Deborah Swift's Blog, page 52
March 12, 2011
Where do I buy books?
I live in a small village but nevertheless it has plenty of places for me to indulge my passion for books.
The first is the ubiquitous chain store. This is a photo of the shop window of my local branch which is full of garish posters of the TV Book Club books and Mother's Day special promotions. It is certainly attention-grabbing, as it focuses on cut-price offers and doesn't display the actual books except stacked one on top of the other so you have to crane your neck and peer sideways down through the window to get a glimse of the stock they are selling. It seems vaguely insulting to just stack them this way. The least they could do is stand the top one up! As a book buyer it doesn't tempt me to stop in front of the window. A fair percentage of these piles in the window are celebrity hardbacks. I mostly use this shop to buy magazines, the local paper, and guide books to holiday destinations. Last week I bought some files and envelopes here.
The second is the Fireside Bookshop which displays rare and collectible seond hand books in its bay window. The window often features highly visual books on Arts, Antiques or lost cultures, and the display shifts and changes regularly. Inside it is like a cosy parlour with a real fire burning, and second-hand books on every subject all neatly shelved and labelled. In here I have found a lovely old copy of "Mayhew's London" and quite a few other non-fiction gems about my favourite period, the 17th century. When I go in, I inevitably come out with a parcel under my arm. Part of it is the attraction of it having a varied stock, not just the ones on the TV book club lists. Mostly I buy non-ficion here, though it does have a good selection of novels.
The third is my local charity shop. Actually there are three, all within a half mile of my house. This morning I bought Emma Donohue's "Room" from this one for £2. Not bad for a hardback. I asked the woman at the counter if I could take this picture and she apologised for the state of the shelves. Actually the untidy and random nature of it is part of its charm, I think. As you can see I could have come away with a bedside lamp or any amount of bric-a-brac as well, so I think I have been quite restrained.
None of these bookshops stock my book - the chain won't stock it till it's out in paperback, and even then, might not - "it depends on central office". And the second-hand ones haven't yet hit the charity shop shelves!
Where do you buy books? What sort of bookshop do you like best?
The first is the ubiquitous chain store. This is a photo of the shop window of my local branch which is full of garish posters of the TV Book Club books and Mother's Day special promotions. It is certainly attention-grabbing, as it focuses on cut-price offers and doesn't display the actual books except stacked one on top of the other so you have to crane your neck and peer sideways down through the window to get a glimse of the stock they are selling. It seems vaguely insulting to just stack them this way. The least they could do is stand the top one up! As a book buyer it doesn't tempt me to stop in front of the window. A fair percentage of these piles in the window are celebrity hardbacks. I mostly use this shop to buy magazines, the local paper, and guide books to holiday destinations. Last week I bought some files and envelopes here. 
The second is the Fireside Bookshop which displays rare and collectible seond hand books in its bay window. The window often features highly visual books on Arts, Antiques or lost cultures, and the display shifts and changes regularly. Inside it is like a cosy parlour with a real fire burning, and second-hand books on every subject all neatly shelved and labelled. In here I have found a lovely old copy of "Mayhew's London" and quite a few other non-fiction gems about my favourite period, the 17th century. When I go in, I inevitably come out with a parcel under my arm. Part of it is the attraction of it having a varied stock, not just the ones on the TV book club lists. Mostly I buy non-ficion here, though it does have a good selection of novels.
The third is my local charity shop. Actually there are three, all within a half mile of my house. This morning I bought Emma Donohue's "Room" from this one for £2. Not bad for a hardback. I asked the woman at the counter if I could take this picture and she apologised for the state of the shelves. Actually the untidy and random nature of it is part of its charm, I think. As you can see I could have come away with a bedside lamp or any amount of bric-a-brac as well, so I think I have been quite restrained.None of these bookshops stock my book - the chain won't stock it till it's out in paperback, and even then, might not - "it depends on central office". And the second-hand ones haven't yet hit the charity shop shelves!
Where do you buy books? What sort of bookshop do you like best?
March 10, 2011
Amazon Reviews, do you read them?
In the last few days I have read a number of posts about Amazon Reviews and whether people refer to them when buying a book. I know that the person who selected the books for our book group chose only ones with four or five star reviews. But then another friend said they thought it suspicious if books had not got a spread of opinion - "looks like their relations have written them" she said.
