Edinburgh-based Jennifer Young is a writer of contemporary fiction. She is also a freelance writer for the Geoscience section of Decoded Science, a contributor to the professional travel magazine, BucketTripper, and a freelance proofreader and copywriter. Her third novel, Looking for Charlotte, has just been published by Tirgearr Publishing. I interviewed Jennifer shortly after the release of her debut novel, Thank You for the Music, and thought it would be interesting to follow her up.
Welcome back to Papillon, Jennifer. So, three novels published in 14 months. Are you really that quick, or were some of
these stories around for a while before you submitted them to Tirgearr?
Hi Jane, great to be back!
I remember you asked some stimulating
questions last time and here you go again… Looking For Charlotte has been
sitting in the cupboard for a while, along with a few others that are still
waiting to find a home. But my second novel was written in just five days (the
first draft, anyway) and since the summer I’ve written two of a trilogy,
drafted the third and planned another novel entirely. So yes, I can really be
that quick, when I’m in the mood. No Time like Now is also located in Majorca. Is this island a particular favourite of yours?
It is; but I think the question isn’t
really about the places I like. I write my novels when I have time to think
about them and that tends to be when I’m on holiday. And I go on holiday to
places I like. The trilogy I’m working on at the moment is set on Lake Garda in
Italy, which is where I went in the summer, and I’ve spent many, many holidays
in the Scottish Highlands, which helped to inspire Looking For Charlotte.
It’s just over a year since your debut novel, was epublished. How has your writing life changed? Is this how you predicted it might be after being published?
Ooh — a tricky question! I wrote before I
was published, as a freelancer of fact rather than fiction, so in that sense
there’s been no change. The difference is in my mind. Now that I see writing novels
as my job I don’t feel guilty about sitting down at my desk and writing a few
chapters, or even going for a long walk in a search for inspiration. I used to
regard fiction as a luxury, and now it isn’t.
I’m assuming that most of these changes
have been positive. Have there been negative ones?
Not a single one. Recently there was a
survey that showed that 60% of adults in the UK wanted to be writers. I’d just
say — come on in. It’s the best job in the world.
How, if at all, has your writing changed
over the years?
Everybody’s writing evolves. When I look back at Looking For Charlotte I see stylistic elements that I wouldn’t use now, but I wouldn’t change them even if I could. I expect that my ‘writer’s voice’ will keep changing and actually I hope it does. I’d like to learn to fit it to the genre more readily. I’d like to experiment. Who knows — maybe I will?
Is your perception of yourself as a writer different to how it was in your pre-published days?
I never saw myself as a writer but as
someone who writes (rather like the difference between a photographer and
someone who takes a few pictures). Interestingly this didn’t change, as I
thought it would, when the book was accepted, or even when it was published. It
came to me gradually.
I understand that both you and the publishing company share the promoting of your books. Which promotional activities do you reckon have been most effective in stimulating sales?
Oh, Jane, I wish I knew! I have a
confession: I’m afraid of rankings and I don’t check my sales. I get a good
response from social media (slow but building) but I really don’t know how it
translates into books sold. I suspect it’s a matter of becoming better known.
Are you managing to find a balance between writing and promoting?
No. Unless it’s 100% writing the balance is wrong. Realistically, of course, I accept that writers have to promote and we all know that. But when I find myself complaining about it all I have to do is think about the downsides of the other jobs I’ve had. Suddenly the promotion doesn’t look so bad!
Any tips/advice to newly-published authors on how to promote their work?
Don’t shirk. Many, if not most, writers
are quite shy about pushing themselves forward but all I would say is, embrace
it. You have to do it or no-one will read your books and that’s what you want
them to do. So engage with your readers, talk to them, find out what they like.
Let’s face it — here’s a time you can play about on social media, chatting toe
people in the name of research. And I’ve learned something else— readers really
are interested in writers, their books and the process.
Thank you, Jennifer, and good luck with your future writing projects.
Jennifer can be contacted at the following sites:
Her blog, Novel Points of View: http://novelpointsofview.blogspot.co.uk/
Her website and blog: http://www.jenniferyoungauthor.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jenniferyoungauthor
Twitter: @JYnovelist
Looking For Charlotte is available from:
Tirgearr Publishing
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Smashwords https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/526032
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