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Ebooks: Love Them or Hate Them?

I confess that, as someone who still uses a paper diary to record meetings and organise her life, I thought I would hate ebooks. After all, part of the pleasure of reading is the feel of a book, the smell of a book, the sheer ‘kick back and relax’ appeal of a book. But, it turns out I don’t hate ebooks at all. In fact, I’m madly and deeply in love with my Kindle, which enables me to carry a virtual library with me wherever I go, although I still devour piles and piles of pbooks, too.

But, somewhat controversially it seems, I am not a huge fan of children’s picture books taking ebook form — whether as enhanced apps or straight stories. Children are exposed to so much technology at such an early age these days. In my house, I feel like my husband and I are constantly trying to cut back on my daughter’s exposure to ‘screen time’, and I know we’re not alone in that. Numerous studies have shown that overexposure to electronic media at a young age does impact a child’s developing brain and can adversely affect concentration and attention span.

But beyond all that is the tactile pleasure I derive from reading with my daughter. At the end of her day, as she snuggles up next to me, and together we turn the pages of her current book, I feel like I’m connecting with her in the same way that my mother connected with me before. It’s a shared experience that transcends generations. It’s just not the same if those pages are being turned with the swipe of a finger.

Once kids hit their teens, my scruples seem to fade away. I hope that by then my own daughter will be a booklover through and through — indoctrinated with a love of words that will never fade. So if she chooses to read for pleasure on an iPad, Kindle or whatever other form of technology that will have arrived by then, that’s probably going to be fine with me. Just as long as she’s still reading! But if a dog-eared paperback is stuffed in her bag, I’ll be smiling … 

This article first appeared as my Publisher's Insider column for Kids' Book Review.

The Character's Voice

Recently, I read a book where each chapter was narrated by a different character. The only problem was that two of the characters had virtually indistinguishable ‘voices’ and unless I was starting a new chapter when I picked up the book in the evening — and so could see the character’s name on the chapter opener — I found myself sometimes having to flick back to the start of the chapter to remind myself of who was talking. A real pity as the story itself was compelling and the book would have been a great read if more attention had been paid to the characterisation.

Conversely, we all know when an author has nailed a character. We find ourselves completely immersed in their world; we can hear them, see them in our mind — we believe in them completely. When this happens, we know that the author has mastered the character’s ‘voice’. So, how can this be achieved?

Firstly, you have to know your character as well as, if not better than, you know yourself. You have to know their likes and dislikes, their temperament, their values, their goals, their dreams … Only a fraction of these traits might ever appear in your story, but you still need to know them all so that every word and every action is informed by them. This will go a long way to creating an authentic character who acts from consistently believable motives.

Secondly, you need to know their time period or ‘world’ intimately. What are the customs? What technology is around? What are the speech patterns and expressions of the general population — does this vary between classes, occupations, sects, age groups? If so, how?

Then refine this so that it becomes specific to your character. How do they go about every second of their day? How do they interact with others? What specific turns of phrase are unique to them? What habits — conscious or unconscious — do they have?

Each and every character in the story should be treated in this way so that they are as distinct on the page as they would be if you were meeting them in person. The result should be characters that don’t simply tell your story but make it come to life.

This article first appeared as my Publisher's Insider column for Kids' Book Review.

The Changing Face of Selling Books

As recently as a few decades ago, how a book was sold operated very differently to today’s book retail environment. Books were predominantly sold through bricks and mortar bookstores. The publisher’s sales reps visited a bookshop with a list of their upcoming new titles. Stock would be ordered by the owner/manager and that stock would be delivered once the book was released.

The bookshop would usually ‘purchase’ books on a ‘sale or return’ basis — meaning that if the books hadn’t sold within a certain period (often up to 12 months from date of release), they could simply return the books to the publisher at no cost to themselves. After that period, books would move to ‘firm sale’ and the bookseller would have to purchase stock with no option of returning it.

As a result, the success of a book was largely dependent on how many copies sold in that first release period. If people kept coming into the bookshop and buying a title, then the bookseller would keep ordering it — and would continue to do so even when the book had moved onto firm sale terms.

If people didn’t keep buying it, then it would over time vanish from the shelves. After all, more books are published every month and there’s a limit to how many books a bookshop can stock at any one time.

While bookshops (in Australia, at least) still operate on a sale or return system, pretty much everything else has shifted.

Now, sadly, bricks and mortar bookshops are dwindling … fast. Recently, it was announced that the number of independent bookshops in Britain has dropped below 1000 (a third fewer than nine years ago), and that same trend is evident everywhere.

Online retailers have changed the face of book sales. With huge warehouses at their disposal, and quick delivery arrangements in place with the major publishers, they can ‘hold’ far more stock than a traditional bookshop ever could. As consumers, we have become used to scrolling through vast catalogues of titles and making our purchases with a simple click of the mouse.

Word of mouth doesn’t operate the way it used to either. Blogs and other websites and online communities mean that ‘word of mouth’ now spans continents instantly. Sales of a book can be languishing one minute and then soaring the next — simply because the title has gone viral on social media.

