Side Quests and Finding an Audience

 by Jeanette O'Hagan

Brisbane Supanova 2025

A couple of weekends ago, Rendered Realms, aka, Jeanette O'Hagan, Lynne Stringer and Adele Jones had a table our seventh (or eighth) Brisbane Supanova (since our first one in 2017 & Covid in between).  In many ways, it's rinse and repeat  - we dress as characters in our story, we display our ever-expanding stock/inventory of books, we put up banners and posters, we hand brochures and bookmarks to interested patrons, we enjoy the creative display of cosplayers prarading past our table, we thrill at return customers and the friends we'd made over the years at the different pop-culture cons. 

This years had a different vibe for one reason only. As some excited customers exclaimed - they loved a sidequest. Those smaller filler quests that branch off the main quest line in a RPL (roleplaying) game. They also love bling.  Talking of side quests - let me backtrack :) 

To diverge - Finding an Audience

I started telling stories a long time ago. 

For many years they had an audience of one (me). Well, two, to inclule God who knows our thoughts before we do. At any stray moment, my characters would clamour in my head, telling me their adventures, suprising me with twists and turns along the way. Villains with backstories and redemptive arcs, new lands and new peoples, family dynamics and farflung journeys - which only I was privy to. I drew maps, invented an alphabet, made extensie genealogies, drew and painted pictures of different aspects of my world and its peoples. 

Until one day, a family friend challenged me to write the stories down for others to read. Soon, I was in search of an audience - readers who I hoped would love my world and characters as much as I did. 

Broadening my audience gave my stories more substance and structure. Instead of a rambling ever-branching, ongoing adventures, they started taking the form of short stories and novels. And instead of pleasing myself and allowing my daydreaming mind to roam where and when it will, I had to think seriously about audience expectations - target audience (Young Adult, Adult), genre (Fantasy, Science Fiction), story structure and style (point of view, show don't tell, strong prose, pacing etc).  

Writing the stories is the fun part. 

Editing them is necessary. I enjoy editing,  though I wish it didn't take five times longer than the actual writing. 

Getting the stories published has it's own challenges - finding a publisher, deciding between traditioanal publishing or Indie publishing, Hybrid etc, 

But the hardest thing about seeking an audience - is being noticed in the crowd. In other words, promotion and marketing. And whether we are trad published or  indie (self) published, we need to market our books so people can find them. 

Each year, 2.7 million books are added to Amazon.  And once a book is electroncially published, it's generally stays published. So in the hustle to find our readers, we are not just competing with all the new books out there, but everyone else's backlist - including all the republished classics from decades to centuries ago. 

When we look at the figures, it can be disheartening. 

There are various ways to find an audience - connecting with groups, schools, libraries, book clubs, social media, etc, collaborating with othe authors, competitions, giveaways, promotions, advertising, newsletters, street teams, etc 

One way, Adele, Lynne and I have found to connect with our potential readers is though Pop culture festivals like Supanova, Oz Comic Con, Fraser Pop, Comicgeddon. The people in cosplay streaming past our table are interested in our genres - science fiction and fantasy - and a good proportion of them are avid readers. Many of love supporting local and small arists and authors in artist alley. 

Even though many others are more interested in merch and art than books, these events attract crowds of people - tens of thousands with Supanova. If the book lovers are ten or even five perscent - that's a lot of people.  Enough to make the event worth while. And certainly, I know I  sell far more books through such events than through Amazon or Draft2Digital.

But each event,  I find I have to fight against the temptation to funnel down on how many sales I am making (have I covered costs). Each sale means either a new reader or someone who  has returned for the next book (both are fantastic). Having someone relieved to find our table after seraching for it beause they are desparate to buy book 2 (Rasel's Song), is magical. But it's not just the sales - it's the real connection we make with fans and other authors ,and being a presence, that is just as important.

A Wayward Dragon

So, back to sidequests,  what was different about Supanova this year?

Last November at Supanova, one of the authors had the birght idea to do a charity anthology open to all the authors at Supanova, to be launched at the 2025 Brisbane Supanova. Many of us thought it was a great idea. 

Each author wrote a short story set in the author's world - my story, of course, was set in Nardva.

Each story would include a palm-size dragon with a single gold coin hoard, whereever the coin went, so did the dragon. The dragon connected the stories, changing as he went from world to world. 

The book itself was shiny - a special edition with foil and dragon scales on the edges. Each author also got a small green dragon and a golden coin to display on their table. More than one person commented on the fact that they kept seeing the same book seemingly everywhere.

The book was a limited edition - only sold in print, only available through the authors. 

The book had a uniform price with a portion going to charity - over $1000 raised. 

