BOOK REVIEWING MADE EASY

During the current lockdown, many are working flat out – doctors, nurses, care workers, supermarket employees, prison officers, the volunteer army – and we sincerely thank them all, clapping and singing and showing support in any way we can.

But for those doing their bit by staying indoors we are encouraged to stave off boredom by trying something new. In our household that’s included testing out new recipes, mastering Zoom and my husband even tried his hand at giving our eldest son a buzz cut! However, today I encourage readers to give something less hazardous a go - to try book reviewing.

WHERE TO START

If the thought of writing and sharing a review feels daunting, why not start short? Think of a book you loved and write a couple of sentences about what made it so special. If you would like to add more, try including a brief summary (avoiding spoilers) or suggest authors who write in a similar style. I can’t stress enough how authors will love you forever if you make the time to leave even the shortest of reviews.

 

NEVER WRITTEN BEFORE

So, you’ve never written before – it doesn’t matter. Now is the time to have a bash, and perhaps make new reading friends and discover new authors to enjoy at the same time.

STILL NOT SURE …

Book reviews and star ratings help promote an author’s work, which is always helpful, but during this time of uncertainty when bookshops are closed and supermarkets are removing bookshelves to make room for essential items, it has become a vital way for your favourite authors to reach new readers.

And remember, readers gain from reviewing too.  As a writer it makes me reflect on a novel – its characters, setting, point of view. What worked well, and occasionally, what could have been done differently. Even though I only write a couple of paragraphs, often publishers send me e-books they think I might enjoy.

WHERE TO SHARE REVIEWS

Again, for those starting out, begin where you feel comfortable sharing. Writing an Amazon review is a great place to begin, then consider popping it on Facebook or Twitter. I also post on Instagram and Pinterest, but do what feels right for you. Goodreads is an excellent site to browse for ideas on how it is done. Remember something is better than nothing when it comes to sharing book love.

WHEN TO REVIEW

It’s easiest to review just after you’ve finished a book. However, if you have days to fill, why not check out your bookshelves or kindle library and get writing?

WHAT IF I DIDN’T ENJOY A BOOK?

This is a tricky one. Usually I check out other reviews, magazine articles or book blogger posts  before I commit, so I’m confident I’ll enjoy a novel. On the odd occasion when I discover a book isn’t for me, then I’ll stop reading. I never review a book I haven’t finished and encourage everyone who reviews to be kind - especially during such stressful times.

DOING OUR BIT

Of course our priority must be to support key workers in any way we can, but if you wish to try something new, why not give book reviewing a go? Let’s do our bit by showing our love for authors and the publishing industry during this difficult time…

Stay safe… and start reviewing!

Rae x

Let's Talk About A Reader's Trust by Victoria Cornwall

Last week, on the 24th March, I celebrated the release of my sixth novel, Daniel's Daughter. Not only is Daniel's Daughter my sixth novel, but it is the sixth novel in my Cornish Tales Series, which are stand-alone tales set in Cornwall and are linked by family.

I never set out to write a series, it just sort of evolved. I knew, on a business level, it made sense. Well written series, whether film franchises or novels, can build a loyal following to the series brand. This "fan base" (I hate using the word fan as images of screaming, tearful Bay City Roller fans always comes to mind  - which gives away the decade I became a teenager and does not accurately represent people who read books) are more willing to see or purchase the product of a known, trusted brand. They know, from experience or recommendation, what they are going "to get" which greatly reduces their anxiety of completing the purchase. Reducing the anxiety is what all retailers hope to achieve, whether its by boasting about the awards their product has won, displaying positive reviews, investing in expensive marketing campaigns to reassure potential customers their product is "tried and tested", caring and trust worthy etc. etc.

Strangely that precious commodity of trust in a series, does not always extend to the author, screenwriter or publisher who has created it. For example, I have read all of the Poldark series (several times), but have never (to date) read another Winston Graham novel. Perhaps I am strange in that, but I suspect I am not. This is a valuable lesson for writers to learn. If an author takes their readers for granted and assume their fan base (there is that word again!) will buy whatever they write... and whatever quality they churn out, they are surely mistaken. A word of advice to any writers out there... never take the trust a reader has placed in you for granted. Their trust is only loaned to you and can just as easily be taken away.