Just yesterday I received an invitation to join Amazon Vine and get free books to review. Well who can turn down free books? But then again, I'm only too aware of the resposibility of reviewing someone's just-out novel, and thereby affecting (or not) its sales. A writer friend of mine had the most grim review ever for her excellent debut novel from an Amazon Vine member, and it ruined what should have been a celebratory moment of achievement. On the other hand an honest review from an informed reader who reads similar fiction cannot be a bad thing.
I myself pay less attention now to Amazon reviews than I did. Being an "insider" in the world of books changes your attitude towards everything to do with their sales - from discovering that publishers pay to have books on 2 for 1 tables, to the fact that the top ten in Tesco have not earned their place by outselling the books at 11 and below. From the whole business of fake reviews written by the authors themselves to whether your book is placed spine or front out in a shop - not to mention the extraordinary lengths some people will go to in order to sell you their book. I have to confess I am no longer that naive book buyer I was a couple of years ago who takes it all at face value.
Most of my books are bought because either someone has recommended the title, or I like the look and sound of it in the bookshop. I accept that readers even of the same type of fiction can have vastly different opinions and that the net is as good a place as any to air them, as it is a faceless place where class or racial barriers effectively cease to exist.
If you are in any doubt about the usefulness of Amazon reviews why not try as someone suggests, looking at the reviews for The Bible, of which there are quite a few- here's a quote from my favourite :)
34 of 54 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent work by a world renowned author, 17 April 2007
By EhFiist "joebeard" (Alabama, Texas) - See all my reviewsThis review is from: Holy Bible [NKJV] (Hardcover)
This book is a must read for anybody interested in How the World Was Made. It chronicles in excellent detail the creation of our World, our Universe and Everything. The characters depicted in the book truly come to life in ways one couldn't possibly imagine.........etc etc
If you would like to follow up the theme of online reviews, here are links from the recent Guardian posts The Guardian and Comment
Just yesterday I received an invitation to join Amazon Vine and get free books to review. Well who can turn down free books? But then again, I'm only too aware of the resposibility of reviewing someone's just-out novel, and thereby affecting (or not) its sales. A writer friend of mine had the most grim review ever for her excellent debut novel from an Amazon Vine member, and it ruined what should have been a celebratory moment of achievement. On the other hand an honest review from an informed reader who reads similar fiction cannot be a bad thing.
I myself pay less attention now to Amazon reviews than I did. Being an "insider" in the world of books changes your attitude towards everything to do with their sales - from discovering that publishers pay to have books on 2 for 1 tables, to the fact that the top ten in Tesco have not earned their place by outselling the books at 11 and below. From the whole business of fake reviews written by the authors themselves to whether your book is placed spine or front out in a shop - not to mention the extraordinary lengths some people will go to in order to sell you their book. I have to confess I am no longer that naive book buyer I was a couple of years ago who takes it all at face value.
Most of my books are bought because either someone has recommended the title, or I like the look and sound of it in the bookshop. I accept that readers even of the same type of fiction can have vastly different opinions and that the net is as good a place as any to air them, as it is a faceless place where class or racial barriers effectively cease to exist.
If you are in any doubt about the usefulness of Amazon reviews why not try as someone suggests, looking at the reviews for The Bible, of which there are quite a few- here's a quote from my favourite :)
34 of 54 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent work by a world renowned author, 17 April 2007
By EhFiist "joebeard" (Alabama, Texas) - See all my reviewsThis review is from: Holy Bible [NKJV] (Hardcover)
This book is a must read for anybody interested in How the World Was Made. It chronicles in excellent detail the creation of our World, our Universe and Everything. The characters depicted in the book truly come to life in ways one couldn't possibly imagine.........etc etc
If you would like to follow up the theme of online reviews, here are links from the recent Guardian posts The Guardian and Comment
March 8, 2011
Tuesday Tip - 3 Ways I Read for Editing
Reading your own book is something novelists must do over and over. After the first draft is written, here are the three ways I read to edit. I find a method whilst I am re-reading helps me to focus.
1. Character Viewpoint. Go through the text from each of the character's points of view. This might mean three or four different reads. In a long novel you can read each part that features that character; this will reveal inconsistencies or conundrums that you will need to look at, and make you work out what the character is doing between scenes in a bit more depth.
