Caro Fraser

Instead of blogging about my book, which, let’s face it, I haven’t done a lot of recently (sales going well, thanks), I’m pleased to be posting two articles by Averil Leimon on the topic of Motherhood. Not the usual whingeing or moaning - Averil is celebrating the positive aspects and real joys of motherhood, and she hopes at some point to be writing a book on the subject. So to that end, PLEASE let’s have your comments and feedback on what she has to say in her pieces, which appear below. 

Mothers Work by Averil Leimon 

Mothers are the unsung heroes of every culture. Once a year there’s a day to celebrate them with pretty flowers and slogans on cards. It really isn’t enough. People are rightly seen as heroes for fire fighting and upholding the law. Others are hugely rewarded for running multi million pound corporations. Raising the next generation must be one of the most critical roles there is. Yet how is this role valued by society?

• Do we make it easy for women to pursue a career, confident that they are not short - changing their children?
• Do we tell women how vital they are?
• Do we reward them for years of devoted commitment to raising the next generation of citizens?
• Above all – do we hold each other in high esteem, whatever personal choices we have made in our mothering careers?

I don’t think so. Just recently an article in the papers reported that when working women were late, they lied about the reasons. It was still much more acceptable in business to blame transport or congestion than it was to admit you had children who needed you on occasion. Great social advances have made it acceptable for either sex to admit to attending the Nativity play or Sports Day but for the rest of the year, for women, it is better to avoid drawing attention to the fact you even had children. It would bring into question your commitment to your work.  The media frequently reports the latest research which in some way finds fault with women - whatever choice they make – whether they stay at home throughout their children’s lives, whether they work full or part time. Somewhere there will be a piece of research that shows that they are wilfully damaging their children. So the only time that women are truly visible is when they are being blamed for the world’s ills. Better get used to it – a woman’s place is often in the wrong! Of course, we never get the full story and the chance to check the robustness of the research. We just have something more to worry about. The reality is that most of us are doing a pretty brilliant job, by multi tasking, trying to be superwoman but often having a nagging sense of failure that we are not totally focused on any one part of our lives. At the risk of sounding like I am blaming us mothers again, I have to ask why this situation is still being perpetuated. Do we collude? Do we accept a lack of glory because we really are not sure about what an amazing role we are playing? 

At work, some changes have been made to facilitate women as if their strange personal needs are being accommodated at incredible cost to industry. Quite the reverse is true. Businesses are still not fully grasping the financial and competitive losses they are making by failing to retain and manage female talent. Some excellent ones work hard to support and encourage women knowing that they are an expensive resource that they can ill afford to lose. For these women, paid leave, enticements, part time working and nursery support are all provided. Elsewhere nothing much changes.   Until recently, I just felt reassured that it would be different when my daughters came to want it all, as I do. Teenage boys have had to learn to relate to girls in ways they have not in previous generations. They know they are all equals and are often quite aware of the fact that the girls are beating them academically. Surely that respect would carry on into the workplace when they all got there. Gradually, it has dawned on me that what will really happen is that the older generation of men ( and even some women ) in senior positions will enforce the status quo making change and real equality slower to achieve. As mothers of boys and girls we need to make sure change happens now – for ourselves but also for our offspring. One of the best argument for doing all that you can to support women as mothers in the workplace is the clear cut business necessity of it. Working populations are shrinking. There will be a short fall of 1.3 million in key positions in the

UK by 2030. That makes a clear - cut business case for ensuring that women are enticed to stay in or return to the commercial world. They are the most significant untapped or underutilised resource in business. So, we while burning our bras would not be the option here- just think of the postural implications – why are we not more active and militant about claiming our place in society, if we want it, changing the world of work from the inside so that our children inherit a more equal society?  We are mothers. We do everything else, why not this? 

Mothers Rock by Averil Leimon If asked what is my greatest achievement, I would say bringing up my daughters is the one I regard as most special. It has been a joy and delight. They are wonderful – and you need a bit of context in order to understand the impact of what I am saying. Scots rarely boast about their children. They may love and admire them fiercely but if offered praise about them, mothers are likely to say something deprecatory or humorous. Having lived in

London for the 20 years since my older daughter was born, I made the early decision that I would accept all compliments about my children with enthusiasm! But I did it from a standpoint of modesty, assuming I had been lucky – twice – by giving birth to really great daughters.

