Don’t Give Up – Not Now!

I met up with a friend yesterday who is writing for children. Her book is fantastic but she’s had a few rejections – perfectly normal state of affairs, even for fab books.

She’s been chipping away, trying to get published for eighteen months now. She’s been doing all the right things – going to Children’s Books Ireland talks on getting published, keeping her eye out for new children’s publishers and agents and submitting her book to them (jeepers, some of them take so long to get back to people – and some don’t even acknowledge that they have received a manuscript which is so tough on writers), reading award winning children’s books, writing new books . . .
but she’s starting to get disillusioned.

‘I feel like giving up, Sarah,’ she said. ‘Is there any point in going on?’

‘Don’t give up,’ I told her. ‘You’re nearly there. Do you have any idea how many people drop out of writing at this stage? You’re eighteen months ahead of those starting out, and if you keep going you’ll be even more ahead. You’re building up contacts, getting your name out there, finding out about the publishing business. Please, don’t give up, not now!’

She promised she’d keep going. And you know something, I have every confidence that she’ll get there. She has a lovely quirky writing voice, an equally lovely personality, a great sense of humour, and most importantly she’s willing to work hard. I have 100% faith in her.

I know how hard it can be to keep going when you have no idea if you’ll ever get published. So today I have some advice.

Here are the most useful things I can tell you writer to writer:

1/ Read – especially in the age group/area you are interested in writing for – read library/bookshop recommendations, award winners, bestsellers etc.
If you want to write crime, romance, thrillers – you must have good idea of the market and the conventions of the genre (before you smash the conventions apart if you want to!).

If you want to write for children – you must be aware of what modern children like – and what works in a children’s book. Also exactly what age you are writing for – the under 6s, early readers, confident readers, 8 to 10, 9 to 11, 11+, teen/YA. I have been asked to write more family stories/drama/romance for teens – so there must be a market for it. Publishers are also looking for good novels for girls of 8+. And adventure books with a twist are very strong at the moment – as is horror. Seek out Eoin Colfer, Darren Shan, Derek Landy, and Michael Scott.

2/ Write because you have something important to say – something you are passionate about – your book must have a message/say something to the reader
If you are writing for children – write remembering just how it felt to be 4 or 7 or 9 or 13.
Dig deep – use your memory – emotions don’t change – yes, kids now have bebo, facebook, mobiles – but they are just different ways of communicating – there has always been bullying, now it just comes in different forms.

3/ Connect with readers online – you must have a good blog or website – you can always write about books/bees/cookery if you don’t want to get personal.

4/ Take constructive criticism on your work – and not from your mother. You might find a librarian or teacher who will read your work – take on board what they say.
When you are a published writer, editors have strong opinions (and may not always like everything about your book) – get used to taking advice and rewriting early in your writing career!

5/ Write from the heart – put lots of emotion on the page – don’t be afraid of strong emotion – and use your own emotions to write – if a sad scene – dig deep to a time you felt sad (think of it like acting on the page).

6/ Be optimistic and have a strong constitution – don’t get knocked back by the rejections – there will be many nos along the line – approach every writing day with as much energy and enthusiasm as you can – write with joy as Patrick Ness always says. I say – write with all your heart. Give 100% every time you sit down at your desk.

7/ Don’t give up – Think of Beckett – Ever tried, ever failed? No matter. Try again, fail again, fail better!

8/ Here’s the thing – if your writing is good enough, and your ideas strong and original enough, you will get published, simple as that. Publishers need good books. Make yours one of them.
You only need 1 editor to like your book (along with the marketing team of course) –you only need 1 yes – so stick to your guns and aim for that one almighty YES.

Yours in writing,

Sarah X

PS there is a getting published seminar on 11th Sept for adults interested in writing for children – check out www.childrensbooksireland.ie for details.

One of my best friends, Martina Devlin, is writing another historical novel. Her last one, Ship of Dreams, based on fictional Titanic survivors, took her years to research (and was a huge success) and this one is no different. She spent hours in my Mum’s house last week reading old family memoirs, newspaper cuttings and books on – well, I can’t say as it’s her book, not mine. But the point being, she spent many, many hours looking up tiny details like what a cup of tea cost in the early 20th century, and what people gave as wedding presents in those days (it was all listed in the newspapers of the day and makes fascinating reading).

