Selfie with Alison Morton at the Romantic Novelists’ Association annual conference in July 2014
This post gives you the link to my interview by thriller writer Alison Morton and fills in a bit of background.
I’m very pleased to be interviewed on Alison Morton’s action-packed author blog, under the deeply flattering headline “Debbie Young – Marketing Superstar”. (She knows how to charm, does Alison!)
In it, her interesting questions include a query as to whether I’ll ever write a novel and, if so, what would it be about. Hop over to her blog to find out the answers, and also to read more about her terrific Roma Nova series of alternative history thrillers (or alternate history, as the Americans call it, to the irritation of purists everywhere).
I’ve known Alison for a couple of years, during which our writing careers have been running in parallel.Not long after SilverWood Books published my authors’ marketing guide Sell Your Books!, Alison launched her first novel, Inceptio, assisted by SilverWood’s excellent author services.
Although Alison is energetic, computer-savvy and tremendously clever – in short, capable of doing all the self-publishing work herself – she preferred to delegate it to SilverWood, freeing up her own time to devote her time to writing and marketing her books.
At the SilverWood Open Day last September
Her strategy paid off, because she’s now published three books in the series – Inceptio, Perfiditas and Successio – and is writing the fourth. Her books have had fabulous reviews (including some from me here), they’ve won all sorts of awards, and she’s just been snapped up by A for Authors agency for her subsidiary and foreign rights.
Ironically, although Alison now lives and works in France, and I live in England, I’ve seen her more often than any other SilverWood author lately, our paths crossing at the London Book Fair, SilverWood’s Open Day, at the RNA Conference earlier this month, and other authors’ launches.
Alison’s latest book in the Roma Nova series
Or maybe it just feels that way because she has such a high profile on line. She’s also guested on my Off The Shelf Book Promotions blog, her latest appearance being to share her top tips for book promotion here.
Either way, she’s a great role model for any aspiring self-publishing author, and, as you can see from our selfie above, a lot of fun.
Continuing the series revealing what I do all day, here’s a post about my recent appearance on an American book reviewer’s blog.
My favourite form of transport: the flying carpet
One of the great joys of working from home in the age of the internet is that you don’t need to travel physically to make new friends and put in an appearance anywhere else on the globe. It’s like having a flying carpet – surely the most environmentally-friendly form of transport there is? (I so want a real flying carpet.)
Travelling by Blog
Booklover, book reviewer, book blogger – Stephanie Moore Hopkins
I’ve been taking advantage of travel-by-blog recently, when I accepted a kind invitation from US book blogger Stephanie Moore Hopkins. Stephanie is an avid reader and promoter of good self-published books. She vets and reviews books for the American award scheme, Indie BRAG Medallion, which honours self-published novels that meet very high professional standards. I have several friends who have been so honoured, so I know from their response just how much this medal means to authors.
Stephanie also blogs in her own right at Layered Pages, where she complements her other book-related activities with ever-interesting interviews and posts. When she told me that she was starting a new series of interviews investigating how authors use beta readers to help them improve their self-published books, I jumped at the chance to be in the spotlight.
One reason that I was particularly keen to do so is because I’d just benefited enormously from the input of a great team of beta readers before publishing my first collection of flash fiction, Quick Change. I saw this interview as a great way to acknowledge their support – and also to encourage other aspiring writers to do the same.
While you’re there, do scroll through to read more of her blog, which presents an endless supply of interesting posts about authors and their books. To keep up with her prodigious flow of new posts, you might also like to connect with Stephanie on Twitter: www.twitter.com/LayeredPages. I’m sure you’ll both be glad you did!
I’m also looking forward to turning the tables when I interview Stephanie for the ALLi blog later this month. More about that to follow…
Further Reading
If you’d like to know more about beta readers, what they do and how to find them, read my previous posts:
Continuing the series of posts that describe what I do all day, here’s a post about my gig as children’s book reviewer for Today’s Child magazine.
