Me at the GLL launch event - photo courtesy of GLL
1. If you live in Greenwich, you’ll find Small! and Small Bites Back in your local library
This is a huuuge win for me. (I was always a little sad not to have any books in the libraries closest to home, but I get that shelf space and budgets are limited, so there are no guarantees you’ll find your book on a shelf…)
As the foundation covers libraries in Wandsworth, Bromley, Lincolnshire and Dudley, you could find extra copies there too. Look out for the GLL Literary Foundation sticker to spot all this year’s supported authors.
Look out for copies of my books with the GLL sticker!
2. I’ll be running more local events
I’ve only lived in Greenwich for the last two years and I’d been looking for ways to get closer to the local community. Being a GLL author is perfect for helping me do that. The libraries near me often invite whole classes in for creative sessions with authors. I ran my first one for Year 2s at Invicta Primary on World Book Week. I have a few more school events in the diary and one public arts and crafts session, too.
If you fancy creating some Stinking Sinking Swamp-inspired book gobbler bookmarks with your little ones over half term come along to:
Greenwich Centre Library 28th May 2pm
Here’s a book gobbler I made earlier
3. I’m part of a brilliant support group of authors and librarians
There are 20 GLL supported authors this year and five of us are from Greenwich. We recently had the chance to meet at a very fancy do in Battersea Library. Authors, councillors, and our local library champions (librarians who’ll be helping us run events and spread the word about our stories) all gathered to celebrate the new foundation.
As this is the foundation’s first year, we still don’t know exactly what’s in store. But we’re already being invited to awards dos and getting the chance to write articles for bookish magazines. And as well as picking up a nice little bursary to pay for events, we’ve got the chance to go on free virtual training sessions on handy things like managing author finances. Thank you GLL!
I’ve done a pressie post before, but as it was a few years ago and Christmas is almost here, I thought I’d do a festive update. If you’re hoping to go big and spoil the writer in your life, here are three ideas. (Based on pressies I’ve bought myself in the last 18 months or so because I’m too impatient to wait for birthdays and holidays!)
1. Ex Libris Christmas Jumper
To be honest, I think just about anything in the British Library shop would delight the writer in your life. But I’m a big fan of their Ex Libris jumper. It’s comfy, well made and a nice subtle colour, so I’m hoping I’ll get away with wearing it after the holidays, too.
A must for writers who don’t want to fork out on heating when they’ve got a day of winter writing ahead. This infrared heated chair cover is super snug. Add a pair of fingerless gloves and you’ve got a winning and warming combination!
This shop in London is another absolute treat for writers. I love their paperweights (I bought one to celebrate Small! earning out its advance last year). But their notebooks, pens, paper and desk accessories are gorgeous too. Everything here feels a little bit special. But here’s a link to their paperweight page.
A paperweight from Choosing Keeping
What’s on your wishlist this year? Let me know in the comments.
I sweated buckets over my thank you speech (complete with life advice from the world of Small). So, in what might be my most self-indulgent post ever, I thought I’d share it.
Here I am holding my award next to fellow winners Liz Flanagan and Jenny McLachlan
Thank you SO much. This might just be the most exciting thing to happen to me as an author in the history of the world, ever!
It’s partly really exciting because Small is my first book, and this is the first time it’s won an award, which makes it extra special.
It’s also really exciting because YOU voted for it. I write for lots of reasons. And I admit, I enjoy making myself laugh writing about kids who set fire to their headteachers’ trousers and giants that take up ballet dancing. But I’ve always thought that stories are better shared. So knowing that you’ve read Small and talked about it and hopefully laughed and finished it feeling excited to start your next book is just brilliant.
You’ve also made me feel like my main character Harvey in the best possible way.
If you haven’t read Small yet, it’s about a boy who’s had quite a bit of bad luck. He’s been kicked out of a few different schools. Now the only place willing to give him a chance is Madame Bogbrush’s School for Gifted Giants. There’s just one problem. Harvey’s not a giant. And giants don’t like humans. So he has to wear a daft giant disguise of stilts, fake rubber feet, extra long trousers and a top hat.
