0 It's the most wonderful MONTH of the year - Eve Ainsworth

Usually I hate February. It’s a dark, bleak little month. Rain dances through the days and frost greets every morning. You have no money and little motivation. Additional weight gained at Christmas still hangs from your waist like a guilty secret and the resolution to take regular jogs feels like a long forgotten joke.

Yep, it’s usually a month I enter with fear and loathing. It’s usually the month I put a big black cross through, before rushing back to bed and reading myself through it.

 Except this year! This year was different.

February 2015 would be significant for me in many ways.

1    

      1.  I would leave my job

      2.   I would run my first Author visit

      3.  7 Days would finally be published.

Leaving my job was the first positive more. It was a tiring and stressful job that was no good for me in the long term. A job where I would go home and feel mentally and physically exhausted, barely able to think, let alone type. Resigning was like a strange release and I already know it’s the best thing I could’ve done. Yeah ok, we’re poorer. But I’m calmer and that has to be a good thing, right?

Next was a thing that filled me with fear. What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger right? That’s exactly how I felt about stepping out of my comfort zone and entering a brand new school as an author.

I’d done events at my own schools, but this was new and alien. I walked into the building, clutching my bag and trying to ignore the gnawing feeling in the pit of my tummy. BUT it ended up being the best. The students I met were so lovely and engaged and so interested in both 7 Days and my work as an author. I left feeling both inspired and accepted. I realised the buzz I’d gained was a totally new and refreshing experience. This was good for me.

And finally, February was when 7 Days was let out into the big bad world.

And it was a lovely day. I had cake mid-morning (why not). I treated myself to a dress. I received lots of wonderful tweets from supportive followers everywhere. I chatted on-line to other fabulous authors who were being published on the same day. We were all doing different things, but we all felt the same mixture of excitement and anticipation.

Then in the afternoon, I received a wonderful bouquet of flowers from my publisher that so far I have managed not to kill (a new record I feel). 

Later, I went for a meal with my husband. I had a lovely cocktail and a delicious Caribbean curry and toasted the start of an amazing year.

Because it will be an amazing year. This will be the first year I can actually admit to myself that I have ‘done it’, I have accomplished a dream. And whatever life throws at me, whatever the new ups and downs – I need to remind myself of this one moment.

The moment when I became a published author.

The moment when I finally felt like me.

Detail: It's the most wonderful MONTH of the year - Eve Ainsworth

0 The Right Book at the Right Age - Heather Dyer

One reason that new writers have their books rejected is because their writing style doesn't match the content: either the language is too sophisticated for such a simple storyline - or the story is too long or complicated for the target readership. 

Admittedly, it's difficult to categorize books into specific age categories. Children are individuals, after all. Some advanced readers might not be very worldly-wise, and won't yet be ready for 'grittier' stories. Meanwhile, some of their peers may be ready for 'older' content but can't handle more sophisticated language.

But to give your story the best chance of publication, the content needs to match the writing style for that particular age category.

The publishing and bookselling industry tries to help buyers by dividing books into four main groups: picture books, young or early readers, middle grade readers (an American term) and young adult novels. As part of a new course I'm teaching in Writing for Children, I’ve started trying to identify qualities common to books in each age category. Boundaries will be blurred - but I'd love to know what you think of this chart. Am I right? What haven't I considered?
 