2.Theme. This focuses on the main theme. Read it again looking for ways to highlight or emphasise the theme. I also look to see if the theme is expanding naturally through the book.
3. "Person who knows nothing about it" read. This is the most important because you have to imagine you are a reader who knows nothing at all about the book or the subject. It helps me if I imagine another person reading it. Yes, you've got it - create another character in your head as dissimilar to yourself as possible and then imagine her/him reading the book.
Suggestions anybody?
1. Character Viewpoint. Go through the text from each of the character's points of view. This might mean three or four different reads. In a long novel you can read each part that features that character; this will reveal inconsistencies or conundrums that you will need to look at, and make you work out what the character is doing between scenes in a bit more depth.
2.Theme. This focuses on the main theme. Read it again looking for ways to highlight or emphasise the theme. I also look to see if the theme is expanding naturally through the book.
3. "Person who knows nothing about it" read. This is the most important because you have to imagine you are a reader who knows nothing at all about the book or the subject. It helps me if I imagine another person reading it. Yes, you've got it - create another character in your head as dissimilar to yourself as possible and then imagine her/him reading the book.
Suggestions anybody?
March 6, 2011
Re-organising the bookcase
Talking of the Physicality of Books - Kim from She-Writes has sent me this link to an Animation entitled Re-organising the Bookcase. I'm a big Rodrigo Y Gabriela fan too, so I loved the music.
Here's the link - Thank you Kim! Why not check out Kim's writing website too?
Here's the link - Thank you Kim! Why not check out Kim's writing website too?
March 3, 2011
The Physicality of Books
Welcome to She-Writes members on the Blog Hop. Sorry if you are not from the UK and the TV programmes I mention in this post are a mystery to you.....
I was un-surprised to hear Claire Balding say on My Life in Books on BBC2 that the physical presence of a book really matters to her. She held up an old gold-tooled tome of "The Myths of Greece and Rome" and asked her fellow guest to sniff it, which he duly did.
And in another episode of the programme Giles Coren talked about how he read from his father's edition of "The Great Gatsby" at his funeral and clearly the fact that it was that particular edition was very important to him.
For me the books that matter to me are inseparable from their covers because I pick up and put down that book umpteen times whilst reading it. I have the opportunity each time I handle it for the cover to go into my subconscious mind, and become indelibly associated with the story.
Each time someone mentions "Jane Eyre" I have a very specific edition in mind - the one my grandma gave me which was in a blue leather binding with a red sewn-in silk bookmark. It was a birthday gift and I treasured it. And if you were to say "Wolf Hall" then it's the black version, not the white.
When I go on review sites such as Goodreads I get irritated if I can't find the right edition of the book I want to review. Which probably explains why, now that I have a Kindle, I have mostly ignored it and gone out and bought the real book instead. I am still more attracted by the actual book itself in a shop than the virtual book, even though the latter may be cheaper.
You would think that now I am moving house I would have learnt my lesson and be a grand supporter of the virtual revolution - here are about half the boxes which are packed with my books ready to move house. And I'm afraid there are more boxes upstairs. And some books I can't bear to pack until the last minute, because I might need them for the research I'm doing at the moment. (By the way, the blur at bottom right is the cat running to escape being boxed with everything else.)
For me books are furniture as well as entertainment. They are my chosen wall-ornament, and I enjoy looking at the nice row of colourful spines and interesting typefaces. For me a room is unfurnished unless it has at least one bookcase. Someone told me it was a rather pompous way of displaying your education and ridiculously middle-class. But putting my Kindle on the coffee table just won't do.
And I'm so glad that I was able to give my daughter the hardback of my first novel - and hope in time it will be an heirloom of some curiosity value. In fact people are predicting that first edition hardbacks will be a very good investment in the future when digital books are the norm.
At Christmas I still wrapped books for my sister even though she has an e-reader. You can't unwrap a digital book and it does not have the same concrete presence. There is just something about the physicality of books.
I was un-surprised to hear Claire Balding say on My Life in Books on BBC2 that the physical presence of a book really matters to her. She held up an old gold-tooled tome of "The Myths of Greece and Rome" and asked her fellow guest to sniff it, which he duly did.