Most of the authors were at the event (over ten) & those buying the book were encouaged to look out for the little green dragon and make sure they got as many signatures from the authors as possible.  This was a hit - a number of people were excited about this 'side quest' or treasure hunt (to find the other authors). 

We even had one 'roving author' with the dragon on his shoulder. 

Supa Hoard of A Wayward Dragon was a complete success. The only possible drawbreak was it may gave overshadowed our other books to some extent  - but not complerely.  We still sold our own books. And the whole experience strengthened connections with the other authors, added a buzz to the event, as well as attracting people to our table.

I wonder - what is our main quest, what is a sidequest. Sometimes it can be easy to get caught up in a side-quest, and forget the main quest. 

For me, that's a reminder that, yes, I believe God has called me to write books so others might read and be blessed by them. And yes, I need to work towards gaining an audience through writing the best books I can and doing what I can to bring them to the attention of readers. Yet, in the end, it's not numbers or sales in themselvest that matter - but connecting with the audience God gives us and being a presence in a secular world. 

And now for a side quest, if you are up for it - how many times does the wayward dragon appear in the photos in this blog - answer in the comments below or on the FB page :) 

Jeanette O'Hagan has spun tales in the world of Nardva from the age of eight. She enjoys writing fantasy, sci-fi, poetry, and editing. Her Nardvan stories span continents, millennia and cultures. Some involve shapeshifters and magic. Others include space stations and cyborgs.

She has published over forty stories and poems, including the Under the Mountain Series (5 books), Ruhanna's Flight and Other Stories, Akrad's Children and Rasel's Song, the first two books in the Akrad’s Legacy series and more recently in Stepping Sideways and Supa Hoard of a Wayward Dragon. Her story in Stepping Sideways, 'In a League of Her Own' won the 2024 Aurealis Award for YA Short Stories.

Jeanette has practised medicine, studied communication, history, theology and writing. She loves reading, painting, travel, and pondering the meaning of life. She lives in Brisbane.

Find out more about Jeanette at:

My Website | Facebook Author Page | Amazon | Books2Read | Goodreads

The Rewards of Writing God’s Books

 

‘I’m reading your book to my grandchildren.’ My friend casually dropped this information into our conversation.

I blinked, taken aback. ‘Which book?’

She grinned. ‘El Roi.’

‘But…’ I was more than a little disturbed. I write books for adults, mature adults and I write about adult themes.

She laughed at my reaction. ‘They love it. Some of the scenes I adjust a little, but they are engrossed.’

I was still floored. I know these kids. They are under ten years old. But observant     enough to ask what my name was doing on the cover.

In my last blog I wrote about the high cost of writing. This time I want to talk about the immeasurable rewards to be reaped from writing, for walking in obedience without counting the cost.

God and I have an agreement about my books. He helps me write, yes, but promises that if I get them published, He will distribute them. It seems He’s more interested in getting a book in a particular person’s house or hand than selling them by the hundred!

Occasionally I get feedback about His unseen work. A stranger emailed to thank me for El Shaddai.

            Hi Jo,

Thank you so much for writing El Shaddai! I came across it in an Op Shop in Ipswich whilst visiting my daughter! Of course I was led by God as the title jumped out at me. What a blessing!

Please know how precious your writing is as the conversations with God in the story bring Him even closer. 

When I stood behind my novels at a stand in at the  Koorong bookstore in Toowoomba a few Saturdays ago, I was amazed by the number of people who stopped to tell me how much they had enjoyed “Though the Bud be Bruised”. We published that book thirteen years ago and it is still affecting lives. I know that for everyone who shares or comments, there are many who don’t.

A book is like a stealth bomber. It glides in through Kindle, a loan or a bookstore, looking innocent. But it can be an explosive weapon that helps set people free.

Let’s see what happened with my friend’s grandchildren who couldn’t wait to read more each night. When it was time for them to go home, the story wasn’t finished. One of them read aloud for the full hour’s drive to their house. to finish it.

‘We see demons like that coming through our window.’ They told their grandmother. This opened a conversation and my friend used the book to help them learn the power of Jesus and how to deal with demons.

In my ideal world, children don’t know about demons. But most kids today are not being raised in an ideal world. It would never enter my head to talk to my grandchildren about demons, but this book does and brings promise of a Light that the darkness can’t put out. It’s a message of hope that so many need to hear.

In the early hours of Saturday morning in Toowoomba a truth burst into my mind. ‘Your writing is not a business or a hobby. It’s a ministry.’

What perfect timing the Lord has. This was the morning I was preparing to sit in Koorong. I knew then that my job was to spread God’s love. It wasn’t about sales, but being God’s ears and mouth. During the day further understanding came. I worry about the finances when I perceive it as a business. Or even a hobby. But I don’t have any problem sinking cash into ministry. This understanding released me into a new freedom.