 You see, mothers tend to do that- give away any credit for the good stuff but accept all blame and criticism when anything goes wrong. This can make motherhood a thankless task and let’s face it there is a lot of drudgery and saintliness entailed in being an even basically competent mother. What upsets me is that you rarely hear much about the blinding, heart stopping wonderfulness of it all. There is always a litany of the chores involved, the terrible stages children go through, the sleepless nights, the grim dutifulness of it all. How often do we focus on the delight of being a mother? My hunch is that we are always trying to impress people ( or the men in our lives ) with how hard we are working and we don’t want to own up to the rewards that we gain.  My desire is for women to have the time and space in a hectic life to feel the joy of motherhood, to celebrate it and to receive the praise they deserve. Yet that may sound all too corny compared with many women’s experience and anxiety. In our society, we are often rewarded for looking at the negative in everything with the consequence that people’s happiness is lowered and their perceptions contribute to a reduction of enjoyment in any situation. We are told it will be grim when our child reaches the ‘Terrible Twos’ or adolescence. Two year olds are amazing. They have hardly arrived on this planet and they actually think they can run the world and we won’t let them – no wonder they get frustrated. If you lack motivation, just watch the determination of a two year old to master something and be ashamed, very ashamed of how quickly you give up in comparison. Someone once said to me, ‘Two teenage girls in the same house?  All those hormones! How ghastly!’ Where do you start to disabuse people of these notions and reveal the female collusion, support systems and sharing of makeup and jewellery? If you say, ‘You have no idea of the fun we have’, there is a sense that the other person will assume you are putting a brave face on a difficult situation. It is all too easy for these negatives to become self - fulfilling prophecies. We feel we just have to suffer through a phase rather than take the challenge of living every moment of it.  I think it is vital that we celebrate daily the good aspects of being a mother. The problem is – who with? It is easy for things to turn into competitive tit for tat sessions where everyone feels the need to outdo each other with tales of their offspring’s latest endeavour.  Often what makes itdifficult is the fact that we never truly know when we are doing a good job. We don’t want to tempt fate by resting on our laurels. I think one of the important issues is building up the confidence of mothers in what they are doing. After all, none of us got a user’s manual with our new baby and have had to make it up on a daily basis ever since. There is no rubber stamp of formal qualifications, no annual appraisals and concomitant bonuses by which to judge our worth. So the guilty secret is that quite a lot of the time we are blaming ourselves for not being more . . . .this, that or something or other. You see, the big issue here is that there are no real rules now. Our parents and theirs’ before them seemed to know how it was meant to be done. There was a certainty and things didn’t change just so fast. They often got it wrong but could feel like they had done the right thing, even if it didn’t work out. Now we live in times our quite close ancestors could not have imagined. The rate of change in our lifetimes is astonishing. How are we meant to keep up, know the answers and have the authority that mothers are meant to have? Basically, we are not.  I think we are much better thinking of ourselves as more like coaches than experts, using questions, challenges, empathy and support to get the best outcome with our children. If we want them to grow strong and confident, then we need to equip them with the life tools and skills they are going to need. We cannot tell what life in the next 50 or 60 years will hold. The only certainty is change. Our children need to be equipped to deal with situations we cannot even imagine. That means finding ways of raising them to be strong in their belief in themselves, confident in their abilities, unafraid and flexible to change.  We also need to start celebrating our own successes and raising the profile of mothers, guaranteeing a more respected place in society.

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Well, the launch party was last Wednesday, and went far better than I’d expected. Thank you to all the people who showed up, listened to me talk, drank the wine, and bought books. I have to say I’m very glad it’s over, but evidently it’s been well worthwhile. I suspect quite a few people in SE London will be getting acopy of Breath Of Corruption for Christmas.

Mary Cavanagh’s latest article on self-publishing follows - on libraries and librarians. Not the lightest of subjects, but Mary has done a good job of brightening it up, and I have to say, it is essential reading if you’re serious about getting your book out there. Publishing contracts may come and go, but once you’re in libraries and building up a readership, that annual PLR cheque can be a very nice little regular earner.

Caro

Public Libraries and Public Lending Right (PLR):

‘That day the four of them went to the library, though at different times.’

Quartet in Autumn by Barbara Pym

I promised you that the next article would be ‘Reviews’ but that particular one needed more research, so this time it’s ‘Libraries’. There will be two sections – one devoted to public libraries and the other explaining Public Lending Rights (PLR)

My son works in the horse industry and he spent the whole of his childhood in the saddle. What has this to do with libraries, you may ask? Patience. When he came home, caked in mud and manure, he would put his gloves to his nose, inhale like a little Hannibal Lecter, and make a face as if he were smelling roses. Every time I go into a library I feel like that. You stand, deeply inhaling, as the wonderful aroma of books hits your senses. 

I think we all take public libraries for granted. They are just ‘there’, like pubs and roundabouts and rivers. Some of us are signed-up life-serving members, and some of us aren’t. I’m ashamed to admit, that before publication, I’d never realised what influence and power our national library services have in getting our books ‘out there’.   There are two sides of the library services network that all authors needs to know about. The administrative side of things might be considered a bit dull, but it’s essential information in understanding how libraries function behind the scenes. The joyful part is the terrific public service we have in this country, both as readers and authors, and how lucky we are that they exist as they do. Let’s do the admin bit first – but don’t skip it as you’ll miss some vital information. All local authorities in the United Kingdom and

Northern Ireland have a library network. Depending on the type and size of authority (e.g. County, London Borough, Unitary), there may be a Libraries headquarters in addition to a main Central library, together with a network of smaller branch and mobile libraries. Got it? It sounds complicated but in simple terms this means that each authority uniquely manages its own library service. This is a really good thing. If they were wholly managed by central government you can imagine what bureaucracy would be involved, and the standard of services available would, inevitably, be lower. However, all authorities receive funding from central government and this is decided per capita of the receiver. The rest of the funding comes from revenue (the dreaded Community Charge), and this is decided when they allocate their spending budgets. Some of this revenue is used to fund the library service, including maintaining the buildings, paying staff and buying books. Therefore, one must conclude, certain areas are better funded and managed than others.

