were tightening purse strings and Scholastic NZ, the biggest children's-only publisher here closed to unsolicited submissions, an uncommon position in this country. And it certainly may appear that the same names are turning up on the covers of the books in the bookshops.

However if you know your local authors well you can spot the new ones too. Anna Gowan and Leonie Agnew are new faces in the junior novel area. Juliette MacIver is new in picture books as is Chris Gurney and Belynda Smith. I'm sure there are others that have slipped my mind.

Several avenues exist for new writers such as the Storylines Tom Fitzgibbon and Tessa Duder Awards for junior and YA fiction. You cannot enter for these awards if you are previously published. While the Joy Cowley Award for a picture book is open to the previously published, this is how many new writers are noticed by Scholastic who participate in judging the entries and publish the winners of the Joy Cowley and Tom Fitzgibbon (Harper Collins publish the winner of the Tessa Duder Award). Scholastic have published the books of other finalists as well. I was twice a finalist in the Joy Cowley Award and while this didn't result directly in publication of my entries at the time, it was a huge boost for me as a writer and resulted in some fantastic feedback which has seen both stories being published more recently. Entries close on October 31st for these Awards every year.

And we now have new boutique publishers springing up. David Ling's Duck Creek Press has taken on a new picture book writer and new illustrators in the last few years and Pear Jam Books, just launched by author Jill Marshall, is publishing 14 titles this year of which 5 are by previously unpublished authors and another couple are by newish authors.

I got my break with Learning Media and Australia's School Journal who first published several short stories I had written during a Writing for Children paper I did at Massey University as part of my English Degree. One of the most important things I did to help myself along was join several writer's organisations (Storylines, NZSA, Kiwiwrite4kidz) which introduced me to other people experiencing the same difficulties and challenges that I was on my quest for publication. We share triumphs, disappointments and tales of survival. We also share tips and information that make our journey easier.

So don't despair. A blog I follow in the UK by the much published author Nicola Morgan recently featured a post in which she spoke about her twenty year journey to publication. She was first published well before the global recession but it still took her twenty years to reach that first contract. It is very tough to get published. Sometimes it takes a while to find your niche, your voice, your style. Sometimes it takes a while to find the right story for the right time - the one that starts you off. If you are serious about being published as a children's author then you have to hang in there. Keep writing. Take heart. Join with the rest of us and we can hang in there together.

Gaze into my crystal (rejectomancy) ball...

2011-12-13T16:05:00.000-08:00

Some days should just not be allowed. At the moment it is days with a 'y' in them. Despite my mood I have managed to find some more juicy links for you. There is this lovely run down on 25 things every writer should know about rejection from terrible minds (via janet reid ). I have wittered on about the subtle art of rejectomancy in the past. Here Mr Wendig explains how time and multiple rejections hone our rejectomancy skills (No. 24). The more you read, the more you know about the writing business, the more able you are to recognise what different types of rejection are actually telling you. Here, finally, is a plus in having received many rejections. There are differences and they do have different meanings. Some are indeed positive and encouraging and manage to give you hope and faith about your writing even though they are still saying 'no'. I think it is also important to note that editors/agents do not always get it right and one rejection should not be seen as the final word on a manuscript.

My other lovely link is uplifting and disheartening all at once - Sandra, in her post on Bad Reviews, reminds us that relying on the praise of others is ultimately futile. There is a wonderful logic to this that cheers me up, however having had some nice reviews recently I am now wondering if I must regard these with the same eye with which I would regard a poor review. Perhaps it is futile to rely on the praise of others but what I will cling on to is the idea that people are reading my book.

I got lost on the way to my happy place...

2011-12-10T12:42:00.001-08:00

It has been a week of menial tasks and attending to the needs of others. A week of to'ing and fro'ing, ferrying, and sitting in parked cars. On Friday I sat in a hot, airless car in a featureless carpark in an industrial area for two hours, waiting. Sometimes it is what you have to do. I read a lot but conditions were not conducive to writing. It is hard to create when you feel like your brain is melting and your hungry stomach is about to turn on you and eat you from the inside out. Navman could not give me directions to my happy place. But then last night I understood how to bring the hero in one of my three projects back from an impossible place. Man did that feel good. I hope I get the chance soon to put that thought into words in my manuscript. Solutions come when you least expect them. The important thing is to know that the solutions will arrive. I keep the faith. It is my job as a writer. And sometimes it is the time away from the computer and the writing that yields the best results.

I am a fan of epiphanies. Sometimes they arrive close together and it leaves you wondering if they are not as important and starry as you think they are. Or perhaps they are and it is just part and parcel of the creative life to have as many as I do. Yesterday I had two. One when I realised how to rescue my hero, the other when I read this. Nicola Morgan knows how to explain things. It is clever and enlightening stuff. Go read it, it will improve your writing.

My next picture book Made with Love will be out next April (yay!!).

And over at Tall Tales and Short Stories you can read a review of my young teen novel The Half Life of Ryan Davis.

On the surface the story seems fairly straightforward, but boy is there a twist that I didn't see coming. With any good thriller you try to work it out and, yes, with hindsight the clues are there, but the denouement took me by surprise and I loved the dark, rather disturbing twist and psychological sting in this tale.

This book is currently available as an e-book from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and I-tunes and should be available for the Sony e-reader soon. The print version is currently available from fishpond.co.nz and should be in bookshops and on amazon soon. If you want a copy and are having trouble getting it let me know.

We are all lemmings...

2011-12-05T11:45:00.001-08:00

Christmas is a season of immense joy and intense stress. Suddenly the end of the year is upon us and despite the fact that this happens EVERY YEAR we still act like a pack of lemmings (who should also know better by now) and throw ourselves off the cliff in a frenzy of what on earth should I get for all these people half of whom I barely know (secret Santa may very well be synonymous with bad Santa) and how much food and beverage can I get through toasting a season that is really all about the birth of the baby cheeses not a festival of shopping. January is the month of regret. And knowing what I know I am still able to be smug about the fact that my Christmas shopping is almost done (although I still have a boat load of food to buy, prepare and consume). I was stressed out a week ago but I'm feeling much more zen now.

As it is a time of giving, my gift to you today is some lovely links. The first is sometime agent/author/blogger Nathan Bransford talking about networking, or more to the point, networking without networking. This is kind of my philosophy too and one I didn't appreciate until the friendships I had made for the sake of friendship and kindred-spiritedness had unexpected and lovely repercussions. The beauty of this accidental networking is knowing that these relationships have been founded on mutual respect and interests, without a thought for personal gain and that the benefits go both (or multiple) ways. Oh, that more of the way the world works was founded on principles such as these.

And if you have ever loved the movie The Lost Boys I give you this lovely and most encouraging post by the Rejectionist - its a little bit uplifting, feisty, retrospective, introspective and heartwarming all at once.

Whatever the other purists say (I am a long time fan) I am looking forward to seeing Tintin on the big screen.

Time for a little fantasy...

2011-11-28T18:30:00.001-08:00

Here is a sample of one of my current projects ... still in draft form, but you get the idea

“You are such a worry wart,” the boy teased. “It is years away. And the Hunting of the Hare is just atradition. It is organised to the last detail. Nothing will go wrong. ”

“Athel is right,” the second boy said.

The third one said nothing. He looked away from his friends, hisgaze sweeping up the hill to settle on the castle perched on its brow. A light spring breeze ruffled the pennants onthe top-most tower and sent the clouds on their way. Twilight shadows began tocreep over the grey stone walls, welcoming the dark of night. Even the majestyof this sight could not put his mind at ease. It just made him feel worse. Tomorrowhe would hunt the hare. Tomorrow it would tell him he was not fit to rule.Tomorrow everyone would know what Arran wasalready too well aware of. He sighed.

Athel rolled his eyes at hisfriend. “Come your highness, it is time for you to prepare,” and he clicked tohis horse to move on. The others followed, the third boy letting his horse fallbehind. There was little point arguing. When his father died, he would take hisplace. None of them could understand why he thought it the worst thing in theworld.

He woke too early the next morning, the darkness proving a fertileground for his fears and concerns as he lay waiting for the cock to crow theday awake. But it was still well before dawn when his father’s guard came toget him. Tomorrow he would be sixteen. Today he discovered whether he would bea good King.

It's dark down here...

2011-11-26T12:35:00.001-08:00

It has been a sobering few days. After the thrill of getting a great mark on my assignment, it has been all down hill since then with some things that didn't go my way. Feeling a little bleak today but felt a bit buoyed by this post from Nicola Morgan. If you have been trying to get published for a long time and things haven't been happening then Nicola's story will give you hope. Its a good story. I admire and respect her perseverance. And her career since she first got published has been impressive. The thing that resonated with me most though is how she views the setbacks and disasters she has experienced.

Nicola says her first book, Mondays are Red was published in 2002 and I have been very lucky ever since, though it has not always been easy and I’ve had my knockbacks. Authors tend to hide those bad times and you should realise that beneath every apparently successful author’s confident exterior are bruises and scars. But do I wish I hadn’t had the years of failure, of not knowing whether I’d ever be published? No. They stop me taking anything for granted or thinking too highly of myself. They are crucial to who I am now; they are also why I understand what gets published and why some perfectly wonderful writing does not.

What doesn't kill us makes us stronger. Setbacks and disasters are character building. At first I agreed completely with Nicola. I would probably be way more of a brat if everything had gone my way. Would I pay it forward as much if I didn't know how difficult and slippery this business can be? I still do agree with her about that. But if I knew other authors bore the same bruises and scars that I did, I think it would make me feel a bit better about my own. And if I knew what had caused those scars and bruises I might take a different approach in future to avoid some of them. The other night I discovered a writer friend had experienced exactly the same setback I had a few years ago. She will be the third person that I know of that this has happened to. Are there others? Should we sit back and accept it or are there things we can do to save other people this experience in the future. Maybe its not right that we just passively accept the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.

Why yes ma'am I can write an essay about that. I can write an essay about anything...

2011-11-23T17:05:00.001-08:00

My final assignment was returned in the post today - an essay on why (or why not) poetry from the past is relevant to today's children. I had started it in plenty of time before the deadline but every time I approached it, the topic got away from me and my thoughts ran all over the place and refused to hold hands in a circle. Finally on the way home from dropping my daughter off at some after school thing I had an epiphany. I emailed my tutor and asked if I could get the essay in a few days late. The rubbish I had already written wasn't going to wash. I needed to start again and take a different tack. The age of the poetry wasn't what mattered. It was the poetry itself. What was it about successful poetry for children that made it successful? The essay nearly wrote itself. I wracked my brain for the rules about referencing and bibliography that I had used during earlier university courses and went through the process. I am very happy to report I got an A+. Essay writing, like fiction writing, needs the right idea. Find the right approach and it falls out on the page almost fully formed. And when you have hit on the right idea, you know its the one. My earlier attempts had felt awkward and uncomfortable. Even though I ended up using a lot of the same material, I now had focus and cohesion and everything fell into place and made sense. Just three more papers to go. Next year I think I'll have a go at the research paper. I've been nervous about doing this one but I think I have to do it before I can move on to the others. I feel like I can do it now. I can essay the heck out of just about anything.

And its about time we had some more juicy links. My mantra is always 'be polite and professional.' You can do a lot of brave and bold things as long as you are polite and professional. Following up with publishers is less scary and more fruitful if you are polite and professional. In fact everything is more fruitful if you are polite and professional. Everyone likes to be treated well and with respect. And its not just me saying it. Nicola Morgan over at Help! I Need a Publisher agrees. Although I am not sure I agree with the statement
Always wear a suit when preparing your submission. If you wear pyjamas, they will see. :)
If you write for children not only are pyjamas the right choice, your slippers should be animal themed or extremely fluffy.

Nicola also has an excellent post on praise. I adore praise (I also adore chocolate) but praise is never without strings attached. Make sure you know where all the strings lead back to and what this means about the praise and the thing praised.

Last but not least I would like to draw your attention to this. It is a sobering read but also hopeful. Yes publishing can be an unfair place. It may not be you or the quality of your work that is the reason you have been rejected. Keep believing in yourself and try again.

Feeling stuck with your writing? Go see a movie...

2011-11-21T15:32:00.001-08:00

Often, more so than from books, I learn something about plot, setting and character from movies. Sure there are different constraints and different requirements, but the best movies tell complex stories with fascinating and compelling characters with endings that satisfy. And in a movie there is less time to achieve this end. A good movie must 'show' effectively, the motivations, the decisions, the emotions of the character. Good movies can teach us a lot about 'show'. Well chosen settings background the people and the action. Sometimes they play a character as well.

Last night I saw Drive, starring Ryan Gosling, and Carey Mulligan. The movie opens with the main protagonist (Ryan Gosling) doing one of his two occupations. By day he is a stunt driver for action movies, by night the wheel man of getaway cars. He is smart, ice cool and skilled. A man of very few words. He meets and falls for his neighbour, played by Carey Mulligan, who has a young son and a husband in prison. When the husband gets out, he is targeted by thugs to whom he owes money, who threaten his family unless he does one last job. The driver offers to help for the sake of the man's wife and child. And it all goes horribly wrong.

What we thought we knew about the driver changes as the movie progresses. The violence is graphic and hideous but explains subsequent (and previous) events. Who do we root for? Can bad people be redeemed? How can extreme and opposite emotional states be rationalised? If you are squeamish this may not be the movie for you. But it is a gripping and rewarding watch. 5 stars from me. Another good movie, although with considerably less violence, stamped with the same quality, is Super 8. From the opening scene when the man changes the 'number of days since last work accident count' to 1 at the Steel Mill we know we are in for some subtle and sophisticated story telling. If you feel stuck with your writing? If you feel like you aren't 'getting' how you can improve your storytelling, go see some movies. Even bad ones will teach you something. At least your book doesn't rely on the quality of the acting or the amount of money you can spend on costumes, locations and special effects. Your characters just have to 'be' who you want them to be. Show us why they behave the way they do. Show us who they are and what makes them feel the way they do. Remember you don't have to spill your guts completely at the beginning (metaphorically speaking that is) of the story. Hold some stuff back. Make your reader wonder and want to read on to find out. A good plot is like a plait or shoelaces - it isn't done until its all laced together.

I'll be talking up a storm about plotting, character and showing and working through some juicy exercises on writing for children at the Centre For Continuing Education Summer Workshop next January.

One step closer to the funny farm...

2011-11-18T13:20:00.001-08:00

I have to frequently remind myself that this business is a slow dance, interspersed with long pauses. This is a source of much frustration for me. Long time readers will know of my chronic impatience. It is a benign tumour that cannot be safely or permanently excised, that provides constant reminders of its existence, pressing on my rational brain. Either a benign tumour or a curse. Both fit. When expectations developed in eons gone past are finally realised, I know I should be patient. But this understanding has the half life of a whisper and then I am back to my impatient self. And when the only distraction is the annoying, political arse-hattery of the upcoming election it is enough to drive me a little crazy. I am one step closer to the funny farm.

Best of 2011 Lists are emerging all over the place in the run up to Christmas. Big congratulations to all my kiwi compatriots who appear! - Maria Gill, Kyle Mewburn, Brian Falkner, Donovan Bixley and Ruth Paul. The House That Went to Sea made it on to the Storyline's Books for Christmas Giving Lists - whoop, whoop! I dream of making it on to more lists. As my rational brain knows this can take time. Maybe next year. Every year I adjust my goals depending on what has gone before. Get published was superseded by get published more than once which has been superseded by get published in different age ranges which has been superseded by get published in other formats and other countries. And of course now 'have books appear on lists'. I haven't achieved all of these yet so there are things to work on. I hope you keep your goals and ambitions fresh. Its that time of year. Sometimes they just need a little lip gloss applied, sometimes just a pinch of the cheeks, but sometimes you need to clean it all off and start again. After all, when that eyeliner smudges it can look a little ghoulish.

Remember, goals aren't just about an end product. Goals should grow your career. Goals should be about personal growth as well as career growth. Goals should nurture and take care of you as well as move you forward. Don't play it safe. Do something that scares you but not something that you don't want to do. I leave the bungy jumping to the thrill seekers - being a writer with a dislocated hip would not be my idea of personal development. Make sure that scary thing is something you've always secretly wanted to try. Maybe its saying hello to an author or illustrator you admire at next year's Storyline's Margaret Mahy Day. Maybe its showing your manuscript to a stranger for their advice. Or sending it out to that publisher. Maybe its doing a school visit or an author talk. Or presenting a workshop. Maybe its turning your manuscript into an e-book. Maybe its attending an overseas writing conference. When I look over that list I appreciate how many scary things I have done over the last few years. Maybe 2012 will be my year off scary things. My goals for 2012?

1) Do another university paper towards my Diploma of Children's Literature
2) Find a way to be involved in NZ Book Month (although I try and behave like every month is NZ Book Month)
3) Find a way to be involved in NZ at the Frankfurt Book Fair (even if its just talking a lot about it on interweb and trying to get some of my books there)
4) Finish rewrite on Jack the Viking: Magnetic North and publish in digital form (yes sorry I dropped the ball on this one this year)
5) Finish current projects
6) Have a decent holiday
7) Keep fit
8) Make more time

This list is not complete. After a year of unexpected things I am not sure whether 2012 will be the same. I feel like I have enough to keep me busy without adding more. That was one of my problems this year. I thought I would tick a lot of things off the list I made for 2011. So this year number 8 is a priority.

Paper prozac

2011-11-15T14:06:00.001-08:00

It would be disingenuous of me to say I write for the pleasure of writing alone. I write in the hope that others will read my work with pleasure. I write to find the magic that filled the books I loved as a child. I write to replicate the happiness I find in the pages of a good read. Paper prozac. I want to read it, and write it. So it makes me feel very good when people say nice things about my books. Even more so when there is no tie of kin or friendship to temper their words. So yes I did do a little happy dance when I saw this review of The Half Life of Ryan Davis,

"A disturbing story but compelling reading. Tightly told in short chapters which capture the teenage voice very well. Almost a detective/mystery novel but has more depth than that."

And this one of The House That Went to Sea.

"This beautifully produced book is a great little story, easy to read out loud and has that perfect combination of adventure and a little touch of sadness that makes the best kind of children’s books."

Do reviews influence readers and book buyers? I have asked this question before and there are no conclusive answers. I know I buy if I see a good review of the kind of book I like. But to me a review is a thumbs up for me as a writer. Someone enjoyed my book. People who read a lot and who know their apples have recommended my books to others. That is a significant reward in these tricky times. It is very encouraging. And it is a terrific antidote to rejections. Especially for the books in question.

If you have been wondering what I am up to now I confess I have become a total slack-arse. I have three novels to work on and instead I have been counting down to the release of the final Harry Potter movie on DVD (and am now preparing to watch it ad nauseum - yay), hanging with my children between their exams and trying to support and encourage them through their study (bless their little cotton socks). I have been reading a great quantity of other people's books which is a treat and an aid to my own writing and have been fascinated to find I have learnt more from the books I have read that weren't as well written as my faves were. It is easier to spot weaknesses than it is to point out the mechanics of great writing. And when the sum of all parts is greater than the individual parts, - fuggedaboutit. That's the magic.

A legend in my own mind...

2011-11-12T12:27:00.001-08:00

A NZ children's author, much awarded (here and overseas) and much published (same) had their name transformed and gender switched on air recently. Ever since I heard it it has been bugging me. After an initial giggle (sorry mate) my thoughts quickly descended to 'what do you have to do around here to get some recognition'. I understand if my name is mangled - its a tricky name - it can be a challenge even for people who've known me a long time. But I was a bit shocked that this person's name wasn't better known. At least enough to be the right sex. If you have a flair for rugby your name is soon the topic of discussion around the breakfast table. If your face is on the TV during peak viewing it is an easy side step to print media. And bad behaviour seems the most effective PR of all and, as Paul Henry can confirm, the equivalent of a winning lottery ticket. If it was just about being good at what you do then I could understand that. If it was about building your reputation then that would be something to aim for. But these don't seem to be sufficient for writers of children's literature in NZ. And many of the NZ writers for children that I know regularly do the promotional equivalent of a marathon and try all sorts of gymnastic contortions to get their names out there. When I do school visits I often ask children if they know some NZ authors and illustrators and I'm saddened at their response. No Roald Dahl is not a kiwi. They often ask me if I draw as well as write and when I say that I don't, I ask them for the names of some NZers who do. What's the world coming to if they don't know Lynley Dodd or Gavin Bishop or Pamela Allen? And what about Ruth Paul and Donovan Bixley?When they ask me if I'm friends with other authors and I smile and say of course and tell them who, they stare blankly at me. Surely the sign of a healthy society is not only clothed and fed and educated children, but also a society that recognizes the names of their writers and illustrators for children. They know the names of children's writers from other countries, whether recent or not. The music industry has managed to raise its profile, but that took a government required quota system. Do children in other countries know the names of their children's writers? Do you know who Mo Willems and Ian Falconer and Lauren Child are?

I guess this example illustrates that our efforts, no matter how strenuous, aren't working. We need some help. Any suggestions?

UPDATE - okay as my SO pointed out, books are often known by their titles or main characters, especially amongst children. Hairy McLairy, or Maori Legends, or the Wheels on the Bus would be remembered before the people behind them are. I don't think this is a complete rationale or excuse though. Is there ever a teaching focus on NZ writers in primary schools? Is it in the curriculum? I would love to know.

