Samantha Tonge's Blog, page 7

Motivate that Mojo!

Early January is a unsettling time. The climax of Christmas has passed. Its aftermath heralds the return to normality – for most that means an element of humdrum. And after taking the obligatory break it can be difficult to rediscover your writing groove – although this lack of literary motivation can strike at any time of year. Here are my top five tips to fire up your creativity again.

Be wary of New Year’s Resolutions. It’s that time of year, isn’t it, when we are supposed to promise ourselves – and/or others – that we will change in some way, and somehow become better versions of ourselves. I am all for setting achievable goals, but don’t set the benchmark too high. Before getting a deal I used to say each January “This year I will get published.” It doesn’t work like that. I said that for eight years and believe me, I tried! First you have to write a great manuscript. Then tightly edit it. Next attract the attention of an agent or publisher. Then you have to get that contract. All of this is an awful lot to expect to achieve in twelve months. As is “This year I will become a Kindle top ten author”. So many factors are out of your control for that one (the jacket and price your publisher gives your book, their marketing strategy, the competition around at the time of your book’s release). Be very careful of setting yourself unrealistic resolutions because when and if you fail, your mojo will disappear in a puff of smoke and all you will be left with is an overwhelming sense of failure.

How about, instead, getting into the mindset of realising small achievements are just as important and all lead to the bigger goal? This year I will… go on a writing course/read more “How-to” books/start sending my work out to agents/learn more about planning social media strategies/ aim to connect more widely with bloggers.

Read, read and read. I find there is nothing more motivating that discovering a new favourite author. I’ve gone on something of a reading binge, in recent months, and have felt utterly inspired by the quality of an eclectic range of novels. They’ve filled me with the desire to up my game and given me the confidence to take my work in a different direction. It’s very easy to get in a rut with our own writing, so try to read out of your genre and challenge your natural instincts.

Take a look at this list if you aren’t sure where to start:

How to Stop Time – Matt Haig

The Art of Hiding – Amanda Prowse

The Alchemist – Paulo Coelho

Elinor Oliphant is Fine – Gail Honeyman

One of us is Lying – Karen McManus

Friend Request – Laura Marshall

All That She Can See – Carrie Hope Fletcher

The Five People you Meet in Heaven – Mitch Albom

Step out of your comfort zone. As mentioned above, it’s easy to become complacent about our own writing. I’m currently working on a project that is challenging me on many levels. It may work, it may not. But the process has fired up my mojo in ways I never imagined. I’m trying out new structures and styles and loving every second. Even if it all comes to  nothing, I am going to have learnt so much. I feel like a new writer again, unsure of myself but willing to give it my all. So go on – maybe start off with a short story in a genre that’s unfamiliar to you. Or stick to what you know but be adventurous with the themes or setting.  I once wrote a romantic comedy set in Ancient Egypt. It doesn’t fit the market and will probably never find a publisher, but writing it taught me so much about fact-finding and creating authentic settings. I still get excited just thinking about it!

Head over to this post to find out more about stepping out of your comfort zone.

Ditch the self-doubt Hey you! Yes, I’m talking to you! Stop doubting yourself this instant. Have you just received a rejection? Or had a bad review? Or has a well-meaning friend or relative asked why you still haven’t signed a six figure deal?

STEP BACK. Look at yourself objectively. Perhaps you’ve managed to complete a manuscript or send something off to an agent or publisher. Well done, amazing you! Whether you are published or not, putting finger to keyboard and finishing a project is an impressive feat, as is having the guts to put your work *out there*. Just keep on going. All you will do is improve.

Party time is over – so the pity parties stop here. As I’ve mentioned, it took me eight years (and several manuscripts under the bed) to sign my first deal. You WILL get there if you keep on persevering. For more inspiration, read my post about self-doubt here.

Take a break. Perhaps it’s not post Christmas and your problem is that you’ve been spending too much time at the keyboard. Often I’ve lost my motivation after I’ve been working flat out on a project for a while. Perhaps you’ve just finished a first draft. Or gone through your edits. Or put together a detailed synopsis for a new work. All of these activities take intense mental energy and it’s not surprising if we lose our mojo for a while. In my experience the best thing is to take a complete break from writing (and social media if possible) for a few days or a week.

So during your usual writing time instead catch up with that housework. Meet up with friends. Sleep. Indulge a hobby like baking. Get out into nature. It won’t be long before your enthusiasm has returned and is propelling you back to the keyboard with fresh ideas.

