Official Interview: Lark Westerly a.k.a. Sally Odgers

[kandscreeley]

Today's Chat with Sarah features Lark Westerly a.k.a. Sally Odgers author of over 400 books!

Website for Lark Westerly

Website for Sally Odgers

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1. When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?

I suspect it was when I first realised I was good at it. I was probably seven or eight. I was a shy, nervous, awkward child, and poor at sport and maths. I couldn’t draw well or sing well and had just realised these things. However, my teachers always praised my stories. I loved writing them, so it was a win/win situation.

2. How many books have you written and which is your favorite?

I’ve written over 400 books. I don’t know the exact number, but you can see most of them listed at https://sallybyname.weebly.com/alphabet ... itles.html

One of my favourites is Replay, and another is Candle Iron. Pride: Bridgeover Sundown is another. Then there are Translations in Celadon, Trinity Street and Shadowdancers. More recently, there are Elysian Dawn and its sequels, Being Tamzin, Tanqueray and Performing Pippin Pearmain. All of these are series, but I regard them as single (very long) stories. I also love the Jack Russell; Dog Detective series which I co-wrote with my husband.

3. What is your idea of success and have you achieved that?

My idea of success is to be secure, to be able to write and sell what I want rather than always bending to the market, and to have enough money to feel comfortable. I have never achieved that completely. I’m a midlister, after all.

4. How did you go about getting your books published?

My first book was published in the 1970s when Hodder & Stoughton opened a publishing arm in Australia. My sister was a writer and her editor agreed to look at some of my stories. She didn’t accept them, but she suggested a collection, which I wrote. It was published as Her Kingdom for a Pony. After that, I sold more books to Hodder, then to Angus and Robertson and other companies. These days, most of my children’s books come out with Scholastic and my romances and YA stuff with Extasy Books. I also self-publish occasionally, especially if I have a book I love that doesn’t fit with my publishers’ markets.

5. What is it like to work with a publisher? What's the process like?

That’s changed a lot over the years. In the beginning, I sent a manuscript, they considered, then either accepted it or rejected it with a letter. After that, it was more like a two-line rejection, and nowadays it’s usually silence… (on the grounds that if they haven’t said they’ll take it, they probably won’t). If the book is accepted, an editor decides what needs changing, and I do that. Sometimes I see illustrations. The book comes out and I get my author copies. These days, most publishers are closed to submissions, except for a day, or a few days every year.

6. What was the most difficult part of the publishing process?

It is, and has always been, trying to reconcile what I want to write with what publishers want… and the waiting… oh, the waiting!

7. Would you recommend self-publishing for authors? Why or why not?

I recommend it to writers who want their books out according to their own vision, or who are writing in a niche, or who have a time frame in mind. I work as a freelance editor for Wordkettle which offers affordable editing and assessment for self-publishing authors, as well as to those who need or want a bit of guidance before subbing to a trad. publisher. However, I don’t see self-publishing as a good way to make serious money. A very few writers make a financial success of it, just as a very few teenagers become top models. On the plus side, a self-publisher gets to make the decisions and the book is his or her vision, and not a company’s.

8. Does social media fit into the publishing and marketing process for you? If so, how?

I use Facebook and Instagram to let people know about my books. I find it depressing, though. If I put up a post about my dogs, or ask opinions about photos, or names, or some such thing, I get lots of response and interaction. When I put up a post about my books, I get a few likes and almost no engagement.

9. Do you have any tips for authors who have written a book and are wondering what's next?

I suggest running your work past a freelance editor. A capable editor need not cost you the earth (I charge $26.00 AUD for the first 3000 words and $16.00 AUD for each 3,500 after that for editing, and much less for notes only), and will pick up on things you’re too close to see. A capable freelancer won’t know you and will give objective and informed opinions. Every publishing house has its own house-style, but you will at least have a tight and tidy manuscript to offer or to publish yourself.

I also suggest researching publishers or printers. If you’re going with a hybrid or subsidy publisher, always check their online reputation. If a lot of writers have been stung, run, don’t walk, in another direction. If self-publishing, shop about for editors, illustrators, cover-art and printers. Consider your marketing angle… is there anything newsworthy about you, or your book?

I like to end with lighter questions.

10. Who is your favorite author?

My favourites include Elizabeth Marie Pope, Diana Wynne Jones, Ben Aaronovich, and Monica Edwards, Ruth Park and a great many more. I read different authors according to my mood. It’s a source of regret to me that most of my favourite authors have died… and as it takes a while for a favourite to establish in my mind as a favourite, I tend to have a lot I like a lot, but which don’t hit my top ten. Sometimes, I like some books by an author but not all. I like my own stories- does that count?

11. What are your hobbies?

I like walking with dogs and/or my daughter or my sister, cooking my own creations, tending websites, listening to music and growing roses.

12. What is your life motto?

Make time to do things you enjoy, be grateful for what you have, and be kind. Do your duty to yourself as well as to others.

[Carole Kendall]

I have always wanted to write a book, and I can’t imagine how anyone could write over 400! That is amazing. I appreciate all of the information you gave on various publishing methods.

[Blessed Hope]

I like your life motto and hope can adapt it to myself too