sallymurphy.com.au

Sally Murphy, Australian author

Writing Quote of the Week

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A manuscript: something submitted in haste and returned at leisure.

This morning I commiserated with a writer friend over a rejection – but agreed with her that “at least it only took three months” for the publisher to respond.  So, when I was looking for a writing quote for today, the ‘returned at leisure’ part of this quote spoke to me (I am not for a second suggesting that my friend submitted too quickly – in haste – because I’m sure she didn’t).
Response times can be agonising for writers. We have written what we are sure is going to be a best seller, but we then wait three months, six months, or more for a response – and when it’s a rejection, especially, it’s very easy to think of that wait time as wasted time.

What can you do about it? Generally, you can’t hurry the response time. Reading piles at most publishing houses are huge. And, if a manuscript gets beyond the first read, then there are a range of steps and stages it goes through before a final decision. So, a wait is pretty much inevitable.
But you can use that time to work on new manuscripts, build your writing skills, network, research other markets…the list is almost endless. And, if the publisher you have submitted to is happy with simultaneous submissions, then you can serve that wait time for more than one publisher concurrently.
As for submitting in haste – that’s a whole nother blog post.

Featured Blogger Friday: Matt Cunningham

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It’s time once again for
Featured Blogger Friday.

This weeks’ featured blogger is Matt Cunningham. Welcome Matt.

Firstly, why do you blog?
 I started a blog three times and the third one stuck. The first two I was just rambling about things that I wanted to ramble about and realized that is not really the platform to do it in. I blog because I want to ask writers and illustrators about their process of creation and creativity. I blog for lit geeks like me.

What do you blog about?
I like to focus on more boy driven material. There are so many wonderful blogs out there about girl driven lit. Lots of book review blogs, etc. So I wanted to talk about books, comic books, illustrations and how they all work together.

Who is your target readership?
Other lit geeks and I am trying to spread the word to a younger audience – boys and girls (middle grade readers). I am a big believer in getting boys to read. And my hope is that when my stories start reaching out to them that they will come and check out the blog to learn more about the type of books they are reading.

How often do you blog?
Up to two times a week. I like to put something on the blog that is meaningful to me and to others to read. I don’t feel that I am the right person to just post a question and have a thousand people respond to it.

How much time do you devote to blogging?
I can spend several hours a week putting together interviews and thoughts into the posts. I have several questions out now to illustrators and writers.

What do you see as the benefits of blogging? 
I think it is a great way to stay in tune with what is going on the writing world. A great way to meet other authors. A platform to share your work and your aspirations. A really good way to meet authors and illustrators that you admire – invite them to an interview. I have met some amazing people through blogging. It has opened doors for me.

What blogging platform do you use and why?
I use Blogger. I have been reading the Kidlitosphere posts about WordPress, but I am indifferent. I think you make your blog your own, regardless of the platform. I look at it like this. If Skywalker had a crappy old beat up lightsaber and not the new fancy model, he would still be an awesome Jedi. That is a bit of a stretch, but I had to squeeze something Star Wars in this interview.

Do you have a favourite blog to visit (other than your own)?
Cynthia Leitich Smith (awesome author and blogger)

I love reading the ladies over at Boys, Books, Buzz -they have lots of great things to say about writing and they are all authors. Tons of giveaways, great posts and entertaining.

And I want to give a shout out to Beverly BevenFlorez – she has a great blog and it gives a weekly round up of all the great blogs of the week. So I don’t have to go fishing around to find some wonderful treasures – http://www.bevenflorez.com/

And of course one of my all time favorites – Guys Read – http://guysread.com/ – this is more of a site than blog. But there is a blog there. There is so much great info for the XY Chromosome crowd (guys!)

There are too many to list. Sorry if I left out some of my peeps here. But if you go to my blog you can find all sorts of wonderful blogs and sites.

Lastly, when you are not blogging, what else do you do?
During the day I am researcher for a television production company. I spend most of the day reading and looking up material to be used in documentary television. Sometimes I work on TV scripts. During lunch, after work and early in the morning (when I slip away for a few minutes from being a husband and dad) I am writing my middle grade book and working on a graphic novel with a friend.

Thanks for dropping in.

Thanks again Sally!! I really appreciate it. Happy blogging. Or should I say May the Blog Be with You! (I hope I didn’t ramble on too much)

My pleasure, Matt.
You can visit Matt’s blog at  http://literaryasylum.blogspot.com/

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Just a quick post this morning, as I don’t often blog between sending the Murphlets off to school and heading out the door to my day job. But my Google alerts led me to find a wonderful review of Toppling over at a site called MC Reviews and it brought such a huge smile to my face (and my heart) that I just had to share it. There is nothing nicer than when someone ‘gets’ your book baby.

Have a lovely Tuesday. I know I will.

https://sallymurphy.com.au/2010/04/172/

Reasons Not to Write: Number 3

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I’ve got nothing to write about.

‘I want to be a writer,” I hear, “but I’ve got nothing to write about.”