 

Good luck!

 

Story in The People’s Friend Magazine!

I’m delighted to say I have a story in the new bumper issue of The People’s Friend.

Before my first novel was published I sold over 50 stories to them – the book-writing has taken up my time since, but when I can find the time I love writing for this wonderful magazine.

This story features a recovering alcoholic and is all about turning your life around and offering others support.

It’s always exciting to see the accompanying illustration and now I’m feeling really festive!

 

 

Available from all good newsagents!

 

 

Embracing the Major Rewrite

Something happened a couple of weeks ago that has never happened to me before. I’d heard about it happening to other authors. I’m assured it is not uncommon amongst new or well established writers.

I sent off my latest manuscript and eagerly awaited feedback. Finally it arrived. I opened the email and… Okay. I admit it. Cue a mini meltdown. The suggestion was that the book needed stripping right back to the original kernel of the idea. Chapters needed down-sizing into paragraphs, or cutting out completely. A good number of characters needed to disappear.

We’re talking a major rethink. We’re talking murdering many darlings. Or possibly ditching the book.

This was new. In the past – and I’ve had eight books published, now – I’ve had what I call “extensive” rewrites but now I realise they weren’t. At the most they’ve meant restructuring a plotline or adding emotion or developing a protagonist further. My first drafts have rarely needed fundamental changes. I plan each chapter in detail before I write. At the end of the process I’m more of a tweaker and that seems to have worked. I’m not used to completely pulling apart a finished draft.

So this has come as something of a shock.

Especially as, when I send off my first draft, I am always in what I call  “delusional X-factor contestant mode”. I make no apologies for this. It’s necessary for me if I want to write any book. I need to think it is going to change the world!

This meglomania doesn’t last forever, of course. My feet soon settle back onto the ground during the process of rewriting and editing, of publishing and getting reviews… but I need to feel super excited and confident about any project at the beginning. So when this feedback came back I wasn’t sure what to do.

I had two options. Move onto my next project (which I’m very enthusiastic about) or tackle the major rewrite. And of course, sometimes there are genuinely valid reasons for moving on. My advice, here, is listen to your heart and talk it through with reliable and knowledgeable writerly confidantes. I shelved several projects before getting published because I could not re-ignite my motivation and I think, deep down, that was because I realised those stories were never going to work.

Indeed, my first reaction in this instance? With all my confidence gone and feeling despondent, I decided to start my next book and leave this one either to stay permanently under the bed or revisit at some point in the future. I decided fixing the problems would involve too much work and take too long.

However, something unexpected happened overnight. The characters began to talk to me. Ideas slowly formulated around which needed scrapping and how to improve the remaining ones. Then new plotlines twitched in my brain. I woke up feeling rather excited. Eventually, after a day or two, I realised that this book, this story still existed – I just had the  opportunity now to really make it shine, having already done a lot of the groundwork.

I mapped out all the chapters and almost enjoyed slashing some out and combining others together. As for the characters, it’s not proving to be as hard as I expected to ditch some even though, in my head, they’d become my friends.

Perhaps they’ll resurface one day in another story. And that is the essence of embracing the major rewrite – realising that what you have to lose is not a waste. Characters can be used again and all of that prose you wrote is practice – continually you are improving your craft.

I’ve now regained some confidence and cringe when I think about the initial version. I’m grateful for the knowledge I now have of where and why I went wrong. This should help with my next draft and future projects.

So here’s my own advice for embracing a major rewrite -and if you’ve any tips then please do share them!

Sure, throw a little pity party and lick your wounds when vigorous feedback comes back. Eat chocolate. Take a long bath. Grieve for the story you believe you have lost. But don’t let this stage last too long.

Sleep on it. Even take a break for a few days. Try to stand back. Put your ego to one side when asking yourself if the editorial suggestions are valid.

Don’t see it as having to start over again. See it as simply continuing with, and fully fleshing out, a plot and characters you have already well developed. Refuse to see  slashed characters and chapters as wasted.

Realise that if someone takes the time to give you detailed feedback, be that a potential agent, signed agent, editor or critque partner, they believe in your writing. 

As a resident Mancunian, I’d say  make your mantra “You don’t get owt for nowt”. Yes, writing can be bloody hard work.

Remind yourself that a first draft is called that for a reason. It isn’t the last.

