Judith's Blog

Twitter - a fabulous way to connect with authors

By Josie

ONE of the reasons I love Twitter is the way you can connect to the most unlikely people - including authors. I've been tweeting with Jackie Collins - I'm not writing erotic novels but I do find it funny that she's on Twitter as her books certainly played quite a part in my formative years *cough*.

So last night I tweeted her (she's @jackiejcollins) the following questions: how many pages do you write a day when you're working on a book, and do you always draw on real life experience?

Here's what she had to say:

'10-15 handwritten pages'
'yes unless you're writing a fantasy novel' (I'm presuming by fantasy she meant Lord of the Rings type fantasy, not - er- erotic fantasy).

So there you have it. 10 to 15 handwritten pages a day... not sure how much that translates to in typed pages but it sounds perfectly doable... doesn't it?

Do you have any tips from published novelists? If so, share them below!

'Books should enlighten and educate' June Austin on self-publishing

SELF PUBLISHED writer June Austin says the days when 'vanity publishing' was the norm are long gone. Here, she argues why battling against the frustrations of working with commercial publishers, needn't be the only route to success as an author. Her book Genesis of Man was first published in 2006.

THE book buying public cares little how the books they read were published, only that they are interesting, well written and affordable. It is only those within the publishing industry who seem to have a problem with self publishing.

The reasons they give are usually that such books are: * Nothing more than "vanity press" * Badly written with little if any editing * Difficult to market as the author has to do everything themselves with no outside help * Self publishing companies will publish anyone who can afford to pay I aim to dispel all of these myths and maybe some more.

Fictional characters' Facebook and Twitter accounts: A step too far?

HEARD the latest about Steffi McBride? She's been asked to sign up for the next series of I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here, apparently. Oh and she has had a rose named after her, writes Linda Jones.

Perhaps you don't have a clue about this latest D-lister to hit the party circuit who says she's stayed up all hours with Paris and Kylie. And possibly you don't care a jot. But what, arguably, makes Steffi more interesting than your average airhead celeb is that she's the figment of an author's imagination and these tantalising - or annoying - insights into her star-studded existence come courtesy of her updates on Twitter, the social media "microblogging" site, and her Facebook page.