UPDATE 2.0 - of course the more I think about it, the more I have to acknowledge how much name recognition is about branding. I get branding. However while I pursue branding on the one hand, for me I make the whole issue so much more complicated for myself by not having a series or sticking to one style/genre/age group. I can't assume that readers who like my short stories or my picture books will necessarily graduate to my longer works. And I have contemporary and historical time slip and my picture books are all stand alones and do I need to build name recognition for each one? Okay I'm tired just thinking about it - I'm off to have a lie down and a cup of tea and then work on my next novel which is completely different to anything that has come before - sigh.

Just hold steady a minute, so i can get my bearings...

2011-11-09T17:43:00.000-08:00

Getting your work published is not the end of your education it is just the beginning. Every time I have had something published I have learned something new. The more I learn the more I appreciate how little I know. And it does not help that the industry is constantly evolving and currently seems to be experiencing some rather major shifts. Jeepers, just hold steady for a minute, will you, so I can get my bearings. Yet there are certain fundamentals which will always apply in this business. Being polite and professional is always the right place to start. And you can check out some more good advice on how to get on the publication road here at Nicola Morgan's blog.

I am in the teaching seat this summer holidays, taking a two day weekend workshop on writing for children as part of the University of Auckland's Centre for Continuing Education Summer Programme. There are still spaces available and you can check it out here. To be held at the lovely Epsom campus, it will be a fun weekend of juicy writing secrets, tips and the chance to weed and iron out those pesky writing problems you might be having.

Thanks to the wonderful Graham Beattie who reviewed my new book The Half Life of Ryan Davis on his blog. "YA psychological drama thriller writing at its best......." Crikey - I wrote that book :). And I just want to share this juicy link because I think this is very smart. Janet Reid talks about the mistaken assumption of stupidity when someone does not 'get' what you are saying. This is not just for writers but for everyone, everywhere.

I visited the primary school at which a fellow writer, Phillip Simpson, teaches last week to read to his year 3-4 class. I put up a signed copy of The Were-Nana as the prize for a writing challenge I gave them. Here is the winning entry by Eva Colthart. Well done Eva...I have chills running down my spine...

Halloween Night

By Eva Colthart

Once a little girl was going to do trick or treating. There was a house near the grave yard. She trick or treated there. She knocked on the door and an old man came out. She screamed and ran away as fast as she could. Then BANG!! Something came from the old man’s house. She went back to her house and ran into her bedroom and told her dad everything . He didn’t believe her. A minute later the lights went out and her dad lit a candle. Then the lights flashed and there was a spooky noise it sounded like a howl. She thought that it was a were-wolf but when she went back to the house of the old man it was him. He was turning into a were-wolf!!! She was scared she ran and told her dad, he still didn’t believe her. She took her dad to the old man’s house. Then they went into the old man’s house. He was dead on the floor. Aaaaaarrrrrraarrr!!!! She screamed. They both ran back to their house and the lights were still off. Her dad lit another candle. Then a zombie came through the wall!!!!! And on that day they both died.

The end!!!!!!!!

Instant success, just add water and stir...

2011-11-02T14:53:00.000-07:00

It was, I thought, a good idea. A company wanting to provide some free children's story downloads to customers for long car trips. Authors would receive a free audio file professionally produced to use as they saw fit. They would retain all rights and get some free promotion through folk being able to listen to their stories (a huge bonus when promotion can be such a hard slog). But the company hadn't planned to 'pay' for the stories they chose to record. Fair enough, I thought, they are not selling them. I thought about the stories I had written that might fit the bill and sent them in. But I was somewhat surprised to hear some folk thought this was a terrible idea. As far as I can tell its not a scam. I always think of a scam as the situation where things are nothing like you think they are. Or where you have to pay them to accept your story. Neither of these things was true in this instance. If my stories made the cut I would be getting a return on them but not one instantly quantifiable in dollar terms.

I believe I should be paid for the creative work I produce, but it is hard to know what I am worth. Who decides? The market? The market is saturated with books; many very, very good ones. Plenty of great writers get ignored by the market and it has nothing to do with the quality of their work. Publishers? They want to reward writers but must do so at the behest of the market. They are, after all, commercial operations. Award judges? Sure! They select stories they believe are of a high quality and it can only help to be talked about in this way. But ultimately it is the everyday purchasing reader I have to impress. In my opinion I have to earn the reputation I want to be rewarded for. This doesn't happen overnight. I can't wash it in Pantene and have instant success. Sometimes it does happen overnight to people (I want the shampoo they're using) and good on them but it hasn't happened to me. I have to write the best stories I can and send them out into the world. And then I have to keep doing it. Because if someone does find one of my books among the many, many others and then discovers they like it, I want them to like my next book even more. They might remember my name. Next time they venture out to the bookshop or the library or onto Amazon they might ask if there are any other books by me. When a new one comes out they might get that too. Building a readership can be a slow painstaking process. I have to win people over with my writing cos most of the time that's all they see of me. I can't make them love me. And with children it can be extra challenging as our target readers are always growing up and moving on. "Hey, I just won you over, stay 8 a few years longer!" And then we have to do it all over again with a whole new group and who knows what they will like. If having a story on audio helps win people over to my writing then that sounds pretty good to me. And having that recording to help sell my other stories sounds even better. I like the idea of expanding the formats my stories are available in. That's part of the reason I signed up for The Half Life of Ryan Davis to be published by Pear Jam Books. It's already in 2 formats and a third is in the pipelines. Four formats is the goal for all Pear Jam Books.

So I am willing to give my story to that company to help build my name. So its building their name as well? Good for them. I know how important that is. And if I get no financial return on a short story today its not the end of the world. If one kid likes my story on a car trip who knows where it might lead.

Spooky tales....and pink hair

2011-10-30T16:33:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Geneva - my little Halloweenie :) Looking forward to giving out treats to the best dressed who knock on our spooky door this evening.

The Half Life of Ryan Davis is now out in print and can be bought here. I still have a copy to give away.

I have been at the Armageddon Expo over the weekend at the Pear Jam Book Stall. The Expo hosts a wide variety of fans who love all manner of things from Fantasy, Sci Fi, and Military, to Anime, and Manga, Steam Punk and tech. There were a wonderful array of costumes including Where's Wally, Star Wars Characters, Star Trek characters, Manga characters, Super heroes and lesser known Heroes, Ghouls, Zombies and Space Tarts. On Saturday I got a little carried away and/or inspired and dressed up as you can see above. T'was very pleasing to hold my latest baby in my hands and feel its shiny cover. Hope those who went away with a copy enjoy the story.

hey it's another competition!! Win a print copy of The Half Life of Ryan Davis or The House That Went to Sea

2011-10-24T16:21:00.000-07:00

Unless you've been hiding under a rock, by now you will be aware that the All Blacks won the Rugby World Cup on Sunday night. YAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!! And if you are hiding under a rock you probably aren't reading this so I will assume I am talking to the informed. It was torture to watch the final. Finally France played like finalists - much respect to them. However you cannot dismiss the All Blacks response. They played defense as if their lives depended on it. Despite injuries, quality All Blacks kept rocking up to take their compatriots places. If I found qualities in Piri Weepu that I would like to emulate, after Sunday I think the whole New Zealand team showed the kind of determination and commitment that get results. It was not their best game but they had played a tournament's worth of cup winning rugby. Mentally we all played that final, our hearts pounding in our chests.

I read this post with great interest. It's interesting to compare it to this. Why do we do what we do? I must confess sometimes the desire to be published can be overwhelming. Perhaps not to the extent that it was for Ms Whipple. But I respect her advice. Step back. Write the stories you want to write. Take your time. Ok, maybe I can't do the last thing on that list. I don't think my impatience will ever be cured. Everything is still too slow. I don't want to take my time. I will always want things to happen now. But as months and years have passed, things I never thought would happen have happened. I guess the treatment for impatience is never giving up on anything because the things that are only now coming to fruition make up for those things I'm working on now that just aren't happening fast enough.

I am giving away a print copy of The Half Life of Ryan Davis and one of The House That Went to Sea, and I will post them anywhere in the world. All correct answers to the following question will be eligible for the draw. Please advise which book you would prefer.

Question - why is Halloween extra special in our household?
(update - I will accept incorrect answers to this question if they are very creative and make me laugh)

And for those people who would like to see how our eldest is doing here is a photo taken last week

A lot we can learn from Weepu...

2011-10-21T15:10:00.000-07:00

Watched an interview with All Black Piri Weepu on TV last night. There is a lot an author can learn from Piri. He had some dreadful blows to his rugby career; being dropped by Coach Graham Henry before the 2007 World Cup and then breaking his leg in horrible fashion during a game last year. Both could have been career ending if he'd let them. They weren't the only things interfering with his position in the All Blacks but Weepu hung in there. He learnt from his mistakes. He wanted to come back. He got match fit. He demonstrated he deserved inclusion in the team. And look at him now! He's a bit of a star. And he's handling it well. Life is what happens while we're making other plans, so John Lennon sang. We have to deal with what life hands us and make the most of it. Weepu obviously had the raw talent that made him a contender for the best rugby team in the world. But he purposefully did what he needed to do as well and kept faith in himself. Go the All Blacks - good luck for the game tomorrow night.

My head and heart dropped a little when I read this in the NZSA's newsletter yesterday

The Society of Authors has unofficially learnt that "He meomoça he ohorere / While you are sleeping / Bevor es bei Euch hell wird” is the slogan under which New Zealand will present itself as 2012 Frankfurt Book Fair’s Guest of Honour. The New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage, which is dedicated to preserving the national heritage of Aotearoa, views the country’s selection as the Guest of Honour for the Frankfurt Book Fair as a unique opportunity to present the cultural diversity of New Zealand. The announcement was made at a media conference in Germany, as part of this year's Frankfurt Book Fair. “New Zealand’s role as Guest of Honour in 2012 is an unprecedented high point for our writers, publishers and artists. The opportunity to share our creativity and unique perspective with Germany and Europe at the Frankfurt Book Fair is a once in a life-time opportunity and we are excited to bring our voice to you next year,” says Tanea Heke, Project Leader.

This is such a wonderful opportunity for New Zealand. As we sit, small and discrete, way down here at the southern end of the Pacific it is hard to grab the attention of Europe all the way across the other side of the globe (unless its about rugby). Here is our chance to show what we are made of to the Olde Worlde. I hoped one of my books might make it in to the catalogue but I missed out. I would love to be a part of this opportunity. When I saw the slogan I thought of my as-yet-unpublished picture book manuscript While You Are Sleeping which has done the editorial dance several times but been unable to jump the final hurdle into publication. It is out on submission at the moment. If only ...

"... While you are sleeping…

Rain may fall, and winds may blow,

Clouds come and go,

And the stars get their chance to shine ..."

I am glad they know what they're doing

2011-10-20T17:06:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Head of Pear Jam Books, Jill Marshall, suggested a 'class trip' to the printers to watch our books become paperbacks. This was a rare opportunity. Not too many books are printed in New Zealand. And it was exciting and fascinating to tour around the facility and see how it all happens. It is a complex and technical business, overseen by perfectionists with an eye for detail - as it should be. They print large sheets on both sides with multiple pages to be cut and bound in correct sequential order. If you have a flair for geometry and origami this is the career for you. Of course the upshot of all this is that The Half Life of Ryan Davis will be available in print form by next weekend. Pear Jam Books will be at Armageddon in Auckland selling books. Come check it (and us) out next weekend October 28th to 31st!

I have also been testing gingerbread recipes and doing some experimenting for another book. I think I have come up with a winning formula and I have sent the resulting recipe off to the publisher.

Tonight the Rugby World Cup's Bronze final (playing off for third and fourth place) between Wales and Australia is being played down the road at Eden Park. There is a general consensus that Wales was robbed last weekend, losing to France who will be playing the final against the All Blacks on Sunday. Although I have hidden in bed with the covers over me for the other games (honestly, last Sunday you could have cut through the tension with a knife and served it up on a plate), I am watching the last two games. Funny thing is as I have hidden in bed over the last few weeks I have heard the cheering down at Eden Park (it's maybe just over a kilometre away?). Between the cheering and the noises from my other family members watching the game in the living room, I have had a fair idea of how things are going anyway. Tonight I want Wales to win as they have consistently punched above their weight. It will be an interesting contest either way. I won't talk about Sunday in case I jinx it but I am making French Toast for dinner :)

Best in show...

2011-10-17T15:03:00.000-07:00

I do not understand this at all. I cannot begin to imagine how Lauren Myracle is feeling, but I also now wonder whether the remaining finalists wish they too were on another planet. What a mess.

What is it with awards at the moment? Have all the changes in the publishing world made people's brains melt. Or is it a case of too many egos spoil the broth. It loses sight of the fact that the best books – the books that last – are born of necessity, not just of the need to fill a gap in the market and give us an easeful few hours. Book prizes should be about writers, not readers. I agree. Book awards should be about writers, not readers. Book awards should be about ego. There should be prizes for what writers consider the best of their breed (smart tail, balanced stance, ideal muzzle, glossy coat, best in show). Readers already get to elect their favourites everyday and the winners are those authors who sell the most copies and reap the most royalties. While some readers will check out finalists and winners of book awards, they aren't standing by not purchasing anything in the meantime. Sometimes the two (best written, best read) coincide, but this should not be the expectation. Debate and disagreement is healthy. Of course some years it will be harder to select a clear winner than others as the book experience is the result of the unique relationship between author and reader. We should not have it any other way. Sometimes a book is so breathtaking every reader is touched and concensus is easy and the writers can't help but agree but that too is a miracle. Debate and disagreement raises the profile of all those titles discussed. As Oscar Wilde said "The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about."

Thank (optional deity ) for this post which had me laughing til I cried. I would like this tattooed on my body as a permanent reminder of the sanity that lurks out there on the internet.

If only it were that simple

2011-10-13T14:37:00.000-07:00

Thought for the day: I don't not know why the word 'procrastinate' starts with the prefix 'pro' which seems to suggest something positive. It should be 'anticrastinate or discrastinate.

Very interesting guest post over at Nicola Morgan's blog - Help I Need a Publisher - about self publishing (http://helpineedapublisher.blogspot.com/2011/10/never-say-never-self-publish-novel.html). Catherine Ryan Howard makes some good points about promoting your work (stop whining, do you want to sell books or not?) and about the realities of publishing decisions (it might be a great book, but traditional publishing may NOT be able to make money out of it). Promotion is a smart move if you would like to help your books sell. There are no guarantees and as she says you can sit back and do nothing and sell 5000 copies or bust a gut marketing your work and sell 5 copies. But the risk is greater in the not doing. And I get the financial arguments behind the decisions to publish. Whether you agree or disagree with a publisher's decision, they have a bottom line. Get over it.

And a very interesting post by writer pal Maureen Crisp about the possible 'demise'? of blogging (http://maureencrisp.blogspot.com/2011/10/doing-what-we-do.html) over on her blog Craic-er. A day doesn't go by without someone sounding the death knell over some aspect of publishing or another. The thing that irks me about the industry people 'lecturing' about blogging is that they can only imagine someone would want to write a blog or read a blog if there's money to be made from it. The numbers they are talking about hurt my head - 15k visitors a month? I guess with a population of 312 million plus people in the US those numbers aren't completely nonsensical and down here in the Antipodes that number might be sensibly revised down somewhat (even though the internet is global and there are technically no borders, of course things will be different here). I don't write my blog to sell my books (although I'm not opposed to anyone buying or reading my books as a result of visiting my blog). I don't read other peoples blogs to find new writers to read (although I have bought and read books because I've read about it on a blog). I write and read blogs to join the shared understanding of what constitutes the book industry round the world. I have learned much from blogs I have followed, I have made writery friends, and I have shared my personal experience and things I have learnt with others through my own blog. Writing is an isolating business, more so than many other endeavours. Blogs have saved my sanity more than once. I think people sometimes find value in the things I have written about here. If agents and some other bloggers can only see the dollar signs, shame on them.

And if you wonder whether there is a conflict here with me agreeing with Ms Howard about the necessities of promoting/marketing on the one hand and pooh-poohing of those hectoring blogsperts on the other, to me there isn't. My primary goal is to write good books for children of all ages. My secondary goal is to keep doing it, which means selling sufficient books. Blogging is about connecting with the community I belong to which happens to be the book community. Is there an overlap? Sure. Am I aware of that overlap? Sure. Do I hope that overlap might have positive spin offs? Sure. Will I keep blogging irrespective of any spin offs? Sure.

Don't drive tired....

2011-10-08T15:59:00.000-07:00

this post is for a friend. A friend who is feeling like the car battery is about to die as she inches forward on the dark road toward book publication.

The road to the town of Publication is perpetually in darkness with leaning lamposts hit by drunk and overconfident drivers leaving the rest of us to crawl forward with our headlamps on full. No wonder we go through car batteries so often. No wonder the fuel doesn't last as long as it should. How many miles have I walked with a gerry can that needs refilling and so often at exorbitant prices. And even when we arrive the town is not quite like we imagined it and our real destination is still further on, along an even darker road filled with potholes, hazards that loom out of the gloom and treacherous fantasy creatures who want to suck our blood or chirpy skippy little animals that try to lure us with promises of easy money. I might stop along the way but I always get back on the road and keep going forward to a destination I cannot see and am not sure of.

So why do we do it? It took me a while to figure out that I could never really give up because my writing is like politician Don Brash - it refuses to go away. I can shun it, and throw things at it, but even a flame thrower wouldn't put paid to my desire to write and my desire to succeed at writing. I have given in to this awkward dark twin that shadows me wherever I go. Sometimes we are better friends than other times. There are battle scars. I have plotted terrible things against it but it will only die when I die. So I don't give up anymore, but I respect my need to stop at that roadside motel sometimes and watch bad tv and let the twin observe the locals. Even though it seems like it sometimes, my twin is not the enemy and we both benefit from a break. There are places to recharge the battery. And to refuel. Never drive tired ... especially in the dark. And sometimes all we need to hear is a friendly voice, from a fellow traveller.

Some road rules to prevent you from crashing
1. Its okay to stop and see the sights on the way. Even though its a delay and your destination will take longer to get to, its good to make the journey more enjoyable.
2. Take the time to talk to fellow travellers - they understand the journey and its good to share information about any shorcuts to where you want to go
3. Don't let the twin boss you around. You are partners on this trip
4. Don't burn any bridges. Just cos you've been over that bridge, doesn't mean you might not need to go over it again
4. Stay in the flasher hotels sometimes, with the bigger choclates on the pillows, and bigger pillows, and a lifeguard at the pool.

Why art and culture?...

2011-10-06T14:49:00.000-07:00

Here is part of a children's story of mine that I am rather fond of

The Man Who Grew Flowers

A long time ago, after we were cave men, but quite a bit before we were like we are today, men and women would go out and look for good things to eat. They tested out the fruit that hung from trees and if they were really smart, first they watched to see if animals ate it.
Sometimes they weren’t that smart.

They checked out the roots of some plants and the fruit that drooped from vines and bushes of others. If the fruit had been there all summer long sometimes they had a party afterwards.

They figured out what was good and what wasn’t. And then the very clever ones worked out how to grow more. The seeds they spat out on the ground sometimes sprouted and the old roots grew new roots and made a new bush which fattened the new roots up until they were good to eat.

The people who grew things had something to eat when there were no animals to hunt. And they could serve up a pretty nice, well-balanced meal if someone did bring home the bacon. Soon it was the in-thing to do.

Except for one man. He liked the cherries but thought the blossoms were amazing. He enjoyed the passionfruit but marveled at the passion flower. And even though he knew some fruit was no good to eat he couldn’t help admiring their flowers. He collected their seeds and planted them. How happy he felt when the flowers popped out when the weather warmed.

But his friends frowned.
“You cannot eat that,” they protested. “That is a waste of effort.”
“If I am hungry there are fruits and vegetables growing wild that I can gather and animals that I can hunt. But I like the flowers. They make me happy, so it is not a waste.”
“What will you do when the ground freezes and the herds go south?”
“I will be hungry, but the memory of the flowers will keep me going until they return.”...

And congratulations to Jill Marshall, author, publisher (www.pearjambooks.com ) and superwoman, Arts and Culture category winner in the 2011 Next Magazine Woman of the Year Awards!

Doing a little happy dance...

2011-10-03T16:18:00.000-07:00

Another sweet review for The House That Went to Sea turned up in the Wairarapa Times Age - http://www.times-age.co.nz/news/books-for-kids/1123949/ (Google Alerts keeps me up to date with who is saying what about my books where - if you aren't using Google Alerts you should). I have posted off another completed assignment (only one more to go - doing a little happy dance here). I think I may have found the solution to the problem I had with one of my current WIP. It was a big problem. The solution seems to satisfy all the complicated requirements that had emerged. I am going to try it on for size. Keep your fingers crossed that it fits.

Yesterday I finished reading a most beautiful book - A Monster Calls. Written by Patrick Ness, based on an idea by Siobhan Dowd, and with haunting illustrations by Jim Kay this is a stunning read. I would say it is more a children's book, but then I would not like to discourage adult readers. Just like adults would have regretted not picking up John Boyne's The Boy in Striped Pyjamas. I do not want to talk about the plot of A Monster Calls at all, because I fear it would be too easy to spoil the book for you although that is not because the plot is easy. Believe me when I say it is wonderful writing. Effortless and powerful, I defy you to be unmoved by this book. I was overcome by a fit of jealousy as I read, wishing I too could write like this. My envy was only assuaged by Ness's overuse of the word 'thick'. It is comforting to know that all authors can suffer from this overuse syndrome. My favourites are 'just' and 'ultimately' and i am sure I have others. Maybe an editor should have picked that up, but then I can understand that an editor might not have wanted to change a thing in case they somehow broke the magic.