Monday morning we were still resting at the BNB in the suburbs. A truck, a loud, large truck rumbled past our little place and stopped. To understand the significance of this I need to explain that for about 15 years God has used OVERSIZE trucks to remind us of His plans for our lives. We see these beasts a lot. But on this particular morning the truck went past, stopped, ground back up the hill, kept backing and filling until he had parked in the cul de sac facing our bedroom. By then I was out the front taking pics.

I think God was yelling at me! Once again promising us OVERSIZE blessings in our lives, in this ministry.

As I said, the rewards of writing His words, publishing, and distributing them are beyond our imagination.

Do you have a similar story? Do you get abundantly blessed by this calling? 

Jo Wanmer is a story teller. But struggles to put those stories into accepable prose. She writes with the help of the Holy Spirit. Without His inspiration there would be no books. Though the Bud be Bruised was published thirteen years ago. Last year El Shaddai was released and it's prequel, El Roi, has just been published. 

She lives with her husband of fifty-three years just north of Brisbane. Family, God and writing are here three passions. Eleven great-grandchildren (under 6) now fill their home with love and chaos. 

How to Have a Fabulous Author Event

 

What do you get when you mix a local bookstore, an enthusiastic manager and her staff, twenty-seven Aussie authors, 25% discounts and lots of customers looking for Christmas bargains? A fabulous 'Meet the Author' event, that's what!

The Koorong Christian bookstore in Toowoomba recently held an author event in conjunction with their nationwide Family and Friends Day. Twenty-seven authors were initially scheduled, though two were unfortunately unable to make it on the day due to unforeseen circumstances. But that still leaves twenty-five who were in-store. That's a lot of authors! 

Most of the authors came from southeast Queensland, though we also had two interstate visitors from the ACT and Victoria.

It was a very successful day, with lots of customers coming through the store from the first minute it opened at 9.00, and interesting conversations still being had during the last half hour before closing at 5.00. There were a lot of sales overall, and the manager was very happy with the way it went, but the conversations and connections were also key.

So What Goes Into an Event Like This?

We're very fortunate in Toowoomba because the Koorong store manager, Kirsten Hart, really champions the cause of Australian authors. She and all of her staff were enthusiastic about the event and put in a lot of work beforehand to ensure it was a success.

Here are just some of the tasks the staff did beforehand.

• Building these events up over a number of years so that they got bigger and better each time. 
• Coordinating dates so that it coincided with Koorong's family and friends day and associated discounts.
• Contacting authors months in advance to obtain photos and blurbs that were used in advertising memes on social media and professional posters on the day.
• Ordering everyone's books well in advance so they were in store on the day.
• Taking care of logistical issues such as catering for the authors, hiring extra chairs, liaising with other store owners re parking.
• Rearranging the whole store and setting up everything needed for the day, and I'm sure there were many more activities behind the scenes. These events are a lot of work and not something you can throw together in five minutes.

Kirsten also organised for local radio station, 92.9 The Voice FM, to broadcast from right outside the store all morning. A number of authors were interviewed, and it really did make a difference. I spoke to several people during the day who said they came into the store because they heard about the event on the radio. One person even came up to my book table and said she had heard my interview. Apparently the station also got some leads for future interviews, so it was mutually beneficial.

Although the staff did so many things to help with the day, it's also essential that the authors do their bit by promoting the event on social media, inviting people to the event, sharing photos on the day and so on. The store is doing a lot to promote us, so we need to also help them.

It's probably also worth mentioning that the Koorong store in Toowoomba is in a central location surrounded by other stores, a cafe next door, and not far from the CBD. So the visibility of the store also helps with random or spontaneous drop-ins. Bonus!

Importance of Prayer

Although I'm mentioning this after the other tasks, it's crucial at every stage. I know the staff and authors were praying in the lead-up to the event and on the day. Prayers have also continued for the people who bought books, that God would touch them with His love and that the seeds planted through the stories would continue to grow and bear fruit. All the marketing and preparation in the world are to no avail unless God is in the plans from the beginning. We're full of praise and thanks to Him for what was achieved through the event and the many blessings we saw and continue to see. To God be the glory.

An Author's Perspective

Vanessa Foran was one of the interstate authors who travelled up for the event. I asked her if she could share a few words about her experience of the day and this is what she wrote:

"As a new author I was excited to attend the 'meet the author' event. I wanted to experience my first book signing, as well as meet some other writers. I was thrilled to see how much effort had gone into organising the event. The store manager appeared to have thought of everything, including a 'passport' to encourage customers to engage with authors (to qualify for a free hot drink from the cafe next door customers had to get their passport "stamped" by each author). Authors were seated according to their writing genre, and I had some wonderful conversations with Linda Watt, Ruth Bonetti, and Stephanie Walters, all fellow memoir writers.