The trust a reader places in a writer is very precious. I think every writer has some level of anxiety when writing the follow-up novel. I know I have every time I write a new novel for the Cornish Tales series. Writers know, deep down, that the next book needs to reach a certain level of expectation (preferably exceed it) in order not to let the reader down. Once the trust is gone, it is an uphill struggle to regain it. It took me two years to write Daniel's Daughter (quite long for me), as I wanted it to be right. I can only hope I managed to maintain the trust of the readers who have read my others, and maybe even gain a few more loyal customers (as you can see, I am trying to use another word for "fan" here) along the way.

Perhaps this is why the issue of trust plays such an important role in Daniel's Daughter. When the heroine, Grace Kellow, discovers a family secret, the truth destroys her trust in those people closest to her. Can she rebuild that trust? Does she even want to? I can only hope that readers loan me their trust and read the book so they can find out.

As this post comes to an end I have realised something. To the readers who have been loyal to the series and read every book so far (and I know there are many as you have told me so), I have realised that I am a fan of you, as when you tell me this, it is I who is screaming and crying with joy inside to hear from you... just like those Bay City Roller fans who left such an indelible impression on me in my youth.

Sometimes the truth is not easy to say and even harder to hear …

Cornwall, 1895
Grace Kellow is a young woman with a strong sense of who she is and where she comes from. As the daughter of a well-respected Cornish dairy owner Daniel Kellow, her existence in the village of Trehale is comfortable and peaceful.
But then handsome Talek Danning comes striding over Hel Tor, and soon after his arrival Grace is hit with a revelation that leaves her questioning her identity and her place in the Trehale community.
In her hour of need, Talek and his sister Amelia offer Grace sanctuary – but wherever Grace runs, her secret will follow …

Available as an eBook from the following online retailers:-

Amazon UK

Amazon USA

Apple iBooks

Nook

Kobo

Google Play

Also coming out in Audio format soon

PROCRASTINATION IS THE NAME OF THE GAME LINDA MITCHELMORE

Oh dear, now I have all the time in the world I'm finding the impetus to write has left the building. I don't have a deadline - maybe if I did that would help. Who among us knows what the book scene is going to be like when we come out of this coronavirus nightmare? How many of us will have lost someone near and dear to us although, of course, I hope with all my heart we don't. But it's a possibility. Especially with some of us being of a certain, vulnerable age. Is writing something new going to be worth the effort if the bottom has fallen out of the paperback market? Already magazines and newspapers are taking a bashing with fewer and fewer people by the day going out to buy them. I am almost halway through a new book. It's set at Christmas, which is now a scary nine months away. Are there going to be any editors and publishers and printers around to see any new work to its conclusion? Already it is becoming obvious it's going to be a very different Christmas to any we have experienced before. My logical self tells me to sit down at the computer and just get on with it. If nothing else it will an escape from thinking about what might happen to those I love if they are unlucky enough to catch this virus. And then, when it's all over, and shops are open and we can meet our friends for lunch I will be at the top of the pile for publication. But I don't know that many of us are thinking logically at the moment ... especially mothers and grandmothers. So what have I been doing in the procrastination stakes? Well, there's housework for a start - my home has never been so clean and there are those who have accused me of being houseproud in the past although I am really far from that.

And while we're being told it's okay to get exercise once a day if we keep close to our homes I've been doing that for an hour, quite early before most people get going. I have a condition where I need to walk so must while I can. This isn't a recent photo, by the way, as I would never touch the railing now - not worth the risk.

