Chatting with the Pioneer Woman



It's no secret I am always striving to be a better person. Both personally and professionally. Someone I have long admired is Ree Drummond, who seems to balance many demands of her life exceedingly well. Her blog and website is in short, amazing. According to Federated Media her website has 22 million page views monthly.
For those of you who may not know Ree her bio on her blog reads:
"I'm the wife of a rugged cowboy. I'm the mother of four spirited children. I have horse poop on my porch. I'm Ree Drummond, also known as The Pioneer Woman. You can read more about my adventures, my cooking, and my photography on my crazy website”
She very kindly agreed to be interviewed on my blog and I am delighted to welcome her here today.

Given everything you juggle, including homeschooling 4 gorgeous kids, photographing MM in his chaps, as well as your recipes and blogging itself, can you please, please tell us how you manage your time?

This is a multi-faceted answer. First, I think our life in the country (and our life as a homeschooling family) actually helps me maintain a certain momentum at home. Sometimes days go by without my getting in the car and going anywhere, and that leaves a lot more time at home for the things I want and need to do.

Second, since my husband's a rancher and doesn't leave "for the office" all day, we're together---off and on---pretty much 24 hours a day. He helps me in innumerable ways, taking the kids to soccer practice, taking them to work with him, picking up things on his way back through town, etc. I couldn't do what I do without him.

Another factor---one I'm always eager to point out---is that I'm not much of a "Type A" personality. I don't follow a set schedule, and I don't come unglued if I don't get everything done on any given day. And in fact, I never get everything done. On the contrary, I usually go to bed with no fewer than twenty significant loose ends I've left untied. But I'm so ready for bed, I don't let it bother me!

Let’s talk about your cookbook. You’ve likened writing it to the process of childbirth. Tell us a bit about the steps that went into putting it together.

 The cookbook really came about as a result of a chance phone meeting with an editor at William Morrow. We had a mutual friend who introduced us, and we intended just to have a brief conversation about a possible cookbook idea, then stay in touch after that. Instead, we hit it off right away and very quickly struck a deal (with no agent involved!) to do a cookbook together. She understood from the get-go what I was trying to do (a fun, slice-of-life cookbook) and what I was not trying to do (be a serious culinary personality) and she really let me put together the cookbook I had in mind.

Writing the cookbook while also trying to maintain my cooking website was very difficult, as I had a hard time keeping things exclusive---"saving recipes" in other words---for the cookbook. I would make something for the cookbook, then save it for a couple of weeks...then, invariably, I couldn't stand not sharing it and I'd put it online. In addition, I had a bit of a learning curve with the publishing world in general---there are more space limitations, cost considerations, and other things that you have to fight in order for it not to affect your content and voice. But that's true with any published author, I'm sure.

Aside from that, it was such a fun experience and I was proud of my cookbook. And now that I have that experience under my belt, the process of doing my second cookbook has been very smooth and enjoyable. It's not all so new this time.

Clearly you have a phenomenal readership. Do you have a particular reader (real or imagined) in mind when you write?

I've said this time and time again, but I really do feel like I'm still writing to a close, intimate group of people. I don't necessarily have one reader in mind---more of an amalgam. I feel a relationship with the people who read my site. I always have.  

Is there a downside to having such a large readership?

I think if you're on the internet at all---whether your site is large or small---most of the internet-related downsides are the same. But again, since I feel such a kinship with my readership, I don't really feel like I have a large audience. That's the honest-to-goodness truth!

Do you have any other social media open when you write, or is your focus completely on your blog or recipe section, depending on your focus at the time?

No, I always have forty thousand tabs open at once! I'll work on a long cooking post while occasionally answering an email. Then I'll get up and do a school subject with the kids. Then I'll remember the unfinished cooking post and go work on that, but before I start, I'll tweet about something weird the kids did while we were homeschooling. Then I'll remember the email I forgot to answer earlier, then I'll post on Home & Garden about a pair of earrings. Then I'll get up and chase a cow out of my yard. Then I'll write a Facebook status that I just chased a cow out of my yard. Sometime around midnight, I'll remember to finish my cooking post.  

You wrote a list “Ten Important Things you’ve learned about blogging.” Blogging is really taking off here in Australia. What advice would you give to us here about blogging, based on your experience?

