Silverwood Books – Page 2 – Debbie Young's Writing Life

Debbie Young and Sandy Osborne with a copy of "Sell Your Books!" — Me with Sandy Osborne at the launch of “Sell Your Books!”

(A new post about author events, including two of my own coming up in Cambridge and London)

As an author who daily spends hours in front of a computer, I’m a great advocate for getting out and about to meet “real” people, even though I have many online friends too.

I also enjoy supporting other authors’ events, as no matter how many I attend, each one is different and inspiring in its own way.

Last night’s talk by novelist Sandy Osborne was no exception, when she came to my village to talk to the local WI (Women’s Institute) about how she wrote and self-published, via SilverWood Books, her debut novel Girl Cop.

If You Want Something Done, Ask A Busy Person

Sandy Osborne outside Waterstones in Bath — Sandy Osborne with her pre-launch window display in Waterstones’ Bath branch

I’ve known Sandy for a couple of years, having been introduced by SilverWood Books, who also commissioned my book promotion handbook Sell Your Books! I helped Sandy set up her website ready for the launch of Girl Cop, and it’s been a pleasure to follow her emerging career as an author.

And very busy it is too. While holding down a full-time job in the police force, she’s written a super romantic comedy novel and has two more in the pipeline. She also somehow squeezes in to her timetable a series of author talks at leading bookshops, special interest groups and literature festivals. (Her recent event at the Bath Literature Festival was a sell-out.) Anyone who claims they have no time to write needs to hear one of Sandy’s talks to convince them that if they have the will, they can find the time.

Now It’s My Turn on Stage

But so much for relaxing and enjoying other authors’ talks. Looming up next week are two author events of my own:

To be launched at the London Book Fair on the Kobo stand next week (Tuesday, 2pm)

running a “Masterclass” (crikey!) with Rebecca Swift of The Literary Consultancy at the Cambridge Literature Festival on Sunday, talking about the changing nature of publishing in the 21st century (more details and ticket booking here)
attending the London Book Fair, at which I’ll be helping launch Opening Up To Indie Authors, a new book that I’ve co-authored for the Alliance of Independent Authors as part of their Open Up To Indies campaign (you can preview the book here on the Kobo site)

I will happily talk about writing and self-publishing till the cows come home, and having spent decades working in public relations, and being the youngest child in my family, I’m comfortable in front of an audience. For me, the most worrying parts of the process are getting to the venue on time (assuming I can find it), and what to wear.

Dressing the Part

The good news is that I’ve already cracked the last of these points. On Saturday I snapped up in John Lewis a new dress that seemed singularly appropriate: a loose, 20s style viscose dress with a cheerful print of retro telephones. It could have come straight out of Virginia Woolf’s wardrobe.

This pattern boded well: after all, my events are all about making connections and communicating with others. When I looked at the label, to check whether the dress was dark blue or black, as it was hard to tell in the windowless store, I discovered that the colour was “ink”. What better omen could there be for an author?

Or so I thought, until I tweeted this detail that evening, with typical Twitter-induced confidence that the world was breathlessly awaiting news of my new frock:

“The label on the dress I just bought to wear for my book launch at London Book Fair says its colour is “ink” #appropriate #LBF14″

A speedy response pinged back across the ether from my wry Welsh author friend Andrew Peters (@andynpeters):

“@DebbieYoungBN Blue, black, blue-black, red, green or invisible?”

And there was I thinking that as an old PR pro, I wouldn’t miss a trick. But an invisible dress – how brilliant is that? I may have foregone this opportunity to make the headlines, but if any authors out there would like to pick up Andy’s suggestion, I’m sure he’d be the first to approve.

Beware of the Tetbury Advertiser – you never know where it might lead! I mean that in the nicest possible way, for a few years ago, the Advertiser was the starting point of a trail that led to the publication of my first book. Here’s the tale of how it came about.

