Lynne Stringer's Blog, page 14

Different Hats

As a writer who writes fiction but trained as a journalist, it sometimes still surprises me how quickly I can swap writing ‘hats’.

Today for instance, when at work, I noticed something in a press release that, according to my journalistic training, held a bit too much opinion for that kind of article. It may surprise you to know that the general news is supposed to be devoid of opinion and should focus solely on established facts, leaving opinion for columns devoted to that kind of thing. Of course, in practice, it doesn’t always work out that way, but I was surprised how quickly I noticed the problem. I haven’t had to wear my journalist hat much lately and I’m glad it still works.

One of my most troublesome hats is my editor’s hat. For those of you who don’t know, I am a professional editor (if you’d like to know more, visit my editing page), and sometimes that can be a curse. We visited a different church yesterday, as my son was performing at item there. Immediately, I noticed every missing apostrophe in their promotional material and every instance of poor grammar displayed on their screen. My husband had to contend with my constant muttered corrections as I grumbled about all of them. This is nothing unusual – my editor’s hat is probably the one I use the most frequently. I’m always editing everything, even if I don’t have to.

Then there’s my fiction hat. I put that on again this week for the first time in a while. I’m writing a little something which I hope will contribute to Sarah Fenhardt’s story. For those of you who don’t know who Sarah is, she is my protagonist in the Verindon trilogy. I won’t say any more about this little contribution yet, as I’m not sure if anything will come of it, but I’m happy to say my creative side came out as soon as I put the hat on and it was easy to slip back into Sarah’s skin.

Most published authors wear a multitude of different hats as part of the work of being an author. They have to be a salesperson, an accountant, an advertising expert and a dozen other things.

Are you an author? How many hats do you wear? If you’re a reader have you tried to count all the different hats you wear during the average day? Let me know in the comments at the bottom of the page.

Award winner?

When The Heir received a silver award in Literary Classics’ science fiction category in 2013 it was an exciting moment for me. However, I have difficulty telling people about it, probably because I’m a bit of a cynic.

So many books I see have won awards. I’m sure they are all deserving of them but there just seems to be so many awards around these days sometimes it loses its meaning for me. Is it just a question of continually trying until you find an award your book can win? It reminds me of how all the kids get a medal in races at school now. It’s a great encouragement for them and I think it’s wonderful that they’re acknowledged for their efforts but it seems to lose its meaning if everyone gets one. Why have it at all?

I remember when I was editing the Queensland Baptist newspaper. I won the Australasian Religious Press Association (ARPA) award for Best News Item one year. It was a shock – I had entered without any thought of actually being able to win anything. I wasn’t even sure I’d entered my article in the right category! – and true to my nature, once I had won I was reluctant to tell anyone about it. Why? I wasn’t sure it meant anything, mainly because I always felt like I wasn’t really a professional writer because I’d come into that job simply because they couldn’t find anyone else to do it so I didn’t feel like a ‘real’ writer.

And does it mean anything? I try and remember to mention these awards now because I know they do mean things to people. It’s a kind of validation for what you do, and I think it’s worth more than my mind often tells me. However, I don’t think I’ll ever buy a book just because it or its author is award winning. So maybe it doesn’t really make a difference where it counts for me.

How about you? Are you more likely to buy a book if it or its author are award winners? Let me know in the comments.

Eye contact

I had another book signing on Saturday, and in spite of my nerves, it went well.

When you’re an introvert, as many authors are, it’s challenging to go into a bookstore, sit at a table, and try and convince passersby that they need to buy your book. I’ve long found it one of the most difficult things about my role as an author. The only thing I find more scary is going into a bookstore to ask for a signing in the first place! It taxes all my reserves from the moment I take my seat. Straight away I’m looking for anyone who might glance at my books – once, twice – to see if I can engage them in conversation.

Sometimes it’s easy. In fact, on Saturday I was still setting up my table when a lady stopped to find out what my books were about. Although she didn’t buy any, I gave her one of my Verindon trilogy bookmarks. My first sale came almost immediately after that, when I’d been sitting at the table for only about a minute. It’s always nice to start out that way.