Compare starting another story from scratch, to *starting* one where you’ve already worked extensively on the nuts and bolts. No contest!

Good luck!

 

 

One Summer in Rome!

I am thrilled to reveal that my 2018 novel from HarperCollins is called… One Summer in Rome!

The story was inspired by my trip to Italy last year. Rome is so beautiful, as you can see from this photo…

 

…and as for the food! Is it any wonder the book is set in a family-run pizzeria?!

One memorable evening we ate a meal in Piazza Navona, where One Summer in Rome is set. The waiter was not impressed by how quickly we ate and wanted to order the following course. He said “Piano! Piano!”  – slowly!

I ordered a selection plate of puddings for dessert, expecting them to be three small slices. They were actually huge (bigger than they look in this photo) and I couldn’t stop laughing.

 

Below is the blurb. I’m very excited about sharing this story which will be out on 9th May 2018!

To Rome…with love?

Mary Smith is turning her very ordinary life upside-down! She’s bought herself a one-way ticket to Rome and is ready for a summer she’ll never forget.

Men might be off the cards for waitress Mary, but within hours of arriving at the utterly charming family-run La Dolce Vita pizzeria, she’s already fallen in love with the bustling capital!

Only Dante Rossi, the mysterious (and drop-dead gorgeous) chef seems displeased with her arrival. And in the heat of the kitchen, it doesn’t take long for long-buried secrets to surface and sparks to fly…

A deliciously heartwarming romance to have you dreaming of summer. Perfect for fans of Debbie Johnson and Caroline Roberts.

PREORDER NOW!

 

The Secret to Being a Happy Author

It’s a tough business, publishing. I recall, years ago, a successful author warning a group of aspiring writers (me amongst them) to be careful what they wished for – that getting published didn’t solve all your problems. In fact, it brings a different set. And I can certainly confirm this. Don’t get me wrong, I love my job and consider myself very lucky to be doing it –  but signing that deal means that instead of suffering submission rejections you are faced with a whole new gamut of challenges, such as tight deadlines, bad reviews, disappointing sales…these things happen to all authors and can come as a shock after finally achieving your dream.

It pays to bear in mind that most dreams are unrealistic – the getting published bit isn’t, but it’s what we subconsciously attach to that aspiration. Your view of “getting published” might be that… you earn loads of money. Buy a big house and fancy car. Gain respect from everyone you meet. Suddenly become irresistible to the object of your affection. Never feel depressed again. End up on the Booker List. Stand on the red carpet next to George Clooney. Fit into that size ten dress. Prove to everyone who ever doubted you that their view of you was incorrect.

IT IS UNREASONABLE TO EXPECT ANY OF THESE THINGS TO HAPPEN AS A DIRECT RESULT OF FINALLY GETTING YOUR BOOK OUT THERE!

So how can us writers hold onto our happiness during such a roller coaster career?

 

 

Over the last year I’ve learn a lot from Buddhism. One of its tenets is that unhappiness comes from being attached to either good or bad things. What helps is realising that nothing is permanent. If we can do that, our life will achieve a sense of balance.

Take my 2015 bestseller Game of Scones. It reached #5 in the Kindle chart and stayed in the Top Ten for a good length of time. It won an award. Many readers loved the story. I was finally on my way to “making it” I whooped! I attached myself to that success and expected it to continue.

That was my  mistake. The next book didn’t do badly, but didn’t do as well. I felt I’d failed. I attached myself to those feelings of disappointment and wondered if I’d ever have a bestseller again.

As it turned out I did and last year Breakfast Under a Cornish Sun got to #8. However, these days I have a different perspective. I don’t become attached to the peaks or the troughs. And I have zero expectations when a book is released. I write it the best I can, with love and heart, and I promote it at the outset… but then I let it go and get on with my next project. What will be will be. There are SO MANY reasons why a book does or doesn’t do well: the publisher’s strategy, the cover, title, price, the timing of its release, the other books around at that moment… I find that if I distance myself from my successes and see them for what they are – transitory events – it gives me a much more balanced view of my career.

Remember, the path to misery is littered with expectations and senses of entitlement!

And all of this can be applied to life. Physical looks, our own and loved ones’ personalities, domestic circumstances, financial earnings, our state of health … be aware that everything is impermanent and in a constant state of flux. This makes it easier to accept your situation when the status quo changes – which it will.