Throughout the day, visitors engaged with the passport activity, got books signed, or asked about our writing journeys. As well as the joy of signing books, connecting with other writers and readers, and even praying with one customer, perhaps the most valuable moment in the day occurred when I noticed the reaction of two young Mums to my book cover. They seemed very interested in my story of my travels with young children, Travels of a Wimpy Mum, but their expressions changed when they noticed the subtitle: 'Finding courage through the Book of James'. My older readers tell me the book is funny, engaging and inspiring, so I wish more young parents would read and be encouraged by it. Based on the reaction of those two mums, I'm now considering a more general interest sub-title, such as 'Finding faith on the road', that I'm hoping will appeal to a broader age-range of Christian readers, and introduce them to the life-giving wisdom of the Book of James. So the day was beneficial for me on a number of levels."

Thanks for sharing that, Vanessa. It's always interesting to get on-the-spot feedback and reactions to your books at events like this. I spoke to many of the authors and know they were blessed by the event in various ways, and we trust that God will continue to minister to the readers through the stories we've shared in our books.

Full List of Authors

I'm sorry I couldn't include photos of all authors in this post, but here is a full list of those involved: Adele Jones, Anne Hamilton, Ben Boland, Hannah Currie, Ingrid Dacker, Jeanette Grant-Thomson, Jennifer Mistmorgen, Jessica Kate, Jo Wanmer, Judy Rogers, Karen Roper, Lexia G. Mackin, Linda Watt, Lucy Khan, Lynne Stringer, Nola Lorraine, N. R. Eccles-Smith, R. A. Stephens, Rebekah Robinson, Rian Roux, Ruth Bonetti, Sarah Alison, Stephanie Walters, Ted Stubbersfield, Vanessa Foran; and in absentia, Frances Prentice and Glenn Cox.

Thanks and Disclaimer

Thank you so much to Kirsten and the team at Toowoomba Koorong who made it all possible. It's amazing what can be done when you have booksellers who care about Australian authors. 

Also, a little disclaimer. I was a participant in this event, but I am not a Koorong employee and therefore cannot speak on their behalf. If you are interested in other questions, such as how to get your books into Koorong, it is best to contact them direct.

If any of the other authors who were there on the day would like to share their experiences, please add them in the comments section. We'd love to hear what you thought.

___ 

Author Bio

Nola Lorraine has a passion for faith and social justice issues, and loves weaving words that inspire others with courage and hope. Her books include the inspirational historical novel Scattered, the Christian devotional book Comfort Zone, and the Christian charity anthology Glimpses of Light which she co-edited with Jeanette O’Hagan. She also has more than 150 short publications, including fiction, poetry, devotions, true stories, magazine articles and academic papers. She loves sharing the words and stories God impresses on her heart, and prays that He will use them to bless others.

www.nolalorraine.com.au

Rules? What rules?

 I am glad I went to school in the fifties and sixties, for various reasons. Back then, we learnt 'proper' cursive handwriting that few younger people seem able to read today. We did not have the luxury of calculators so mastered the art of doing simple mathematics in our heads. But, above all, we were taught those many punctuation and grammar rules involved in communicating via our English language. What a bonus for me as a writer today!

Perhaps you disagree about those pesky punctuation and grammar rules. After all, language changes or evolves over the years in all sorts of ways and, if we insist on continuing to use all those commas and apostrophes today, our writing could seem unnatural, stilted and pedantic. I understand that – and, as writers, we want today’s potential readers to be able to connect easily with our books, stories and blogs. Yet how much easier it can be, it seems to me, if we know those punctuation and grammar rules well. Then we can make wise decisions about whether and where we use them or not in our writing in this day and age.

As far as punctuation is concerned, take this sign, for example, that I saw recently outside a café:

Perhaps there was only one scone that came with jam and cream? Or only one sausage roll? And what was inside that the open fire could possibly possess? How tempted I was to march in and proceed to explain to the owner that simple plural nouns ending in ‘s’ do not need an apostrophe. At that point, I remembered Lyn Truss’s (yes, an apostrophe is needed there!) clever book, Eats, Shoots & Leaves, and wished I had handy the ‘Punctuation Repair Kit’ she mentions so that I could easily plonk a sticker over those unnecessary apostrophes or rub them out.

