Just to let you know that the draw has now been made, for the competition on my website to win a signed book - and the winner is Katie Bowles from Staines in Middlesex. Katie has chosen to receive a copy of 'Tales From a Honeymoon Hotel' and says she's looking forward to sitting in the garden reading it in the sunshine. As it's an ideal story for a holiday read, set on the lovely Croatian island of Korcula, I think she's made a good choice!
I had 113 entrants to the competition, and I'm just sorry everybody couldn't have been a winner. But thank you to everyone who entered - or at least, any who may be reading this blog!
Monday, 1 August 2011
Friday, 29 July 2011
Author interview
Hello everyone
Just popping in quickly to let you know I've been interviewed for the Romantic Novelists' Association blog and it has been published today. If you want to know all about how I got published, what I like writing, my favourite place to write, my advice for new writers and so on - please go over and have a read at http://romanticnovelistsassociationblog.blogspot.com/
Hope everyone has a good weekend, whatever you're doing!
x
Just popping in quickly to let you know I've been interviewed for the Romantic Novelists' Association blog and it has been published today. If you want to know all about how I got published, what I like writing, my favourite place to write, my advice for new writers and so on - please go over and have a read at http://romanticnovelistsassociationblog.blogspot.com/
Hope everyone has a good weekend, whatever you're doing!
x
Saturday, 23 July 2011
Self-promotion - how much is too much?
I was just going to make this a quick post to remind anyone who hasn't yet entered the competition on my website (http://www.sheilanorton.co.uk/) to win a signed book, that this is the last week before the competition closes. Just answer a simple question - the answer is on the website - and choose which book you'd like if you win. 'Simples' as they say!
But while I'm at it, I thought I'd also bring up the subject I've been discussing with my Facebook friends today - and which has also been a topic recently on the RNA members' forum. Self-promotion. Of course, you'll realise that the above paragraph is a form of promotion; I'm happy for lots of people to rush and look at my website, and in return I'm more than happy to give away a free book to the lucky winner. But if EVERY post I wrote on this blog - or everything I ever put on Facebook, or every time I commented on a forum or on anyone else's blog, was a blatant bit of promotion for my own books, it'd be too much. Well, it would, wouldn't it - you'd quite rightly all be sick of me! (And I hope you're not!).
But someone made an interesting point the other day, asking if continual postings about someone's own writing work are really any worse than continual postings about the 'minutiae' of life. You know the sort of thing - this isn't a criticism because I think we've all done it - a status update on Facebook saying you're going to bed now because you're tired, or you're going to have a glass of wine, or you've bought a new dress. Or writing blog posts about our cats, dogs, or (gulp!) grandchildren!
Some of us expressed a little concern at this point. Most of us have, as FB 'friends' (and I presume Twitter friends, although I'm still resisting having a Twitter account myself), and blog followers, etc, a mixture of 'real-life' friends, family, other writers, and readers of our books. So it's a tricky act to balance our posts. Of course we all want to share our writing successes and inevitable failures, but we don't want to come across as being self-obsessed or even writing-obsessed, unless promoting our writing is the ONLY reason we're on social networking sites. Equally, like anyone else we like to share snippets of our lives with family and friends, but don't want people who only know us as writers to think 'Who cares if you've got a new kitten or fancy a cup of tea!'
Too much promotion, being too much in-your-face, I think can be counter-productive. But perhaps too much 'wittering on' (as someone put it) can also make people stop reading your posts!
Well, I asked my FB friends to let me know what they thought about this whole issue, and I'm pleased to say the consensus is that people are generally happy to read the anecdotes about our everyday lives ('like we're all working in the same office and stopping for a natter' as one of my writing friends said!) and happy too to read the writing news but not non-stop posts of promotion, copying all our reviews for everyone to read, etc.