Most writers need to do research – even if their book is set in the present time. At the moment I am researching elephants. One of my main characters, Arietty, is an elephant keeper in Dublin zoo. No, I have no idea why, she just is. It happens sometimes – characters come into your mind pretty much fully formed.

Elephants are very interesting animals – I’ve read several books on them now and I’ve found out all kinds of things. Did you know there are 2 kinds of elephants – Asian and African, and Asian have smaller ears? Or that the family groups you see are mums and babies (and grannys and aunts)? No men. The male elephants, the bulls, live alone or in bachelor groups. I could go on and on, but I’ll stop now . . .

But what I really need to know for my book is – what do elephants smell like? What do they eat in a zoo? Do they communicate with each other? What does their skin feel like? What would Arietty do every day exactly? Why does she love elephants so much?

And you can’t find out things like that in a book. So I’m off to Dublin zoo tomorrow to speak to one of the elephant keepers. She’s kindly taken some time out of her day to show me around and tell me about her job.

So I’ll be able to go back to my desk fully elephanted up! And it will make Arietty more real and my book better. Plus I get to hang out with elephants – how cool is that?

Reseach is vital. And sometimes it rocks!

Yours in writing,

Sarah XXX

You can’t miss this – and please book asap – only 60 odd tickets left, people! It was so much fun last year, we decided to run another one, with a LOT of help from the lovely Bert at the M2C Festival.
See you there!
SarahX

Monster Book Lunch – Sat 11th September – as part of the Mountains to Sea Book Festival
Sponsored by Walker Books, to celebrate their 30th birthday

Does your child or teen love books and talking about books? Then this is the event for you – a fantastic literary lunch for young readers, with an author or illustrator at every table!

Fifteen authors will host fifteen different tables, and one of those tables has your name on it (don’t worry, you’ll get to meet all the authors!).

Meet and chat to KATE DICAMILLO, Marita Conlon McKenna, Don Conroy, Joe O’Neill, Judi Curtin, Sarah Webb (moi!), PJ Lynch, Sarah Rees Brennan and a host of other authors and illustrators. Plus readings and a Q and A.

Every young reader will go home with a goody bag and there will be a bookshop on site to buy signed copies of all the authors’ books.

Time: 12 to 3.15
Venue: Royal St George Yacht Club, Seafront, Dun Laoghaire
Cost: e15 children e20 adults
Recommended age: 9+
(Children under 9 must be accompanied by an adult.)
Tickets are strictly limited, so please book early to avoid disappointment.
Booking: 01 2312929 or book online at www.mountainstosea.ie

Full author/illustrator list:

Sarah Webb
Niamh Sharkey
P J Lynch
Gordon Snell
Mary Murphy
Kevin Waldron
Chris Haughton
Kate di Camillo
Tommy Donbavand
Michael Emberley

Judi Curtin
Joe O’Brien
Don Conroy
Marita Conlon McKenna
Sarah Rees Brennan
Claire Hennessy
Oisin McGann (if all well with baby)

HI All,
This might be of interest – I wrote it for the National Guide to 3rd Level Colleges – and I whipped it up pretty quickly! Books to be written, don’t you know! Actually 2 of them!!!

Here you go:

The Life of a Full Time Writer
By Sarah Webb

I have been writing full time for nearly eight years now, both adult novels and children’s books. I have three kinds of days – writing days, event days, and publisher/agent days. Most weeks I have four writing days and one event day. This might be a school visit where I talk to the children and/or give a writing workshop, a library visit or a book festival – often on a Saturday or Sunday. Once every two months or so I also have a publisher/agent day where I travel to London to meet with one of my publishers and/or my agent, or attend a party or launch. That’s is the glam bit!

I did absolutely no creative writing in college (OK maybe I wasn’t supposed to say that in a guide for colleges – oops – but it’s true!), but I did study English and read until my eyes fell out of my head, a great asset to any writer. After college I worked in several bookshops, including Eason and Waterstone’s, along with fellow writers John Boyne and Paul Murray.

