Guest Blog on ebookrevolution

In 2015 I had the pleasure of meeting Emily Craven, author, professional speaker, blogger, podcaster and entrepreneur. She is an inspiration for anyone interested in epublishing and other opportunities in the digital age.

We share a fascination in reading practices now that the digital revolution has taken hold.

Emily has been kind enough to host my blog about (subversive) ways of reading Peter Carey's True History of the Kelly Gang on her ebookrevolution.

If you've read Ned, let me (and Emily) know how you went about it.

Hard Work Pays Off for HARDCOPIERS

The ACT Writers Centre HARDCOPY Professional Development Program has paid dividends for emerging writers. Over its two year life, sixty new voices have been nurtured by the combination of professional development and industry connection. Kelli-Anne Moore, ACT Writers Centre Director is delighted. ‘We wanted to give our HARDCOPY participants the tools to give themselves the best chance of having a sustainable career as a writer, and if they choose to embark on their journey to publication, they would do so with their eyes open and aware of the realities of the industry,’ she says.

According to Moore, one of the most important contributions of the HARDCOPY program is the sense of community it has engendered: ‘We love to hear about the connections that the participants have made, with each other, and with the Industry.’ This view is shared the HARDCOPY alumni. ‘HARDCOPY gave me invaluable insights into and access to the Australian publishing industry, the opportunity to connect with other writers in a similar stage of the process (the query game is a lot more bearable with company!) and, critically, the confidence to accept that I was ready to start submitting,’ says Sam Hawke, a 2014 HARDCOPY participant. ‘Since the program concluded I have been picked up by a London agent and am currently preparing for submission to publishers. I’ve also made ongoing wonderful friendships and am looking forward to following the careers of all the HARDCOPY alumni.’

Sam is likely to be busy because the Hardcopiers are a talented group with no time to waste. Leearni Hamilton, one of the 2015 participants says that, ‘Since HARDCOPY I have been working on my YA memoir and making my writing as powerful as I can (writing the tough memories). Recently my memoir was shortlisted for the Templeberg Fellowship in Sri Lanka. While I don't have a publishing deal yet I am very focused on polishing my manuscript with the hope that I can submit to more competitions and agents/publishers in the future.’

Developing an individual voice is something Serina Huang also attributes to the HARDCOPY Program: ‘Since HARDCOPY, I have begun to find my voice. I am becoming more authentic in my writing. I have worked through an issue that was blocking progress with my book manuscript. I am engaging more with readers on my blog. I don’t have a big fat publishing deal (yet), but I have focus. I am reaching within and sharing more, and it feels right. A few months ago I wrote a guest blog post about my Australian-Asian identity. And in the last few weeks I have written about my experience of leaving a physically and emotionally abusive relationship.’

HARDCOPY has inspired a series of related writing projects. In September 2014 four Hardcopiers bonded over a shared love of cultural commentary and joined forces to form the Cringe, an Australian voice on literature, culture and the arts. Launched in October 2014 the site is now celebrating its first anniversary, reflecting on the many articles, short fiction, reviews and profiles to have been featured on its pages, penned by both familiar Australian authors and emerging literary voices. Due to the range of material on offer, the Cringe consistently attracts an audience from around the globe, counting author Jerome Charyn and film director Jeremy Whelehan among its readers. Now edited by co-founders Elise Janes and Ken Ward, the Cringe is constantly evolving to build on its success and continue toward its mission of promoting an Australian voice on culture and arts both locally and around the world.

Three other members of the HARDCOPY alumni, Christine McPaul, George Dunford and Lesley Boland have gone on to establish Softcopy, an online e-journal for emerging writers. Since its launch in May 2015, when Softcopy included contributions from the inaugural HARDCOPY program, it continues to be a success. In its first two days, Softcopy received more than 1000 unique views, proving it is an exciting platform to showcase the work of emerging writers. With fiction and non-fiction submissions open until 30 November 2015, this new offering is an important contribution to the writing landscape. Moore agrees. ‘We love to hear about projects–such as the Cringe blog and the Softcopy anthology–and the support and nurturing that participants are in turn providing other emerging writers,’ she says.

For others, like Jane Abbott, HARDCOPY provided a fillip for an already promising career. Jane wrote her manuscript, Watershed, in 2013. In early 2014 she applied to both the Victorian Premier's Literary Award for an Unpublished Manuscript, and the ACT Writers' HARDCOPY Professional Development Program for Australian Writers (Fiction Edition); Watershed received a commendation in the VPLA, and Jane was one of thirty participants selected for HARDCOPY. Her submission to the final round of the program proved successful and participating literary agent, Gaby Naher, expressed an interest in reading Watershed in its entirety. Subsequently, Jane signed with The Naher Agency in Sydney, and has spent the last six months developing the manuscript to the highest possible standard. In September this year Jane was offered a two-book publishing contract with Vintage Penguin/Random House. Watershed is to be published in June/July 2016.