A winner!!**!!

2011-10-02T17:36:00.000-07:00

UPDATE: We now have a second winner - congratulations Angela! Your e-book will be with you soon. The competition is now CLOSED but watch this space as there will be another competition soon.

Folks, we've had a correct answer! Congratulations Kath for getting both questions 1 and 2 right. Please send your email address to me at melinda@tale-spin.com and Iwill arrange for your e-book to wing its way to you.

I still have one more copy to give away, so have a go. One correct answer will qualify you. If you do not have an e-reader do not despair as the e-book can easily be read on your computer.

COMPETITION!!! - Win the e-book of The Half Life of Ryan Davis

2011-09-27T15:22:00.000-07:00

Hang on to your hair straighteners ladies and gentlemen, this weekend my all new shiny, smart, super-satisfying young teen novel will be out as an e-book, and available at Amazon. The Half Life of Ryan Davis is a contemporary thriller for 11 to 15 year olds.

"Having an older sister go missing three years before has defined Ryan Davis’s life ever since. All he wants to do is be normal and get on with the difficult business of growing up but the repercussions of Mallory’s disappearance aren’t over yet."

Here is a wee taster. The first person that correctly answers the question that follows will win a copy of the e-book. As I plan to give away more than one copy, if you are not the first to provide the correct answer, try the second question. I may give away an extra copy if I feel like it to other contestants too. I will run another competition when the book comes out in print in December.

Chapter One

Apparently my older sister Mallory was perfect. That’s not how I remember her, but it’s what my mother tells me when I’m doing something wrong. My sister certainly looks perfect in all the photos mum has plastered her bedroom with; photos that sit next to trophies for netball and gymnastics, photos that hang next to certificates of merit for academic achievement, and principals’ awards for community service. But she was just my sister. A sister who fought over the TV remote with me and complained if I took up more than my fair share of the couch. A sister who told me my friends were rude and smelly and called me names. But I guess it doesn’t matter whether she was perfect or not. It’s impossible to be as good as someone who’s just a memory.

“What are you doing Ryan?” Mum asked, glancing over to where I sat at the kitchen table.
I covered my work with my arm. “Nothing,” I said.
“Is that homework?” she pestered. “That better be homework. Mrs Penman wasn’t very happy with your homework last term.”
“She’s just one teacher. I have lots of teachers … and Mrs Penman doesn’t like me.”
“So what did you do to make her not like you?” Mum said, standing at the kitchen bench, squeezing the last home-made muffin into an old ice cream container.
“Nothing. She just doesn’t like me,” I repeated.
“You must have done something, Ryan.’ I could feel her looking over my shoulder. “So is this for her?”
“She’s my Science teacher, Mum. This is for English.”
“Ok. Well, make sure you do your science homework.”
I didn’t bother saying I didn’t have any.
“I’m off to a meeting,” she went on, sitting a knife and a small tub of cream cheese on top of the muffins in her basket. “It’s time to organise the Candle-light Rally for Missing Children again. Gosh, they come around quickly. I need you to look after Gemma.”
“I told Alex I’d be down to see him at the skate park with my bike as soon as I did my homework. You said nothing about going out.”
Mum pointed a wad of paper napkins at me. “Don’t be smart with me. There’s no one else to sit with Gemma and I can’t take her to the meeting. It’s too hard for some of the other parents. Too soon.”
Jeez. Mallory wasn’t here any more but she was still wrecking my life. I wanted to hate her but I couldn’t. It’s hard to hate someone when something bad has happened to them. I wondered if she’d felt this hacked off about babysitting me.
“Can Alex come here?” I don’t know why I asked.
“No. Next thing you know he’ll be texting his mates and there’ll be twenty of them round here. Or a hundred …”
I didn’t bother saying Alex didn’t have a mobile phone at the moment. I’d already told her enough times but she chose not to remember or blocked it out or something. She was good at blocking stuff out. I guess it helped her cope with what had happened to Mallory. I’d see Alex at school tomorrow. In Science class.
“I’ll lock the back door on my way out,” Mum said briskly, brandishing her over-full, jangling key ring like a jailer.
Mallory had just turned fifteen when she disappeared on the way home from netball practice, I wrote as I heard the lock click and the back door slam. I’m older then my big sister will ever be.
I didn’t make Gemma go to bed until an hour after her usual bedtime. Gemma’s okay for a little sister. None of this is her fault. She is a bit of a cry baby, but she’s a girl. Its kind of what they do. She hadn’t moaned at all when I’d asked her to clear the table and wipe while I washed. So I just said nothing while she watched an extra hour of television. I guess you’d call it a silent protest. It’s not like Mum would find out or anything, but the program was a bit grown up and full of swearing. Gemma’s always been on about watching it so I knew she wouldn’t dob me in. I didn’t even bother to make sure she did her homework. That was Mum’s job.
After I’d said good night to my sister I wandered aimlessly around the house. I wasn’t going to do any of the chores Mum would have made me do if she was here. I had a few more days to finish my English assignment and there wasn’t any other homework because the new term of school had only started a couple of days before. TV was rubbish and I didn’t want to ring Alex. He’d be hacked off I never turned up, although he had to be used to it by now. He’d met my mum enough times.
I found myself standing outside Mallory’s bedroom. The last door on the upstairs hallway. I’d seen those forensic crime shows on television. I know what dead people look like. In the beginning I’d imagined Mallory, pale, lying in long grass, her eyes closed. Just her face because I didn’t want to see beyond it. But I couldn’t do it any more. Mum kept telling me she was still alive somewhere. And one day she’d come home and we’d be a happy family again but that was one big fat stupid lie. Mum could tell it to herself but I’d stopped believing it ages ago.
Don’t get me wrong. I wanted Mallory to come back for so long. I waited and waited and waited and the police kept coming back with developments and new ideas and then questions and then, eventually, they stopped coming. I cried bucket-loads of tears – I was a lot younger back then - with Mum and Dad and Gemma, and by myself in my bedroom, and then they just dried up because they weren’t going to bring her back. For a while I hated everything and everyone because what had we done wrong, why was everyone else’s life going along okay and this shit thing had happened to us? And I hated and cursed the person who had taken my sister and wrecked our family and made it break apart into five lonely pieces.
And sometimes I blamed Mallory.
In the end it was Gemma who kind of saved me from becoming a pathetic crying hermit because they were forgetting about us and we had to stick together. Poor Gemma.
I felt a little guilty standing outside Mallory’s room now. It’s not like she’d chosen to be abducted and murdered. For ages I blamed her for all the bad things that happened after she’d gone. And then I did my best to shut her out of my head, except when it suited me to blame her for something else. Like having to babysit Gemma tonight. Even if she was here, she’d be eighteen. She’d probably be going out with a boyfriend. Probably some jock like Mike Crenshaw who played rugby for the senior first-fifteen at my school. Or maybe someone older to piss Mum off. Or she’d be hanging out with her girlfriends and I’d still be minding Gemma although Mum wouldn’t be at the meeting to organise the Candlelight Rally for Missing children. I couldn’t imagine what else she might be doing if Mallory was still around. There wasn’t anything else.
I felt for the light switch and flicked it on. For a second I thought she’d probably be annoying me like crazy if she was here. She’d find a way. And suddenly I desperately wanted to be annoyed. And this flood of sadness swept over me like a wave and threatened to suck me down. As if casting off from the safety of the shore in a leaky boat, I let go of the door frame and drifted into Mallory’s bedroom.
I didn’t know why I was in here. I gave up on the idea long ago that I could find some clue in here myself, something that everyone one else had missed with their fine-toothed combs and their specialist equipment but I couldn’t help feeling a small stab of hope. Then I remembered it all happened three years ago and any clue would just lead me to a pile of bones or a faded empty netball uniform.
When she first disappeared the police spent hours in here, looking through her clothes, flicking through her books as if she'd left a secret coded message in lemon ink in a pocket or between the pages of a favourite book as a clue to what had happened; like she was someone in a Nancy Drew mystery. But she didn’t keep a diary and there was nothing in her room to show what she’d been thinking those last few days before she was gone. There were posters on her bedroom walls of people famous three years ago, but they had nothing to say now. She’d kept a whole lot of stuff in her school bag. She never let anyone else look inside it but she had it with her when she disappeared. They searched for her mobile phone but it was missing too. They monitored it for weeks but there were no calls or texts. Mum had convinced Dad to get a mobile phone for Mallory, saying it would help keep her safe. But a phone can’t protect you if someone has bad intentions. Mobile phones don’t know kung fu and can’t dial for help on their own. And they can’t tell you where they are when the battery’s dead. Just like a person.
A frilly pink duvet lay smooth over her bed with a couple of soft toys propped up on the pillow. The one on the far side was Mr E, her first teddy that I always wished was mine, but I didn’t recognize the other one. It looked brand new; as if no one had ever held it or dragged it through the mud or wiped their nose on it like had happened to Mr E. I punched the new one off the bed. Mallory would have hated it.
Like I’d seen a hundred times before, there was Mallory’s hairbrush, and her earrings and heart necklaces and other jewellery and a bunch of face junk on the top of her drawers. Mum had tidied her girly magazines into a pile but you could see strands of paper sticking out where she’d cut out her favourite hot guy to pin on the cork board above her bed. A chill ran over me as I thought that these things were all that was left of her. Her celebrity crushes in May the year she disappeared and the big plastic rainbow heart that Tyler had given her in year seven, that she wore on a cheap rusty chain. Forever stopped at fifteen, just a roomful of stuff that wouldn’t mean anything to anyone else but us. Like when you take your hand out of a bucket of water and the water falls back into place like you were never there.
I heard the car door slam outside and footsteps climbing the wooden back porch stairs to the house. The key rattling in the lock. I sprinted for the door, quietly let myself into the hallway and along to my room at the other end. It wasn’t worth the trouble I’d be in if Mum found me mucking around in Mallory’s room.

QUESTION: How old is my eldest daughter?
QUESTION 2: Where did my daughter go?

clue - answers can be found on this blog :)

Winners will be announced Next Week.

Ahh technology...

2011-09-25T14:04:00.000-07:00

I now have a kindle. My next novel is out as an e-book as well as in print. I am putting Jack the Viking 2: Magnetic North out as an e-book as soon as I get my A into G. It seemed like the right time to embrace the revolution. Is it better or worse then reading the paper version? - well, no, it's just different. Some things don't work as an e-book. And cuddling up with your kids in bed with a good book will not work with a kindle for several reasons. And I don't think it will work with an I-pad either. I like print books. But I like the electronic version as well. E-readers are here to stay. They are not a flash in the pan, fly-by-night trend like tamagotchi or furbies. They are a practical and smart idea that makes sense for a lot of people. And as an author I should know how it works and what it means and how I get my books on to these devices. Whether I liked or approved of the e-reader trend was never the point. The fact is, readers have embraced the new technology and it would be dumb for me to stick my head in the sand now.

Yet technology can be a mixed blessing. A few contentious issues have been flaring up on the interweb recently: Authors at odds with agents and or publishers over content and contracts. First we had a couple of authors horrified that an agent was suggesting they cut a gay character from their novel in order to make the book more saleable. The agent responded saying the authors were using the situation to find a publisher. It all became he said, she said, but whatever the truth of the matter is, it raised an interesting point about what Sarah Rees Brennan calls the Circle of Suck and you can read about it here - http://sarahtales.livejournal.com/189748.html. As a white middle class female, an awful lot of literature is aimed at me and I have nothing to complain about because I can easily read about people just like me, in books that reflect my circumstances right back at me. Thats one enormous comfort zone of reading for me. But if I was gay or coloured or some other minority group I would have to be reading about straight white people because thats what is mostly out there. That would suck. I don't know that I could write with an authentic voice for other groups, but I would like to think that those who could were free to write their stories and able to get published. However the original issue gets resolved (if it does at all), debate like this over the content of books is hugely important.

And then there is author Kiana Davenport who apparently fell foul of her print publisher because she was releasing short stories in e-format by herself. I found her story via Welshcake here - http://welshcake.blogspot.com/2011/09/evil-publishers.html. Although self-publishing these e-books shouldn't matter, depending on what Kiana's contract with the publisher says, like Welshcake I hesitate over what the truth of the matter is. I was a little shocked to see it all layed out in a globally public forum. I was horrified that the publisher could dismiss Kiana so unprofessionally. Was I missing something? Is there more to this story? Can e-books and self-publishing really be causing this sort of reaction? Is telling her story on her blog going to help or hinder Kiana?? I hope she can sort it out. I'm interested to know what happens.

A few more points...1) as my wise and wonderful friend Maureen Crisp www.maureencrisp.blogspot.com pointed out on facebook, if you are in this writing business, it pays to know your rights. It is your writing - a publisher cannot do or expect more than what has been agreed in the contract. And 2) it is your writing - whatever happens to it is up to you. Know what rights you are handing over to the agent/publisher. Make sure you know exactly what your relationship is with them. You are responsible for what happens to your writing.

Will they want to take it home?...

2011-09-18T15:29:00.000-07:00

I have had some more nice reviews for The House That Went to Sea, in the Magpies Magazine (volume 26) and the Sunday Herald (18th September issue).

An excerpt from the Magpies review by Rosemary Tisdall, - "Melinda tells a delightful story of subtle and clever manipulation by Granny Gale, as she tempts Michael to try new things. One can well imagine Michael's determination to resist her methods. Gabriella's full-page evocative illustrations create the perfect matching moods and excitement beyond the windows. The sparsely furnished cottage is balanced well with the busy-ness of the mermaids and pirate scenes. I like the way the story develops and I can see young readers wishing it were them on the floating house."

And from the review by Crissi Blair in the Sunday Herald which provides a lovely summary of the story - "A quirky adventure with a delightfully odd grandmother."

And in further developments, The House That Went to Sea may be broadcast on Radio New Zealand - if and when, I will let you know.

Reviews are nerve wracking things for writers and illustrators. Its better to be talked about then not talked about. Its better to get good reviews than bad reviews. Do book buyers read reviews and act upon them? I must say I do, but I am a lonely sample size of one so its hard to extrapolate from this.

And as I did with The House That Went to Sea, I am now reaching that unpleasant phase in the process of publication with my new book The Half Life of Ryan Davis where I know I love my story and I know the publisher has loved it enough to get behind it but now its poised on the edge, ready to throw itself at the public. What will reviewers say? Will they even review it? No matter what you have poured in to your book: the love, the sweat, the tears, the agonies, you cannot tell anyone what they should think of it. You cannot tell them how to read it and how it should be interpreted. They won't know which are your favourite bits, or your proudest. You have to let it go and hope they feel the same way reading it, that you felt writing it. Yikes, I am nervous for my new baby. Will they think its handsome? Will they want to take it home? So you other writers/illustrators/book makers - do you feel like this when your book is released out into the world?

Any minute now...

2011-09-13T21:18:00.001-07:00

Things are cranking up for Pear Jam Books. I have been reading and re-reading The Half Life of Ryan Davis in preparation for print (December 1st) and e-publishing (October 1st) which is getting close. Pear Jam Books' first new publication The Rapture by Phillip W. Simpson is already available as an e-book at Amazon. The first in a YA trilogy, go check it out at http://www.rapturetrilogy.com/
or http://www.amazon.com/Rapture-ebook/dp/B005IF8SYM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1315695115&sr=8-1 . Pear Jam Books will have books for all ages from board books for the very young to an adult title. Watch this space...

Now as I have the lurgy this will be brief today so I don't germify the intramaweb. After my musings on promotion the other day I saw this lovely post (http://jetreidliterary.blogspot.com/2011/09/promotion-ideas.html) over at Janet Reid's blog which seemed a perfect fit with my witterings. I guess you don't always have to work harder, sometimes you just have to work smarter. Those are very smart suggestions...go take a look.

Okay...I'm off to lysol the keyboard...

Charm offensive....

2011-09-07T15:54:00.000-07:00

A writer friend mentioned on facebook that they wanted to avoid promotional work for any of their books published. They had considered using a pen name to help with this.

Firstly I can totally understand why folk might not want to get involved in promotion. Its hard work, it's generally very public and it is difficult to know to what extent it is paying off. For some there are barriers to them doing conventional promotion. Some book folk relish the public face of their business. They are naturals: witty and amusing, charming and able to have the crowd in the palm of their hand in minutes. People chase them for public speaking engagements, workshops and literary festivals. But if you are not a natural you must learn how to do it, face a thousand fears as you do so and you must do all the chasing which can be demoralising (as if we need extra rejections) and exhausting. And, always,there are no guarantees of the outcomes of any promotion you do.

If you are set against promoting your work, from all my experience and observations so far, I don't think a pen name is needed to avoid it. In this industry in New Zealand most authors and illustrators have to work long and hard to get some attention going their way. If you don't do this, 99 times out of 100 (sadly) no one is knocking your door down or ringing your phone off the hook to get a hold of you to promote your work, interview you or buy 1,000 copies of your stunning work of genius. There are exceptions, but then there are usually mitigating circumstances as well. And if you do get the hordes chasing after you when your debut book comes out, there are effective ways to respond and make use of your popularity without running round promoting yourself like a chook with their head cut off. Publishers do like authors and illustrators to promote their work but a) I don't think a pen name necessarily makes a difference as Emily Rodda will attest and b) here in NZ I don't think it is a make or break issue to signing a contract.

Of course the other side of this issue is - can you forge a writing career without any kind of promotion? I do what I feel able to do because I am afraid the answer to this question is no. I also do what I feel able to do because there is something very special about meeting the children who have read and enjoyed your work. Sometimes they are passionate readers and it is unbelieveably heartening to know they have chosen to include you in their library. Sometimes they are budding writers and meeting you is a turning point for them. Both of these things will blow your socks off. Wear two pairs in winter in case this happens.

I know there are other people who are better at promotion than me and I envy the ease with which they expand their fan base and improve their sales. I know some people who don't promote at all and some have successful careers and some don't. There are also new ways of promoting your work through the social network and with the aid of technology and these mean so much can be done from the comfort of your own home. If you are uncomfortable or unable to promote in conventional ways, it pays to check out the alternatives. Ultimately it is up to you what you feel able to do and how you manage your writing career. As with so many other aspects of writing there is no right one way to do this. Do what works best for you but make sure you are well informed about it before you make those decisions.

The title Minefield...

2011-09-03T16:34:00.000-07:00

It can be nerve-wracking when your publisher wants your input on things like covers etc... For all the times you might think 'I wish I had more control over this' remember that with great control comes great responsibility. What makes a great cover? Who will it appeal to? Will it make your target audience pick the book up? Will it make a wider audience pick it up? Will the people who pick it up feel that the cover represented the contents and feel satisfied with their selection. Or will they feel duped or cheated? Or will they think its better than they expected? Do certain colours put people off. Is the cover too juvenile for the target audience or too mature? Will it attract boys and girls. See - it's a minefield. When you are already sweating and fretting about whether your book will sell or not, if the cover was your idea it can make you sweat and fret more. And yet to be able to share your thoughts on things like this is exciting. For my next book - a teen thriller - I knew from the beginning the title didn't work like it should and a change was likely. It took some brainstorming and some down time where I shoved it to the back of the grey matter for me to come up with a useful alternative. It was weird, as 9 times out of 10 I really like the first title I think of. My instinct has worked well in the past I think, to the point where I feel compelled to stick with the first thing I come up with. But when it isn't right you have to a)recognize the problem, b)be prepared to change and c)do your homework on how titles work. When I felt the need to change the title for this new book I didn't realise how much I had subconsciously been learning about titles and covers (hence the nervousness about having the control and getting it right). I mulled over other titles and occasionally fired off my best suggestions to the publisher and when I came up with the one that stuck, it felt different. Same as the idea for the cover. I had a few but they were too arty or juvenile/mature/cliched. Then when I had my latest idea, it not only resonated with me but with the designer also and her wonderful creative response made me very happy. Here then is the cover of my next book.

And on the back it says

“I found myself standing outside Mallory’s bedroom. The last door on the upstairs hallway. I’d seen those forensic crime shows on television. I know what dead people look like. In the beginning I’d imagined Mallory, pale, lying in long grass, her eyes closed. Just her face because I didn’t want to see beyond it. But I couldn’t do it any more. Mum kept telling me she was still alive somewhere. And one day she’d come home and we’d be a happy family again but that was one big fat stupid lie. Mum could tell it to herself but I’d stopped believing it ages ago.”

Playing second fiddle to a ‘missing, presumed dead’ sister is soul-sucking for fifteen year old Ryan. As he tries to move on with his life he begins to appreciate just how difficult growing up can be. And now there’s a stranger watching him. Will his family ever be whole again? Or did Mallory light the fuse that will blow it apart forever ...

And for all the times when I've wondered about 'my online brand' I rather enjoyed reading this post (http://blog.nathanbransford.com/2011/09/on-internet-theres-no-such-thing-as.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+NathanBransford+%28Nathan+Bransford%2C+Author%29) from Nathan Bransford this morning. Folks I think he's right.

The first step on the road to publication...join up...

2011-08-29T20:08:00.000-07:00

Storylines Family Days. I have attended two in the past ten days. One running the Kiwiwrite4kidz desk in Wellington on Sunday 21st and another in Auckland Sunday 28th. They are full on days. Even though most of the time is spent sitting, you must keep your wits about you chatting with children who might be readers or writers or both, and adults, who might be parents, teachers, librarians, readers or writers or any mixture of the aforementioned. Its a busy time.

