Craft post: writing nonfiction, part 1

Current work: Modern Heat
Listening to: Julian Lloyd Webber, Unexpected Songs (mainly for Hushabye Mountain – love the chord sequence but I couldn’t work it out. Genius guitar teacher helped me out. Except now I have to deliver and it’s in position three – and I h-a-t-e barre chords)
Reading: next on TBA

Diane asked me to do this ages back: apologies for the loooong delay. Deadlines and stuff.

Anyway. How do I go about writing one of my nonfics?

TOPIC AND SCOPE
First of all, I need to decide on my topic and its scope (and then do the proper outline/synopsis for the publisher... take that bit as read).

My current one for Halsgrove is the third in my ‘Scandals, Sieges and Spooks’ series; last year my Norfolk one was published, this year the Suffolk one comes out, and the one I’m working on now (to be published in 2010) is Essex. The book tells the stories behind the ruined castles and abbeys/priories in the county: when each was built, who lived there, any scandals (which could be anything from embezzlement through to murder), sieges (obviously this mainly involves castles), and spooks (ghost stories, but I’ve stretched this to include fairies, alleged witchcraft and supernatural elements).

PLANNING RESEARCH TRIPS AND PHOTOGRAPHS
So I know the topic and the scope. Next step is finding the locations of the castles, abbeys and priories. The obvious thing here is to look on a reasonably detailed map of the county and list them. I’ll check this list against

• the English Heritage website;
• a list in the Victoria County History (which lists all the religious foundations and castles, as they were in about 1902-10); and
• Pevsner.

As well as checking the location, I’ll also check what’s still physically there (Pevsner and the EH website will give me the best idea there). I know that some will be just earthworks (for example, Haughley castle in Suffolk); others will have remains that are in the structure of churches or private homes (which may or may not be visible from the road; and the private homes or may not have open days); and other will be ruins or tourist attractions that are open to the public. Some might have no visible remains but the village sign will have a carving of what the building once looked like (as in Lidgate castle – course, if the sign’s been taken down for restoration, as it was when I visited Lidgate, you’re a bit stuck *g*). Others might be connected to something interesting in the church (e.g. the stained glass window at Wormingford telling the story of the dragon, or pew carvings of St Edmund’s head guarded by a wolf).

Next, I plot them on a map. This means photocopying a map and marking the sites on the photocopy with a highlighter pen so I can see what’s where. The idea is to maximise the use of my time by visiting several places that are close together – for example, when I did the Norfolk book, it would have been insane to visit Castle Rising in the far west of the county on the same day as visiting Burgh Castle in the far east of the county. But to take photographs at Castle Acre and West Acre on the same trip (when they’re about 4 miles apart) was much more sensible, and I stopped off at Dereham on the way because it was convenient.

How do I know what to photograph? Quick check on the English Heritage website (they sometimes have pics), and also search Google Pictures (often people take photographs for Geograph; and it also flags up if there’s a website which will give me more detail for background information). I’ll also check websites of the nearest church and the villages themselves (which tells me about stained glass and village signs).

So far, so good. But if you rush in to taking the pics without checking you have all the info, you could miss something. For example, I know I want a photograph of Colchester Castle. But I also know that there was a siege which means I also need a pic of Siege House in East Street, and a pic of the obelisk for Lucas and Lisle. If I’d just gone off to Colchester the day after I did my location list, I’d have had to revisit Colchester to take the other two pictures. Given that it takes me two hours to get to Essex and the trip has to be made at weekends (and/or school hols if DH has time off) so I can share the driving, it makes sense to do as much research as possible before we go, so I can make the most of photographic opportunities.

DOING THE RESEARCH
So how do I find out my information?

I could be mean here and just say go and buy my book How to Research Local History (which, btw, has had stellar reviews – there’s lots of info in bite-size chunks and it’s sensibly organised. If you want to get started quickly, that’s your kind of book. If you want something more ponderous, then it isn’t).

But I’ll be nice and tell you more tomorrow...

Nice reviews and octopi

Current work: nonfic; MH duo book 2
Listening to: Kathryn Williams
Reading: Next on TBR pile

Yesterday was a day of media stuff. Starting with the BBC – my mate and fellow Mod Heat author Heidi Rice was interviewed this week re writing for M&B. See it here. And at 1:40ish you may recognise a book cover… (Actually, that reminds me – did I ever post a link to my own feature on the BBC? If not, it’s here.)

And the lovely Norwich Evening News published a really nice piece yesterday about my latest book on Norfolk - fittingly, my 13th nonfic book is about ghosts... (And I didn't realise that! Thank you, Derek James and Rowan Mantell. Oh, and you can read the online edition of it here.)