I think that list still reflects the advice I'd give new (or even seasoned) bloggers. Blogging is a muscle, and you need to exercise it regularly in order to become stronger. Blogging is a precious flower, and you need to water it frequently in order for it to live.

(I'll stop with the metaphors now!) 

Thank you so much Ree for your time. 

· authors, interview, Pioneer Woman

Kerri Sackville on writing a bestseller

Probably one of the first blogs I followed and absolutely loved was Kerri Sackville's. She has a book being released in a few short weeks and I'm thrilled for her. I'm equally delighted she agreed to be the subject of some of my probing questions. Over to the inimitable K Sack to discuss her soon to be published book: 'When my husband does the dishes.' You can (and should) pre-order it here.


Firstly, tell us a little bit about why we need to buy your book.

a)     My book will make you snort tea through your nose (which will be particularly noteworthy if you haven’t actually drunk tea).
b)  My book will show you that you are NOT alone.
c)  My book is purple and will bring an attractive splash of colour to a neutral outfit.
d)  My book will lower blood pressure and make your hair glossy (I may have made that last one up).

What would you like your millions of readers to take away from reading this book?

I want people to read this book and think “YES! That’s EXACTLY what it’s like!” We all have challenges in our marriages and as parents, and I want people to know that they are normal, and that their struggles are normal, and to feel better about their own lives by laughing at mine.

How long did it take you to write?

It took just under a year to write, a year of late nights at the computer, snatched hours writing while the kids were watching TV, and noting down ideas on scraps of paper in the middle of the supermarket.

 
How did you juggle the demands of writing and editing with your other work as well as your children and a partner who works long hours?

I have no idea. It's a total blur. I can say that I hired Gab – my tattooed, private-investigator cum make-up artist cum barista cum nanny - to help me two afternoons a week with the kids, and I could not have managed without her. I can also say that I only got my tax return in at the end of March, that my family started wearing clothes from the dirty laundry basket, and that we ate ridiculous amounts of take-out pizza. Oh, and that my phone got cut off once when I forgot to pay the bill, and that Pinkela was late to school virtually every day as I'd stayed up late writing, and that I barely read a book to Boo in a year, and .... and...


Was there ever a point where you thought 'I can't do this' and how did you get past it?

No, never, it was an incredibly easy process. Oh, and that last sentence was a lie. YES I thought ‘I can’t do this’. Regularly. I'd write like crazy for a couple of hours and feel "I never want to stop" and then suddenly it would be "I cannot do this for one second longer". So then I’d go and do housework or supervise homework or make dinner and I'd want to return to the book. After all, anything is better than housework and homework and cooking.

You've previously said you only write non fiction. Why is this?

a)     I’m a big show-off and like to write about myself.
b)    I’m very lazy and think that writing about what has actually happened is far easier than having to go to all the trouble of making things up.
c)     There is so much to write about in my reality, I don’t think I’ll ever run out of material. Seriously. I could get three or four books out of my husband, let alone the kids.

Did you find having a structural edit a valuable exercise?

I actually sold the book to Random House as a finished manuscript without having had any outside editor look at it. And I was very lucky in that RH didn't feel it required much editing. The few structural changes that my editor suggested were absolutely spot on and it was fantastic to have someone else's input after working alone for so long.

What is your plan in terms of writing other books, and will one of them be dedicated to me?

This one is dedicated to you Sarah. I just couldn't actually put it in print as I didn't want the other bloggers to get jealous.


Thank you Kerri. You can find her hilarious blog here and follow her on Twitter here. 

· authors, kerri sackville, writing

Want to be an author? (still)-Part 2

'919 copies.'