 Many library services select their books from Library Suppliers’ websites, for example Holt Jackson, but these are not available to view by the general public. Each month pre-publication details of hundreds of books are listed, and it’s the Stock Selections panels who have the difficult job of deciding what to buy. In Oxfordshire, where I live, libraries are part of Cultural and Adult Learning Services in the Social and Community Services Directorate. The Adult Fiction selection panel is headed by Karen Batchelor, who is a Principal Librarian. Her enthusiasm and the joy of working with books is so obvious, as when you meet her she practically bubbles. All sectors have someone like Karen whose job it is to purchase the books, both fiction and non-fiction, for the enjoyment of the public. She (or he) would be the author’s first port of call in trying to make a personal link. You could contact the relevant Library Headquarters or Central Library to find out a contact name, or simply write marking the envelope for the attention of Fiction (or Non-fiction) Selection Panel. There is also a very useful reference book that lists details of all library authorities. ‘Libraries and Information Services in the United Kingdom and

Republic of

Ireland’ is published annually by CILIP (Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals) and can be found in larger libraries.

 Another source for contacts is an excellent website http://www.branching-out.net which lists a free online directory of librarians who are the reader development contacts in 208 library authorities The link you need open up is ‘Contacts’.  So now (hooray) we come to the user-friendly part. Libraries are a VERY, VERY important part of marketing and publicising your book. When TCB first came out I initially thought that, being a new, local author, a couple of copies might be bought in by the Oxfordshire County Library Service. As to nationwide stocks I didn’t even consider that it might be bought further afield. What a surprise I got!  

A couple of weeks after TCB was published Transita received a very favourable e-mail review from Sharon Stanley, a library reader from

Ipswich.

Ipswich! I thought. Wow!

Ipswich is well over two hundred miles from home and I couldn’t believe that it was stocked anywhere other that my own city and county. A fellow Transita writer then tipped me off that the chief librarian was an avid fan of Transita books and that was the reason why. Just a one-off then?

Some months later I discovered the on-line national library catalogue service, (http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/town/square/ac940/weblibs.html). This site offers a quick and easy method of checking what books are stocked throughout the country by clicking on the red catalogue search buttons offered for every area.  To my surprise I discovered that TCB was indeed stocked nationwide, but the uptake was very uneven. This being, as you will deduce, due to the individual taste of the choosing librarians. I found that, for instance, Norfolk had 20 in stock but

Lincoln had none at all. Cardiff had 36 but Manchester and

Milton Keynes had only had only 2 apiece. The bottom line, however, was that after looking at all the authorities on the list I discovered that hundreds of copies were on offer, giving a potential readership of thousands. ‘So what?’ you might think. Those copies have been bought only the once, get circulated and don’t generate sales. The truth is the exact opposite. Word-of-mouth, more than any other medium, generates sales. If a library reader has enjoyed a book he/she will talk it up to their friends, family and colleagues. Although it’s true to say that many dedicated library users will wait patiently in a queue for a recommended book to become available, a fair few will go out and buy it.

OK. Now you are saying, ‘Fine for you’. Transita obviously had a good PR rep and was able to get your book noticed. Yes - this is true – but if you aren’t being represented you can also try and make it happen for your book. If you are published then your book should automatically be put up on the Holt Jackson list. Self-publishing firm should also get it listed if they offer you a complete package of marketing. If not, then it’s up to you to approach your library and talk up your book.

It’s obvious, that even with inclusion on the lists, your book might not get chosen. Thus, it’s time to really start being your own marketing manager but I realise that readers of this article will fall into many categories. 

1)      The Legitimately Published. You fall into three categories – a first time writer, those who have a backlist, but of low volume sales, and those who are well known names and have sold thousands in the past.   2)      The Self-Published. This may be your first production or another in a series. You may also have previously been legitimately published, with a list of varying success behind you. In order not to complicate things I think it’s best just to advise you to approach the appropriate librarian and let he/she decide. As you and your work will probably be unknown to them they will probably want your press release and some reviews. This is one of the reasons I wanted to do ‘reviews’ before ‘libraries’ but that one will follow soon. 

Once you have got your book chosen, and onto the shelves the fiction writers amongst you might consider suggesting it as a book-group read. Many library authorities run reading groups, and some individual libraries run more than one group. Initially TCB was chosen as book-of-the-month by Cowley library, one of my local branches. Flushed with success I asked how I could get my books ‘out there’ nationwide to other groups, and I was given the previously mentioned website, http://www.branching-out.net/

I emailed every named senior librarian on the list personally, talked up TCB as a worthy book group read, and attached my reviews. This exercise was very time-consuming and frustrating as alot ‘bounced back’, being out of date. However, I followed all the returned ones up with a phone call to find out the name of the new incumbent and started again.  My efforts paid off! My publisher told me that in the four weeks following the initiative TCB sold 250 copies. I now understand that the Contacts details are being updated. 