There are less than twenty full time children’s writers and/or illustrators in Ireland and it’s not easy to make a living from writing for children. Saying that, many Irish writers have done exceptionally well worldwide, from Eoin Colfer (Artmis Fowl), to Darren Shan (horror), Michael Scott (fantasy-adventure), Derek Landy (Skulduggery Pleasant), Oliver Jeffers (picture books) and P J Lynch (illustrations). As well as the Ask Amy Green series for age 10+ (Walker Books and Candlewick US), I also write early readers for O’Brien Press, and adult novels for Pan Macmillan.

My adult novels are popular fiction, with plenty of dialogue and family and relationship dramas. I write to entertain and inform, and I greatly enjoy inventing characters and plots. My latest book, The Loving Kind, deals with plastic surgery, errant boyfriends, loyalty, and revenge. Ireland has an exceptional record when it comes to women’s popular fiction – with Maeve Binchy, Marian Keyes, Cecelia Ahern, Cathy Kelly and Sheila O’Flanagan – all huge worldwide. There are also newer names on the scene – Amy Huberman, Sinead Moriarty and Niamh Greene. There is always a market for good popular fiction but your voice and your style have to be original.

I start my writing day with a walk. Then I settle down at my desk and write from 9.30 until 1.30. After lunch I will edit what I have written, answer emails, write things for my website, do newspaper interviews or other media requests, answer readers’ emails etc. I also work three or four evenings a week – writing my two blogs, answering more readers’ letters, keeping up with my readers on my Facebook page, writing children’s book reviews for the Irish Independent and Inis magazine, and doing other admin work.

A lot of writing is actually re-writing, working on a book until you get it right. Each book goes through many, many different drafts before it is complete. And it can be hard graft. But when you’ve had a good writing day, when your characters really come to life on the page and pull the story along in a direction you never anticipated, then it’s all worth it.

Sarah Webb is the author of the Ask Amy Green series for age 10+, published by Walker Books, UK, Candlewick Books, US, and other international publishers. Her first early reader, Emma the Penguin has recently been published by O’Brien Press.
She also writes romantic comedy for adults and her tenth novel, The Shoestring Club, will be published in 2012.
She loves encouraging new, unpublished writers, and is a regular speaker at the Inkwell writing workshops and courses.
For more information see: www.sarahwebb.ie or www.askamygreen.com

Here is the interview from Beauty Couture – and do check out their site – nice!
www.beautycouture.ie

By: Niamh, August 03

We have a good old natter with super fantastic Irish author Sarah Webb, about her upcoming book, her top advice for budding writers and her secret ballerina ambitions!

Sarah tell us what you are doing with yourself these days?

‘I’m currently working on my 10th novel, The Shoestring Club, set in a clothes shop. It will be published next year, all being well.’

How did you get into writing?

‘I wrote my first books as a single mum, working full time in Waterstone’s. At first it was a financial thing to be honest, trying to make ends meet. I started writing articles for local newspapers, magazines and finally wrote a nonfiction book for children, my very first book. But then I got the fiction bug and I’ve been writing novels ever since and loving it. I now write full time so I’m very lucky.’

What is it you love about writing?

‘Working for myself; creating characters I grow to love as much as real friends; meeting readers and other writers. It really is an amazing job. Solitary and lonely at times, but generally wonderful.’

Do you prefer writing for younger or older audiences?

‘I like both. The teenage books are shorter though which is kind of nice!’

Would you ever like to see one of your books be turned into a TV or film adaptation? Or do you think a film can never live up to a book?

‘ The film rights for the Ask Amy Green books, my series for age 10+ have been bought, so fingers crossed. I’d love to see any of my books on the big or small screen, it would be fascinating to see what a screen writer and director brought to the stories.’

Why do you think the Irish are so world successful when it comes to writing?

‘We love telling stories, to anyone who will listen! And we are also huge, huge readers. Readers often become writers, it’s a natural progression.’

There are a lot of successful Irish women authors out there, how did you manage to get yourself noticed in the beginning?

‘ I think the only thing a writer can do is to a- write a darned good book and b- write a darned good book!!! I’m very lucky as I also like writing for magazine and newspapers so that helps in that I can write columns and other pieces. And I also have a background in children’s books as I worked as a children’s bookseller for so long, so I have plenty to talk and write about.’

Who is your favourite author?

‘I love Marian Keyes, Judy Blume, Cathy Cassidy, Anne Tyler and Dr Seuss.’

What is your everyday, staple beauty product you’d never leave home without putting on?

