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

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

Where do I blog?



I saw this posted over at Fat Mum Slim's this morning and loved the question. Equally I loved having a mosey round to see where other people blog too.
I blog in my office. I've spent quite a while carving out this space for myself over the past year. It's where I work and where I spend far too much time on Etsy as well!
I have my vision board for 2011 near my screen and a year planner beside me as well. I try to keep my desk uncluttered and clean, though all too often it's a losing battle ;)
My husband has a desk in here as well, but it faces the opposite way. I like that he is in here with me, I just don't like his mess!
My notepad with a daily list of things to do sits beside my laptop. My laptop was a gift from my husband and family last year and I would be lost without it now.
All too often though, I confess, I don't work here, I don't blog either. Instead I will sit and look at my garden and become hypnotised by the beautiful palm tree just outside my window as it sways.
Now where was I?

· blogging, writing

Guest Post: The glamour of writing ;)

This post is written by the fabulous and hilariously funny writer Al Tait from Life in a Pink Fibro. I read her every day.
You should follow her too. 


The glamorous world of writing for a living

There are days when it just doesn’t pay to go to work. A bad day might include anything from a boss who’s overbearing, a customer who definitely isn’t right, a report that’s completely ignored, or an assignment to find 10 guys to locate the clitoris on a diagram.
Oh.
Maybe that’s just me.
Writing is a wonderful job. You will never find me complaining about being able to do what I love for a living. But that’s not to say that it’s not without its bad days. Deadlines, for instance, are always bad days. Particularly when you know you’re just not going to meet one. Remember that feeling you had at school when you had homework assignments due the next day and you hadn’t even started. Welcome to my life.
I’ve been lucky in that my writing career has been varied. I’ve written on everything from sex (a lot) to cushions (fortunately, not that much). I’ve worked with some of the smartest, funniest, best women (mostly) and men (occasionally) you’d ever hope to meet. I got to go to Australian Fashion Week. I got to interview celebrities (not that often, I don’t enjoy listening to rehearsed answers all that much). I got to organise Bachelor of the Year one year (yes, it was fun, no, I didn’t meet my husband there).
But it’s not all cocktails and beefcake. Which brings me back to the clitoris.
I was working at CLEO, wrangling bachelors and writing such memorable features as ‘Wedding Dress never worn’, which featured, inexplicably, a photograph of a woman riding an exercise bike in the wedding dress she’d never worn (what do you mean you don’t remember that one?), when my editor called me into her office. She was worried that Australian women were missing out on the orgasms to which they were entitled because Australian men simply didn’t know where the clitoris was.
“Find out,” she ordered.
“Find out what?” I asked, too dumbstruck to move. Working at a mag like CLEO demands a lot of you – specifically, that you exploit your friendship networks to find suitable case studies for stories. My mind was boggling about how exactly I was going to discover if the men of Australia could locate the clitoris.
“Find out if they know where it is – get 10 guys to locate the clitoris on a diagram. We’ll run a photograph of them next to their attempt in the mag.”
Of course.
It was while waiting at a petrol station in western Sydney to meet a guy, who was a friend of a friend of a friend, who was happy to roll out my ‘diagram’ on the bonnet of his car and put an X where he thought the clitoris was before lining up in front of a blank wall for me to take his photograph, that I had a revelation. I needed a new line of work.
Ten years later, I’m still looking for one. I left CLEO not long after that story, but not magazines or writing. How could I? What other job offers that kind of variety?
And, for the record, 8 out of 10 guys from my very small sample got it right.


