Welcome to the second issue of Ten for The TEN, your inspirational Sunday morning read.
Today, I’m thrilled to say that Lizzie Page, the author of the Shilling Grange Children’s Home series, has agreed to share the secrets of her success.
Lizzie is about to release her eleventh novel in six years, so I was keen to hear about her writing process because it’s obviously working very well.
After studying politics, Lizzie worked as an English teacher, first in Paris and then in Tokyo, for five years. Back in England, she studied for an MA in creative writing, at Goldsmiths.
Lizzie and I first met at a local book launch about three years ago, and went for coffee soon after to talk all things writing. No doubt, hyped up by copious amounts of caffeine, she then very kindly invited me to virtually meet her local creative writing group to talk about my own book.
Naturally, I’ve been following her career ever since, and urge you to follow her too on Instagram because she often posts special offers, and news about her books.
She’s published by digital trailblazers Bookouture and has a new novel, A Child Far From Home, out in April. Her previous titles include An Orphan’s Song, Daughters of War and War Nurses. To buy, click here.
What initially inspired you to start writing?
I've always loved reading and writing. It is my natural state of being, to be immersed in a story or to be making one up. There've been times in my life, I've done it more and times I haven't, but the urge has always been there. I decided I wanted to be a writer for a job when I was a teenager. I thought it would be all swanning around Paris, looking glamorous. It took me a very long time to reach the stage of being a professional writer - and there's been no swanning around Paris or looking glamorous, but it does feel wonderful, like the fulfillment of my dreams.
Your tell mostly women-centred historical fiction. Why have you been drawn to these subjects and eras?
I'm about to release book number 11 in six years but there are other books on the PC that will never see the light of day, so I've written maybe 14 or 15 in total. I like writing about interesting women - and my first four books were inspired by actual people who I admired, and who I felt didn't have the attention they deserved. It feels nice to introduce their stories to more people. I started writing more issue-based stories, again, with the strong female character at heart, but also looking at events in the past; refugees in The Wartime Nanny and children's homes with the Shilling Grange series. I find the recent past more interesting to explore than anything else.
How long did it take to complete your first novel, and is your writing process now different? If so, how?
The biggest difference is the mental one. The first novel is the hardest to write. It is hard to sit down, carve time out, lay down the words, to do something that can feel self-indulgent, that takes you away from your loved ones, that might be going nowhere. It gets easier from then on, I promise. Nowadays, I just sit down and get on with it. A contract and a deadline keeps you focussed.
If there is one, can you describe your typical writing routine or schedule?
I faff around a lot. I wish I didn't. I get into rows on social media, I go out for coffees, I do Wordle, Connections, I check my ratings on Amazon and new reviews, and then...open the Word document. One hour later, I do all that again.
How do you stay motivated and inspired throughout the writing of a longer project, such as a novel or screenplay?
I am the least disciplined person in virtually every area of my life - there is nothing I won't put off til tomorrow - except for my writing. This is the one area I am dogged about, and its the one area you need to be dogged about too. You have to pick a project you enjoy, otherwise the cracks will show. Its like a relationship - you're moving in together for the foreseeable future. You're forsaking others. The project has got to interest you, and has got to have a lot to offer you otherwise why bother? But like a relationship, there will be times you can't be arsed. You just have to keep on keeping on, I'm afraid.
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How did you go about finding a publisher and can you share any advice for readers?
Fairly typical story. I got an agent with one book, he couldn't sell it, and then [the horror] he gave up being an agent. I don't know if I pushed him over the edge! About twenty years later, with another book, I got another agent. She couldn't sell it. However, this time, things felt different. I had someone in the industry who believed in my work. This gave me the fire in the belly to write another book. This book found a home (but not for ages, mind!).
The thing I wish I knew years ago was about the importance of genre to publishers. Even if you are writing literary fiction, it's important to know how books are classified, how they're packaged and sold, and it's helpful to know where your book sits in that. Yes, we like to think our books are original, there is nothing like it before but the truth is, there will be comparative titles, there will be conventions that it might be a good idea to keep to, or at least be aware of, there will be a category in which it more or less sits. My advice is to think about that sooner rather than later.
What piece of writing has informed your life, or stuck in your mind - and why?
There are two books that made me feel, 'I could do this,' or 'I would like to do this!' It was like I was reading the story on one level, on another my subconscious was saying, 'Ho! Interesting.' The books were The Girls Guide to Hunting and Fishing, by Melissa Bank; I loved the snappy style, the deceptively simple prose, the main character who was kind of like me.
The second was The Paris Wife, by Paula McLain. This beautiful account of the life of Hemingway's first wife Hadley, was the first time I fell in love with historical fiction and saw what it could do. A new world was opened to me. My go-to writers include Clare Chambers, Gabrielle Zevin, Katherine Heiny and Emma Robinson.
What is it like to finally finish a book, publish a book, and then take it out to the public?
I absolutely love it. I'd say I'm almost addicted to it. The rollercoaster ride of getting a book out there, will this be the one that goes big? Will there be foreign deals? What will the reviewers say? Digital publishing is a rare part of publishing that moves very fast. You're still writing when the cover is revealed, you're still editing when it goes up on Netgalley for early reviewers. The turnaround is terrific. I don't think I could bare it if I had to wait two years before the fruits of my labour were out there. Holding my book, or downloading it on Kindle feels great...and then you find the elusive typo that has slipped through a gazillion round of edits!
What are you writing now, and when will we see it?
I'm finishing up the first book in a new series, called A Child Far From Home, which will be out in April. It's about evacuees but it's really about mothers and daughters. There's a lot of me in this one. Book series are very popular with readers and publishers right now. And writing books two, three and four, is usually easier because the hard task of creating an interesting world, full of interesting characters with interesting dilemmas, has already been done in book one.
And finally, if we were to get a sudden POV of you looking at your keyboard, what else would we see on your desk?
A big fat mess. I'm afraid it would need an enormous tidy to look like any of those gorgeous bohemian ones on Instagram!
SPECIAL OFFERS! When I Was Yours is available to buy for just 99p throughout the month of February, and The Orphanage is currently free, so grab your copy now.
Need more? Read Ten for The TEN with Mark Tungate.