In the case of this sign, at least we still know what it means. So why the fuss, some may ask. But when it comes to our use of commas, that can be another matter. Take the title of Lyn Truss’s book, for example, where that comma after ‘Eats’ makes all the difference. With it there, we understand that the panda walks into a café, proceeds to eat whatever, then shoots someone, then leaves. Much more exciting than a sentence about pandas eating shoots and leaves!

At times when editing manuscripts, I have to reread certain sentences to understand their meaning, all because a few commas were missing in relevant spots. Take the question, ‘John was that difficult?’, for example, or the statement, ‘I know Mary.’ Without a comma after ‘John’ and another before ‘Mary’, the intended meaning of both is unclear until we perhaps read on further or work it out from the context. How much better if we remembered the simple punctuation rule that, when we are addressing someone, their name (a ‘proper noun’) needs a comma (or perhaps two) to separate it from the rest of the sentence.

I understand not all writers have had the opportunity to learn those pesky punctuation and grammar rules well at school. But all is not lost – there are plenty of books and courses available on the subject, so why not check them out? This may well save editors’ or proofreaders’ costs in the long run, as well as stop future generations from writing signs like the one above outside cafes!

Jo-Anne Berthelsen is a Sydney-based author of seven novels and four non-fiction works. She holds degrees in Arts and Theology and has worked in teaching, editing and local church ministry. Jo-Anne loves encouraging others through both the written and spoken word and is a keen blogger.

Jo-Anne’s latest book, God Moments, is available via her website, Koorong Books and Amazon.

Omega Writers Retreat: Views from the Pews

On 10-11 October, many of us tuned in to the Omega Writers online retreat. Omega Writers is an Australian Christian Writers network that helps to encourage one another, and provide skills and resources to help others in their writing journeys. This year's theme was 'Transformation: Renewing Our Minds, Sharpening Our Skills, Writing With Purpose'. We had the chance to hear some amazing speakers and network with fellow writers flung near and far.

It started out on the Friday night with the annual AGM and writing workshops in our smaller genre groups. Then the main retreat day on the Saturday included:

• A keynote address by American author Lori Roeleveld, with some insights from the book of Nehemiah to strengthen our writing.
• An action-packed advertising and marketing presentation by Carolyn Miller.
• An AI panel with Pete Court, Karen Brough, Susan Bruce and David Rawlings.
• A panel on publishing models with Meredith Resce, Jenny Glazebrook, Rochelle Stephens, Carolyn Miller and Gina Walters.
• More time in our genre groups.
• Later that night, we capped off the event with the CALEB awards for unpublished manuscripts.

I asked some of the attendees if they could share something they got out of the retreat and here are their responses.

Barbara McKay, Southeast Queensland

As iron sharpens iron, so likeminded people can sharpen and challenge you, refine you, and strengthen you. This is what I experienced from the girls in the Toowoomba Omega chapter who warmly welcomed me to the Online Retreat last Saturday. Their kindness was overwhelming.

As an octogenarian with physical challenges, I loved fellowship with these girls and others in Omega Writers online. Our speaker, Lori from Rhode Island in the USA, shared insights from the book of Nehemiah highlighting how she coped with adversity. I love this Old Testament book. Her words did encourage me to keep writing. I will listen again to her words, and like Nehemiah, take on board those Biblical principles of prayer, total dependence on a living God and planning, to help me achieve my writing goals.

Donna Gains, North QLD

It was so nice to see faces I haven't seen for a year and to be able to spend time with my tribe—writers with similar hearts and connecting beliefs. Lori's words spoke to my core reason for being a writer; God has called me to this, I am assigned and designed for these times, and I'm needed to build my part of the wall. So encouraging, like a vitamin shot in the arm.

Sara Powter, Central Coast NSW

Having never done an online retreat, I was somewhat fearful of what to expect. I had no idea whether there would be ten people or a thousand (not that it really matters). But I loved it. Due to various family commitments, we couldn’t attend the face-to-face conferences, but having them online was great. Although meeting other known names was fabulous, I selfishly wondered how this would help my writing. Well, it did!

I loved the talks from Lori and Carolyn, but the completely new area of AI—something I have NEVER been game to experiment with—was eye-opening. Consequently, I have been playing with ChatGPT using an incognito window. Ask it, 'What sort of books does so-and-so write' (in my case, Sara Powter), and it's amazing what you can find. I then asked it more questions—How many books has she written? How can she improve her writing? How can she improve her visibility (re advertising)? Potential areas for improvement & strategies for growth? And lots of other questions. This is BRILLIANT.