And I'm one of the lucky ones as I have a garden. I can't begin to think how horrid it must be to be holed up in a tiny flat or in some house that never sees the sun, or to be next door to the neighbours from hell. As the weather this week has been nothing short of spectacular here the garden is where I've been spending a lot of time. Weeding mostly. The dandelions don't know there's a crisis on. I've had to ration myself with the jobs though or there'll be nothing to do next week and the week after. The grass will grow but as my garden is steep that's my husband's job. A plus has been that the birds in the wood behind my house are singing their little hearts out now the mating season is upon them. I'm beginning to wonder if the mating season is upon couples holed up together and there's going to be a sharp spike in births in nine months or so time?

And cooking. I've engaged with my inner Nigella and baked a cake or three, sharing some with elderly neighbours - using surgical gloves to handle it. When the flour and fat runs out, well, so will the cakes. But we can enjoy for now.

None of us has been in this situation before so everything we do is untested. We can only hope that what we do - or what we don't do - gets us through. Keep safe, everyone.

Reading for the End of Days

It falls to me to write the first Novel Points of View blog post of the current apocalypse. 

How are you getting through it? Many people, and almost certainly most of the readers of this blog, will be turning to books, either as a prop to get through the long days of social distancing and self isolation, or as a means of escape from the long hours spent working to preserve our health and welfare (for which, by the way, many, many thanks). But which books? 

I read according to my mood and yet, because I’ve never experienced anything like the current situation, I don’t quite know what my mood is. Dystopian fiction seems somehow appropriate, right? Well, that’s always been right there among my least favourite genres, and to be honest the last thing I need is another layer of misery and a depiction of a coming hell. So, no thank you to that. 

That said, I am reading much more fiction and non-fiction that has a gothic twist. It’s doom-laden, certainly, but somehow the twist of the supernatural and the tendency for a historical setting in fiction takes the edge off the brutal modernity of the news. Alongside these I’m increasingly enjoying books about the natural world and many associated traditions and superstitions. Maybe reading about how we connect to nature is making me think more about the simpler life we’re all being forced to live. Who knows? 

Romance is, of course, a big yes, as is the new(ish) genre of uplit. The appeal of this genre is obvious. It’s escapist and it offers us the happy ending none of us can currently guarantee. Times will get tough for our protagonist but it’ll all turn out all right in the end. So yes, this is very much the fuel I need for my inner optimist. And if you can add an exotic setting into it, then so much the better. It’ll make up for the holidays we aren’t going to have this year. 

There’s crime, of course, but I find myself screening my crime reading and increasingly opting for the cosier mysteries. I recently failed to finish a crime novel (unusually for me) because the level of graphic detail was more than I wanted. It wasn’t particularly gruesome, as these things go, but what I want just now has changed. So, cosy historical. They’ll do nicely. 

And finally, the re-read, the book I’m going to turn back to and interpret in a new light. Though I’m not much of a fantasy reader I have always loved Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. Tolkien fought in the First World War and the book was published after the second, so it’s no surprise that it carries a sense of doom, of disaster and yet of heroism and nobility. It has an optimistic ending, too, though not what you might call a happy one. 

But these are only my thoughts. Everyone reads differently, everyone responds differently. What’s your genre? 

Things I Wish I'd Known...

This week I (Kath) asked my fellow Novel Points of View bloggers what they wished they'd known before they began writing. While some of the responses might come across as a little bit negative, I think almost everyone has commented that even had we known all this, we'd still have become writers. It's one of those things that's in your blood.

So, over to Rae to kick things off:

There are so many things I wish I’d known before starting writing, but have restricted my offerings to two. My first tip is one I chose to ignore for around the first five years of writing (I’ve no idea why), even though it’s one that is repeated over and over in ‘how-to’ books, writing podcasts and workshops etc. Simply put, it’s get the sh*tty first draft down. Don’t continually edit and tweak those early chapters trying to make your prize-winning page-turner perfect. Chances are that those shiny words that make up the brilliant opening line of your masterpiece will be cut in a subsequent draft. Don’t waste your time. Instead, crack on, rewarding yourself as you finally write The End.

