During the dozen years my work has been published in magazines and by book publishers, I’ve become accustomed to receiving beta reader feedback and editorial criticism of my work, as well as developing a thick skin to negative reviews. It’s all part of the job to take it in your stride as writers; our books are our babies, yes, but writing is subjective. Not everyone is going to love what we write.
As an author of serious and sensitive issues in my fiction and – dare I say controversial topics, given recent reviews – over the past year I have learned about the need to include trigger warnings in promotional materials for my books. The Buddha’s Bone has numerous trigger warnings: racism; misogyny; sexual assault; domestic abuse; mental health issues; miscarriage; substance abuse. There are probably more that I have missed in that list. The trigger warnings appear on the description blurb for online retailers, but not within the book itself. Why not? Personal preference: when I’m reading a book I don’t want anything to influence my experience of that story. If a trigger warning were big enough to put me off a story, I’d prefer to know at the buying stage; once I’m settling down with a cuppa, ready to read, I don’t want anything to interfere with my suspension of disbelief. (Note: not much puts me off, with the exception of “child in peril”. As a parent of a young child, I have a thin skin when it comes to babies or kids getting hurt in fiction or movies. I recently had to stop reading a horror story when it wasn’t made clear that babies were getting sacrificed to a Cthulhu-like creature. I couldn’t read on!) In books I prefer no author note; no thank you. It’s for that reason I don’t provide any similar disclaimer in my own books.
What about at the editing stage before a book is even published? I’m talking here about the use of sensitivity readers. Did the thought to use a sensitivity reader for The Buddha’s Bone ever cross my mind? Yes, briefly. The main antagonist in my book, the abusive boyfriend of my main character Kimberly, is racially bigoted and makes offensive slurs against Japanese people when he visits her. The language is intense and the racist rhetoric is strong. Do I think such a character should have been screened by a sensitivity reader prior to publication? No. Unfortunately racism exists in modern day society. If you have not personally experienced it then please consider yourself lucky to be in a priveleged position; or maybe simply sheltered. Same difference. I myself can testify firsthand to the accuracy of the language used by my fictional character in The Buddha’s Bone, as the slurs are typical of those used in the UK today. Does it make for upsetting reading? Probably to some readers, just as the sexist treatment of Kimberly by certain characters may upset others. Although fictional, I tried to make scenarios in my novel a raw and honest reflection of situations that can arise in real life. To tone this down, or censor it, is to deny reality. If we deny reality, are we not at risk of adopting magical thinking? Fiction is not always fantasy; I write psychological literary fiction and I intend to make it as authentic as possible, even when telling a make-believe story. Hopefully my writing comes across as honest and compassionate, even if the characters in my books aren’t always the same.
Write often and write everywhere…here I am writing on the go
Creative writing is a skill. It’s a craft that takes time and effort to learn a set of skills and to hone those skills. Some folks choose to learn by studying creative writing: maybe a Master’s degree or by doing a general writing course. In my case, I have learned ‘on the job’ so to speak; I don’t have any formal writing qualifications, but I have worked hard to teach myself everything from the basics to beyond, over the past fifteen years of writing short stories and poetry for publication in literary magazines and through the novels I’ve had released.
Learning point of view:
I learned from studying books as I read them. I decided that I didn’t like omniscient pov as much as first or third person, as I prefer to follow a character closely and really get inside their thoughts, rather than the cinematic view of following everyone and switching between characters, yet not delving deeper into what makes them tick. For my debut, Gods of Avalon Road, I chose third person for my two main characters, Kerry and Gavin to show how each reacted to the supernatural events happening. For The Buddha’s Bone, I chose first person to give it more of a personal, travel-diary feel especially as the story deals with sensitive issues.
Learning characterisation:
Again, I learned this from studying the books I bought or borrowed from libraries and by reading widely in the genre in which I was currently writing. I decided that I like my main characters to be flawed, but ultimately likeable as I very rarely finish books if I don’t like or can’t relate to the main character. I also found that depending on the genre, character growth follows certain rules: for me personally, my characters go through a crisis of identity and by the end of the story, create a new sense of self. It’s the central theme in all of my books, regardless of the genre.