By all means enjoy your highs. You have worked hard. You deserve them. And lick your wounds during the lows. But remember – neither is permanent. Work hard and keep submitting manuscripts and you will get a deal. Keep writing and learning more about your craft and those good reviews and sales rankings will once again appear. Finding working with your current publisher/editor/agent difficult? One way or another that situation won’t last forever.

In my experience, keeping detached and enjoying the good moments simply for what they are (without further expectations), and realising the bad moments will eventually pass… THAT – in writing and in life – is the secret to happiness.

Beating the Negativity Bias

I hadn’t heard of the negativity bias until this last year, during which I’ve studied how the brain works and learnt about mindfulness and Buddhism. It’s a little evolutionary gift Mother Nature gave us, to overestimate threats and hold onto negative thoughts/events instead of positive ones. It’s wonderful at keeping us out of danger – predators, ambushes –  but not so good for mental health.

It means we are biased towards the negative; wired to remember harsh rejections and bad reviews instead of the great ones. Researchers talk of the 5:1 ratio. For example, if you’ve treated someone badly, you’ll need to treat them well five times before their brain will equal out the negativity bias and allow them to remember the good side of you as well.

This post is about making you aware of the problem, so that you can use this information to cope with the up and down path we tread along the journey to publication and beyond – and give yourself the thumbs-up.

Firstly – let me pass on one more thing that I’ve learnt – and bear with me, on this… Thoughts. They aren’t actually you. They are your brain reacting to stimuli. You can accept them – or not. For example, a bad review or rejection letter comes in. “I’m a useless author” you think. Um, no. You are not thinking this – your brain has thrown this idea into your mind, as a reaction to the bad news. This leaves you with two choices. You can accept it. Wallow. Throw a pity party. Comfort yourself with that packet of biscuits. Get cross. Or… you can dismiss it. Thank you brain, for that suggestion, but I disagree. Not everyone will like my work, I know that – and I also know that one unfavourable review or letter doesn’t mean I’m no good at being a writer.

Secondly – just being aware of the negativity bias gives you power. So, when something happens, in your writerly life, that gets you down, make a determined, conscious effort to remind yourself of all the good things. That reader who loved your book. The agent who encouraged you. That get-together where you made new author friends. The warm glow you got when you managed you write a chapter you really, really loved. Think positive. It can be irritating can’t it, when people say that’s what you should do? But  now you know the science behind it.  We need to think frequently and consciously think positively just to redress the balance of that negativity bias Mother Nature gave us. Remember the 5:1 ratio? That is what you are up against.

Thirdly – remember this word, to beat the negativity bias: PERSPECTIVE. There are many events in my writerly life that I’ve quaked about. Attending an author event. Meeting my publisher or agent for the first time. Reading reviews. Take the first time I headed down to London to meet my editor. Those negative thoughts started up. “I’ll be a disappointment.” “I’ll be found out as not really being up to the job.” “I’ll make a fool of myself.” “This meeting is a bad idea.”

Er, hello Mother Nature – thank you for over-estimating the threat, and if I was in the jungle, with my spear, amongst unfriendly natives, looking to catch aggressive, wild boar then you are doing a great job of keeping me vigilant and safe. But meeting my editor? Who must think I’m talented, otherwise why would she take me on? In a lovely part of London? With food and drink involved? THANKS BUT NO THANKS, THOSE THOUGHTS ARE NOT APPROPRIATE!

Fourthly – don’t project into the future, because the negativity bias LOVES this. You know that book release you have coming up, in two weeks? Don’t indulge in imagining everything that could go wrong. That you’ll get lots of bad reviews. People will hate the cover. Sales will be poor. It will mean the end of your whole career. You have no control over the future so why waste energy worrying about it? You know, by now, that Mother Nature has wired you to expect the worst. And how many times, in the past, have you worried about something yet it’s turned out fine? Mindfulness is a proven stress-buster and is all about concentrating just on the present moment. So don’t go back in time either. What’s done is done. Life moves on. Perceived failures, in the past, have no effect on your present (or future). Just concentrate on what you are doing right now, whether that is a new project or sending out another batch of submission letters. Projecting will only make you fearful and avoid new challenges.

Take my latest release, The New Beginnings Coffee Club. One storyline could be seen as controversial. If I’d focused on the bad reviews it might produce, or poor sales, I could have ducked out of meeting the challenge. As it is – touch wood – readers have loved that aspect of the story.

