Launching in Lockdown, by Deborah Jenkins

Following the interest in my last post about Lockdown Writing, which  you can catch up with here, I thought it might be a good idea to follow it up with something about Lockdown Book Launches.
This was partly selfish - I may be in this position this side of eternity (but don't hold your breath) - and partly practical. There are clearly a few of us who may need to do this very soon and could benefit from experiences shared here.

So I asked three friendly Christian writers to share their thoughts. Amy Robinson published several books before Lockdown but was ahead of the curve and has lots of on-line experience. Sue Russell also has considerable experience of publication but had to change her most recent launch plans because of the lockdown. Fran Hill, again already published, is about to launch her second book - a memoir - during Lockdown. So, Writer, you have a range of experiences and approaches - and three very talented writers - to learn from here. Enjoy.

These were my questions:

1. Lockdown can makes us reassess things – why would you say you write and who for?
2. How has the lockdown affected you at your particular stage in writing?
3. How have you managed/are you managing to launch any books on-line?
4. What is your latest book about and why should we buy it?!
5. What tips would you give other writers about publicising their work during Lockdown

Amy Robinson

I write for any children or adults who love story, poetry and faith combined. So myself, basically. That hasn't changed, but since lockdown I have become aware of an audience searching for something new, people at a looser-than-usual end, friends who talk of simultaneously wanting deep answers but feeling unable to tackle difficult writing: which also describes me! I hope that I can write something for us. 

Last September, I published four books: one Advent book, and a trilogy for children. Because it was the lead-up to Advent, that book had the lion's share of my launching and advertising efforts, my plan being to do a tour of schools in the Easter and Summer terms with the children's books. After the first school visit, however, Lockdown occurred and I was unable to arrange any more.

I found myself at home with a box of my children's books and no easy way of getting hold of more at author price. I am now running a six-week online writing workshop for children based around the books. The criteria for joining was simply to buy the books, which successfully dealt with my stock! The young writers and I are now creating a new episode of the story, set in current Coronavirus times, and towards the end of the course I will be publishing our efforts online, which will hopefully encourage new readers to get hold of the books.

The Gladstone the Gargoyle trilogy tells the story of a gargoyle who has come to life, but doesn't know why. The children he meets must delve into the mysteries and histories of the village church and its characters to help their stone friend get back to his tower. Think The Alien at St Wilfred's crossed with ET or Five Children And It.

It's aimed at children aged 6-9, but with its themes of community, faith and the importance of a church building, it has a peculiar resonance at the moment and would make a great light read for anybody – and then you could spend the long lockdown hours colouring in the beautiful illustrations by Dawn Clarke.

I would say, be encouraged – the technology has been there for a while, but now the audience is, too! Live read-alongs, Zoom launch parties and invitations for people to join in with a challenge and a hashtag are popular ways to pass the time and to socialise and can be really good fun. Think of what you have been enjoying and take ideas from that: for example, I recently had fun filming myself performing a Shakespeare Sonnet for the #ShareYourShakespeare event on the bard's birthday, and then watching everyone else's attempts. Now I'm wondering whether I can dream up a challenge for a #GladStones hashtag. Watch this space...

Gladstone Tales Book 1

Sue Russell

I have loved stories since I knew what one was and have read voraciously pretty much all my life. I've also written on and off, through the years. For many of those years, the ambition to write an adult novel - as opposed to short stories, children's tales or poems - just simmered on a distant hob, rarely visited. But the more tedious domesticity palled  (and it did, boy, how it did)  the itchier that mental itch became. At first I think I was writing principally for myself;  looking back it seems I was trying to teach myself something. But now, although I only write about things that really interest me, I do have one eye on the potential reader, which I hope goes some way to curbing my excesses. 

The Healing Knife was published on 20 March as planned - as it turned out, not a great date! So the launch party which should have happened to great éclat on 25 April didn't come about. I am trying to take every opportunity to publicise it, with the help of good people like Wendy Jones and yourself, and the Lion marketing team have been active too so that I have had exposure on various blogs etc.

I haven't had an online launch. At the moment my thought is to  launch The Healing knife in tandem with what now seems to be a  companion volume, entitled The Thorn of Truth, which I trust will be published by Lion in May 2021. A double party!

My latest (published as opposed to written!) book is The Healing Knife. It's a story about an ambitious female cardiac surgeon whose life almost gets derailed. No spoilers! Why buy it? Well, most readers so far have really enjoyed the ride, and they are a very varied bunch. 

Take every chance you can (as long as it's legal): solicit reviews, use social media, blog. Without overloading, keep your book in people's line of sight from time to time.

Sue's latest book, published 20th March 2020

Fran Hill

Covid 19 lockdown has locked more than our front doors. A minority of the writing community has its head bent, scribbling and tapping, but many say they’ve lost focus or can’t concentrate. For me, too, more time hasn’t increased my output. Lockdown confirms that I’m a deadline person, not good at long-term projects with insecure outcomes. If someone says, ‘By mid-June, please,’ or even, ‘In 30 minutes, please,’ I am, like Galvani’s dead frogs, stirred into action.

For whom do I write? I’d say, anyone who appreciates viewing life and faith from a different, absurd perspective and anyone who likes laughing. I’m casting my net wide.

I’m in promotion mode, another reason for neglecting long-term projects. Or, I think I am, having never traversed this territory. I write regularly for More than Writers and my own blog. Otherwise, I’m learning how not to break my website, when best to tweet, and, from my son, I’ve learned that most people check your Twitter profile to ‘make sure you’re not a loon.’ Sons are good for piercing ego-bubbles.

I’m launching ‘Miss, What Does Incomprehensible Mean?’ via Facebook Live on 21 May. Six months ago, this would have seemed like science-fiction.

My book is a funny memoir, charting a typical year in my English-teacher existence, and its key theme is ‘It’s not only the pupils who misbehave.’ However, it also explores reasons why both children and adults ‘misbehave’, so digs deeper into childhood experiences and their effects, such as not being able to accept kindness.

Lockdown launching has advantages. People bring their own refreshments. Folks in Scotland are more likely to attend your Facebook party than your drinks party in Warwick. And you can wear pyjama trousers and holey socks.

Fran's latest book, released on 21 May 2020, can be pre-ordered

Fran’s book is available online but her local bookshop www.warwickbooks.net will supply it, too, and send it anywhere in the UK.

Deborah Jenkins is a primary school teacher and freelance writer who has written articles, text books, devotional notes and short stories. She writes regularly for the tes. She has also completed a novella, The Evenness of Things, available as an Amazon e-book and has just finished a full length novel. Deborah loves hats, trees and small children. After years overseas with her family, who are now grown up, she lives in Sussex with her husband, a Baptist minister, and a cat called Oliver