HARDCOPY has also provided the backdrop for careers associated with writing. An example is Shu-ling Chua, from the 2015 round, who has been selected as the Live: Producer for Noted Festival 2016 (Canberra's experimental writing festival). Shu-Ling attributes being accepted for HARDCOPY as the moment she identified as a ‘writer’. ‘The program and HARDCOPY community have done wonders for my confidence,’ she says. ‘I've written my first-ever paid piece, ‘Love Like Mine’, and I write regularly for BMA Magazine. My manuscript is on the back-burner but for me, HARDCOPY is really only just the beginning.’

Arts worker and writer, Nigel Featherstone, along with the ACT Writers Centre, can be justifiably proud of the many offshoots from HARDCOPY, only some of which are included here. Funding from the Australia Council has been an important factor in the success of HARDCOPY, enabling emerging writers to engage with the writing and publishing industries, and to form connections that have led to a range of creative endeavours. ‘Without the Australia Council funding, none of this would have been possible,’ Moore says. 

This blog post is part of my Blogger in Residence with the ACT Writers Centre and first appeared in Capital Letters 

Q&A with Susanne Gervay

Recently I, caught up with Susanne Gervay, ambassador for Room to Read, author of the children’s book series I Am Jack and young adult novel Butterflies

How/when did you know you wanted to be a writer?

I was always a writer, but publication didn’t cross my mind. I thought everyone wrote novels and by eight, I was writing to work out the ‘meaning of life’ or to escape ‘the meaning of life.’ I only became an author when my beloved father passed away. The intensity of the loss was so great, that I needed to write about him. I wrote story after story. Writing and life became intertwined.

Slowly came the realization that I wanted to share my writing. I wanted other people to know that my father was special, that he survived war, prison and migration and protected us all. Then as a sole parent of two young children, I wanted to write for young people, so they’d always feel there’s a friend in their corner – to play with, share growing up, be there for the challenges of life and know they can be all they can be.

Were there any significant mentors/supporters who really assisted you when you were starting out?

My writing group of unpublished writers was a key support in my journey of becoming an author. I developed a lifelong friendship with fellow novice author Moya Simons. We workshopped each other’s writing, shared disappointments and successes. The writers in my writing group all became published in the end, which was a great joy to me and to each other.

The craft of writing for children and young adults might seem challenging to some.  What attracts you to that demographic?

 Writing for young people is challenging as authors face parental, teacher and community gatekeepers. How do you navigate truth with the inbuilt and well-meaning censorship implicit in writing for children and young adults? You tread lightly but do not compromise your commitment to the story and your readers.

Writing down to young people for worthy reasons can never be acceptable. Young people feel and think about everything, except they do not have the experience to navigate life. Writing is partnering them on their discoveries. 

Young people read very differently to adults. If a story reaches them, they will read and re-read it many times. Story becomes part of their search for identity and it is a privilege to travel with them. I receive many emails and cards from adults and children sharing the impact of my I Am Jack books, Butterflies for young adults, my picture books for all ages. 

I receive emails and letters for my books all the time from young readers, parents and teachers. Some emails in response to the I Am Jack books are:

When I knew I Am Jack was true, I imagined myself in Jack’s shoes. I felt sorrowful and sad as Jack had to put up with bullying for a long time. It would have been a burden forever if I was Jack. – K

 My heart just floated into nothing when I discovered that Jack and Samantha were your actual children. – A

My son was a victim of a false gay rumour at a school camp. [Later] they studied I Am Jack. My son's teacher told me that my son finished the book before the class did, participated in the class discussion which he is normally very shy in doing, all because he identified with Jack. Thank you – L

I get bullied at school almost every day and it makes me sick. I just didn't feel like going to school. I pretended to be sick and stay home for the day. I've talked to the School Councillor, I've tried to tell my mum, I've thought of getting back at the bullies, but all these things don't seem to work. But I Am Jack inspired me to tell everyone that I am being bullied. It makes me feel great and today I treated my mother with respect (I wasn't doing that ….) – L

The cemetery scene really resonated with one of my students as both his parents died in Afghanistan. He is comforted by the thought that they are watching over him and that he can talk to them at anytime, just like Nanna and Jack do with Grandad. – R

I love writing for kids and young adults.

When you set out to write, do you have a particular topic or issue in mind? If so, how do you choose it (or perhaps it chooses you)?