‘Clinique City Base in Factor 40 – I burn amazingly easily.’

What is your beauty regime like day-to-day?

‘ I use Clinique products like the Foaming Face wash which I find great and not too harsh, and their Dramatically Different Moisturiser. I keep it all pretty simple as I don’t have much time.’

Who is your biggest style influence?

‘Honestly? My best friend, Tanya. She’s bang up to date with all the trends and has an amazing eye for what suits people. She should have been a stylist.’

Favourite high-street haunts?

‘Top Shop. Pennys for belts, hats etc. And River Island.’

Favourite designer destinations and designers?

‘Seagreen in Monkstown is a fav as it’s down the road from me and they have great sales. I love Lainey knitwear and try to invest in a cardigan or jumper every few years in the sample sales. I also love BTs. I could spend hours in their shoe department!’ (Beautycouture.ie HQ is with you on that one Sarah!)

Heels or flats?

‘Flats by day, heels by night.’

Best bargain ever?

‘Probably a black and gold knitted dress by Temperley. I bought it second hand shop for €100 and it looks fab with black boots.’

As a bestselling author how do you juggle family life, friends and your work etc?

‘With difficulty sometimes! I write when the kids are at school, then take a break to do the school runs, then do admin – emails etc – in the afternoon. I also work three evenings a week, replying to readers’ letters, copy editing books, and writing articles and reviews.’

Any advice for writers out there?

‘Yes, bum glue! Stick your bum to your seat and stay there. Read a lot. Write a lot. And never give up. Rejection is part of every writer’s life.’

What did you want to be when you grew up?
‘A ballerina.’

From www.beautycouture.ie

There’s nothing like the feeling of joy and contentment that washes over you after a good writing day. A day where everything just clicks into place, where the characters dance off the page, wisecracking among themselves, telling the reader secrets that you, the writer, never knew.

Right at that moment you start to believe in the alchemy of the creative process. It doesn’t happen very often. In fact, sometimes it can be a right old slog to get words onto paper, but you have to battle through those days, hoping that golden days are to come.

Interestingly, the best writing days often sneak up on you unexpectedly. You may be feeling a bit under the weather, a bit glandy, but you make yourself sit down at your desk regardless and just get on with it.

Slowly, so slowly, you start to move your fingers over the keys and after a few sentences it starts to get a little easier. And after a few paragraphs you begin to relax into your writing; and after a few pages you are lost in another world, a world of your own making, and you look up and three hours have gone by in a flash.

And you roll your stiff neck, flex your fingers, and give a deep sigh, completely and utterly happy. Because for those three hours nothing else mattered – there was just you and your characters, communing on the page.

And those magical snatches of time, when every single molecule of you is caught up, immersed in story, are what make writing the best job in the world. I wish the true alchemy of writing on all of you.

Yours in writing,

Sarah X

Yesterday I just couldn’t write. The children were rattling around the house, it was hot and sticky, and I was tired and sleepy. I spent the morning at the UNESCO City of Literature launch – Dublin is the 4th City of Literature, along with Iowa, Melbourne and Edinburgh, how cool is that – and intended to come home and get my daily word count done. But it just didn’t happen.

So today I was determined to sit at my desk and write, no matter what. But with the distraction of children coming in and out every few minutes I decided I’d had enough. This morning I moved a small chest of drawers out of my bedroom and then moved my desk and chair into the space, just beside the window. Then I sat down. It didn’t feel quite right so I moved my desk again, bang in front of the window. A little bird – a starling I think, sharp beak, sparkling black eyes – settled on my window sill, making me smile.

And the other great thing about working upstairs is the internet doesn’t work up there. So I’m not tempted onto Facebook or any of my favourite blogs or websites. I don’t spend ages ‘researching’ a small fact that I could easily look up later and not in the middle of my precious writing time.

So that’s where I wrote today, in my bedroom, 2,382 words of my new book, The Shoestring Club. And it felt good. I’ve been having trouble getting into this one as the Amy Green books are so fresh and alive in my head after just writing two in a row, but today the words just flew. So not only did I find a new, quiet writing space, I also found enough head space and a new impetus to empty my thoughts and ideas onto the page.

