Ruth F. Hunt's Blog, page 9
May 28, 2015
May 27, 2015
May 12, 2015
May 1, 2015
April 24, 2015
Marketing Ideas.
If you have had your book published by an independent publisher (like The Single Feather) or you’ve self published your novel, you won’t have a huge marketing department working behind the scenes. Indeed the marketing department could be you on your own. If so, before your book comes out officially it’s worth thinking about what marketing you are going to do and I would urge you to think about the press and radio.
I’ve been pleasantly surprised that bar one paper, and one magazine, so far all the press coverage I had planned, has all been published with a couple of articles in the pipeline.
To do this I had a system, which I first read about on Belinda Pollards blog. I’ve found it really does work. To start off you need to do a bit of preparation and prepare a media pack. This is going to be a folder you email to the press if they respond to your first introductory email. Don’t send this pack unless they ask you for it, as it will just clog up their inbox and annoy them.
In my pack, I had.
1) A Synopsis.
2) A photo of the front cover of The Single Feather, and one of the back.
3) Details such as price, ISBN, where it can be bought, a selection of advance reviews.
4) Five sample questions and answers, about my background and why I wrote the novel.
5) An author biography, and author photo. (High resolution for photographs.)
I named each document, media pack 1, 2,3 and so on and it’s better in one folder than lots of attachments.
Don’t inundate them with pages and pages of material. Keep it short and keep it interesting.
First step is the introductory email. A bit like a query letter this needs to grab the editors attention. Lots of people write books, so it’s not enough to say, I wrote a novel. If you are doing book signings you could advertise them, but I would still try and make your introductory email, into a ‘story’.
For example, for the local press – I told them I’d been in an accident, that I’d noticed how few disabled people were in novels, and that’s one of the reasons why I wrote The Single Feather. To finish off I gave a list of the local signings and said if they were interested in covering this, I had a media pack I could send them.
I also tailored the introductory email for each publication. I mentioned something about their newspaper, to show I actually had read it, and wasn’t just sending out random emails. So, I might say, I always read your paper, the campaign you did last year on x or y was very interesting.
Then it’s a waiting game If they’re interested you’ll definitely hear from them. If they’re not interested it’s unlikely you’ll get a reply.
If a paper is going to do a book review, then first, you will have to send them ‘a review copy’ – free copy, and secondly, you won’t have a say in what gets printed, so there is that risk of a poor review. If you’re asking for a review, then do send them an introductory email, followed by pack and wait until they ask for a copy.
With radio stations, I used the same system, and that worked with them. It’s always worth thinking about.
Finally, I should mention blogs. Many people do blog posts for authors. Obviously, it helps if they have a good sized Twitter following, or people following their blog. The most important thing, I think, is being a supportive author. If someone does a blog interview for me, then I will return the favour and it definitely helps if you’ve already got a good relationship with them.
Thanks to author Belinda Pollard, the media pack was an idea I read about on her informative blog – http://smallbluedog.com
April 20, 2015
Interview with Jacqueline Grima
It is with pleasure that today I welcome Jacqueline Grima onto my blog to talk about her books and writing.
1) CAN YOU TELL ME ABOUT YOURSELF – HAVE YOU WRITTEN ANY BOOKS AND ARE YOU WRITING NOW?
I have been writing for about twenty years and was lucky that the first few short stories I sent out were accepted for publication. After that, however, family life sort of took over. I have three sons and became a single mother twelve years ago so any writing had to be put aside for a while. I started to take it more seriously when I was made redundant from my job as a teaching assistant. Finding another job wasn’t going to be easy as, by that time, I had been diagnosed with a long term health condition, fibromyalgia, which causes me constant pain, was due to go into hospital for a hysterectomy and was also primary carer to my middle son who has Asperger’s Syndrome, which is a form of autism. I decided, therefore, to use my time at home to finish the Literature degree I had started with The Open University, and to make my first serious attempt at writing a novel. Coming Second, the story of a young man called Leo,was finished approximately three years later and, much to my delight was shortlisted for the 2014 Luke Bitmead Bursury, which even though I didn’t win, has opened a lot of doors for me, I am currently trying to find a publisher for the novel and have also embarked upon a Masters in Creative Writing. The novel I am currently working on will eventually be my dissertation. I am also working part-time as a commissioned writer for student magazine http://www.humanityhallows.co.uk and am working on short stories as I would love to put them together in a collection one day!
2) HOW MUCH RESEARCH AND PREPARATION DO YOU DO IN ADVANCE – DOES ANY OF THIS CHANGE WHILE YOU ARE WRITING?
I like to do quite a lot of thinking and note-taking before I start writing and I usually start a new notebook for each novel where I jot down ideas for the plot or notes about each character – where they were born, where they work etc. as well as their relationships to each other. I also think a lot about where the novel is going to be set and often go out to take photographs which helps me ‘set the scene’. In Coming Second, Leo takes a lot of comfort from the church and his bible so I did a lot of bible reading beforehand and paid a few visits to the local church and cemetery! Usually I have a vague idea of where the story is going before I write but I don’t set it in stone as my ideas often change. The ending for Coming Second changed three or four times!
3) DO YOU HAVE A FAVOURITE TIME TO WRITE? HOW DO YOU BALANCE WRITING WITH OTHER RESPONSIBILITIES AT OR IN WORK?