Picture books Age 0-5	Early readers 5-7	Middle grade 7-11	YA fiction 12+
0 - 200 words 24,32 or 40 pages.	500-1,500	10-20,000	50,000+
Full colour illustrations	Black and white line drawings every other page	Black and white line drawings every few pages.	No illustrations
Domestic or fantasy settings	Usually domestic settings.	Domestic magic and high fantasy. Realistic settings with parental supervision unless there’s a good reason (fantasy)	The wider world. High fantasy.
	Larger font size, restricted vocabulary. Dialogue.	Large proportion of dialogue, more complex.
	Shorter sentences	More sophisticated sentences.	Lots of interior monologue, reflection, longer speeches.
Text works with illustrations.	Very short paragraphs.	Paragraphs a bit longer.
Nearly no description	Minimal description, but a few sparkling details true to a young reader’s perception of the world.	Detailed setting and character description.	Detailed setting and character description.
Usually in third person	Usually in third person. Some character development possible.	Usually in third person. Rounded characters. Character development more obvious.	Often in first person, and present tense. It’s all about me.
Anthropomorphism, inanimate objects made animate. Familiar roles, settings, objects.	A talking animal almost always points to an early reader. Children in comic or adventure situations, usually having a good time, nothing too awful happens.	Children in danger, frightening situations, facing fears and fighting good and evil. But the real world isn’t too real.	Can be very dark and realistic. Dystopian futures, tragedy, abuse, drugs, etc. Also comedy sex/romance.
	No sex or romance.	Romance is light and about friendships. Or subliminal.	Anything goes.
For the youngest bracket, not necessarily stories with problems solved, but simply an exploration of the world.	Often deal with smaller problems resolved in a shorter time frame. Stakes are lower.	Children with flaws, interactions with peers. Children save the day or resolve things themselves. Growing understanding of the world and their place in it.	Young adults dealing with finding their own way in the world, changing the world or making a name for themselves; asserting themselves; finding own values.
Can be present tense.	Past tense, no leaping around in time or flashbacks.	Still rarely using flashbacks unless short recollections by a character.	Can play with chronology; transitions, flashbacks etc.
Happy endings or comforting closure.   www.heatherdyer.co.uk	Happy endings.	Happy or at least hopeful endings.	Usually at least hopeful, but recently have been a few with bleak endings.

 www.heatherdyer.co.uk

Listen to RLF Fellows talk on the subject 'Why I Write' 

http://www.rlf.org.uk/showcase-cat/why-i-write/?rlf_front=1

 

 

Detail: The Right Book at the Right Age - Heather Dyer

0 Judging a Book....Eve Ainsworth

I have always been a bit fussy when it comes to books. It goes without saying that I have to love the concept and in a lot of cases I'm swayed by recommendations. But what can often make me decide to pick up a book in the first place is the cover. If it is striking, if it grabs my attention - I very often want it, or at least want to know more about it.


So it goes without saying that I was delighted when Scholastic sent me the design for Seven Days. I immediately loved its bright, bold statement and the fact that words, spiteful words from my text, were plastered across it. It represents bullying so well for me. It's a big, bold statement. I was confident that this cover could have impact.

I guess I'd worried a lot about the cover. I really wanted to love it, so it was such a relief to see it. I just wanted to hug the designer behind it (in fact I did at the Scholastic party...!)

It got me thinking just how important cover design can be, and how authors could be blessed or cursed with a cover that they do not like, or do not feel reflects their story.

With this in mind, I spoke to a few authors about their favourite covers and asked what it was about them that made them stand out.

What were their cover stories?

Helen Grant - Urban Legends (Random House)

" I was very pleased this cover because it shows a female (dead?) body but in such a way that it appears almost abstract; you can only see one eye and the line of the face runs diagonally across the cover. I thought that was quite stylish."

    Keren David selected Salvage (Atom Books)

  " I love both the published versions of Salvage. They are very different, but still have lots of impact."

Hilary Freeman selected The Camden Town Tales (Piccadilly Press)

"I love all my Camden Town Tales covers. I think that they appeal to the readership because they are pretty and perfectly targeted."  

Emma Haughton  selected Now You See Me (Usbourne)

'I love this cover because it's so simple, and yet so striking, And that gorgeous zingy green!'

Sheena Wilkinson selected Still Falling (Little Island)

"What I loved was the feel of the cover. I couldn't in a million years have said what I wanted but when I saw what the designer had done I just thought, yeah, that's it. I wanted the book to have a sexy grown up feel which I think it does. My last books all featured horses and I really wanted this one to feel like a departure which it does. "

Caroline Green  selected Hold Your Breath (Piccadilly Press)

"I loved the metallic look that gave it an underwater feel. And the colours are gorgeous."

It's fascinating looking at different front covers and wondering what the author felt about each one. I guess when an area such as design is taken out of their hands, it's even more important that it works, that they connect to it.

What front covers do you especially like? Have you ever picked up a book initially because of the design?

I know I have...

Eve x

Detail: Judging a Book....Eve Ainsworth