There was an audible gasp across the crowded room when Terri Ann White from UWA Publishing announced this number.
That's the average number of Australian Fiction copies sold. A book is considered to have a good print run if it sells 3000 copies.
Interesting. 
Even more interesting was the cost breakdown she shared with us. 
However, before I share that I wanted to follow on from my previous post by saying that part 2 of the day saw agent Lyn Tranter from talking to us. This is the kind of person who clearly takes no prisoners. In the industry she's in she can't afford to.
As Melanie Ostell an editor at UWA Publishing pithily said: 'This is an industry where you kill your darlings.'
I lost count of the number of people I have seen this week who've stood up at various panels I've been to and said plaintively that they simply can't seem to get an agent or get their MS in front of well, anybody.
What Lyn said made sense to me. You simply have to find ways round that. She joked about being an agent's dogwalker and remaining persistent throughout.
Interesting points she raised included:
-just because it's true doesn't make it interesting
-what will drive you with your MS is that you love your story with a passion
-make sure your dialogue has single quotes rather than double quotes. Double space your MS and use a sans serif type face
-she's looking for a voice that's going to go out and do magic for her
-send in a synopsis and 2 sample chapters and your writing in the first few pages has to be immaculate.
I can't underline enough the importance of getting a structural edit on your MS and trying to score yourself an agent before approaching a publishing house. It was made very clear to me that these two things are pretty crucial to getting published.
There were other fantastic speakers who made some great points. If your MS is accepted you have to be prepared to work collaboratively with your Editor at the publishing house. Over the weekend I was in a workshop with a woman who refused to work with the editor at the publishing house, because she simply refused to alter the nature of her characters ever so slightly. That had been several years ago and she'd been unable to find a new agent or editor since. She was obviously very bitter and it was a salutary lesson in the need to show flexibility when working with your editor. Amanda Curtin former editor turned author of The Sinkings (brilliant book btw) made the following points:
-editors ask LOTS of questions. Try not to be defensive in the editorial process.
-as a writer keep good records
-plan a style sheet with a family tree, chronology of events and record of people and places. This is very helpful for you and your editor.
Once you've got your book to publication stage then the fun starts. Kind of. Emma Morris the publicist from Scribe explained the days of book tours have changed. Instead they try to get their authors to book festivals. She also advised people to do any and all publicity they can and to make themselves available during release time. 
I learned this week that most books have a shelf life of 2 months, so those early days you should do everything from local paper interviews through to radio if you're lucky enough to get a spot. And if you aren't using Social Media already then get going!
And the numbers?
When a consumer buys your book, you get 10%.
20-27.5% goes to the book distributor; 40% to the book seller and the rest to the publisher (Printing, design, editing, are all costs deducted from here too)
Uh huh.



· agents, authors, novel writing, publishing houses

Want to be an author?- Part 1

On Friday I spent the day on a course appropriately titled "The A-Z of the publishing industry." Along with many other hopeful faces we were witness to the words of wisdom from some heavyweights in the publishing industry. The panel moderator was Angela Meyer aka Literary Minded and we heard from everyone ranging from Mandy Brett from Text Publishing through to Emma Morris, a publicist from Scribe.
What I heard was both insanely depressing and wildly exciting. Mainly because I like a challenge. And believe me, the message coming through loud and clear was that getting work published these days is next to impossible. Not totally, but close. Two points stand out from the day amidst the many gems that were littered throughout it.
a) You need to get an agent. Which is incredibly hard, on a par with removing wisdom teeth without using anaesthetic, but there are ways to do it.
b) There is a new(ish) step you need to take before submitting your ms to an agent or publishing house. You should have it structurally edited first.
Session 1: Where do you start?
Meredith Curnow from Random House was first up and was amazing. The kind of person I would have loved to have lunch with. Unfortunately when I later did see her at lunch and stuttered how fab I thought she was, her reply was: "I thought you were all supposed to still be in the lecture!" Er, no, we weren't. And clearly I won't ever make it through her slush pile ;)
Her advice however, was both sound and sensible.
Soundbites included:
-write in an area you are comfortable writing in
-the first thing that strikes me is 'the voice'
-nothing more exciting than finding a new voice, then comes the story and the plot
-authors are now expected to work a lot harder than before
Mandy Brett from Text Publishing was next and was frank in her assessment of the situation:
- most people don't get published, it's a long odds game
-Text Publishing however, does take unsolicited manuscripts and they take them very seriously
-at Text you have to get two no's on an ms before it gets rejected
HOWEVER, and here's the kicker. Really you need to get yourself an agent. Books get a great deal more attention when they are submitted by agents.
By now you would have though we were sobbing into out little notebooks. But we weren't. In fact the delightful Alecia who was sitting next to me and I, were scribbling and tweeting harder than before.
The final person for this panel was Clive Newman of Fremantle Press. He was a soothing presence and told us the apocryphal tale of Elizabeth Jolley who had been rejected 57 times until they took her on. Good call Clive.
His advice was:
-where do we see the readership of our book? A book needs to attract a readership to make it a success. (And no just because your family and friends read it and think it's great does not a bestseller make)
-what is our marketing plan?
- and it doesn't get any easier, but by golly it's still good.
The rest of the session revolved around the importance of would be authors reading MS submission guidelines carefully before submitting.  You only get one shot so essentially make sure you do everything in your power not to stuff it up. We were also warned of the danger of investing too much in the synopsis to the extent that it doesn't relate to the plot. And if, IF the publishing house takes you on *cue champagne corks popping* that's just the start.
Part 2- I'll talk the how to of getting an agent. This includes having the ability to be a dogwalker apparently. And I'll talk numbers. How much does an author actually earn? You may need to bring alcohol to the next post.

