Simon Varwell's Blog
Prepare for launch…
No sooner have I recovered from New Year than I am now back at work and facing my book launch in less than a month. 2010 will be a busy year, I feel.
The launch of “Up The Creek Without A Mullet” is on Monday 1 February 2010 at 6pm, in the Bishop’s Palace, Eden Court Theatre, Inverness. You’re more than welcome to pop along to the launch if you are in the area. You might even get the chance to sign my copy of the book.
I’m looking forward to it of course, but there is much to do between now and then, in amongst a hectic few weeks for work. I’ve been emailing friends and long-forgotten contacts to tell them about the book, I’ve been tidying up my website (www.simonvarwell.co.uk) so it’s in a presentable state for a hopefully significant number of new visitors, and I’ve been liaising with Sandstone Towers about some other book readings around the country (including Stirling, Edinburgh and Aberdeen and hopefully some other places later on - watch this space, or keep an eye on my website).
In doing this, however, I’ve had to take on a tone I’ve not been entirely comfortable with - enthusiastically and proactively selling myself, telling folk that my book is great and they should take an interest in it. I feel arrogant and egotistical doing so. Of course, there’s probably and necessarily a little bit of that in anyone who’s published a book, and cynics would say I am arrogant and egotistical anyway.
But worse than that, there’s also the concern that I might be wrong in saying the book is great.
After all, the book has only received two opinions. One is from Sandstone Press, who spent six months telling me it needed a lot more work and pointing out what to take out, chop, change and improve. The other is from my wife, who read my first author’s copy I got on the post and thinks it’s excellent; but she is of course highly biased.
And that’s it.
I won’t get any truly independent, impartial, disconnected views as to whether it’s any good or not until people start reading it, by which time it will be too late to do anything about it. All I can do, I suppose, is cross my fingers and continue to tell people that the book is great. Which, of course, it is.
But then I’m biased too…
The arrogance of a writer is implicit in his/her passion for seeing their words in print, never mind that the line between confidence and arrogance is often very thin. Sometimes that arrogance is misplaced, but thankfully for the reading public, the filtration system made up of agents and publishers keeps most of that work from the public domain (ignoring the Web for the moment, that is).
Sure, lots of good writing never sees print, but the opposite, that lots of crap writing makes it to press, doesn’t really hold up. See above for the primary reasons for this; think ‘bottom line’ for the only other filtration factor worth thinking about - even if it is the very same factor responsible for the abundance of sh!te that dominates best-seller lists.
Relax, Simon. If it weren’t good enough, it wouldn’t be going to press, and I can say that with confidence.
Still, I have to confess I too am a little biased, as I am very, very (make that VERY) inadvertently responsible for Simon linking up with Sandstone, an inscrutably minor element of the equation that gives me a great deal of satisfaction. Go Simon!
ron mcmillan
By Ron McMillan on Wednesday 6th January 2010 at 12:33pm
Ron is indeed right - as a recent entry on my blog explains.
By Simon Varwell on Wednesday 6th January 2010 at 4:52pm
One of the reasons I’m really glad I went through Sandstone rather than self-publishing (as i had planned to do) is that the editing process made the book far more resilient to what critics might have otherwise pointed out.
I was without question apprehensive before my book was launched, and at times worried completely unnecessarily about what people might think. In hindsight, there is no real control over how others may react, but it either strikes a chord, provokes debate or is ignored!
In fact what I found really unexpected and in many ways overwhelming was the reaction from people I had never met before, and connections made and dialogues deepened. The launch was very much the start of things.
Just try and enjoy the process as much you can. You’ll have an awesome time. I’ll really try and get along to Eden Court. Best regards, Jamie
By Jamie Whittle on Saturday 9th January 2010 at 6:46pm
I second Jamie’s appreciation of the editing input from Sandstone Towers; before my Shetland book was published I thought I had it polished to a flawless sheen, and if any publisher had said ‘Yep, love it - don’t want to change a word,’ I would have gladly agreed.
How fortunate I count myself that the gaffers at Sandstone thought differently. The reaction I got there was ‘it’s not bad, quite good in parts, but it needs a LOT of work’. After I stopped bouncing off the walls in rage at the cheek, I took a closer look at the input I was getting and (however grudgingly, as those at the Towers will attest) realised that almost all of the demands for change represented real improvement.
Going through the process again right now is only further compounding that view.
I had better stop with the praise lest those at the Towers find themselves in sudden need of wider doors.
rm
By Ron McMillan on Monday 11th January 2010 at 4:59am
Yes, no doubt I am enjoying the process or the benefits of excellent editorial guidance; more that I am uncomfortable doing the “hard sell”.
Jamie, it would be lovely to meet you on the 1st if you were able to make it.
By Simon Varwell on Monday 11th January 2010 at 12:12pm
Yes, it’s always good to have an editor, that second pair of eyes, the freshness of seeing your dog-eared manuscript for the first time.
Good luck on the 1st, I’ll maybe see you when you pop down to Edinburgh.
By Craig W on Thursday 14th January 2010 at 4:49pm