interview with Alison Bacon

Today I am talking to Alison Bacon. Scottish by nationality, Alison lives in the West Country, and this week has found a publisher for her e-book, Kettle of Fish.

JANE: What sort of things do you write?

ALISON: 
I occasionally write short stories but I see myself primarily as a novelist. However I also enjoy writing the occasional informative piece, or even the odd rant – anything to flex the writing muscles! 



JANE: What made you start writing?


ALISON: Well, that’s hard. I think something in me always wanted to be a writer. Perhaps because my family were avid readers and in the fifties/sixties books were the ‘gold standard’ (?) of intellectual achievement. If I wanted to excel in any field, I suppose that was the one that mattered. On a more practical level, I think I began to write mainly as a way of articulating my own feelings. It took a while to channel that into fiction, which is where I eventually realised I wanted to be. 



JANE: What situations/environments inspire you?


ALISON: Well, a bit of a cliché perhaps, but I do take great inspiration from places. A lot of my writing is directly triggered by holiday visits or other journeys. I think travelling takes us out of ourselves and frees up the imagination. At other times a certain situation or person just kind of pings a feeling that I think could make a story. 



JANE: What has been your highest moment writing-wise?



ALISON: Getting a publisher for my novel (this week!) I suppose is the biggest, but there have been other highs that sound less exciting but in some ways meant just as much at the time. When I entered my first novel into the Romantic Novelists New Writers' scheme it did not get a second reading but came back with such a positive critique from the reader I was truly thrilled. That felt like my first real validation from the writing community. 



JANE: And your lowest?



ALISON: Continuing that story, I polished up the novel, incorporating the reader’s suggestions and resubmitted it the following year. Of course it was sent to a different reader who did not like it at all. I was gnashing my teeth in anger and frustration for quite a while! I am a bit better with rejection now, but not much!


JANE: What has been the most encouraging comment someone has made about your writing?


ALISON: When I was placed in a short story competition a year or two ago, I had a very lovely email from one of the judges, writer and teacher Della Galton. Sadly I seem to have lost it (duh!) but it really did say great things about what I had written and I felt I had done all I had set out to do.


JANE: As a poet once said: the worst thing is to be admired through being misunderstood. What has been the least encouraging comment?

ALISON: 

I once pitched face-to-face to an agent who sighed and asked me why I was writing this kind of thing. To be honest I think it was a back-handed compliment – she liked my writing but wanted me to write a different book – but not helpful at the time!




JANE: Do you have a routine where your writing is concerned?

ALISON: 

I wish! When I worked full-time I wrote for around 1.5 hours most evenings. Since giving up work I have totally failed to establish a firm routine. I now try to earmark writing days, but it’s not working! Think I shall have to go back to writing hours. 



JANE: What are the good things about writing?

ALISON: 

For me it’s hugely important as a place to go, the only place where I feel totally – me? Not sure how to explain it!



JANE: What advice would you give someone wanting to become a writer?

ALISON: 

Learn the craft. A few lucky people intuitively know how to make writing work on the page, but not many. It takes a long time I think to master the techniques that will transform your inspiration into something others will want to read. You can cut out some of the trial and error by joining a class, reading books on writing and/or joining a writing group. It still won’t be easy, but you’ll have a head start. 



JANE: Which published/unpublished writers have inspired you most and why?


ALISON: Different writers at different times, many popular ‘women’s’ writers like Penelope Lively, Margaret Drabble, Carole Shields. A.S. Byatt’s Possession was an indirect inspiration for my first novel. Lately I’ve been struck by how the voices of Scottish writers in a variety of genres (Ian Rankin, Ian Banks, Moira Forsyth) resonate with me, maybe some kind of shared linguistic heritage? 



JANE: Re the saying, ‘people ask for criticism but they only want praise’, is this true for you?



ALISON: Well sometimes I think it is! I am learning to work out what I want from a reader before I ask.


JANE: What are the drawbacks of asking someone to read your work?

ALISON: 
Just that – for them to understand what you want out of it. Something non-writers usually fail to understand. Worst scenario is you expect feedback and get nothing at all!


JANE: With the ever-advancing internet access, how do you see the publishing business developing in the future?

ALISON: 

I think we’ll see a multiplicity of models and formats – a certain amount of confusion, but also more choice for everyone.


JANE: How did/do you teach yourself to write?



ALISON: I didn’t really. I found a brilliant teacher in Sarah Duncan: http://www.sarahduncansblog.blogspot.com


JANE:Have you ever suffered from writers’ block and if so, how did you get over it?



ALISON: Funny you should ask that. I’ve been in the doldrums lately but am now feeling galvanized into action, particularly after hearing a talk from a professional writer who has had 41 novels published – many of them written to order on a very short dead-line. I don’t think she ever let herself suffer from the dreaded WB. Basically I have decided to get over myself and get on with it!



JANE: What made you decide to go down the route of e-publishing?
ALISON: I'd had some very positive comments about the novel from more than one small publisher but no actual takers. I also felt the genre was not one that was in favour with big publishers at the moment. With so many people self-publishing I was thinking of doing the same when I noticed some new e-publishers springing up (and blogged here http://alibacon.com/2012/03/02/getting-published-a-third-way/). I made a point of reading some of the output of these e-publishers, including Thornberry, to see how they measured up. I could also see that e-publishers get books out a lot more quickly than conventional publishers. I know of authors waiting 2 years or longer to see a book in print.


JANE: Can you tell me something about the process of finding and working with an e-publisher?
ALISON: I was still undecided about which way to go when I gave my ms to a friend who had offered to read it. By the time she returned it to me, she herself had a contract with Thornberry and suggested I submit too - and bingo. In general I have found them very easy to work with and also business-like. There's a feeling of collaboration within a framework rather than having to take all decisions as read e.g. I've been asked for my ideas on cover art, although they will have the final decision. We've had one meeting but from now on I expect communication to be electronic. I'll submit the ms after some final edits. They will convert the file initially for Kindle and send me proofs then publish. Other formats will follow. They have offered advice on going into print if I wish to do so myself which I think is generous. It all feels fine, but it's early days - maybe you should ask me again when it's done and dusted!


JANE: Have you needed to make any sacrifices to allow you to write, and if so, what?


ALISON: I’m lucky, I haven’t needed to starve in a garret. A certain amount of discipline is required, but I have mostly written because I wanted to do it more than anything else. For a while I didn’t watch much TV in the evening. But really, is that a sacrifice?!


Alison, thank you very much and the best of luck with the publication of your novel. A Kettle of Fish will be e-published later this year with Thornberry: "http://www.thornberrypublishing.com/page7.htm". All visitors are welcome at Alison's website, "http://alibacon.com http://alibacon.com and to join her on Twitter @AliBacon