sallymurphy.com.au

Sally Murphy, Australian author

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.

In the News Part 2

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It seems I’m not the only one blogging about the issue of Angus & Robertson charging distributors and publishers a fee for shelf space (see my posting below). Entries are popping up all over the blogosphere, and the general consensus is that it is a dud decision on A & R’s part.

You can read opinions other than mine at Larvatus Prodeo an Australian group blog which discusses politics, sociology, culture, life, religion and science from a left of centre perspective, or at Calvin, technology notes for lawyers – law, technology, computers and a few other things, and finally at Ben Peek (it’s a blog).

It would be nice to think that some of this outrage would make a difference to A & R’s decision.

Things to Do?

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Have had a bit of online time this afternoon. Updated this blog and my other , added a stats feature so I can see how many people are reading what I write, and then did some blog-surfing. I’ve been jumping from blog to blog, interested to see what others have got to say. Some were writers’ blogs, others more random.

And I learnt about something called a meme. A meme (in blogging terms) is a list of questions posted in one blog or on one website, which otters then address on their own blogs/sites, with a link to the original. You can see a better explanation here.

Anyway, I cam across a meme which challenges people to write a list of 101 things to do in 1001 days. It’s like a new year’s resolution or a (long) to do list, with the added challenge that you make your list public, then keep the world updated on your progress in completing the things on the list.

For a moment I was tempted, but I haven’t joined in. I’m not sure I want to embark on something like that unless I’m pretty sure I’ll find the drive to firstly get the things done, and secondly update others on my successes (or otherwise). Still, I find it an interesting concept and enjoyed browsing through the goals others had set themselves – which ranged from buying a tooth-whitening system, to watching the sun rise on a mountain top.

There are lots of memes around, some for fun, some to encourage site visitors, others to share useful information. I haven’t yet participated in any, but now that I know more maybe I will some time.

In the meantime, thought I haven’t written a list of 101 things, I do write myself a list of things to do each week. I include things I know I must do (where a deadline must be met, for example) and other things I would like to achieve, and I cross them off as I go. My current list includes reviewing the three books I’ve finished this week, updating both of my blogs at least three times (this one’s had more than three, the other needs another entry), assignment marking (done), and more. Come Monday I’ll revisit my list, and start a new one, starting with the things I didn’t get done this week.

Having a list does keep me on track, but sometimes, like this afternoon, I give myself a break and do some stuff not on the list. It is Saturday after all.

Blog in Haste, Repent at Leisure

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Hmm. I wrote the post below this morning after I took the kids to school. I hadn’t pressed ‘publish’ (which is how you make the post appear on the site) when the phone rang. Could I come in to work – a relief teacher (that’s me) was needed in an emergency. I’m trying not to do relief at present because I’m not really well enough, but it was an emergency so I said yes, pressed publish and headed off to work.

Four hours later I’m home and back at my desk, having had quite a fun morning (I had to plan lessons on my feet so I read some great picture books to the class, then did an extended music and drama session). The first thing I saw when I sat down here was my blog post which was still open. The second thing I saw were the glaring spelling errors in the first paragraph of my post. Yes, because I was in a hurry I had not proofread or even spellchecked.

Fortunately for me, blogger allows you to edit posts even after they’re published, so I’ve now fixed them, but if anyone read my blog in the last four hours they probably shook their heads at my sloppy work. These were not little errors – they were big fat glaring ones. In future, if I’m in a hurry, I’ll save the posting for later when I have time to do it properly.

But there’s a lesson there for all writers. Proofreading is such a vital part of the writing process. I try not to proofread AS I write, especially for the first draft – that is, I get it all down before I go looking for errors. But then I proofread each draft, with the final draft getting several goings over. Where possible, I also get at least one other person to proofread for me, to see what I’ve missed.

Do you proofread your work meticulously? If not, you should not be sending it out for publishers to read. The care you take with proofreading (and manuscript [presentation, but that’s another story) can make or break your story – a manuscript riddled with errors says to the publisher that you don’t consider it worth doing a good job on, or that you don’t know your craft.

Do yourself a favour and proofread proofread proofread! It doesn’t matter whether it’s a blog post, a letter or a manuscript – get into the habit of proofreading everything you write.

By the way – even though I had to work unexpectedly, I’m still smiling.

And Another Interesting blog

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No, my blog is NOT going to turn into an unending list of links to other people’s blogs, nor do I spend all of my time reading blogs, but there are so many good ones out there. Just came across this one, by an Australian agent – it’s called Call My Agent! and provides some useful insights into using agents, getting published, promoting and more.

Blogs aside, have had a fairly productive day today. Managed to get my assignments marked, wrote a review and did a little reading. Istill feel like an invalid, but I’m on the way to recovery. Yay!

Bookboy Blog

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Am trying today for a full day’s work, the first in a week. Have started, as I often do, with some reading and browsing. Came across another interesting blog, by a librarian who calls himself Bookboy. Cool moniker – ‘Is it a bird, is it a plane, no – it’s Bookboy! Able to leap big returns piles in a single bound, shelve books in the blink of an eye… anyway, Bookboy blogs about books, libraries and so on. I like his reviews and his style, which is chatty with a sprinkling of humour. Not book related, but the You-tube video he currently has featured (under his post of June 25) is pretty funny.

Now for some work. Today I have reviews to write, assignments to mark, and some work on my little chapter book stories to do. Onwards and upwards.

sallymurphy.com.au