With a little help from yours truly, the latest issue of Today’s Child hits the ether
For the Love of Children’s Books
Anyone who knows me will be aware that I love to read books. A few years ago I landed a super job with children’s reading charity Read for Good, which gave me a great excuse to embrace children’s books. Read for Good’s fabulous work, through its Readathon and ReadWell brands, also made me realise the importance of leisure reading in children’s lives:
being in the habit of reading for pleasure in childhood is a greater influence on your lifelong success and happiness than financial wealth and social class (which is why Readathon runs sponsors reads in schools to encourage children to read for fun)
having access to books in hospital makes seriously ill children and their carers feel better (which is why ReadWell provides free books and storytellers to children’s hospitals)
Sir Tony Robinson is the inspiring patron of Read for Good
Read for Good and Today’s Child
My role at Read for Good included administrative, promotional and marketing tasks. One day I fielded a phone call from Today’s Child‘s advertising department, asking whether we’d be willing to place a paid advert in its pages. As a registered charity, we spent very little on advertising, but I did offer as an alternative some free editorial copy about Read for Good, which they were happy to accept.
They liked what I wrote so much that they invited me to write a regular column for them, not always about the charity’s work, but focusing on aspects of reading. This has evolved into a regular double-page spread of book reviews, and in each issue I look at a particular genre, such as books about art or sport or the current season, and I put it into a wider parenting context. That way the feature is much more than a series of book reviews but an interesting, longer read that hangs together.
When I left Read for Good last year to write full time from home, I continued to write for Today’s Child, which has rapidly evolved from a London-only freebie paper to an online magazine with global reach.
How I Compile the Review Features
I announce in each issue what the next feature’s theme will be, so that any publishers wishing to send me suitable free review copies may do so. I welcome submissions from self-publishing authors too that match the chosen theme, so if you have a book that you think would be suitable, please contact me with more details.
Going full circle
After use, I pass all review copies on to Read for Good to put to use for that fabulous charity, whether to give to schools running Readathon sponsored reads or to send into children in hospital via ReadWell.
The July/August issue has just been published, and this time I was looking at books about art. You can read the feature online here via the paper’s fab online reading app.
Next issue, I’ll be considering back-to-school books. But first, let the summer holidays begin!
Further Reading
You can find out more about Today’s Child and follow its progress on its Facebook page.
Following my post yesterday about how I’ve used beta readers to help me fine-tune my next book, you may be wondering how I found such a fine band of willing volunteers! If so, read on…
How do you find beta readers, willing to give up their time to help you further your writing project? Well, you just ask. “But who do you ask?” I hear you cry. “And why would they want to do it?”
Who to Ask
Just back from beta reading – to be published 21 June 2014
Best not to choose friends and family, who might be tempted to tell you what they think you want to hear – that it’s the best thing they’ve ever read. Worse still, they might hate it – not great for the relationship!
If you belong to a writing circle, commenting on each others’ drafts is probably something you already do – but if not, make the suggestion. You may find others are keen to do this, but just didn’t want to appear egotistical by being the person to raise the idea!
Equally, if you belong to a book group, ask for volunteers there. After all, people attend because they enjoy reading, and those who aren’t writers themselves may be pleased to be invited.
I recently read a short book called The Beta Reader by Elizabeth Eyles, who kindly offers to match up writers with beta readers. If you’d like to take advantage of her generosity, I’d suggest the decent thing to do is to buy and read her book before you do so. (I didn’t realise this until she’s volunteered to beta read Quick Change for me – she’s obviously practising what she preaches!)
Who I Asked
I found most of mine by putting a call out for volunteers on a private Facebook forum that I belong to – the Alliance of Independent Authors. This is the not-for-profit organisation that brings together the best self-publishing authors from around the world – i.e. those who take their writing seriously and aim for professional standards. I’m well known there because I edit the group’s advice blog, so I quickly had a list of volunteers. But it’s such a supportive group that I’m sure that anyone else would have had the same response, had they put up an engaging pitch for their manuscript.
The international element of the group is a bonus because it means I’ve had beta readers from other countries. I’m conscious that I’m a very British English writer, and I want to maintain that feel to my work, but without puzzling overseas readers with unintelligible Anglicisms.
