sallymurphy.com.au

Sally Murphy, Australian author

Featured Blogger Friday: Catriona Hoy

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It’s Friday and here on my blog, every Friday is Featured Blogger Friday. Today’s featured blogger is Catriona Hoy. Welcome, Cat.

Firstly, why do you blog?
One of my writing resolutions for this year was to join the 21st century and commit to blogging. I had previously set up a blog but found that confronted by that empty page I couldn’t think of anything to say that anyone would be remotely interested in. So although I had a blog, there wasn’t really anything there. Until one day I had a run in with the school principal at the school where my children went in the UK when they banned sunscreen in the school. Well, as an Australian I then had plenty to say lol! So my first real blog was very naughty but the school did eventually change their policy the next year, after we had returned to Australia. I featured on nationwide tv and BBC radio during my campaign and my children were thoroughly embarassed…
Now I blog because as writers, publicity and having a public profile are so important. I’m still struggling with Twitter and I have two Facebooks, my one for friends and a public page. As I blogged however, I realised that the blogging world was much bigger than I imagined and I’ve met some great new writers and interesting people.
What do you blog about?
 Mostly I blog about my writing, or things that are happening to me. I’m not a regular blogger and tend to be sporadic. There are some fantastic blogs for writers out there such as your own Sally and Dee White’s.  This week I blogged about the demise of my first book, as the rights have just reverted to me. It’s the first time it has happened to me and made me feel a little sad that it will no longer be available.
Who is your target readership?
 Hmm, now that’s a good question and one that I haven’t quite answered for myself yet. I guess my target readership is anyone who is interested in children’s picture books as that is mainly what I write. I don’t think any of my students read it, which is good, as I like to keep my lives kind of separate which is sometimes hard.

How often do you blog?
 A bit like exercising….not as often as I’l like, or probably should. In fits and bursts. As I’m a high school teacher, I have to fit my writing around other commitments and at times like this, when there are mid year exams and reports to write, other things have to take a bit of a back seat. Like with exercising, I feel guilty but I also told myself this was my year for not feeling guilty but I’m failing miserably at that lol.

How much time do you devote to blogging?
 Hmm, see answer to the last question. There are times when I don’t keep up with emails and some of the groups I belong to. It depends how much spare time I have.
Do you have a favourite blog post?
 I’d be lying if I said I did. I check out the blogs of my friends when I have time or when they send me links to other blogs.
What do you see as the benefits of blogging?
 Writing is so much about networking these days and making contacts is important. But it’s also nice to meet new people and learn about their writing journey. Writing can be quite isolating and other writers have similar experiences and I have such huge resources to draw on. Sometimes when you meet people finally face to face they feel like old friends.
What blogging platform do you use and why?
 I use Blogger…why? I find it simple to use. I think WordPress has more features but like my gas and electricity…I need to be motivated to change.
Do you have a favourite blog to visit (other than your own)? 
 I visit many of my writing friends in Australia but also this one http://notesfromtheslushpile.blogspot.com/ . Candy Gourlay is a dynamic member of the SCBWI in the UK and we met at the SCBWI conference in Bologna in 2008. She has some fantastic advice on blogging and using the internet as a tool. I just wish I had time to follow it all.
Lastly, when you are not blogging, what else do you do?
 I’d like to say writing! But probably I’m marking essays, or tests or preparing class notes. Perhaps I’m hanging up the washing or making dinner. Maybe I’m worrying about whether I’ve been a good mother and the fact that I forgot my sushi duty at my daughter’s primary school. Sometimes I do visits to schools and libraries to promote my books or just to keep in touch with how kids think.

Thanks for dropping in.
Thanks for having me Sally. I am always amazed at the energy you put into everything you do and your writing is wonderful. When I grow up I want to be just like you!

  Awww, thanks Cat. You can visit Catriona’s blog here.

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I’m excited to welcome Catriona Hoy to my blog today. Cat is here as part of her first ever blog tour, to celebrate the release of her new picture book Puggle.

Welcome Catriona. It’s great to have you here on your very first blog tour. Because I have reviewed several of your books, including Puggle, I thought it might be interesting to chat with you about the review process from the author’s perspective. So, here goes.

1. Can you share with readers how your books get reviewed ?

When my first book came out, I sat down with the publicity person and was given a list of do’s and don’ts. I’ve broken most of them now! I was also given a list of people/agencies that copies of books were regularly sent out to. I guess every publicist has their own list. Often it’s a surprise when a book gets reviewed but I do a have a google alert on my name which tells me if something new has cropped up…or if people have reserved my books in libraries!

Friends will often tell me if they have read a review. That networking is all important. Also the publisher will send out copies of reviews in mainstream media or links to reviews.

Thankyou by the way for your review of Puggle! To illustrate the point, I found out through self googling! But the next day it came up on my email google alert anyway.

2. Why are reviews important to you, and to your books?

There are so many books out there that book shops can be confusing places. A review will put the idea is someone’s mind and hopefully stay with them. It’s also nice to have your work acknowledged and feel that the job has been done well.
Reviews mean that people are actually out there reading your books. And it would be a sad thing to have put in all that time and effort into them for them to languish in some dark storage warehouse.

3. What is your best review experience?

The good thing about being reviewed is that it gives me the opportunity to stand back from my work and see it evaluated through other eyes. We get so close to things that we have written sometimes that it’s hard to see the wood for the trees.

