Read Along With Me – Coming Soon!

March 9, 2020 by Sally

Have you ever been super excited about something? Counting down the days or the sleeps until a birthday, or Christmas, or a special holiday? If you have then you’ll understand what I’m feeling at the moment, as I count down the days (and the sleeps) until my new book Worse Things comes out on May 1.

Let’s pause for a moment and gaze admiringly at the amazing cover, created by illustrator Sarah Davis and the amazing team at Walker Books Australia.

Worse Things is my fourth verse novel, and so as I thought about fun ways to prepare for, and celebrate, its release, I wondered if I could also somehow celebrate the first three. See, it’s been 11 years since the first one, Pearl Verses the World was released, 10 years since Toppling and six years since Roses are Blue. So you might not have even been alive when the first one was published and, if you were and you have read it, it might have been quite some time ago.

So, here’s my plan. In the weeks leading up to Worse Things’ release, I’m going to have a read-along of the other three – one each week. What’s a read-along I hear you ask? It’s when lots of people (well, I’m crossing my fingers there’ll be lots) read the same book at the same time and talk about it.

How will we talk about it? I’ll be posting each day here on my blog, and answering questions here; I’ll also be running a Facebook live each week on my author page and again you can drop in and ask questions – live. But that’s driven by me. I’m also asking you to talk about the book – through chatting on my social media or, in any other way, including your own Instagram, other social media, or blog. I’ll share more ideas in the lead up.

So, how can you get involved?

Grab a copy of one or more of the books. You might already own a copy, and, if you’re in Australia, there’s a good chance your school library of local library will have a copy. If you’d like to buy copies, pop into your local bookshop, or they are available online. American readers, if you’d prefer there are US editions of Pearl Verses the World and Toppling, and UK readers, although the titles are different, Pearl and John and Dom are the same books inside.
Follow my page on Facebook. This is not my personal page where I post what I had for breakfast, but my author page where I share stuff about my books, my writing, and other reading related stuff. You can also follow me on Instagram or on Twitter.
If you are a teacher with a class who reads one of my books during this time, I have a few slots available for Skype sessions and, in Perth, a few slots for class visits, to chat directly about one of the books. Contact me to discuss.
If you have a blog or podcast and would like to chat about one of the books, or run some other cool related thing, again, let me know.
Get ready to hashtag. The hashtag for the whole event will be #readwithsally. To talk about one specific book, you can also use these: Pearl Verses the World #pearlvworld, Toppling #toppling , Roses are Blue #blueroses and Worse Things #worsethings.
If all of this is too much, I’d love if you’d just cheer me (and my books) on from the sidelines, even if quietly. Launching a new book is exciting but it’s also a tiny bit terrifying, so every little bit of goodwill helps!

Thanks for reading this far and thanks in advance for celebrating with me and whatever way you can. Drop back soon to see what else I have planned. In the meantime, I’d love you to comment and tell me about a time when you were counting down the days till something exciting.

Tis the Season for Rejections

December 7, 2017 by Sally

Tis the season for rejections

Dammit dammit dam, dam gosh darn dam

Coming in from all directions

Dammit dammit dam, dam gosh darn dam

Gird your loins and grab your chocky

Dammit dammit dam, dam gosh darn dam

The writing life is getting rocky.

Dammit dammit dam, dam gosh darn dam!

Sing it with me! Or not. Either way, it seems that December is bringing with it the usual flurry of rejections to my writerly friends. I’m not sure, but I suspect that there are two reasons for what seems like an extra high level of these harbingers of doom at this time of year: firstly, because it’s the end of the year and the number of new releases drops, there is a bit more time to appraise the slush pile; and secondly, because it’s summer, and a good time to take summer holidays (because duh, when else would you take summer holidays?), there is a need for publishing staff to do some desk clearing before they head to the beach.

Whatever the reason, every year around this time I notice lots of rejections appearing in the mailboxes of my friends – or myself. As I write this, I have yet to receive one this festive season, but there’s still time, and I’ve probably just jinxed myself.

So, what to do if you get one? Here are five tips.

See the song above. Grab some chocolate, or other comfort food/drink/activity and indulge. You’re allowed to feel sorry for yourself. You’ve been working at this game for years/months and rejection hurts.
Vent. It’s fine to vent. Everyone vents sometime. Vent to a friend, a loved one, your writers group, your mum, your mirror. A rider though: I recommend venting in closed circles. The friends I have seen venting online have done so in private groups. This is highly recommended. Much better than venting on a public page, or your blog. Why? Here’s a quick illustration. Imagine that I am blogging about my submissions

ME: Woe is me. My magnum opus has just been rejected by Bippity Boppity Publishers. Don’t they realise what a true genius I am? Did they even read it?

