I realise that my writing is a hugely important constant in my life. It’s got me up in the morning. It’s kept me busy. My latest work in progress, and watching it unfold, has given each day a sense of normality and continuity. It has been a distraction from the chaos and tragedy happening around me locally and in the world. I’m incredibly grateful for this. Writing is my friend. It’s given me a purpose and passion at this very challenging time.

More than ever I respect the romantic comedy genre. During lockdown my thirteenth book, The Summer Island Swap has been published and reviewers have kindly said what a welcome escape the story is from our current difficult situation. I’ve had comments like these before about my books, as other romcom authors will have, from readers who’ve been having a hard time and found that such stories give them a momentary break. There is a certain snobbery out there towards romance books but lockdown has shown clearly how much people need fictional escapism and happy-ever-afters when the real world is a scary place.

Writer’s block – I’ve always written through it before and have done so again these last months. When the pandemic was unfolding in the UK, in late March, and throughout April and May, I had to write my Christmas 2020 novel. I soldiered on, putting finger to keyboard, telling myself that was the main thing, the rewrite could sort out any mess. But this time I discovered writer’s block on a whole new level. Yes, I eventually achieved the wordage I wanted but I felt blocked when it came to working out the structure of the overall plot arcs and the pace. With daily mortality rates and Covid 19 guidelines appearing minute by minute on social media, with daily worries on a personal level, I just couldn’t focus. So I guess lockdown has shown me that writer’s block isn’t as simple as I once thought. It’s not just about not being able to increase that word count. It’s also about not being able to get your head around the big things like developing character and expanding the themes.

And leading on from this I appreciate my agent more than ever. I’ve always thought she was amazingly supportive, especially with the editorial support she offers, but recently I’ve felt I need it on a different level. Her fresh pair of eyes has been able to offer perspective on the bigger aspects of the story and she’s given me confidence in what I’ve written. Between us I feel we’ve really been able to shape that sticky first draft  into a book I’m so excited about and can’t wait to share in October!

I’ve also appreciated her support around the fact that due to lockdown, I struggled to meet my deadline and needed her to ask for it to be pushed back a bit. All the editors I’ve ever worked with have been brilliantly flexible about this but still, it’s been great, during lockdown, to have one less thing to worry about.

Authors sometimes ask me about my view on agents. I find mine indispensable.

Finally, I’ve always thought of myself as a bit of a hermit writing from home, reading, watching Netflix in the evenings… however during lockdown I’ve been surprised at just how much I miss meeting up with my writing friends in real life. A group of us have coffee together in Manchester once a month and haven’t been able to do that for ages. Plus the Romantic Novelists’ Association is celebrating its Diamond Anniversary this year and has had to cancel various events, including a special summer party in June. I last saw my romance friends at an awards ceremony at the beginning of March and had such a lovely time. Social media is great but there’s nothing quite like a face to face chat where you can discuss things you might not want to share online, and have a good-humoured chat about the latest ups and downs of your career.

To sum up, due to lockdown, I’m more grateful than ever for my writing and the people connected to the industry who support it – my agent, my fellow authors, the readers who give feedback.

It’s been a horrendous time so any positives are welcome. And I end this post sending my thanks to keyworkers and love to everyone who’s been struggling.

But it also means you are thrust into an environment where you are ranked against everyone else in terms of success and popularity, just like you are as a teenager in the classroom. This can, inevitably have a downside. But first of all let me explain my comparison.

Publishers remind me of teachers. They can be seen to have *favourites*. Some can hold you back. Others can push you and your career forwards. On the whole I’ve been very lucky with my experiences with my three publishers, and I’ve been chuffed with the success they’ve helped me achieve, including two Top Ten AmazonUK Kindle bestsellers. But I’ve heard of other authors experiencing, for example, editors that don’t reply to emails, promises of marketing that don’t materialise or publishers’ Twitter feeds that rarely feature their books…

Agents are the prefects or peer mentors. They’ve got your back. They are someone to go to when the going gets tough – to give you advice or perspective. They are a go-between and can talk to the publisher on your behalf if there is anything you aren’t happy about.

Other authors are the classmates – there are those who like the same subjects as you, those who don’t; the tight cliques and the loners; the populars who look as if they are having 24/7 fun and success; those who have to work all hours to move forwards – those who don’t; the frustrated big dreamers and content pragmatists.

Amazon rankings are the exams and tests – within a few weeks of starting high school everyone knows what position they are in, compared to everyone else.  I can’t think of another job where you are ranked by a number, day in day out against your peers.

Best friends are best friends. They support you. They help you commiserate and celebrate.