So don’t contemplate the negative “what ifs”. The chances are – whatever Mother Nature wants you to believe – they won’t happen.

Lastly – if you are going through a rough patch, being hard on yourself about your career or anything else, try writing a gratitude journal. I’ve been doing this for six months. Each night I write at least three things that I am grateful for. At first, when I was going through a rough patch, it seemed challenging but over time the process trains you to look for the positives and now I can easily list all kinds of things I am grateful for – a pleasant family evening, great weather, a good review. A productive day in the office, someone doing me a favour, an enjoyable phone call. It might sound silly, but buy yourself a lovely, new notebook and give it a go. We have Mother Nature to contend with here and she may not approve but my brain, for one, is now trained to look for the positives. These days my journal takes no time to fill in at all.

We all have miserable moments where we are hard on ourselves. Fed up with our lot. Feel like giving up. Just try to remember – mental health problems aside – this is partly a loss of perspective, due to our biological wiring. We just need to rewire and with a little practise that is possible.

Spice Up Your Writing Life!

At the weekend I had a look around Nottingham University – and got talking to a group of physicists. Now, physics was my worst subject at school. I think I got around 45% for the exam. So, I wasn’t expected to feel inspired by wandering around a room of research projects. But wow… just wow. I never knew the subject was so diverse. They were running high-falutin projects to do with mechanics, astronomy, medical imagery, nanascopic physics and much more. One of the physicists spoke to us with such passion, I left the conversation wishing I could apply for the course. He brimmed over with a real love of his subject and enthusiasm that will undoubtedly lead him to discover a new galaxy or way of mapping atoms. And it made me think – it must be hard running long-term experiments that don’t show results for months or years, or might end with disappointment… a bit like writing a novel.

So here are my tips for keeping that passion alive, because you can become jaded whether you are published or not. It’s like a marriage, dedicating your life the written word and sometimes that relationship needs spicing up!

Try writing something different. When I’m feeling stale with my latest first draft, I take a break from the long form and write a short story or a blog post. That means I’m not wasting professional hours by procrastinating because I’ve reached a dawdling point in the novel-writing process. And I’m sure many of you know exactly what I mean! Rather than force myself through the writer’s block, I’ll hop over to Twitter or Facebook. So, this way I am still being productive and not losing too much valuable writing time on on social media. Or you can just jump forwards into your project. Currently stuck on a love scene? Try writing that argument that takes place later on. And usually, when I come back to my novel project, I’ve got new ideas and a sense of excitement to crack on.

Take a break. Many of us writers, pursuing our dream, work at home. And that means we can often end up dedicating too many hours to our passion. Finishing the day at five in the afternoon ends up being seven in the evening. Take me. Probably I should start at nine am, after my cycle ride, a bath and decent breakfast. But no, once I’ve taken off my cycling gear I’m usually at my desk by seven to seven thirty am and grab a quick bath and something to eat at around ten thirty. It’s no wonder the our passion for crafting every word and doing detailed research can wane.

So take a break. Do something completely different – like, dare I say it, housework. Or meet a friend for a coffee. Or go for a lovely walk. Find some me time that allows your brain to switch off. This is equally important if you don’t write full-time and perhaps have another job. This last year I’ve had many other priorities and less writing time, so there is even more of a temptation to burn the candles at both ends. DON’T DO IT.

Manage expectations. As I’ve  blogged about often on here, jealousy of other authors, self-doubt, rejection… this are all things that can wear an author down. Just try to be kind to yourself. This isn’t a race. You will fulfil your own potential in good time. Don’t set yourself up to be the most successful author ever. That is a surefire recipe for disappointment. Just aim to be the very best writer you can be.

It’s a bit like, say, a dating couple, thinking it’s really time they settled down, and hoping this is the right person to commit to. If they are still at the stage of finding out about each other, then this way of thinking, these expectations are only going to result in detrimental pressure. Whereas if they have no expectations at all, they will relax, just enjoy the current status quo and see where it goes. Don’t expect that your current project should be a bestseller or adapted for the screen. Just finish it. Rewrite it. Submit it. Learn from anything you feel goes wrong and move on to your next novel.

Read books by authors you admire. I tell you, there is nothing like this for making you fire on all engines and strive to raise your game. This prevents that real passion-killer, complacency. And the more and wider you read, you’ll realise just how experimental authors are and that will might encourage you to step out of your comfort zone, which is soooo important to keep that passion alive.