I write from a very personal perspective. When something touches me, it swirls in my mind, often for years, until it emerges as the core of my book. For my young adult novel Butterflies, a girl asked me to write about growing up with severe burns. While I initially refused to do it, it wove into my passions on difference, disability, disempowerment/empowerment and giving young women a voice. It was years of thinking and research – interviewing burn survivors, parents, siblings, doctors, firefighters, community until I understood it in my heart. Then I wrote Butterflies. When The Children’s Hospital at Westmead, Sydney asked if it could endorse Butterflies. I cried.

Like tempering steel, the process of passing through the fire helps make a person of exceptional quality. Butterflies captures these subtleties for the reader, and gives a stunning insight into a difficult topic.

 – Dr Hugh Martin OAM

President of the Australian and New Zealand Burn Association and

Head of the Burn Unit, The Children’s Hospital at Westmead, Sydney.

In a world that is increasingly complex, how do you approach the task of having an authentic voice for younger readers?

As an author for younger readers or adults, it is the same process. You get into the mind and emotions of a character and react to the world as that character does. This is the basis of all stories. An authentic voice means you understand and are that character, know how they react and feel.  For example, in To Kill A Mockingbird the narrator, Scout, is eight years old. The voice is authentic because it reflects a child’s voice and her exploration of an adult world fraught with adult issues of racism, sexual abuse, mental health, group violence, sole parenting and more. It also reflects her journey, understanding, courage, values and who she wants to be within the joys and adventures of being a child in a world that is so new to her.

You’ve been asked to conduct a workshop for the ACT Writers Centre. In what ways do you think your workshop will benefit emerging writers?

At a key level, it provides the opportunity to network with other writers and help establish and/or deepen your creative community. It’s an opportunity to work as a group where ideas and craft issues can be explored, developed and answered.  It demystifies the complex world of publishing which is essential for those entering the world of children’s writing.

Is there any general advice you can give emerging writers?

Read the books of much loved children’s writers. Read school journals and short stories. Establish a writers’ group to share your work, edit, comment, develop your craft, enjoy as well as struggle with the process. Join your local writers centre, go to festivals and participate in the creative life. When you feel ready, submit your work to magazines, journals, enter competitions. Research publishers and what they are publishing. Then submit the appropriate work for the appropriate publisher. Pin your badge of courage on and learn from rejections so you can get closer to your goal.

Do not write for the market. Write from your passion and belief in what you are doing. Publication is precarious, so you need to write something you love and are committed to.

For those who want a quicker process, write on the computer as it makes editing so much easier. Research during your writing process. The internet can be a great friend.

The Biggest tip is to be willing to work on your craft to ensure that your piece is as good as it can be.   

This blog post is part of my Blogger in Residence with the ACT Writers Centre and first appeared in Capital Letters 

Softcopy

Yes! Softcopy is finally here.

Last year I was part of the HARDCOPY2014 Professional Development Program for emerging writers and as a follow-up to the program, decided to create an e-journal for recent writing by new and emerging writers.

Over the past couple of months I have been working with two other HARDCOPIERS, Lesley Boland and George Dunford, to produce Softcopy.

The inaugural edition features fantastic writing from the HARDCOPY2014 cohort. Thanks to everyone who has contributed. Every time I read your wonderful writing I feel inspired.

The next edition of Softcopy will be open to any emerging and unpublished Australian writer.

We will be calling for submissions soon for this next edition, so if you have something in the bottom drawer you would like to submit, we would like to hear from you. Find out more at Softcopy.
Happy reading.

Do You Need an Agent?

This is the question facing all budding authors and there is no straightforward answer.

Before you decide you are willing to share at least 10% of the earnings from your published book, ask yourself: ‘What can an agent do for me?’

Some of the key things an agent can do are:

·         Make sure you only submit polished work for consideration by publishers

·         Pitch your manuscript to publishers (knowing which publishers might be interested, working their networks to bring your manuscript to attention and keeping it out of the ‘slush pile’)

·         Act as an intermediary between you and the prospective publisher

·         Negotiate terms (not only for the book rights, but also potentially for other forms of reproduction as well as add-ons like merchandising and film rights)

·         Help you keep to deadlines and publishing schedules

·         Act as your advocate and help manage financial affairs connected with your writing.

Even if you decide you want an agent, being able to secure one is not guaranteed. You will need to be persistent, shop around, and make sure you know something about the agent, their experience and the types of manuscripts they handle before you approach them.

Not Judging

What would you do if you really couldn’t judge a book by its cover? This is the proposition being offered by one Melbourne bookshop which is giving customers the opportunity to choose and buy a book in plain packaging.

The idea is not really new. We’ve seen it in other contexts; the ‘cleanskin’ approach to wine, the mystery hotel or destination booking and the good old lucky-dip. But will it catch on for books?

