rainbow

I have a confession to make: I don’t have any Mary Stewart books on my bookshelf.

I was astonished to discover this. As a teenager, I devoured her books. I blame my mother: she introduced them to me. The mix of romance and mystery had me gripped from the very first page, as I travelled with the writer (nearly all the books were written in the first person), through her highs and lows, fearing for my life and falling in love with the most marvellous men.

I remember choosing a passage from “Airs Above the Ground” to read aloud in an English lesson, trying to express the plot-twisting moment with all the drama that Mary had put on paper. Presumably I lost half the class as the only question I was asked at the end was from the teacher, questioning whether I thought the book was aimed at girls. Still, for me, this was a crucial, gripping and exciting moment in my reading life.

Quite simply, I loved to be engrossed in one of her books, ignoring as much as possible of my homework/family/duties in the process. While I am surprised that I don’t have any of her books any more, I assume that they were all Mum’s and were left with her… and now my father will have disposed of them (see earlier comments on ‘books for girls’!)

Sadly, Mary Stewart died this week at the grand age of 97. Looking up her Wikipedia entry (is there any other source of info?) I was surprised to discover how long ago the books were written. That I, a teenager in the 1980s, had such an affiliation with these books published in the 1960s is quite remarkable. They may not be literary classics, but books that can continue to be read and enjoyed decades after they have been written definitely have one definition of ‘classic’. There is so much rubbish written that will never be read again, yet these are some of the greatest re-readable page-turners.

But perhaps my favourite discovery was that she was born Mary Rainbow. Now there’s a name to regret losing on marriage! Born a spectrum of colour, that she shared through the written word throughout her life.

So now I must scour the charity shops for some old copies of her books, to satisfy my reminiscences if nothing else. Thank you, Mary.

Mary Stewart, 1916-2014

Am I excited? Scared? Yes to both! In just over three weeks time I will be giving a talk at the Ilkley Literature Festival about self-publication. In preparation I thought I’d share some of the tips I’ve learnt in order to get my book published. I start at the beginning, with a rainbow of suggestions about writing.

There are some simple rules to self-publication. This is the first:
If you are going to get a book published, before you do anything else you must WRITE IT!

No-one else can do this for you, and it can be both solitary and a long, hard slog. Over the years I have received a lot of good advice – more than I have obeyed ahem! – and here’s a sample.

Set aside some time, ideally daily, when you write. Not admin, or social media, or surfing the internet, or research: write.
Set a manageable target. If you are never going to find the time to write 3000 words in a day, don’t set that as your target! When I started my first book I drifted for months and I wasn’t sure I would ever finish it. Then a friend stepped in, encouraging me to set a target of 500 words a day. In practice, I set a 1000 word target, but held a conscience-clear satisfaction if I’d achieved 500 words.
If motivation is your problem, set a smaller target for a smaller reward. I find that the promise of a mug of tea and a chocolate biscuit if I write consistently for half an hour, or just get to the end of the page, can do wonders for my concentration!
Ignore the phone. Switch off the email. Close down all other applications on the computer. This time is for writing only: the world is unlikely to grind to a halt for the few hours/minutes that you have set aside. (Obviously, if you cut yourself off completely for a fortnight you might miss out on some important news. But if no-one broke down the door to tell you, perhaps even that wasn’t overly important?)
Tell others that you are working. Your friends and family will begin to learn that they can’t contact you at specific writing times. Let writing be your job, which you wouldn’t expect ‘social’ events to interrupt.
Have some time off. The brain needs to be stimulated, not just drained. Take the dog for a walk, go for a run, do cartwheels round the back yard: whatever it is that gives you some down-time, so you can return refreshed.
Concentrate on writing, not editing. It is easy to go back over things again and again, tweaking all that you do, such that at the end of your writing time you have not achieved much (possibly not reaching your target word count, see (2)). There is a time for writing, and a time for editing. And the editing tips are for another blog post…

I wish I’d adhered to these like glue from Day 1 but (as my mother might have said), “Do as I say, not as I do…” If I were better at self-discipline than eating chocolate perhaps I’d have another four books published by now!

What are your tips for writing a book?

Mary Stewart: a thank you

7 tips for writing your book