Blog Tour: What Would Mary Berry Do? by Claire Sandy - Content

On my blog today, I am thrilled to welcome Claire Sandy, author of What Would Mary Berry Do? to share some advice on being a writer and getting published!

You know when you're trying to decide what to wear for the party you've been looking forward to for weeks, or your friend's wedding, or a bash where you confidently expect an ex to be lurking among the vol au vents? You know how you pace and stomp in front of the mirror, trying on that skirt that has never fitted, and that black dress you love but it shows the top of your arms, and the low cut red thing that either makes you look like Jessica Rabbit or Bet Lynch depending on how confident you feel? And then you trot off to show the ensemble to a trusted chum or your other half or a teenage offspring and you say 'How do I look?' 

Well, handing your editor your finished manuscript for the first time is a little like that. 

What they say next is very very important. There are possibly more important things, but offhand I can't think of any. You see them think. They nod. They press their lips together. You have no way of knowing whether they're going to shout "I love it!" or  growl "This stinks". 

My husband knows better than to deviate from a well-worn and compact vocabulary when asked to comment on an outfit. Acceptable phrases: That looks lovely; the cut is very flattering; it makes you look slimmer. Unacceptable: didn't it used to be looser; you remind me of my mum; no no no honestly it looks nice it does honestly. 

Once he told me I looked 'fine' after I'd spent three hours and all my bad words getting ready to go to a very important 'do' which he was 'too ill' to attend. (For 'too ill' read 'couldn't be arsed'.) He was right; at most, I looked fine. In fact, in the wrong light I looked crap, but I didn't need to hear I looked 'fine' as I girded my loins to go alone to an industry event. 

He's never said I looked fine since. 

It's hard to be criticised by people whose opinion we trust. That's why, when my editor sends me notes on my first draft, I don't read them with the serene air of a pro. I read them with my skin on inside out. Every comma is my baby, each metaphor my pride and joy. When I hear that a scene just doesn't 'work', it's worse than hearing that the low cut red thing makes me look like a comedy prostitute.* 

Having said that, no writer should be handled with kid gloves. We all need criticism. I'm not asking that you be gentle with us; you pay good money to buy our handiwork, you have the right to a say.  

Just don't say it's 'fine'.

* It does.

What Would Mary Berry Do? is out TODAY! Get your copy here:

 

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