This is a difficult one. Difficult not because there IS nothing to write, but difficult because to me this excuse expresses one of two quite different problems.

Problem one is that some people are very much taken by the idea of wanting to be an author with their name in big letters on the front of a book, touring the country doing author signings and besieged by fans wanting autographs. But, in spite of that dream, the person is not really inspired to write anything. That’s too much hard work.

If this is you, stop reading now. Go on. Find something else to do. Because if you want to BE a writer, but don’t really want to write, I can’t help you. And if you’re after fame and fortune, then turn your back on writing and go and sign up for Big Brother, or Australia’s Got Talent, or do a nudie run at the tennis or… You get the picture. Your problem here isn’t that you’ve got nothing to write about, it’s that you don’t care enough about the writing to actually sit down and write something. And there are much easier ways of getting famous.

But problem two is something different. You want to write, maybe even need to write (and by need, I don’t mean need to do it to get rich and famous, but rather need to because you have this inner voice that insists you express yourself through writing) but when you sit down to do it, you find you can’t. Sometimes called writer’s block (which comes in different shapes and forms, in my experience) the answer here is more complex, but very often that feeling of having nothing to write about is self imposed. “I could write a story about…nah, no one would like that.” “I’ll write a novel about…nah, been done before.” So instead of having nothing to write about, you are telling yourself you have nothing important, or funny enough, or publishable enough to write about.

If this is you, there is one solution. Stop second guessing yourself. Just sit down and write. Often. preferably every day. Start something and finish it. Start something else and finish that. Read a writing book or browse the web for good writing exercises and try them. Once you’re in the writing habit you can start thinking about publication, or sharing your work. But for now, just write. About anything and everything. If you really want to write, you’ll find things to write about.

So what are you waiting for? You want to be a writer – write.

Featured Blogger Friday: Sheryl Gwyther

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Today I start a new weekly feature here on my blog (drum roll please).
It’s time for:
Featured Blogger Friday
Every Friday I’ll be inviting a blogger to drop in here for a visit and to tell you all about his or her blog. Of course, I will be focussing on blogs which relate to children’s books or writing for children in some way.

So, it gives me great pleasure to welcome today my first Feature Blogger, Sheryl Gwyther. You can check out her blog here, but first, let’s find out a bit about her and her blog. Welcome Sheryl.
What do you blog about?

No surprise, most of my blogging is about the writing life. But, because I love to write, I also cannot help blogging about other things that grab my fancy – like travel and people and places. Occasionally, my blogs get a bit radical too! (When I get angry enough about something – like racism and xenophobic morons.)
But I have noticed one strange thing about blogging – I might start off with a topic in mind, but within the first sentence another topic forms and it’s even better. So my advice is … trust your instincts.

Who is your target readership?

Have to admit I don’t have a target in mind. I just write and hopefully someone will get something out of what I produce. I suspect it is mostly other writers and readers who click on my blog at the moment.

How often do you blog?

I blog when I have something to say. At one stage, when we were fighting the lifting of restrictions against Parallel Importation of books, I blogged once every couple of days. But now, with a work-in-progress hanging over me like the sword of Damascus, I have to work at keeping up my blog. I also have another blog with a different focus: http://sherylgwytherauthor.blogspot.com/

How much time do you devote to blogging?

A morning can disappear very easily when blogging. But it sure is fun doing it!

Do you have a favourite blog post?

Probably the one about what authors need by the bucketful! ‘PERSEVERANCE IS THE WORD’  It was popular with readers too. But the one with the highest hits was ‘840 kittens – resurrected’ (about the RSPCA) – must have been the mention of kittens.

What do you see as the benefits of blogging?

I love writing! So it’s a pleasure when people read and respond to my blog articles. Also it lets people know when I have a new book coming out, or I’ve been awarded something (like an Australian Society of Authors Mentorship). Blogging allows an author to spread her/his ‘platform’ further than ever before – could you have imagined 10 years ago, a reader in the UK reading your words and commenting instantly?

What blogging platform do you use and why?

WordPress.com is fantastic. It’s so versatile and easy to use. It has the benefit of providing separate PAGES, so can be used a website if you want. Best thing is it’s FREE. You can pay more for the .org version with lots more attributes. WordPress also has an excellent SUPPORT link and forums. http://wordpress.com./

Do you have a favourite blog to visit (other than your own)?

Dee White’s blog is always good value! And must mention, Sherryl Clark’s blog too. I’ve learnt a lot about writing from Sherryl over the years  And I can’t go past author and social commentator, Dr Karen Brooks (she’s brilliant)
Lastly, when you are not blogging, what else do you do?
Haha, the trick question, eh? WRITING, of course! Or researching, or plotting, or reading the books of other authors. Notice I didn’t mention the weeds in the garden and the breakfast dishes still in the sink.
Thanks for stopping by, Sheryl.
 
I’ll have another featured blogger next Friday, so drop by and see who my next victim – errrr, visitor – is.
sallymurphy.com.au