And in another episode of the programme Giles Coren talked about how he read from his father's edition of "The Great Gatsby" at his funeral and clearly the fact that it was that particular edition was very important to him.
For me the books that matter to me are inseparable from their covers because I pick up and put down that book umpteen times whilst reading it. I have the opportunity each time I handle it for the cover to go into my subconscious mind, and become indelibly associated with the story.
Each time someone mentions "Jane Eyre" I have a very specific edition in mind - the one my grandma gave me which was in a blue leather binding with a red sewn-in silk bookmark. It was a birthday gift and I treasured it. And if you were to say "Wolf Hall" then it's the black version, not the white.
When I go on review sites such as Goodreads I get irritated if I can't find the right edition of the book I want to review. Which probably explains why, now that I have a Kindle, I have mostly ignored it and gone out and bought the real book instead. I am still more attracted by the actual book itself in a shop than the virtual book, even though the latter may be cheaper.
You would think that now I am moving house I would have learnt my lesson and be a grand supporter of the virtual revolution - here are about half the boxes which are packed with my books ready to move house. And I'm afraid there are more boxes upstairs. And some books I can't bear to pack until the last minute, because I might need them for the research I'm doing at the moment. (By the way, the blur at bottom right is the cat running to escape being boxed with everything else.)For me books are furniture as well as entertainment. They are my chosen wall-ornament, and I enjoy looking at the nice row of colourful spines and interesting typefaces. For me a room is unfurnished unless it has at least one bookcase. Someone told me it was a rather pompous way of displaying your education and ridiculously middle-class. But putting my Kindle on the coffee table just won't do.
And I'm so glad that I was able to give my daughter the hardback of my first novel - and hope in time it will be an heirloom of some curiosity value. In fact people are predicting that first edition hardbacks will be a very good investment in the future when digital books are the norm.
At Christmas I still wrapped books for my sister even though she has an e-reader. You can't unwrap a digital book and it does not have the same concrete presence. There is just something about the physicality of books.
March 1, 2011
The Tuesday Tip
On Tuesdays I post a tip for writers.
Today - Repetition.
Remember trawling through your manuscript trying to spot the repetitions, such as "Who's calling," he called.
Or perhaps, "He eyed the maid with interest. "Aye," he said, looking her in the eye, "I'm Iron Jack, the ironmonger, and I've come to collect Eileen's ironing."
I know, none of your writing is as bad as that. But if you laughed guiltily at the first example, here is the answer. A neat little downloadable gadget that will scan your manuscript for you and do all the hard work.
Here's the link.
http://www.gaddy.fr/repetitiondetector/online.php?l=en
Today - Repetition.
Remember trawling through your manuscript trying to spot the repetitions, such as "Who's calling," he called.
Or perhaps, "He eyed the maid with interest. "Aye," he said, looking her in the eye, "I'm Iron Jack, the ironmonger, and I've come to collect Eileen's ironing."
I know, none of your writing is as bad as that. But if you laughed guiltily at the first example, here is the answer. A neat little downloadable gadget that will scan your manuscript for you and do all the hard work.
Here's the link.
http://www.gaddy.fr/repetitiondetector/online.php?l=en
February 26, 2011
Unpublished Novel Competition
Calling all unpublished novelists - yes even genre fiction and experimental -
2011 Unbound Press Best Novel Award
Deadline: Thu 1 Sep 2011
Submit the first 10,000 words of your novel. There is no theme. All styles (including experimental) and genre-based fiction (mystery, crime, fantasy, science fiction, historical) are welcome.
Closing Date: September 1, 2011
Winning and Honorable Mention entries notified no later than December 31, 2011
1st Prize – £500 and Publication
2nd Prize – £250 and Publication
Honorable Mentions – Free, detailed critique of the novel
Entry fee £20
http://bit.ly/ihGdfl
What are you waiting for?
2011 Unbound Press Best Novel Award
Deadline: Thu 1 Sep 2011
Submit the first 10,000 words of your novel. There is no theme. All styles (including experimental) and genre-based fiction (mystery, crime, fantasy, science fiction, historical) are welcome.