Try mindfulness. I took a course in it, last year. It’s all about noticing the detail of life, whether that is the sight of things or their appearance. This gave me a new perspective when writing and, hopefully, spiced up my prose. To find out exactly what I mean, take a look at this post.

 

My recently released novel, The New Beginnings Coffee Club, is my eighth published book. My first came out in 2013 and since then, I’ve stopped writing short stories (the year before that debut I sold 50 short  to women’s magazines.) And whilst I am now keenly starting my ninth book, I’ve decide to spice my up my art by starting to work on shorts again. And it’s been great -writing about all sorts of subjects, from all sorts of points of view! The diversity of writing in the short form has really spiced up my overall passion for my vocation and job.

So go on – why not try one of my tips for yourself?

Don’t fail, LEARN.

“I never lose. I either win or learn.” Nelson Mandela. This is one of my favourite quotes and is so true, in life and writing. I can look back over my publishing career and see how things that felt like a failure at the time, actually taught me a lot and contributed to success in the end.

Rejection Letters – below are the rejection letters I collected, from literary agents, during the eight years it took me to get my publishing deal in 2013. Each one felt like a failure, when I opened that envelope, but once the dust had settled I was able to glean something constructive. When I first started to send out those manuscripts, a common theme of the rejections was that my main characters weren’t likeable enough. This was something I really had to work on – how to convey a protagonist’s inner angst without them coming across as a whinger. Also “derivative” came up – I wasn’t producing anything that stood out.

With my first novel, in 2005, hands up, I had a sense of entitlement. I thought what an amazing feat, I deserved to be published because I have actually put together 90,000 words! However, these rejection letters taught me that putting pen to paper and sticking at it, then writing The End, just wasn’t enough. I needed to push, push, myself to create a page-turning read, with relatable characters – and prose that had been thought about, not just in terms of every paragraph or sentence, but every single syllable. My apprenticeship took a long time – a long time LEARNING, NOT FAILING, that’s how I see it now. Indeed, my first ever submission, all those years ago, was to the Darley Anderson Agency. A decade later they signed me. My continued *learning* had paid off.

Negative editorial Feedback – this could feel like a failure as well. Especially as to start with, I kept receiving the same criticism – namely, that I wasn’t showing enough emotion in my writing. I’m not sure why  – I’m a very emotional person in real life. So this is something else I have toiled over and, touch wood, over time, it seems to have paid off. I’m currently thrilled with the reviews coming in for my latest novel, The New Beginnings Coffee Club. A story about second chances and being true to yourself, I really acted upon my editor’s comments – from the past and present – about how the emotion could be ramped up. Over time I’ve come to realise that negative editorial feedback doesn’t mean I’ve failed. It simply demonstrates that an editor believes in my work – and me – enough to take the time to point out areas that need working on to make my books the very best they can be.

Bad Reviews. Yes, with my debut book they stung! But as time passed, I realised that constructive ones -without an insulting tone – were actually useful. Take my first book – Doubting Abbey – it was a Christmas bestseller and overall enjoyed fabulous reviews. But, of course, it received its fair share of bad ones and I noticed a common theme crop up. The main character – a pizza waitress who had to pass herself off as an aristocrat – often said the word “mega”. Negative reviewers hated this! One even counted the number of times she said it – over one hundred! So that taught me that whilst people have speech tics in real life, they should be used very economically in writing because they jump off the page. So I never ignore negative feedback from readers. It can be a real eye-opener and stops me getting complacent.

Poor sales. In spring 2016 my publisher released one of my favourite own stories, How to get Hitched in Ten Days and for some reason, it just didn’t sell as well as my other books. The reviews were great and everyone loved the main character, gorgeous Mikey, every girl’s best friend and the owner of a scrumptious Fifties Diner. However it was a novella. A long one at 40,000, but nevertheless a shorter story and for some reason it failed to achieve the success of my other releases. No doubt there were a number of reasons why this book didn’t hit the spot, but at the time – and this is still true – many publishers were releasing full-length novel ebooks at 99p. So my 99p novella was having to compete with those and economically, for some readers, my 40,000 story wouldn’t have seemed so appealing. Also, I’ve kept an eye on Amazon since and, on the whole, novellas don’t seem to sell so well – the occasional hit and Christmas novellas being the exception to this rule. So this experience taught me that it isn’t worth my while – financially anyway – to invest love and time into one. Yet I certainly don’t see this experience as a failure. I put my heart and soul into that story. Readers enjoyed it. And who knows, maybe one day Mikey will appear in another story.