Harvey looks like a giant. But he doesn’t feel like one.
Well, I’ve always called myself a writer. I’ve been writing since I was big enough to hold a pen. When I was little, I mostly wrote rhymes and looked for ever more creative ways to tell my brother he smells. As I got older, I found jobs where I could write. But I was always writing very serious things, like the messages your grown ups might get from the bank saying they owe someone money. The problem with writing very serious things for grown ups is that they almost never let you include stories about swamp flapper birds pooing on your shoes … or giants who wear tutus.
So I called myself a writer of serious things, but never a children’s author. Becoming a children’s author was my dream. It was also scary because there were already so many brilliant books and children’s authors already out there. Could I really do it?
Even when I found a publisher and even when my book was on the shelves in shops and libraries I still didn’t completely feel like an author.
Putting stories out into the world feels a lot like being a kid on stilts, pretending to be a giant and hoping no one will see through the disguise.
Putting stories out into the world feels a lot like being a kid on stilts, pretending to be a giant and hoping no one will see through the disguise.
Being shortlisted for the Lancashire School Libraries Fantastic Book Award and waiting nervously for the results felt a lot like being Harvey, leaping from his stilts to escape a deadly swamp sink pit and not knowing if his best giant friend would catch him … or if he’d be eaten by swamp goblins.
Thank you so so much for reading Small, for voting for it, and for catching me. I’ve never felt more like a real children’s author.
I’ll finish on one thought. Think for a moment about a big dream you have. Things you want to do, whether that’s a school club or team you’re thinking of joining or something you want to do when you’re grown up. When you think about that dream, it might make you a bit scared. Perhaps it feels too hard or you think you won’t fit in or someone will laugh at you. Well, I have a secret. Most of us (especially grown-ups) feel like we’re walking around on stilts most of the time. We’re all just hoping no one will spot our disguise.
So if you have a big dream, even if it seems scary, my best advice, is to be brave like Harvey and leap!
Thank you so much again. Keep reading. Keep sharing stories. This really is the most exciting day in the history of the world ever. Thank you.
If you’re a children’s author considering an author event (or a bookseller thinking about setting one up) here are a few things to bear in mind.
1.Drop-in craft works well…
If you’re not a famous author who attracts a crowd just by being there, craft events involving minimal instructions are the way to go. (I tried running structured storytelling events last year, but they’re much harder for passing kids to join in on. And if only one child arrives at the start – which isn’t uncommon for me – it puts a lot of pressure on them to come up with all the ‘answers.’)
This summer, I initially invited kids to make simple bat bookmarks. They gave me a reason to talk about the vampire dentists in Small Bites Back, but I soon realised that giving crafters one design option was a bit limiting. And since the vampire dentists love all teeth, I quickly re-branded the activity.
Asking kids to make book gobblers was immediately more inviting. It also meant I could fill the craft table with colourful paper, feathers, stickers and all things eye-catching (rather than piles of black paper). Kids stayed longer too as they designed their very own creatures.
…as long as people know you’re the author
I was amazed how often parents thought I was a bookseller or paid children’s entertainer. (Even when I was sitting next to a sign that said ‘author visit.’)
I’m now seriously considering buying a badge (or maybe a very big hat) that says ‘author’ on it. Failing that, my only tip for authors is to stress who you are much more than seems necessary. I did that by saying things like this:
would you like to make a book gobbler, inspired by the creatures you find in my stories?
there are all kinds of creatures in the Stinking Sinking Swamp, would you like to meet a few of the creatures I’ve created in my books?
that’s a great creature you’ve made, maybe I should write about them in my next book.
Then, as kids crafted, I asked questions that linked to bits in my books and used Rory’s illustrations as design inspiration. When the penny eventually dropped, kids and parents would stare at my books then up at me and say ,”did you WRITE these?” And the awe in their tone would give me few seconds of the deep satisfaction I always hoped would come from being an author. (Until the child went back to designing their Pokemon or Isadora Moon, totally not Small Bites Back-inspired bookmark. You can’t win them all…)
A table of gobblers in Waterstones, Sutton
2. The longer you stay, the more you sell
This is an obvious point, but not one I thought about when I was booking events. Often I’d try to ‘fit in an hour in a shop’ before doing something else nearby. And I almost always sold fewer books when I was on a deadline to leave. Or, worse still, had to go when there were still young readers coming in.