So I think we can all pretty much carry on as before (phew!) and with that in mind I'll just quickly let you know I've got a story in the People's Friend Summer Special out now! And my gorgeous new baby granddaughter will be two weeks old tomorrow and is doing fine. There - that's a bit of each for you! Now I'm off to put the kettle on ...
But while I'm at it, I thought I'd also bring up the subject I've been discussing with my Facebook friends today - and which has also been a topic recently on the RNA members' forum. Self-promotion. Of course, you'll realise that the above paragraph is a form of promotion; I'm happy for lots of people to rush and look at my website, and in return I'm more than happy to give away a free book to the lucky winner. But if EVERY post I wrote on this blog - or everything I ever put on Facebook, or every time I commented on a forum or on anyone else's blog, was a blatant bit of promotion for my own books, it'd be too much. Well, it would, wouldn't it - you'd quite rightly all be sick of me! (And I hope you're not!).
But someone made an interesting point the other day, asking if continual postings about someone's own writing work are really any worse than continual postings about the 'minutiae' of life. You know the sort of thing - this isn't a criticism because I think we've all done it - a status update on Facebook saying you're going to bed now because you're tired, or you're going to have a glass of wine, or you've bought a new dress. Or writing blog posts about our cats, dogs, or (gulp!) grandchildren!
Some of us expressed a little concern at this point. Most of us have, as FB 'friends' (and I presume Twitter friends, although I'm still resisting having a Twitter account myself), and blog followers, etc, a mixture of 'real-life' friends, family, other writers, and readers of our books. So it's a tricky act to balance our posts. Of course we all want to share our writing successes and inevitable failures, but we don't want to come across as being self-obsessed or even writing-obsessed, unless promoting our writing is the ONLY reason we're on social networking sites. Equally, like anyone else we like to share snippets of our lives with family and friends, but don't want people who only know us as writers to think 'Who cares if you've got a new kitten or fancy a cup of tea!'
Too much promotion, being too much in-your-face, I think can be counter-productive. But perhaps too much 'wittering on' (as someone put it) can also make people stop reading your posts!
Well, I asked my FB friends to let me know what they thought about this whole issue, and I'm pleased to say the consensus is that people are generally happy to read the anecdotes about our everyday lives ('like we're all working in the same office and stopping for a natter' as one of my writing friends said!) and happy too to read the writing news but not non-stop posts of promotion, copying all our reviews for everyone to read, etc.
So I think we can all pretty much carry on as before (phew!) and with that in mind I'll just quickly let you know I've got a story in the People's Friend Summer Special out now! And my gorgeous new baby granddaughter will be two weeks old tomorrow and is doing fine. There - that's a bit of each for you! Now I'm off to put the kettle on ...
Tuesday, 19 July 2011
A new arrival !
This is going to be a very quick post ... (that makes a change!) ... just to explain why I haven't been on Blogger recently. I also haven't done much writing! In fact, it's just been too exciting around here to think about much else, because look who's arrived:-
Our new little granddaughter Caitlin Emily was born on Sunday 10th July. She's the first baby of our youngest daughter & son-in-law and she's absolutely gorgeous! They're bringing her round again to see us today - can't wait! And she's the first of our THREE new grandbabies due this year ... young Noah is going to have two baby cousins and a baby brother or sister, and we're going from one grandchild to four within the space of three months!
OK ... needless to say, not much writing news to report apart from several of the dreaded R-words flying back from various magazines; but the e-books are starting to sell on Amazon which is very encouraging! Will be back soon ... hope everyone else is being more productive than me!
Friday, 1 July 2011
Do we want to be alone?
