Small things ...

There have been some lovely reviews of our new book BatKiwi and the Big Wet (which came out in February) - by Maria Gill on Kids Books NZ here, on the KiwiReviews site here, on What Book Next? here, and by Paula Green on Poetry Box here. You never know how new work will be received, so it is both a relief and a delight to find readers and reviewers embracing it. Plucky Bat and Kiwi are becoming quite the good problem solvers, reminding us that heroism isn't just about being strong, it's also about quick thinking and team work.

I was enormously touched by Paula Green's generous description of my writing  - Melinda has the ink of bees in her writing pen – her sentences flow like honey. It is honey-bee music and I just love it. - this kind of feedback is so very encouraging. Especially as I am now back to working on something novel length. It's an old idea I started ten years ago and it would be brilliant to finally finish it this year. Whether it is publishable or not I will just be very happy to have it completed.

I am also still writing poetry. Mostly for children. I had a bit of a poetry writing drought over summer but that seems to be over for now. I've had some more poems appear on the Dirigible Balloon site - you can see my poems here. Just click on the poem titles to read them. My small children's poetry tribe - The Poets XYZ - are currently running a 100 day challenge (started March 1st) on our facebook page, with the object of writing a children's poem each day, with a weekly theme provided. You can drop in and participate anytime and there is no obligation to show others your poems. While I am not quite keeping up with the pace, I am managing to write a few poems per theme. I really like the idea that by the end of this process I'll have a nice little collection of children's poems across a range of topics. Who knows? I might end up with enough for a wee collection, or at least a chap book. The challenge is a great way to exercise the poetry muscle and I can already feel it becoming more limber and productive. Sometimes too the poem that results turns out to be an adult one so I am increasing my output for both age groups. I am also submitting some of the results. A few rejections have come my way over the last wee while and this has resulted in a lot of doubt on my part. Writing, for me, has always felt like being on the doubt roller coaster. There is never any guarantee the roller coaster has another exhilirating peak to climb, but I haven't quite brought myself to get off the ride yet. Like the novel writing I remind myself that enjoying the process and entertaining myself must be enough. Anything else is a bonus. My ability to believe this varies.

Anyway, here's a poem for children on the theme of 'small things'

I Should Have Muzzled My Mosquito

I had a mosquito as a pet

My friends warned me,

“mosquitos bite people. You’ll

be stuck at home with it, or

will have to muzzle it

if you go for walks.”

But a mosquito is a very

small thing.

I thought I could hide it

in my clothes if we went out.

Unfortunately I found out

my friends were right.

It bit

I slapped.

So I went back to the pet shop

and they had this really cute piranha.

When some balance is required ...

I've had a few rejections over the last couple of weeks for adult poetry and a couple of picture books. I'm an old hand now - I've experienced rejection many times and know I will get past it but it never fails to sting. So its nice to look at a few positives from the last few weeks to balance things out.

I got sent the final pdf of a wee chapter book I wrote last year for the Ministry of Education that will be published this August and it was wonderful to see the final version. More details on this when I have my own copies in my hot little hands.

I was thrilled to have another poem appear on wonderful poet Paula Green's children's poetry blog, Poetry Box. It's called A Bath in Nature and you can read it here. 

And I just found out that Lucy and The Dark is a finalist for the Scholastic New Zealand Award for Best Children's Book in the 2024 PANZ Book Design Awards. The full list of finalists can be found here. I think the illustrations and design for this book are outstanding and I am so pleased for illustrator Vasanti Unka and designer Cat Taylor. I feel incredibly lucky they were the team picked for my story.

I received a truly lovely, long and detailed review of My Elephant is Blue on Goodreads which warmed me all over. 

‘My Elephant is Blue’ by Melinda Szymanik is a truly phenomenal book that tackles the complex and often overwhelming feelings of sadness and depression in a way that is accessible and relatable for children. As someone who has personally grappled with "big heavy feelings" and has had to explain these emotions to children, I can wholeheartedly say that this book is an excellent resource.

Plot: ★★★★★
The plot is nothing short of wonderful. It deftly describes the feelings of sadness and heaviness in a healthy and informative manner. The story covers essential aspects such as the loss of appetite, the sense of being weighed down, and the struggle to engage in activities despite the desire to do so. The narrative is both touching and educational, offering a clear depiction of what it feels like to experience such heavy emotions.

Character: ★★★★★
The characters in this book are exceptionally well-developed. The child protagonist, who is dealing with these heavy feelings, is portrayed with depth and sensitivity. The elephant, a personification of these overwhelming emotions, is a poignant and effective metaphor. The family members who support the child are also wonderfully depicted, showing empathy, understanding, and love. This multi-faceted characterization helps children understand that they are not alone and that support is available.