Maybe a move will also work for you. Is there a corner somewhere in the house that might take a small desk? Have you ever tried writing in the car – believe me, with a laptop, it’s quite do-able! I’ve been that soldier many a time when my children are having an extra noisy day but I still need to be around.

Writing is a funny old thing, sometimes it just takes something as simple as moving to get the creative juices flowing again.

Yours in writing,

Sarah X

This is a quick q and a I did for Bord Gais last night – as you can see, I didn’t answer all the questions as I couldn’t think of a super power I’d like at midnight! Wonder Woman’s energy springs to mind this morning as I yawn. I’ll wake up soon .
I’m off to West Cork on Friday to write and have a lovely 2 week holiday, so I won’t be posting much for the next 3 weeks – have a brilliant July and talk soon.
Yours in writing,
Sarah XXX

60 Seconds with……….Sarah Webb

1. What was the last book you read?
The Help by Kathryn Stockett, about the world of black maids and the families that hire them. Set in Mississippi in the 1960s, it has some fantastic characters and knock out scenes. I loved it and would highly recommend it.

2. What kinds of books do you most enjoy reading?
I read all kinds of books, including books for children and teenagers, which often have brilliant characters and cracking plots. For example I’m off on holidays at the end of this week and I’ve packed the following: So Much to Tell by Valerie Grove, the biography of Kaye Webb, ex-editor of Puffin Books she was amazing and had such an impact on children’s publishing; The Private Lives of Pippa Lee by Rebecca Miller – as I’ve heard great things about it; Joseph O’Connor’s Ghost Light – he writes beautifully; The Love Verb by Jane Green – she’s one of the best popular fiction writers around when she’s on form; Rules for a Perfect Life by Niamh Greene – great Irish popular fiction; Moneyball by Michael Lewis, a book about baseball and the legendary Oakland A’s – I love good sports books!; Personally I Blame My Fairy Godmother by Claudia Carroll and No Ordinary Love by Anita Notaro – more great Irish popular fiction; The Radleys by Matt Haig – zingy crossover vampire book with a difference; and finally Stories from the Queen of Teen Award – stories from last year’s shortlisted authors, as I’ve been shortlisted this year. Oh and also the proofs of John Boyne and David Almonds’ new children’s novels. Phew! Will I get through them all – just watch me!

3. What was your favourite book as a child?
As a child and now my favourite book is Are You There God, It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume. It’s funny, searingly honest and it makes me smile. I read it every year. I also love Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are. I still read a lot of children’s books as they are so darned good!

4. What author past or present most inspires you?
Judy Blume first off for changing teen girl’s fiction forever. Periods, bras, divorce, peer pressure, bullying – it’s all in there – she was the Jackie Wilson of her day and is still writing for children now, well into her seventies. And also Marian Keyes for being so honest in her books and also so honest in speaking about her personal life. Her recent blog entries on her ‘black dog’ depression have been so moving and I know have made a difference to other people who have exprienced similar feelings, myself included.

5. How did you get into writing? Was writing something you always wanted to do?
I used to fill notebooks full of stories from about age 10, and a kept daily diary from 13. I think a lot of writers try to make sense of the world by writing about it from a pretty early age. Plus I’ve always been a huge reader. I used to read while walking home from school and bumped into many lamp posts and tripped over many dog leads in my day! I think most big readers try writing at some stage.
I wrote my first book, a children’s cookery book, as a single mum working in Waterstone’s Bookshop on Dawson Street. To be honest, I needed the money. I’d been writing articles and reviews for various papers and magazines and I guess I saw a book as the next logical step. It was called Kids Can Cook.
My first adult novel, Three Times a Lady, was published in 2000. That was directly inspired by Maeve Binchy, Patricia Scanlan, Sheila O’Flanagan, Cathy Kelly, and Marian Keyes – all trail blazers in their own way.

6. If you could have written any book throughout history which would you pick?
Are You There God, It’s Me, Margaret. It’s inspired. And The Accidental Tourist by Anne Tyler, another brilliant book. I’m sure I’m supposed to say something high brow like Ulysses, but that’s just not me. For me, in novels, the character is the thing. To fall in love with a book, I have to love the characters.

7. What do you do to unwind?
Read! Walk the pier in Dun Laoghaire. Chat to friends. Watch Grey’s Anatomy (the only telly programme I watch) or a DVD.

