Over to you! Work with me in 2023.

After a very busy start to 2023, I am now ready to take on new clients to my writing business. Do you have a project you would like me to work on with you?

I would like to show you some of my favourite recent writing projects and tell you more about the work I did on them, showcasing my skills, and my interests on the way, as well as giving you a taste of life as a freelance editor.

From the start of my business in 2013 (look out for 10th business anniversary celebrations at the start of May), I have enjoyed working with local authors from Sheffield and South Yorkshire. My first major client was the late Labour MP Joe Ashton, which led to a close working relationship working on his memoir, and fascinating adventures, such as helping him to organise a reunion of Sheffield Blitz survivors. https://wildrosemarywritingservices.co.uk/2013/12/16/attercliffe-blitz-survivors-still-fighting/

At that meeting, I met Joan Lee, a retired pub landlady, who asked me to edit and publish her own memoir, Behind Bars, which I typed up from a hand-written manuscript! It’s a fantastic read, especially if you are interested in social history, and includes Joan’s account of the Sheffield Blitz.

One of my regular clients is now Joan’s son Mick. I’ve edited and published several books with Mick Lee now, ranging from memoir, short stories, and now his crime thriller series, the Tenerife Noir series. Mick has been a police officer, pub landlord and for the past forty years, the Managing Director of Constant Security Services, Mick has a wealth of first-hand experience, stories and knowledge that inform his writing. When Mick sends me a manuscript to work on, I know I’m going to enjoy myself and be taken on a rollercoaster ride. As far as the editing goes, I’m polishing grammar, punctuation and making sure that the descriptions and dialogue are perfectly punchy! I also spot continuity errors and anything that doesn’t quite ring true and work together with the author to iron out any mistakes.

Another novel that took me on a wild ride was Losing It by Adam Kingdon Morris. Back in 2001, I worked with Adam at a music training centre in Sheffield and it was great to catch up with him again, connecting through The Writers Workshop. I edited and formatted the book for the eBooks and for the paperback version. Losing It is a fictional version of Adam’s career managing high profile bands. This book is like a time machine to 70s student unrest, 80s London squats and life on the road with a grimy post-punk band, to the insanity of 90s raves and the drug fuelled excesses of the music industry. This book is an essential for anyone interested in music, and that’s one of the reasons that I really enjoyed working on it. But it’s not just a rockumentary. It’s a tale of a troubled character and his search for happiness or oblivion, with Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas amounts of debauchery along the way.

A different sort of excess is explored in Mandy Lee’s X, Y, Z series. I’ve just finished proof reading and editing Y, the second book in the series. Mandy had already worked with an editor, so I was doing a final check (it can be useful to have several pairs of eyes working on your project), and setting the book up for publication on Kindle Direct Publishing It’s free to publish a book using Amazon’s self publishing platform, but it’s useful to have a professional editor to help you. As an indie author myself, I can make books look beautiful as paperbacks and eBooks, as well as graphic design skills to insert illustrations and create covers.

I must admit that I have never read Fifty Shades of Grey, not even when everyone else was reading it, but I really enjoy Mandy Lee’s own brand of erotica. These books are plot and character-driven and Mandy writes intriguing female characters with many facets. In particular, Y is also a thriller about a young woman on the run, afraid to reveal her true identity. I was hooked as I was working on this book. I would love to work on more romance and erotica and I enjoy the great working relationship I have with Mandy.

If you’ve read this far and think I just enjoy working on books about international drug gangs, rock ‘n’ roll managers and sexuality, there’s much more to me and my skills.

I’m proud to have edited and formatted three books for the South Yorkshire Industrial Heritage Society: Wilson’s Piece, The Butcher Works and Suffolk Works. I worked from a manuscript, photos and illustrations to put together detailed academic historical publications. I’ve always been fascinated by archaeology and would one day like to write more historical fiction, so I loved finding out more about the 19th century weaving industry and how the cutlery trade built Sheffield while working on these books. To put these books together, I used a graphic design programme to lay out photographs, diagrams and illustrations, balanced with the text, adding captions and footnotes. These books really appealed to my love of making something look right on the page to enhance the reading experience.

So, no matter what you are writing, please get in touch with me to talk through the options. Start by reading my What I Can Do for You page, which includes my contact details. I look forward to hearing from you.

Writing and Publishing Distortion – Advice for writers

The brilliant front cover of Distortion, my second novel

Libraries Gave us Power tattoo!

I haven’t made a big song and dance about it…yet, but my second novel, Distortion, is now out as an e-book and a paperback. It’s been a long process, but my writing and editing skills have been sharpened by working with the inspiring clients I have worked with since 2013, when I set up my freelance editing business, Wild Rosemary Writing Services.

Now I have helped other people’s dreams of publication to come true, I felt that I knew the editing process well, I had great feedback from my friends who wee the “beta readers” of the book before it was published, and I had a wonderful cover designed by Susie Morley, which really makes the book eye-catching.