However, as the hours drifted on, exhaustion set in as I tried to attract interest in my table with the offer of a chocolate, hoping it would give me an opening to start a conversation. It’s interesting to see those who don’t mind stopping for a chat. Even some who don’t want to stop are more willing to smile when they hear me say, ‘Would you like a chocolate?’ Even if they say no, it’s great to see that they’re not antagonistic about the fact I’ve spoken to them.

Then there are the others,  the ones who avoid eye contact at all cost and move as quickly as they can until they are past me. I can’t say I blame them – I regularly do the same thing to avoid a sales pitch – but it makes it difficult to keep the smile in place and look for the next person.

Fortunately, on Saturday I had a good response, selling four individual copies of The Heir and one full set of all three books. It’s heartening to think there are five new customers out there and that the four who only took The Heir may come back for the other two some time in the near future. It buoys me as I think of the next outing I will have, whenever that is, and helps me to remember that attempting that eye contact is worth it.

Little Gnome – a new innovation

On the weekend I took my family to the opening of a new bookstore not too far from me. They’re called Little Gnome, and while little they may be, their aims are big and hold a ray of hope to every local unknown author.

That’s because Little Gnome, a coffee/bookshop, is anxious to support local authors, even (and especially) those who are self-published. They do have well-known books also, but are primarily trying to support those who are not so well-known. You might not be aware, but if you’re self-published usually bookstores don’t want to know about you. Even when you’re with a small traditional publisher like I am it can be hard to get the interest of some bookstores and has been the source of many days of frustration in my two years as a published author (yes, it’s been two years. It’s two years TODAY, actually!)

When we went to see them on Saturday I asked if I could leave some promotional material about my books. The reply was a cheery ‘of course!’. And when we were paying for our purchase, I thanked the lady behind the counter for their support of the ‘little guy’.

She nodded. ‘It was something we really wanted to do. We’re independent musicians so we know how it feels.’

It warmed my heart that she wanted to help us because she too, had seen frustrations in her own creative work. I’m happy that she and the others at Little Gnome decided to share the love and help out hard-working authors.

If you want to know more about Little Gnome, visit their Facebook page.

Supporting Aussie Authors

On the weekend I had the pleasure of going to the Emmaus College Fair at Jimboomba. While I took my own books, I went on behalf of my publisher, Wombat Books/Rhiza Press. In spite of being unprepared for some things that are required at these kinds of events (in fact, I forgot a lot of things that I normally remember. I have made a checklist for next time.) they were helpful and supplied me with everything I had neglected to bring with me.

We did quite well on the day and I was pleased to see the locals were interested in buying books. It’s always difficult to tell whether or not attending these events will be worth our while, as sometimes people don’t seem all that interested in buying books at a school fair, but this was not the case on Saturday. Not only did I sell books for my publisher, but I sold several of my own books as well.

I also had some great conversations both with some teachers and some members of the public. I impressed upon them the fact that we were an Australian small business, supporting primarily Aussie authors and illustrators. Just about everyone nodded and was keen to support us when they heard this.

One person asked, ‘And are these available in bookstores?’

‘Bookstores can stock us,’ I said, ‘But they have to hear about us and be willing to do so first, and that can be difficult when you’re small, like us.’

She nodded understandingly.

Recently there have been some positive signs from bookstores. A new store called Little Gnome Bookstore at Wynnum opens this Saturday. They’re a coffee shop/bookstore and are anxious to support local authors. Here’s a link to their Facebook page if you’d like to check them out. My family and I will be popping down for their opening on Saturday. It’s great to see bookstores who are willing to support the little guy.

Of course, my publisher has always been trying to do that, even though some days it’s difficult to get the word out about our books. If you want to check out either of them, here’s a link to Wombat Books’ Facebook page or Rhiza Press’ Facebook page. If you like Rhiza’s page you could win a copy of Carol Preston’s new book, Next of Kin.

Please check them out and support Aussie authors!

Avenues to Authors

When I was younger authors seemed to be people who were a world away from the book I was reading. It wasn’t common to know anything about them other than their names. Favourite authors from my childhood days, such as Enid Blyton, Walter Farley, Louisa May Alcott and LM Montgomery are still largely mysteries to me. I wouldn’t know them if you showed me a photo of them.

Not only that, if you wanted to find other fans of the same books you had to find them in the schoolyard. Sometimes it was difficult to find anyone, especially if I was obsessing over a book. Not many of my school friends could relate to that mindset!