On both weekends the people wanted to know who we were (authors and/or illustrators) ,what our books were about and what age they might be suitable for, whether they could take away the activity sheets, where they could buy the books and if they were writers, how one went about the business of getting published. Sitting at those desks reminded me of one very important thing if you want to be a writer. The first step I took when I decided to take the writing bull by the horns was I joined Storylines (http://www.storylines.org.nz/ )and I started going to their annual AGM/Margaret Mahy Day. I met other writers, published and unpublished. I met teachers and librarians passionate about children's literature. I heard about the Storylines writing competitions and I started entering. I got shortlisted and I met competition winners, one of whom had recently become part of a brand new group of NZ writers called Kiwiwrite4kidz (http://www.kiwiwrite4kidz.co.nz/ ). I joined that too. I went to workshops and joined a local Kiwiwrite4kidz critique group and made some very close writing friends that have changed my writing life in brilliant ways. And now I go along to Storylines family days as a Kiwiwrite4kidz member. If you are published this is where you get to meet your readers, old and new. If you are yet to be published, this is where you meet other writers, both published and unpublished. This is where you feel inspired and motivated to write and discover through the hordes of children and their parents that books and stories still matter. That there is hope. And where you might hear, "...this is the person who wrote this book...Yes really..." and the child's eyes widen, or maybe even "you wrote this book? I love this book..." This is where you get to hang out with kindred spirits who feel the same way you do about writing and stories and the pleasure of reading. Sigh.... If you don't already belong, and you are serious about books for children and/or writing, go sign up now. If you want to get published, these are the best ways to get started on the journey. They have made a big difference to me and to many of my writery friends. I remember one of my first years on the Kiwiwrite4kidz table at the Storylines family day in Auckland when we had maybe six or seven published books by members on the table...this year we had over 30 (and that didn't include those first 6 or 7). Next year will be even bigger. Okay folks, that is all. My job here today is done.

and btw they are reading my book here - http://room4-twizelareaschool-2011.blogspot.com/2011/08/book-week-has-started-at-twizel-area.html

She's gone

2011-08-22T18:20:00.000-07:00

Right up until yesterday we were not sure that our eldest child would be heading away to the US on a student exchange. After applying around August last year she was accepted onto the exchange programme, we paid our monies and they circulated her info amongst prospective families. Several potential host families put their hands up but then things began to unravel when our daughter realised she would not be able to do the one thing she wanted to do while she was away - cheerlead. School teams are wildly variable and the only way to guarantee a certain standard is to train at a gym. But the hosts lived hours away from gyms and the programme could not factor this in to the selection process. In desperation our girl got in touch with the cheerleading community in America and said 'help'. This was her last chance. If a suitable family wasn't found in the two months remaining she would be staying home. Then someone put their hand up and said they would love to have her stay. Their local cheer gym is the top gym in the country. The gym was keen too. Could the details be sorted and approvals given in time? Would the local high school take her? Yesterday, we finally got a yes. We took her to the airport for a 10am meet this morning and the plane took off at 1.05. This time tomorrow she should be in South Miami where she will be living for the next 10 months. I am very proud of what she achieved through her own efforts and thrilled the exchange programme came to the party and organised the necessary paperwork. I hope she has a wonderful experience. I miss her already.

I'm glad she didn't get the call up to fly on the weekend. I flew down to Wellington last thursday night to do a bit of book promotion, reading The House That Went to Sea at storytime on friday at the legendary Children's Bookshop in Kilbirnie and then manning the Kiwiwrite4kidz table (available for the first time ever) at the Storylines Family Day at the Wellington Town Hall on Sunday. Lots of people checked out the books by our members, some talked to author Bridget Feehan and I about writing and getting published and some folk bought books for us to sign. It was a wonderful event with many happy young book lovers enjoying themselves, making fun things at the craft tables and meeting beloved authors and illustrators. Its a buzz to be a part of such a positive occasion. Wellington put on a brilliant day. Huge congratulations to Adele Jackson, Fifi Colston and the Storylines team. I will be at the Kiwiwritekidz table at the Auckland Storylines family day this coming Sunday August 28th.

Last tuesday Duck Creek Press held a combined first birthday party and book launch for their 2011 titles including my book The House That Went to Sea, Goodnight Pumpkin (by Belynda Smith illus. Marie Sanders) and Whetu: The Little Blue Duck (by Jennifer Beck, illus. Renee Haggo). There was a large crowd and sales went well (in a sold-out kind of way). Thank you to my sisters, niece, SO and son, and friends for their support on the night.

I think now maybe a little lie down is in order :)

The House That Went to Sea - reviewed

2011-08-14T19:12:00.000-07:00

We are in the grip of a cold snap. It is snowing in places it never usually snows. The one time it snowed in Auckland that I remember, I was eleven or twelve. I have not been eleven or twelve for a few years now. The rain that is falling right now looks like it is thinking about being snow. Snow is only romantic when you are somewhere warm. I am not friends with winter. It has been somewhat rude and obnoxious this year and I have asked it to leave. It is taking its time, as rude, obnoxious things are want to do. I will not be sorry when it is gone.

Tomorrow night Duck Creek Press are having a first birthday party and book launch for their three new titles (including The House That Went to Sea) at the Takapuna Library at 6pm. The books will be on sale at super duper prices (cash or cheque only). I could not wrangle the official invite on to this post with blogger (it is being very fussy) and apologise for insufficient notice although the info has been wandering around in other bookish quarters for a week or two. RSVP to Helen Woodhouse helen.woodhouse@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz or ph 486 8469.

A few reviews have popped up for The House That Went to Sea including these nice words by Linda Hall in the Hastings Leader in July. She begins by saying I know school holidays are almost over but I am so impressed with these two children’s books I’m starting with them anyway and then goes on to say this:- Now to The House That Went to Sea, by Melinda Szymanik. It was illustrated by Gabriella Klepatski and what wonderful illustrations they are. The pictures in this book made me smile, especially the ones with Granny in them. Granny Gale lives by the sea with her grandson Michael. Granny tries her best to get Michael to join her racing paper boats and sorting starfish, but he just wants to watch television. In desperation Granny pulls up the anchor and the house sets sail. It takes awhile but finally Granny coaxes Michael outdoors and they have all sorts of adventures.

The book is also reviewed here at http://kidsbooksnz.blogspot.com/2011/08/new-picture-books-from-duck-creek-press.html and was in the Canvas Magazine section of the Weekend Herald on July 30th where reviewer Graham Hepburn said When Michael's parents get lost in a tropical rainforest he has to stay with nature-loving Granny Gale in her fishy, ramshackle cottage beside the sea in Hurricane Cove. After he continues to shut himself in his room each day to watch television, Granny Gale sets the house sailing on the sea while he's asleep. With no TV, Michael gradually enters into the spirit of the adventure and slowly but surely the generation gap is bridged.

London's burning...

2011-08-09T18:40:00.000-07:00

I wish it was just an old Clash song replaying in my head. I have been getting a glimpse of the literary classic Beowulf through my studies recently. What terrifying creatures lie in wait for us in the dark, preparing to strike terror in to our hearts and separate us cruelly from the living world? How violent is humankind, energized by hate and greed? How different are our stories now, how civilized we have become since Viking times, since the days of swords and warriors? Not civilized enough - apparently modern man is still capable of looting, burning and pillaging like the days of old. It is frightening to watch the anarchy descending on London right now. Are we just violent creatures at heart or have these eleven year old children been pushed to it by socio-economic forces? After watching a double episode of UK series Silent Witness recently with gang violence as its central theme I fear for where this is all heading. Are we breeding a new Viking warrior?

Don't try cure your kids of stubborn - it comes in handy in adulthood if you're a writer

2011-08-03T13:19:00.000-07:00

And they just keep coming - sometimes uplifting and a clear reminder of how, even though you are just hanging on by your fingernails, you have to keep hanging on - http://cjredwine.blogspot.com/2011/08/youre-kind-of-big-deal.html. Thanks to Janet Reid for the link.

Or sometimes it's the voice of reason - http://www.salon.com/life/feature/2011/07/28/ya (via Beattie's Blog) - which, having written a YA to be published later this year with some close physical contact of the boy-girl kind, I was grateful to read. Sex is a normal part of the world we live in. Teenagers want to know what it's like. Books give them a chance to check it out before they check it out in person.

And for a book that just might knock your socks off (dammit) - read this review of Florence and Giles at Nicola Morgan's blog - http://helpineedapublisher.blogspot.com/2011/08/mind-blowery-of-florence-and-giles.html.

In other news, The House That Went to Sea is now for sail in smart bookshops and online. There have been a few reviews and I will post these up soon.

Because I said so...

2011-08-01T19:37:00.000-07:00

This (http://libba-bray.livejournal.com/62144.html) and this (http://stroppyauthor.blogspot.com/2011/07/putting-all-our-eggs-in-digital-basket.html) - that is all

Made with Love

2011-07-25T17:47:00.000-07:00

Mama was baking spicy gingerbread biscuits. She kept back some dough for Sam and Penny to make a gingerbread woman.

The children peered through the oven door as their gingerbread woman stretched and yawned. "Should she be doing that" they asked.

"Of course," Mama replied. "It's the special ingredient in the mixture."

When you make things with love something special is bound to happen. This is from my next picture book due mid 2012. The illustrator is the lovely Gabriella Klepatski who illustrated The House That Went to Sea which is now out in book shops.

There is no recipe for that hum of excitement

2011-07-20T15:25:00.000-07:00

Sorry in advance folks about my broken linkity-link button. It is pouting over in the corner and refusing to acknowledge my repeated requests. In fact none of the buttons work. No idea when normal transmission will resume.

I have seen Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part Two and have become a little obsessed. Hoping to see it for the third time today. I guess after seven previous movies played out over the ten teenage years of much of the cast, both story and reality have somehow entwined to deliver up an intense and satisfying conclusion. If it was an eight part series about adults it couldn't reveal growth and change in the characters in the same way. You know you are an adult when you can wipe all memory of yourself from the minds of your parents in order to protect them from unbridled evil. And -SPOILER ALERT IF BY ANY CHANCE YOU HAVE WANDERED INTO MY BLOG WITHOUT BEING A READER - when you have fought the enemy for so long, delivering yourself up for death makes sense. And now it is over.

Read this interesting post (http://blog.nathanbransford.com/2011/07/thing-about-self-promotion-is-that-self.html) over at Nathan Bransford (ex-agent, now author)'s blog and nodded at this bit

"This is one of the hugest drawbacks about an era of publishing where publishers expect authors to shoulder the lion's share of the promotional activities. No one I know enjoys self-promotion, and no one out there particularly likes being promoted to either. People usually want to hear about new things from enthusiastic and neutral third parties, not the hugely biased person who created the thing."

Bransford goes on to say that despite the hideousness of self-promotion you have to suck it up and do it anyway. I struggle mightily with this. If folk would rather hear it from someone else then telling them directly might be a bigger turn off then a turn on. Campaigns that go viral, go viral for reasons that all the experts in the field can't explain. Look at Harry Potter (the editor at Scholastic US himself said he was closing the fantasy imprint when Harry Potter came along), look at Susan Boyle, look at Twilight or Justin Bieber. There are plenty of things shoved in our faces everyday that 'don't take'. Movies, books, programmes, stars, with lots of money and creative thinking and crafty persuasive advertising behind them and none of it generates that hum of excitement, that 'I gotta have it' reaction. I will go out and meet potential readers and read my books to folk and hope they like what they hear enough to part company with their money to own it. But I don't know that doing more than that makes a difference. The one thing I will do is keep trying to create new work that readers might like, especially those that liked my previous work. Because sometimes it is the weight of one's career that helps it build speed.

I just want to write good books that children will want to read...

2011-07-16T18:50:00.000-07:00

This article http://www.thebookseller.com/news/childrens-publishing-haemorrhaging-talent.html(thank you to Tracy Ann Baines for the link via facebook) just about sent me screaming down the corridor when I read it. Yes folks it is getting harder to be a children's author. Not only is the chance of getting published diminishing, but if you do manage to get a yes, the likely financial returns have also reduced. We cannot keep writing just for the love of it. Other careers are not predicated on the need for the worker to expect no recompense for their efforts. Some might say that if the book industry cannot sell enough books then that is fair enough, but people are still selling books whether in print or in digital format. There has been a lot of negative focus on bookshops recently with the collapse of a number of high profile chains around the globe. Commentators point to the decline in book sales as the reason but the world has been in a recession - plenty of other businesses have been struggling, not JUST bookselling. Part of the cause for the demise of these bookselling chains has been the application of a business model that would have never fit with selling books. Partly it was greed, and the drive for expansion at any cost. You never thought the movie 'You've got Mail' would be anything other than a substandard romcom now did you? And the 'books are broken' way of thinking that is being touted is creating a risk averseness amongst industry players. Its not the 'books' that are broken folks. When JK Rowling advised she was selling Harry Potter e-books through her Pottermore venture there was some criticism that she was biting the hand that fed her. And also biting the new and untried authors yet to be discovered because the industry needed the income from Rowling's books to fund those risky debut writers. Publishing lists have shrunk and many hopeful writers can tell stories of how hard it is to break into the business. If there is money being made from the big authors, less of this is going on risky debuts. The number of previous titles being re-issued is worrying.

People still believe in the power of the written word. People still believe a literate society is a good thing. And a literate adult society comes from creating literate children. The world population is increasing not declining. Reading, for information or pleasure, of non-fiction or fiction, in a variety of genre that entertain and inspire will never be a bad thing. Good readers cannot grow on the classics alone. They also need contemporary work that speaks like they do, about issues relevant to the here and now. Somewhere along the way writers have been devalued. I know there is a lot more to it than just the issues I have raised above. I don't know who is responsible. But things cannot continue this way. Go have a read of this blog post - http://jakonrath.blogspot.com/2011/07/one-more-nail-in-coffin.html (thanks for the link Yvette) - I don't agree with everything that's said but there is a lot of food for thought.

I can't tell you what I want, I'll know it when I see it...

2011-07-12T15:40:00.000-07:00

I have another picture book in the works which is planned to come out middle of next year. On Monday I went to the publishers to check out the illustrator's first sketches and to agree on what we thought was the best way to go. This particular story is essentially a love story. Although the illustrator was keen to produce something that fitted with the images I had in mind I have to admit that the images in my head were pretty vague and I waffled somewhat when we first discussed it. The dominant thing was the emotion of the story. I have always understood how publishers say 'we can't tell you exactly what we want, we'll know when we see it'. This was how I felt about this story. I didn't have a sharp visual idea in mind but I knew I would recognize the right thing when I saw it (which is also something that kind of happens in the story) and when I saw the artist's sketches my heart melted. I don't know how she does it. In a few simple pencil drawings she had captured the emotion I had aimed for with my words. You can never tell how a book is going to go but I for one am very happy with the pictures that will accompany my story in this new book. I hope folk will feel the love for this book the way the characters feel the love inside it. Sweet.

Here's one I prepared earlier...

2011-07-06T16:53:00.000-07:00

Well folks I have succeeded in growing one to full size. A child that is. My eldest turned eighteen yesterday and in this fair land of ours she can do just about anything (except launder her own clothes apparently) - vote, drink, marry, enlist, and move out. She is moving out, kind of, shortly, to embark on a student exchange to the US of A for twelve months or so. It will be easier and harder without her.

This morning I went down to Maungawhau Primary School to award some Fabo Writing Prizes to students at the school. Congrats to Josh and Matthew and all the students and their wonderful teachers, especially those in rooms 22 and 23 who have been making stupendous writing efforts to meet the 2011 Fabo Challenge. Go check it out at www.fabostory2.blogspot.com

On a need to know basis...

2011-07-01T18:24:00.000-07:00

One of my favourite things about taking writing workshops with school children is finding those brilliant examples or summarising phrases that capture a 'truth' about writing. My favourite at a class yesterday came during a discussion about setting. Plenty of writers provide more setting than the story needs. Plenty of writers provide too much detail that bogs the story down when the reader just wants to know what happens next. Sometimes we do it to show off how much research was done, sometimes it's because we feel the need to provide this really detailed complete picture 'cos it looks great. Sometimes its a substitue for plot - look at all my shiny fabulous world building, doesn't it feel real, even though all my characters are just standing round doin' nothin'. But folks, setting should be included on a 'need to know basis'. If it isn't relevant, you probably don't need it. In my latest novel on which I have just completed a little rewrite and spruce up and which is to be published this December I worried quite a bit about how little setting I provide. I kept writing and wondering and worrying, but the story just didn't demand more setting than I was giving. Sure you know what time of day it is and what season. You know where you are in terms of home or school or the skate park or a friend's place. But there is little additonal detail about the town the story is located in and barely anything about the country. It wasn't relevant to the story. It felt wrong to add it. Rather than advancing the plot or explaining the change in the character it got in the way.

There are times when a lot of information about setting is necessary. From the size and length of that mountain range to the way the locals produce their food. If you create a new world, we won't know anything about it except what you tell us. Go for broke and build that world. But the 'need to know basis' rule still applies. If you story is set in the past or the future, then we will need to know how the world worked/works to understand how the characters behave in it. But the 'need to know basis' rule still applies. And one of the weird-ass phenomenons of writing is that all that extra detail that you thought of or researched or developed, that you have to leave out because it isn't relevant to the action and doesn't propel the story along acts like the bit of an iceberg that sits below the water. Although the reader only reads the visible bit above the water line they sense the bit below the water. Because that bit below the water informs the visible bit above and even though you don't get to spell it out, it has influenced what you did choose to put in and the reader can tell. It supports the credibility of your story and you know if some kid ever asks you to explain that bit in your story you WILL know the answer because it was something you thought about even though it never made it to the final version.

I am the all new improved version of me...

2011-06-27T16:39:00.000-07:00

It is easy to become exhausted by this business. The wearying ego question (as per my last post), the struggle to succeed at every step of the process - Do I have talent? Do I have enough talent? Is talent enough? Can I really write? Is my story complete? Is it as good as it can be? Will a publisher accept it? How much editing does it need? Do I like the cover/illustrations? What will I do if I don't? Will the critics like my book? Will bookshops like my book? Will buyers and/or readers like my book? Will other countries want to sell my book? Will it sell enough copies? Can I ever write another book as good as the first one that got accepted? Let me tell you folks, the list goes on and on and when you think you finally feel okay about where you are at you look at what is happening with other peoples books. Why are they selling more? Why did they like his/her book better? How come they seem to have a closer relationship with their agent/publisher/editor/janitor? How come they got shortlisted or recommended or....infinity other questions. And then the playing field changes. My head is now feeling seriously heavy and my comfy bed with the plump pillows is looking jolly nice all of a sudden. It is easy to be overwhelmed and feel a little drowny. Go wallow in some good stuff I say. Re-read some good feedback, look at the fab friends you have made and the wonderful things they have said to you, the work you have completed and how much you have learnt about how the book industry works. Think about the writing skills that now come easier to you. And for any failures you have had, realise how much you learnt from the experience. Boy, I won't do that again, and if I do, at least now I know what the risks are. I am the all new improved version of me.

Maureen Crisp, the nimble internet sleuth, has unearthed another pearl which looks at 5 things more important than talent and I pass it on to you all for your edification. We can't always control the way things are going to go but we can control how we respond. Making sure our goals are really the ones we want, keeping them in our sights, and doing the work required to achieve them are all within our control. Looking after ourselves and refocusing to see that half empty glass as half full are within our control. Its nearly half way through the year people. Time to pat yourselves on the back for surviving 2011 part one, and time to take stock and see the year as still half full. Make sure you plan some fun things for 2011 part two!

How much ego should I wear today?...

2011-06-22T13:27:00.000-07:00

This writing, publishing business can do weird-ass things to your ego. Rejections knock you round but you have to toughen up and forge ahead, having faith that what you have written is good enough to be printed, bound and sold for money. But there are thousands of people out there with the same self belief and confidence - can we all be right to feel this way? How many rejections can an ego take? And if we get an acceptance it changes everything. Some one else agrees with our self belief and is willing to bank on us. No longer is it 'I hope I'm good enough'. We can now say "I am good enough'. But we are only as good as our last book, (unless you are some strange literary icon who can dine out forever on the strength of just one book) and if we want to stay writing we have to start the whole process again. Think you have this writing thing in the bag because you've been published? Probably not.

You must have faith in your own talent to keep trying, keep submitting but because the appreciation of writing is such a subjective thing you are guaranteed not to please all of the people all of the time. It is confusing to be loved by some and dismissed by others. In New Zealand I think there is a particular difficulty in balancing your ego as we don't like our poppies too tall. And while we all get that self-promotion is now an expected part of our job descriptions certain quarters frown upon this. We must keep our fingers crossed that others will choose to talk about us and our work in public forums which is a little sad when you consider all the work and effort that has gone in to getting our story published. So if I seem a little split personality sometimes, please excuse me. It just means I'm not sure what percentage of ego to wear.

Linkity-link

2011-06-17T13:56:00.000-07:00

I am swamped with writery tasks so today's post is some juicy links to keep you up-to-date and well informed and more....

