Looking back on 2017

Emily Royal romance, writing 2 Comments

As a confirmed plotter, I’ve always liked the idea of structuring and setting targets. Yearly targets are no exception. Without targets I run into danger of my writing being an amorphous blob of randomly generated words, bits and pieces of unconnected projects floating around like unclaimed odd socks in the tumble drier.

So for 2017 I decided to take a more grown-up approach and consider how I could realistically achieve my dream of becoming a “proper writer” and I set a stack of goals with the intention of stretching myself a bit.

As 2017 draws to a close, I’m reflecting on the goals I’d set at the start of the year and which ones I managed to achieve. It’s been a year of ups and downs – but had I achieved all my goals I would have criticised myself for setting the bar too low. But then, self criticism is something writers seem to be particularly good at. So anyway, here’s the goals I’d set this time last year…

1) Finish the book I’m currently drafting ✔️ yes! and it’s now with my agent waiting comments

2) Get a publishing contract on my first book✖️this was tough as I had a very near miss on this one plus some positive feedback from other editors on the writing. The hardest rejections to cope with are the “almost theres”

3) Finish editing book 2 following feedback ✔️ yes! And I’ll be entering it into a competition shortly.

4) Do first round of edits on book 3 following masses of feedback from more beta readers ✔️all done! I submitted this to the RNA’s NWS and the reader loved it.

5) think of titles for books 1, 2 and 3 ✔️all done!

6) Start and Finish 1st draft of the next book ✖️✔️I’m halfway through. But I also started another full-length novel and have written half of that: two halves make a whole, right?

7) flesh out plot notes for a further book idea into a proper storyboard ready for drafting next year. ✖️didn’t get round to this particular one which is a historical romance. But I’ve fleshed out plot notes for books 1 and 2 in a trilogy (contemporary dark/hot romance)

I also entered a competition in July and got great feedback from an editor who said they liked my writing style and wanted to work with me on a project. Sadly she left the publisher a few months later but she’s encouraged me to pursue the project.

So in terms of getting stuff written and having positive feedback on my writing, 2017 has been a great year even though tangible results were thin on the ground. Here’s hoping 2018 is the year I finally break through into getting published – and wishing you all a prosperous 2018.

Now to think of my goals for 2018. What are yours?

Em❤️

Don’t get your knickers in a twist!

Emily Royal authors, Liz Taylorson, writing 2 Comments

I’m thrilled to have the lovely Liz Taylorson, not only as a critique buddy, but as a guest on my blog. Liz is a real talent and her debut novel, out on 23 November, promises to be the start of a flourishing writing career. Liz was kind enough to raid her knicker-drawer and drop by to chat about one of the overlooked-but-tough tasks an author faces – choosing that perfect title. Over to you, Liz!

Titles are really difficult.

I’ve lost count of the number of fellow writers who have expressed to me the difficulty of finding that perfect, succinct instantly memorable, totally fitting title which should effortlessly conjure up atmosphere, setting and genre for their novel all in one go. We all seem to struggle.

I had this idea for a Christmas novel set in a seaside village. My heroine, a vicar, has never slept with a man because she doesn’t believe in sex before marriage. My hero has a well-deserved reputation as a ladies’ man, but they find themselves attracted to each other despite all the odds. All through the early drafting stages, the novel had a working title. And that working title was … The Vicar’s Knickers.

It was, after all, going to be the story of how our handsome hero charmed his way into them and it had a very pleasing ring to it as far as I was concerned, even though it was a bit silly. I realised that I needed to think of a slightly more sensible, conventional alternative, so I turned to my writing buddies.

‘What do you think I should call my book?’ I asked them. ‘Do you think I should stick with the knickers thing, or something else?’

‘Stick with the knickers’ said most of them, very unhelpfully. Once you’ve given something a title, it’s hard to find an alternative that suits it quite as well …

We considered genre. Cupcakes, ice cream, cafes, Cornwall, cosiness and seaside are all popular themes in my genre … but I have managed to write the only romantic women’s fiction novel in the whole world that does not have a single cupcake in it, and it’s not set in Cornwall. After we had collectively disregarded The cosy little vintage café of cupcakes by the sea in Cornwall we threw around some more sensible ideas.

