THE BUSINESS OF BOOKS: SPREADSHEETS & SAGAS
Jane Cable meets Sunday Times bestseller, Elaine Everest
How much of your working life does the business of books take up?
I can honestly say that books take up all my life. When I’m not writing I’m teaching novel writing to my talented students at The Mick Jagger Centre in Dartford, Kent. I’m also a committee member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association so you’ll find me organising social media and blogging for the Association. I would say that over 50% of my working day I’d be working on writing although I’m not creating words. Authors also need to be aware of Public Lending Rights, ALCS and other organisations where we need to keep our book details up to date as this will generate much needed funds,
What’s your business model to earn a living from writing?
I’ve been a freelance writer for the past twenty years so from the days when I was selling short stories, pitching features to magazines and organizing workshops for writers I’ve been conscious that I have to earn a certain number of pounds each month. Working in accountancy since leaving college, until moving into the writing world, I am addicted to number crunching so spreadsheets and cash flow predictions were part of my daily life. I could always tell at the push of a button if there were lean months ahead and would know to pitch more – and to write more fiction! This has changed slightly since moving onto writing novels as these days I’m aware when royalties and other payments are due and can plan accordingly. Those spreadsheets still come in handy!
What do you write and what do you consider to be your major successes?
These days I write historical fiction set in the 1930s and 1940s. It is a fascinating period to cover and when not writing I will have my nose in a non-fiction book researching social history, looking for fresh plot settings and generally fleshing out the world where my characters live.
My major successes are my novels with Pan Macmillan. Readers have taken my Woolworths Girls to their hearts making the first book a Sunday Times bestseller.
Tell me about your latest project.
The Butlins Girls was published in May so I’m still busy promoting and blogging about my girls at the end of World War Two. As I write this I’m looking at the final book edits for Christmas At Woolworths, which will be published in November, and these have to be completed by – tomorrow! I know there’s an email notifying me that first edits will be with me in two days for Carols at Christmas, a novella that will be published a few weeks before CAW. Writing wise I’m working on Wartime at Woolworths, which will take my girls through to the end of 1944. This will be published in May 2018. I’ve found the trick is to stay focused on the current work in progress while trying to fit all other aspects of my writing around it – and remembering to stop and eat occasionally. I can recommend writing retreats where I find working whilst gazing out to sea from my desk can be a welcome rest from my desk at home!
Elaine Everest has written widely for women’s magazines, with both short stories and features. When she isn’t writing, Elaine runs The Write Place creative writing school in Dartford, Kent, and runs social media for the Romantic Novelists’ Association. Follow Elaine on Twitter @ElaineEverest.