Closing Date: September 1, 2011
Winning and Honorable Mention entries notified no later than December 31, 2011
1st Prize – £500 and Publication
2nd Prize – £250 and Publication
Honorable Mentions – Free, detailed critique of the novel
Entry fee £20
http://bit.ly/ihGdfl
What are you waiting for?
February 24, 2011
My Award
Quote of the day from Hilary Mantel:
"Unlike the historian, the novelist doesn't operate through hindsight. She lives inside the consciousness of her characters for whom the future is blank."
I've won an award! No, unlike Hilary Mantel, nobody has yet given me an award for my writing.But thank you to Fi and her Magical Writing Haven for giving me the
'One Lovely Blog Award'.
Here are the rules for the award: (For those of you who hate chain letters, it's ok, you won't get bad luck if you don't comply, and I'm afraid I can't promise you thirty thousand books by next week)
Most important:
Accept the award! Then post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award and their blog link.
Pass the award on to 15 other blogs that you've newly discovered.
Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.
Here are my award winners: I'm afraid I can't think of 15 right now, but here are 10 it is definitely worth your time checking out:
The Secret Writer
Nevets QST
Jen Black Author
The Literary Project
Veggiebox (author Aliya Whiteley)
Park Benches and Bookends
Frances Garrood
Historical Belles and Beaus
The Virtual Victorian
Alis Hawkins
Macmillan New Writers - I haven't included you all, so it leaves space for you to do this too if you feel like it.
"Unlike the historian, the novelist doesn't operate through hindsight. She lives inside the consciousness of her characters for whom the future is blank."
I've won an award! No, unlike Hilary Mantel, nobody has yet given me an award for my writing.But thank you to Fi and her Magical Writing Haven for giving me the 'One Lovely Blog Award'.
Here are the rules for the award: (For those of you who hate chain letters, it's ok, you won't get bad luck if you don't comply, and I'm afraid I can't promise you thirty thousand books by next week)
Most important:
Accept the award! Then post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award and their blog link.
Pass the award on to 15 other blogs that you've newly discovered.
Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.
Here are my award winners: I'm afraid I can't think of 15 right now, but here are 10 it is definitely worth your time checking out:
The Secret Writer
Nevets QST
Jen Black Author
The Literary Project
Veggiebox (author Aliya Whiteley)
Park Benches and Bookends
Frances Garrood
Historical Belles and Beaus
The Virtual Victorian
Alis Hawkins
Macmillan New Writers - I haven't included you all, so it leaves space for you to do this too if you feel like it.
February 22, 2011
Fashionable Punctuation!
I have just been reading a historical novel which I very much enjoyed, (I'll call it Book A) but what what struck me on reading it was how many exclamation marks there were on every page! I had a look back to its publication date and found it was first published in 1993!
I have recently read another book published by the same author (I'll call it Book B), this one was published in 2005 and the exclamation marks in it are a very rare breed indeed. Barely a one.
Here is an example from Book A :
"More," she said. "No! don't go!" Her arms closed tighter."I'll be so cold! Stay with me!"
I'm fairly sure that if this passage were in Book B it would read:
"More," she said. "No. Don't go." Her arms closed tighter. "I'll be so cold. Stay with me."
So what has happened to the exclamation marks? Is it that as readers we prefer a more serious tone these days? For without them the passage certainly reads to me as more intimate and less melodramatic. Are there writers out there who have ceased to use exclamation points, and if so, why?
I have read in several creative writing books that exclamation marks are to be avoided in dialogue unless the person is actually shouting. This idea seems to have spread so that we are inclined to believe that any fiction with exclamation marks must be bad fiction.
Renni Browne in "Self-editing for Fiction Writers" says that:
"...there are the stylistic devices that make a writer look insecure, the most notable offenders being exclamation points and italics."
In Book A , the writer certainly did not look insecure, though there were at least one and sometimes as many as six exclamation marks on most pages. But it seems to me the reader is pretty adept at catching the prevailing tone of the book irrespective of the individual punctuation marks, and it was still a gripping and enjoyable read, and was reprinted again recently and was very well received. The punctation seemed a necessary part of her style.
So my question is - is the fashion for no exclamation marks just a fashion, or does it signify that we want to read a different, more serious type of literature?