I started writing Distortion in 2010, shortly after finishing my writing MA, and it was wonderfully freeing to write something brand new, without any baggage or restrictions. Having new ideas and developing new characters was really exciting, and the second time around, I felt much more sure-footed when it came to plotting the novel.

Now I’ve written and self-published two novels, I can pass on some advice for aspiring novelists – I’d love to know what you think.

1. Don’t work alone. Being part of a writing group is really useful. Find one that suits you, and if you can’t find one, form one yourself. I was one of the founding members of the Sheffield Novelists group, and now it’s been going since 2009, helping people through the creative process and bringing writers together. There are also many online writers’ groups, such as Scribophile. The ideal writers’ group will keep you going – e.g. help you to commit to writing a chapter per month, encourage you, but also discuss aspects of your work that could be improved.
2. Keep going ! If you’re anything like me, you’ll have a million and one things in your life as well as writing a novel. Just keep going. Even if you can only commit half an hour in a day, or a few hours at weekends to your writing, keep up that commitment to yourself. This is something that you may keep needing to evaluate if you let yourself down, but that’s how I finished, and edited Distortion.
3. Don’t hurry! In my opinion, a novel needs space and time to breathe and develop. You may find yourself being as influenced by your novel as much as you are creating it. For example, I thought that my music-obsessed teenage main character, Jason, might be really into the band Manic Street Preachers, so I started buying their albums, despite not being a big fan to start with. It had also been years since I had picked up a guitar. Along the way, I now have a “libraries gave us power” Manic Street Preachers tattoo (featured below), I’ve learned how to play the bass, and I’m now playing the guitar in a band. Your novel is part of you, so live and breathe it while you are writing. Obviously this would be a little worrying if you were writing a murder mystery though.
4. Keep learning: go to writing workshops and spoken word nights whenever you can, read about and research the craft of writing, and meet fellow writers. Pop into your local library (hopefully you have one!), or search online for writing events near you. Often, there are events that are free or affordable, and there’s advice online. Go Teen Writers is one of my favourite blogs for advice on the nuts and bolts of writing, although it does tend to have a U.S. bias. This will also help you to build up a network of other writers and get great advice from published authors as well as people who are starting out.
5. Edit as much as you can. Once you’ve finished the first complete draft, put it away for a few weeks at least and enjoy the freedom. Once your writing fingers start itching again, edit until your book is the best you can make it. There’s some good advice here about editing your book in layers.
6. Once you’ve edited your book, you still need an external editor. This isn’t just a plug for my own editorial services! Whether this is someone that you pay, or a friend or relative you can trust to be eagle-eyed and even ruthless at times, you need someone to spot those silly mistakes (no matter how carefully you think you’ve checked your manuscript) or daft ideas that just didn’t work. Then go through the book again yourself, just in case anything stands out.
7. Self publishing is difficult, but worth it. It’s great to get my words out in print and to know that people around the world can read them. The problem is publicity and marketing. I love my books, but I don’t want to feel like I’m blowing my own trumpet all the time and boring friends on social media and in real life to death by constantly reminding them to buy my book – and then to review it on Amazon. You’ve got to get the balance right. It’s a good idea to help out other authors too, particularly self-published ones. Give other writers good reviews and hopefully, they’ll do the same for you!

Please take a look at Distortion. If you fancy reading an exciting novel about secrets, lies and loud guitars, you’ll definitely enjoy it. It’s out as an e-book and also as a rather handsome paperback.

Here’s the blurb:

When teenager Jason Knight picks up a battered acoustic guitar in a charity shop, he just wants to form a band with his best friend Ben and stop being bullied by his nemesis, Bradley Smeed.

Jason’s guitar playing stirs up memories for his mum Kaz. She’s been keeping her true identity secret: fourteen years ago, she ran away from cult stardom in the band Mission Control, traumatised by the death of her lover, troubled guitar genius Daz Lightning.

Will Jason Discover the truth and become a rock god?

Read a sample or buy the book below!

 

Published in 2016 – A Country Lass by Joyce Abbey

Joyce’s memoir: A Country Lass

Earlier this year, I was contacted about putting together a memoir for a lady’s 90th birthday. It felt quite significant that I should be doing this on the year of the Queen’s 90th birthday, writing about the life of a lady whose life has run in parallel to the Queen’s in many ways.

Over three interviews with Joyce Abbey, I found out about her childhood in North Yorkshire, and then living next door to RAF Scorton as a teenager in World War Two, going to dances at the airbase and meeting airmen from around the world before settling down with her beloved husband Edgar. Joyce’s working life was spent working with her husband at Goole Baths, in days of slipper baths and the swimming pool being boarded over in winter for music and dancing. I transcribed the interviews and put the book together, with many photographs provided by Joyce’s family.

Last weekend, I attended Joyce’s 90th birthday party. It was supposed to be a garden party, but torrential rain put paid to that. It didn’t dampen anyone’s spirits though, and meeting Joyce’s extensive family and friends was wonderful. Everyone enjoyed the book and passed it around avidly.

A Country Lass by Joyce Abbey is available from lulu.com.

We’re very pleased with the results of Joyce’s book!