Check out this post on "which rights you should sell" from the How Publishing Really Works Blog. This is good advice. Rights are only worth retaining if you think you can do better with them yourself. Realistically I think very few authors have the time or experience to go sell foreign rights themselves and especially here in New Zealand we have few agents who can take on this job for you. Different publishers here do have different records for overseas sales but we don't always/often/ever get to choose who publishes us so this information won't necessarily help you much. My current thinking on overseas sales is, a failure to sell in foreign markets comes down to five things. 1) They don't want your book because its cheaper and easier to stick with their local stuff. 2) They don't want your book because no one has showed it to them. 3) They don't want your book because they are risk averse. 4) They don't want your book because its not good enough. 5) The moons weren't correctly aligned, and the god/goddess of luck is in a bad mood. I liked what Walker Books Australia Editor Sarah Foster said recently on the subject, 'Overseas sales come from getting published and having sales in your home country first.' Work on getting published here. Work on establishing your brand and your reputation. There are no guarantees that this will give you overseas deals but it won't hurt. Some writery folk do skip this step and go straight to overseas deals with no local action at all. Lady Luck was in a good mood that day. If this doesn't happen to you then perservere with getting published and establishing yourself in the local market. If you do give your publisher foreign rights do, of course, make sure your rates for those foreign rights are within the norms (check out the NZSA, your writer mates and relevant blogs) but don't agonise over it folks.

Loved this link (via facebook from UK writer Tracy Ann Baines who can be found at her blog here) on the Biggest Problem in Publishing. Problems in publishing are a ginormous can of ugly-ass worms so to say there is only one biggest problem is a little presumptious but I do think this is a smart comment. What do y'all think?

Along with the exciting new Pear Jam publishing venture from author Jill Marshall there is another new kid on the block in local publishing. If speculative fiction is your thing go check this out!

And go check out the redoubtable Lily Max here, the splendiferous creation of the wonderful Jane Bloomfield. AND she has printables on the website!

Denial is a rubbish place to grow up in...

2011-06-14T15:34:00.000-07:00

Did a school visit yesterday reading the new picture book, The House That Went to Sea. I shared the floor with the book's fabtastic illustrator Gabriella Klepatski. The children were great, keen to know about writing and illustrating and its always a blast for me to read my books aloud and talk about ideas. After, we met up with the publisher and had a look at the I-pad app being produced for the book. It had cool sound effects and looked great and I am excited to see how this goes. Embracing the new technology is thrilling and a little scary as there are still things I don't know yet about how it all works in terms of production, distribution, marketing and sales but its fantastic to be joining the adventure (I feel a bit like Michael Mariner in my story).

I have been reading the debate over this recent article in the Wall Street Journal about the darkness of teen fiction. My teen thriller out in December has a dark edge. Not as dark as some of the books Gurdon references but there are some difficult themes and tragic events in my story. I like this response from award winning author Sherman Alexie, who has himself written about some very challenging themes. I believe we should protect our children as best we can but I don't think we should pretend bad things don't happen. If we do, we divide ourselves. The world can be a harsh place and if we deny this, how are we helping our youngsters to protect themselves in the future. Denial is a rubbish place to grow up in. Isn't it better to share these things so that those who have suffered know they are not alone and see a way to survive and overcome and those who haven't suffered can understand those who have? I'm not saying all teen books should be dark or that all dark books are good, well written or worth reading but there are a lot that are and it would be a travesty to deny them a place in our book shops or on our bookshelves.

I am studying Patterns of Language this year for my Children's Lit Diploma at Canterbury University and am currently reading about the chants and rhymes used by children in primary school playgrounds. Alot of these chants talk about trouser snakes, babies and cruelty. In one of the readings (Grugeon, E. "Underground Knowledge:What the Opies Missed." English in Education, pp9-17) the writer says one of the crucial factors in the survival of these games (some of which are very bawdy and explicit) in the culture of childhood is that they challenge and defy adult conventions, provide ammunition for resistance and permit a shared exploration of areas of experience which are considered to be taboo or irrelevant for young children. Many of the commentators on the topic talk about how these chants and rhymes belong to the children and are performed and passed on without adult knowledge or interference. Even little children are talking about difficult topics when they are left to their own devices. We are kidding ourselves if we think not talking about things is going to protect our children. I would rather have the opportunity to discuss something difficult with my children that they have come across in a book. Excluding a topic does not make my children safe.

The rain will come...

2011-06-08T16:47:00.000-07:00

There could be no doubt for people observing my writing career recently that things appear to be going pretty well for me right now. I have a picture book coming out next month, The House That Went to Sea, that has gained some potential overseas attention about which I am cautiously optimistic. I have a young teen thriller, My Sister's Shadow, coming out in December and it is probable I have another picture book coming out next year. There are other possibilities as well and I still intend to put Jack the Viking: Magnetic North out as an e-book before 2011 is over. But folks, objects in your rear view mirror may appear closer than they actually are. Before 2010, my last acceptances (not including anthologised short stories which are quite a different kettle of fish) had been in 2006. Despite winning NZ Post's Childrens Book Awards Children's Choice in 2009 for The Were-Nana - published 2008 and accepted 2006 - (also shortlisted for the Sakura Medal and the BPANZ Book Design Awards, and a 2009 Storylines Notable Book) and actively submitting stories and ideas and having an agent, I walked in the publishing wilderness for four years. The wilderness is peopled with fantastic authors (and I suspect that there are more in the wilderness than out of it) and I appreciate that my time there might have been longer and I have been lucky to leave (at least for now) - I don't watch Bear Grylls for entertainment folks, I am always looking for survival tips. Whether you are in the wilderness or out of it survival tips may be the only thing that keep you going. When no one would take a chance on what I was offering I thought I might go crazy (in fact there are some residual tics and occasional manic outbursts) but in the absence of anything else to do I behaved like the successful writer I wanted to be. I kept writing and submitting and observing the publishing industry. I kept involved with what was going on and finding out all I could about how things worked and the changes that were occuring. I was storing up information I wasn't sure that I was ever going to need because the door was closing pretty hard on the toe I'd poked in the gap. But I was visible as part of the community a) because I wanted to be (this is the home turf that I wanted to belong to) and b) because I wanted to be seen to be part of that community. If you behave like you belong, even when you feel like a rank outsider, then one day you'll find you do. And I kept writing new and complete material even when I thought it pointless so I would have new things to offer as well as any of my earlier work that I thought cut the mustard.

The drought was painful - man was I thirsty - but I rain danced my ass off. There are no guarantees the drought won't return and I love the taste of water. If you are in a drought now, keep asking for a sip of water. Hang in there, you have to believe the rain will come...

A cautionary tale...

2011-06-03T20:45:00.000-07:00

I should be walking the dog but its raining cats out there which means he's keen and I'm dragging my heels. No matter how I dress, my trousers will be soaked through before I'm half way round one of our regular routes, the cold wet fabric slapping at my calves in a most unsavoury way. I am going to suck it up shortly and give him the exercise he needs because he missed out yesterday due to an unexpected trip to the doctor for my son's sore foot (soft tissue injury only - phew) followed by my first writing workshop at the local intermediate school (fabulous bunch of kids that I know I'm going to enjoy working with) and then grocery shopping and then whipping up a variation on beef bourgignon to feed the homeys.

A number of years back I developed a niggly back thing. A lower back/left hip that graunched and clonked. It was uncomfortable and unpleasant. Its mechanical I theorised. "Ah madam," the doctor said looking at an x-ray, "your bones look in tip-top shape". Years passed and I tried the doctor again and I got sent to a physio who said, "I can't see any cause for what you describe" but who managed to prescribe me some exercises and tried some lovely sticky tape - X marks the spot. Then years passed and I tried the doctor again, had a new batch of x-rays where my bones apart from normal wear and tear looked in tip-top shape, and had a chiropracter, and a masseuse recommended. I could try a specialist if I wanted I was advised, but I wasn't sure what I would be telling the specialist and the GP couldn't really tell me either. Despite feeling all the while that the source of my discomfort was mechanical they could see nothing wrong. I ruled the specialist out. Its a lot of money when everything on the x-ray looks in order. The massage benefited me for about ten minutes but left me with bruises. Improvements after the chiropractic sessions (which I found somewhat scary) lasted about 5 minutes. It might take a long time to work out the kinks from such a long standing problem like yours the chiropracter said. Maybe a year?

Then, as strange as this will sound, blessed relief, my daughter had a training accident at cheerleading. A nasty fall that injured her back. We started off at a physio. Her favourite physio had shifted to a different practice so we had to try another practice close by. I made an appointment at one I knew had a back programme. Could we get my daughter better before her overseas trip to compete in the US? We'd better check for fractures the stary physios said and lets send her to a specialist to make sure we know how bad the damage is. So off we went, my daughter and I to visit the specialist they suggested armed with some new x-rays for her. I watched and listened as he asked her questions, made her stand on one leg and then the other and do a few other things. After a CT scan he told us what was going on and she competed in the US (her all girl team came third in the International comp and my daughter got the Sportsmanship award for the trip) and is now on the mend.

I was impressed.

I made myself an appointment to see the specialist. He pulled the 2003 x-ray out of the envelope and in 2 seconds with the naked eye said 'you have a congenital defect in your back which is most likely the cause of all your symptoms. Look,' he said, 'the radiologist mentions it in the report.' Why am I telling you this story? I am telling you this story because too often we give all our power over to other people we trust to have all the information, training and experience to tell us what to do. Okay so I've done the same with the specialist but when he pointed out the wacko doohickey in my lower back I could see for myself what he was talking about. After not trusting my intuition about the mechanical nature of my problem for more than 9 years the specialist explained everything to me and said 'madam, your problem is mechanical. It is unlikely that physio, massage or a chiropracter will have a positive result.' I had an MRI scan and unfortunately over the years the congenital problem has been having a trickle down effect. Surgery is a possibility.

It is too easy to give our power away to other people. Authors do it all the time. We trust that people in the publishing industry have all the answers and will give us the right advice. I'm not saying these people are deliberately misleading us. I don't think the GP's I went to see about my back were deliberately misleading me. But they didn't know what they were looking at and dismissed me. Because they didn't know, there obviously couldn't be anything wrong. They made me doubt myself. Doubt can wear away at you. Yes publishers and booksellers and others in the industry will give you advice, answers and prognostications about your writing and yes often they will be right. All that experience counts for a lot. But sometimes they will be wrong (and yes I'm thinking of all the agents and publishers who turned down JK Rowling). Sometimes they don't know the answer. Sometimes its not that there is anything wrong with your writing or your story, sometimes they don't know how to make the most of it or have too many stories already scheduled to be able to devote time to editing your work or advising you on a rewrite. Sometimes commercial reasons mean they are embracing other genre/writers/trends. Many times it is too hard to tell you all the reasons they are turning down your manuscript. Remember, your work is yours. It belongs to you and you must make the final decisions about what happens to it. If it is good work then it's time will come. First of all believe in yourself. Trust your intuition - you too have experience, information and training. And keep pressing on. Sometimes it takes years to get to the right answer.

How do we know what we don't know...

2011-05-30T16:27:00.000-07:00

I had a call from a publisher's publicist this morning to talk about review copies of my new book. Its made me feel a little light headed. This has not happened to me before. Please be aware folks that not all publishers operate in the same way. They are idiosyncratic, and as individual as the people who run them. They have different styles, agendas and structures in place and you can go for years never discovering this if you stay with one publisher. This is yet another reason why it is useful to meet other writers and illustrators and hang out with them chewing the fat about the industry. It is not necessarily bad that they are different but depending on what you are expecting and hoping for it pays to know as much as possible about who you are teaming up with to realise your dreams. Your responsibilities are different with different publishers too.

Several people recently linked to this article on facebook. I confess that I don't expect to make a significant living from writing books. Few writers do. I am realistic about things when I look at a contract. I know what I am likely to be able to change (not much usually). I am still learning what clauses I care most about and what I should ask for to protect myself and my career but it has taken me nearly ten years to know what I know now. But I am disturbed by the new trends in contracts and worried for debut authors signing up now. How do we know what we don't know? How do we ask the right questions? How do we know how far to push for change? How do we plan for future changes in the industry? What will happen when we push? And consider folks that your behaviour may influence contracts of the future. If everyone accepts the new status quo it will become the rule. Don't be afraid to talk to other writers and illustrators about it. Don't be afraid to ask questions. And just remember - lets be careful out there...

fabostory for 2011 - have you got what it takes?...

2011-05-26T18:50:00.000-07:00

Hold on to your hair, the Fabo behemoth is grinding in to action for 2011. Sparklier, tighter, brighter and more surprising than in 2010, we have a brand new challenge for young writers to pit their skills against us and win some super prizes. Are you brave enough, have you got what it takes (a free afternoon and a computer?), will you dare??? Have bucket loads of fun while keeping your teachers happy (or get them to join in the fun) at www.fabostory2.blogspot.com Be there or be an underarm pimple!

And in other news I have signed up to have my young teen thriller My Sister's Shadow published, more details soon, and I have received my fresh-from-the-printers copy of The House That Went to Sea and I am delighted to report my new baby is beautiful. Launching in July, details also to follow soon. In addition to the launch in Auckland in July I will be reading The House That Went to Sea at the Children's Bookshop in Kilbirnie, Wellington on Friday, August 19 at 10.30, and loitering with intent at the Storylines Family Day at the Wellington Town Hall on Sunday 21st.

The game is afoot...

2011-05-22T14:17:00.000-07:00

What a week it was last week. Went to the NZ Post Children's Book Awards on Wednesday night and was one of the organisers for an event with Walker Books Australia Publisher Sarah Foster on Thursday night. Both were super events with lots of interesting industry gossip and fun catch ups. Other things happened too and by the end of the week I was so pooped I felt like I could sleep longer than Rip Van Winkle. There are things afoot...which reminds me, I watched Sherlock last night on tv with Benedict Cumberpatch in the title role and Martin 'Bilbo' Freeman as Dr Watson. Its all set in current times with cell phones, texting, surveillance cameras and websites but it retains everything that defines and keeps faith with the original. But all the story telling and smartness aside its just really well done. I love watching people who can act - people who inhabit a different persona with their own mannerisms, tics, inflexions, history and habits. Dr Watson checks his service revolver like an experienced army man should - like its second nature - I can't imagine Martin Freeman has that experience but Dr Watson does. And I believe its Dr Watson. And its intelligent - I can just feel my grey cells getting excited. Yay for something decent on the telly for a change. And thank you to the journalist who pointed out the links between Sherlock Holmes and 'House' (House/Holmes, Wilson/Watson, medical detectivery/criminal detectivery) - I hadn't twigged.

The Fabo gears are slowly grinding back into motion. Watch this space. Its an all new and exciting writing adventure for years 5 and up with loads of fun and heaps of prizes. More on this soon...

So I will keep you posted on any developments that may occur (I can tell you I am in Wellington in August, reading The House That Went to Sea at The Children's Bookshop in Kilbirnie at 10.30 on Friday 19th and at Storylines Family Day at the Town Hall on Sunday 21st) - in the meantime I'm off to hang out the washing and have a coffee.

How many publishers does it take...

2011-05-16T17:55:00.000-07:00

The New Zealand Post Children's Book Awards are the major awards for Children's Literature in New Zealand. There are other awards, prizes, lists and residencies but these are the ones that are most likely to make your name and sell your books. Two years ago my book The Were-Nana was shortlisted and won Children's Choice - an incredible experience. Last night the 2011 Award ceremony was held and I went along. If you are serious about writing for children one of my big recommendations is joining the children's writing community. Actually I recommend joining the writing community at large. I belong to the NZ Society of Authors, Storylines (The Children's Lit Foundation of NZ), SCBWI and Kiwiwrite4kidz. Over the last 8 or 9 years (I've been committed to writing for the last 11 or so years) I've attended meetings and events, conferences, Storylines family days and workshops. I've met a lot of folk in the NZ children's book business, shaken a lot of hands, and stuttered my way through a fair few small talk conversations. And last night I discovered some of the benefits of my efforts over the last 8 or 9 years.

I knew some of the finalists - shout outs to Fleur Beale, Kyle Mewburn, Anna Gowan, Sherryl Jordan, and Diana Menefy. I met a few more last night whose names and books I already knew - hi Sarah Davis and Elizabeth Pulford. And I know of a bunch more - Ken Catran, David Elliot, Leon Davidson, Maurice Gee, Anna McKenzie, and last night's big winner Margaret Mahy.

I spoke last night with publishers, booksellers, illustrators, writers, bookdesigners, librarians and teachers, family and friends of finalists, and a bunch of just-all-round-bookophiles that I have met over the years. We were all there for the same reason - to celebrate children's books. And NZ Post and NZ Booksellers put on a fabulous event to do just that. They made everyone involved in producing children's books in this country feel special and appreciated. They even rolled out the red carpet and because we make books for kids, we got small sparkly squishy red balls as well. And all my earlier efforts to introduce myself into this community, all my earlier moments of feeling awkward and embarrassed have slowly but surely morphed into discussions about my books, other peoples books, where publishing is at, the pros and cons of attending conferences, book promotion, change and the future of books in NZ. I can truly stand behind my recommendation to join the community you want to be a part of, because after a while you do become a part of it. Last night I called it a family. The children's book community in New Zealand is very encouraging, supportive and friendly - everything a good family is. This is something you have to do for yourself - no one can do it for you. But if you can get to the NZ Post Children's Book Awards next year you should go. And if you don't yet know anyone come and talk to me. I would love to talk to you.

Last nights winners
Non-Fiction: Zero Hour by Leon Davidson
Junior Fiction: Finnigan and The Pirates by Sherryl Jordan
Young Adult Fiction: Fierce September by Fleur Beale
Picture Book: The Moon and Farmer McPhee by Margaret Mahy and David Elliot (illus.)
Best First Book: Hollie Chips by Anna Gowan
Children's Choice
Overall: Baa-baa Smart Sheep by Mark Sommerset and Rowan Sommerset
Non-Fiction: Who's Cooking Tonight by Claire and Glenda Gourley
Junior Fiction: Hollie Chips by Anna Gowan
Young Adult Fiction: Smiling Jack by Ken Catran
BOOK of the Year: The Moon and Farmer McPhee

Congratulations to all the finalist and the winners!! May your books prosper.

And because I'm in a very generous mood today here are some juicy links that I'm busting to share with you. I've never seen actual jokes about writers and publishing before - these are excellent, go and have a chuckle.

And this lovely list of what defines Children's literature over at An Awfully Big Blog Adventure is also interesting, thought provoking and maybe a little controversial in places. Go check it out and see whether you agree or have some more definitions to add.

Wordy Day Out

2011-05-14T16:52:00.000-07:00

Went to the Wordy Day Out at the Auckland Readers and Writers Festival yesterday. Started off though by missing Cassandra Clare and Brian Falkner to go hear four overseas editors from large publishing houses talk about the state of publishing. They were nice people saying positive things but there weren't any great revelations and I feel that my internet meanderings and fb gossip trading are keeping me very well informed.

Then my wordy bff Tania and I hoofed it up to Auckland University in time to hear Garth Nix and Sean Williams do a double act on their coauthored series TroubleTwisters, followed by Meg Rosoff and Margo Lanagan talk on their novel novels and then Paula Morris on Ruined and Dark Souls. I reluctantly passed up Mandy Hagar and Bernard Beckett, Karen Healey and David Hair to attend the others which just shows the quality of the Festival's programme. The cost of all this was very reasonable as well. And what did I learn from the speakers? Despite all the doom and gloom, the naysaying and the mystical prognostications (man that was fun to write) from the media, the fundamentals haven't changed. My favourite speaker so far is still Lionel Shriver from last year who didn't teach me something new about writing or getting published but who did say something very intelligent about how we deal with cancer. I still remember it and it has changed my thinking on the subject. I enjoyed the talks this year but now they confirm rather than alter my thinking. They don't inspire me so much as steel my resolve to continue. There were plenty of familiar faces in the audience and I was surprised to see a number of NZ children's publishers from Random, Penguin and Gecko there as well. Things the authors said that stuck in my mind? Garth Nix's comment that books were his mentors when he started out (just like me). Meg Rosoff's comment that she doesn't plan her stories very much before she starts (just like me) and Paula Morris's advice on character development in which you run through a questionnaire (boxers or briefs? showers or baths? etc...) with your characters to get to know them better (may have to borrow this in future). Will I go next year? You betcha! There is nothing better than mingling with other writers. It is a happy place :)

There is something behind the wall, banging...

2011-05-10T18:26:00.000-07:00

The weather here is awful at the moment. I do not mind the rain or the cold but when either is incessant I go a little barking mad. Having children exacerbates the problem, especially sporty children with school uniforms. People will soon start to talk about my kids repeatedly turning up in stinky and/or muddy things. I have a dryer but everything that goes in the dryer has a shortened life. All that tumbling would wear me out too. And uniforms for school or sports are expensive so i do not put them in the dryer...as much as I want to...as much as my hand inches along, creeping closer to the dryer door, itching to press the 'on' button, desperate to be free of the damp of wet clothes hanging on the clothes horse and the dehumidifier that runs day and night. And the wind makes things bang...

There is something behind the wall, banging. There is a high wind buffeting the house. A storm. But I do not think the two are related. The banging in the wall has a rhythm all its own. I wonder who it is. Trying to get in. I wonder what they want with me. I wonder if they know.

In the Weekend Herald's Canvas Magazine (Sat. May 7) there was a lovely article on Michael Morpurgo by Hermione Holby. I have not read anything of his - I read a lot and there are a lot of good books out there, so I refuse to feel bad about this - I am making my way towards his books I am sure. But I love him irrespective of his books, for his comments on literature and children's books.

Morpurgo himself was not a great reader as a child. He came from a literary family and explains that, "literature with the big 'L' was thrust down my throat from a certain age - as it is thrust down many kids' throats.