· authors, manuscript, novel writing, publishing houses

Caroline Overington- on being banned

This week I am going to the Perth Writers Festival. I've signed up for a few courses and have mentioned my plans to see stalk Caroline Overington. She is also going to be there talking about the difference between fact and fiction.
She also very kindly agreed to guest post here today talking about her experience as journalist and fiction writer. 
Honoured:



Late in 2008, I signed a contract to write two novels for Random House.

Both of them – Ghost Child, and I Came To Say Goodbye, have now been published – and a third is due out in October.

 I’ve been lucky: they’ve sold really well, and reviewers have been kind. Nobody has been hostile to me, for trying to cross the divide between fact and fiction; the support from established writers has been amazing.

I’ve done quite a few interviews about the books, in particular about the second one, which takes the form of a letter from a grandfather, to a Family Court judge. The grandfather, Med, is begging the judge not to be his grandchild into State care, but it’s a big ask, because his family has been torn apart by divorce, mental illness, drug abuse, neglect, and child abuse.  

Everything in the book is, of course, true: we all know people who have gone through what Med and his family are going through. We’ve all wondered what we can do to help.

But if I, as a journalist, had tried to tell the story using people from real life, it would never be published. It would be banned.

Let me explain: when people ask me why I started writing novels, after being a journalist for so long, I tell them: it’s the only way you can really tell the truth anymore.

They look at me a bit perplexed.

Journalism is supposed to be about facts. Novels are supposed to be fiction.

But I spent two years on The Australian newspaper, writing about child welfare, child abuse and, sadly, child murder.

The more work I did, the more anguished I became, at being unable to tell readers the whole story.

A child would die – be beaten, or starved to death, or even disappear from the face of the planet – and there was so much we, as reporters, weren’t allowed to say.

In some cases, we were banned from using the child’s name, and photograph.

We were banned from saying whether any other children in the family had ever been abused.

We were banned from saying whether the family was known to have a history of violence, drug abuse, or whether any of them had been in jail for serious crimes.

We were banned from approaching doctors in hospitals, to talk to them about what they’ve seen.

All police statements have to come through a media unit, who do try to be helpful, but are subject to the same rules:  don’t say this, and don’t say that.

Of course, journalists have ways of finding things out. They talk to neighbours, and other sources come forward, and that makes the situation so much worse: too many times, I’ve found myself in the position of knowing far, far more than I’ve been able to report, and having to hide that material from readers.

Most journalists loathe being in that position. We are very conscious that we are not anybody special. We have no right to keep information to ourselves. It belongs to you, and to all of us.



Caroline Overington is a two-time winner of the Walkley Award for investigative journalism, and a winner of the Blake Dawson Prize. She has published two novels, with a third due out in October. She will appear at the Perth Writers Festival on Sunday March 6, and Monday March 7, discussing the difference between fact, and fiction. Caroline lives in Bondi with her hubby and 10-year-old twins.

· authors, guest post, novel writing

Unabashed admiration

Tomorrow, one of Australia's best selling authors will be guest posting on a topic close to my heart. She's talking about juggling the demands of motherhood with a writing career.
Judging from her success I will be taking careful notes!
AND I have a copy of her latest book to give away as well.
So please do pop back, make her welcome, and if you're a would be writer like myself, bring a note-pad!