How to work out your plot:
From reading widely I noticed that regardless of whether a story is a standalone book or part of a series, all plot points that occur throughout should be resolved by the end of the novel. Personally, I use a checklist when drafting my own manuscripts to make sure my characters deal with any crises or react to the major storyline as I can’t stand it as a reader when anything is left unresolved. Happens rarely, but there have been one or two books that I’ve thrown across the room in frustration for leading me down the garden path in terms of build-up and expectations – and I don’t want my own readers to ever feel that frustration with anything I write.
What genre to write:
I tend to write what I read: mostly psychological literary fiction and character driven stories. My advice is to read widely and figure out what you like or don’t like in a story. No point writing fantasy if you’ve never picked up Lord of the Rings, for example. It took me several years of trying different genres to figure out what worked for me and what I liked to read. I was reading the Harry Potter series, the Hobbit and Inkspell, etc. when I was writing my YA fantasy novel, but ultimately decided that my writing is too dark for kids and so I archived that manuscript and started writing adult fiction novels.
Writing devices – how, when and what to include:
I’m not a fan of red herrings in stories as I find them frustrating, so I don’t tend to use them myself in my writing. I like cliffhangers at the end of chapters, and I’m happy to use this as a device myself, but never at the end of a book. I really can’t stand a cliffhanger at the end of a novel; instead of making me want to read the next book, it will put me off a series. Thankfully I haven’t come across this much at the end of a novel. As for literary devices, every writer knows not to use many adverbs and to show not tell. But how about writing no-nos? I dislike reading about ‘flashing eyes’, as nobody’s eyes blink on and off like a siren on an emergency vehicle. I’m also not a fan of exclamation marks in stories; too many and the writing strikes me as amateurish. I could say the same for characters stuttering too much when nervous, or using other characters’ names repeatedly in dialogue – in real life, how many times do we address the person we are having a conversation with by name? To me, if I read this in a book it makes the novel appear clunky and not properly edited. All of these no-nos are things that I make sure not to do in my own writing.
Developing a thick skin – getting feedback from beta readers and editors:
If a writer wants to improve their craft, they need to get outside feedback; there’s no other way around it. In the early stages of my writing, I asked friends and family for feedback, with mixed results. Not everyone has a good eye for literary criticism, after all. Nowadays, I have an editor and suitably qualified beta-readers: two of the three beta readers I use have PhDs in English Literature.
How to know when a writing project is finished:
A tough call! Is a book ever finished? You could argue not. I don’t read through my published backlist much as I find myself nitpicking and thinking, ‘ah, I should have done this’ or ‘I could have added in that’. Admittedly, I have rustled up ideas for sequels to both of my published novels by re-reading them, although these are just in the outline stage at present; other more pressing ideas have kept me busy for forthcoming novels.
Finding and approaching publishers:
Twenty years ago when I was first submitting my finished YA Sci-fi novel to publishers, I used the Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook for a starting point. I’d say this resource is still a good starting point for authors beginning their publishing journey, but over the past five years I have turned to Google searches for lists of publishers open to unsolicited submissions by non-agented writers as a starting point. In the past year I have stopped searching altogether as I am happy writing and publishing as an Indie author now, at this stage of my career.
If you are approaching a publisher, you’ll need to have a polished cover letter, a catchy one page synopsis of your book including all spoilers and three chapters prepared in whatever size and font your chosen publisher wants, along with word count and personal details on the first page and usually your surname, key word from your book title and page number in the top right of the header.