And I discovered a stellar review of How To Research Local History from The Bookbag – thank you very much to the reviewer (especially as it helped take the sting from someone else’s comments about a different book, yesterday - I'm probably too thin-skinned right now as real life is a tad testing). I quote:

For any historian, and not just in the field of purely local studies, this volume is probably as near to indispensable as they come… as far as this book is concerned, one would have to trawl many many websites to gather all this information. In its field, I think it would be extremely hard to surpass.

That’s exactly what I intended the book to be – an easy read, full of useful information – so I’m absolutely delighted that the reader reacted this way. The full review is here.

I’ve also been truly blessed with my friends and their kind, supportive emails, not to mention flowers and parcels of books and chocolate. You know who you are - thank you. It's been really appreciated.

As for the octopi… How many legs does an octopus have? If you think it’s eight, check out this news story. Fascinating stuff. Yup, I’m procrastinating. It helps me deal with the disaster zone formerly known as my nice quiet life. Which I would rather like to have back.

off to Lincoln, life by Shakespeare... and another new cover

Current work: MH duo book 1
Listening to: various chilling out
Reading: thinking about the next on my TBR pile…

Am off to Lincoln today after school for the event at the Lincoln Book Fair. Back on Monday with a report and pics.

In the meantime, I nicked this one from Michelle. Hmm. Not quite the one I would've picked and not one of Shakespeare’s better plays, in my view. My fave is Antony and Cleopatra, for the sheer poetry, closely followed by King Lear, Macbeth and The Tempest. I have a bit of a soft spot for Twelfth Night as well, and Much Ado (best romcom ever).

Your Score: Romeo & Juliet
You scored 33% = Tragic, 37% = Comic, 60% = Romantic, 16% = Historic

You are the Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet. Perhaps one of Shakespeare's most memorable works, Romeo and Juliet tells the story of two star-crossed lovers of warring families and their untimely deaths in each other's arms. What your score tells us about you is that you are most likely a romantic person who is willing to go to extremes for the ones you love. For this, your family and friends love and respect you (even if they may tease you from time to time). While you may be a bit of a fickle-heart, you are also a spontaneous and adventurous person with a big heart and a lot of love to give. We certainly love you, and we're sure that a lot of other people do too!

Link: The Which Shakespeare Play Are You? Test written by macbee on OkCupid

Some more author copies arrived yesterday - the second edition of How To Research Local History. Again, a lovely cover. I've been very blessed, this week.

new book…

Current work: going back to work today
Listening to: Sheryl Crow
Reading: thinking about the next on my TBR pile

Exciting post this morning. I was busy making breakfast/the children’s packed lunches when the doorbell went. Son raced to the door, signed for the parcel, hefted the box and informed me it had to be a box of books. Not the usual courier for M&B (and I’m not expecting any paperbacks until next month in any case). Second edition of How To Research Local History, perhaps? But no… it was this one! (And it deserves a screamer.)



I’m really pleased with the final production. Looks great – and it’ll be out on the shelves in a couple of weeks. The kids had their signed copies this morning (seems to have become a ritual that they get the first two out of the box – quite flattering that they actually want copies) and son was even happier when I flicked to p171 and showed him the photograph’s caption, i.e. his name in the credits. He wanted to take the book in today to show his friends, but I’ve suggested it’s better to wait until after SATs when they’re all less stressed.

Oh, and one bit of personal good news. Since we got Wii Fit, 10 days ago, I’ve lost 6lbs. Actually, that figure needs adjusting as the initial weigh-in was after dinner and I prefer to weigh myself before breakfast, but even so that’s a huge loss for me – usually I struggle to lose 1lb a week. But it proves this new healthy lifestyle (ha – says she, who’s had the lurgy for nearly a week) is working.

productive weekend

Current work: fiction and nonfiction
Listening to: Bach
Reading: Michelle Styles, The Christmas Wedding Wager (I loved this – some of the twists I guessed, but that’s because of some of my nonfiction, and her details are absolutely accurate so it was really satisfying. Great heroine, gorgeous hero (I could see Mr Armitage acting this role…), a plot that really worked, and lots of wonderful (and accurate) period detail. And VERY Christmassy… it really put me in the mood.)

So. Saturday, went shopping with DH and the kids. He made the mistake of ‘we’ll do the boy stuff, you get our niece’s birthday present’. Righty. Soon as the boys had gone off to find Dr Who stuff, Madam looked at me. ‘Does this mean we can go shoe-shopping?’ (Ha. Well, she has to make up for me, because I have more Radley handbags than pairs of shoes (four handbags, since you ask – which isn’t that bad).) We found this gorgeous pair of suede boots, and then there was the phone call. ‘Where are you?’ Um. In the shoe shop…

I also did the majority of my Christmas shopping on Saturday – online. Much, MUCH easier than struggling round crowded shops with heavy bags. I have a really manageable list for Thursday (when we have no electricity so I can’t work at home – it’s to do with work on a transformer – but am going to have library time to finish off HVV and pick up some books I’ve ordered from the Norfolk Record Society).

