Yes, what is new for 2025? The longer I imagine myself writing, even just short stories, the less I can think of that is new, interesting or exciting to actually write. I can think of several things I ought to do more of (mainly marketing my books) but I seem to find more and more excuses not to. Yet there is hope!
This is my Insecure Writers Support Group post, in which we share our successes and failures as writers, our insecurities, in fact. Anyone can join in, just sign up at the IWSG Sign-up page, write a blog post on the first Wednesday of the month, and go back to that sign up page to link with everyone else–or a goodly sample. Our host is Alex J Cavanaugh, and cohosting this month are:
Rebecca Douglass, Beth Camp, Liza @ Middle Passages, and Natalie @ Literary Rambles
Marketing for 2025
I really must do more, although my in-person selling will reach new heights this year, with the addition of three Sundays at the Winchester Guildhall. I’m particularly pleased as Winchester is my nearest city, and it’s really good to represent myself locally. I’ll also be doing a few more 2-day events, since these are simply less work! These are mostly at Lyndhurst, in the New Forest, Hampshire, and attract many tourists as well as locals.
The most enjoyable part of these events is simply talking about books with people. And I often recommend other books I’ve read, especially ones I’ve recently had via Netgalley. I’m convinced that willingness to talk about other books encourages people to take a second look at mine.
And in social media, I have abandoned formerly known as Twitter, and taken up with Bluesky, which seems to be a popular choice with my writing friends. You can find me at Jemima Pett, unsurprisingly. I must visit often.
Writing in 25
I’ve been intending to write for some of the UK”s short story competitions for years. This year I might even do it, particularly the Bridport Prize (deadline end May) and the Edinburgh Writing Awards (various awards, some close end February, some end August). I ought to check out more local ones, too. And submissions to anthologies, which I have been missing recently,
You probably read last month that I’d immersed myself in my space world and written my heroes’ backstory. It’s around 67k words, but needs more rewriting as I keep coming across things that couldn’t have happened before book 1, although I thought they had (obviously). It may only be of interest to fans of the series already, but that’s no reason not to publish it. There are bits of this that I absolutely love. Those boys are such fun! The only problem is the continuing delay over moving my account from Smashwords to Draft2Digital. Maybe if they know I’ve got a publishing deadline they’ll sort it out.
Will I write anything else? Only if the muse arrives, like it did in November!
Question of the Month
Describe someone you admired when you were a child. Did your opinion of that person change when you grew up?
This stumped me for a bit, partly because until I was a teen, there wasn’t really the cult of celebrity that grew up after the 70s. Even then, people were celebrities for achieving something, not for just appearing on television! Sports people and musicians were the most obvious people I admired. Actors not so much. The two people who sprang to mind were Pat Smythe and Jacqueline du Pre. And then there was Arkle.
Pat Smythe was one of the most successful women showjumpers, and, I think, possibly the first to jump in the Olympic Games (bronze medalist).She probably pioneered women in horse sports, which then went into a professional era in which the UK was tied into the Whitakers and Skeltons, during which it seemed impossible for women to get sponsorship (and therefore good horses). Only in the Three Day Eventing world did women riders remain top class. But Pat Smythe was a household name and, to my delight, wrote cracking good horse stories starring the three Jays… a brother and sister and their cousin Jacqueline. They often went to far flung places, reflecting the author’s trips to horsey people in exotic places including Argentina. I still have some of her books.
Jacqueline du Pre was a world class cellist, only about ten years older than me, who inspired me to take up the cello, although only for a few years. All the other renowned cellists were old men. My cello teacher took me to a concert by Rostropovich, who looked ancient when I was 14. Given he was still performing in his 70s he could only have been 40 when I saw him! Tragically du Pre’s career was cut short when she developed MS, and she died young. Her recording of the Elgar Cello Concerto is still rated ‘arguably the best’ as someone on ClassicFM said over Christmas.
And Arkle was simply the greatest steeplechaser ever. They had to change the rules of racing to enable the others to compete with him. And I patted him. I have touched genius.
I reckon you can guess my opinion of them hasn’t changed!