· authors, guest post, writing

Drumroll..... Sara Foster A.U.T.H.O.R

I'm thrilled to have Sara Foster guest posting today. She is a former editor turned novelist. You can buy her latest book "Beneath the shadows" here

Before I became a full-time novelist I was gainfully employed as a freelance book editor, and I loved working with other authors and reading their books. Every job was different, and the variety kept it interesting. However, editing is an intense affair requiring lots of time and concentration, and when I ended up welcoming a baby and a book deal in the same year, I knew I had to cut back on my day job or risk my brain short-circuiting. 
I’ve written throughout my life – from arbitrary poems about green washing machines and my pet budgerigar when I was in primary school, to short stories and a fair bit of angst-ridden poetry in my teenage years, before finally tackling full-length novels in my twenties. I have boxes of my writing from over the years, and rereading these efforts is fascinating, hilarious and sometimes cringe-worthy, and shows that it has certainly taken me lots of practice to build up to a published book. I’ve always found the biggest thrill of writing is that I’m in complete control of my story, and have absolute freedom to let my imagination go. Plus it means I can tackle subjects I’m passionate about. And I thoroughly enjoy creating characters and their lives, as well as putting them in all sorts of tricky situations that I then spend heaps of time wondering how to get them out of. It’s quite a bizarre occupation really, isn’t it?!

I’ve found that, in many ways, editing and writing are similar: they are solitary, labour-intensive, creative, perfectionist occupations that demand a dedicated passion for the written word. They also complement one another – the subjectivity and all-encompassing engagement of the writer is nicely balanced by the objective assessment of an enthusiastic editor.
 My years of editorial experience have been invaluable to my writing development. By the time I’ve finished writing a book I’m exhausted, and I’ve gone over it so many times that I’m pretty much blind to what still needs doing. Editors do a vital job here, casting a critical eye over many different aspects of a manuscript. This can be somewhat confronting to a writer, who is often very emotionally attached to their project. I still find it disconcerting to see sweeping cuts across much-loved paragraphs, but, when I’ve had a chance to think about it, I have agreed with almost all of them.
Going through the lengthy editing process for Come Back to Me and Beneath the Shadows has given me a deeper appreciation of just how exhausting and demanding it is for an author to re-examine their book step by step. Nevertheless, in my experience the results are worth every minute of the process.
Afterword: Sarah and I were both interested enough in writing and editing to spend three hours in a room with no air-conditioning on a 40+ degree day – we’re true Perth Writers Festival survivors! Thanks for having me, Sarah, and I’m really looking forward to reading your book one day.

· authors, guest post

In a year

It was around this time last year I went on a course. For those of you who don't know, I taught English and Literature for many years before deciding to pursue a career in writing. The course I'd signed up for was one in editing. Though I had spent years editing the work of my students, I wanted some help with the editing my own article writing. 

I've never been afraid to take on a new challenge. Well actually that's not true. I've usually been utterly terrified, but I've gone and done it anyway.
So when the Perth Writer's Festival rolled around, I saw a course on editing and signed up. It was an amazing day. There was a class full with all of us there for different reasons. I remember sitting next to a girl who had written 2 novels and wanted to know how to edit them properly. I'd come clutching a couple of articles I'd written, and was in huge admiration of this girl who'd done something that till then I'd only dreamed of.
The woman running the course was herself a former editor and is now a successful novelist.
 I remember having to sit on my hands to stop myself from asking her for an autograph. Some people view celebrities with awe, I feel that way about writers. I remember the first time I actually spoke to Lisa Heidke on the phone and having to stop myself from gushing. Because this lady was a published author!
The day itself was informative and interesting and planted the kernel. The one that possibly I could write a whole book. Maybe I could do something like the lady running the course and maybe, just maybe, be a published author.
I'm not there yet. I'm not even close. But the journey writing my manuscript began on that day. At the moment I'm working on rewriting the whole damn thing and I'll get there. I know I will. In the meantime I've booked in for some more courses at the Perth Writers Festival this year. I may also spend some quality time stalking Caroline Overington too.
But there are two important things I wanted to say. One, if you are at all interested in writing, be it creative or non fiction, Al Tait has an amazeballs giveaway happening at her blog.
And secondly, the lady who ran the editing course I attended. The successful editor turned author?
She is guest posting on my blog tomorrow. On a topic you are going to want to read about I promise. Over the past year I have learned how extraordinarily encouraging and generous writers are. I'm honoured she's going to be here. Yes I'm gushing. She's an A.U.T.H.O.R. I can't help it.
See you all tomorrow.

· authors, editing, novel writing

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