Book Launches, Travels and Getting Published
Monthly Roundup
Can you believe it’s the end of April? The past couple of months have been busy and wonderful and, with everything going on, slightly blurry. At the start of March I launched my new children’s historical fiction series, 11 Ruby Road. We celebrated with an evening launch at Where the Wild Things Are bookshop in Brisbane and a school author talk.
It’s been wonderful seeing 11 Ruby Road: 1900 having a warm reception over the past few weeks. Thank you to everyone who has bought, borrowed, reviewed or recommended 11 Ruby Road to a friend. And thank you to everyone who has reached out to let me know they’ve read and enjoyed it! There have been some terrific reviews online, via Instagram and Goodreads, which has warmed this anxious author’s heart.
Reviews are important as they help authors find their readership, help readers find new books and are a fantastic, zero-cost way to support the arts. (They are also bound to make an author’s day). If you’ve read and enjoyed 11 Ruby Road, and if have time, I’d love you to leave a rating or review on Goodreads. :)
In Other News…
Over Easter we had a lovely family trip to Japan. It was our first overseas trip since COVID and our kids’ first time in Japan. We had a ball! We explored Osaka, Kanazawa and Tokyo, and were very lucky to be in Kanazawa at the peak of cherry blossom season. It was delightful!
Book Updates
In the past few weeks two of my picture books went to print (exciting!) so I’ve had some final proofreading to do on each of these. There were also some final tweaks to the second 11 Ruby Road novel before it went to print. Unfortunately, this coincided with my trip to Japan, which meant a few late nights in our hotel room. BUT it all fell into place, and I’m very excited for this next instalment of the novel to reach readers in September! You can check out the beautiful cover and read the blurb below…
It is 1925 and Bert Mueller and his German-Australian family have moved from Ipswich to their new house at 11 Ruby Road. Bert’s father has been deported to Germany after the Great War, and with Dad still absent, Bert is unsure about moving away. But the city means opportunity and jobs for his mother and older siblings. And for the grown-ups , it also means fun - dressing up, going out, and all that jazz. Bert loves jazz too, but he’s too young for the clubs, and instead his time is spent at his new school where the kids play cricket, not music.
But with the help of a Gramophone, Bert has a solution. He will start his own jazz club, and 11 Ruby Road has the perfect spot to host it. But as prejudice about Bert and his German family start to affect their new life, Bert has to find a way to save his jazz club and his family.
Editing time
Since being back in Australia, I’ve been going through the structural edit for one of my 2025 junior fiction novels. It’s been really nice having an editor’s feedback - it’s always so helpful having a fresh set of eyes, raising questions and picking up on things that I, as the author, have been too close to notice. The novel is shaping up well!
I’m also expecting some edits for my other 2025 junior fiction project to come through in the next few weeks, which will keep me busy once the structural edit is done.
And, amongst the editing, I’m tinkering with a brand new project. It’s a nod to one of my favourite movies and books, and has both a slight fantasy and historical element. We’ll see how it goes…
Events
As well as my book launch events, I’ve been keeping busy running writing workshops at schools in Brisbane and the Gold Coast. I’m speaking at Brisbane Writers’ Festival at the end of May, and am lining up lots of events for Term 3. Book Week is now booked out, but I have plenty of space in surrounding weeks if any schools/libraries are looking for speakers. If you’d like more information, get in touch via my website!
What I’ve been reading…
I picked up a translated copy of What You Are Looking For is in the Library by Michiko Aoyama when I was at Kinokuniya Bookshop in Shinjuku, Tokyo (a book lover’s paradise: 8 floors of books!). I chose it based on the title alone and I LOVED this book.
It’s an endearing story about a librarian who gives life advice in the form of book recommendations, helping patrons find their place in the world. It’s the sweetest.
Since coming back from Japan I’ve been on the hunt for translated novels by Japanese writers. I’ve read Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata and She and Her Cat by Makoto Shinkai. If you have any recommendations for Japanese novelists, translated works or novels set in Japan, let me know!
Writing Advice
A friend wrote to me recently asking (on behalf of a friend) how I secured my publishing deals. I’ve been meaning to tailor some of my newsletters towards aspiring writers, so I thought this would be a perfect place to start!
How my publishing deals came about…
I started writing as a hobby, when my kids were very young. I didn’t know any writers, had never met an author, and can’t remember dressing up for Book Week as a kid… (was that a thing in the ‘90s?). I never set out with the intention of getting published - to be honest, it wasn’t something I realised was possible. But after reading lots of picture books with my kids and I started having a few ideas of my own.