Illustrations: ★★★★★
The illustrations are beautiful and perfectly complement the story. They bring the emotions and characters to life, adding a visual depth that enhances the overall impact of the narrative. The artwork is both soothing and evocative, helping to convey the book’s themes in a visually engaging way.

Engagement: ★★★★★
This book is highly engaging. The relatable characters, compelling plot, and beautiful illustrations will captivate children and hold their attention from start to finish. It’s a story that children are sure to love and want to revisit.

Readability: ★★★★★
The readability is phenomenal. Discussing topics like sadness and depression with children can be incredibly challenging, but this book addresses these issues with clarity and compassion. The language is straightforward yet profound, making it an excellent read-aloud book for parents, teachers, and caregivers.

Enjoyment: ★★★★★
This is a very enjoyable read. Despite the heavy subject matter, the book handles it with such grace and sensitivity that it leaves a lasting impression. It’s a story that offers comfort, understanding, and hope, making it a valuable addition to any child’s library.

‘My Elephant is Blue’ by Melinda Szymanik is an outstanding book that beautifully addresses the difficult emotions associated with sadness and depression. With its wonderful plot, well-developed characters, stunning illustrations, high engagement, phenomenal readability, and overall enjoyment, it is a must-read for children and adults alike. This book is a fantastic tool for teaching children about these complex feelings in a way that is both compassionate and comprehensible. Highly recommended.

I also had this one. 

'Too long for storytime.'

She gave me four stars though, so it wasn't all bad. If nothing else it's a salutary reminder that different readers will have different response to the same material, and you can't please all of the people all of the time. Back to the writing and lets see what else this week brings ...

Focusing on the making rather than on the end product ...

I had some really good news recently. I have been around the traps too long to think it a done deal at this point, but if things do go according to plan I will have not two, but three picture books coming out in the second half of this year. Huzzah!!! This has happened to me once before, in 2021 and, I have to say, it was something of a strange experience, especially in the covid era. In all honesty it went very differently to how I imagined it would. I am interested and excited to see how it goes this time. And I will tell you more when there is more to tell :-)

I have come to realise how easy it is to get suckered in to the drive/obsession to keep being published. Getting a yes is a heady hit of the feel goods and you'd have to be an automaton to not want to repeat that boost of endorphins. Then follows the desperate efforts to write the next publishable thing. Is this it? Is this it? Maybe this one will be? Or that! But this can be an unhelpful road to go down. Don't get me wrong. I definitely want to keep being published. But I find it hard to create good work when I am focusing on what a publisher might think. I can't know what they're going to think. They don't know either. Not until they think it. Making good art - whether that's a picture book, or a novel, or a poem for adults, or for children - is the goal. And good art might not only please me, it might please the publisher as well. Of course focusing on the making rather than on the end product is easier said than done and I am working on some strategies to keep the focus where it should be. I think, in part, it's about slowing down and letting things breathe a bit more.

In other news, my book with Vasanti Unka, My Elephant is Blue (Penguin, 2021), is coming out in the US on April 11th and has been accruing some State-side reviews which has been rather encouraging. There is this lovely one in Kirkus, and this one in Foreword Reviews and perhaps the loveliest one I've ever seen here at Books Worth Reading . I'm also being interviewed for an American podcast, Reading With Your Kids, which should be posted up some time around the release date. Gulp. 

I'll also be running my all day Writing Picture Books for Children workshop on Sunday April 2nd. If you, or anyone you know, is keen to get the good oil on how to get started you can find registration details here. And if you can't make it in April I will be repeating the course in August.

Right then, I'm off to work on some poems. If I make some good ones, when the opportunities arise I will have things to submit.

And the winner is ...

Tarantara!! The competition has closed and I have selected a winner. Clare Scott will receive a signed copy of My Elephant is Blue. It would be very cool to have the book in Te Reo! You weren't the only one to suggest this but you got in first with this most excellent idea. 

The book is launched, and has bravely gone forth into the world. It's a scary time for an author - I've talked about the book, reviewers have talked about the book (you can see some at Poetry Box here, at My Best Friends Are Books here and at What Book Next here) and now it's over to the readers and the book buyers. While our little book meet the moment and be embraced? 

Soon I'll be talking a bit more about my next book, Batkiwi (Scholastic NZ), illustrated by Izzy Joy Te Aho-White. This book is out July 1st and is a bit of a love letter to our native fauna and flora. I've always wanted to write a kiwi story and I'm thrilled Scholastic are publishing this. The illustrations are lush and beautiful and cute as anything. 