Paul Newnton, author — Tetbury author Paul Newnton

In the summer of 2010, a few months after I’d started writing my Young By Name column in the Tetbury Advertiser, I was contacted by one of its regular readers, the writer Paul Newnton. Though now living on the other side of the country, he kept up with local news via a postal subscription to this popular monthly magazine. Having enjoyed my column, Paul asked me to help him promote his new novel, the first in a proposed series. Despite my protest that I had no experience of book promotion, I agreed to meet him for tea in the Snooty Fox on his next trip to Tetbury. With the help of an excellent cream tea, he convinced me that by drawing on my long career in journalism, PR and marketing, I could be of valuable assistance. He was right: within a very short time, I’d arranged for his book to be stocked in the Yellow-Lighted Bookshop, generated news coverage in the local press, and fixed up an interview on BBC Radio Gloucestershire.

The author and publishing consultant Helen Hart — Helen Hart – the antidote to vanity publishers

A few weeks later, a graphic designer friend mentioned that his wife, who runs the Bristol-based assisted publishing company, SilverWood Books, was enjoying the online version of my Young By Name blog. We arranged to meet, and I came away with a commission to write a self-help promotion handbook for authors. The book was particularly to address the rapidly expanding group of self-published or independent authors – but what author doesn’t want to sell more books, even those commissioned by traditional publishers?

To explain the jargon, self-published authors are those who produce their books independently of traditional publishing companies. Thanks to the latest developments in digital printing and e-book technology, it’s possible to put your book on the market without a publisher’s contract, thus avoiding the nerve-wracking round of submissions and rejection letters. Authors who are willing and able to master the necessary technology do this themselves, but for technophobes – or for those who prefer to spend their time writing – there exist excellent publishing consultants who can do this for them, adding value and expertise. These are far removed from the “vanity publishers” of the past, who simply took your money and treated your manuscript as a routine print job, often with dire results.

To fulfil my commission, I undertook extensive research, interviewing many authors – including Tetbury’s Paul Newnton, of course – and members of the book trade, not least Hereward Corbett, proprietor of Tetbury’s Yellow-Lighted Bookshop.

Dr Alison Baverstock, MA Publishing Course Director at Kingston University — Dr Alison Baverstock, all-round publishing guru

Pre-publication, the first reviewer of Sell Your Books! was so enthusiastic that she even agreed to write a foreword. This was no small compliment, as this reviewer was Dr Alison Baverstock, senior lecturer in the MA in Publishing at Kingston University and all-round publishing guru. She deems it to give “motivating, practial and cheerful guidance on the process. It raises the spirits and promotes author confidence. It’s an investment in your writing now – and your future development.”

In another bizarre demonstration of all roads leading to Tetbury, I discovered that I’d met Alison a few years before, when I was working at Westonbirt School and she was guest speaker at Speech Day. I’d taken her photo to include in the school’s newsletter.

I hope that knowing its local origins and inspiration, authors living in and around Tetbury will take a special interest in my book. I’d love to hear any feedback or input from them, which I might also be able to share, with their permission, on my blog of book promotion tips for authors at Off The Shelf Book Promotions.

Cover image of Sell Your Books! by Debbie Young — All my own work

Finally, a big thank you to the wonderful Barry Gibbs, editor of the marvellous multi-faceted Tetbury Advertiser for commissioning my Young By Name column in the first place. Without you, none of this might have happened!

This post was originally written for the Tetbury Advertiser and appeared in its February 2013 edition.

Sell Your Books!, a book promotion handbook for authors, is now available to order from good bookshops and online. (RRP £8.99, ISBN 978-1-906236-34-2, Publisher SilverWood Books) It is also available as an e-book.
SilverWood Books provides helpful, expert and services to authors seeking to self-publish their books. For an initial chat, free of charge and with no obligation, please call Helen, Sarah or Joanna on 0117 910 5829 or visit their website: http://www.silverwoodbooks.co.uk
For more information about Paul Newnton and his books, visit his website or pop into the Yellow-Lighted Bookshop which stocks some copies and will always be happy to order more.

Tag: Silverwood Books

The Eventful Lives of Authors

If You Want Something Done, Ask A Busy Person

Now It’s My Turn on Stage

Dressing the Part

Tales of the The Unexpected Book