Then I played with shortening blurbs (I have done this through Grammarly Pro before). Once I had the blurb, I entered my draft title and asked it to suggest other options. I’ll probably stick with my original, but their suggestions make great subheadingss for advertising. When asked about other plots, it supplied those and suggested both how to make the main characters stronger and how to make the secondary characters more interesting. So, to the Adelaide team who led the AI panel, I bow with thanks. I still won’t use it for my writing, but for a dyslexic girl like me, this is a game-changer. (N.B. You can find Sara's books here.)

Adam Collings, Tasmania

There was a lot to love at the Omega Writers Online Retreat last weekend, from the many useful tips shared by Carolyn Miller in her marketing session, to celebrating the amazing winners of the various CALEB prizes. But for me, the standout was Lori Roeleveld’s keynote talk. I especially connected with her second point: “you were specifically designed and assigned to these times and this place.” While we can sometimes feel out of the loop here in Australia, I feel that doubly so in Tasmania. I love my state with a burning passion, but I sometimes identify with Luke Skywalker’s words. “If there's a bright centre to the universe, you're on the planet that it's farthest from.” We don’t have comic-cons or a large assortment of author markets (although we do have the biggest dedicated indie author book fair in the southern hemisphere!) But while I may not have the same opportunities as others, God chose me for here and now. And that’s exciting. (N.B. Adam writes as Adam David Collings)

Wrap-Up

Thanks for those comments, everyone. I can reiterate what everyone has said. I too got a lot out of Lori's talk, especially regarding writing the assignment God has given you without fear. Carolyn shared a lot of helpful tips on marketing. The AI panel was thought-provoking. I'm probably one of those who had looked on AI with trepidation, so it was good to hear more about the pros and cons and how you can think through ethical uses of AI that could help in your writing tasks. I appreciated that the publishing panel also explained a bit more about how to tell the difference between genuine author services that help you to self-publish your own work versus the vanity presses that rip you off. And the genre groups were a great way to liaise with others who are writing in a similar area.

Thank you to the Omega president, Carolyn Tonkin, and to all of the office-bearers, committee members and helpers who organised the retreat. Thank you to all of the presenters and genre group leaders for your efforts, and a big shoutout to Tamara Wenham and the judges who did so much work towards the CALEB awards.

Next Year's Conference

The 2026 Omega conference will be held  at the Nunyara Conference Centre in Belair, Adelaide from 16-18 October. Guest speakers have already been lined up from the US and the UK, and local speakers will be announced at a later date. So mark your calendars now.

If any of the other retreat attendees would like to share what you got out of the retreat, we'd love you to add a comment below. It was a blast!

____ 

Nola Lorraine has a passion for faith and social justice issues, and loves weaving words that inspire others with courage and hope. Her books include the inspirational historical novel Scattered, the Christian devotional book Comfort Zone, and the Christian charity anthology Glimpses of Light which she co-edited with Jeanette O’Hagan. She also has more than 150 short publications, including fiction, poetry, devotions, true stories, magazine articles and academic papers. She loves sharing the words and stories God impresses on her heart, and prays that He will use them to bless others.  http://www.nolalorraine.com.au

The Meta-Narrative

Hello everyone, this scribbled reflection came to light in a drawer of documents in my bedroom. I read through it wondering who wrote it, then realised that I did, some time ago. This sort of surprise doesn't happen very often, but I thought it worth sharing again, especially since 'doom scrolling' social media seems to yield increasingly bleaker results in the areas of climate change, politics, social structure disintegration, and natural disasters.

 I believe as Christian authors, the thing that ties our work together is the meta-narrative. In other words, it's the far broader story into which our smaller stories fit. This is true whether our fiction has overt Christian themes or slides more covertly into secular markets. Our stories share some of the following points, or at least never deny them.

 

* Jesus died for us on the Cross and all who look to him receive forgiveness of our sins, eternal life and covenant care from this moment forward.

 

* God is the higher power shaping history behind the scenes. This includes the broader brush strokes of world history, as well as the more humble, hidden histories of individuals.

 

* There is no need for us to worry about anything, when we decide firmly in our hearts that since we see a limited picture, we will trust entirely in the creator and caretaker who sees the whole. For he stewards us just as he endorses us to steward the world.

 

* There is WAY more going on than what we perceive with our five senses or read in the media.

 

I think it's easy to sense the difference between our writing and the writing of others with a different, bleaker, more Nihilistic or pessimistic meta-narrative. While our writing offers hope and encouragement, theirs may fit the type of literature which makes readers feel hopeless and despondent, for no apparent reason.

 

May God bless you all, as you go ahead and spread joy and peace through your written words. Have you ever sensed the subtle difference I'm speaking of?

Paula Vince is the award-winning author of several Christian fiction novels set in her state of South Australia. She also has Post Graduate Diplomas in Divinity and Creative Writing. Once based in the Adelaide Hills, Paula now lives in the breathtaking coastal region. Once a homeschooling parent, she and her husband are now very recent empty-nesters.

