From 'Small Stones' to a three-book deal

An interview with poet and novelist Fiona Robyn

Today the Writing Coach blog relaunches with a new interview with Fiona Robyn, who is one of our new consultants at the Writing Coach. 

I first met Fiona through the internet, as I admired the authenticity of the writing on her blog and we met soon afterwards and became firm friends.  I am thrilled today to relaunch this blog with an interview with Fiona to celebrate two-fold.  Firstly to celebrate the publication of her poetry book 'Small Stones' based on her blog of the same name.  But secondly to celebrate that only last week she landed a three-book deal with the wonderful Snowbooks.  Her three hitherto unpublished but complete manuscripts will be published in 2009 in March, May and July respectively.  The first novel will be 'The Blue Handbag', followed by 'The Letters' and then 'Thaw'.  You can find out more about Fiona's book deal here.

'Small Stones' is a wonderful concept and I so admire the way that Fiona finds a 'small stone' each day, a small poetic moment that she shares with her readers.  In my interview with her (the first in a series of interviews with authors) I asked her about that book and also about her experience of publishing and the wonderful three-book-deal.

JL:  Fiona, how did the ‘small stone’ concept come about?

FR:  I was driving home from the seaside trying to think of a name for a new blog I wanted to create, and the phrase ‘a small stone’ just appeared.  I don’t think I even know what it meant to start with, and I definitely didn’t think it was a very exciting name.  I tried to think of something else but it was insistent!

JL:  What is a ‘small stone’ and how do you know when you find one?

FR:  A small stone is any little thing that I notice properly.  You could describe it as the look on a young child’s face when they see something they’ve never seen before – there’s a feeling of freshness, even if it’s something I've seen hundreds of times before.

JL:  How has observing ‘small stones’ affected you as a writer?

FR:  It helps me to feel like I’m honouring my commitment to being a writer every single day.  It also means that I practice writing every day, even if it’s just stringing five words together. 

JL:  You are now inviting others to share your small stones – tell me about that.

FR:  Over the years people have sent me their own ‘small stones’, and I’ve enjoyed reading these.  I thought it was about time they had their own space!  I’m currently seeking submissions from writers and ‘non-writers’ (whatever that means) at http://ahandfulofstones.blogspot.com.

JL:  I know you have just been ‘discovered’ by Snowbooks who are about to publish all three of your novels next year.  But you began your publishing journey by self-publishing.  What made you decide to go down this route originally?

FR:  I got tired of waiting for a publisher! I really wanted something I could hold in my hands, something I could sell, so I thought I’d publish A Year of Questions while I was waiting for a traditional publisher for my novels.  I really enjoyed the process of self-publishing and it was a great learning experience – both in terms of putting the books together and in terms of starting to learn how to promote myself and get the work ‘out there’.   

JL:  Was the process of self-publishing a complicated one?

FR:  There were a few annoying glitches which were difficult to find a solution to even using Lulu’s help pages and forums, but we got there eventually. The subsequent books have been more straightforward.  I did use a graphic designer to put the cover and insides together for the first book and this was very helpful.

JL:  What would you say is the biggest advantage to authors in self-publishing?

FR:  Taking some of the power back.  Us writers spend a lot of time hearing ‘no’! Having said that, I also felt it was important to be sure that the writing was ‘ready’ to be published.  I had it professionally proofread, got lots of feedback, and I also had years of writing practice behind me.

JL:  Do you need to be good at marketing in order to self-publish?

FR:  Yes!  Unless you only want your friends to read it.

JL:  Your recent experience with Snowbooks is an exciting one.  Can you share what happened here?

FR:  It is exciting!  Snowbooks get an average of three submissions a day and only publish twenty books a year, so I’m very lucky.  I sent my novel through, and then a few months later after hearing nothing I thought ‘I might as well send my other ones through too’.  I then forgot all about it – I’ve been looking for an agent as Snowbooks are unusual in accepting manuscripts directly from authors.  Then I got an email out of the blue from Anna saying she’d had my first novel in her ‘to read more closely’ folder and the second two books had prompted her to spend some more time on it.   

JL: For me, you provide a wonderful example to all writers.  You have pursued ‘the writing life’ and have written three novels even though a publisher was not at first easy to come by.  What motivated you to keep writing?

FR:  I love writing.  Not in a ‘running to my desk each morning’ way – writing is hard work – but because of how it enriches my life.  I made a commitment a long time ago to ‘being a writer’ and I accepted that being published would come eventually if I stuck with it, even if it was five or ten years down the line.  It’s been about five years, but it easily could have taken much longer. Being a good writer is no guarantee that you’ll find a publisher quickly, and being a not-so-good writer doesn’t always seem to rule it out!

JL:  What has been the greatest learning for you in your recent experience of having your novels accepted by a publisher?

FR:  Getting what you’ve always wanted is wonderful, but it doesn’t fix anything. You still have to get up in the morning and clean the kitchen floor. The important thing is to enjoy the journey as much as you can.  I’ve certainly been celebrating and I can’t wait for the books to come out, but whatever happens I want to keep my feet on the ground and remember what is important.  Writing my small stones helps me to do this.

JL:  Fiona, thank-you so much for sharing your story with us. 

Fiona's book 'Small Stones' is available on Amazon here

Comments

[Kate Burton]

Hi Jacqui

I'm so glad you've started up this blog again and also delighted to hear about Fiona's success which she clearly deserves. It shows that when you stick with what you are passionate about, it will win through in the end. Also the reminder that you still have to wash the kitchen floor when you're a published author is so true!

Thanks too for the tips on keeping writing when you have no time. The 'simplify your life' one rings true just now. I'm aiming to write in the mornings and hold back checking the email until lunchtime and that's such a tough discipline for me to follow. It's also very liberating when I do it - I actually end up being much more productive.

Best wishes
Kate

[Jacqui Lofthouse]

Lovely to 'meet' you again here Kate. I agree, I think Fiona's story perfectly illustrates the truth that consistent work, passion and dedication to craft is what matters.

And well done for your experiments in productivity. E-mail is such a difficult one to crack. I've recently moved over to googlemail for work e-mail which separates it from personal e-mail and that has been a useful exercise. Tim Ferris is brilliant in relation to this too on his 'low information diet'. Hope we will cross paths again soon.