Being a writer is quite the roller coaster ride both in terms of the ups and downs of the faith you have in your own writing and the feast and famine of being published. I've had more than twenty years of this wild ride and I have not yet found any means of flattening the journey out. Right now I am in the unusual position of having three books out this year and it is quite the whirlwind with a touch of overwhelm. When you send things out you never know how it's going to go. One book was delayed from 2020 to this year, and I just wasn't expecting things to be so swift with the other two so here we are. And I'm so proud of all of them. I love writing picture books - there is so much poetry and refining and crafting involved - a balancing act to find the right ratios of word play, meaning and story, knowing all the while that ultimately illustrations will share the job of telling. I feel sad when picture books are dismissed or trivialised - I put so much into them and I know the illustrators do too. It is all too easy to forget that picture books contribute mightily to kick starting the career of a reader. That's where my love of reading began ...

I've had a bunch of questions running round my head recently ... and I am thinking about these as the basis of some future blog discussions. If you want to hear more about any of these let me know.

1) Is it problematic for children's writers to have adult opinions on social media? Is there a line that shouldn't be crossed?  

2) Are twitter book pitching opportunities evolving in to a less functional creature? (sub question - is writer twitter good or bad for us?) 

3) Do we influence boys' reading choices right from the get-go in unconscious ways? (Are we part of the problem?)

And if you have any questions you want me to add to the list please comment below.

 

Can you write too much....?

Over the last four and a bit months I've written five new picture books (four in the last six weeks). In addition to that I've reworked the ending of another. Twice. I've not been this productive with pbs ever before. But I'm not working on any longer stories - it's just a switch of genre focus for me at the moment. In the past I've averaged a couple of picture books a year, so this current output represents quite a shift in my writing life. And it's mostly organic. The last story was written to try and meet a brief but the rest were responses to ideas that just popped up unbidden in my head. I'm not sure why there's been this wee flood. I feel really happy when I'm massaging these ideas into a working picture book text. And then a bit bereft when I'm done and I'm casting around for another idea. And I rather like the things I'm producing. But I worry that this is too many pbs. Can you flood the market with too many of one person's ms? Do I need to slow down on the pb production? I mean, its not like you'd want to dismiss or set aside a strong idea. I guess the bottom line is how much I have enjoyed the writing. It would be crazy to resist that, right? Its a big part of why we're writers, right? But after thinking maybe I should slow down, and deciding a few days ago not to write any stories for the rest of October, I had a plot breakthrough on an old pb idea yesterday. And I've made a start on it. Crikey, I think I might need a spreadsheet.


In other news I've had some nice reviews come in for Time Machine and Other Stories, here, here, here and there. And I've had some lovely comments from teachers and librarians. Like this one about one of my favourite stories from the collection ...

 And I got to visit the schools (Balmoral School and Kohia Terrace School) of the two winners (Edward Mulholland and Nadia Hall) of the colouring-in competition we ran leading up to the launch of the book. I presented a copy to each winner and their school library. Thank you to both schools for having me. I really enjoyed my visits!

Here I am with winner Edward Mulholland from Balmoral School.

Saying 'yes' .......

Crikey - the year has been whizzing past and it is nearly time to go into that phase of looking back over the year that was and musing about the one to come.  There are still a few engagements left on the work calendar but things are winding down. Already there are whispers about Christmas functions ... Before you can say 'Jack Skellington' we will be hanging Christmas ornaments and sending letters to Sandy Claws.

This year did not turn out at all like I expected. It has had unanticipated busynesses and things not going according to plan. I have been involved in projects, invited places and given some lovely and exciting opportunities that weren't on my radar at all this time last year. I have traveled far more than I anticipated, and I will be off travelling again before the year is out. I was commissioned to write some small things and got to try my hand at something new, writing a skit for Wild Things Magazine, a children's quarterly put out by Forest and Bird (Issue 132 Spring/Koanga 2016). I enjoyed the process much more than I thought I might, accompanied as it was by the discovery that in the end, despite my fears, this wasn't a skill that lay outside my abilities.

I have an informal rule of saying 'yes' to everything (unless it involves me being in two places at once) which I almost always adhere to, and so far this has turned out way better than I expected. Without that rule I would be cocooned in my comfort zone without any of the new skills and experiences I have picked up because I ignored my inner voice and said 'yes.' Of course it means I feel anxious before everything. If you live on the far edge of the envelope this is hard to avoid. Should I discover a means of managing this I will let you know.

 Next year currently looms as a vast sea of potential with almost no fixed points apart from family events and if experience has taught me nothing else, I know that things will turn up: opportunities, invites, requests and my own ideas and efforts that I can run, jump and play with to see what shakes out. And if 2017 turns out to be a quiet one, this too will be good. I have a list of Plan B's for these times and like the book piles beside our beds this never gets shorter. It would be good to cross a few things off the list faster than I add things.

This year too I got to launch Fuzzy Doodle in June. There was a lovely blushworthy review of the book on Radio New Zealand today by John McIntyre from The Children's Bookshop which you can listen to here if you like. 