  

Indie Publication – A Study in Patience and Pitfalls

Last month I released my first indie novella, Flare Up (yay! 🥳). In so doing, I joined the body of authors who have dipped their toe into (or for some, plunged right in!) hybrid publishing. Hybrid refers to an author who has some books released by a traditional publishing house, and some independently (self) published.

Some readers were super excited—not in the least because there was finally a story featuring Jett Faraday, a much-loved character from my Blaine Colton trilogy.

Various writing peers offered encouragement for venturing into the brave new world of indie publication. (And those with wisdom beyond my own kindly answered panicked questions as I stared at yet another gatekeeper option blocking my goal.)

I also had questions of whether I’d abandoned traditional publishing. Er, no. But I can assure you this process has given me renewed respect for my publishing house’s team.

So why go indie?

Simply, Flare Up as a novella wasn’t a suitable length for my traditional publisher. So, I decided to embark on the journey of indie publication. Sounds breezy, right? But no. This story had been latent in a file for a while, waiting for me to decide what to do with it. It took a lot of mustering for me to pluck up the grit to launch down this path.

The indie publishing market is growing incrementally and I can appreciate the appeal, especially for those who have a story that doesn’t quite fit with the majority of publishing houses. However, I can also see the pitfalls of temptation that could lure a writer to release their work too early or launch out without taking upon themself sound advice, such as a need to kill one’s darlings or restructure etc.

Image Credit Hermann Traub, Pixabay

As for the indie publishing process, I’ve bumped up against the “how hard could it be?” attitude. I’d even tiptoed down the self-publishing road a few times before, but swiftly found myself with more questions that I knew how to answer. For every step forward, there seemed to be even more blind stumbles back and questions I’d have to go away and dig into further.

It was only after my fourth (or was it fifth? 🤔) workshop on self-publication and after talking to numerous writing friends that I finally felt competent enough to at least give it a shot. Was it what I expected? Yes and no.

After my most recent self-publishing skills training, I felt reasonably confident I could bring a book to market—as to what quality it would be, well … The advantages I had included having my manuscript professionally edited and a beautiful cover designed by my talented friend, Kirsten Hart. However, on launching in, I was promptly required to consider production, distribution and market-related aspects I’d not even heard of, let along thought about.

I had no idea about distribution restrictions based on book dimensions, which also dictated the production options of paper type and finish. If releasing the book on multiple platforms, you could inadvertently double up on distributor for certain regions, and if the wrong box was ticked, it would make other distributors unhappy. (Insert stern emails about said book.) For example, agreeing to make your book available on Kindle Unlimited on Amazon means you cannot have it released on Kobo or other such e-sites. I also learned there were different breakpoints for pricing in relation to royalty rates.

Photo Credit: Bruno, Pixabay

My experience with traditional publication had at least given me knowledge of key words, catalogue descriptions and category codes (BIC, BISAC, Thema). Yet, just when it seemed I'd succeeded and the book was published, I’d receive a notification that something wasn’t right. For example, one time the cover wasn’t the correct dimensions—yet it was. The difficulty was that the way the layout is done means the file is not centred. Would it not make sense to centre a document designed to align from the mid-point out?

I’m still wrangling with Ingram Sparks, but slowly, slowly I’m creeping through the minefield of braille-like learning points. What I do know is I’ve figured out a lot and made some notable mistakes. Successful indie publication is not as straightforward as it sounds, but I’m certain with practise the process will get smoother. Most of all, I have a deeper appreciation for my wonderful traditional publisher. Thanks Rhiza Edge team!!! 💗💗

Adele Jones writes fringe and near young adult "Science fiction for the real world". Fuelled by her passion for family, faith, music and science, she tackles complex teen issues including self-worth, disability, loss, domestic violence, youth crime and more. To learn more visit: www.adelejonesauthor.com

Running Your Own Writing Race

On a summer's day in 1954, the air was palpable in the Empire Stadium in Vancouver. British athlete Roger Bannister and Australian athlete John Landy were about to compete in the one-mile race at the British Empire and Commonwealth Games. They were the only two men to have broken the four-minute mile and this was their first head-to-head showdown. 

Landy was leading as they came into the final straight. He looked left to check the position of his opponent, and Bannister ran past on his right at that very moment. Bannister went on to win, with Landy close behind. Would Landy have won if he'd kept his eyes on the finish line instead of trying to look at what his opponent was doing? We'll never know. But Landy's sideways glance has become an iconic image. There is even a statue in Vancouver that captures that moment.