BIPPITY BOPPITY PUBLISHER (in a quiet moment): I think I’ll look at my Google Alerts and see what wonderful things are being said about my books online (GOOGLES MADLY). Oh. Sally Murphy thinks I’m a bad judge of quality, does she? She is saying mean things online. I don’t care what she submits to me in future, I won’t be publishing it.

ME (Blissfully unaware of Bippity’s attitude and posting again on my blog): I don’t care about that rejection I had last week. Today I am sending my magnum opus to Hippity Hoppity Publications. Wish me luck everyone. Fingers crossed that I succeed this time!

HIPPITY HOPPITY PUBLISHER (considering my manuscript): This isn’t bad. I wonder what Sally’s online presence is like. It’s important we know she can market herself. (GOOGLES MADLY). Oh. This manuscript has been rejected by Bippity Boppity. Scrolls. And four other publishers. Hmm. Maybe it isn’t as good as I thought. Reads some more. And she said mean things about other publishers. That’s not nice. I don’t think it’s worth the trouble. (Reaches for another offering from teetering slush pile).

You probably get my point.

Consider what the rejection says. There’s a good chance that your rejection letter/email is a standard rejection. This one goes something like: We have considered your manuscript carefully but regret to inform you… If you get one of these, you know that someone has at least looked at your manuscript. But, if you get one that has been personalised, even the tiniest bit, read that tiny bit. I once had a publisher who sent me standard rejection after standard rejection but, after a while, she started adding a little handwritten note to the lettersr: “This one is getting close” she might say. Or “Cute. But we have enough animal manuscripts at the moment”. Eventually, she accepted a manuscript, because I had listened to those notes and adapted my writing and what I subbed to her I’ve had longer rejections which have told me what is wrong with the manuscript. And I’ve read them. What these messages tell you is that someone has looked closely at your work and seen enough promise to encourage you. So if it’s there, it is worth your while to closely consider the advice given – even if your initial thought is that it’s wrong. A publisher/publishing assistant/editor has seen something in your work worth commenting on. Smile and listen. After all, they work in the very business you are trying to break into.
Get your manuscript ready to send back out. This DOES NOT mean you should send it straight back out to the next one on your list. It actually means closely study what the next publisher publishes, what their submission guidelines say, even whether they are open to submissions. Taking the time to do this can save you months of waiting for the next rejection letter – and, of course, increase your chances of acceptance. Another important consideration here is how many times your manuscript has been rejected. If it has been multiple times and you’ve received standard rejections, now is the time to seriously consider whether your manuscript needs reworking. Getting some critiquing advice and revising before you resubmit could be what’s needed.
Be glad you’re not this guy. I’m pretty sure this is the worst rejection letter I’ve ever seen (is it bad that it made me laugh?). After you’ve finished laughing, use your own rejection note for something festive: rip it up and make streamers for your Christmas tree. Or cut it into the shape of a star and hang in on the wall. Or, if you’re in colder climes, use it to start a warming Christmas fire. I don’t keep my rejection letters, or even keep count of them. Why keep a record of failures? Reycle and do something good for the planet!

Lastly, I’m sure you’ve all heard the stories of how many times people like JK Rowling were rejected. I’m not repeating those, because, to be honest, when I hear those figures I think ‘hah! I can top those numbers!’ Which probably isn’t the point. But the point IS that every writer gets rejected. And most of us continue to get rejected throughout our careers, even after we’ve had some successes. The rare few who don’t are exceptions, and probably celebrities writing about bodily functions. Or married to someone in publishing. (Hmmmm: I think this is a good point to refer you to my friend Sue Whiting’s awesome post about professional jealousy).

Got a good tip about handling rejection, or a question to ask? Leave me a comment. Otherwise, sing with me:

Dammit dammit dam, dam gosh darn daaaaaaaaam!

Postal Treasures – and a Bookmark for YOU

February 8, 2017 by Sally

My postman has been kept busy later, bringing me all kinds of goodies. First, I came home to a bulk package from Fremantle Press. It was filled to the brim with these delicious bookmarks, to promote my forthcoming junior novel, Looking Up:

Delicious, aren’t they? If you’d like me to send one your way, I will. All you need to do is take a shelfie (photo of your bookshelf) or a selfie (photo of you) featuring one or more of my books and post it on Twitter, Instagram or my Facebook Page. Tag me (on Twitter or Instagram), then message me privately with your address and I will sign and send you a bookmark. Easy peasy. I’d like to be able to share your photos, so if you are under 18 make sure your parents know what you are doing.

I’d barely recovered from the excitement of having brand new bookmarks, when postie came with another package. This time it was my author copies of my newest book, Sage Cookson’s Fishy Surprise, the third in the series. I couldn’t wait to line them up with the first two books – and my Sage doll, of course.

All three books are in good bookstores now, with three more titles still to come.

Much nicer postal goodies than a bunch of bills, wouldn’t you agree?