And next weekend on Saturday November 5th I will be giving another workshop on writing picture books at Selwyn College.  Info and registration can be found here.  

Some magpie behaviour...

A friend recently had some toxic blow-back from a book review she posted. The author took exception to this person's view of the book and got in touch personally several times to express their disapproval. This is incredibly poor form, and behaviour that won't win you any friends long term. People tend to remember when you tore a strip off them, and not in a good way. And if reviewers are trying to get a rise out of you, then rising to the bait is achieving their ends not yours. Truly, the best policy is to never respond. Writer Maggie Stiefvater has a classy attitude to reviews good and bad, that takes the sting out of the one star ones and and demonstrates why getting some negative response can actually be desirable.

And underling Maggie's point, agent Janet Reid (and friend) had this to say

Jessica Snell picked up the thread on book reviews (and how readers find books) with this:

Although many of the books I read are ones I've heard of via word-of-mouth (mostly from my brother and my mom, honestly; I know and trust their taste), I probably find most of my books via book reviews.

And the thing is, those book reviews don't have to be positive. Sometimes the reviewer doesn't like the book, but if she's a good reviewer, she'll say *why* she doesn't like it, and I'll know whether or not that reason would be a deal-breaker for *me*. Sometimes I know I'd like the book for the very reason the reviewer hated it, and I'll go ahead and pick it up.

So, I guess what I'm saying is: dear authors, don't be too discouraged by bad reviews. Well-written bad reviews might get you just as many readers as the good ones.

Very very true. One of our sayings back in my publicity days was "Get reviews. Good or bad, doesn't matter."

Now it's even more important because any mention of a book increases its discoverability.

Janet Reid has also made a few good comments that resonated with me, on a range of other issues. The first is about marketing your books. It's a long game folks. Of course all authors think their own book is an incredible work of heartbreaking genius, and even if they are making an objective assessment and are right, no self respecting reader is going to take that on face value. They want to hear it from someone they trust who has no vested interest in the sale/purchase of the book.

And then there's the one about when publishers give off warning signals  that the ship isn't quite so ship shape. Number 6 especially gave me pause - Publishing is Broken; We're Going to Fix It.  Confidence is a good quality in a entrepreneur. So is iron clad optimism.  Hubris is not.  Someone who tells you they're going to fix an industry they've never worked in is textbook hubris . I recognized this one...I'd heard it before and that hadn't worked out so well then either. If someone says this to you, wait to see their fix in action before jumping on board. Do your homework people. Ms Reid's blog is a good place to start.

And last but not least this one - perhaps the most sobering of all my links today - which pretty much concludes with  'Bottom line: it's a whole lot harder to stay published than to get published'. That's a hurdle (or dark long corridor of hurdles) that you can't imagine when you are working so hard on breaking in, but it's a reality for a significant proportion of all writers, and an issue that many mid-career writers grapple with. Getting published isn't a lifetime pass in to the publishing world, or a guarantee of future publication. More on this I think next time.....

Fuzzy Doodle is HERE!!...

I have been in the thrilling eye of a school visiting/author event whirlwind for a wee while but this is now quietening down and I seem to have popped out the other side. Big shout outs to the most fabulous Orakei Primary, Parnell District School, Northcote Primary, Mission Heights Primary and Milford Primary Schools who, I have discovered, all love books just as much as I do. I have also spoken with teacher trainees about using NZ children's books in the classroom, launched my new picture book and run a day long picture book writing workshop for adult writers. If you missed out on the Picture Book Writing workshop and would like to attend, I will be conducting another one on November 5th - details are here. Just havin' a lil hibernate now while the winter weather is extra rubbish and the school term runs down to school holidays. I will be back in to the swing of things come August. As always, despite the fact that I am in the teaching role for all these events, I always learn new things about public speaking and author visits.

1) Protect your throat. Talking a lot can put a big strain on it. Gargles, throat lozenges and rest where possible. And keep hydrated folks.

2) Wear layers because visit environments range significantly in warmth, especially in the recent unpredictable Auckland weather. Being too cold or too hot is very distracting.

3) Add ten minutes travel time on to the longest amount of time you think it'll take you to get to your destination. Be ready to hit the ground running.

4) Always pack some chocolate in your lunchbox - best mid visit boost ever. And a serviette or wipes - chocolate smears on your cardy look awkward.

5) My book earrings are worth their weight in gold. I have two or three ice-breaking props or items of clothing/jewellery and always have an ice-breaking opening line or two to warm both me and the children up and get us chatting.

6) Don't forget to take your visitor sticker off afterwards....


Meanwhile I can also report Fuzzy Doodle has had the loveliest delivery into the world. People have been saying some very kind things and you can read some early reviews  here at the My Best Friends Are Books Blog, and  here at the Booksellers NZ blog. I think the launch went well, many thanks to the brilliant Time Out Bookstore who hosted the event and all the wonderful folk who came and celebrated Fuzzy with me, and bought the book. Fuzzy has been feeling the love and loves you all right back. Here I am on signing duties on the day (photo credit - Sue Copsey).