Going it alone – learning how to self-publish:
Last year in summer 2021 I hadn’t a clue where to begin on my Indie author journey. I felt very overwhelmed by the options and didn’t know what would be best for me. I am lucky that my day job in a grammar school gives me eight weeks of annual leave over July and August as the pupils are off for the summer; I used this time to educate myself through watching YouTube tutorials by successful self-published authors and reading articles to find out which platform I wanted to use to publish my book. As a starting point I decided on a few things: I wanted to publish Ebook, Paperback and Hardcover versions of my book; I wanted to ‘go wide’ with all of my books (not exclusive to only one marketing platform); I wanted to own the ISBN for my books rather than use a free one provided by, say, Amazon or Lulu so that I could control the metadata of my book and have my own publishing imprint; I wanted to design my own cover rather than use a graphic designer and I wanted to set my book to pre-order so that I could start building up ARC reviews and generate publicity. I used Amazon’s KDP to typeset and distribute my paperback, KDP and Draft2Digital to format and distribute my Ebook and Ingramspark to typeset and distribute my Hardcover. Through these distributors, my book is available to buy via Amazon, Waterstones and all other major online retailers.
Marketing a book – skills as an Indie author:
This is another skill that I had to learn once I had figured out how to format, design and publish my book myself. I decided to run sponsored ads on Amazon, buy one-off print ads in the Ingramspark advance catalogue and Myslexia magazine and run occasional promotions on Bargain Booksy as these were all within my budget. All have been a worthwhile investment in terms of helping my book to reach a wider audience. I’ve also advertised my book on social media – Twitter and Instagram have been good to find interested ARC readers and keyword searches on the WordPress reader has helped me to find book bloggers.
Other tips:
Read widely, not only in your genre but in others as there’s something to be learned from everything. Carry a pocket notebook with you in case inspiration strikes while you’re on the go. Try to write regularly; even a few sentences everyday is better than nothing as it keeps the story fresh in your mind. These are all things that work for me. Hope they help you too.
Easter is over and I’ve gained 8lbs to show for it. That’s 8lbs in 2 weeks, by the way. Considering it took me 3 months to lose those 8lbs in the first place, it’s not so great, huh? Yep, that’s the reality of insulin resistance, carb intolerance and sugar addiction. I overindulged on Easter eggs, desserts at the hotel during a spa break away and binged on starchy carbs generally. I’m not perfect – far from it. When I stop keto I really have disordered eating. I go from very strict to bingeing with no gauge (I don’t get sugar rushes or crashes like a normal person, I could stuff my face on chocolate all day). I’ll be honest, I’m at a loss about how to manage my sugar addiction in the long term. For now, I’m doing what I can. Back on the bacon since 24th April and I’m not beating myself up either. Guilt is a useless emotion.
At low moments when I’ve had to put on my social face at work or elsewhere in public, at times I’ve made light of my sugar addiction. I’ve joked about why can’t I be addicted to broccoli or celery; why do I have to be addicted to something as devilishly delicious as chocolate? The truth is, giving in to self pity just before my 2 weeks off work for Easter break (I work in a grammar school) was what got me into trouble. I had been on strict keto since 25th January and had successfully made it through both Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day without any cravings, when suddenly I felt that life was unfair; why shouldn’t I be able to have a little piece of chocolate egg. Just a teensy bit. You can guess what happened once I had myself convinced. One piece is never enough.
Where does it end? Yes, I am self aware enough to know that this battle will be a lifelong struggle and – cheesy spring pun intended – I’m no spring chicken. The older I get the more my hormones will be against me. I need to find a balance between managing my sugar addiction and allowing myself treats on social occasions. This is good in theory, but how it will work in reality is another thing. Nevertheless, I have had to eat a huge slice of humble (chocolate) pie this month since I had only recently been celebrating my 2 year keto anniversary and feeling proud of how far I have come. Whilst that remains true, I still have a long way to go on the road to sugar addiction recovery.
Lately I’ve seen so many beautifully arranged pictures on social media of authors showing their picture perfect writing spaces, so I thought I’d show you the reality of mine. Here it is, in all its messy glory. This isn’t to denigrate those writers out there with their aesthetically pleasing laptop and coffee arrangements, maybe with a photogenic dog in the picture, or a serene fireplace. It’s purely to confess that I’m messy.