The opposite is true, too. I had a great time at Waterstones Crawley and Waterstones Bluewater, where both shops were happy for me to stay as long as I liked. I spent between 3 and 4 hours in both and left feeling like I’d really got the most from the visits. And I’d sold around 10-12 books in each, too.
3. Every visit is different
Craft event in The Book Nook, Hove
I’ve come away from shops waxing lyrical about how busy and family-friendly they were. Then other authors have visited the same shop a week later and told me it was empty (and vice versa).
Sometimes, it really is a question of luck and weather. But a couple of things help make an event work. My hands-down best event of the summer was at The Book Nook in Hove. Here are some of the things the shop did brilliantly to make it a success:
Theme: they ran themed events, every week during the holidays, so families knew what to expect, when. (I was part of monster week).
Promo: they’re excellent and consistent on social media, so people know to check their channels for event details.
Timing: they ran my event straight after a regular toddler club, so families were already in the shop.
Space: because they knew they’d attract crowds, they dedicated more or less the entire shop to the event.
Things to think about before booking an event:
I’ve had a lot of fun this summer, but there are definite pros and cons to craft events.
Pros
a chance to chat to families
a chance to chat to booksellers
it’s easier for booksellers to sell your books later once they’ve heard you talk about them
shops will order in extra copies of your books before the visit
it gives you lots of content for social media (but always get permission if you’re taking photos of kids)
Cons
buying craft materials and travelling to shops gets expensive
while you’ll sell a few books each time, you won’t match the sales from a great school visit (10 sales was a very good day for me)
sometimes, I’ll sell as many books popping in for a quick signing as I will at a full event, so you do sometimes wonder if it’s worth lugging bags full of craft gear all over the place
it takes up lots of time … leaving less time writing!
If you’re an author, the first question is probably why wouldn’t you want to stay in a library with rooms? (Especially if you’re a Society of Authors member as you’ll get a 40% discount).
If you want some serious time to focus on a project, Gladstone’s gives you all the space and quiet you need. Once you’ve taken a moment to admire the library itself, it’s easy to settle into a peaceful day of writing.
Inside the library – the perfect place to quietly ponder and write
2. It’s the perfect spot for a digital detox
I mostly filled notepads rather than Word docs while I was there – and I thoroughly enjoyed the screen break. The bedrooms don’t have TVs. And with wifi being fine for emailing but not up to streaming TV shows, I had the nudge I needed to spend my evenings cosied up with a book in downstairs lounge. At home, I naturally fall into the rhythm of work, eat, TV, bed, repeat. I found myself wondering why I wasn’t taking more time to read at home instead of reserving books for snatched seconds on buses and trains.
Saturday night in the lounge
3. It’s incredibly quiet, except when it’s not…
The library itself is as silent as … a library. But I was surprised that the hush spread to the lounge, too. At 9.30pm on a Saturday night all I could hear were occasional whispers between friends and pages being turned in books. It was delightful. For an added ego boost, I’m proud to report that I was the resident party animal. At 10pm I was the last guest standing (well, sitting rather comfortably, actually) in the lounge.
Back in my room though, with all the peace elsewhere it was impossible to miss the church bells ringing the hour. Every hour. All night. It added to the atmosphere of the place – especially as I had great graveyard views from my bedroom window. But the friend I was with is a lighter sleeper than me and said the bells kept waking her up. If you’re a light sleeper too, you’d better pack some earplugs.
Great view from my bedroom – but if you’re a light sleeper, bring ear plugs.
Other things to know before you go
Check in is at 2pm and check out at 10am, but if you arrive early, you can work in the library straight away. And you can stay as long as you like on check out day, too.
If you fancy a woodland walk, ask reception for a permission slip to explore some local private land.
Ensuite rooms are the same price, but not the same size. Don’t be disappointed if a travelling friend has a nicer room than you (you’re not really there for the bedrooms anyway).