The idea that kept coming back to me was the concept for an uplifting, rhyming picture book that celebrated how wonderful our bodies are. I was conscious of instilling positive body image in my own kids, and felt it was something that was missing from the shelves at the time.
So, I started drafting. Whenever I had a few minutes to myself, I’d scribble down some lines in a notepad. I developed what was essentially a poem, made up of rhyming verses that sang the praises of different body parts. I typed it up and showed it to a few family members, who were positive about the idea. I started to wonder if it was possible to get it published one day. I’d read many wonderful picture books with my kids in the library (and some that were less good) and I was curious about how the publishing process worked.
So, I started googling.
I read blog posts and articles about getting published. I delved into the Australian Society of Authors website and state writers’ centre websites. I researched different publishers and discovered some were open to submissions.
I submitted my manuscript to a handful of publishers, and kept a spreadsheet of where I’d submitted to, and when (if) they replied. Over the course of a year or so I had a couple of bites of interest, but nothing concrete until an editor from Hardie Grant Egmont got in touch. She asked if I’d be willing to work a little more on the manuscript. I said YES!
A few months later, the manuscript for was signed up, and two years later, All Bodies are Good Bodies was published!
At the same time, I started to educate myself more on writing for kids. I joined a local children’s writers group in Brisbane, Write Links, as well as an online critique group with the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI). I started to write more manuscripts, gaining feedback on these and giving feedback on other writers’ work. I started to read and write longer works (chapter books and junior fiction) and completed online children’s writing courses with the Australian Writers Centre. (In a full circle moment, I’m now tutoring courses with AWC! But I digress..)
Eventually, I developed a manuscript about a science-loving ten-year old, whose experiments are always getting her into trouble. My critique group gave me lots of great feedback on this, helping me work up the manuscript to a polished level. I had a manuscript assessment at the CYA conference, where a publisher also gave feedback. I reworked it and reworked it over several months and eventually submitted it to a couple of agents.
A few weeks later, I signed with one agent and she submitted it to a handful of publishers on my behalf. I was offered a two-book publishing deal by two publishers, and ended up signing with Penguin Random House. A few years later, Edie’s Experiments was published!
My next publishing deals - for From My Head to My Toes, I Say What Goes, 11 Ruby Road and my upcoming titles all came about via publishing contacts. I’ve continued to attend events, network and have gradually built up a network of publishing contacts who I reach out to when I have a new manuscript ready for submission.
The above might seem straightforward, but it all happened over several years. Numerous manuscripts were rejected, there were lots of near misses, and plenty of ups and downs along the way. :)
In a nutshell…
As a debut author, there are generally two ways to have your work published:
Submit the manuscript to a publisher who is open to submissions. (Some are only open to certain genres or on certain dates, and some don’t open to unsolicited submission at all. Check publishers’ website for details.)
Submit the manuscript to an agent, who will submit it to publishers on your behalf. (As above - check their websites for details on genres and submission processes.)
I’ve had work published via both methods, and there are pros and cons to each. At the moment, I work independently of an agent, but this may change in future years. We’ll see!
Useful Resources
Here are some resources that could be handy if you’re at the start of your writing/publishing journey:
Websites:
Behind the book: submitting to a publisher (Australia Society of Authors website)
Getting published (Writing NSW website)
Podcasts:
So You Want To Be a Writer (lots of great interviews with writers, which outlines their journeys to publication)
The First Time (as above. I recommend Season One in particular as a great introduction to the process of publishing a novel.)
Your Kid’s Next Read (The podcast focuses on books and reading for kids of all ages. In their ‘10 minutes with…’ episodes, author Allison Tait interviews children’s authors on their works and process.)
Writers, what resources would you recommend to an aspiring author? (I’ll update my list!) :)
And that’s all for this week! If you have a question about writing or publishing you’d like to see answered in a future newsletter, reach out.
Until next time, happy reading and — most importantly — happy writing.
x Charlotte
Charlotte, you most certainly dressed up for book week. One time I remember was yr 2, when I made you the Jasmine costume from Alladin. It's still in the dress up box at home.
You will have to take a look through the photo album to jog your memory of Book week dress ups...
I love the premise for your '11 Ruby Road' books Charlotte and they are on my 'To Buy' list for my own children's book collection. Thank you for taking the time to describe your journey to publication, I'm always interested to learn how people achieve their successes. The resources and tips are also very useful. I've subscribed and I'm looking forward to your next update.