8. If you had to choose a favourite holiday memory, what would it be?

9. Do you have a guilty pleasure? If so, what is it?

Sport movies or films with any kind of sport in them – it’s true. I don’t watch sport on the television, ever, but I love films like Field of Dreams, Jerry Maguire, and Bend it Like Beckham.
10. What super power would you most like to have?

11. If you could have three wishes come true, what would you wish for?

12. When you were young, what did you want to be when you grew up?
A ballerina. I never dared dream of being a writer. I think I wanted it too much to even dream about it for fear of jinxing things.

13. What famous person dead/alive would you most like to meet and why?
Maurice Sendak, because he has produced some truly amazing books and I have a feeling he’s just a big kid at heart!

14. What three words would describe you best?

15. Do you have a facebook or twitter account?
Yes, I like Facebook very much. It’s a great way to keep in touch with friends and family, and it also makes it nice and easy for readers to pop in and just say ‘hi’. I love connecting with readers. I don’t Twitter. I waste enough time on Facebook.

16. Who would you most like to write your biography?
Martina Devlin, novelist and columnist. Although she probably knows me a little too well for my liking!

17. What three items could you not live without?
Books, my family, my laptop. Oops, sorry, that should of course read – my family, books, my laptop.

Just did this list Sugar Magazine – Queen of Teen publicity – thought I’d share it with you. I do love doing lists. Back to editing Amy 4 now!
SarahX

Top 10 Villains

1/ The Child Catcher in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. The mere thought of that crooked nose and tall black hat makes me shiver. Scary, scary, scary!

2/ Wicked Witch of the West – Wizard of Oz. Another fantastically over the top villain, green faced this time and one of my favourite films of all time. ‘I’ll get you my pretty, and your little dog too.’ Classic stuff!

3/ Jardis, the White Witch from the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C S Lewis who has turned Narnia into ‘endless winter’. Nasty woman who is killed by Aslan, the lion – hurrah!

4/ Annie Wilkes from Stephen King’s book, Misery. Nothing scarier than a character that appears friendly and normal but turns out to be an obsessed ‘number one fan’ with malefic intent. Wonderfully played by Kathy Bates in the film.

5/ All the baddies in the Skulduggery Pleasant books by Derek Landy. There are too many brilliant named villains to choose from: the Faceless Ones, Serpine, Vaurien Scapegrace, Baron Vengeous. Fantastic fantasy-horror books, fantastic villains.

6/ Daniel Cleaver in Bridget Jones’s Diary by Helen Fielding – he caused untold hurt and embarrassment to Bridget and for that alone and for dis-services to girlkind, he deserves to be on this list! He was of course played by Hugh Grant in the film.

7/ The Joker – my favourite comic book villain. Jack Nicholson is pretty great in the film version too. Such a creepy smile.

8/ The Queen in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. And the Wicked Fairy in Sleeping Beauty. Horrid women, the both of them! I was terrified of them as a child listening to the fairy tales and watching the Disney movies.

9/ Lord Voldemort from J K Rowling’s uber fantastic Harry Potter books, arch enemy of Harry Potter and all round evil guy.

10/ And finally Nan Mahon from Circle of Friends by Maeve Binchy. Nan betrays her best friend, Benny, stealing her boyfriend, Jack, and lying and cheating her way into his affections. She’s a nasty piece of work but the truth comes out, Nan apologises to everyone (although I’ve never felt she really means it), and Jack wins back Benny’s heart in the end. Aah, happy ending and one of my favourite books.

If you tried logging in over the weekend, humble apologies. There was a technical glitch, but it’s all sorted out now. And thanks to all the loyal readers who gave me a heads up via email or Facebook. Sure, you’re all fab!

And speaking of fab – thanks to all your votes, I’ve also been shortlisted for the Queen of Teen Award, along with two of my very favourite authors, Jackie Wilson and Cathy Cassidy – what an honour. Plus I’ll get to meet them both again, along with some other great authors, on 10th Sept at the awards ‘do’. I can’t wait. More on the awards soon.

But if you have a second, do vote for me (again!) on their website I’d be most grateful: http://www.queenofteen.co.uk/vote.html

I have lots to say on smashing openings – but it’s now 11.30pm and I have online grocery shopping to do – yawn – so it will have to wait.

Yours in writing,

SarahX