I've always believed that one of the characteristics helpful for being a writer is the ability to enjoy your own company. After all, writing is usually a solitary occupation (I know there are people who co-write books, but personally I think I'd find that difficult!). I wouldn't go so far as to say it's absolutely necessary to be on your own in order to write; I wrote plenty of stories, and chapters of novels, years ago while the family were buzzing around the house. And I'm sure I'm not the only one who has sometimes needed so desperately to carry on with something I've been writing while it's going well, that I've sat working on my laptop even while the TV is on, pretending to spend a bit of time with Himself but obviously ignoring both TV and husband! I've written bits of stories in notebooks on crowded noisy trains and buses, and I've grabbed half-hour lunch breaks when I was at work, to continue with a chapter of a novel on my work computer while my colleagues chatted around me. Yes, it can be done - but I think most of us would agree it's easier to write in glorious solitude.
So is the solitude always glorious? The reason I ask is that this weekend, starting today, Himself isn't going to be around at all. Don't tell him, but I've been quite looking forward to three days of uninterrupted 'ME' time, to press on with editing and re-submitting some short stories, and finally getting down to the next novel. In fact, I actually get quite a lot of time on my own since I've been retired, as Himself has his own hobbies so we give each other a lot of space. Everyone's different, but although we enjoy each other's company, neither of us are the sort of people who want to spend our retirement living in each other's pockets, doing everything together. So I can rarely say that I haven't got time for my writing, or that it interferes with anyone or anything else.
And here's the funny thing. We're such contradictory creatures, aren't we! I think most writers understand Sod's Law of Procrastination. Because I'm sitting here today with limitless time available, and the idea in my head that I'm going to write several thousand words at the very least, what am I doing? Well, apart from writing this blog post and dealing with e-mails, I've been shopping on Amazon, checking my website stats, downloading some photos, reading various forums, have been for a walk, made another cup of tea (!) ... and oh look, it's nearly lunchtime!
When I was a working mum trying to fit in a bit of writing around everything else, I just Got On With It! So is all this solitude really the best thing for a writer after all? Is it too much of a good thing? Do I need someone around me, nagging me for things and interrupting me all the time just so that I can say 'No! I need to get on with this writing!' and actually do it?!
Well, anyway. I'm just off to have a quick look at Facebook and then ... maybe after lunch ... I really will start something! Have a nice weekend everyone.
So is the solitude always glorious? The reason I ask is that this weekend, starting today, Himself isn't going to be around at all. Don't tell him, but I've been quite looking forward to three days of uninterrupted 'ME' time, to press on with editing and re-submitting some short stories, and finally getting down to the next novel. In fact, I actually get quite a lot of time on my own since I've been retired, as Himself has his own hobbies so we give each other a lot of space. Everyone's different, but although we enjoy each other's company, neither of us are the sort of people who want to spend our retirement living in each other's pockets, doing everything together. So I can rarely say that I haven't got time for my writing, or that it interferes with anyone or anything else.
And here's the funny thing. We're such contradictory creatures, aren't we! I think most writers understand Sod's Law of Procrastination. Because I'm sitting here today with limitless time available, and the idea in my head that I'm going to write several thousand words at the very least, what am I doing? Well, apart from writing this blog post and dealing with e-mails, I've been shopping on Amazon, checking my website stats, downloading some photos, reading various forums, have been for a walk, made another cup of tea (!) ... and oh look, it's nearly lunchtime!
When I was a working mum trying to fit in a bit of writing around everything else, I just Got On With It! So is all this solitude really the best thing for a writer after all? Is it too much of a good thing? Do I need someone around me, nagging me for things and interrupting me all the time just so that I can say 'No! I need to get on with this writing!' and actually do it?!
Well, anyway. I'm just off to have a quick look at Facebook and then ... maybe after lunch ... I really will start something! Have a nice weekend everyone.
Friday, 24 June 2011
E-books, a newsletter, and a competition
Hello! I'm back from Blogger no-man's-land, and problems seem to have been resolved - fingers crossed!