Whilst it’s great to belong to a body of people who are passionate about learning their craft and achieving the same end goal, how can you happily navigate the challenges this environment might throw up?

Simply having awareness is a great thing. Before I got my first deal, I never realised, for example, that publishers might favour certain authors and give them more attention and a larger chunk of their budget. I didn’t realise that publishers sometimes paid to have particular books placed in shops at a certain chart position. It was naive of me really. But I don’t think I actually thought of publishing of a business. It was simply a dream machine!

Now it makes sense. Although having said that, some of the newer publishers, predominantly digital-first, have made it part of their mission statement that they treat all their authors equally. So there has clearly been some awareness, on the part of the industry, that this is very important to writers.

Get yourself an agent. Mine has always got my back. Has helped me avoid some bad decisions. Has dealt with publishers when there have been disappointments or things haven’t gone to plan. It’s definitely helped lessen the stress. And, of course, an agent does many other things such as helps shape your long-term career.

Accept that – like at school – your peers are a diverse bunch, and SO ARE READERS. You’ll find your niche.  And realise that almost every author, at some stage, faces rejection, poor sales, bad reviews, an unrenewed contract… I’ve often been surprised by the story behind some of the social media fronts (as I’m sure people were surprised when I came out about my own issues in 2018). Sometimes all is not what it seems. Only a few authors don’t face career peaks AND troughs. There is lots of fun to be had, as an author, but it’s not realistic to expect that 24/7.

Don’t obsess about rankings! It’s a hard one, I know. Limit yourself to looking only a certain number of times a day or week. There is so much more to how good a book is – such as reviews or touching readers’ lives, in the same way that, at school, there is so much more to a pupil than how well they can do in a written exam.

Keep your best friends close and support them back in the way they support you.

Of course, getting published isn’t actually going back to school. There are no mean girls (or boys!). It’s a wonderfully supportive community and within that I include fellow authors, aspiring writers, editors, agents, readers, bloggers… My career, to date, has given me lots of joy. Every new release is a whirlwind and I’m currently enjoying the preparations for the upcoming publication of my festive novel, The Christmas Calendar Girls.

It’s an exciting time – just like it’s exciting starting high school and moving onto the next stage of your life. The industry isn’t out to get you. But you need to get yourself a realistic view of it as a business. AND you need to find a set of  helpful tools – and people –  in order to surf the ups and downs

One – my debut being published didn’t change my life to fit my fantasies. My book wasn’t turned into a movie. Brad Pitt didn’t star. I wasn’t invited onto Graham Norton’s sofa. I didn’t turn into a glamour puss or overnight become the owner of a Porsche.

The fulfilment came in different ways – a lovely review. Interest from family and friends. Support from the wonderful writing community. I soon realised it’s these immaterial things that mean so much.

Two – The release of each book (I’ve had ten published now) is just as terrifying and exhilarating as the last. Five years on and I realise that however well a novel does, you are only as good as your next book so that means you are always nervous about the publication of something new.

Three – it’s really hard work promoting a book. I never realised quite how much an author had to do, especially if they don’t have a PR person on hand to help. My first publisher gave me an information pack that gave guidelines and before I knew it I was tweeting, had a Facebook author  page, was on Pinterest and Goodreads, I ran a blog…

I’m lucky. I enjoy social media greatly but even I find it challenging at times and whilst it wasn’t to blame, it didn’t help the mental health problems I faced in 2016 (I talk about those here).

Four – I discovered that special breed The Blogger! Bloggers are amazing. Generous. Efficient. Supportive. They offer up their time, for free, to help promote and review books. And they are the loveliest people.

Five – I thought that after releasing many books some of the inner excitement might have worn off but I still get the same, huge kick from seeing my sales rank rise on Amazon or reading a great review. I was beside myself with excitement when I saw the cover for my new women’s fiction story Forgive Me Not. Those things never cease to thrill me.

Six –  I never predicted how being published would feed into the eating disorder issues I’d had for years. I guess, looking back, it’s obvious. It’s hard not to see yourself as a brand and with that comes expectations. I’m still striving to separate Sam the person from Samantha Tonge author. I try to see the ups and downs of my career as a professional journey that doesn’t reflect the worth or success of me. I blog about my tips for good authorly mental health here.

Seven – publishers are businesses. I don’t think that sank in before I got published. This means many things such as… they will have favourite authors and the chances are it may not be you! But that’s favourite in terms of who they think will sell. If an editor acquires you, have no doubt, it means they think your writing is the bees knees. They may just have other authors whose work is more commercial and hooky and will bring in more income.