My writing friends came up with suggestions based on northern lights, and stars and winter and Christmas and all the other principal elements of my book that had nothing to do with knickers. Someone suggested looking at quotes, and then, inspired, I came up with the perfect title. The stars in the bright sky – it was Christmassy, pretty, religious and linked in with several key scenes in the book set at night. I could even see the cover in my mind’s eye:

The only problem was, when (as one of my writing friends suggested) I checked on Amazon, there was already a book with that title …

It looked like it was back to square one, it was going to have to be the return of the knickers – well, it was memorable – but I couldn’t do it. I looked around at all the books mine would have to sit next to on the shelves if it was ever published, and I knew that there was only one sensible way to go, and my buddies had unwittingly come up with the answer already. I may not have cupcakes or cosy Cornish cafes, but I did have quite a lot of sea in my story. The Little Church by the Sea it was. After all the joking, I realised that we had been onto something as a group – there was a reason why all those titles are popular – they succinctly give you atmosphere, setting and genre all in one go.

Though I suspect a couple of my friends still haven’t quite forgiven me for ditching The Vicar’s Knickers …

The Little Church by the Sea: A heart-warming Christmas tale of love, friendship and starting over by [Taylorson, Liz]

The Vicar’s Knickers … I mean, The Little Church by the Sea will be published by Manatee Books on 23rd November 2017. You can pre-order it on Amazon here

Biography

Liz has always surrounded herself with books. 
As a child, she was always to be found with her head in one and she still has a bookcase full of her childhood favourites to this day. (She once read The Lord of the Rings thirteen times in a row, cover to cover!). All through childhood and adolescence she wrote – mainly historical romances involving impossibly perfect heroes! All this reading and writing led to a degree in English Literature (and another book-case full of books) and then a job as a cataloguer of early printed books for a major University Library.

Children (and then cats and chickens) interrupted her bibliographic career, and having given up library work Liz started writing fiction and hasn’t stopped since, joining the UK Romantic Novelists’ Association New Writers’ Scheme to try to learn how to write novels properly in 2015. She has also written some short stories, with one “The Second Princess” winning a competition in Writing Magazine which led her to think that maybe publication wasn’t a pipe dream after all.

The publication of her first novel, “The Little Church by the Sea” published by Manatee Books in November 2017 is a dream come true.

Oswald and Occupations

Emily Royal authors, libraries, publishing, the day job, writing 0 Comment

There’s a pandemic in the UK of local libraries being closed down. But the silver lining is the community spirit which motivates dedicated locals to band together and do something about it. That silver lining burst into sunshine on a bright, summer’s day earlier this month when, to the lilt of Scottish folk music, our village library was re-opened.

Guest of honour, internationally renowned crimewriter James Oswald, officially opened the library then stayed to sign copies of his books (all sale proceeds to the library) and chat to fans. A generous and approachable individual he was happy to put up with my company for about 20 minutes, sharing our writing experiences, and he even agreed to a photo!

He had an interesting path to publication, but I suspect that path never runs smooth. While unpublished, his first novel was shortlisted in a competition, attracting the attention of publishers. They liked the writing but weren’t keen on the paranormal elements. However, he stuck to his guns and self-published to enormous success & multiple sales, after which publishers came knocking, rebranded and the rest is history.

He writes quickly – his last draft took 11 weeks to complete. When we chatted he was about to start a new draft, aiming to complete by the end of August – that’s 8 weeks. While I metaphorically collapsed in exhaustion at the thought of it, he reminded me that his books are part of a series so his characters and setting are already well-established in his mind.

His writing approach is similar to mine: he doesn’t edit while getting the first draft down. Instead he makes notes if he decides while drafting that something needs changing, then carries onto the end. It doesn’t work for everyone but if, like me, you’re terrified of blank pages, loathe having unfinished projects lying about, and prefer to set out and plan the plot in advance, it’s a good strategy.