The second slice of advice I wish I’d taken heed of earlier is to attend a writing workshop, although I understand this isn’t for everyone. Debate rages about whether or not studying for a creative writing degree helps or stifles an author. I haven’t studied writing to degree level, however I have attended a ton of writing conferences and workshops over the years and found they have provided the confidence needed to experiment, trying short stories and flash fiction, poetry and even writing in Doric (the native language of north-east Scotland). So if your creative juices lack zing or you fancy the company of like-minded souls, (it’s hard for family and friends to fully understand this mad compulsion to write), then have a quick look online at the variety of classes available to enjoy. Happy writing!

Great advice there that I'd whole-heartedly endorse. Get it written then get it right, and attend writing classes, conferences and workshops if at all possible. Now, here's some advice from Victoria.

I am tempted to give lots of writing tips which I wish I had known, but this week I am going to be blunt and shoot from the hip with what I wish I had known before being published. Would it have stopped me writing? Probably not, but it is still a hard lesson to learn as it devalues the time, effort and skill a writer uses.

In 2017 ALCS (Authors' Licensing and Collecting Society) commissioned CREATe to conduct some independent research into UK Authors’ Earnings and Contracts. It was conducted in 2018 and published in 2019. The research found that only 12% of writers earned their income solely from writing. This is made up largely from publishing, but also supplemented with talks and presentations, bursaries, prizes etc. The median income of a professional author (which is the middle number in a line of numbers) was £10,497 a year. Therefore, most writers could not afford to give up the day job, (unless, I assume, they are supported by a spouse, savings or a pension). This value is only for those whose sole income is from writing.

The typical (median or middle number) earnings of ‘all writers’ (which includes those that are not able to give up the day job) is £3000 per year. Some people may say this is hard to believe, as we have all heard of bestselling authors earning millions. However only the top 10 % of writers earn 70% of total earnings in the profession. For every high earning author (the JKRowlings, Jamie Olivers, Terry Prachettes of this world), there are vast numbers of writers earning far far less (some of which I know are even in deficit by the time they had bought their own promotional material and self-published).

So don’t write for money or hurry to give up the day job. I hope you are one of the lucky ones and find yourself in the top 10%... or at least lucky enough to be able to write for a living. If you are not, than you will be in good company as there are some amazing authors out there doing it for the love of the craft rather than any monetary gain.

To read the full report, click HERE https://www.create.ac.uk/uk-authors-earnings-and-contracts-2018-a-survey-of-50000-writers/

Good point, Victoria. You be mad to get into writing just for the money. You have to love it first. Now, here's a set of fantastic quick tips from Terry.

1. Writing for publication is not a business for the faint of heart.

2. Writing for publication is one giant series of hurdles.

3. For every 10 hurdles there might be 1 joyful experience.

4. Savour the joyful experience! 

5. At the end of the day, it's really all about the lovely readers who read your books, relate to your voice, and take something away from your stories.

6. This job is a marathon. 

7. No giving up! Keep writing.  

Hear hear! I have always likened writing to running a marathon too. Step after step, word after word, and it'll take a long time to train up to the point when you can complete a marathon, or novel!

Here's Jo Allen's advice:

I wish I’d known a lot of things about writing before I started.

I don’t mean to sound negative, because there are so many fantastic moments. I cling to the good reviews, to the moments of acceptance, to the little orange bestseller flag and the number four in the Australian charts. But writing is a roller coster. You may get 100 good reviews for every bad one but it’s the bad one that lingers.

If there’s one single thing I wish I’d known it was this: everything takes so bloody long. Honestly, I can write half a dozen books in the time it takes for the first to be published. The mills of publishing grind very, very slow. It’s because everyone in it — agents, editors, book bloggers — is just so busy. It can take months to get a reply from an agent or a publisher, months after they’ve requested the full MS for them to respond, months more to get to the editing and proofing stage and yet more months until publication. 

If I’d known it, the knowledge wouldn’t have stopped me doing writing — let’s face it, most writers don’t choose the job; the job chooses them — but it might have spared me some of the frustrations. The one thing a writer needs more than anything except persistence…is patience. 