So I hope sharing some of my learning experiences has made you realise that you can’t fail, as long as you keep an open mind when your writing life takes a negative turn. Everything that goes wrong will eventually lead to you getting it right if you keep at it, ditch the self-doubt (I blogged about that here ) and remember Nelson Mandela. “I never lose. I either win or learn.”

Help for Grenfell Tower Residents

If you’ve been moved by the heartbreaking recent fire at Grenfell Tower, in London, and would like to help, why not bid for a delicious cream tea hamper and signed  copy  of my award-winning bestseller, Game of Scones?

Money raised goes to the British Red Cross, to go to residents affected by the fire.

There are also many other lots in the auction, offered by authors, agents and publishers, if you want to offer a helping hand to the victims.

Gotta Have Faith

Self-belief. One of the most important qualities to have if you want success in any career. I think some are born with it and some acquire it from life experience or other people.

In my case, I partly thank my mother for the belief she had in me as a child. Her mantra was that I could achieve ANYTHING I wanted. Of course, I would have to work hard to achieve my targets, and there would be disappointment along the way, but her faith gave me a great gift – an intrinsic sense of valuing myself and my abilities. I’ll always be grateful for that and truly believe the words below, on my new favourite coffee coaster.

Life experience, too, has helped me achieve my aim of becoming a published author. Look back on your life and I’m sure you’ll find examples of challenges you have faced and got through. For me, let’s see… going to university. I chose one hundreds of miles away from home. I chose one of the best courses in the country, for what I wanted to study. In retrospect, perhaps those decisions were ill-judged. I ended up suffering from a stress-related illness. However, I was determined not to waste my years of study. I gritted my teeth and got through the finals. Ultimately, this made my sense of self-belief grow.

And then I got married and brought up kids. Committing to a partner and rearing off-spring have further increased my belief that I can achieve great things. Both have been a challenge. Both have moved me out of my comfort zone. Before meeting my husband none of my relationships lasted longer than a matter of months. As for nurturing kids, I couldn’t keep any plant alive before they came along, not even a cactus!

And I think that is one of the keys to self-belief – pushing yourself out of your comfort zone. You’ll surprise yourself if you do and it will boost your self-confidence.  I blogged about that here.

It can be hard to keep going. I tried to give up writing along the road to publication, but couldn’t. I used to always think that was simply because it was my passion. But now I know it is also because I had a stubborn, underlying sense of faith. Take the editorial report I once had done, on one of my unpublished novels that is now under the bed. The person who wrote it used expressions such as “what on earth made you think that would work?” It knocked my confidence. Yes, I wept! And I didn’t write – for about one week. But I came back from this sense of devastation that momentarily made me think I’d never see a book of mine in a shop.

Then there was the agent who showed huge interest in my work. They kept in touch. Asked for my next manuscript. However, when they didn’t like it, their tone of rejection was extremely brusque. This experience knocked me sideways – us creative people are sensitive souls. But ultimately, it helped toughen my skin and fed that faith I had in myself.

Just one word of caution though. A sense of reality MUST go hand-in-hand with this self-belief. Take my recent fitness campaign. I now cycle every morning. If you’d told me I’d be doing that a couple of years ago, I would have laughed you all the way to the cake counter! But now I’m out there, pedalling along the streets, every morning before the rush hour. But only for twenty minutes. And not at great speed. I’m no Bradley Wiggins, but I have achieved my target of getting and feeling fitter. I’m me. Doing the best I can. And the same applies to my writing. The dizzy heights of success achieved by JL Rowling and the ilk are so exceptional and I must remind myself of that!

In my latest novel, The New Beginnings Coffee Club, Jenny’s life falls apart. She must start from scratch. Provide for her daughter. Find her own  path in life. It’s scary and the story is about seeing her grow and find the self-belief to become the person life always intended her to be.

I recently heard an expression: “Fear knocked at the door. Faith answered. No one was there.”

Believe in yourself – because it may be a while before anyone else does and it will give you the courage to carry on carrying on. Just keep on writing and learning and submitting your work. You WILL get there. You WILL fulfil your potential.