He’s also an example to dispel the myth that published authors languish on wicker chairs in orangeries in some kind of literary parallel universe while the royalties roll in, before stepping out for red-carpet events. Like most of us he has a full-time job. In fact, I suspect it’s more than full time. With a 30-acre farm to run, a prolific series of crime novels plus a fantasy series for youngsters he’s an exceptionally busy man.

In fact he told me that he’d sat down wearily one day to talk to his brother about all his writing deadlines and his brother reminded him that writing had always been his dream and he was only getting what he’d wished for!

The ultimate goal for unpublished writers like me is getting a publishing deal and it’s often difficult to see beyond that. I liken it to a professional qualification (I, too, have a day job – as an actuary – and had to sit exams for 7 years before I could call myself one). That ultimate goal is the single most important thing we aspire to where life often takes a back seat (just ask my family!). But when that deal finally comes, it’s the beginning, not the end. That’s when the hard work really starts.

But it’ll all be worth it. If (no, when!) I do succeed and have a novel published, what I’m looking forward to most isn’t a launch party, a book signing, the glitz or glamour – it’s the prospect of seeing my book sitting in the stand of my local library which dedicated volunteers worked so hard to re-open, so I can say that I’m a small part of something our community can be proud of.

Em 🙂

Tanni & Tenacity

Emily Royal rejection, RNA, sport, writing 2 Comments

I never imagined my first proper blog post would have a grainy selfie or a photo of someone enormously famous. But I couldn’t resist writing about my encounter with a sporting heroine.

Think of a Paralympic athlete, the first name springing to mind is likely to be Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson. I had the privilege of meeting her earlier this week at a conference where she was the after-dinner speaker. Cue wine-fuelled fan-girl moment when a friend and I snuck over to her table after dessert.

She’s absolutely lovely; gracious, down-to-earth and willing to stay and chat to us: one of those warm, friendly people capable of putting anyone at ease.

Her best quote of the night was “I’ve lost many more races than I’ve won; but I happened to win a few important ones.” For one of her winning races (the 100m in Athens 2004 for sports buffs) she spoke about a rival athlete who’d seen her lose the 800m earlier. The rival approached Tanni, having seen her confidence plummet and gave her words of encouragement ahead of the 100m. When Tanni won the 100m she asked her rival why she’d encouraged her. The response was “because if I was going to win, I’d want to win fairly.”

It made me think about the stress of manuscript submissions and the myth that authors compete against each other. Part of being a writer is getting rejections. OK, that’s a BIG part of being a writer. But it only takes one “yes” to bag that all-important “win.” One rejection doesn’t mean the end of the world, or that you should give up – instead, it moves you closer to that perfect agent or publisher.

The rivalry is interesting. But if a Paralympian can encourage her rival in a world where winning is at the forefront of everything, writers can support each other too. This is where critique partners, reading groups or beta readers, can be invaluable sources of support as well as more formal organisations such as the Romantic Novelists’ Association (RNA).

So “Tenacity” is my keyword today. Never give up, stay positive in the face of rejection and find a network of critique partners. Oh – and if you ever have the chance to chat to a sporting legend, particularly if your courage has been fueled by a glass of wine or two, don’t waste it!

Em 🙂

Welcome to my shiny new website!

Emily Royal writing 0 Comment

It’s been a long time coming, but finally it’s here. Welcome to my website! I’ve just got started, but I hope to be able to fill this site with news, random ramblings as well as guest posts from my wonderful, supportive author friends and anyone else whose arm I can twist.

I have lots of exciting writing projects on the go, all in various different stages of production, ranging from ideas jotted down in a dog-eared notebook my husband bought me a few years ago, to an edited manuscript currently with my agent. Over time I’ll add a bit of detail about them including selected passages and quotes.

Come join me in my journey as I navigate my way through the world of romantic fiction.

Em 🙂

Social media & sharing icons powered by UltimatelySocial