I also made some origami butterflies with young guests (photo credit - Halina Szymanik)

And in an exciting development Fuzzy made the New Zealand Nielsen Bestseller List squeaking in at number ten on the NZ Children's and Teens bestsellers for the week ending June 11, and climbing to No. 8 for the week ending June 18. This is a first for me and I am extremely thrilled. Woohoo!!

Jumping at our own shadows...

Sorry I have been a bit absentee. Things have been busy and I find I am unable to post on my blog during the day. And, well, I have been having doubtie moments. This might seem perverse with books published and things going well etc... but doubts are no respecters of, well, anything, really. For many creative folk it is a normal part of their personality/genetic make-up. We are sensitive souls who jump at our own shadows (when we aren't inserting them into our stories). These things don't have to be logical. Doubt is my middle name.

When you work within an industry which is mediated at every step by personal taste, opinions and subjectivity, and where every step of the process is unpredictable and not necessarily tied in to the value of your writing, well because what is valuable? and how is that value mediated by personal taste, opin....well, you get my drift - things can get tricky and doubtie. Especially when there are so many ways for people to tell you what they think of your work, and then if they don't talk at all, well the silence is VAST. Anyways. So, as you do, I went in search of some good advice online on the topic of doubt and came across some useful stuff - this is helpful, and so is this. The second one is more about dealing with criticism but I think most of our doubts boil down to our worries about how our work will be received. And the lovely thing about these two posts is that they demonstrate that plenty of others also deal with doubts. It is normal to feel doubts. The important thing is not to let those doubts make decisions for you.

Meanwhile The Song of Kauri has had a nice review from Barbara Murison on her fab Around the Bookshops blog. I love how she says -

"The whole beautiful production sings of the kauri – its gold, brown and yellow cover with its embossed koru, the carefully crafted words and the feeling that if you took a deep breath as you turn the pages you would be able to smell the leaf mould of the forest and the heady scent of the kauri gum." 

And I'm thrilled to say, two of the other 2014 University of Otago Fellows, Mozart Fellow Jeremy Mayall and Caroline Plummer Dance Fellow Louise Potiki Bryant have suggested collaborating with me to create music and dance for The Song of Kauri. I'm recording a reading of the book today to accompany the music Jeremy has composed. More details soon on the dance, I hope. This is a first for me, and for one of my books. Exciting times.

I talked up a storm last week down in Invercargill, running a round of workshops for Intermediate students, High School students and adults for the Dan Davin Literary Foundation. I met a host of wonderful people and was well sorted by organiser extraordinaire Becs Amundsen. A cool few days in the deep South. I even got down to Bluff, which was amazing, thanks to Becs. See? 2014 is my year of adventures.

Sent in and received back another university assignment. Had my misgivings but it went okay. It will be weird to be at the end of my studies when I complete this year's paper.  I've been enjoying the Diploma of Children's literature so much (except when an assignment is due and I want to throw things and set fire to my hair and run around the room screaming). It's been a terrific insight and taught me so much. I am still not sick of learning yet but will have to take responsibility for it myself in future. The world is such an interesting place.

Without a parachute...

The life of a book is equivalent to a piece of string. How long is the piece of string, you might ask? Well as long as the life of a book.

Yes....exactly.

My first picture book is now out of print. All my other print books are still out there I believe, but I am under no illusion that OOP can strike at any time. When a new book is launched it feels like it is everywhere and then the following month new books are launched and they are everywhere and your book not so much, and the honeymoon can feel, well, over. I am not complaining. I did get the chocolate on the pillow, the romantic pics on the beach, and the late wake up call. So it is rather nice to have reviews still wandering in for a book launched back in March. Thanks to Bookwitch for a nice review of A Winter's Day in 1939 here in the UK. And if you check that book's page on Fishpond NZ there is a great review there too. And I liked this one on Goodreads - short and sweet but quite complimentary really. Each one feels like another lovely surprise chocolate on my pillow.

And in breaking news, it seems a picture book of mine published a few years back may be translated and sold in another country. More news on that when/if it all comes together. Very exciting. I know of other folks whose books have been picked up overseas 5 years after publication. I never give up hope. A short story of mine waited 7 years from acceptance to print. Time becomes Einstein fluid in the publishing world, or perhaps publishing all happens inside the Tardis and who knows what time it is in the world outside. My one regret is that the eternal youth of the space traveller doesn't seem to be applying to me. Anyways... I digress. The answer to how long is the life of a book is patience. My patience has slowly become a well-oiled, efficient little machine: overworked but better at its job than it used to be. It hums along these days, now that I've switched it to the long game setting.

