Anna Jones Buttimore

Just for fun, here's a list of quotes from rejection letters, and similar, and the books and authors they relate to. "We are not interested in science fiction which deals with negative utopias. They do not sell." (Rejection letter for Carrie by Stephen King) "An absurd and uninteresting fantasy which was rubbish and dull." (Rejection letter for Lord of the Flies by William Golding) "He hasn't got any future." (Said by one publisher to a colleague, of John le Carre) "I haven’t the foggiest idea about what the man is trying to say…Apparently the author intends it to be funny – possibly even satire – but it is really not funny on any intellectual level." (Said by a potential publisher of Catch 22 by Joseph Heller) "It is impossible to sell animal stories in the USA." (From the rejection letter for Animal Farm by George Orwell) "There certainly isn't enough genuine talent for us to take notice." (Said by a potenti...

I'm going to say something very controversial. I expect a lot of people will disagree furiously with me. But it's my blog, and if I can't use it to express how I feel, then what's the point in having it? I wish we could go back to the days when the father went out and earned the money, and the mother stayed at home and cared for the children and looked after the house. I've mentioned here before that I have three jobs. I work for LawCare ( http://www.lawcare.org.uk/ ), I'm an Avon Rep, and I'm a writer. I'm in the lucky position of liking all my jobs very much, and I'm lucky that they all involve working from home. But I wish I didn't have to do the first two. Years ago mothers didn't go out to work. The income was provided by the husband and father, and it was enough. But we can't ever go back to those days, because when women started working too, families became much richer and, as a result, house prices went sky-high. Now most families...

Dawn French is everywhere at the moment because she's just published her first novel. I love Dawn French; she was superb in The Vicar of Dibley and she makes it OK to be fat, but I confess that despite acknowledging her comic genius generally, not for one moment, when I heard her talking about her novel on Radio 2, did I actually believe she'd written it. I must have been involved with the writing industry too long; I've become sceptical. Partly it's because I have a good friend who, as well as writing her own books, is a ghost writer. She's signed a cast-iron contract not to reveal who she writes for, but she makes a fair living out of writing books which others then pass off as their own work. It's pretty common, she told me. Since I learned this, I have come to realise that of course it is going to be common practice. Writing well is a skill, like any other, and (there's a risk here that I'm going to sound terribly pretentious and big-headed) I have...

I was recently asked for writing advice (like I know anything!) by someone who wants to get into the children's books market. Unfortunately I don't think I was very encouraging. What little I've gleaned over the years suggests that it is actually the most difficult market to write for. There are several reasons for this: The children's market is pretty saturated already because new children are coming along all the time and they are happy to re-read the same thing their older siblings read three years ago. So books such as The Very Hungry Caterpillar (which is 40 years old) or The Gruffalo have a constantly replenished market of excited new readers. A book for adults dates much more quickly, and adults are generally much more demanding of fresh, new books or the latest idea or twist. If you'll permit me the pun, children's books have a longer shelf life. There is a perception that children's books are easy to write. Generally they are much shorter, so where...

Today is Margaret Thatcher's 85th birthday, so if I was ever going to blog about politics, now is probably the time to do it. I recently began following a well-known American public figure on Twitter. This person is a much-admired and very talented LDS celebrity who happens to have some very strong political views which he is not afraid to make known. And I have been so shocked at the words he has chosen to make his views known that I have had to stop reading the tweets because it makes me feel troubled and angry. To give you an idea, he describes the politicians in the party he doesn't support as "lazy, racist, moronic, blind, and hate America. " He calls their policies "evil" and says they "stink to high heaven, or hell as the case may be" adding "I hope they [those asked for support] all spit in your face!" Now, I know nothing at all about American politics, but I know that I don't like those who slander and insult others, or spou...

As I write this I am appearing as the featured author on the Walnut Springs blog. ( http://www.walnutspringspress.blogspot.com/ ) As you'll see, I answered some questions about myself, sent in some photographs, and wrote a piece about "Why I Write". (Believe me, it's not for the money.) I was pretty honest and said that the reason I initially started writing for the LDS market was because I was hoping to get a foot-in-the-door with "real" publishers. My problem was this: If you write a novel and send it to a publisher, or an agent, the chances are they won't even read it. Almost certainly they will simply reply with a standard rejection letter. Various journalists have tested this theory by sending in the text of Booker Prize winning novels or literary classics, only to have them rejected by the oblivious acqusitions editor. For a new writer, it's extremely difficult to get published because you don't get taken seriously. You're a new commod...

I've just learned that my next book, as yet untitled, is due to be published in February 2011. That's really good news, partly because it gives me something to look forward to during the long dark winter months. I hate winter. After Christmas, there really doesn't seem any point in it being so cold and wet and dark. We've already passed the Autumn Equinox and our heating goes on next week, so winter is coming. But ever the optimist, I'm trying to think of things I do like about this time of year. No wasps, flies, fleas, maggots or other general nasty creepy-crawlies making the cat bowl smell bad or scaring the children. Being able to have warm, dry towels in the bathroom, courtesy of the radiator. Good stuff on TV. The winter schedule is so much better than the summer offerings. Christmas. I love it so much I'm already halfway through the Christmas shopping. Dreaming of the day when I won't have to face winter again. Roderic and I plan to be snowbirds during...