Rooms have towels, shampoo and shower gel, but if you like moisturiser, you’ll need to pack your own.
The food is okay, but the farm shop a 15-min walk away is worth a visit for treats (and possibly pizza, but I didn’t try it).
Bring a jumper for the library as it can get chilly.
Love it for what it is – an incredible place to think and write. It’s not trying to be a boutique hotel and it doesn’t need to be. It’s wonderful just the way it is.
SMALL’s been out in the world an entire year. And the whole ‘being an author*‘ thing is finally sinking in … helped by introducing myself to an editor at a party earlier this week who said ‘Ohh, you’re Hannah Moffatt, the author!’ (I’m now secretly wondering if I can make everyone address me like that. Perhaps I’ll start wearing a name badge…)
To celebrate SMALL’s big day, here are three of the best bits about being an author so far.
1. Seeing children’s faces light up when I show them Rory’s illustrations.
I always knew Rory was amazing, but it’s such a joy to see children discovering his work for the first time. Here’s one of my favourite illustrations from SMALL! I love showing it to young readers and getting them to imagine what it would be like if a giant visited their house!
Mr Ogg squeezing into Harvey Small’s house. Illustration by Rory Walker.
2. Being shortlisted for the Waterstones children’s book prize.
Dream-come-true moments don’t come much bigger. I’ll be forever grateful to the wonderful Waterstones booksellers who voted for SMALL! Suddenly seeing my little book in window displays and on tables – and getting messages from shocked friends and family who spotted copies in their local shops too – was utterly wonderful.
Montage capturing a few of my best Waterstones moments
3. SMALL! having a sibling … SMALL BITES BACK!
Given it took about a million years to write the first book, I honestly never expected SMALL’s sequel to follow within the year. But I’m so happy I was able to take Harvey and Walloping to a new part of the swamp for a second adventure. Getting to tell classes all about it was magical, too. Highlights include the unanimous cry of “YES!” when someone asked in a class Q&A if a sequel was coming; and visiting a class of SMALL! fans on World Book Week who spent the whole time asking me about the sequel and guessing what might happen in vampire school!
Me in Waterstones Piccadilly waving my TWO books!
*It’s a fun and funny business this authoring lark. I’ve certainly noticed the difference between ‘being someoone who writes children’s books’ and ‘being a children’s author’. Ironically, being the latter often makes being the former much harder. Right now, for example, I’m supposed to be on a writing sprint with my other debut pals. Am I crafting my next story? Nope. I’m writing this. Because surely SMALL!’s first birthday will make great content! (Before becoming published I don’t think I ever viewed something as content – now I think about it far too much, and still struggle to get it right.)
Fancy celebrating Small!’s birthday? Why not order a copy,get the sequel or give the best present of all – by leaving a (hopefully good!) review 😄
I can’t thank all the amazing booksellers at Waterstones enough for championing Small! from the start – from hosting the launch party to inviting me in for events and letting me scrawl my name inside their copies. I’ve loved every second.
Giant thanks also go to:
my brilliant indie publisher, Everything With Words. It’s great to be flying the flag for small (but mighty) presses with this prize
Rory Walker, Small’s illustrator. So much of the book’s humour comes from Rory’s wonderfully daft artwork – he brings the words to life in ways I could never have imagined
my agent, Lydia Silver, for believing in Small! (even when the big publishers turned it down). It wouldn’t have found a home without her.
Waterstones announces the overall winner on 30th March. Until then, expect me to pop up with my book stamps and signing pen in Waterstones branches everywhere.
Here’s a mini gallery of my signing excursions so far.
This Christmas Eve, the lovely Emma Suffield invited me to do a Q&A on her brilliant blog. Take a sneak peak here, then head to Emma’s page to read the rest (and discover lots of other interviews, too).
I’ve always loved writing. But it was watching Neil Gaiman’s Make Good Art speech on YouTube that spurred me on to be an author
2022 was my book’s debut year and I was determined to enjoy it! Sometimes, there were big things to cheer about – like being The Bookseller’s One toWatch or The Sunday Times’ Children’s Book of the Week. (I’m well aware how lucky I am that my little book had such a great start, and I’ll be eternally grateful to my publisher for working so hard to get SMALL! in front of the right people.)