Fellow blogger Maureen Crisp linked to this wonderful piece by Libba Bray; wonderful and somewhat distressing. Ms Bray talks about 'writing despair' - the despair of failing to bend a story to your will and make it work. For all the times we feel this despair and work through it to end up with a story that we are happy with, we know there are no guarantees this will happen next time. We live in fear. We break through and then admonish ourselves for ever thinking we couldn't do it. And then we start all over again. In my writing, like Ms Bray, I am untethered by outlines and structure and Scrivener and rolodexes full of character eye colour, and background, and inside leg measurement. I wing it. Without a parachute. Sometimes this works better than other times. The biggest stumbling block for me is always fear - will I stuff up this great idea. It looks so pretty/smart/elegant in my head but turns in to a hoiked-up fur ball on the page. People who think series or sequels are such a great idea because you already have that world and those characters built be warned - you can no longer bend that world or those wills anew to your own purposes. You made rules last time and now they must be obeyed. And there are expectations. Expectations! If you ever wanted success, know that expectations come with it. And, apparently, fear. The key of course is patience. And I can only hope, for Ms Bray's sake and mine, that the length of the life of the book will be positively influenced by the length of its gestation.

Win a copy of A Winter's Day in 1939...

Well, people have been saying some rather nice things about my book. The Wellington Children's Book Association have invited me down to Wellington to launch A Winter's Day in 1939 down there. This has never happened to me before and I'm thrilled. They are flying me down. I'll be launching it there on Saturday April 13th, at 3pm at The Children's Bookshop in Kilbirnie. I'll post a proper invite on the blog soon.

Then writery friend Maria Gill showed me a review of the book by Bill Nagelkerke in the latest Magpies Magazine. It was a very nice highly recommendery review. I will post a pic of this when I get my hands on a copy. And Barbara Murison, writer, mentor, reviewer and manuscript assessor has also reviewed the book here (warning: this one includes some spoilers).

And a couple of weeks back, when the Publishing Assistant at Scholastic advised me that Kate De Goldi, to whom she had sent a review copy of my book, had been in touch to request another review copy for Kim Hill, I felt pretty excited. Kim Hill is an award-winning and hugely respected current affairs interviewer on National Radio. Kate De Goldi is an award-winning writer, book reviewer and speaker, and also hugely respected. I probably don't need to mention how well read they are or how hard it is to get a book into their hands for review. On Saturday morning I thought I may have a stroke, I was so nervous. They are not afraid to call a spade a spade or a book a very bad book. But it seems, after all, that they liked it. You can hear what they said here. I was a little stunned. And I am one very happy writer.

Nice things said about my book have put me in the mood for a give-away. I have one copy, for New Zealand readers only this time (I may do an international one also in future), if you can tell me what year the School Journal was first published in the comments. Everyone who gets the right answer will go in the draw to win the book. Draw is on Friday 22nd March.

The digital journey part 3...

You succeeded in transforming your manuscript into digital formats. You have a compelling cover, and an ISBN for every occasion. Your book is available on Smashwords, Amazon, Kobo, Barnes and Noble, Apple etc... You are exhausted and would like to pull a Rip Van Winkle and sleep for a very long time. But now you discover the truth about the digital world. It is an endless sea of book titles and you are but a single molecule of water tossed along by an indifferent and relentless tide. It is too easy to become fish pee.

I am unaware of any sure fire method for becoming a best seller (I'm afraid I couldn't guarantee to pass this information along to you if I did know it). But you can expand your horizons.

One of the lovely side effects of joining organisations like Storylines, Kiwiwrite4kidz, NZSA and NZ Book Council, besides making friends with lots of wonderful book addicted people just like yourself, is that you get to know the book reviewers and the publications they review for. Now is the time to utilise this information and ask if the reviewers would like to check out your new book. Always ask and never demand - it is a reviewers prerogative to decline your request. Digital formats do put some reviewers off. They will not review a book not available in print. Fair enough. But some reviewers are happy to take digital books and make sure you get in touch with as many of these people as possible. Both Crissi Blair of Silvertone and Maria Gill at KidsBooksNZ will consider reviewing your e-book. Have you written a press release for your book that shows the cover, says a little bit about the book and you as the author and provides info on the book such as length, price, genre, age range, ISBN and availability, and your contact info? Ideally this should be enticing, fit on one A4 page and be able to be posted or emailed to prospective reviewers. Make sure your book is loaded on Goodreads so that people can find it. Be prepared for the slow build and don't despair if things don't happen straight away.

It can be nerve-wracking to send your own work out for review. If you have been responsible for every aspect of your book it is doubly so. The buck stops with you and any quality issues are your responsibility. But reviews are an important promotional tool. Be brave. Laminate on an extra skin and bite your tongue if criticism comes your way. Even the most beloved authors and books have received the most scathing reviews. Complaining about your reviewer in public (or public forums) will NEVER work in your favour. Being dignified however is always a good look. Wear it well.