"I still, to some extent, rebel against that," he says, "because at the heart of every great work of literature, in my view, is a great story. I think at our peril we make literature this rather elite thing. Rather sadly we think of storytelling as writing for young people, and the number of times I've read comments on this play [War Horse] like 'what is remarkable is that it comes only from a children's book'. It reflects the way many people feel still about children's literature. We don't have respect for youth any more than we do for age. I mean the word 'childish' itself," he goes on, "it's not exactly a compliment. And yet if you lose the heart of yourself, if you lose the child in yourself you lose your soul."

How Much is an Author talk worth?

2011-05-08T14:09:00.000-07:00

When your book is published, you quickly realise that there are few people better to promote it than yourself. Maybe a school has asked you to come speak to the children about your book and yourself, maybe a local group have invited you to talk on your writing process. Do you do it for free or should you charge? How do you bring up the potentially sensitive issue of payment? And what exactly should you be paid for your time? A recent brouhaha has arisen over the payment of $45,000US to wunderwriter Neil Gaiman for a four hour talk given at a Minnesota Public Library several years back. (You can start here if you want to read about it). As Neil Gaiman rightly pointed out he has made his public appearances so expensive in part to price himself out of the business to allow him the time to fulfil his writing wishes and obligations. The money he earned for this talk was given to charity. If the Minnesota public library system hadn’t used the money in this fashion it would not be spent at all and have been lost when the budget year ended. But Gaiman was criticised by a republican senator for stealing the money from the state coffers. What is the senator really trying to say?

Arts and Culture are not often seen as valuable recipients of ‘real’ money. Culture is a ‘luxury’ for the arty set and should not be supported by the government?

Artists and Writers time is not valuable enough to be reimbursed/recompensed.

On average writers are not well paid members of society. Advances are typically low in New Zealand and even if you sell well most authors are not paid the equivalent of a living wage through their royalties and the PLR. So not only must we take in to account the need to charge for school visits and workshops to value our craft and the hours/days/weeks we spent developing it without any payment, for many authors it is the only chance they have to supplement their income. But being paid for these events also values what we do and values art and culture for the wider community.

In order to set your fee you need to take several things in to account.

1) How much time you spend preparing

2) How much time you will be talking/visiting for

3) What related institutions/other writers charge?

4) How much can the school/community group afford?

5) How far do you have to travel?

Talk to your writer friends about what they charge. Where possible I charge a fee usually based on the fees paid by the New Zealand Book Council and this is what I start with when discussing doing a visit, workshop or talk with a school or group, but I am happy to negotiate and I will talk for free when the circumstances warrant it. There will always be times when charging is not appropriate or possible. Sometimes if a group cannot pay you, having your petrol costs reimbursed is a good way to go. Remember too that there are other ways to have talks and workshops funded – one half-day workshop I ran last year was funded by a grant from Creative New Zealand. A library talk I gave this March was funded by New Zealand Book Month. And charging a lower fee might pay off if you get repeat business. I used to hate bringing up the money side of things (one of the reasons that author talks organised by the NZ Book Councils Writers in Schools Programme are so nice as they manage the payment) but I can say from experience that it does become easier with practice. Remember this money can be used to enable you to keep writing in the future. And we want to encourage groups, institutions and the audience to value what we do and recognize that we work hard to produce our books. Be prepared to negotiate but don’t forget if you don’t value yourself and your writing time then those you come in contact with won’t value it either. Its not just about you (although you should never be thinking you are not worth being paid for your time and knowledge/expertise), its not even about just writers, its about how society views creative folks. We do matter.

Just the facts ma'am...

2011-05-06T16:46:00.000-07:00

On the tv news last night I watched a report on an exploding laptop. A woman had her computer on her lap and was, I guess, just using it in an idle fashion. It hadn't been on long according to her. There was a bang and the laptop tumbled forward on to the floor, flames shooting up from its underside. Its a melty write-off, the battery a frazzled wreck. I have used my laptop extensively recently either perched on a desk, table or my lap to work on my latest novel. On the news report the Computer Studies talking head from AUT or The U. of Auckland (sorry I was too distracted by what she was saying to notice the source of her genius) suggested these computers shouldn't be used on your lap. Air needs to circulate. What? I mean WHAT? No surface they are placed on allows air to circulate. Do we need lap top trivets now to go with all the other accessories? And um, aren't they called laptops for a reason? Its a LAPTOP madam, where should I place it when I use it?????

I am generally interested in the news. I like to know what is happening in the world I live in and am always alert for possible story ideas. Everything that goes in my facial ports becomes grist to the story mill and, I believe, nothing is wasted. But my most common reaction to listening, watching or reading the news is increasingly becoming one of frustration, not at the news but at the way it is reported. Too often these days the media seems to 'make' the news. Everything is put on high rotate until the next juicy disaster hits. We have this skewed perception that our lives move from one disaster, drama or crisis to the next when really we still live in conventional fashion, driving the kids to their sports practices, grumbling about the price of petrol and wishing we didn't have to wash, vacuum, cook or pick up all the same things we did the day before. Does the news blur the line between fact and fiction by combining entertainment, and editorial with the facts? And if it does what effect does this have on us? Do we become immune to the horrors of war and devastation? Do we feel constantly stressed by all the bad things happening and worry whether we are doing enough to make the world a better place? Are we suffocating under the weight of all the opinions we feel obliged to form over every issue ever faced by modern man? I don't know about you but I feel exhausted by it all. I don't want to stop knowing whats going on in the world but could the media get over themselves and just dial it back a notch or three? You know you are in trouble when the media are the news they report!!

the honeymoon phase of writing The End...

2011-05-01T19:50:00.000-07:00

I wrote around 2,000 words yesterday (bit of a record for me over the writing of this novel), two of which were The End. Did some tinkering today and the ms ended up just over 45,000 words in total. I know it still needs a bit more editing but I think it is in near-final draft shape. I have just submitted it to the publisher and once I have had a breather (and done the company GST and filed it and completed my first university assignment and sent it in) I will go back over the ms and rub off the rough edges. It is hard to believe I have reached the end. On the weekend I felt like this about the novel so I'm proud I pulled myself together and got it done. Putting the cart before the horse (completing the story after the contract has been signed) has been a new experience for me and I have to say its a little tricky to drive with things coupled in this manner. More sweating is involved when you have been paid/signed up for something you have not yet written. I guess I find it easier the other way around but I would never say never to doing things this way again. Hopefully having been through the experience once I will be better prepared if there is a next time.

As is often the way at times like these (the honeymoon phase of writing The End) I'm momentarily feeling rather sanguine about everything to do with my writing career. I realise that a writing career is a very stressful thing. There is so little that can be controlled and we are at the mercy of so many variables, not all of which are just or reasonable. Success can be an elusive and sometimes mythical seeming beastie. Today however I can understand Nathan Bransford's post on fate and be weirdly happy along with all the commenters. I cannot say that I will ever love that this is how the writing world is, but it is my world and I am a card carrying member and today I can truly say I will happily accept it, warts and all.

Here for your delectation is a link on the reality of self promotion for authors. We may not like it but it too is just 'how our world works'.

Observations on Me by Me...

2011-04-27T17:33:00.000-07:00

Unity Books (on facebook) linked to this interesting article in the Guardian - a piece written by an author about how success affects you. I liked this bit - "The thing is that nobody becomes a writer because of his or her tremendous ease with social interactions and the spontaneity of the spoken word." (ain't that the truth) and the bit about consistency of style: how we work hard to figure out how to be consistent and then once we are, have to figure out how to change.

Whether we are successful or not, time changes us. I am no longer the wide-eyed rube that I was in 2000, toiling away in free-wheeling isolation. Whether my writing is better or worse for the influence of my experiences over the last eleven years, there is no denying it is different. I think though that you can still clearly see ME in my writing from either end of that time period.

And as my brain is fried by finishing my current WIP (now at 40,913 words - having started with a goal of 40,000) here are some observations on ME by ME
1.Straight down rain makes me think of Beatrix Potter - I expect to see Peter Rabbit in his blue coat running across the front lawn any minute
2. I am craving rare steak but don't blame the vampires or were-wolves.
3. I've been researching what dates Easter fell on in 1943 and all about cotton seed oil and the (potentially fatal) by-product left behind by pressing the seeds
4. Wishing the instant departure of my e-mails was matched by an instant reply
5. I'm thinking of changing my favourite colour
6. Would like to question the birth certificates of all those people questioning Obama's - see how they like it to be perpetually doubted with no chance of 100% proof
7. Would like to write a novel based in Ancient Egypt
8. I am afraid of....ha ha like I'm ever going to tell you that
9. My favourite numbers are 3 and 7
10. I'm not keen to meet my writing heroes because I would be speechless in their presence

So there :)

Just the facts ma'am...

2011-04-23T14:35:00.000-07:00

There seems to be a new trend on blogs, with bloggers wanting to warn us not to get our hopes up - over at Nathan Bransford's we have this post on the Fate Factor. Publishing is a strange beast that is constantly at pains to remind us it is a business which then acts like no other business we know. The success of a book is not necessarily linked to the hard work pre and post publication, promotional effort or creative talent behind it. Fate/luck/call-it-what-you-will has its part to play. Commenters on the post thanked Mr Bransford for calling their attention to this and reminding them that it was better to acknowledge what they couldn't control and focus on what they could. I want the happy drug they are on. I couldn't get past the idea that working my arse off, being nice in the face of difficulties and hypocritical rudeness and writing some very cool sentences might get me nowhere. I acknowledge the truth of what he says but I'm not sure how to respond. Sure I probably should give more attention to the thing I can control: the quality of my writing. But I am also toying with the idea of being more lazy and less accommodating and seeing how I get on :) (Don't worry folks I am not really intending to change my work ethic or my personality - I'm just a bit bewildered about how to find the positive spin on this ).

Maureen Crisp as always has smart stuff on her blog and her latest post is no exception. The world of publishing is in a phase of rapid evolution and Ms Crisp has some fantastic advice on how writers might best prepare themselves for what's ahead. If you aren't reading her blog regularly than you may be killed off in the next meteor shower/ice age - get wise folks. One particular link caught my eye - a blog post on what a writer can do in the face of persistant positive rejection: when your work is good but doesn't tick the money making box in their opinion. My eyes lit up - this has happened to me. The link is a good one. But I am hesitating over the mathematical logic of this. Writers are notoriously impatient (okay maybe thats just me). In the past they had no choice but to keep resubmitting their work. If rejections were positive then you made less or no changes to the ms before it went out again. It might take 40, it might take 100 goes but you kept trying until all traditional publishing avenues were exhausted or you were accepted. Now we assume a handful of positive rejections are a sign that no publisher wants our work? Do we give up too early because there is now an alternative route? Is it true that publishers are less likely to publish things they would have accepted twenty years ago? I studied statistics at University. I know how malleable and fickle they are. The idea of e-books and self-publishing are so seductive because we love the idea of controlling our own destiny. Fate? Pah! Take that!! I have a book I want to publish as an e-book for a number of good reasons, but I am not going to rush into this option for my other work just yet.

Facebook has the word 'book' in it for a reason...

2011-04-18T15:24:00.000-07:00

Facebook - at the Spinning Tales conference one of the speakers recommended Facebook as a way to connect with readers. As writers (and/or illustrators) for children we cannot ignore the way they interact with the world around them, and these days so much of that happens online. Facebook can suck up a lot of time and distract you from more important tasks at hand. Privacy issues are continually being debated and revised. Not all connections made via facebook are happy ones with positive outcomes. People can be cruel in any medium. But Facebook has a lot to recommend it as well. My eldest let us know she was just fine and having fun in Las Vegas via facebook (using her i-pod). I keep in touch daily with people all round the country in a way that a phone would not facilitate, and I am grateful for this. Creatives in particular can be isolated due to the way they work. In many ways we are solitary creatures destined to forge our gems alone. But for writers, stories are filled with people and you cannot write good characters without knowing a few. I can make new friends all around the globe. I can connect with old friends. I can join in a conversation on contentious topics with a bunch of like minded individuals (politics anyone?). I can keep up with the gossip (also known as industry news) way faster on facebook. And of course having a presence on facebook means potential fans of your work can find you from anywhere in the world. And one of my favourite benefits is the way a facebook conversation can cheer me up, teach me something, advance my thinking on a subject or just settle those awful doubts we all have from time to time. When wondering aloud the other day if I was going about things the wrong way and potentially stymieing my writing career, a fellow writer (you know who I mean Mr Mewburn) wisely pointed out that the nature of the industry itself was prone to making us feel as if we were approaching it all wrong. I also liked the debate about statistics - yes they are depressing, but its better to be informed. And the lovely link this morning, from Mr M again, referencing a movie I had just seen (and enjoyed - 'Limitless' with the always charming Bradley Cooper) which talked about the biology and psychology that influences our creativity. Yes (as Frank Herbert pointed out some years back) fear is the 'mind killer'. But there are always strategies to move past these internal inhibitors - and a nice symmetry to the idea that our mind can come up with ways to trick itself. Of course I still don't believe in writer's block - the cliche much beloved by movie makers - but do think you can be 'stalled'. Being stalled is never permanent and even if you have run out of gas or the battery is dead just find a natural incline somewhere to get yourself rolling again. Facebook is what you make of it and it is filled with potential. And if you haven't already checked it out go see this remarkable online magazine about writing put together by a very cool thirteen year old I know. www.auberginemagazine.blogspot.com

The road less travelled...

2011-04-16T15:46:00.000-07:00

Ran around all week getting last minute things for travelling daughter who left on Friday for the US for this years World cheerleading competitions. She is carrying an injury, but she is nearly eighteen and said "I'm part of a team. I can't not go. The girls with the broken ankle and the shot knee are going." I had a friend who died of cancer at 30 who once said my SO and I didn't take enough risks. We lived careful lives and playing the radio for long periods in a stationary car was the most adventurous thing we ever did in her company. I thought of her when my battery died in my car the other week while the radio played as I waited with my youngest for my middle child to finish her screen acting class. My super SO came and rescued us with the jumper cables which took a long time to work (I've been driving around fine ever since with the thought in the back of my mind that the battery is on its last legs and may conk out completely when things won't work out so well). I also thought of my friend when I was at the Specialist with my daughter and he was giving us disapproving glances for the decision he could tell we were about to take. My daughter and I talked about religion as we drove along in the car on the way to the doctors. We agreed Buddhism had a lot to recommend it; with its zen philosophies and embracing living in the now. We let her go. She's not getting in the car with a drunk driver. Or taking a whiff of P. Like Robert Frost and The Road Not taken or Ursula at Parakakariki by Fiona Farrell I have to let her take the path with the uncertain destination; jump off the edge and see if the wings work. The day before she went I told my eldest I was jealous of her. I don't want to travel to the cheerleading competitions with her. They are stressful. I am not a calming influence and seem to pick up on and channel everyone elses nerves. But I am jealous that she is travelling to do something she loves. I dream of travelling for my writing. In recent weeks I have queried several US agents. At Spinning Tales, Jill Marshall spoke passionately about the realities of publishing internationally. She has experienced some fabulous highs but the tyranny of distance has contributed to some wretched lows. Theoretically new technology should ease some of the difficulties - emailing makes correspondence quick and easy, skyping can close the distance for any discussions needed and the internet can help writers anywhere reach fans anywhere else. But as is everything else with writing, publishing and books, things are never that simple. And I don't just have ambitions to be published in other countries - I want to go to those other countries and talk about my books there. I would love to go to the London Book Fair or Bologna (one of my publishers has just come back from this year's Bologna Fair - there has been interest in my book but now we have to wait and see whether this translates in to any translations). I would love to go to one of the two annual SCBWI conferences, in Los Angeles or New York. I would love to do a residency - to be paid to write uninterrupted - what a fantastic endorsement of the establishments belief in your writing skills. I would love to be invited to participate in a book festival. But for now I will sit in the office at home looking out at the lush emerald green of my garden and up to Mt Eden just beyond and try and write the things that might put me on the path to future travel.

Be brave...

2011-04-10T19:38:00.000-07:00

Further to my last post on wot I got out of the conference I want to add the following observation/advice (with reference to Tania Roxborogh's presentation on Presentation chaired by moi) - "Be Brave". This is a good mantra for the industry we are in. To send that submission in, be brave. To open that email/letter from the publisher, be brave. To get up and talk in front of a room full of strangers, whether they are adults or children, be brave. Whether it is fair or not that authors now must take more responsibility for their own marketing/publicity/promotion; as Vicki Allpress-Hill noted in her talk on The New Era at Spinning Tales, you are the best person to promote yourself. Who knows you better and will commit more to that task than you will yourself? Be brave, and as with the writing itself, the more you do it the better you get at it. We are not all born performers and some speakers make it seem effortless to have the crowd rolling in the aisles and eating out of the palm of their hands. But if you avoid author talks because you are not a born performer you are missing the opportunity to 'learn' how to be a performer. If you are not a 'natural' then you must find what you can do that does connect you with the audience and leaves them smiling at the end. All the talks I have done so far have taught me plenty of things that do and don't work. They have taught me how to recover if things go astray. They have taught me what I need to know before I begin. This was one of Tania's other gems. Be prepared. You need to not only know what your audience is wanting to know, how big the audience will be and what environment you will be meeting them in but also what tools of the trade you will need with you and what your own strengths and weaknesses are so you can plan how you personally will address their needs and interests. Be prepared, be brave! Like a triage nurse going on to the battlefield with a first aid kit, my box of tricks means I can adapt to just about all situations, no matter the size of crowd, the type of venue, or the range of equipment at my disposal. I have my laptop, my memory stick, (both with several powerpoint presentations loaded) my whiteboard pen, a range of stories for reading and a couple of drafts of several of my stories to show my process. I have a selection of writing tips and exercises on, and examples of, things like show not tell, tone and POV. And I am always listening out for other exercises and ideas I can incorporate for future talks and workshops. And because I have my fantastic box of tricks and always try and wear something quirky or humorous I feel ready to face my audience. They are my lucky charms, my dutch courage and my security blanket.

The writer in the glowing neon suit...

2011-04-07T15:20:00.000-07:00

As my mind slowly unwinds from the conference last weekend I am thinking of some of the underlying truths about the children's book industry that emerged over the course of the three and a bit days. 1. You HAVE to talk to other writers, other illustrators, other players in the industry (publishers, booksellers, librarians, teachers, readers) to move forward. If no one knows who you are now it is less likely they will know who you are in the future. Trust me, if you are serious about making children's books your career, you WANT to be known. People will not come looking for you and your works of genius when they can see that other writer over there glowing in a neon suit that says 'Look at Me!' 2. You HAVE to talk to other writers, other illustrators, other players in the industry to survive. As any gazelle will tell you you are more likely to survive if you are part of a herd. Not because you will escape the lion if you can run faster than another gazelle, but because you are stronger when supported by your peers and you in turn can provide strength to your herdmates. Share knowledge - it doesn't diminish any of you, it makes you all stronger. And with the current rates of rejection it is nice to have someone who can commiserate, stand you upright, dust you off and then send you out into the world to try again. 3. There is NO excuse for ignorance about the industry. There are TRUCKLOADS of information about how EVERYTHING works available out there. If you have not found out it is because you have not bothered. Do your homework. It will make you smarter. It will make success more likely. However if you do not, you are now the SLOW GAZELLE and that makes it easier for me. Are you happy to be the slow gazelle? Okay thats enough for now. I'm sure I'll have some more post-conference revelations and you can be sure I will post them up. In the meantime you will be shocked to learn I am keen as mustard for a rejection so I can send the publisher this letter in reply. And here is a handy link with some excellent advice from the always informative Nicola Morgan.

The Spinning Tales Effect...

2011-04-04T14:39:00.000-07:00

The Queen of Pitches lost her britches

Going to the Conference

when alerted to the fact

she said that's utter

nonsense! (Jane Bloomfield)

Since October/November last year my life has been dominated by two things - writing a novel and organising a conference/hui. There have been other things; preparation for my eldests application for a student exchange to the US, preparation for her separate travel to the US for cheerleading worlds (she leaves April 15th), being part of the team on producing my new picture book The House That Went to Sea (now off at the printers) and of course being Mum, wife, daughter, pet owner, housefrau, company co-director and student. But the conference and the novel have occupied the majority of my thoughts. Spinning Tales happened last weekend. The culmination of all the running around, the meetings, the emailings, the plannings, the plottings and the stressing. I think it went pretty well. We had a last minute cancellation from an overseas speaker due to illness but were able to offer a brilliant alternative (thank you Jill Marshall) and make different arrangements for other things affected by this turn of events. The venue, the food, the speakers, the chairs, the volunteer helpers, the drivers, the technical engineer were all really quite stunning in their professionalism and generosity. By thursday I felt that everything the organisers could do had been done and now we just had to see how it all played out. And it played out like a charm. I have been overwhelmed by the thanks and the positive feedback. And I want to say a thank you right back. Writers and Illustrators for children have to be the nicest bunch of people you could ever hope to meet. They are warm, welcoming and caring. And the reason everything went so well is because they made it so. Everyone engaged with what was going on, and with each other. I have watched with a lump in my throat as folk who met up at Spinning Tales now connect up on facebook, forging stronger links of mutual support and encouragement. This is a tangible result - the Spinning Tales effect. I feel so privileged to be a part of this community. Now of course I am down to just the novel and I have no excuses to not focus more time on finishing this....gulp

Howl...