In addition, I called on an online friend whose flash fiction I’ve enjoyed, Helena Mallett, author of Flash Fraction, a clever collection of 75 stories each 75 words long. As one of the stories featured a GP at work, I also called on my friend, Dr Carol Cooper (also a member of ALLi) to check it for accuracy. She’s not only a GP, but also a medical journalist, non-fiction author and novelist (where does she find the time?!) Her excellent debut novel, One Night at the Jacaranda, by the way, is currently on special offer on Amazon UK for only 99p for the rest of this month.
Why Would They Do It?
My latest book, co-authored with Dan Holloway, helps indie authors interact more effectively with the book trade
Volunteers who are not authors will be
interested in seeing what goes on behind the scenes of producing a book
flattered that you value their judgment enough to entrust them with your precious manuscript
be glad to have a sneak preview of your book before it’s published
The last two of those reasons also apply to volunteers who are authors. In addition, this group of people will be:
interested to see how another author’s work looks pre-publication
pleased to feel that they are helping an author friend produce a better book
possibly hoping you’ll return the favour
My Experience of Beta Reading
I’ve been a beta reader for several author friends and have always found it very satisfying to feel I’ve contributed to the fine-tuning of their books:
I’ve picked up factual and grammatical errors that might have slipped through until an eagle-eyed reviewer complained post publication
I’ve highlighted confusing plotlines.
I’ve spotted repetitive words and phrases that the author hadn’t realised were cropping up so often as to become funny, e.g. so many characters rolling their eyes that it was starting to sound like an affliction
All of these things were very easy to fix, and the authors were always grateful. It’s also rewarding to receive an acknowledgement in the book when it’s finally published and a free copy of the book (signed, if it’s a print edition). After all, who doesn’t like seeing their name in print?
Go For It!
If you still need justification for asking, bear in mind that if your beta readers enjoy your manuscript, they may be persuaded to post up early, positive reviews when your book is finally published.
I hope this overview gives you the courage to seek beta readers for your own books. Good luck and happy writing – and reading!
In case you missed it, I wrote another post about beta readers here:
At the launch of David Ebsworth’s “The Assassin’s Mark”, with Helen Hollick
Some time ago, after going through a phase of reading one book after another by the same few authors, I decided on two courses that would encourage me to read outside my comfort zone:
to read and review any books that I was offered, in particular self-published ones to support other indie authors
to join the local Historical Novel Society book group, having never knowingly chosen a historical novel for leisure reading
It was only when joining the new www.myindependentbookshop.co.uk website this morning that I realised that by chance I’ve discovered a preference for a very particular type of book that I’d never articulated before.
My Independent Bookshop
This site has just been launched this month by Penguin Random House purportedly to support the dwindling supply of independent bookshops in the UK. (Of course it does no harm to Penguin Random House’s reputation, either.)
It invites you to set up your own virtual bookshop and effectively play at being a bookseller. And before my overseas friends rush to try it out for themselves, I’m afraid this looks like a UK-only initiative so far, but maybe it’ll be heading for your shores soon. After all, those Random Penguins get everywhere…
You get to design your own shop from a range of templates and then choose up to 12 books that you’d like to recommend to others, beneath your own shop sign.
The result is a very pleasing pretend shop – and who hasn’t enjoyed playing shops at some point in their life?
Celebrating Indie & Self-Published Authors
I chose to call mine “Flying Off The Shelves With Debbie Young”, to reflect my book promotion advice website, Off The Shelf Book Promotions, and I decided to stock it entirely with self-published books by indie authors – because it’s harder for them to get their books stocked in real shops, despite the very high quality of the best indie books.
I’ve driven that point home with all the subtlety of a brick through a window by adding the strapline “Top Quality Fiction by Indie and Selfpublished Authors from Around the World”. (I’d have hyphenated the “selfpublished” but the site didn’t allow hyphens – hmmm.)
You don’t actually stock or sell the books on your shelves in real life – but if any readers take up your recommendations and buy a book you’ve suggested, the real-life bricks-and-mortar store that you’ve recommended will be sent a share of the profit (the rest, presumably, being absorbed by the website’s founders).
I’ve nominated Foyles in Bristol as mine, because I’ve been to some great indie author book launches there, such as the one pictured above. It’s also where I’ll be launching my paperback edition of Coming To Terms With Type 1 Diabetes this autumn, thanks to some helpful negotiating by SilverWood Books with whom Foyles has a special working relationship – and because my own local independent bookstore, The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop, which has branches in Tetbury and Nailsworth, is not yet listed on the website’s database.