Also folks, the NZ Post Book Awards are now open to e-books. You only have one shot at this for each title as you can only submit your book for the award in the year it was published. It will not be eligible for subsequent years. Go check out the rules, take a leap of faith and submit your book. There may be other awards and competitions open to e-books - I don't know of any others yet but I will try let you know if I hear of any. And I reckon more awards will open up to e-books in the future as digital formats become more commonplace.

Last but not least consider other distribution channels like Wheelers and sales through your own website. If you choose to sell your e-book through channels like these you cannot use the conversions provided by Smashwords or Amazon. Well actually, you can, but seeing as those folks converted your book for free it would be biting the hand that feeds you to then sell those conversions without any recompense to them. Do the right thing and produce your own conversions. There are conversion and management software options available for download online. Watch out for anything that requires you to send the file and provide an email address for its return. It is better to do it on your own premises, so to speak.  Look for software with a reputable name. And make sure you have the right ISBN's for the right format at the right time.

Okay I think that's enough for today. I haven't ventured into print for Sally Bangle yet. It is a bigger job than digital publishing and I need to do some information gathering and have a clear plate before I approach this. If you have any questions just ask in the comments.

oh and here is a very helpful view of what self publishing actually means (it means being writer and publisher, both BIG jobs) from the very salty (you have been warned) Chuck Wendig - thanks to the fabulous Ms Tania Hutley for bringing this post to my attention.

Take one with each review...

I got quite grumpy over the whole sock puppetry issue the other day but I found this post by Fiction Bitch a very interesting counter argument. Mmmm, I think authors, like any other folk, should be free to form their own opinions on the work of other authors. But it might make it look more credible and less devious if they didn't do it under an assumed name and weren't simultaneously anonymously praising their own work. An author's opinion of their own work is likely to be the least objective :) In the end, your enjoyment or otherwise of any book is no one elses but your own. If you would like to know how good or bad a book is you must decide for yourself. As a reader you may come to trust the opinions of a known reviewer when your views regularly coincide with theirs, otherwise reviews must be viewed as nothing more than the opinions of one individual predicated on their personal experience, baggage, belief systems and probably star sign as well. A grain of salt, folks, a grain of salt. Take one with each review.

If reviewing your own books lacks objectivity and comes out weird and awkward then the argument can be made that authors shouldn't be required to hand-sell their own books either.  Some authors are naturally gifted at selling but not all authors are. That's ok. We have other skills. But I choose to have others sell my books for me. Being author, brand manager and promoter (as well as mentor, mother, SO, responsible pet owner and chief cook and bottle washer) is pretty much a full time occupation and I am not going to spread myself too thin - its never a good idea and means no one really properly appreciates the flavour.

I'm off to go through a final check of the proofs of my WW2 novel as I ignore things I can no longer change (darn it) and look for any lingering typos etc... that I can. Talk soon

Adopt an author?....(generally house-trained)

Feelin cranky about the evidence of sock puppetry that has been emerging on the intramawebb in recent weeks. Authors, some established with good books and careers behind them, made up 5 star reviews on their own books and one star reviews on their competitiors using fake identities. Of course we also know some folk are paying for others to make up lots of lovely five star reviews to bolster their cache. On the one hand, after reading what Justine Larbalestier had to say on the topic of reviews, I guess I shouldn't worry. Your ratings don't seem to have a great influence over book sales, better to be talked about than not talked about yadda, yadda, yadda. On the other hand I think the minute someone discovers that some reviews are fake, it casts doubt over the integrity of all reviews. And I'd just like to say I haven't faked any reviews for myself or any other book I've reviewed online or elsewhere. If I haven't read it I won't review it till I have. If I tend to have a lot of positive things to say its because I pick books I think I have a good chance of liking. And I try my hardest to be fair and straight up. I feel proud of the good reviews my books have, and intrigued by the not so starry. And I couldn't bring myself to give a bad review with the object of hurting another author's success. What is with some people?? And if doubt is cast over all reviews than reviews have no meaning at all. Why would you do that to authors everywhere. That is a huge cost for some very selfish behaviour. Shame on you

I'm also feelin a lot more cheerful over some other things. I had my second session (and fourth visit) as author-in-residence at New Windsor School yesterday. Usually a school visit is a one off, or I run a series of workshops over a number of weeks with a small group of students (something I've done previously with Auckland Normal Intermediate and Hebron Christian College). Being an author-in-residence offers a very different kind of opportunity, one that's new to me as well as to the school. I have to say, so far, its a terrific experience. It allows you to build a special kind of relationship with the school and the children. I've had hugs, hellos and fan mail. We've been chatting and extending some things we started in the first visit. Maybe schools could have an adopt-an-author programme  where they have a particular author make several visits over a year providing more structured workshops along with informal chat or Q and A sessions, or as I am doing with New Windsor, working with their book club. Everyone benefits. What a great start for the book creators of tomorrow. Maybe the NZ Book Council might like to consider this as an alternative or option to their writers in schools programme.