Then I went through How To Research Local History to prepare the second edition. Interesting exercise. You need to:

• check if the audience has changed in terms of gender/age/background/overseas markets (in which case you need to alter the tone or scope of the book – in my case, it hasn’t, and it’s still aimed at beginners so it’s still practical)
• catch any typos that slipped through the last edition (there were about three so I was very pleased)
• address any criticism from reviews (mine had wonderful reviews, because it is a practical guide. The only negative coment was that the index was too thin, which I will address at proof stage – it’s impossible to do it before because you need the correct page numbers)
• check details of all contact addresses, websites, phone numbers and email (and blimey, there were a lot of them!)
• think about adding value (I have – expanded some sections and added two new appendices of useful information)

And yes, it was time-consuming.

• Stage one, go through old book in pencil, checking info and adding sticky notes to the page so I know there’s a change when I come to mark up in stage six.
• Stage two, read through the text and make additions/corrections.
• Stage three, there’s been a house style change in headings, so go through all headings and alter where necessary, making sure they’re changed in the index.
• Stage four, another readthrough to check I’ve caught everything I intended to.
• Stage five, add new copy.
• Stage six, transfer all changes (either to a fresh copy of the book in red pen or, as I thought it made more sense for the typesetter to follow, on a Word file - I really hope my editor agrees that print is easier to read than an author's scrawl).

Plan for today: other history book. Note to self: no slacking on the internet. The d-word approacheth.

new book cover

Current work: fiction and nonfiction
Listening to: Bach

Reading: Nicola Cornick

Am busy with books so thought you might like to see the new cover (of the book whose second edition I need to sort out this weekend…) I’m very pleased with it: looks classy. (And this book has had excellent reviews – the critics say it’s perfect for someone who’s just starting out and wants to know what’s out there and where to begin. Which is exactly what the aim was, so I’m pretty chuffed.)

The children's schools are both doing a non-uniform charity day today... so my daughter is angling to wear her posh Monsoon dress. Um, not when she's likely to get paint and felt-tips on it...

lucky for some/I love my publisher

Current work: fiction and nonfiction
Listening to: Genesis, Wind & Wuthering

There are many superstitions about the 13th. Yesterday, it was a super day for me. Guitar in the morning (did an arrangement of ‘Every Breath You Take’, which is just lovely on classical guitar); bit of work on the book; school run (saw a double rainbow as I left – then hit the hailstorm and it was bucketing down in the playground); madam’s swimming lesson; and then the Jarrold's booksigning.

I had a wonderful time. It was lovely to meet Neil Storer and Mark Cocker; and Mike, the head of the books department, really looked after us. Any excuse to talk history *g * - and it’s quite a confidence boost, walking into a book department with a big pile of your books on the table. (Mine are in the middle.)

Not to mention the big placard advertising it…

And then this morning I had a delivery of a case of wine from my publisher to say thanks for my help on a publicity campaign. (I wasn’t expecting it, so it was even nicer. It’s a cause close to my heart so I didn’t mind in the least talking to various radio presenters and talking about the medical bits as well as about the company and romance in general – as far as I’m concerned, the more publicity for Breast Cancer Awareness, the better.)

And I have a gorgeous cover for the second edition of How To Research Local History (note to self: sort the text this weekend. Problem is, in the second edition you’re meant to address issues that cropped up in reviews. My reviews were all really positive. So I need to think how else I can improve it… which I guess means adding pictures).

Life is pretty good on Planet Kate at the moment…

day off

Current work: finished doing website update yesterday. Am skiving off today.
Listening to: Del Amitri, The Collection
Reading: Amy Andrews, The Italian Count’s Baby (finished it last night – excellent conflict, and I think Katya’s mum should’ve got some just deserts…)

Day off (ish) today. Sorting admin this morning, then off to put flowers on my mum’s grave (it would’ve been her 62nd birthday tomorrow) and take my dad out to lunch.
This evening… depends on how much I’m coughing (woke up coughing in the middle of the night and that was quite freaky!) but it really ought to be either tinkering with my outline or doing some solid work on the second edition of How To Research Local History. (It’s only been out a year. Second edition already? … and the idea is to change it according to your reviews. The only negative comment I had was lack of pics. But that still seems a bit… well… not enough. I dunno.)