Early Quirks
My antique Alice books
As with any new site fresh out of beta-testing, there are a few glitches and quirks, such as not recognising a surprising number of books. Not only did it refuse to acknowledge some self-published books, which didn’t really surprise me, but it also had apparently never heard of my favourite book: Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There. That narrowed down the choice of books that I could post on my virtual shelves.
The site also asks you to list three categories that characterise your reading, so that it can list your shop alongside similar stores. Although I do read very widely, not least because I review children’s books for the parenting magazine Today’s Child and an eclectic mix of books by contributors to Vine Leaves Literary Journal, I decided to narrow the focus of my pretend shop to the three types that make up the bulk of my leisure reading: contemporary fiction, literary fiction and short stories. I therefore omitted the children’s fiction from my shelves.
Inventing My Own Genre
Once I’d added my selection of 12 of the books I’ve most enjoyed in the last little while, the site asked me to write a paragraph describing my choice of books. Only as I was searching for words that summarised my choice did I realise that the following description held true for them all:
Gripping reads by gifted storytellers who will transport you to another time and place – fulfilling reading, whether you need something to stash in your suitcase for your travels or you prefer to tour the world from the comfort of your favourite fireside chair
Some are historical novels, some are contemporary, and trade publishers would never lump them all together under the same genre. Traditional genres are far too restrictive and unbending. Historical novels, for example, are defined by the Historical Novel Society as having been written at least 50 years after the event that they describe. But even though it falls outside conventional classifications, I’m still pleased to find there is a common bond between them all: transporting me to a different time and place. That made me realise what I need to look out for in future, when I’m seeking out a new read that I’ll enjoy.
Of course, I’ll still read more widely and just as voraciously as ever – but I was intrigued to discover this new common bond between the books that I’ve most enjoyed recently.
What’s On My Bookshelves?
And now the answer to the question that I’m sure you’re dying to ask: which twelve indie authors did I choose? They are (in alphabetical order by first name):
Ali Bacon
Alison Morton
David Ebsworth
Francis Guenette
Helen Hollick
Hilary Shepherd
Judith Barrow
Lindsay Stanberry-Flynn
Lucienne Boyce
Rohan Quine
Sandy Osborne
The logo of My Independent Bookshop website
But if you want to know which books they are, you’ll just have to go and visit my independent bookshop! Come inside, it’s open for business here!
(And yes, that is only 11 on the list – I took the liberty of putting Sell Your Books!, one of my own books in the twelfth slot, and in the next few days I’ll ring the changes by adding Opening Up To Indie Authors, which I co-authored for ALLi with Dan Holloway.)
By the way, I was unable to find all the books I wanted to include, such as Jane Davis;s fabulous novelI Stopped Time, not yet listed on the site, Carol Cram’s The Towers of Tuscany and Orna Ross’s Blue Mercy. All of these books exactly match my definition above.
The Most Important Question of All
So, I’ve had a couple of hours fun playing at pretend booksellers today, and it’s given me a nice warm feeling.
But as I put up my virtual “Closed” sign for the day, I do have one niggling question. Will this site really help reverse the fortunes of our struggling high street bookshops? Or is it a cynical ploy by larger forces to give readers the feeling of helping them, while actually encouraging them to place their orders on line? After all, the cut of the sale that will be passed on to your local nominated bricks-and-mortar store will be much less than if you’d actually visited their shop and bought the book in person. I’ll be very interested to hear what the REAL independent bookstores have to say about the issue – and if the boffins behind the new http://www.myindependentbookshop.co.uk site would like to reply, that would be terrific. Over to you!
How would you describe your favourite reading matter?
If you set up your own store within the www.myindependentbookshop.co.uk site, do come back and leave a link to it in the comments – I’d love to come shopping in it!
And if you’re the proprietor of an independent bookstore, do you welcome or dread this initiative? Do tell!
I’ve known Alison for a couple of years, during which our writing careers have been running in parallel.Not long after SilverWood Books published my authors’ marketing guide Sell Your Books!, Alison launched her first novel, Inceptio, assisted by SilverWood’s excellent author services.