Why not have a go? Nothing ventured, nothing gained. As with everything what you decide to do is up to you. You may have great success, you may get a brick wall. However, all the librarians I’ve ever talked to are delighted to be of help and it’s an area that I advise everyone to pursue.

Public Lending Rights (PLR) 

‘Our aim is to provide an excellent service to all our stakeholders by making annual payments to writers and other creators whose works are freely available in libraries. We will achieve this by maintaining a highly skilled team and making efficient use of all our resources.’

                                   

Hands up how many first-time authors have heard of PLR? I can probably guess that there aren’t many. After TCB was published I think I heard the term PLR talked about by my writing group when we published TSD, and (in a casual way) by some published authors I knew. I took no personal notice as I thought it was something rather obscure that was nothing to do with me. I soon discovered that I had to register myself as the author of both TCB and TSD (co-author) urgently as payment was involved!

Their very excellent website http://www.plr.uk.com/ will be able to explain how to register and how the payments are calculated so I will not go into copious details. In basic terms this is what it’s all about.

PLR is a small fee, paid to authors. Every time a book is borrowed from the library the loan is recorded. However, you do not get a fee (currently around six pence) for EVERY time a book is borrowed. The recording of this would be an enormous administrative headache so they have simplified this. Each year a list of ‘Sample Libraries’ are chosen, resulting in about forty public library authorities being chosen as participating. The actual branches used to compile the data will probably be well over a thousand and their data is passed regularly by computer to the PLR office.

I will quote from the PLR website in an attempt to explain how the payments are then calculated.

The PLR office makes payments to authors from government funds for the use of their books in public libraries. Payments are made based on the estimated number of times a book is borrowed nationally. Estimates are produced from data collected from a sample of library authorities throughout the

UK. Some of the library authorities are changed each year.

You can see that it would be impossible for me to tell you exactly how the data is calculated, but I think it’s a bit of a lottery. I think the best advice I can give is to try and get your book into libraries and then start worrying about your PLR payments.

Another thing to take an interest in is The Author’s Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS). www.acls.co.uk 

The next article will definitely be ‘Reviews’.

Mary Cavanagh

November 2007

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I spent yesterday morning going around local independent bookshops to talk about Breath of Corruption and persuade them to stock it, and what an amazingly different experience it was from visiting the big chains. The owners were all to be found behind the counter, everyone was approachable, friendly and interested in talking about the book. I’m not saying that places like Waterstones and Smiths weren’t helpful and decent, too, but with them there’s a sense that they haven’t got much time, that you’re just another face… all of which is probably true. And the atmosphere of the independents - you can almost feel the love! I went first to Dulwich Books in Croxted Road, which is a fantastic shop with a huge range, then to The Bookshop in Dulwich Village, where Hazel Broadfoot and Julian Toland couldn’t have been nicer. We had a good chat about publishing in general, and then I went off up Gipsy Hill to The Book Crow On The Hill, in Crystal Palace. What a superb place this is - I intend to go back, when not on my book-touting mission, and spend a couple of hours there. I went in there to flog my book, but Jonathan, the owner, managed to sell me one instead - The Bookaholics Guide To Book Blogs, which is brilliant. I also highly recommend the website, www.booksellercrow.co.uk, and Jonathan’s blog - highly entertaining. 

Trekking round the City bookshops has paid off - the lovely manager of W H Smith in Holborn Circus, Steve Dibbens, has been in touch about arranging a book signing. More about that anon. And for those who don’t know, the launch party for Breath of Corruption is on Wednesday, November 14th, 7.30pm, at Eltham College, Grove Park Road, Mottingham. Those of you who can brave the wilds of South East London, it would be great to see you. Caro

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On Wednesday I went, with Mary Cavanagh, to a meeting of the Society of Authors on the topic of self-publishing, but I can’t honestly say I came away having learned much. The first speaker, Sarah Anderson, was charming but spoke too briefly and I’ve forgotten most of what she said. The information provided by the second speaker, Geoff Fisher of Antony Rowe, was highly technical on the subject of paper qualities, margins, and brindings, and no doubt useful for people doing everything from scratch, but I almost fell asleep. The third, Brian John, was probably the most interesting of the lot - he’s a self-publishing fiction writer who sells pretty well, and whose books have recently been taken up by Corgi. The trouble with Brian is that he’s a special case - a writer writing for a small, highly identifiable Welsh readership with a keen interest in a specific locale and history. Having said that, he was very good on the sbject of identifying one’s target readership and working it to the max. Questions from the audience followed, but most of these seemed to be mini-exercises in self-promotion rather than real questions, so Mary and I came away early, feeling that a lot of useful ground hadn’t been covered - stuff such as getting one’s book into libraries (PLR can be a very nice source of revenue) and working with bookshops. Still, we managed to hand out nearly 150 fliers for Mary’s SP tips on my blog, plus postcards advertising Breath of Corruption, so it wasn’t a wasted exercise. It will be interesting to see how many people at the meeting tune into the blog to pick up on tips, and make their own contributions. Now I come to think of it, there was one interesting question which was raised but not properly answered - are self-published books looked down on by books pages and the literary press? Geoff Fisher said no such snobbery existed, as did Sarah Anderson - she pointed out that The Spectator regularly reviews self-published books. Then some chap from the floor said that a mate of his had written a brilliant book on the Korean War, Max Hastings thought it was ace, but when it was sent to the Sunday Times for a review, they said they had a policy of never reviewing self-published authors. So there you go. Who knows?