I often learn things about my writing that I didn’t know or hadn’t conceptualised. Sometimes it’s a pleasant surprise, other times it can be something that I can learn and grow from.
Of course I like all your reviews Sally!

4. What is your worst review experience?
There are probably two that stick in mind. ‘My Grandad Marches on Anzac Day’ has been very popular and even now, I still get some touching emails from people who have read it. To me it was very real, in fact I used my husband’s own words in the book when the Dad says ‘well done boys’ as they march past. I was a little flabbergasted when one reviewer called this ‘patronising’. My husband certainly didn’t mean to be patronising when he was watching his father march in the parade!

The other was more recent when someone pointed out a flaw in one of my books and implied that it would have been better if she had edited it. Which I found a little inappropriate.

5. What do you do with the reviews of your books?

If the links are on line, I will often post the links on my website, so that people can read these. Increasingly I’m finding reviews posted on people’s blogs which is nice to find. I usually post a thankyou on their blog to let them know I’ve read it and appreciate the thoughts.
For other reviews, I have a big cardboard box under my desk, where lots of clippings go. Maybe I’ll put them in a scrapbook one day when I stop working. I’m curious, what do you do with yours?

Sally says: Like you, I link to the online ones, and print them too. I keep hard copies of reviews along with any other  press in two lever arch files. Each cutting is in a separate plastic sleeve.

6. What advice would you give to someone who is about to be reviewed for the first time?

Don’t take it personally! Celebrate with your friends if it’s good; share it with the world. If it’s not quite what you had hoped, let off steam in a trusted environment if you must. Be very careful what you say however, as the writing world is a very small place. Accept that not everyone will like your book.

7. Can you share any links to reviews of Puggle, or your other books, online?

Well Sally, you have reviewed all my books so far! So I’d encourage everyone to go to your aussiereviews website. I honestly don’t know how you find the time to review, write, teach , be a mother! You are amazing! other online reviews include:
Mummies Are Amazing
Daddies

I like this review of My Grandad Marches on Anzac Day because it was written by someone young.

Here is an example of a blog review for Puggle. I liked this one because it highlighted the educational aspect of the book.

Thanks for dropping in Catriona. You can follow the rest of Catriona’s tour at the following blogs:

April 12 http://scribblygum.wordpress.com/

April 13 http://deescribewriting.wordpress.com/

April 14 http://sallymurphy.blogspot.com/

April 15 http://www.letshavewords.blogspot.com/

April 16 http://orangedale.livejournal.com/

April 17 http://sherylgwyther.wordpress.com/

April 18 http://sandyfussell.blogspot.com/

April 19 http://katswhiskers.wordpress.com/

April 20 http://belka37.blogspot.com/

April 21   http://angelasunde.blogspot.com/

April 22 http://trudietrewin.com/blog-ramblings/

and you can buy Puggle online from Fishpond, or in any good book store.

http://sallymurphy.com.au/2010/04/180/

Why Go on a Blog Tour, Part 1

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Last month I had a blog tour with a difference (more on that in a moment) to celebrate the release of Toppling. This week my writer friend http://www.catrionahoy.com.au/embarks on her first ever blog tour, to promote her new picture book Puggle (she’ll be calling in here in a few days’ time).

So, with all this blog touring happening, I thought it might be timely to talk a little about what a blog tour is, and why they are a great way of promoting a book.

A blog tour is, simply, a virtual form of a book tour. So, in a ‘real’ book tour a writer might travel from town to town, state to state, or even overseas to promote a new book – talking to the media, speaking at conferences and holding signings in book stores. A blog tour (also known simply as a virtual tour) takes place online, so the author stays at home, instead touring from blog to blog.

Here’s an example. When I had a blog tour for my verse novel Pearl Verses the World last year, I toured for ten days:

Day 1 – Spinning Pearls, where I guest blogged about the process of writing Pearl.

Day 2 – The Writing Life, where I was interviewed by Brenton Cullen.

Day 3 – Tips for Young Writers, where I was interviewed by Dee White.

Day 4 – Persnickety Snark, where I was interviewed by Adele.

Day 5 – Let’s Have Words, where I discussed promotion with Claire Saxby.

Day 6 – Just Listen Book Reviews, where Allie reviewed Pearl.

Day 7 – Look at That Book, where it was Lisa’s turn to review the book.

Day 8 – Write and Read With Dale, with yet another wonderful review.

Day 9 – Tales I Tell, where Mabel cleverly interviewed me in verse.

Day 10 – Robyn Opie’s Writing for Children Blog where I shared some hints for getting published.

You can see that I visited ten blogs, and my visits ranged from me being interviewed by the blogger to guest blogging, with some blog hosts choosing simply to review the book. Catriona’s tour this week will be similar.

My tour in March this year, to celebrate Toppling was a little bit different, and perhaps not strictly a tour, because instead of me going blog to blog, I invited other bloggers to visit me, on an in-bound blog tour. I also had a tour in November in December last year to celebrate the release of Snowy’s Christmas where I visited other blogs, but instead of visiting every day for a week or ten days, this time I toured on Sundays from the release of the book up till Christmas. I chose to do something different with each of these tours simply to avoid the three tours being repetitive.

Generally, though, a blog tour involves visiting other people’s blogs to talk about your book. While a tour usually coincides with the release of a book, there is no reason a tour couldn’t also be used to build new interest in a book which has been out for a while.

Have you got a book in print? Have you ever been on a book tour? Why not think about getting one organised?

Tomorrow I’ll talk a little about the benefits of a blog tour.

sallymurphy.com.au