How different it is today, especially through the wonders of the internet. Now when we fall in love with a book we can search out sites where others may well be enthusing about our favourite novels as much, if not more, than we do. Not only that, but authors are far more accessible these days through their own websites and the ever-present blogging or tweeting or updates on Facebook. Most authors, especially those who are unknown, try and do all these regularly. I know I do.

I was wondering if there are some ways that work better than others, although I think it’s up to each individual and how they choose to engage with authors or fans. If you’re an author, what’s your favourite way to get in touch with fans of your books? If you’re a reader, what’s your favourite way to reach fans of the books you love or to get in touch with the author? Let me know in the comments!

Mothers’ Day Reflections

Last weekend it was Mothers’ Day (I’m not going to enter into the debate here about where the apostrophe should be. Suffice to say, there was more than one mother at our Mothers’ Day celebrations so, in my mind, the apostrophe goes after the s). It was a busy day, with lots of treats made at our house, as we were hosting the celebrations, which included my parents, my brother and my husband’s parents. In spite of the busy-ness, it was a good day. I got a nice new teapot which I promptly used to make so tea for my guests and we enjoyed chocolate cake and cinnamon rolls. Yum!

My mother was the oldest person in attendance. She is past eighty now (I won’t say exactly how far past!) and I recently featured her photo on my blog when I wrote about my great uncle, her uncle, who lost his life at Gallipoli in the First World War. When I wrote that blog I reflected on the loss of my uncle and any real information about him. After all, he died when he was twenty and probably didn’t think of leaving anything for others to remember him by.

My mother, having lived quite a bit longer, has had long enough to have a legacy of stories told about her and by her, things which we will be able to remember after she leaves the earth. We can also pass them on to other members of the family. I’m fortunate in that my father is also a writer and a bit of a historian. He has written down much of his family history and some of his wife’s as well. I appreciate this, as I know that, no matter how hard I try to remember, as time marches on, I will forget some of the things they’ve told me.

Taking down a family history of some sort, by some method, is a wonderful thing to do. Just think of all the hours of knowledge, not to mention entertainment, that you will have access to! If you can, try and get down some of your family memories so you can keep them forever. Photos can be a great way to do this, as can video, and recording the stories your family members tell. We mustn’t stop taking down as much information from our loves ones as we can by whatever method that comes to hand. We need their stories for future generations.

 

 

Fear and Frustration

I love everything about being an author, with the exception of one thing – trying to sell my books.

Not all of it is a chore. For example, I’ve found that I’m not bad at online marketing. For much of the first couple of months of this year I concentrated primarily on online marketing with some success, but once my son went back to school in term two, I knew it was time for some up-close-and-personal marketing. The main route we authors try for this is one that can be a source of delight if we succeed and much frustration if we don’t – a bookstore signing.

I had a couple of bookstores on my radar that I hadn’t previously tried. Both were within twenty minutes of home, so presented a good option if I could get a signing there. However, it was with much fear and the promise of chocolate afterwards that I approached both stores by going in to see them face to face. I used email bookstores about signings but emails are easily dismissed. I have found face to face works best, although they can still say no or give me an email address they say I have to use for things like this, only to send emails while never receiving any replies.

The first bookstore, I’m happy to say, said yes. I will be having a signing there in June. Watch this website for more details on where and when as the day draws closer!

The second bookstore, one of a franchise, said no. More disturbingly, the manager said there are new conditions in place for bookstores in this chain and they don’t encourage unknown authors. I haven’t seen the conditions yet but I have been told I will probably find them unacceptable. This has proved worrying for me as I have previously had several successful signings in another store in this chain so if there are new conditions it might be the end of my welcome there.

All these things are a frustration for me and many other authors. How do we reach the people around us? It’s no wonder many authors are doing more online marketing, sometimes only releasing their books as ebooks. It’s tempting to consider that route, as trying to sell paperback copies is becoming harder and harder, at least in my experience.

But I’ll keep plugging away and hope I can sell some more copies to those readers out there who love the feel of a paperback in their hands … if I can find them!

Lest we forget

When I was twenty I had just started a full time job, had a good circle of friends and was enjoying discovering life through various hobbies and pursuits.