Oh yes, patience is required. Or at least the ability to stop endlessly checking emails and get on with the next project while you wait for the wheels of this industry to slowly turn.

And here's Linda:

When asked the question 'Things I wish I'd known about writing' implies - to me - that if I'd known those things then I'd never have started down that road. I've enjoyed most of the journey. But, then again, I'm the sort of person who will go to a place new to them and just explore ... go down alleyways, visit obscure museums and galleries, and find little cafes tucked away in Paris, or Rome, say, where the locals go. For me writing has been all about positives - the publication in itself which was a huge surprise because I sort of fell into writing rather than being the sort of person who always had a burning desire to write, the people I've met, the places I've visited.

I said just now I've enjoyed most of the journey ... the only bit that nearly had me throwing in the towel was my first novel edit ever. I hadn't been told to use track changes so just edited on the original ms as I always had for short stories. My editor threw up her hands in horror when she got it back and put it all through a document comparison programme - except she got it totally wrong and all my additions came out as deletions and vice versa. This was over the Christmas period and she obviously hadn't checked before sending it back and saying she wanted it back by 1st January. Thank goodness, then, for a friend who was far more computer literate than I am who managed to convince me the error wasn't mine. He even rang my editor up to tell her so. Phew! So nothing .... nothing .... could ever be as bad as that!

Finally, my own piece of advice. Let me tell you a little anecdote about when I first began writing, back in 2003. I wrote a short story that I was quite proud of, and thought it would be nice to see if I could get it published. So I googled for magazines that printed short stories, and came across a small press literary mag (that is sadly no longer in existence).

I am ashamed to say I then emailed the story to them, with no covering note, nothing to introduce myself or the story. Just the story attached to an email that didn't even have a subject line. What was I thinking? How unprofessional - I'd never have done that in my day job.

Worse, I hadn't even read the submission guidelines which very clearly stated they only accepted submissions by post.

I had, as you might expect, a very terse response pointing me towards those guidelines. You know what, I still blush now when I remember it.

Anyway I then read the guidelines, printed the story and submitted it properly. It was rejected but the editor took the time to give me some great feedback, some of it very positive - and I do believe, it was that early feedback that made me believe I might eventually do all right at this writing lark. I'm pleased to say that editor is now a facebook friend and we are mutual fans of each other's books.

So my advice for writers just starting on the journey of submitting work for publication, is make sure you read and follow all the submission guidelines before you start!

Guest Post by Emily Royal

Today I'd like to introduce a guest post from a good friend, Emily Royal. Emily writes historicals, set in the Regency and mediaeval periods, and she doesn't deal in pallid heroes or demure heroines. Her characters are hotter than a Scotch Bonnet.

She's also is possibly the most prolific writer I know, and put the rest of us to shame by securing no fewer than three publishing contracts in her first year as a published author. I wanted to know how she does it.

Over to you, Emily...

*

One thing I’ve learned in the past six years, is that writing isn’t a linear process. Most people will read a book in the traditional fashion. They start at Chapter One and finish at the end. But when you write a book, that’s not necessarily the case. I know authors who don’t write their books linearly. Some don’t even plan what they write – they just open their laptops and away they go! But being an obsessive about performing tasks in a logical manner, I’ll always draft a book in order. If I reach a difficult part, I’ll not skip it. I used to rock climb when younger and when you’re on a rock face and reach the crux, you can’t skip it – you just have to climb through it, or you’ll never reach the top!

But the process of publishing is definitely not linear – at least not for most of us, and certainly not for me. 2019, more than any other year in my life, confirmed this. I parted company with my agent after three years, my debut novel came out, I landed a 3-book deal with another publisher, all of which came out during the year, I completed my first independent project, and I had a contract on another book, which should be out this year.

On the face of it, everything seemed to happen pretty quickly in 2019! But behind the scenes there was six years of writing novels, three years of submitting to publishers, more rejections than you can shake a stick at and weeks, often months, spent waiting for responses to e:mails I’d sent to my agent and to publishers.