In other news I think the latest MS is off to the book designer today. That text is closed to alterations now - it is what it is. I feel incredibly excited and nervous all at once. Yeehah!!

I don't mind what you say as long as you talk about me...

I have been following this story with interest. The story of how a bad review revealed something very interesting about an author and her fans. It is instructive on how not to behave if you get a bad review. Justine Larbalestier has been writing a series of posts on the topic of handling reviews: good, bad and indifferent, and they are full of good advice. Start here and work forward (there is an earlier post called 'What to do about cranky authors'but it is quite far back - check out the 'recent posts' column).

But author Larbalestier has also explained why bad reviews really ain't that bad. Read that explanation here. I am still too green to feel anything but stung when a reviewer dislikes my writing. After all I am not trying to write bad stuff that someone will hate. But as Larbalestier says, getting reviewed at all means someone is reading your book and feeling strongly enough about it to tell others. That is a good sign. Sometimes when I look at the reviews of the bestsellers (50 Shades anyone??) I am a) amazed that they are all talking about the same book and b) I am struck by the fact that sales don't seem that influenced by the number of stars on the reviews. What seems to count is just the sheer volume of discussion about the book. The more people talking about it the more people want to check it out for themselves. No surprises there really I guess but there are no guaranteed pathways to getting enough people to talk about your book. That is the dilemma that everyone in the book industry wants to crack (like Fermat's Theorem or finding a unified theory for everything in the Universe).

So when people unexpectedly talk about my books, especially in a very public forum I can't help but feel excited. Yesterday on National Radio they were discussing my book/app The House That Went to Sea (at around 3.15pm I think). They were saying some nice things about it and discussing the model of having the book complement the app and vice versa physically and in sales. Colour me happy indeed.

I also received a selection of cover designs from the publisher for the new novel - even though I have been working on this for so long it all feels like its happening so fast now that we are getting to the sharp end of the process. The cover, blurb, tagline decisions are thrilling. Of course now the pressure is on to go through the Editors revisions ASAP. I have also had some roughs (b&w and colour of one spread) for the next picture book. They are completely different to my other books and I can't wait to see more. It is all go in the muppet labs!!

And just in case you need a good laugh go check out this GIF about the business of being a writer over at Nathan Bransford's blog. This is the funniest thing I've seen in ages. That's me running the hurdles!!

Gaze into my crystal (rejectomancy) ball...

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.

All over the place....

With thanks to the NZ Book Council, you can find a review of Jack the Viking by Crissi Blair here. Its just a little ways down the page :)

I finished The Tomorrow Code yesterday. Nice crisp writing, strong characters and with increasing tension as it went along, it had a very satisfying ending and one that will keep my brain ticking over for quite a while. Some time back I toyed with the whole future-past, mobius strip looping concept for a story idea and as it hurt my head a lot I put it to one side. Its good to see someone making it work and gives me fresh hope. Haven't decided what book to read next. Maybe I'll do some more work on my YA, before I crack the spine on someone else's work

I believe the new publishing manager is now at work at Scholastic NZ. Yay!! There would have been a few tail chasing moments over the past few months there as two people worked hard to cover a three person plus job. I'm looking forward to meeting the new person. Of course the Margaret Mahy day would have been the perfect opportunity to mosie on up and say howdy but drat if it isn't down in Christchurch this year and I'm too cheap to go. I'm still hoping to get to Wellington this September (please let me register in time, please let me register in time) for the Spinning Gold Conference and can't really afford too many trips. And there are just too many other things on over the next few months so a quick trip to Chch was always going to be in the hard basket.

In other good news the White Ferns (NZ's women's cricket team) are now in the final of the Women's cricket World Cup (facing England) following a great win against Pakistan which featured a record breaking, outstanding 168 runs off 105 balls by Suzie Bates. Yowza. England are the only team to beat them in this competition so the final could be very exciting indeed. Go Kiwis.

And in one of those "its not like I knew her but her death really saddens me," moments, the news of Natasha Richardson's untimely demise has bummed me out. It is shocking that something so seemingly insignificant can have such tragic results. Human beings seem so robust at times and then just incredibly fragile at others. As she was my age (way, way too young to die) and the mum of two young children I guess its had more of an impact on me. And we shouldn't need reminding, but folks, don't put things off. Don't put off writing if its your secret dream, don't be afraid to show other people your work, don't file things in the bottom drawer - send them out. Get off your butt and live your life NOW.