Pte Joseph Charles Howes

When my Great Uncle Joseph was twenty he was sitting in a boat in the dark with the 9th Battalion, sailing towards the coast of Turkey. He probably watched the sun rise while ducking for cover from fire from the Turkish forces as he climbed the cliffs at what is now known as Anzac Cove.

He would not live to see the sun set.

Yes, my uncle holds the unfortunate distinction of being one of the first ANZACs killed at Gallipoli. Although that fact carries with it a certain amount of pride, I’m sure he would have preferred life over death, no matter how noble it was.

The loss of his life is made more poignant because he had no family of his own – no wife to mourn him and no children or grandchildren to bear his name. So as we approach the 100th anniversary of his death, I felt compelled to tell the world what they lost when Joseph Howes died, along with so many of his mates.

Joseph Charles Howes was born 1895 in Mt Morgan, a town about a half hour’s drive from Rockhampton. He was the second son and fifth child of Joseph and Mary Jane Howes. They had come to Australia from Staffordshire in England in the 1880s. Joseph Senior was a coal miner by trade, although young Joseph doesn’t seem to have followed his father into that profession. His enlistment papers declare he was a plumber. He had some good mates and would often have them around for a sing along while my grandmother, his younger sister, played the piano for them.

He volunteered for service on 14th September 1914 at the age of nineteen. While he may have enlisted with some of his mates it seems that his older brother, William, did not enlist with him.

Me with my mother, Claire. She is Joseph’s niece.

He embarked from Melbourne on the Themistocles on 22nd December 1914, bound for Egypt and his training as a soldier. He probably engaged in training with enthusiasm and excitement. I wonder if he ever suspected that he only had a few months to live. Given what they were training for, it probably crossed his mind, but how seriously? When you’re twenty years old, even if you are training for war, do you ever really consider the possibility of death?

Having trained with the rest of his battalion, he shipped out, ready to land with the others on 25th April 1915. Reports say he landed on the beach safely but was later seen wounded, having been hit in the head by a shell, and then was seen dead about a mile inland. That was the last report of him. Even the place where he is buried is unknown, lost in a sea of hastily dug and unmarked graves.

The saddest part about his loss is the fact that no one seems to remember him. I would never have known about him if my mother hadn’t shown me his photo and told me that he was my grandmother’s favourite brother. His name seems to be lost in the passage of time.

I wrote this article because I didn’t want him to be lost anymore. His legacy should be remembered, along with the scores of others who died for our freedom, giving up the future we all take for granted.

In memory of Private Joseph Charles Howes, 9th battalion, who died on Anzac Day in 1915 at the age of twenty.

The still before the storm

This week is a special, if bittersweet week for me, as I reflect on an event that took place 100 years ago.

My great uncle, Joseph Charles Howes, was killed in action during World War I. In fact, he holds the dubious honour of losing his life on a day revered here in Australia – the first ever ANZAC Day.

ANZAC Day is celebrated throughout Australia and New Zealand on the 25th April every year, in memory of the day the ANZACs (Australian and New Zealand Army Corp) landed at Gallipoli in Turkey for their first battle in World War I. Many soldiers were lost in this disastrous campaign and many young Australian and New Zealander (and Turkish) men are buried there. My great uncle is one of them. There is no grave to mark his resting place; even this was lost in the chaos of that first day of fighting.

Recently, I ‘liked’ a Facebook page put up by the AIF’s 9th battalion, in which my great uncle served. Over the last few months they have been featuring the diary entries of a young soldier on the corresponding date they occurred 100 years ago. It’s interesting to watch the build-up as the boys prepare to go into battle. For example, today’s entry was: ‘20.4.15 Wet day, exercising horses morning and afternoon. Sailors off battleship came aboard to attend to small boats of “Malda”.’ On the 17th he wrote: ‘17.4.15 A nice warm day, training with the company all day. Went on board a battleship at night practicing disembarkation at night. Had to report to Maj Brand for duty at 6 o’clock. Counted 2000 pounds cash which had to be checked. Cold much better. Had a swim in the afternoon.’

It all sounds so calm, like the still before the storm, as they trained and waited for the day when they were go into battle. How many of them had any real inkling of what they were about to face, I wonder? Did my great uncle have any idea that he only had days to live?

It’s sad to think that so many fine young men were about to perish in a war that seems so futile, leaving so many families bereft.

Lest we forget.