Apart from that, I’ve spent the better part of two days dishing out invitations to all and sundry to my book launch, and will wait to see what kind of response I get. If anybody out there wants to come, drop me a line - it will help me get an idea of numbers.

Nest week, on with the slog round the bookshops - local independents this time - to try and get BOC on shelves. Brian John was right about one thing - compared to promoting one’s book, writing it is the easy part. Caro

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I’ve just spent an exhausting Friday slogging round central London bookshops, armed with a copy of the new book and an advance info sheet, smiling beguilingly, in the hopes of persuading buyers and managers to stock copies of Breath of Corruption. So far, so good. Everyone was very enthusiastic, and all the branches of Books Etc which I visited have asked me to come back and sign stock when it’s in. W H Smith on High Holborn surprised me by offering to host a signing session in a few weeks - I’ll keep you updated on that.

It was therefore a bit of a downer to discover from Rob, the lovely buyer at the last branch of Waterstone’s which I visited at Charing Cross, that the book’s ISBN number isn’t yet on the system. Without that, buyers and managers can’t order the title. So in the interval between now and the time when it comes on the system, the shops may have binned the info or forgotten their promise to order. So now I have to wait until I know the ISBN number is up and running, and go back and remind them all!

Still, I realise I’m in a much more fortunate position than self publishing authors who have never had a book published in their lives. At least I have a track record and my name produces a glint of recognition. I take my hat off to those brave souls who go in and try to flog their first novel without that backup - that takes real guts, given the sea of titles out there.

For anybody waiting, the ISBN number seems to be the reason why it’s not yet in shops, even if it’s on order - the same goes for Amazon, who, my publishers assure me, should have the book in the warehouse in the next couple of weeks. So much for the October 1st publication date - I’ve had to amend it to November 1st on the home page of my website. However, if you want it straight away, just go to www.troubador.co.uk/shop.asp

The book launch is all arranged, and next week I’m off to France to hoist in a few cases of Wine Society’s cheapest and finest for those who turn up. Anyone who lives close is enough is welcome to come along. Details in the coming week.

Caro

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A press release is probably the most difficult thing you’ll ever have to write. Even worse than a synopsis!

With a PUBLISHED book, advance information and a press release is sent round to all areas of the media by the publisher. The idea is to grab the attention of literary editors and get the book reviewed. You can imagine that the offices are snowed under daily, in the same way that literary agents receive manuscripts. How many are binned without consideration? Also, a potted version of it will be included in the very full and showy catalogues that circulate to retail bookshops, in the hope that it will be ordered in. Another boost a published book gets is that employed ‘reps’ will be going round to bookshops selling their wares. In the case of a small publisher the reps have a serious struggle to convince the bookshops to stock their latest publications. Self-published authors have a virtual mountain to climb. As my publisher said, ‘You need a hook,’ and with SP you need a very big hook indeed.

 

Your heart may have already sunk. Why bother? Your SP book is never going to have anything like the attention of a published book (and that will be scant enough). The answer is, because you care very much about your book, you want it to succeed, and it’s another area where you can demonstrate a  professional approach. Also, you may be one of the lucky ones who get noticed. I have often read about SP writers who are taken up by mainstream publishers. An example is Tunnels, by Roderick Gordon and Brian Williams. Published originally by Mathew and Son Ltd as The Highfield Mole, it was taken by Chicken House, re-named Tunnels, and is now tipped as the next Harry Potter. I’ll try and contact them to see if they might offer a helpful contribution. Currently its Amazon rating is 433 which is best seller status.

 

Having read through the website information of Matador, the producer of Caro’s Breath of Corruption’, it’s obvious that they are offering a Rolls-Royce of services. Through their marketing package they will agree to write your press release, but at an extra fee. To some that may be cost prohibitive. Let’s presume that you’re using a basic print-on-demand service (as we did with TSD), and you will be writing your own. With TSD we were actually too green to realise that we would need a press release so we never did one. It was only with the publication of TCB that I heard about them.

 

Your press release will be written on one side of A4 only.  You’ll need a picture of the cover, the title boldly displayed, a brief synopsis of the book,  a short paragraph as to why readers will just love it, and some clever ‘one-liners’ to fascinate the potential reader. You may think, since you know your book better than anyone else, that you’re the perfect person to write the review. But the skills needed to write a good press release are quite different from those needed to write good fiction. Having to become your own marketing manager is whole new ball game. With TCB a publicist wrote the basic frame and passed it to me, with a brief to make as many changes as I wanted to. I spent hours on it, and even now I’d like to re-write it. Eventually you HAVE to finalise it, but it’s a very hard call.