My writing has to work around the care of my son, my health and, unfortunately, lots of other everyday things I have to do like cleaning, washing, ironing and walking my two dogs! I mostly write in the day after I have finished my chores and my son has left for college. I usually write a list at the beginning of the week of the articles I have to complete or the amount of my novel I want to get through and try to do as many hours as I can with just short breaks for lunch. I usually finish when the boys come home and it’s time to cook. Sometimes, however, if my health isn’t too good, I have to finish earlier as the physical act of writing often causes my muscles to stiffen and my condition causes me to have chronic fatigue which means I am dozing off by 3 o’clock! In the evenings, I usually spend time with the boys or catch up on my reading.
4) WRITING HAS HIGHS AND LOWS – HOW DO YOU KEEP YOURSELF MOTIVATED?
Good question! Writing is hard work and I do have lots of ‘low’ periods, especially when the inevitable rejections are coming in! I try to keep myself motivated by treating it like any other job. If I were going in to an office, I wouldn’t have a choice about how much work I’d do so I try to sit down and write in the morning and promise myself I will keep going until a certain time. With my article writing, I work to 24 hour deadlines, which is always a great motivator! If I am feeling low or not particularly well, I usually do some editing , perhaps going back to a short story that needs some work or going over the opening chapters of my novel. I find that editing is much easier than facing a blank page!
5) DO YOU USE SOCIAL MEDIA AND/OR BLOG? HOW USEFUL DO YOU FIND THIS?
I am an avid Twitter user and find it incredibly useful for connecting with other writers and for getting my work out to a wider audience. If I have written an article I usually include it in a tweet and tag as many people as possible who I think might be interested in reading it and it can be read by hundreds of people in a matter of minutes, It’s also a great way of keeping up with writing competitions and submission opportunities, The only drawback is that it can be distracting but I tend to think of it as a pet – if you give it a little bit of attention every day then you tend to get it to behave the way you want it to! I have recently started a blog where I talk about the experience of doing an MA and post writing tips. I do find it hard to keep up though and think I need to blog more often in order to entice a wider readership.
6) IF YOU COULD GIVE SOME ADVICE TO A NEW WRITER, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
Read, read and read, when you have finished, read some more! I firmly believe that, in order to be a successful writer, you have to be a reader and have often got two or three books on the go. Although it’s a bit of a cliche, I would also say don’t give up. I have had hundreds of rejections but I know that, with perseverance, I will one day be where I want to be!
MANY THANKS TO JACQUELINE FOR SUCH AN INFORMATIVE POST, YOU CAN FIND HER BLOG AT http://www.grimajgrima.blogspot.co.uk OR YOU CAN FOLLOW HER ON TWITTER @GrimaJgrima
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO READ ANY OF HER ARTICLES YOU WILL FIND THEM AT http://www.humanityhallows.co.uk/?s=jacqueline+grima
April 15, 2015
April 9, 2015
How Would You Cope If..?
You’ve just had to escape from your own home, with the help of a family member.
You’ve had to move into a new rented house in an area where you don’t know anyone.
It’s the first time you’ve been living independently for a few years, but you’re determined to give it a go. After all, you’re 31 years old.
The only help you get is from a care agency and from your mother, because you are paraplegic.
You did expect you would settle in quickly and hoped to be making friends.
However, for four long months, apart from going out with your mum, in her car, you’ve only managed to get to the end of your road by yourself.
You’re living in fear, frightened your old life, the people you call ‘the guards’ are going to find you, return you to the nightmare that nearly cost you your life.
Something has to change…
What would you do? How would you cope?
This is The Single Feather and the story of what Rachel did next.
April 6, 2015
Radio Interview and Book Signings.
A couple of weeks ago, I was interviewed by Pete Price from the Liverpool Radio Station, City Talk. As the programme goes out late at night I missed when it was broadcast, but the producer has sent me an MP3 file. Sadly, I couldn’t put this on here, but I have posted it on Soundcloud and put this on Twitter and Facebook.
Radio Interviews do work, because last week, as I was delivering posters to The Olde Book Shop in Formby I was told that one copy of The Single Feather had already been ordered by someone who had heard this interview!
Now that Easter is over, I have the last two book signings of this bunch. The first on Saturday at The Old Book Shop in Formby 10:30 – 12 noon. The following day I’m at News from Nowhere 1-2:30pm.
Thanks to Chris Marshall for taking the photographs of the window of The Olde Book Shop, showing The Single Feather!
April 1, 2015
Coming Soon…
After successful events at Pritchards Bookshop in Crosby, Sally Bee Gifts and Broadhursts of Southport Bookshop, I now have a short break for Easter before the next events.
1) On the 11th April 10:30 – 12 noon I will be at The Olde Book Shop in Formby signing copies of The Single Feather.
2) On the 12th April 1- 2:30pm I will be at the iconic News from Nowhere Bookshop in Bold Street, Liverpool. (Lots of local authors and writers are coming to this event. So even if you don’t want to buy the book do come along and network/meet authors!)
3) On the 21st April join me and author Rosie Claverton on Twitter – starting 8 PM where we will be inviting questions and discussion re:mental health in fiction. Everyone invited!
The other bit of exciting news is currently The Single Feather is being read by a national newspapers book editor for review. It won’t be in for a few weeks and there’s no guarantee it will be featured, but the very fact a review copy was requested was exciting enough for me!
Also planned are some smaller events at book groups and writing groups in the North-West. If you belong to a book group/writing group and would like to read The Single Feather or have me in person talk about the issues and route to publication, then do get in touch, using comment box or via Twitter.
Photographs of The Single Feather in Broadhursts of Southport window, Pritchards Bookshop, Crosby, and in Sally Bee Gifts window.