From a marketing point of view an eye-catching cover will attract the reader (and buyer), but in the digital age you can buy an e-book from a list (no cover in sight). When you make the download, many e-readers jump straight to page 1, by-passing the cover altogether. I have one friend who refuses to buy an e-reader for this reason. With recent data showing a 2.2 per cent jump in hardcopy book sales in Australia this past year, she's not the only one opting to see the cover first.

What do you think – is the cover an essential ingredient for a quality reading experience? 

The Caravan has Arrived

Tonight at Gorman House, the Emerging Writers Festival Canberra Caravan took a virtual tour through Cambodia, China, Dubai, the United States and Mongolia as writers shared their stories and poems. Across the landscape of relationships, adventure tourism, 'anti-semantism', escape routes and equine entrails, the panel touched down before heading to Sydney tomorrow. And not a guide book in sight !

Canberra Caravan Panel

K.A.L.O.I.

This past month has been a rollercoaster of emotions. The excitement and intensity of the three-day HARDCOPY 2014 workshop on 26-28 September was followed by a week of introspection while I tried to process all the information that we had been privy to. How on earth is it possible to juggle my writing, my social media strategy, my networking activities and my ongoing professional development while holding down a full-time job, raising a family and staying even a little bit sane? The jury is out on which ball will fall first. Assuming of course that I can get them all in the air at once.

Then I spent ten days being too afraid to check my emails.  This is not the ordinary form of technophobia but a much more visceral concern. Although quite common, there is no official definition for this but I can say with authority it has something to do with the possibility of finding a rejection letter lurking behind a benign subject line.

The un-Ken HARDCOPY workshop at Tilleys reminded me that all of us HARDCOPIERS were in the same boat (some even brought their computers...but I can’t speculate on the level of email checking that occurred). And let’s not get started on the implications of a mixed metaphor in which electrical implements could be juggled in a flotation device. It seemed at that time that the HARDCOPY Round II result was still weeks away.

So buoyed by the prospect that my current email list was in fact benign, I chanced a look and found to my amazement a missive from the ACT Writers Centre (one juggle ball takes a tentative throw and catch). I had to read it three times to double check that I really understood what it said. My manuscript had been selected!  This was followed by a feeling of euphoria (all balls thrown wildly into the air) which was immediately tempered by the Facebook posts of others who had not made it through (balls on the ground).

This morning I woke up and realised I’ve been holding my breath all week, waiting for the official results to be posted on the ACT Writers website.  Using a sporting analogy, I’ve been Keeping A Lid On It.  Strangely, the emotional rollercoaster came to land at the feet of my high school PE teacher, whose astute observation that I had no ball sense might even have nudged me closer to my writing future.  So thanks Mrs Barnes. And by the way, I think my ball sense is improving. 

Review: The Signature of All Things

When Alma Whittaker was born in Pennsylvania in 1800, her father ‘did not mind that the infant was not a boy, nor that it was not pretty’.  Thus Alma’s journey to understand herself, the form of natural things, and her place in the world began.

Defying the maxim that a woman’s place was in the home, Alma’s love of botany saw her story intertwined with that of Joseph Banks, Charles Darwin, Alfred Russell Wallace and the European age of naval and scientific exploration.

Alma was fascinated by those metaphors for human society, mosses, whose achingly slow growth she maps. She was also enthralled by orchids, drawn so exquisitely by Mr Ambrose Pike, an unexpected guest whose spiritualist approach to life changed Alma forever.  But it was the orchid’s exotic cousin, Tahitian vanilla, that posed a set of puzzles Alma followed half-way round the world.

A tribute to all scientific women, this lyrical account of Alma’s quest for knowledge is likely to start you on your own journey for the signature of all things.

The Signature of All Things

Elizabeth Gilbert, 2013

Bloomsbury

499 pp. 

ISBN 9781408841891

Review: The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry

When Harold Fry receives a letter from a former work colleague, Queenie Hennessy, who is seriously ill, he knows that simply posting a reply will not be enough. Without proper equipment, or his mobile phone, Harold leaves his comfortable lounge room to set off on a six hundred mile journey. After a chance encounter in a service station, Harold believes he can keep Queenie alive as long as he keeps walking. Over eighty-seven days he walks from Kingsbridge in the south of England, to Berwick-on-Tweed near the Scottish border hoping he will arrive in time to say thank you for a kindness Queenie once did him.

As Harold makes his pilgrimage he undergoes a transformation, discovering friendship in unlikely places and a capacity he didn’t think he had to confront the memories he carries about his relationship with his wife and his son.

This book deals with the themes of families, ageing, grief, self-reliance, friendship and hope.

It will make you laugh. And it will make you cry. But most of all it will remind you about why random acts of kindness make a difference.

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry

Rachel Joyce, 2012

Black Swan

357 pp.

ISBN 9780552778091