The main thing to remember is that the attention span of the person reading it will be VERY short and dismissive. I wish I could give out a standard model to copy, but that’s just plain daft. Each book requires an individual approach and emphasis. A clear layout, brevity, and a decent size font will go a long way to get it noticed. I would suggest a word limit of 200, and don’t be tempted to overload it with too many superlatives. My advice is to write it, leave it, and keep going back to it, so you see it with fresh eyes. The first time you write it, pick out and mark key words in bold. Every time you update it more key words will be added, but don’t lather on so much butter you can’t see the bread. 

As with the invitations to your book launch, you may have to call in some professional help in the production, but if you have a talent for desk-top publishing, which so many people have these days, you can do it all very simply from your computer.  

So now you’ve produced it, what are you going to do with it? Don’t be tempted to send out a blanket mail shot on the day your book comes out. That may be OK for non-fiction as markets are more obvious. By all means circulate it at your launch - get as many copies for your friends and associates to pass about and put on notice boards - but you need to give some serious thought as to who you are going to send it to. In my opinion an SP press release needs to be backed up with some reviews.

 

In future articles I will discuss ‘target areas’ in some detail, but the next article will be ‘Getting Your Book Reviewed’.

 

 

 

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This morning I took delivery of 200 copies of Breath Of Corruption (they don’t take up quite as much room as I’d feared), so I imagine it should be in bookshops and with Amazon next week. I’ll be using these copies for the book launch, which now looks like taking place on Wednesday, November 14th, and hoping to sell a fairish number. More details of that in the next week or so. I’m very pleased with the book, love the cover, and hope it pleases readers. Now that I have a few copies in my hot little hand, I’ll start my slog around various bookshops, chatting up managers and hoping they’ll stock it. I’ll let you know how I get on. Caro

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Right - I’ve just been roundly chastised by my blogging friend Yang-May (www.fusionview.co.uk) for failing to use my blog to keep readers updated on the progress of Breath of Corruption. Apologies. I know the publication date was October 1st, but printers seem to be like builders when it comes to dates and estimates - I’m now told it should be hot off the press in a week’s time, so all you kind people who have pre-ordered should have it soon. It’s also available from Aamazon.co.uk, and the Troubador online bookshop (www.troubador.co.uk/shop.asp). I just hope it’s worth the wait.

As for marketing… I’ve earmarked next week as the week I slog round as many independent bookshops as I can (including Waterstone’s), armed with my Advance Info Sheet and a big smile, to persuade them to stock the book. Hatchards in Piccadilly have already promised to stock it, which is good. Yang-May’s article in the recent edition of Myselxia gives an account of how self-publishing author Preethi Nair invented an alter ego for herself, a publicist called Prue Menon, an outgoing, tenacious, pushy publicist who secured all kinds of fantastic publicity for Preethi’s book. I wonder if I’ve got the nerve to do it! Anyway, I’ll let you know the kind of response and feedback I get from various managers. I wrote to Waterstone’s in the Isle Of Man, where I hail from and where my parents live, suggesting I could do a signing session, as my books have always sold exceptionally well there. Silence. Not even a courteous ‘no’. So I must prepare myself for a bruised ego, no doubt.

I also suggested to our local magazine, The Guide’, which covers Blackheath, Chislehurst, and bits of Greenwich and Lewisham, that I could write them an article in exchange for free publicity. Instead, the editor is running a profile and interview, bigging up the book and the launch, so that’s good.

Apart from that, I’ve persuaded the headmaster of my sons’ school, Eltham College, to host my book launch party - the tentative date is November 7th. In anticipation of that, I thought it would be a good idea to have a stack of pretty postcards printed, with Helen Chapman’s cover illustration, to use as invitations to all and sundry. Well, they’re being printed as I write, but I’m watching the postal strike scenario unfold with mounting dread - even if I get them on time, will I be able to send them out? I have visions of trudging round, not just bookshsops, but all our friends and neighbours, posting postcards through letterboxes. Was this what writing was meant to be about? Anyway, watch this space, and I’ll let you know how I get on.

I’ll also post details of the launch closer to the time - anyone who wants come along would be most welcome, and there’s a free glass of wine in it!

x Caro

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Yes – you’ve all heard of the London Book Launch. A slick affair in a top hotel, put on by a large publishing house. The Author, as guest of honour, is flattered and fussed over by journalists press photographers and the media. The bash is attended by celebrities and leading players of the literati, and good boozy time is had by all. The outstanding work-of-genius is then guaranteed to be reviewed by all the relevant newspapers, journals and arts programmes. It will appear in the chain bookshops as a window display, and stuck right in-yer-face when you get inside. The bill is picked up by the publishing house, as are the fees paid to chain bookshops for the privilege of high-profile marketing. Current figures circulating are around £30,000 to £40,000 for a window display, several thousands for a two-for-three table deal, and even a large fee for the book to be ‘outward facing’. Oh, if wishes were horses . . .

I guess it still happens to a handful of very famous and expensively marketed authors, but sadly, not us. Now, that doesn’t mean that you can’t have a book launch. I would say that it is essential that you do. Not only as a marketing exercise, but to set up your confidence for the campaign to come. You love your book. You’ve overseen and funded its production. It’s now in your hands and its up to you to make sure that as many readers as possible love it too.