I'm not a runner, but I've watched enough athletics to know that middle-distance races are as much about tactics as speed. It's not a bad thing to be aware of your competitor's position, but you also need to run your own race and keep your eyes on the goal.

So what does this have to do with writing? 

I Am Not Kate Morton

When I started writing my novel many moons ago, I wanted to 'do a Kate Morton'. If you haven't come across her writing, she's a wildly successful Australian author known for her sweeping parallel narratives. Namely, books that weave different stories together within the same overall story arc. In Kate's case, this usually means having at least one story from the past and one story from the present, that move along in parallel and then intersect in a way that eventually brings the whole story together.

I especially loved her books The Forgotten Garden and The Distant Hours. To me, that was the pinnacle of writing and I wanted to do the same. I had the chance to meet her when I went to an author lunch and talk with my friend Janet Camilleri (fab founder and director of Front Page SEO). Not long afterwards, I enrolled in an intensive weekend novel writing workshop at the Queensland Writers Centre (QWC) to kickstart my fabulous career. When the instructor did the usual introductory whizz around the table to see what everyone was writing, I even said that I wanted to write a parallel narrative like Kate Morton. 

I persisted with that novel for about three years until I did QWC's 'Year of the Edit' course in which we had to critically evaluate our works in progress. After a big helping of denial, I finally realised that the novel I was writing just wasn't working. I was trying to fit the pieces together, but the links between the past and present story were becoming contrived. The past story had become the dominant one and I needed to pull that out and make that the story. That meant a lot more cutting, plotting, editing, writing and rewriting; but I think the finished product was worth it. My debut novel Scattered was an historical novel rather than a parallel narrative, but that was the best way to tell the story. 

I am not Kate Morton and that's okay. 

The Comparison Trap

There are a lot of wonderful writers out there and we can take inspiration from them, be encouraged by them and learn from them. But if we start comparing our writing journey to theirs and wishing we were like them, we can fall into a trap.

Discouragement

We might feel discouraged because our writing seems to pale into insignificance beside theirs. We can't imagine ever writing as well as they do; or achieving the sales, accolades or followers they do. 'Woe is me. I may as well give up this fanciful dream of a writing life. What made me think I could write a book anyway?'

Envy or Sour Grapes

Comparison can also turn to envy or good old sour grapes. 

'How come his debut novel is selling like hotcakes, while the sales of mine are still limping along after several years?' 

'My book is just as good as hers, but I wasn't shortlisted for the prize. That stinks.'

'If he's publishing that many books a year, they must be shoddy quality, unlike my stellar work. Another few years should do it!'

Envy is never a good look, especially for Christians who are supposed to be cheering each other on.

Taking our Eyes off the Goal

If we're too busy watching what another writer is or isn't doing, we're not focusing on our own writing journey and what God wants us to be doing.

Running Our Own Race

God has given each of us different talents and spiritual gifts. We have different passions and personalities. We have different backgrounds and life experiences. We are all at different stages of life and have different responsibilities. And here's the clincher. He wants each of us to serve Him in ways that only we can. He has called us to run our own race, not someone else's.

So what has God called me to write? I was working on the sequel to Scattered when God sent me on a detour to write a devotional book, which was published this year: Comfort Zone: A 40-Day Devotional on the Father of All Comfort. It turned out to be a big detour because I'm currently writing the second book in that series. I'm also putting together an anthology of short stories and poems on the theme of social justice, as well as a separate poetry collection. God has also been prompting me to do more with all of the songs I've written over the years, and the sequel to Scattered is still in the mix somewhere. However, there has been no mention of me 'doing a Kate Morton'. Funny, that!

The following verses, written to first-century believers, could just as well apply to us as Christian writers.


Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. (Hebrews 12:1-3, NIV)

What race has God called you to run? I'd love to hear your stories and cheer you on.

Sources

Bible verses taken from the New International Version of the Bible that appears on Bible Hub. Featured photo of runner on track by Roshan Rajopadhyaya on Pixabay. Photo of Bannister/Landy statue by Paul Joseph from Wikimedia Commons and used under their licence. Photo of Janet, Kate and Nola from the author's collection. Author pic by Wayne Logan from Encouraging Photos.

Author Bio

Nola Lorraine has a passion for faith and social justice issues, and loves weaving words that inspire others with courage and hope. Her books include the inspirational historical novel Scattered, the Christian devotional book Comfort Zone, and the Christian charity anthology Glimpses of Light which she co-edited with Jeanette O’Hagan. She also has more than 150 short publications, including fiction, poetry, devotions, true stories, magazine articles and academic papers. She loves sharing the words and stories God impresses on her heart, and prays that He will use them to bless others. 

Nola would love to connect with you on her website: www.nolalorraine.com.au