Waiting for responses to submissions is the worst thing an author experiences. A bad review, even a rejection, is less painful. Bad reviews arise from a reader not being your target market. Rejections give you closure because you can draw a line through the publisher’s name and move on to the next. While I often use pet therapy to cope with stressful situations, i.e. I’ll get my snake out and cuddle him, the best coping mechanism is to divert your attention to something else. And what better than writing the next book?

So, that’s what I did – during the months while I waited to hear back on my submitted project, I got on with writing. Which meant that by the time things started moving in 2019 I had several projects ready to go. For example, the book I submitted which landed the 3-book deal was one my agent couldn’t get an offer on. But by the time we parted company, I’d written two further books. So when I got the deal, I had three books all ready.

It wasn’t all rainbows and unicorns. Landing a publishing contract made me view writing in a different light – it wasn’t a “hobby” any more. A professional approach is needed to editing, meeting deadlines, and promotion. It was a challenge I was prepared for, and I love it. But that’s a story for another day!

Had I known I’d finally get a publishing deal I’d have cheered up a lot during those years of rejections. A dear author friend of mine kept saying I’d get there in the end, I just had to believe in myself and persevere. At the time, I thought, “Yeah, it’s alright for you – you’ve got a deal.”

But she was right. And it’s only fair that I pass on her wisdom.

So, much as I hate clichés, I’ll conclude by saying this.

Believe in yourself, persevere, and you’ll get there in the end.

*

You can find out more about Emily and her ever-growing number of books over at her website. 

On researching locations

A writer friend of mine is working on a psychological thriller, and she has been asked by an interested agent to set her novels in the Bournemouth area. At one point in the novel, she needs a car to drive off a cliff and into the sea, the driver drowned (or is he, dun dun dunnnn!)

Bournemouth, where this writer and I both live, has plenty of cliffs. The only trouble is, if you drove a car off them, you'd land on the prom. Or on the beach. You might well die, but your body won't be washed out to sea, and that's essential for my friend's plot.

So she needed somewhere near Bournemouth, where the character could realistically be visiting frequently, and where it would be possible to drive a car onto and over a cliff, into the sea.

Suggestions from other friends and a trawl of Google satellite images led her to Anvil Point, just west of Swanage on the Isle of Purbeck. It certainly looked promising - there's a lighthouse there, and a narrow drivable lane leading to it. But the only way to be certain it met my friend's requirements was to actually go there.

Which we did, today. It's under an hour's drive from Bournemouth if you use the Sandbanks chain ferry, then go across Purbeck to Swanage, up the hill the other side and out to Durlston Country Park. Here my satnav told me to pass through a gate across the road on which was a sign stating Authorised Vehicles Only and follow the lane to the lighthouse. We thought we'd better park up and walk, and try to come up with some reason why the character might be authorised to pass this point.

Anvil Point

At the lighthouse base there is a group of buildings that have been converted into holiday cottages. Perfect. The character is a plumber so could be employed refitting the bathrooms or something. He'd then be authorised to drive his vehicle along the lane that far. But would it be possible to drive or perhaps push a car into the sea here?

We were delighted to discover that it is (but no, we didn't actually test this!) The tarmacked lane ends at the lighthouse, then a rough path heads around the seaward side, joining the coast path. To one side there's a grassy slope which gets steeper and steeper before plunging over the cliff edge. I peered over and was pleased to see waves crashing against jagged rocks. Exactly what my friend needs. Her character: not so much, but he's fictional so he gets no say in this.

With a few photos taken, we were then free to wander back towards the country park for lunch in its lovely cafe - part of the old castle there.

A gorgeous day to go scouting for locations!

It was a lovely day out, the sun shone, the location was spot on, and my friend was left inspired to get this part of the book completed over the weekend. It makes such a huge difference, seeing a place in the flesh. You experience the sounds of gulls screeching, the scent of gorse blossom, the feel of the wind in your hair. All of which might end up in the written scene.

Meanwhile my two works in progress - one awaiting editing and the other at 14,000 words - didn't progress much at all today. You can't have everything!