A book launch can be an occasion of great fun that you owe to yourself. I personally hate attending large noisy gatherings when I don’t have a role, other than to make, and listen to, small talk. BUT – I just loved both my launches, and being the ‘star of the show’ for one night is a rare occasion to be totally enjoyed. Bling up and have a ball! I have organised two book launches to showcase my work. The Crowded Bed (TCB) published by Transita, 2007, and The Sixpenny Debt and Other Oxford Stories, a self-published anthology, written with fellow members of The Oxford Writer Group, and published under the imprint OxPens in 2006.

The first thing to consider is, naturally, the cost. My publisher for The Crowded Bed (TCB) had no budget for marketing, and this is by no means unusual these days. Although they paid for the invitations everything else was down to me. Try and find a venue where you could host it for free, or without shelling out a fortune. Think about your book. Is it set anywhere that has a local interest to cash in on? The French Lieutenant’s Woman and Lyme Regis, comes to mind. If it’s a work of non-fiction what tie-in can you capitalise on? Alternatively, why not chat up your local book chainstore manager? It’s a long shot, but my fellow Transita author, Wendy K Harris, got her Waterstone’s branch in The Isle of Wight to host her recent launch. A much better bet is your local independent bookshop. The ‘

Indies’ are in competition with the might of the multiples and on-line discount companies, so many would be delighted to host a ‘local author’ night. Can I take this opportunity to ask that you fully support your local bookshop? Darling Alan Bennett continues to be a forerunner in this campaign, and we must all do our bit to make sure we keep them, not only open, but thriving.

 

Also, you can fall on your laurels and call in any favours. The launch for TCB was held at The Ashmolean Museum in

Oxford, which I used because my husband has worked there for many years. I funded the alcohol (Pinot Grigio and Asti Spumante), the bar staff, and a flashy ‘notice-me’ outfit. Yes – it was quite expensive, but I treated it as my one indulgence after many years of struggling to be a published author. I invited every single person I could think of: family, friends, neighbours, work colleagues, members of writing groups, tutors I’ve been associated with, my reading group, my cinema group, local independent bookshop owners, the managers of Waterstones and Borders (they didn’t show but they saw the publicity), fellow writers, including all the local authors I’d met over the years, anyone for whom I had an e-mail address, and even my dentist, optician and acupuncturist. All invitees were encouraged to bring a partner and friends and 130+ turned up.

(If you would like to see a write up and photos of the event go to http://mostly-books.blogspot.com/ This is the website of Mostly Books, my wonderful local bookshop in Abingdon, Oxford (MUCH, MUCH more of them later). Open up the blog, scroll down to Archives, open up January 2007 and scroll down to Friday January 12^th).

The self-published book, The Sixpenny Debt and Other Oxford Stories, (TSD) was held in Far From The Madding Crowd, an arts friendly pub in central

Oxford. This was the most amazing fun, and a night that OxPens will remember for ever. It was a free venue because the landlord knew that the bar tills would be pinging – and they certainly were! Again, with thirteen of us involved, we invited (as above) anyone in the world we have ever known, plus two famous local authors, Colin Dexter and Katy Fforde. To say that there was standing room only was an understatement. It was a riot. All it cost us was a couple of tenners behind the bar to treat our ‘celebrity guests’ and a few packets of balloons.

Now for the marketing side, which is why you’re bothering in the first place. The first point of marketing is the invitations and it’s worth doing the job properly. I would suggest professionally produced postcards of high quality. Display the book cover and your name in large print on the front, with the invite and RSVP details on the back. Try and find room for some one line’ ‘quotes’:

‘An exciting tale of the high seas and pirates, interwoven with a surprising love story.’   

Or a ‘review’.

‘A skilful and deeply moving story of a child’s life. Unforgettable. (Joe Bloggs).   

Secondly, on the night, display copies of the book cover inside the venue. With TCB I got a printshop to produce A4 and A3 copies of the cover and had them laminated by a friend. If you enlarge the pictures on the Mostly Books site you will see the lectern near to where I am reading, and the fabric screen behind me where I am signing. Ditto TSD which has a beautiful cover by an acclaimed

Oxford artist, Valerie Petts.

Thirdly - and the whole point of the exercise! - make sure large piles of the books are centre stage. Most essentially I made sure I signed some of them beforehand for the captive audience to buy while I was busy. Let’s be honest. Most people who come will buy a book, or even two. My sister and her friend acted as booksellers for the night, so I could mix and mingle. Make sure you have loads of change available. The good news was that I sold 130 copies of TCB, and TSD sold 150!

Order of events on the night. I would suggest you state, ‘7.15 for 7.45’ on the invitations and start on the dot. Ask someone to introduce you (a sort of ‘best man’ role) to do the welcome, some flattery about you, and some jokey talk-up. A tutor, perhaps, or someone else who has travelled with you on your journey to publication. Could be the bookshop owner. Then you take over. No need for long-winded gush. I prepared a written speech in advance and read from it. Thank everyone for coming and how lovely it is to see all your friends under one roof. Then make a few genuine thanks to all the people/groups who have helped your writing career, and anyone who has been especially helpful in getting the book produced.