Yep, I’m messy, disorganised and forgetful. There, I said it. I keep multiple notebooks and sticky notes of lists to remember all the things I need to do on any given day. I could have tidied up the desk above; chucked the notebooks and stationery organisers on the floor simply to take an artistically displayed photo of my writing space. But that wouldn’t have reflected the reality. I had a productive writing morning on this day; I’m up to 29k words in my current manuscript, novel WIP#5. It’s more important to get drafting than arrange a perfect photo.
I draw the line at a writing selfie, however. You really don’t need to see a photo of me in my PJs and dressing gown with greasy hair and pink eye. Reading about that reality is quite enough!
If you’re an Indie or small press author, chances are you can relate when I say that getting reviews of your book is hard work. If I had a review for every sale of my second novel, The Buddha’s Bone, I’d be absolutely chuffed. If you’re a reader, not a writer, then chances are you read plenty of books, but may not necessarily write reviews for every book you buy – or might not leave reviews at all.
Everyone knows that books with reviews make more sales. Think about it: how often do you take a chance on a product if there are no reviews for it? As a reader as well as a writer, I tend to read reviews of books before deciding to buy, whether it’s a new author or someone I’ve read before. I look up the reviews before making up my mind.
So, how does an Indie author get reviews? In my experience, I’ve tried a few things, to varying degrees of success. Here are my thoughts on organic reviews, effective ways to get reviews, ways that have been ineffective for me and why I’ll never pay for reviews.
Back in January I set myself a reading target of 20 books on the Goodreads Challenge. So far I’ve finished 5 books towards that goal.
I’ve mainly been reading horror and psychological, though I’ve tried to branch out a bit with my current reads, which are YA dystopian and contemporary women’s romance – both genres I don’t normally read.
Frieda McFadden, who writes psychological thrillers, has become somewhat of a go-to lately on Kindle as I can always guarantee her books are great and page-turning reads. She is a doctor by day, so I find the medical angle of many of her books intriguing. Suicide Med, one that I read a few months ago, focused on medical students and the one I’m currently reading, The Locked Door (pictured above) follows a surgeon who is escaping the stigma of her past as her father was a convicted serial killer.
Of course, this year I also mixed in a few classics that I still can’t believe I hadn’t read: Heart of Darkness, very different to the film Apocalypse Now, and The Great God Pan, which included 3 novellas. My favourite of those three was the titular story; I liked the Shining Pyramid and the White People less. Overall though, a good and creepy read.
Having read five books by April is not that many, but when you factor in editing a finished novel manuscript, writing another novel work in progress, reading submissions for Bindweed Magazine: Midsummer Madness Anthology 2022, full time day job work and looking after an extremely energetic preschooler, that number suddenly doesn’t seem so shabby anymore. 😅
My life recently has been a steady juggle of balancing day work with literary time and family life. Since family life takes priority, I tend to squeeze in writing and editing time on breaks at work or for half an hour after school ends (I work in a grammar school – although I’m currently on Easter break) and reading time while I’m having breakfast or after my wee bookworm has gone to bed. Simply put, there aren’t enough hours in the day to do everything I’d like to do – but I make the most of the time I have.
Reading time:
I subscribe to Kindle Unlimited, so I try to read as much as I can and I’ve been getting into writing more reviews lately too. Although I prefer reading paperbacks, ebooks are handy as I can read on my phone, which is helpful in bed at night or if I have a moment to spare during the day. Of course, I make reading with the little literary lad a priority too. Thankfully he loves books as much as we do, and has even hoarded many of our books, which he stuffs onto his own book shelf.
Writing time:
I’m chipping away at novel WIP#5, which is currently at around 26.5k words. Anyone at work who sees me in the staffroom after school always comments on how industrious I am. I try my best…
Editing:
My next novel is due for release later this year, so I’m in between editing projects at the moment. I’ll be busy again soon though with Bindweed Magazine, the literary journal that my hubby and I run. Submissions will close at the end of April for our forthcoming anthology, Midsummer Madness 2022, so I’ll have a lot on my plate with editing and formatting the ebook and (if time permits) typesetting the paperback version.
