When Writing is all Worthwhile

I'm sure, like me, many of you will have received lovely comments about your writing, even if only from friends and family or fellow writers. If we're lucky, we might gain some good reviews for published novels, while editors or publishers continue to take our work.

And, yes, we all have the rejections too! For every six short stories we submit in hope, we're doing well if half are accepted - and evidently that also goes for the most well-published short story writers. I always find that a comforting thought as it's reassuring to know we can't expect everything to hit the right mark, every time. Writing is such a joy and a priviledge that I couldn't imagine ever giving up, no matter what each day brings.

Then, occasionally, along comes a day when a completely 'out-of-the-blue' comment arrives and reminds us why we continue to follow this career choice. I received just such an email yesterday and I had a huge grin on my face for the rest of the evening. It was so unexpected, completely unsolicited, and came from a prolific young reader whom I do not personally know (I only know her grandmother).

I'm just going to reproduce three sentences of her lovely comment here so as not to give away part of the plot of Mischief at Mulberry Manor (which she calls 'Mystery' - as it does have a mystery!). Her grandmother had bought her a print copy of the book:

To Romy,
I just finished your book called mystery at mulberry manor and I loved it soooooo much!!! I had such a clear image of what Mulberry manor would look like, and the snowman and all the gardens and stuff.
I'm starting to read summer of the eagles now. Mystery at mulberry manor is one of my absolute favourite books ever. Natasha xx

I'm sure I don't have to tell any other writer what it means to receive such a heartfelt comment from a young reader who the novella wasn't even aimed at! So keep writing, everyone - your words are being read and enjoyed somewhere.

Meanwhile, I'm featuring one of my Scottish writing colleagues, Jack Hastie, over on the Flights of Imagination blog, with his debut children's novel, Fraser's Voices.

Rosemary

Log Lines and Print

I'm really pleased that my Victorian novella, Mischief at Mulberry Manor, is featured on the Log Line blog today. This is a great idea for promoting books, as it forces us to condense our story into one sentence of 25 words or less. You might have heard of the term Elevator Pitch - that's when you get the chance to pitch your book to an agent or publisher until the lift (or elevator) stops - well, a log line is the equivalent. It certainly makes us focus on the relevant parts of the story!

Although I love my kindle and read as many ebooks as print now (or maybe more), sometimes we still want to hold a paper copy of our book in our hands. And not all of my friends and family have e-readers yet. So, by way of an experiment, I published my novella through FeedARead which is supported by the English Arts Council and several large publishers. It's ideal, as I can now order several copies to sell to anyone who might prefer a print copy, and readers can buy it straight from the FeedARead store. Authors can pay to have their print book available on every other site too, such as Amazon and Waterstones, but I've decided against that option for now.

It's great that we have so many more publishing options than before, so it's good to try a variety of methods and see what works best. I'm aiming to stay with publishers wherever possible but experiment with other options for some work. It's a whole new world!

Rosemary

Mischief at Mulberry Manor Published!

Oh, the excitement - now that my Victorian novella is published on Amazon kindle! Mischief at Mulberry Manor is around 29,000 words and I really enjoyed writing this. It’s part Gothic romance, part ghost story and is set around the forthcoming Twelfth Night Masked Ball in 1859. I’m so delighted with the lovely cover which writer and journalist friend, Sara, designed from my own original photo.

Here’s the short blurb:

When Maryanne Robertson visits her cousins’ old manor house for the Twelfth Night Masked Ball in 1859, she does not expect to find the manor haunted, or to fall in love. But mischief is afoot and one of her cousins is missing, while out of doors snow and frost covers the ground. Is the mischief caused by a ghostly presence or someone more human?

If you’re a visual person, like me, you might enjoy the trailer I made for YouTube – can’t resist having fun with these!

And if anyone wants to read it (hopefully) it’s available from Amazon UK and Amazon US, and all the other Amazon countries.

Rosemary, or that should be Romy for now!