Interview with Wendy Janes

I've been following Wendy Janes online for a while now. She's very friendly and supportive. Wendy recently released a collection of short stories, "What Tim Knows", so I invited her here to chat about that and to find out a bit more about her.


INTERVIEW WITH WENDY JANES



I’ve enjoyed reading your interviews with other authors, so it’s rather lovely to be here myself. Thank you for inviting me, Maria.

It's great to have you here, Wendy. Please introduce yourself.

OK, how to introduce myself? Here we go…

I live in South London with my husband and my youngest son. My work history includes (in no particular order) teaching drama and English, serving drinks in a pub, general admin at a design company, and selling lingerie. Working as a freelance proofreader for various publishers has kept me eagle-eyed and busy for many years now, and more recently I have ventured into indie publishing, first as a proofreader and soon after as an author. While I proofread many different genres, I tend to focus on writing women’s contemporary fiction.

I also work for The National Autistic Society’s Education Rights Service. I strongly believe that children should receive the right education to meet their needs, and this is one of the themes that I’m exploring more often in my writing.

Tell us about your latest book.

My latest book is a collection of six short stories entitled What Tim Knows, and other stories. Each one focuses on a character who plays a supporting role in my novel, What Jennifer Knows. Their tales would have got in the way of Jennifer’s story, so I’ve given each of them their own space in this collection. It was an enjoyable challenge to ensure that while each story stands alone and can be read independently of the novel, they each contain links with the novel. The main one being that Jennifer makes an appearance in each; in the first as a young student, and the last as a grandmother.




The title of the book is taken from the last story in the collection. I chose it because Tim, Jennifer’s grandson, has received such warm feedback from readers, and he’ll always have a place in my heart.

That's a great idea. I also intended to write a book of short stories featuring characters from my novel A Time to Tell, a while back. If I get time, I may do that one day.

How much research do you do when writing a book?

I do a lot of research online. I have great fun double-checking dates and information when I’m making any cultural references. For example, the first couple of stories in What Tim Knows, and other stories are set in the 1960s, and while I was alive at that time, I was a little too young to have any memories of which Beatles and Beach Boys albums were available in the UK. In fact, even in the stories set during the years I’d listened to the Top 40 on the radio and watched Top of the Pops on the TV, I still had to double-check who was in the charts.

I also enjoy researching online for far more than dates and facts. For example, in What Jennifer Knows one of Jennifer’s friends, Sue, performs at the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympics. I read lots of blogs to find out about the recruitment of volunteers, rehearsal schedules and what happened from a performer’s point of view on the day. Barely any of this background research is included in the novel, but it was needed to help me make Sue’s experience feel authentic for the reader.

That's one of things I love about writing novels, we learn so much while researching :)




What are some of the pros/cons of being an indie author?

I know this is a subject that’s been expounded upon by those with far more experience than I have, so I’ll not pontificate at length, but just take one pro and one con from my experience so far. The main pro for me is the freedom to choose my own team of editors, proofreader, and cover designer. The main con is the amount of work it takes to try and make myself visible to readers. That’s why interviews like this and opportunities to do guest blog posts are so valuable. Thank you, Maria.

You're welcome. I agree, it's hard to stand out from the crowd these days. I know so many talented authors who never sell any books.

Do you do your own proofreading or use a professional?

I use a professional – always. I wouldn’t dream of proofreading my own work. I know there are some people who can, but I’m not one of them. Most of us are too close to our words, and therefore we only read what we think is there rather than what is there.

The prices for proofreading can vary greatly, as can the way we work. I encourage all authors to contact a selection of proofreaders and ask lots of questions. I am aware that some authors can’t afford a proofreader. Rather than skip the proofreading stage, I strongly advise they consider other options such as a skills swap with someone, e.g. a cover design for a proofread. I love this sort of exchange of professional skills.

As I’m regularly booked up, I have a list of proofreaders and editors that I can recommend to authors. Rather than take up too much space listing them here, authors can get in touch with me via any of the links below, and I’ll email the list to them.

That's wonderful, thanks Wendy.

What advice would give your 16-year-old self?

I’d tell her to lighten up and stop worrying. My advice would run something like this:

‘Wendy, please stop wasting hours staring out the window at the bloke who lives in the house opposite. He’ll never notice you, and, believe me, it doesn’t matter. You’ll do fine in your exams, so keep up the revision and get out of the house once in a while and enjoy yourself. Adulthood isn’t as scary as you fear it will be, and I promise that you won’t end up in a chilly flat, with only a couple of cats for company. Oh, and when you’re twenty-one you might want to skip that decision to have your hair cut very short – not your best look.’

Ha,ha!

What is your favourite film?

My favourite film is The Dish. Based on a true story, it’s a beautifully observed drama, set in a small town in Australia whose satellite dish is the world’s only hope for receiving the historic images of man’s first steps on the moon. I laugh and cry in equal measure every time I watch it. If you’ve not seen it yet, I thoroughly recommend it.

I haven't seen that. I'll check it out :)

Which social media sites can you most often be found on?

The social media site I feel most comfortable with is Twitter, where I tweet as @wendyproof. I’ve made lots of supportive friends there, and discovered so much useful information too. I like to scroll through to see the titles and links to blog posts and then I choose which ones to visit. Often I pick out the best line from someone else’s blog post and enjoy the mental exercise of making it fit the 140 character limit in order to tweet it. I far prefer to share other people’s content, but have been known to shout out about my own writing on occasion too.

I'm a bit like that too :)

What do you enjoy most about the writing process?

For me this seems to vary from book to book.

Previously it’s been the last stages of bringing sentences to life with a final polish. At the moment I’m having a wonderful time developing a storyline and a cast of new characters for my next novel. Even when I’m not actually sitting at the PC writing about them, my characters stay with me and chat with me while I’m out shopping or cooking supper. They whisper to me as I lie in bed at night. We’re plotting and planning together, creating obstacles and solutions, learning more about each other every day.

LOL Sounds familiar ;)

Thanks for being a wonderful guest, Wendy!

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Author links:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/wendyproof

Facebook profile: https://www.facebook.com/wendyjproof

Facebook author page: https://www.facebook.com/Wendy-Janes-...

Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/106071781...

Goodreads Author page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...

Amazon author page UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/-/e/B016J66C9G

Amazon author page US: https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B016J66C9G

Website: http://wendyproof.co.uk/about-me/


What Jennifer Knows purchase link on Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B016IPN8W2

What Jennifer Knows purchase link on Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B016IPN8W2

What Tim Knows purchase link on Amazon UK:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/What-Tim-Kno...

What Tim Knows purchase link on Amazon UK:
https://www.amazon.com/What-Tim-Knows...