Lots to tell you. No, not about the new book yet (fingers still crossed) - but I've been busy with other things. I've now published all FIVE of my Sheila Norton books on Amazon as Kindle e-books, having spent several quite enjoyable weeks (if I may say so myself!) re-reading them all and adding in the copy-editing. And then a bit of fun doing the 'cover' images. And to celebrate finishing the process, I've put them all on a 'sale' price - a real bargain at £2.29 each! So if you haven't yet had a look, please feel free to pop over to http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=node%3D341689031&field-keywords=Sheila+Norton&x=12&y=14 and have a browse. And if you have already bought one (thank you so much!) you now have a chance to get another one while they're at such a reduced price!
OK, sorry - sales pitch over! As another little celebration, I've also decided to run another competition. I held one some time ago, to win a signed copy of 'Tales from a Honeymoon Hotel' - which proved to be very popular. This time, the winner gets a choice of several books. It's very easy to enter, and you don't need to buy anything - details can be found on my website at http://www.sheilanorton.co.uk, and the answer you'll need is to be found somewhere on the website too. To make it even easier, you stay on the website to enter the competition: just send your entry on the 'Contact me' page.
Good luck to everyone who enters! It closes at midnight on 31 July so don't hang around! Sorry to say this is limited to UK residents though.
By the way, all this information about the e-books and the competition, and more besides, is on an e-mail newsletter which will be going out during the next few days. If you received the last 'Olivia' newsletter you should automatically get this one (tell me if you don't!) but if anyone else wants to sign up for it, please let me know! It's not a regular thing (or I'd never get any writing done at all!) - but there will be further mailings from time to time.
Short story news? Well I had one published in 'The People's Friend' in the first week of June, and a further one accepted last week. But I'm still waiting to hear about all the others - I think everyone's in the same boat at the moment: news seems to be filtering through very slowly. It's a tough time for short story writers - sadly, magazine readers seem to be turning away from fiction in favour of celebrity news etc. Let's hope the tide turns again before too long!
And I hope everyone else is having some success with their writing ... I'm off to catch up with some of your blogs now while Blogger is allowing me in!
Lots to tell you. No, not about the new book yet (fingers still crossed) - but I've been busy with other things. I've now published all FIVE of my Sheila Norton books on Amazon as Kindle e-books, having spent several quite enjoyable weeks (if I may say so myself!) re-reading them all and adding in the copy-editing. And then a bit of fun doing the 'cover' images. And to celebrate finishing the process, I've put them all on a 'sale' price - a real bargain at £2.29 each! So if you haven't yet had a look, please feel free to pop over to http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=node%3D341689031&field-keywords=Sheila+Norton&x=12&y=14 and have a browse. And if you have already bought one (thank you so much!) you now have a chance to get another one while they're at such a reduced price!
OK, sorry - sales pitch over! As another little celebration, I've also decided to run another competition. I held one some time ago, to win a signed copy of 'Tales from a Honeymoon Hotel' - which proved to be very popular. This time, the winner gets a choice of several books. It's very easy to enter, and you don't need to buy anything - details can be found on my website at http://www.sheilanorton.co.uk, and the answer you'll need is to be found somewhere on the website too. To make it even easier, you stay on the website to enter the competition: just send your entry on the 'Contact me' page.
Good luck to everyone who enters! It closes at midnight on 31 July so don't hang around! Sorry to say this is limited to UK residents though.
By the way, all this information about the e-books and the competition, and more besides, is on an e-mail newsletter which will be going out during the next few days. If you received the last 'Olivia' newsletter you should automatically get this one (tell me if you don't!) but if anyone else wants to sign up for it, please let me know! It's not a regular thing (or I'd never get any writing done at all!) - but there will be further mailings from time to time.
Short story news? Well I had one published in 'The People's Friend' in the first week of June, and a further one accepted last week. But I'm still waiting to hear about all the others - I think everyone's in the same boat at the moment: news seems to be filtering through very slowly. It's a tough time for short story writers - sadly, magazine readers seem to be turning away from fiction in favour of celebrity news etc. Let's hope the tide turns again before too long!
And I hope everyone else is having some success with their writing ... I'm off to catch up with some of your blogs now while Blogger is allowing me in!
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