· deadlines, writing

Swearing, my mother and writing




In order to be a better writer I’ve had to have a close look at the flaws in my writing. One is my complete inability to use swear words, mainly because my mother might be reading it. At 35 it might be time to break free of worrying about upsetting her quite so much. She raised four boys, in addition to raising me so I’m pretty sure she’d heard a few pearlers in her time. However, this weekend I made a point of having a chat with her and warning her there may be some profanity in my work. She seemed far more relaxed about it than I had thought.
I’m going to ease her into the possibility there may be a love scene next week. It’s best to take this kind of thing slowly.
Actually I may need a glass of wine or two when it comes to writing one myself. I seriously considered getting a ghostwriter for it; such is my inability to write something vaguely sensual without breaking into helpless giggles.
I know.
I need professional help.
Swearing and love scene issues aside I have other problems to overcome.
Firstly, I repeat “cool” words. That is, I might think “sublime” is a word I could use in a sentence.
E.g. “her writing was sublime” but then, two sentences later I’ll use the same word “but the trouble was it simply wasn’t as sublime as Kylie Ladd’s.”
I won’t even realize I’ve done it until much later and this kind of error is scattered throughout my work.
I also seem to have a propensity for giving my female characters names with 2 ‘l’ s in them. Think “Chantelle,” “Isabelle,” “Danielle.” I’m not sure why I’ve done this but it does mean I need to rethink their names, or some of them at least. Otherwise people may think it’s a book of rhyme, rather than a serious work of fiction about a cross dressing clown.
which it isn’t , I hasten to add
 Thirdly, I write “on the fly” as it were.
I think everyone writes differently. For me, the words are just poured onto the page.  Initially I don’t anguish over my words, I have a roughly scrawled plan and use that as a guide for my narrative. The problem with that is that I am going to have to spend a great deal of time editing my work when I’ve finished my “pour.”
I’ve made peace with that.
My thinking is, the foundations are pretty good, they just need careful raking over. And while spell and grammar checks won’t cut it in this case, years of editing my student’s work mean the mistakes tend to leap out at me. I think there will be a great deal of leaping over the next few weeks ;)
I’m at 45,000 words now. Well over half way there.
Yayness!

· motherhood, writing

Dream time

I've had to keep reminding myself that what is happening at the moment isn't a wonderful, stupendous dream. Husband keeps grinning at me and saying: "I told you so," at regular intervals and when I've phoned various friends to tell them what's been happening, they've echoed his refrain.
My writing is being published.
I am being asked to write for various places, on all manner of topics.
I am having glorious fun doing it.
The not so glorious bits of trying to fit in my musings around small, adorable, but totally unsympathetic to my writing children, and a husband who keeps flying away for work are proving a challenge.
But it's do-able mostly.
I'm trialling products and ideas at home. Wherever I go I ask questions about things. My poor hairdresser on Saturday was subjected to a barrage of questions about haircare. I suspect when I next call back to make an appointment she won't be available to see me ;)
I've had amazing support from various blog and internet friends as well. They've been patient and generous with reading my drafts and editing them. They've helped with topics and advice on pitches.
In addition, I'm pursuing my own ideas and pitches.
One of the fun ones is fashion. This pitch is in the early stages but I thought it would be fun to share the process with you. I love fashion. I admit I haven't a clue about styling or the budget to pursue it "properly" but I've applied for a media pass for our Perth Fashion Festival later this year because I intend to blog/write about it.
My idea for that is to write about it from the perspective: “an ordinary woman's peek at an extraordinary world.”
I'm not limiting myself to any particular style of writing or topic, except for the obvious.
I got given some brilliant advice when I posted a question about pursuing a career as a freelance writer in January. I took it and away I went.
I've been rejected as well. But it's always done so nicely I usually end up feeling like they did me a huge favour!
I haven't wanted to jinx it by saying much about it all before now.
But I've gone from: "I think I can do this"
to
"I am doing this."
And it's wonderful.

· children, fashion, friendship, writing

Full disclosure

I read alot of blogs.
I remember when I started reading blogs and writing my own, someone asked me; "What are you writing for?"
Good question.
I think it evolved over time. It was a way of sharing what I wanted and needed to share with others. It was a way of connecting. It was a way for me to articulate (usually to myself) something I was working through or a goal I needed to set.
I enjoy blogging. I usually enjoy reading other peoples blogs. I've made what I consider to be genuine friendships through blogging.
And I don't for one minute think that reading a blog gives me a complete and total representation of who a person actually is. I may come across as delightful and witty, but ask my husband to describe me this morning and he would look anxiously over his shoulder to check I wasn't within earshot before telling you:"cranky and a tad unreasonable."
But recently a few things have begun to puzzle me.
I worry about those who share all too painful truths here, are getting their fingers not only burnt, but singed right off.
I worry that those in whom we place our trust, offer our support to, may not actually really need it.
It's like the way teens are often judged. The reality is, the majority of them are great, decent young people. And some are not. And often, it's the few who ensure everyone else is tarred with the same brush. As a former teacher it used to annoy me intensely the way this stereotype was both engendered and perpetuated.
And in some ways I worry about this in blogland.
There is a saying "Least said, soonest mended."
I could not agree with this less right now.
So I'm taking a little blog "holiday."
Planning a party for Miss Medium. Getting into training for my next fun run. Catching up on emails. Taking Mr Small in for surgery. Having my gallbladder out.
In the interests of full disclosure
I needed you to know that.
I promise I'll show you my scar.
Maybe not.

· blog holiday, blogging, motherhood, stereotypes, teens, writing

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