In person marketing is always the best. I love Winchester! I admired my dad when I was younger. He was my hero and still is. He’s been gone for 17 years but I think about him every day.
You know, I never considered family members as a possible answer. It’s interesting how people interpret these questions.
Hi Jemima – well you seem to have set up a useful group of meetings to get involved with, while promoting your books … good luck and a happy new year. Cheers Hilary
Thanks and happy new year to you, Hilary (and from the guinea pigs to you, too).
It’s great that you do so much in-person marketing. There’s always so many things we should do. Maybe focus more on what you want to do. I hope you have a good year. Happy New Year!
I find it much easier to talk to people who walk past my stall than to spend time online pushing my books. I think it goes back to the early days (2012) when we were told not to push our books on everyone, yet people still do it. I also spent quite a lot with good sources of advertising to no avail. And a blog tour which was rubbish. (after some which were worthwhile, I hasten to add.)
She was quite talented.
Hope all of your events this year are hits.
Thanks, Alex – yours too 🙂
Sounds like you have in person direct sales handled. As for marketing, why not get your Instagram account working for you? You have great photos of your furbabies and they are integral to your Princelings series, so share photos of them with a relevant quote from a book (perhaps in the text self), how they’ve inspired you, and all the hashtags that go with it. You can use Canva (free) to edit your photos, make quote images with your book covers on it, etc. Good luck!
Ronel visiting for IWSG day An Author’s Goals for 2025
This is a classic of ‘tried it, don’t like it.’ It’s the equivalent of something we used to laugh about when I was working in retail, ‘We tried it once and it didn’t work’. Times change. I should change more, but somehow I don’t really want to.
Hi, Jemima. I also loved Pat Smythe’s books, admired Jacqueline du Pre and recognise the name Arkle. I have followed you on bluesky. Are you planning an A to Z this year?
Thank you for following me! I’m still finding my way there… a whole week’s experience now. I’m doing the ‘post a book that you can’t forget; one a day for 20 days’ at present. I think I”m going to have to do 30 lol.
Will I do A to Z again? Maybe, but I don’t think the people who visit these days read my sort of books. Although every years one or two new people visit and stay. I tend to get their feeds to my email and forget to post on their blogs, though.
Actually, I don’t read their sort of books either. Maybe I’m growing out of this.
Hi,
Maybe cults of celebrity come and go – like the 12th C Carmina Burana , celebrating Eleanor of Aquitaine, in Were diu werlt alle min .
Little if any visual media, so how would people get to know about her beauty?
Next door, early this century, two boys were allowed to watch TV only on Sunday mornings. Father was quite a well known actor.
Esther
I love that you visit so often, and I really appreciate it. I’m slightly mystified, though 😀
I had to think hard on this. I admired Eleanor Roosevelt – and still do. She was married to a charismatic philanderer (but a good President) but managed to carve herself a life of value and worth.
Being a Brit of a certain age, I only understood about Presidents and wives when/after JFK and Jacquie arrived. Eleanor Roosevelt sounds fascinating, from everything said about her in The Diamond Eye. http://jemimapett.com/blog/2023/06/24/book-review-the-diamond-eye-by-kate-quinn/
I have finally made some moves for in-person marketing, and I’ll bear in mind your bit about being willing to talk about other peoples’ books! I am looking forward to being able to talk to people about books.
It easier talking about books I’m reading/that might suit them, than the old ‘buy my book.’ I think the other guys that sell their books now ask people what they like, though.
Thank you for a thoughtful post for IWSG. Your comments about planning for 2025 may just inspire me as I haven’t even started. Ack!!! Marketing is another challenge I’d rather dodge (as so many writers do). What you’ve given me is a lovely memory of two people you did admire. Thank you . . . and thank you for visiting my blog as well. PS I tried to subscribe to your newsletter, but got an error message????
Thanks for visiting, and I must find out why the newsletter sign up didn’t work. Did you use the form in an airmail-style envelope, or a different one.
Note to self. Send a newsletter this year.
Ah, yes, you did. And what’s more the contact form in the error page isn’t working either. Sorry!