Repeat:
Besides all of the above, did you know I’m a fan of bad movies? My hubby and I love Mystery Science Theatre 3000 and Rifftrax. There is much to be learned from watching terrible, cheesy B movies as a writer – I find it helps sharpen my editing skills, particularly in finding plot holes in my own work. And so, the cycle of read, write, edit continues. ☺️
The first covid lockdown seems like another lifetime ago these days. Back in 2020, as the UK entered the first one on 23rd March, I had reached my heaviest weight ever and my BMI was 31, which is obese. Before pregnancy, I had taken for granted that I was of slim to medium build. I didn’t have a sweet tooth, or eat carb-heavy meals generally. During pregnancy I developed an insatiable sugar and carb craving. I binged on cake, chocolate, ice cream, pancakes and multipacks of crisps. I allowed myself by using excuses: I was eating for two, or that I would indulge myself and go back on track after the baby was born.
But my cravings didn’t subside after the birth of my child: I continued eating sugary junk when I was on maternity leave and even after I had gone back to work and my little one was in childcare. At work, I pigged out on cookies and biscuits in the school staffroom. My bad habits had become a lifestyle.
Before lockdown happened, I knew I was having health problems from being overweight. My heart raced as I walked upstairs. My ankles, hips and back ached constantly. I couldn’t run after my child. I knew that if I continued I would end up with diabetes, or even bowel cancer, which runs in my family. As a person who can’t do moderation, I knew it was a case of all or nothing. So, I researched the keto diet and went cold turkey from my high carb diet, keeping to under 20g a day.
It took me 5 months to lose 3 stone/ 42lbs. Finally when I reached my pre-pregnancy weight, a healthy BMI of 24, I stopped. Since then I have maintained the weight I lost. It hasn’t been easy; I have had to go back to keto intermittently in order to control my cravings. In January this year I made the decision to stay low carb permanently as a lifestyle choice, instead of slipping back into bad habits with cake and chocolate, putting on up to 14lbs, and having to go through keto flu all over again. This way, I know I won’t have yo-yoing weight as I’ll be staying on track all the time.
I’ll admit, Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day and Easter and birthdays are tough as the temptation to binge on chocolate is all around. But, being able to play with my child and have an active lifestyle is more important to me – much more motivating than a quick fix of sugar.
I’m really chuffed with these sample excerpts of The Buddha’s Bone. They arrived in the post from Lulu a couple of days ago. Basically, they contain just the first chapter, synopsis as published on all of the online retailers and a few reviews from Goodreads.
Why did I do this, then? Well, it’s much easier than carrying around a copy of my book at all times, which isn’t practical. But on a few occasions, both business and social, there have been times when my writing has come up and I’ve found myself empty-handed. Not any more. These pamphlet-sized excerpts are easy to pack in my work bag, handbag, or just to grab on the go for any occasions that require a dose of promotion. Writers, what do you think? Handy, or not?
After another round of edits I have printed a third version of my final manuscript from Lulu, ready for my beta readers. The two copies arrived on Saturday, and I’m keeping my fingers, toes and everything crossed that my beta readers will give it the double thumbs up so that it’s really, truly finished this time and ready for the next stage: typesetting.
I always use Lulu for printing as I find it handy. Some writers use KDP for printing drafts to proof read; the upside of this is that personally, I think the paper quality and binding through Amazon printing is of better quality than Lulu, but the downside is that you need to have the book available on pre-order, or already published to avail of author print copies. As I’m not at that stage yet – I haven’t yet properly formatted and typeset my manuscript – using KDP wouldn’t be suitable at this stage for me. Lulu allows you to either print privately, which is available only to you, or to enable public distribution, which requires an ISBN. I definitely recommend Lulu if you’re looking for a good quality printer to proof check your manuscript; it’s straightforward to use and relatively inexpensive to order a few personal copies.
So what’s next for my book? If my beta readers approve it, hopefully I can go ahead with typesetting and have it ready for ARC reviewers by summer. My anticipated release date will be in October this year. You can follow updates on my current projects page.