I have to admit, they are rare on my pages, but then I am the product of a recent creative writing course where they nearly always got a red line through them when they did dare to appear. Perhaps it is the advent of creative writing courses, where the participants must be seen to be producing "serious" work that have endangered the exclamation point.
And by the way, I highly recommend "Self-editing for Fiction-Writers", especially for writers with no critique group to help them along.
Browne and King have a website too, well worth a look if you want to check out the book before buying!
(Apologies, like most writers I just had a bout of insecurity!)
I have recently read another book published by the same author (I'll call it Book B), this one was published in 2005 and the exclamation marks in it are a very rare breed indeed. Barely a one.
Here is an example from Book A :
"More," she said. "No! don't go!" Her arms closed tighter."I'll be so cold! Stay with me!"
I'm fairly sure that if this passage were in Book B it would read:
"More," she said. "No. Don't go." Her arms closed tighter. "I'll be so cold. Stay with me."
So what has happened to the exclamation marks? Is it that as readers we prefer a more serious tone these days? For without them the passage certainly reads to me as more intimate and less melodramatic. Are there writers out there who have ceased to use exclamation points, and if so, why?
I have read in several creative writing books that exclamation marks are to be avoided in dialogue unless the person is actually shouting. This idea seems to have spread so that we are inclined to believe that any fiction with exclamation marks must be bad fiction.
Renni Browne in "Self-editing for Fiction Writers" says that:
"...there are the stylistic devices that make a writer look insecure, the most notable offenders being exclamation points and italics."
In Book A , the writer certainly did not look insecure, though there were at least one and sometimes as many as six exclamation marks on most pages. But it seems to me the reader is pretty adept at catching the prevailing tone of the book irrespective of the individual punctuation marks, and it was still a gripping and enjoyable read, and was reprinted again recently and was very well received. The punctation seemed a necessary part of her style.
So my question is - is the fashion for no exclamation marks just a fashion, or does it signify that we want to read a different, more serious type of literature?
I have to admit, they are rare on my pages, but then I am the product of a recent creative writing course where they nearly always got a red line through them when they did dare to appear. Perhaps it is the advent of creative writing courses, where the participants must be seen to be producing "serious" work that have endangered the exclamation point.
And by the way, I highly recommend "Self-editing for Fiction-Writers", especially for writers with no critique group to help them along.
Browne and King have a website too, well worth a look if you want to check out the book before buying! (Apologies, like most writers I just had a bout of insecurity!)
February 17, 2011
She Writes Bloggers Ball
Welcome to members of She-Writes participating in the Bloggers Ball. For those of you who don't know what this is, it's a blog hop for sites about books or writing. Full details here:
http://megwaiteclayton.com/1stbooks/
I am new to blogging, so my tips are a bit basic - but here they are. My top tip for bloggers is that most people are visual as well as verbal and a few pictures make all the difference.
So dancing at the Bloggers Ball is not all about the words.
Writers sometimes need reminding to break up the text with pictures.And don't forget to ask permission or credit the online site you took them from, or link to it.
If you are a published writer you can link your blog to your Amazon.com author page by following the simple links at Author Central, thus gaining more readers, and also feed it to Goodreads via their author widget.
I am part of a group of writers - Macmillan New Writers, who are all published by the same imprint. We have a joint blog, which can be a good idea, to give each other mutual support and encouragement and to celebrate publications and successes, so that might be worth considering too - teaming up with a small group.
Isn't this a great way of seeing other people's blogs and sharing ideas - happy writing everyone.
http://megwaiteclayton.com/1stbooks/
I am new to blogging, so my tips are a bit basic - but here they are. My top tip for bloggers is that most people are visual as well as verbal and a few pictures make all the difference. So dancing at the Bloggers Ball is not all about the words.
Writers sometimes need reminding to break up the text with pictures.And don't forget to ask permission or credit the online site you took them from, or link to it.
If you are a published writer you can link your blog to your Amazon.com author page by following the simple links at Author Central, thus gaining more readers, and also feed it to Goodreads via their author widget.
I am part of a group of writers - Macmillan New Writers, who are all published by the same imprint. We have a joint blog, which can be a good idea, to give each other mutual support and encouragement and to celebrate publications and successes, so that might be worth considering too - teaming up with a small group.
Isn't this a great way of seeing other people's blogs and sharing ideas - happy writing everyone.