Then read a short, appropriate passage of about 600 - 800 words that whets the appetite. No more. Most of the invited will be much more in tune with chatting and sipping wine than concentrating on long passages, even though you’re dying to display your wonderful prose. I recently went to hear a VERY famous writer who has just brought out a mega-selling novella. He read, in a very dreary monotone, for nearly three-quarters of an hour and I fell asleep. Seriously, I really did. Boring or what!!!

The TSD night was run on very similar lines. Katie Fforde very kindly introduced us and talked up the production. Being an anthology we all took a five minute turn to read. At half time Colin Dexter took the mike, and spoke in general about the trials and tribulations of writing. As above we made sure we had a bookseller and plenty of change.

On both nights I arrived home, reeling and completely exhausted. I had the first drink of the night (I was too busy to get one) and sank down with a large but knackered smile on my face. It was a bit like being at your wedding – you were there but everyone else remembers much more than you do! In the morning the hard work began, so there’s lots more to follow. The next article will concern, ‘Preparing A Press Review’.  

Do, please, post any further tips or advice from your own experiences or observations. We really want this to be an interactive site.

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Self-Publicity Tips from Mary Cavanagh: introductory article 

My name is Mary Cavanagh I am both a published author (The Crowded Bed, published by Transita, January 2007) and co-writer of a self-published anthology (The Sixpenny Debt and Other Oxford Stories, produced by WritersPrintshop August 2006). 

I’ve had a great deal of experience in trying to market both productions, so Caro has suggested I post a series of self-help articles for all would-be self-publishing authors out there. I can only give you my personal experiences, so it will be interesting to hear comments, both positive and negative, from other authors who have gone down this road, together with any contributions, suggestions and marketing ploys that others might benefit from. The tips I give can be applied to Published (PUB) and Self-Published (SP), but I’ll make it clear if the paths divide Mostly the advice is exactly the same, as demonstrated by a quote from my publishers, Transita.

`Modern authors face two tasks: first, writing their book and getting it published; second, marketing their book when it has been published. Sales of books which have active authors behind them do substantially, sometimes exponentially, better than those which don’t. This is an age of personality marketing. Novels – especially by first time writers - need to be associated with an author who has an angle, a ‘hook’ and who can personally get out there to exploit that story`. 

That’s the way it has to be for most writers these days, published or self-published. In both cases, if you want to get your novel ‘out there’ and sold, it comes down to selling yourself – the novel just tags on. The rules are slightly different with non-fiction, as there is usually a specialist market to target first. I don’t think I need to elaborate that I have had to work very hard indeed, and I have left no stone unturned to try and get both books noticed. It’s worth mentioning that I have no literary agent. I’d like one, but I can’t find one to take me on.

So off we go. I’m a ‘nobody’, but I barged out there and pretended I’m a ‘somebody’! If you want to get your book sold you need a gritty attitude. Being full-on and enterprising goes against the grain for all of us, but it’s the only chance you’re going to get. The upshot is that a great deal of the things you get involved in will be great fun, meeting Joe Public face-to-face, and having to talk a lot about yourself. The other side of the coin is that you can spend hours writing articles, contacting people who never reply, sending out complimentary copies, and trusting people who say they are going to help and then let you down. Make sure your contract with your printing firm or publishing house states exactly when and how you will receive your royalties from wholesale sales (Bertrams, Gardners and THE), and on-line sales, largely Amazon and The Book Depository.

With reference to the above you will also need your own very efficient financial records and stock control as there is always the danger of losing track and not getting paid. However, for every book you sell it’s one that you wouldn’t have sold by not bothering. Never say ‘I can’t be bothered’. You must always be bothered!

The first and most important thing to mention is that it’s going to cost you money and time. Hospitality, complimentary copies, stamps, petrol, phone costs and of course the outlay for the books can add up at a rate of knots. I treated the exercise as my one big opportunity, having spent a life bringing up a family and working full time. It really has been worth it – and it’s still worth it, as my campaign is still on-going.

One interesting fact. If you buy your SP book yourself from your supplier at an agreed discounted price, and sell at an agreed retail price you’ve made a decent profit. You can usually negotiate with bookshops to buy in at around 25% discount on the retail price. They will then sell for the unit price, so you can both make a profit. This method is usually a far bigger mark up and return than royalties on published book sales.

We would like to hear from as many people as possible, who would like to offer their own tips, or share their own experiences, both good and bad.

The first article I will be presenting very shortly will be Organising a Book Launch.

Others to follow will be:

Preparing a press review

Getting reviews

Libraries

The value of independent bookshops

Other retail outlets to consider

Publicity through newspapers and national magazines

Ditto local newspapers

 Ditto local magazines and specialist magazines

 Local radio shows

 Regional TV

 Book Groups

 BookCrossers

 Literary Festivals

Networking

Blog Reviewers  Please remember that I can only outline my own personal experiences and am very interested to hear your own. Mary Cavanagh Sept 20th 2007 

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