2011-03-29T15:06:00.000-07:00

This weekend is Spinning Tales. The New Zealand Hui/Conference for Children's Writers and Illustrators. I have been sweating bricks helping to get this organised. And it has been a labour of love because in everything I have done I have thought about what the conference goer will get out of it. A few days ago one of the most amazing writers for children, Diana Wynne Jones, passed away. She was prolific but her fans are bereft, their thirst for her work not quenched. I read Neil Gaiman's thoughts on her passing and once I got past my jealousy over their collective imaginative brain power and an intense desire to have been privy to their conversations and friendship (I mean come on, Neil Gaiman and Diana Wynne Jones? - OMG) I had my customary epiphany. What an incredible friendship it must have been - Neil Gaiman and Diana Wynne Jones. There are other groups of writery friends that I have been green over - Maureen Johnson, Libba Bray, Justine Larbalestier, Scott Westerfield and others - jeepers can you imagine the conversations they must have? But I don't need to be green because I have my own super-circle of writery friends and my writer friends mean the world to me - literally - because (in addition to my uber-fab SO and my delicious kids) writing is my world. I love all you guys. I love talking shop. I love moaning and groaning about the injustices, sharing excitement over our triumphs, debating the broken bits and how we might fix them. And at Spinning Tales we can be together and have one big fat permission slip to talk nothing but BOOKS!!! This will be the highlight for me. Whether I learn something new or advance my career in some way or not, the true benefit will be the opportunity to hang out with my peers, my writer friends who understand my dilemmas and who share my interests. These are the people who sustain you when the going gets tough. When you need an ear to bend, a shoulder to cry on, or someone to make you laugh or to say just the right thing - you can rely on a writer to find the right words. I will get to see my writer friends from all around the country and maybe even make a few more. I can't wait :) And here is a juicy link on how you can spruce up your manuscript to make an editor happy.

Listen carefully, I will say this only once...

2011-03-25T18:54:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I participated in a fundraising event for Christchurch. As poet Renee Laing said at the Mt Roskill library last night, when disaster struck in Christchurch New Zealanders said "I want to help, what can I do?" And the truth was the best thing to do was what you are good at. So when author James George said lets do public readings of our written work in Auckland libraries, I signed up in a flash. On Friday March 25th I joined a group of authors (Ken Grace, Mihera Paterson, Bronwyn Elsmore, Nicky Pelligreno and Brennan Rigby) at the Public Library at Massey out West at 1pm and a different group (Maggie Tarver, Robina Adamson and Renee Laing) at Mt Roskill Library at 6pm and we each shared an 8 to 10 minute reading with the good folk who turned up to hear us and donate money to a good cause. I hope the audience enjoyed what we had to offer. They seemed to. I certainly enjoyed reading aloud. I read short stories from the two Pick 'n' Mix anthologies put out by Scholastic NZ. I very much enjoyed the listening too. I remember listening to stories on the radio played during school. This is where I first developed a serious crush on Greek Mythology. Careful listening, something you have to do with a live reading because there is no pause and rewind facility (no do-overs as it were) is a great skill. I listened attentively to the other readers yesterday because if you missed any seeds sown earlier in a story the twist or climax at the end could lose its potency. I read somewhere recently that we have diminished the facility of our brains by using calculators and other technological devices that save us the effort of figuring things out in our heads. Many cultures had an oral tradition that is slipping away. Many of us lose the listening skills we developed at school. Poets, as Renee Laing reminded us last night have a well organised schedule of regular readings and slams. Writers of prose have nothing like this. We should. It would be good for writers to share their work; good for listeners to enjoy some good stories, practice some good listening skills and enjoy a sense of community around a creative endeavour. We could all benefit.

Where would we be without teachers and librarians...?

2011-03-22T15:47:00.000-07:00

The book experience is a collaborative process between writer and reader, artist if the book has illustrations, and teachers and librarians if the book is for children. Without teachers and librarians sharing their passion for books, fewer children would embrace them. Studies show that the more books there are available in a house, the longer children stay at school thereby setting themselves up for better long term life outcomes. Books will make a tangible difference in a child's life. I often talk with children about what books can do for you. Its not just about information and learning, although if you can read you can teach yourself just about anything by reading a book. Its also about pleasure and relaxation. It's also a chance to expand your horizons and understand more about the world and the people in it. I can't go back in time but I can read about the past in a book. I can read speculations about the future. I can travel all over the world and get a peek into how other people live their lives or solve their problems. I can travel to other worlds and understand more about myself in the process. Books make me more empathetic and can challenge me. How fantastic is that?? And if I am invited to schools you can be sure that a teacher and/or librarian is behind it, keen to get their students reading and writing, keen to help them dive into this marvelous world of words. They always make me feel welcome and special. If your school has teachers and librarians who love books with a burning passion you are lucky. If your school has teachers and librarians who organise author and illustrator visits you are very lucky.

future authors...

2011-03-20T12:53:00.000-07:00

Visited the school my sister is a teacher at last Friday. I read my short story The Monster Under My Bed, from Pick 'n' Mix: Volume 2 and then The House That Went to Sea which both seemed to go down well. The children were fabulous and asked great questions about writing and being a writer, although one of my favourite questions was "who is the better cook, you or your sister?" I sensed a set up here but if the Diplomatic Corp had heard my response they may have hired me on the spot - I'd like a posting to New York thanks. It is incredibly rewarding to visit with children who are so enthusiastic about books and reading. And there is always at least one student in the audience who has 'future author' written all over them. You can see it in their eyes. It is so exciting to meet them.

Tomorrow I'm talking to school groups at Devonport (9.30am) and Birkenhead (11am) Libraries with The House That Went to Sea illustrator Gabriella Klepatski about creating the book, for NZ Book Month. On Friday I am reading from my books at Massey Library at 1pm and at Mt Roskill at 6pm with other authors to raise money for Christchurch. It will be a change to just read. Maybe I will include an excerpt from my WIP.

Organisation is preceding apace for Spinning Tales and as we get very close to the event we are finalising details and slotting all the pieces into place. I am boxing on with the novel, now approaching 35,000 words and I think it is in pretty good shape. I think the end is in sight. I will be happy and relieved when it is done but excited also that this story has been told. Back to work I think

Across the great divide...

2011-03-14T12:55:00.001-07:00

If I start talking gibberish you will realise I have gone over the edge. Yesterday I thought I had reached breaking point - computery things weren't working and despite all the hours in the day I achieved very little and picked up some extra duties. Big ups to my SO who stepped in and found the solution to my computer woes and who turned the pdf of my latest book in to a power point presentation. You rock honey. I never forget all the good reasons I married you, but its even better when you add a few more good reasons. I am one lucky gal.

As I trolled through the usual bloggy suspects this morning I came across an interesting post on publishing industry myths over at Rachelle Gardner's blog. There wasn't anything in the post I didn't already know. If you hang around the internet long enough you get to recognize the myths and appreciate the realities. The myths that struck a chord with me today are that once you are published you can say goodbye to rejection and conventional forms of submitting your work. I am happy to confess that before I was published I believed this myth too. Why wouldn't you? Its all a mystery on the other side until you get there - a bit like parenthood and international travel. So today I am going to say what is different for me now that I have crossed the great divide. This may not apply to other published folk, everyone's experience is a little different, but it may be of interest.

I still write query letters, synopses and, usually, finish the manuscript before I submit. I still get rejections, sometimes form rejections. I still follow submission guidelines. I enquire, I post by snail mail if that is what is required, I don't meet with editors over coffee and chat about ideas. Truthfully, being published helps. Ok some editors do know me now so I stress less about getting in touch with them but I went through that initial scary awkward phase to get to that point and I still follow the rules with them that I've always followed. And each project is examined on its own merits. I wait on tenterhooks like every other author and 99.9% of the time I don't get to hear back sooner than anyone else. I get nervous and anxious.

Some publishers will take unsolicited submissions from published authors - that is handy. I am still learning about this business. I am still trying to figure out the best path for my career and then trying to figure out how best to get on that path. I am better at spotting opportunities and possibly feel more confident at taking them. I've also learned it pays to be prepared so that any opportunites that come up can be seized with both hands. But all of this is partly the result of hanging around this industry for so long and trying to learn as much as I can about it over the years. I've learned the value of persistence and of luck. And I take advantage of all the information out there on the internet, and from writers groups and organisations and friends. There are no special 'ins' or 'handshakes' or anything. Its up to you.

But we love you so much we want to keep you forever...

2011-03-11T15:41:00.000-08:00

My thoughts go out to those in Japan suffering as a result of the horrific earthquake and subsequent tsunami. My eyes have been opened to the overwhelming impact events like this have on people with an earthquake having hit so close to home in Christchurch in February. I never realised how far reaching the consequences are and how long the trauma could linger. I know I have a blog reader located in Japan and I hope she and her loved ones are safe.

It seems that every time I meet up with a particular writer friend of mine I have a writing epiphany. Last time it was a realisation about how something needed to work in a novel I was writing (although the novel unfortunately still has other issues). This time I pondered the rationale behind publishers who like their authors to be exclusive. I've always struggled with this. 'It is the writer's career, not the publishers,' has been my concern in the past, but yesterday as we talked over a cup of coffee I mused on why a publisher might want to be the sole publisher of someone they welcome in to their fold. If they pass on your work you are not permitted to seek another publisher for that work (unless possibly that work is something they do not publish, like adult or non-fiction). It seems arrogant to say they are the only arbiter of whether your work is appealing/good enough or not. But then if they publish you well and have a reputation for quality work, their reputation depends on your reputation. If you publish elsewhere they have no control over the quality of the publication or its content. If they deny you the opportunity to send your work elsewhere it implies they intend to continue publishing you well in the future. They are building a relationship with you. They care about you. But are the rewards they offer enough?

There may be other arguments for exclusivity. I am sure there are arguments against exclusivity. I am still not sure about the idea myself. I struggle greatly with the idea that a publisher can reject my work on behalf of all publishers. I feel uncomfortable that someone else would effectively control my career. I like to think I have developed a clue about which of my written works cut the mustard. It is in my own best interests not to peddle anything I am not proud of. And readers look for writers they have enjoyed before regardless of who has published them. And anyway (sniff) no one has asked me to be exclusive to them. On the other hand I do not want to be a publishing hussy giving myself to a lot of publishers. That way lies madness and trouble. I guess there are reasons to be flattered if you are in the 'exclusive' position, and loyalty has value if the feeling's mutual.

Correction: Recently I had a two links in a blog post and it turned out they accidently led to the same place. Sorry folks. And as the second one led to some very useful info I am repeating them here. One funny and one handy in a long term kind of way.

"no offense, but..."

2011-03-09T12:32:00.000-08:00

People who know me personally will laugh when I say that I am shy. At public events I do not appear shy, but I certainly feel it. The written word is my medium. Conversation ties my brain in knots. I'm not dumb but the cleaners would have swept the floor and the guests all gone home and tucked themselves into bed by the time I had come up with a witty retort or well considered counter-argument to a topic of discussion. I want to say the right thing at the right time. And I have a fear of offending people. Yet I like to blog. And I like to be honest when I blog and say what's on my mind and explore my concerns and my dilemmas and a whole bunch of other stuff. And I have no control over who comes to visit and what they read and how they interpret it and what they think and what they take away from it. I write and rewrite my posts until I feel like they best express my position in the way that is least likely to be misconstrued. But I can guarantee it is 100% impossible to avoid misunderstanding. And it is 100% impossible to avoid controversy. I am in an industry that has grown up inside an emotional minefield. The wagons are circling as technology shoots flaming arrows at the fabric stretched taut over those wire frames. Its about creatives tenderly nurturing the progeny of their minds and sending them out unprotected into a cold harsh reality of the commercial world. But while I refuse to shy away from difficult topics I hope I don't offend anyone. I hate upsetting people. That's not how I roll. But then I don't want to avoid confrontational topics. You can see the problem here folks. This industry is not simple or without issues. It is not without difficulties and it would be fraudulent to suggest it is. Ideally topics are a springboard for discussion, an opportunity for differing opinions to be heard, a chance for greater clarity to emerge. I love how kids these days say "no offense but..." and then reel out something that is sure to offend. Saying 'no offense' first is not a free pass to offend people. And I don't intend to do that here, but folks if we as writers must be able to accept advice or review or a close and critical examination of the work we do, then so must the rest of the industry. Shouldn't we all strive for improvement? And if you think I've been rude or wrong or need to bark up a different tree please tell me :)

One big jar of fickle....

2011-03-07T14:06:00.000-08:00

On Sunday evening as I was reading my SO said "whatcha doin?" and I said "study". My diploma in children's lit course has started and I am trying not to let it get away on me because the required reading is prodigious. He said, "don't you already have enough on your plate?" and I said "yes". Um, I think I have taken on too much.

But I am going to keep on blogging because it helps me gather my thoughts and warm up for writing. A gathered thought can be a very handy thing and flexing your writing muscles should be regular - its so easy to get out of shape.

So here goes. It is very easy to say something is broken when it doesn't work for you. If only 'A' happened than 'B' would follow. Well folks the book industry is just one big jar of fickle. As much as everyone wants a constant stream of winners on their hands and we want to be part of that stream, nothing is 'sure-fire'. No one is 'sure' what they want, publishers and readers alike, until they have it in their hands. It isn't broken - this is just how it works. If 'A' then 'B', 'C' or even 'F' is possible. Most likely 'F'. Yes publishing is a business but for most writing is not - there will always be a mismatch between the intentions and needs of these two. Yes good readers read fine writing but commercial books will always sell more. Yes the local shops are awash with imported books but they are still only a fraction of all books published overseas and it probably is more a two way street than I care to imagine. Yes some books are dreck but some readers love dreck with a passion and why shouldn't they. This is part of the beauty of the system - tastes and opinions vary. And what really sells books? Word of mouth and viral marketing, but these are out of our control. Luck is an undeniable element in the success or failure of our writing and publishing endeavours. Does it do my head in? Every week. Sometimes twice a week. Every day if its a bad week. Then I wake up the next morning and get right back in the saddle. It is not surprising that people who don't write don't always get why other people slave over something which might never see the light of day. Maybe its a disease. Having a disease is a good excuse for all my irrational behaviours so, for now, I choose not to be cured.

The give way end of a one lane bridge...

2011-03-03T17:35:00.000-08:00

I went to the Auckland launch of New Zealand Book Month last night. It was lovely. A smart and interesting crowd, superb local wines and food and a great success all round (Beth - you are a star). I counted myself lucky to go although it did mean having to talk with lots of grown ups. Held at St Matthew in the City the event included a celebliterati debate around the topic of 'should New Zealand Books be given special treatment here in NZ?' Folks this is a serious issue that has been much on my mind. Being an author in New Zealand is an exhausting business requiring writing, editing, persuading, selling, marketing, promotional and other skills and efforts. I sometimes feel like a character in a Dr Suess book, 'would you like it in a house, would you like it with a mouse, on a train, in the rain, buy my book please...' (sorry it scanned better until i took a swear word out). But I had forgotten that the debate was an 'entertainment'. Some argued passionately, 'book sales for NZ titles are a small fraction of total book sales here' vs. 'buying books should be about quality not where the author comes from.' Some took a circuitous route through their own pasts to the topic but all the speakers were excellent and we laughed, a lot. And because they were most entertaining the negatives won. But folks the question remains - Should NZ titles be given special treatment? Could someone please explain to me why it seems so few NZ titles travel to overseas markets but so many overseas titles, irrespective of their quality are sold here. The traffic is not 'both ways'. Here in New Zealand it feels as if we are on the 'give way' end of the one lane bridge. The 'quality' argument is fair enough but the playing field is not level. I haven't received Creative New Zealand funding, I don't receive special treatment, and my readers know me because I have gone out and visited schools and libraries, attended Storylines festivals and done my best to be visible. I keep writing and submitting and working on my craft. Maybe I am missing something but I don't even think its about special treatment - just equal treatment with overseas titles would be nice.

And because I love you all so much, here are some juicy links for your entertainment (Surgeon general's warning: a hot beverage should not be consumed while reading this) and your edification (this link should be filed for future reference). Have a safe and happy weekend people, go buy a book by a New Zealand author and keep the folk of Christchurch in your thoughts.

The House That Went to Sea...

2011-02-28T19:43:00.000-08:00

My baby is nearly done. Last year I blogged about this story here - one of my favourite stories that was looking for a loving home. And then in a whirlwind I sent it out, it was accepted by Duck Creek Press and it has now been turned into a book with fabulous illustrations by Gabriella Klepatski. It will be available in shops in June. It is in hardback. I am very proud and excited.

The House That Went to Sea follows the story of an introverted young boy sent to stay with his Grandmother while his adventurous parents study monkeys in the rainforest. Anything is possible when Granny Gale takes up the anchor...there are mermaids, pirates and a shark in this story, and a lot of seagulls...

When people are built of 100% awesome

2011-02-26T17:38:00.000-08:00

Still thinking of Christchurch so much. So many people have lost loved ones and so many things we take for granted, so many of the basic elements of our daily lives like electricity and running water and flushing toilets and phones have been taken away. It is a struggle and I watch in awe at the people who have stepped up and done whatever needs to be done: who have reached in and rescued people, who have shared what they have with people in need, who have offered comfort and the best of humanity to help their fellow man. I am proud to be a kiwi.

I am also proud to be my parents' daughter. I am writing a novel based on my father's experiences as a young teen in the Second World War. When Germany invaded Poland, they divided up the country with the Soviet Union. Many Polish families became prisoners of war in Russian labour camps including my father's and my mother's families. My maternal grandfather died in the fighting in Ancona. My paternal grandmother died of a treatable illness. Some of my parent's siblings died as a result of the war. After the hardships they endured my parents met and married in England and came out to New Zealand in the 1950's. It must have seemed like paradise, filled with peace, progress and prosperity, after the horrors of Europe in WW2. Knowing their story makes me realise how resilient and remarkable people are.

There have been times when I have despaired for the human race when they have seemed intent on a path of self destruction or when the petty cruel behaviour of some individuals beggars belief, but then there are times like these when people are built of 100% awesome. Thank you to all those people from round the world who have sent their love, who have donated money or who have come to New Zealand to help rescue Christchurch, to help strangers because thats what good people do.

Tomorrow is uncertain...embrace today

2011-02-23T13:53:00.000-08:00

Mother Earth tried to crush the beautiful New Zealand city of Christchurch in her devastating embrace on Tuesday. A shallow 6.3 earthquake broke Christchurch at 12.51pm and it is heartbreaking now to watch the ensuing tragedy unfold. The city lies in ruins and many innocent folk have lost their lives. It is hard to know what to do or say. Facebook has been a godsend in providing information on the safety of friends. I have been trying to donate to the Red Cross (www.redcross.org.nz/donations ) and suspect that I cannot get through to do so because there are so many other people trying to do the same which is a good thing. People want to help. I am wandering around thinking 'what can I do'? My heart feels heavy all the time. There is no rhyme or reason to this, just 'what is' and at times like this I am conscious of how small and insignificant humans are in the grand scheme of things. I have joined the NZSA's fundraising effort and will read from my books at one of the Auckland Libraries on 25th March. And I am going to embrace my SO and my kids and my life and enjoy the good things that I have because tomorrow is uncertain.

Gandalf would know what to say...

2011-02-20T12:09:00.000-08:00

So Whitcoulls and Borders in NZ have gone into voluntary administration. I wailed and gnashed my teeth when I first heard the news. It had an inevitability about it all so I wasn't terribly surprised but my first reaction was 'this can't be good for authors'. Of course it can't be good for their staff or for local publishers either. With 60+ shops this represents a lot of people who might be without jobs if they can't trade out of the hole they are in. And local publishers rely on income from the big bookshops (although I imagine its been none too reliable over the last year or two). If publishers rely on them and we rely on publishers you can see how this all might be a problem for folk like me. I am more philosophical about it all today. Gnashing my teeth will only result in gnashed teeth - probably not a good look in the long term. The bottom line is this has happened and feeling glum about it helps no one. I can't help wishing however that my writing career wasn't happening (or trying to happen) in these tumultuous times. Why do there have to be such upheavals in the publishing and bookselling industries when I am trying to make my way in them. I guess Gandalf might have something sage to say about this but for the moment I am listening to this talk by Margaret Atwood (via agent Rachelle Gardner's blog) and thinking she makes great points but are the people who might make a difference listening? I shall continue to do what I think I do best (besides making chocolate cakes) and wait and see what happens next.

Googled yourself lately?...

2011-02-15T13:45:00.000-08:00

If you are a regular, dear reader, you may know I do enjoy googling myself. As I have come to realize over time, it can be the best way to discover news about yourself. Yesterday I fell over the interesting snippet that my picture book The Were-Nana can now be found in the Boston University Library. Of course this is not ground-breaking, wallet stuffing news but it warmed my heart none the less. To paraphrase an old beer commercial, "they're reading my book over there." Googling oneself is also a reminder of how the world is seeing you. This is the information that Joe Public, googling your name, will stumble across. It is always good to keep this in mind when wittering into the ether. I think its good to have a presence on the internet and good to keep an eye on it.

And as you pound the (metaphorical) pavements in the marathon of getting and staying published here are some juicy links to bandaid those blisters and joggers chafe with... One from Crabbit Old Bat Nicola Morgan on the question of whether Editors ever make 'mistakes' and the other from children's lit agent Jennifer Laughran on why it can take so long for a book to come out. All her points are fair ones. The book publishing process is not a simple one and its helpful to have an insight into the contributing factors that can delay a book. Of course on the other side of the coin is the fact that when they really want to, a publisher can shorten this time considerably. But in the end the bottom line is that they publish it. If the reasons are good ones I for one, don't mind waiting.

