July 23, 2024

Closer still

Writing a book is definitely not an easy process. Not that I ever thought it would be. I’m a slow writer too. At least I’m not a writer than can just blurt 1000 words out on the page and then return to tidy it all up. I need to edit as I go and feel it’s the best it can be before advancing. On a good day that can mean tapping out a good 1000 words in a day’s session, but more likely it will be 500 words. The approach to writing is different for every writer, but at least I’ve learned over the years that I don’t need special rituals before starting, or need to be touched by my ‘muse’ as some do. When I sit down to write, I’m working. I believe it’s called discipline!


The end is definitely in sight now and the time has come to approach a publisher or two. To that end I’m taking advantage of an opportunity to pitch to one publisher I identified some time ago as one to contact. An Affirm Press author was a guest at the last Tamar Valley Writers Festival I was involved in organising, and one of their staff is now on the TVWF board. I spoke to her at the recent screening of some Sydney Writers Festival sessions, as part of the TVWF’s program of events and she was encouraging.


More recently I learned Affirm Press are accepting submissions, but only on the first Monday of the month. So after reading the guidelines several times to be absolutely certain I have everything covered, the plan is to aim for an August submission.


Between prepping for that, writing up some articles for The Veterinarian, and working on a comp entry for another online journal, the next two weeks will be busy.


The photo of tee shirt and badges? The tee shirt was central to an Action during the campaign and I recently completed the chapter where it featured. The badges came a little later in the piece and were made in their hundreds, but these and many other items of memorabilia collected over the 12 years, either by myself, or that have been given to me,  will be offered to the Community History Museum for their collection. But only when I've typed  The End.


After all this campaign was a significant part of Tasmania’s history. It needs to be recorded for posterity.

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Attracting the interest of a publisher for this story of a community’s campaign to stop what would have been ‘the world’s fourth largest pulp mill’ being built was never going to be easy, but hoping the first of two 3-minute Literary Speed Dating pitch sessions will prompt at least one of the two publishers to request the full MSS. And preferably both of them. These twice-yearly Perfect Pitch sessions are offered to members of the Australian Society of Authors, and this is the first time I’ve taken advantage of them – mainly because of the need to have a completed MSS before doing so. Three minutes isn’t long to excite the interest of a publisher who is after stories in very specific genres, and who therefore needs to believe your MSS is worth investing the time needed to read it in full. I’m pretty certain I’ve excited the necessary interest, but given Jane will hear the pitches of many more optimistic and talented writers after my morning session today, there are no guarantees. That initial interest might well wane as the day goes on if other writers have written stories that sound far more intriguing – and marketable. One can never forget that aspect of publishing these days: will the book sell. I believe my story will – certainly in Tasmania it definitely will – but a wider Australian readership? That’s an unknown even if my mentor is convinced of the story’s universal appeal.  I’d certainly like to think I’ve caught the zeitgeist wave given the current widespread community unrest over AI data centres, that’s already prompting similar serious opposition, and for many of the same reasons the Tamar Valley’s community opposed the pulp mill. Environmental degradation, threats to public health, water usage – and water shortages in an era of escalating climate extremes – and the constant, relentless noise factor that’s associated with data centres, and AI data centres in particular. I’m crossing my fingers that the second pitch session will be equally positive, and that I could strike it lucky with both publishers requesting to see the full MSS. But I won’t get ahead of myself. I’ll just be keeping all fingers and toes firmly crossed for the next seven days.

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