But I celebrated the quieter moments just as much. The first bookshop to share pre-order links for SMALL! (Thank you Rocketship Bookshop!). The Instagram message from a mum telling me how much her daughter loved my book. My first school assembly. Running a ‘create a swamp creature’ workshop for three boys who didn’t want to leave. And, very occasionally, readers coming to my workshops on purpose. I’ll be honest, I usually roped in any children who happened to be nearby when I was about to start.
This year has been full of little wins and whether you’re publishing your first book or fifty-seventh, holding on to those moments will make every late night editing push or plot-hole-panic worth it.
Here I am celebrating SMALL! being in the window of Waterstones Salisbury
2. Take joy in other authors acing it
I feel there’s one rule that all authors who want happy lives should follow: don’t compare yourself to other authors. If someone else has more sales, is on more shortlists or takes home more prizes, cheer for them. When a few authors in my debut group were nominated for the Carnegie, I genuinely squealed over my breakfast. One of the biggest joys I’ve had this year is seeing so many brilliant debut children’s authors doing brilliantly. And a win for any one of them feels like a win for all of us, as it shows children, teachers, booksellers and librarians are giving new, non-celebrity books a chance. That’s got to be worth cheering, right?
3. Give and share where you can
Giving your time as an author isn’t entirely selfless. When I write letters to schools, do I hope a few pupils might buy my book? Of course. When I create downloadable games and activities on my website, do I hope they’ll encourage teachers to use SMALL! in the classroom? Yup. And when I run events in bookshops, do I hope a few of the families that come will also buy my book? Absolutely.
As an author, there’s an obvious benefit to giving your time. But those little acts aren’t selling copies for me in the thousands, hundreds or even the tens most of the time. Instead, I hope they’re getting a few children excited about reading, as well as writing their own stories.
I had no idea just how much time promoting a book takes. This might vary a bit depending on the kind of marketing budget you have and whether there’s a team making resources for you. But if you’re eager to do things yourself, you could lose days:
making a website – if you’re building your own, leave lots of time for it
visiting bookshops
visiting schools
writing letters to schools
blogging, tweeting, TikToking etc
creating activities to go with your book
agonising about any of the things on that list you haven’t done yet.
I’ve loved promoting SMALL! But I’ve also struggled to get the balance between writing and promoting right. The result is that I almost always feel guilty about the things I’m not doing.
That guilt extends to the many fab books I know I’m not reading and shouting about, too. My TBR pile has never been bigger.
Going into 2023, I’ve promised to be kinder to myself and accept I can’t do everything. I’ll also try not to use promoting as an excuse to avoid the harder job of actually writing a new book…
5. Pick a good signing pen
In Goldilocks style, it took me three goes to find mine.
My first pen looked nice but the ink blotted into the pages.
My second pen didn’t blot, but the nib was too thick for my handwriting.
The third pen (a fineline version of pen two) is perfect. Here’s a pic of my Ultra Fine Sharpie in all its glory.
Third time lucky: my favourite Ultra Fine Sharpie
6. Ask for reviews
Amazon reviews – if you get over the magic 50 – help more people find your book. Even though loads of people have said lovely things about SMALL! I’m nowhere near that number.
I’ve posted occasional tweets asking for reviews and reminding everyone that you can buy SMALL! from Waterstones or your local indie and still review it on Amazon. But I’m fairly sure I’m asking in the wrong place at the wrong time.
The problem is that reviewing isn’t on most people’s radars. Before getting a book deal, I don’t think I’d ever left an Amazon review – even for books I LOVED. Looking back, I reckon my best chance to get reviews would have been to ask the parents at my events. It’s something I’ll try and do more of next year.
In the meantine, if you’re looking for a gift for me(!) or another author in your life this festive season, head to Amazon and leave a review. It won’t cost you a penny and it’ll mean the world to them.
Authors, what do you wish you’d known before you published your debut? Share your wisdom for other debuts in the replies.
Hannah Moffatt, word wrangler 