And what does that mean for booklovers? Well, for consumers it means that more books are available to us than ever before and, in some cases, for longer than ever before. For publishers, it’s a rapidly evolving world with new rules that will continue to cause shake-ups across the industry (and I haven’t even mentioned self-publishing or ebooks here!).

But then, as Heraclitus said, ‘The only thing that is constant is change.’

This article first appeared as my Publisher's Insider column for Kids' Book Review.

Coping with Rejection

Recently, I’ve had a couple of authors express the following sentiment to me: ‘I wish publishers would say why they’re rejecting a manuscript. It’s so disheartening to either hear nothing, or just have your manuscript returned with a bland, “You’ve been unsuccessful” note.’ So I thought I should perhaps address this in a column!

Firstly, it’s important to realise that publishers (the big ones in particular) simply don’t have time to write a personal note to accompany every rejected manuscript, as they receive thousands of manuscripts to assess. Small publishers, who receive correspondingly fewer manuscripts, may sometimes reply with a word or two of guidance, but that’s very rare and can’t be relied on.

Secondly, the reason a manuscript is rejected may not always be dependent on the quality of the manuscript itself. The aspiring author may have submitted a well-written, beautifully crafted manuscript that is for the relevant age group, meets the submission guidelines, and which several in the acquisition team actually enjoyed reading — and it may still be rejected because:

• The publisher already has several books very like it — kids playing in mud; fairies getting up to mischief; babies annoying their siblings — on their publishing program.
• The last two books on that subject matter/in that genre/with mutant zombies as the main characters crashed and burned, so Sales and Marketing don’t want to take a chance on another.
• The Associate Publisher responsible for the list has a personal dislike of books dealing with red balloons or death or trips to Paris. (Never forget that just as you may love a book that someone else simply doesn’t get, publishers have these very human responses too!)

Yes, my examples above might be slightly tongue-in-cheek, but I hope they illustrate that publishing is — and will always be — a subjective ‘business’. Books transport the reader to another world; they invite the reader to wrap themselves in a blanket of words created by someone else’s imagination. Sometimes those words will resonate and sometimes they won’t.

So please don’t take rejection personally. Don’t let it ruin your dream to be published. Don’t let it take away the pride and happiness you should feel at having created a manuscript in the first place. All it means is that your story hasn’t found the right home … yet. 

This article first appeared as my Publisher's Insider column for Kids' Book Review.

The Perfect Author

I need to begin by saying that there is no such thing as the ‘perfect’ author, in just the same way as there is no perfect publisher, no perfect editor, no perfect designer — we’re all human, after all.

However, in over 20 years of publishing, I can say there are certain traits that all the very best authors seem to have in common. And these apply whether they are writing a children’s picture book aimed at 5 to 8 year olds, a self-help book aimed at adults, or a cookbook intended to tantalise the family’s tastebuds. I call them ‘the Three Cs’.

1. Curiosity. Good authors are relentlessly curious … about everything! They’re constantly exploring the world, researching new subjects, and asking questions. I always feel a sense of joy when a first-time author bombards me with questions about the publishing process — it’s usually a sign that they’ll be great to work with. Conversely, silent apathy inspires fear.

2. Commitment. Writing a manuscript is hard. It’s often a long, drawn-out process that tests even the most committed writers. So I guess it’s understandable that some authors seem to switch off the second their manuscript is delivered, believing it now to be the publisher’s responsibility.

Nothing could be further from the truth, however. It’s vital that authors remain actively involved for every single step of the production process — right through to the sales and marketing of their title once it’s published.

For those authors who choose to self-publish, their commitment needs to be even greater as they will need to be on top of every aspect of publication if they’re to be successful.

3. Confidence. This has nothing to do with whether an author is shy or an extrovert and everything to do with whether or not they have a deep, unshakeable belief in the quality of their work and its worthiness to be published. They need to truly believe it has something to offer the reader that will enrich their life in some way — even if that’s just with a good belly laugh!

The life of an author is often one of rejection — manuscripts get knocked back far more often than they get accepted — so it’s that confidence that will keep them contacting publishers and putting themselves out there. It’s also what will keep their book selling once the initial media attention has passed and booksellers have moved on to the next thousand new releases.

There you have it: my Three Cs for a Perfect Author! Something to aim for, at least …


This article first appeared as one of my Publisher's Insider columns for the Kids' Book Review monthly newsletter. Kids' Book Review is a wonderful resource for anyone interested in children's literature, so if you haven't already, please visit the website!

Speechless about the Walkley Awards!

Exciting news this morning is that Speechless: A Year in My Father's Business has been shortlisted for the 2013 Walkley Book Award!

I edited this book for Melbourne University Publishing last year. It was on a tight deadline, but James Button is a great writer and was wonderful to work with. I'm so pleased to see the book nominated for an award that recognises 'excellence in Australian non-fiction literature and long-form journalism'; it's a very worthy nominee.

The winner will be announced on 28 November — I'll be keeping my fingers crossed.