Hello, hello! Today, we have a another new series starting on my blog, which I am really excited about. When I was doing my re brand I decided that on my blog I wanted to include more real women and issues that they deal with and posts they’d be interested in. I think I’ve maybe been watching Jenna’s presentation in 13 going 30 too much.
One idea I had, was to chat to different women who have different jobs to find out what their role is actually like, I thought it might be interesting or might provide some inspiration perhaps. So I’m really excited to start this series with a job that I’ve always wanted to do, and that is an author.
The author in question is Victoria Walters, writer of the bestselling series Glendale Hall, and has won and been nominated for many awards, including Amazon Rising Star, and just recently attended the RNA’s where her book ‘Coming Home To Glendale Hall’ was nominated for contemporary romance novel of the year.
Victoria’s books have been a favourite of mine for a few months now ( I wrote about one of her books here!) I adore chick lit (though I hate that name for it) books and find them the perfect thing to read before bed. Victoria commented one of my Instagram posts last year, and I went and looked up books, downloaded Summer at Kindness Cafe, and that was it- I fell in love with her writing style, and her stories.
I reached out to Victoria to ask if she’d be willing to answer a few questions about being an author, and much to my delight she said yes!
I’ve always said that I’d love to write a book, my love for reading started at an early age, and the likes of Jacqueline Wilson and Louise Rennison growing up made me want to write a book, so I was really intrigued to speak to a real life author!
I have a vision of writing a book in a cottage by the sea (sounds like could be a Nancy Meyers film!) so I wanted to know what it was actually like.
So it was really interesting to talk to Victoria, who has recently taken the plunge to go full time as an author (she used to work in a bookstore) she lives in Surrey, with her cat Harry (named after Harry Potter!) And I think the reason why I love her books so much, are because they make you feel like you’re sitting with a hot chocolate under a warm blanket when it’s rainy and cold outside.
Her recent series Glendale Hall (Coming Home To Glendale Hall & New Beginnings At Glendale Hall) is bestselling, and read on to hear a very exciting announcement from Victoria…
What inspired you to become a writer?
Books! I’ve always been a bookworm. I’m an only child so I’ve always had a vivid imagination and loved to read. It was always there, a desire to write, but it wasn’t until I read Twilight, and was so gripped by it, that I thought maybe I should give it a try!
How did you get published, i.e what was your journey to becoming a published author?
Well, first of all I actually wrote YA / teen novels, because of Twilight. I wrote two books and submitted them to agents but I didn’t get anywhere although I had enough positive feedback that I kept on going. My third YA was the one that secured me an agent but the rejection kept coming as no publishers wanted to buy it. I then had this idea of a woman who had lost her childhood sweetheart and a new man comes into her life in the midst of her grief. As I started writing it, I knew it was a women’s fiction story, not YA so I found a new agent and this time, I secured a book deal and that story became my debut novel – The Second Love Of My Life!
What is your day to day life like being a writer?
Right now, I’m working on my new book which will be the third in the Glendale Hall series so I’m focused on getting words down on the page.
When I’m writing a novel draft like this I tend to do school hours so I’m at my desk from about 9am to 3pm, stopping for lunch. On days like this, I can write 4-5,000 words. By late afternoon, I find my concentration slips so I start messing about on social media. Sometimes I’ll be editing instead of writing though, or taking photos for Instagram, which I love.
I have this romanticised vision in my head of being a writer; it includes writing a book sitting in a cosy cottage overlooking the beach with a typewriter (can you tell I’ve watched too many romantic comedies) but let’s get real – what are the pros and cons to being a writer?
I have that fantasy too! I’d love to live in a cottage by the sea. But, sadly, I live in a house in Surrey! And I hate to break it to you but I write on a Mac not a typewriter. Far easier to make corrections. I think the pros are living my childhood dream of being an author and I love coming up with book ideas and spending time with characters and letting my imagination fly. It’s so much fun. Hearing from readers who have loved your books is amazing, and seeing your book on the shelves is always such a thrill.
The cons are it’s a solitary job so sometimes you can feel a bit lonely or have some self doubt but I’m lucky that I have writer friends to talk to, and of course my agent and editor are there if I feel stuck. Publishing a book is not good for anxiety either – it’s scary to put your work ‘out there’. I do worry about reviews and book sales, and there’s always the uncertainty that you might not get another book deal if you don’t sell enough books.
What is something that you wish people knew about your job?
That unless you’re a big bestseller it’s really not easy to make a lot of money at writing books. You make a very small royalty from the sale of each book, after you’ve paid back an advance if you received one, so unless you are a really big bestseller, It’s very difficult to be able to write full-time. I still dream of that number one book or a film deal, and they can and do happen, but it’s like winning the lottery – the odds are pretty small.
What advice would you give to budding writers?
Read as much as you can, and read widely! I think that’s the best way to improve not only your writing but how you tell a story. Apart from that, the only thing you need to do is sit in a chair and start. There’s no secret, I’m afraid, I wish there was but if I can do it then so can you!
How lovely was that? I found it interesting to find out a bit more about Victoria’s day to day life, and very excited about the third Glendale hall book!!
I hope you’ve found this post interesting, and you can follow Victoria on Instagram here and pick up her books here (perfect for cosying up with amidst all the doom and gloom at the moment!)
Let me know what other jobs you’d like to see featured in this series, and you can nominate yourself to be featured if you think your job would make an interesting post (it can be anonymous if you’d prefer!) Email me : [email protected] and I’ll be in touch with more details 🙂
What’s one job that you’d love to do?