Eight – It’s consolidated who I think I am in a way I didn’t expect. I know my destiny now – what it always was and where it’s going. I know. That sounds a little precious. But it’s true. I felt a degree of that before publication, but signing that deal and –  more specifically – finally getting readers and their feedback has made me one hundred percent sure.

Nine – I still feel like giving up sometimes. I thought that would stop once I was published, but it doesn’t. Getting a book deal is fabulous but it does present you with a different set of problems. I’ve had ups and downs, successes and disappointments. I remember seeing an Olympian interviewed who’d won Gold the previous season and she was asked how fantastic that must have felt. Her response was fairly muted – yes, it was great, but winning brings expectations. And that’s how I feel but I try to remember that mostly those expectations are from me, my perfectionist side, and I need to keep them boxed up.

Ten – Whilst I do occasionally feel like giving up, I never forget how amazingly lucky I am to be doing a job I love and to leave a legacy behind, even if it is just a few thousand words! I still remember the pain of agent rejections and having to ditch yet another project and not forgetting this gives me perspective when a problem with my career rears its head.

There are worse problems to have

As an aspiring author, I used to dream of the day I would hold my book in my hands – and smell it (or is that just me?!) I fantasized of Hollywood movie deals, glittery crystal awards, appearances on the Graham Norton show… Ha ha, yes, really. Of course lots of little dreams have come true since signing my deal and in many ways, it has fulfilled lots of my desires. Yet there are challenges I never expected, whilst having six books published. So here are my own tips for any authors who haven’t yet seen their work in print. I’m no expert by any means, but these things would have certainly been useful for me to know before my hopes became a reality.

DO accept that nowadays, no publisher is going to be the sole promoter of your work. Prepare for that now. Set yourself up a Facebook author page and Twitter account (er, okay, guess you have done that if you are reading this!) A large part of getting word out there, about your books, is going to be down to you. Consider your “brand” and start posting and tweeting about it, for example politics, family issues, cookery, crime… For me it is an array of fun subjects, including romantic heroes, movies,  cats,  and food and TV series relating to some of my books , including Downton, Poldark and Game of Thrones. Fill your social platforms with appealing and useful content that relates to you as an author. And network, network – retweet others who might then retweet you. Get to know bloggers.

DON’T expect all your writerly problems to magically disappear. Agreed, you no longer have the stress of trying to get published, but you will be faced with a different set of issues. In my experience, the years of trying to get an agent were a rollercoaster with the down of rejections and ups of an encouraging word – with full manuscripts being requested and then rejected and with meetings that got me excited then came to nothing concrete.  There are still peaks and troughs when published, for example great and bad rankings or brilliant and poor reviews. Keep your expectations realistic. Getting published won’t wave a wand over your life and extinguish every stress or concern.

DO treat your writing job as the career it is. Get professional. Find out about declaring earnings for tax purposes, however small they may seem at the beginning. Meet deadlines. Engage with your readers – both fans and critics – in a professional manner. As authors we are emotionally tied to our work but try not to let that creep into your dealings with others in the trade. Don’t respond to an insulting review or tweet. Don’t ping off a discontented email when your editor sends revisions that you think are way too thorough. Keep a calm head, even though almost anything to do with our stories pulls at our hearts.

DON’T refuse to compromise. Presumably two of the reasons you want to become published are to reach an audience and earn from your writing – and that means making sales. Editors and agents have a vast experience and getting published is, in some ways, just the beginning of learning everything you can – from them – about your craft and career. Whilst initial suggestions to changing your story or title might sting, I have usually found (after a couple of days drinking wine, in a darkened room) that they are spot on. Try not to be too precious. For example the original title for my second book, From Paris with Love, was “On Abbey’s Secret Service” (it is a standalone sequel to my bestselling debut Doubting Abbey).  It was hard to let go of my idea, but now I’m glad I did. The new title was far more search-engine friendly and commercial.

Finally DO enjoy every minute. Yes it is tough being an author in these times, the market is incredibly competitive and the goalposts are ever-changing, due to the revolution of the ebook. Plus there is always another social platform springing up that we are expected to use.  In my opinion, every challenging moment is worth it when you get lovely feedback from a reader or praise from your editor. Or when you experience the excitement of a launch – something I’m looking forward to with my upcoming July novel, Breakfast under a Cornish Sun. And never stop dreaming. I’m still secretly holding out for Graham Norton to come knocking at my door. In fact– one last tip – try to overcome shyness. Be assertive and proactive. And on that note, does anyone happen to have Graham’s number…?