All these feelings are exhausting

2011-02-13T12:05:00.000-08:00

I think writers may well be a psychiatrist's dream. Being an emotional sort probably helps me write. They're all there, the full array of emotions; available to explore for a scene and experienced personally to enable credibility. I get envious about other writer's successes and feel guilty about my own in turn. I have had some very good things happen. I am published. I have had some rubbish things happen that haven't happened to other published writers I know. I get down when my writing isn't going well or I get rejected. I get down when I look at my writing income. I get uptight when adult writers behave as if writing for children is something that requires little or no skill (yes Martin Amis I'm looking at you). I get uptight when people in positions of authority suggest the arts are not important and/or are frivolous (yes Paula Bennett I'm looking at you). I get deliriously happy when I get a yes or someone compliments my writing. I get nervous before a workshop or school visit. And the frustrations....lets just not go there. So if you are anything like me you will be grateful for strategies to help you overcome the less pleasant emotions that plague you. Chocolate does indeed help you recover from an attack by the dementors. I eat a lot of chocolate. If I get bad news I let myself be mad and sad about it but I try and work through these quickly. The envy is tricky because in addition to being jealous I get annoyed with myself for being jealous. The Rejectionist has excellent advice (and a seriously entertaining read) on dealing with writer envy here. You need to do whatever it is that keeps you sane in the insanity of the world in general and the writing world in particular. And I have to remember I wouldn't have so many ups and downs if I wasn't putting myself out there so much. You take risks? Sometimes they won't pay off. I try not to stay and dwell on it. I keep trying to move forward.

Well developed tenterhook muscles...

2011-02-08T14:42:00.000-08:00

T'was very exciting to see the final pictures for my next picture book on Monday. I don't know what anyone else will think but I am satisfied. They have humour and energy and subtlety. They capture my story. And the good news is the book will be published in June. This is not far away. I popped this manuscript in the post to the publisher on September 28th last year. I have a picture book manuscript that has been under consideration with another publisher since the beginning of last year that I am still awaiting a response on. And if you take from this that no two publishers operate the same (and you would be correct in this) remember to add on that the same publisher may behave differently for different manuscripts. Maybe the best advice for prospective writers is 'expect the unexpected.' Writers are permanently on tenterhooks which is why our tenterhook muscles are so well developed.

And further to my musing on the question of whether being an author from the Antipodes makes any difference to being published outside of Australasia (still unanswered but I'm tending towards 'maybe it does') I now offer a new thought. Getting published offshore has been the Holy Grail for me for many years. That way lies greatness? riches? fame and fortune? Well...the comment from Book Brainz about the comparatively high quality of picture books in New Zealand made me wonder if that Holy Grail is a bit like a dragon - mythical and ethereal. Evidence would suggest that the sheer size of populations overseas makes print runs and therefore advances and subsequent potential income greater. But evidence also shows the difficulties of getting published, of staying published and of avoiding being remaindered are no different in other places. In a larger population where many more authors are being published annually how much harder is it to get noticed and build a name for yourself. I would still like to be published overseas. But the books I have had published here have been beautifully produced and the illustrations wonderful and at least some part of the writing and reading community know my name. I like it here. Why is 'overseas' automatically perceived as 'better'? I have to remember that yes they do have grass over there too but that doesn't mean its greener.

Libraries change lives

2011-02-06T11:31:00.000-08:00

Drum roll please..................its post number 400!!!!!!! Jeepers, I can talk a lot.

When I first started out as a writer I thought it was all very simple. You write a story that's good enough, the publishers say yes, it is turned into a book and people buy it. Rinse and repeat. I have since learned that it doesn't work like that at all. You can write a story that is good enough but that's as far as you get. You can write a story that is good enough and the publishers say yes but that's as far as you get. You can write a story thats good enough, the publishers say yes and it is turned into a book but thats as far as you get. You can rinse as much as you like but never get to repeat the process. And at every point there can be many more steps in the process but not necessarily. If your head does not explode you are doing very well. It is much more complex and tricky than I could have imagined but I am determined to be as knowledgeable as I can be and I devote a considerable amount of time to learning about it.

As a writer it is useful to know how your income can be supplemented. Not too many writers can live on royalties alone. Many writers do school visits, run workshops, and provide assessment or editing services. And we breathe a sigh of relief when the Public Lending Right cheque turns up just before Christmas. I have often thought it unfair that School Libraries are not included with Public Libraries in the PLR, especially if you are a children's author and I mentioned this in my last post. After all, if the PLR makes up for books that are not sold as the result of folk being able to borrow them from the library, should this not be true of all libraries. Well folks, as with everything else to do with writing, it is just not that simple. I had this fabulous comment posted by a school librarian in response to my last post:

Of course you knew you were going to get at least one response from a School Librarian!
1] Those purchases are sales, sales are good. There would probably be fewer sales in NZ if it weren't for school libraries as most school librarians that I know consider it very important to support local authors in order to present the students with a representation of their world.

In quite a few cases [not particularly with yours as yours are not 'noticeably' NZ books], these books are bought because of the local content - not just because the writing and production value is as good as most of the books they buy from outside of NZ.
However the feedback we get is that generally NZ books are attractive with way better art work [than seen in the US for example] and we generally feel that a high majority of NZ authors are definitely worth buying. What we are often faced with is paperback books which fall apart quickly and books which go out of print /supply rather faster than they should.

2] School libraries are funded from parents' fundraising efforts, not by the MInistry of Education, rates or taxes and are not covered by the relevant government Act. There is no official body which could demand school librarians to send in a print out of their lendings each year/quarter. It is an interesting complication not easily solved. The only thing I can suggest is to balance a lending fee loss with getting paid to give readings, visits and writing classes - something NZ children's authors used to do for free in the bad old days.
We do know it takes months and years to produce each book and there is a lot of awareness that children's authors have a hard time making a living just from writing. We are also faced with the gamble of buying as many different books as we can for many different age, taste and ability levels and hoping that those books will be read more than a few times. Our budgets are mostly very constricted, so I wonder what would happen if we were paying lending royalties as well?
Bookbrainz

I am a huge fan of libraries, both public and school. I think I lived in the school library throughout the days of my school life and was often a librarian. I got my borrowing card from the Public library system at about 8 or 9 and still use the service regularly now. Libraries rock and I have been watching the situation with public libraries in the UK with a lump in my throat. Libraries change lives.

I have been so grateful to receive my pre-christmas cheque I have never stopped to wonder how it is funded apart from wishing the pie from which we are paid was a tad bigger. Although more authors and titles are regularly added the pie stays the same size. Do libraries pay a fee to cover the PLR like companies pay an ACC levy? I am gobsmacked that School Libraries are not funded from Ministry of Education money. Isn't reading and its encouragement a fundamental part of every child's education? Of course the other side of the coin is how many book sales do I actually lose from children borrowing my books. Another librarian commenter on another blog said that research has shown book borrowers also buy the most books. The study I referenced in my last blog post also showed that people buy books by authors they know. I need readers to get to know me through library borrowings of my books. So as you can see its a completely different can of worms to the one I thought I opened.

I guess the bottom line (for me anyway) is I want my titles in libraries, both Public and School. The bottom line is I want my stories to reach children. More money would be nice but I write so I can share my stories with the people I write them for. And librarians help me make that connection. And the good news is my next picture book will be in hardback so if libraries buy it it should last a bit longer :)

Fortune favours the bold.

2011-02-04T18:48:00.000-08:00

I am a writer because I do not like talking on the phone. I can be funny sometimes when I talk, and smart. But I am generally neither of these things on the phone. I can give a talk or deliver a workshop because I have prepared my material and the topics are not only familiar to me but are ingrained like a tattoo. But anything is possible on the phone. You have no idea what the other person is going to say and long pauses while you try and come up with something smart and/or funny to say back are awkward. Pauses during talks or workshops are okay. This is when folk put up their hands and taking the question(s) fills the pause nicely and gives you a chance to collect your thoughts as you consider their question and recall the next part of your talk. But not on the phone. Some people do not mind the phone. I am not one of them. Let me text any day. Or e-mail. I am made for e-mailing. I can take as long as I like to hone my prose, or not, if the mood takes me. The bottom line is, I control when I hit send. But I swallowed my fears and used the phone yesterday to successfully ask somebody important an important question. It makes me laugh that I can talk to a room full of people but can't pick up the phone to call a stranger. I am so glad I braved my phone allergy and as I am coming to realise more and more as I go along in life, I am extra glad I asked. I have had a lot of good results as a result of asking over the last year. There will definitely be more asking in my future. Fortune favours the bold.

I spotted this (the results of a study into children's book consumers) today on Graham Beattie's blog and I am sure I have already seen it somewhere in the ether over the last few days (over at the fabulous Maureen Crisp's blog!). It is a fascinating and at times surprising read and brings up so many questions and issues around the children's book industry. It is heartening to see that children still read and value books above other sources of amusement. It is interesting to note that physical books are still the medium of choice. It is great that most children get their books from school libraries but there is a downside. I am thrilled to have my books in many school libraries but know that this potentially means less retail sales of my titles. School libraries are not included in the Public lending Right here in New Zealand and as a children's author I am therefore disadvantaged. Understandably adding school libraries to the calculations would be problematic for many other authors unless the size of the PLR pie increased substantially. There is no easy fix to this but seeing the statistics made me realise how much this affects me.

And I found the statistics on book choice equally illuminating. Subsequent books in series rank high in sales as do those by recognized authors. Series or sequels can be challenging to write well but still seem strong sellers. And building one's name and length of career is crucial. And encouraging booksellers to face books cover out makes a difference, as does a great cover. I shall be keeping these points in mind as I move forward.

Drinks Monitor...

2011-02-01T19:17:00.000-08:00

Someone who knows me very well bought me the coolest badge as a belated birthday present (she also got me book vouchers - I am a little bit in heaven right now). I will be wearing this at every opportunity. I am hoping to work my way up to the badge that says 'Head Girl' :)

I have a month left to finish the WIP. It is a short month. That seems unfair. It has been a tight time frame and I have discovered the pitfalls of having a deadline hanging over you. They are not as appealing as they look from the other side. It is a good experience however and I don't regret it. It hasn't killed me and I am probably stronger.

Last week I received an e-mail with some of the final artwork for my next picture book The House That Went To Sea, due out mid year. I love the pictures. I think the artist's style suits the tone of the story beautifully. I am so looking forward to holding the finished product in my hands. As soon as the cover is sorted I will post up a picture. I also received my copy of Pick 'n' Mix: Volume 2 last week (see above) with a story of mine in it (The Monster Under My Bed). There are lots of other great stories inside by people like Kyle Mewburn, Lorraine Orman and David Hill. Just like its mate, Volume 1, it looks fab. It is available now.

And here for your perusal, because we all need a good laugh, is a juicy link courtesy of Janet Reid. Bless her for ferreting out these gems. I laughed MHO.

Take that blind leap with us....

2011-01-30T12:20:00.000-08:00

I understand that publishing is a business. A business must make sufficient income to keep its door open. I have said this often on my blog. But I came across a comment on a post over at Editorial Anonymous's blog that beautifully explained what that business is built on:-

'So, yeah, publishing is a business, but it's a business whose profits are derived, ultimately, from creative people's speculative, unsecured investment in themselves and the way readers respond to the results.'

The original post is here and the commenter is Working Illustrator (the whole comment is definitely worth a read).

We go in to it with our eyes open (mostly) and we work hard to produce something that will fit into that agent and/or publisher's business model. I have jumped the 'creative big tick' hurdle several times only to fall at the 'we can't guarantee we can sell enough copies' hurdle. I keep writing, keep trying, but I can't help wishing that on those occasions the publisher had taken that blind leap with me.

'For the writers, making that investment involves a kind of blind leap that - with all due respect - salaried editors and agents with multiple clients just don't have to make. I think you might have to be a little bit crazy to make it. It's not completely rational and it's certainly not just about the 'business'.

But without it, there isn't anything.'

You cannot do this alone...

2011-01-26T16:56:00.000-08:00

I gave my first writing workshops for the year this week. It was a small group of eager young students but we got on just fine and by the end of the second session things were humming along. Always a good sign - I got asked if I would be interested in taking these sessions again in the future. Its nice to have got out of the starting blocks for 2011.

I attended another committee meeting for the Spinning Tales Hui/Conference today. A lot has been done and there is a lot still to do. It is going to be fabulous. Folks if you have not already registered, you should. If you are a kiwi serious about writing/illustrating for children then you can't afford not to go. We have a large contingent of NZ publishers attending and several from Australia as well. We are offering pitching sessions where you can tell a publisher about your book and hopefully convince them to publish you. We have workshops and plenty of opportunities for you to meet other writers and illustrators at varying stages of their careers. This is something I encourage all my students to do - make friends with other writers and illustrators. No one else can understand the demands, the highs and lows, and the ins and outs of the book business. I would not have achieved as much without my writer friends. We share, support, encourage, prod and commiserate. No one else can understand what you are going through like they can. Come and connect with the kiwi children's book world from April 1st to 3rd this year at Kings School, Remuera.

Yesterday as I wrestled with the topic of 'voice' in my workshop this post from Janet Reid would have been handy. The concept of 'voice' is elusive but your book will not fly without it. The closest I can come to a definition myself is saying it is the 'personality' of the story (not to be confused with the personality of the main character although he/she too must have a) personality and b)'voice'). The difficult thing is it is not something you can easily learn or add. Sometimes the only time it is mentioned is when it is not there. Have you found yours yet?

And as you contemplate submitting your work to publishers and/or agents this year go check out this brief yet excellent run down on what you should (and shouldn't) be putting in your letter to the publisher. A blurb is not a synopsis or jacket copy either.

Oh well, I guess everyone knows about my warts now...

2011-01-24T11:29:00.000-08:00

My brain is always tumbling through ideas on how to advance my writing career (within reason of course, there are some things I would NEVER do just to get published) and one thing that often crops up is the benefits of having an agent. I know some agent/author success stories. I know some agent/author fails. Sometimes I think I should go there but a couple of things hold me back. I do not rule it out forever though. I like this list here at the Rejectionist about what kind of behaviour you should expect from your agent. I am squirreling this info away for future reference.

I like this post here too - a checklist for getting published. Are you dedicated? Are you informed? Are you the right amount of crazy? Good, you have just inched closer to your goal. Its good to remember that all our little writerly neuroses are actually a sign of how comitted we are to writing and being published. Being upset by a rejection is healthy. I like that.

I also came across this and have to say I was a tad freaked and a touch horrified and most of all piqued that there was nowhere to comment on the post. I try my darndest to keep my trap shut but the screws are a bit loose and it just falls open all the time. I try not to name names if I am unhappy about something but I feel its useful to discuss the nuts and bolts of how the industry works, good and bad. One of the most important things you can do as an author is understand the industry. I tend to think of it as a healthy debate on the ins and outs of the business and lets face it, its not always a smooth running well oiled machine. I hope I have not stepped over the boundaries. And I like to post up my material from time to time and I'm surprised that freshness (not as in 'freshness of idea' but 'how recent/new the ms is') is such a key motivating factor in editorial decisions. Oh well, I guess everyone knows about my warts now.

I'm still chugging away on the WIP with deadline so posting will be brief. And my youngest turns thirteen today so I am off to the supermarket to buy ingrediants for his favourite dessert - chocolate mousse. It's his first day at high school today. He has two tests this morning to determine class placement. I think I might double the chocolate in the recipe.

The tyranny of distance...

2011-01-20T14:00:00.000-08:00

Living in New Zealand is a wonderful thing but when it comes to being an author is it a disadvantage? Tyranny of distance and all that. My books/manuscripts rely on me to advocate for them in every way and I am considering some new strategies to help me escape the gravitational pull of my physical location. While I explore these (I will report back with my findings if I find any) here is the beginning of a small junior fiction WIP called Pirate Eye.

Chapter One

“What’s wrong with you?” The big boy at the school gate asked.

“Nothing,” I mumbled as I hurried on through, putting my head down. I hoped no one else would notice

I have two beautiful blue eyes. Mum says so. Often. But they are not a matching pair. The doctor calls my left eye lazy. Dad calls it my naughty eye. I call it my curse. While my right eye looks where I want it to, my brain has forgotten about my other eye. Or maybe my left eye has a mind of its own. It certainly looks that way sometimes.

When I was little things looked fuzzy. Sometimes my head hurt from trying to see things. Then my left eye just sort of gave up and stopped following my right eye around. I could see better with just one eye but sometimes I’d bump in to things. I couldn’t play two-eyed games like rugby or soccer, tennis or softball but I could swim if I was careful.

It didn’t matter about my eye so much at my old school. It was a small school where we all knew each other from kindergarten. Every one got used to my eye before they knew it was odd. But Mum got a new job and we moved house. I had to move to a new school; a big school where they weren’t afraid to tell me how bad my eye looked, where it made them laugh if you were different. I didn’t like it but there wasn’t much I could do. I kept to myself. I felt pretty miserable until Mr Cleverly came to my school to be the new teacher for my class.

“My goodness, that’s an interesting eye you have there,” Mr Cleverly said the first time we met.

“You don’t need to tell me, I already know,” I grumbled back.

He ignored my rudeness. “I had one just like it,” he said, smiling at me all the while. As I looked back at him his left eye seemed to shiver. “They made me wear a patch for ages, but I’m just fine now.”

“Yeah right,” I muttered thinking of that shivering eye. “I’m never wearing one of those.” Mr Cleverly just smiled.

The very next day Mr Cleverly, (“call me Bill,” he said), brought along photos of when he was a lad. Sure enough in every photo he had a black pirate patch over his left eye. His hair stuck out every which way and he had black pants with jagged edges and a striped t-shirt on in every photo.

“I fancied myself a pirate back then,” Mr Cleverly said. I didn’t know what to say.

Then it became my turn. I hadn’t been to the eye doctor for a long time because of moving house.

“We must fix that eye,” the doctor said when I went for my appointment.

I made a face at him.

“We’ll start straight away with an eye patch.”

“No!”

“We have to try now. Soon it will be too late.”

“No.”

“The eye patch goes over your good eye.”

“I won’t be able to see at all!” I cried.

“Of course you will. Your bad eye will figure it out. It hasn’t had to do any work. It’s forgetting how. We have to remind it now. Or it will forget all together and never work properly again!”

“I can manage,” I snarled.

Mum patted me on the back and gave me a big cheerful smile. “Come on dear,” she said. I twisted and squirmed in my seat. “It’s for the best.” And she squeezed my arm.

This was the most awful, horrible, dreadful thing that could ever happen to me. It was bad enough that everyone thought I was weird. Now I’d look stupid as well. But it turned out to be the best thing. And not just because it helped fix my bad eye. If it wasn’t for the eye patch I wouldn’t have had my adventure.

I'm melting...

2011-01-17T17:22:00.000-08:00

It is somewhat tropical here today. My clothes are the only things preventing my body from melting off my chair and onto the floor where I would get stuck in the rug with all the other disgusting things that have fallen between the fibres over time. Along with the tropical heat and humidity we also have the monsoonal type of damp weather pattern hovering over us. Despite the intermittant drizzle and/or torrential downpours I have put the washing out because I'm that kind of girl - edgy and rebellious - and, well, the wind is blowing too. The WIP is in an awkward phase where it is refusing to write itself - dagnabbit - and everything/anything else is a way more attractive proposition then knuckling down (so neanderthal) and actually writing the thing. So I am blogging, considering putting my neck to the Creative NZ funding guillotine again, checking the lint trap in my navel and chugging through other people's books.

I have just finished reading I am Number Four which was a fairly ripping read but had these strange sentences from time to time that failed the 'I am a sentence' test and the occasional incorrectly applied turn of phrase which rendered the sentence it appeared in meaningless. The main character is the cause of the mess he is in but is told several times by his guardian "its not your fault." This book, barely published, is already a movie out later this year with some recognizable actors in it. Over the last couple of days I came across a discussion about the downside of particular ages and locations if you are trying to get published here and here. It interested me that Adelaide in Australia was considered a back water and concerned me that New Zealand was noted as further down the list of backwaters from there. I know a writing career can be hard down here in the Antipodes but I thought it difficult everywhere. Now I wonder how the rest of the world sees us. If I wrote I am Number Four without James Frey's cache/notoriety and without his US location would it a) be the bestseller it already is and b) be the movie it already is? I know that a number of Kiwi authors have been successfully picked up overseas (Helen Lowe, Bernard Beckett, Lloyd Jones to name a few) but are they the lucky exceptions? Are the words New Zealand a red flag for some publishers?

Just a little quickie...

2011-01-11T16:49:00.000-08:00

I am totally doing this e-book thing in the next few months with at least one of my books. I will add more to this post later but just wanted to make sure I didn't lose this juicy link - check out one woman's decision to self publish in electronic formats... thank you to the Rejectionist for putting this out there.

(Added) Here is the book she talks about - it sounds and looks great! It is hard to believe the publishers said no. It is a hard fact of the business that they did. It is a hard reminder that a publisher saying no does not mean you have not written a good book. Publishing is a business, but reading isn't. I do not write to make money (there are much easier ways) - I write for readers like myself. Maybe e-publishing will help my writing connect with interested readers. I will keep you posted.

(Added 2) - and because this might be useful here is another lovely link from the fabulous Graham Beattie about the best font's to use for books. This is one of the many things writers usually don't have to consider if published via the conventional method. So far I've sorted myself a very nice cover for my book and now have some info on what font might be most suitable (although i have not yet confirmed that any particular font needs to be requested/applied for e-books). I have to make sure my e-book is available in as many formats as possible (?) and that distribution is good. Last but by no means least I want the manuscript edited before it hits the internet. This book, like any other that bears my name, will contribute to my writing reputation and I want it to be as good as it can be.