Posts Tagged Kim Nash
On the panel . . . with cupcakes!
Posted by Sally Jenkins in Authors, Events, Promotion, public speaking on February 27, 2024
Despite having researched tips for panel events for Public Speaking for Absolute Beginners, I’d never actually taken part in such an event until last Friday night when I was part of a Women’s Fiction Panel. I sat alongside the charismatic Kim Nash and the fabulous Florence Keeling at The Museum of Cannock Chase. 
Kim was a very able chairperson with a wonderful flow of writing-related conversation starters which showed differences and similarities in the way the three of us approach our work.
Florence is a pantster who sallies forth with no definite plan about where the story is going. I plan but mostly veer away from it once the characters start appearing on the page and I realise that what I planned for them won’t work with their personalities.
Kim lights a candle on her desk to signal the switch from working at home in her day job to embarking upon her ‘writing time’. Florence doesn’t have space for a dedicated writing area and so you’ll find her on the settee with the laptop on her knee and a Harry Potter film on TV as background. I work in the smallest bedroom in silence – any music or radio noise is too distracting.
Kim and I write the first draft without reading back and editing what we’ve done the day before. Florence edits each section as she goes.
Florence and Kim both started writing initially as an escape from tough times in their lives. I got addicted after seeing my name and contribution in print on a women’s magazine letters’ page and receiving a cheque in the post for my trouble.
Florence and I have each self-published several books, as well as having novels traditionally published.
A very exciting part of the proceedings were the cupcakes(see above!) Each one sported a little cocktail stick holding one of our book covers – fantastic!
Did I learn anything about panel events?
If you’re worried about your mind going blank when faced with a question (as I was!), ask the chair for a list of possible question areas in advance. I felt more comfortable knowing the subjects that might be covered. This is also gives you chance to think about how you could turn a question around if it’s one you might find awkward.
Remember to talk to the audience. It’s OK to glance at your fellow panelists occasionally but the audience wants to see your face and hear your answer! Without the audience there would be no event.
If the venue is plying you with tea and coffee, don’t drink too much before the event starts – a toilet visit part way through the discussion might be frowned on.
Find out what the arrangements are for selling books. The lovely Press Books and Coffee Shop kindly attended my event to sell copies of all of our traditionally published books. But I only discovered later that I could have taken my self-published books to sell directly as well.
Relax. It’s not the Spanish Inquisition! The rest of the panel are human too and it’s always a lot of fun talking about writing and books with others who are passionate about the subject.
All Change at Jenkins Towers …
Posted by Sally Jenkins in Competitions, Events, Lifestyle, Non-writing, public speaking on February 6, 2024
There’s been a bit of stuff going on around here lately, which is making my long held vision of becoming a fulltime writer hover on the horizon. This is NOT because I have suddenly hit the New York bestseller lists and the money is pouring in, although as I write, Kindle Direct Publishing for Absolute Beginners has an orange ‘bestseller’ flag in Amazon’s Electronic Publishing category – which may have disappeared by the time you read this.
119419479 © Monkey Business Images | Dreamstime.com
My current situation has arisen because of redundancy from my part-time job in IT and being at very high risk of losing my library position as well (due to council cuts). On top of this, the gearbox in my old car is making clunky noises and will cost more than the car is worth to replace. So, there’s been a lot to think about and not a lot of writing or blogging has been happening.
However, I have not been totally idle. I’ve been preparing an author talk based around the inspiration for Little Museum of Hope. The first outing for the talk is Friday 9th February at Mere Green library in Sutton Coldfield – I’m keeping my fingers crossed that it will be well received!
And on the evening of Friday 23rd February I will be taking part in a Women’s Fiction panel at the Museum of Cannock Chase, organised by the lovely Kim Nash. It’s the first time I’ve been involved in a panel event so it will be an interesting experience.
Moving away from my life, I’ve spotted an unusual ‘competition’ for historical fiction writers from Sapere Books. On their website are a selection of outlines for historical fiction series. Choose one of the briefs and write a synopsis and the first three chapters of the first book in the series. As the prize will be a contract for a five-book series, ideas and outlines for the next four books in the series are also welcomed. The competition appears to be open to all writers, published or unpublished but do check all the details. The closing date is 31st May 2024.
Finally, if you enjoy reviewing WWII sagas, take a look at Helen Yendall’s latest book on Netgalley. I think it might tempt you!
How to Write a Book Review
Posted by Sally Jenkins in Books, Promotion, Resources on October 15, 2015
I recently heard the book blogger Kim Nash speak in Leicester and she gave her personal rules for writing book reviews. This is what she said:
- Be kind.
- Indicate how the book made you feel.
- If reviewing on your own blog or website, always include links within the review to where the book can be bought.
- Don’t review a book that you don’t like.
- Share the review on social media.
Points 1 and 4 might cause some of you to raise an eyebrow. But I agree with Kim. If the book is a full-length novel, someone has sweated blood for months, maybe even years, to write it and the last thing they need is a kick in the teeth from a reviewer. So, if you can’t write something kind then don’t write anything at all. Similarly, don’t choose to review a book in a genre that you don’t like because you won’t give it a fair chance. With the Amazon ‘Look Inside’ feature it’s easy to get an idea of whether a book is going to be to your taste before you buy. If you notice formatting issues within a book, it’s kinder and more helpful to contact the writer direct so that the problems can be corrected, rather than point them out in an Amazon review that will remain on the site permanently, even after the errors have been corrected.
Remember – when you review a book, especially by a newish indie author, you are treading on someone’s dreams.
Kim also works for the publisher Bookouture and she gave a tip about doing a cover reveal. Apparently the best time for doing these on social media is 4:45 pm – this is when you’ll catch most people. Announce in advance that you’ll be doing the reveal at this time and make sure that the book’s Amazon page is open to accept pre-orders at this time too. If the cover provokes a reader’s interest, you want him to be able to order it immediately rather than have chance to forget about it.
Sally Jenkins 