It’s a brand new year and I’m excited to share this brand new section with you this month. As you may know, since the start of the pandemic, I have been conducting Zoom interviews with skilled authors and experts on various aspects of the writing process. I call them In Conversation Masterclasses. I hold an average of one a month and it’s always free to register. Not everyone can manage to attend the live sessions but they are always a goldmine of inspiration and information. So, now, every month, I am delighted to share some snippets of wisdom in both written and video form.
Below you will find extracts from my discussion with Dr Anisha Abraham who recently published Raising Global Teens, published by Summertime Publishing.
3 top tips for writing a book from Dr Anisha Abraham
On 12th December I was lucky to host an hour-long talk with Dr Anisha Abraham about how she went from expert paediatrician – but un-confident writer – to landing CNN interviews and having her book in USA Walmart superstores.
Her book – Raising Global Teens – is an inspiring topic in itself as it teaches parents to raise thriving teenagers in a globalised, cross-cultural world. However, Anisha’s tips on how she found her writer’s voice, disciplined herself to stick to clear deadlines and fine-tuned pitches to end up on national TV networks will inspire both new and published writers.
The below snippets were cut from an hour-long interview with Dr Anisha packed full of fascinating insights – you can watch the whole thing here.
1. How to find your writer’s voice Dr Anisha first came to me about two years ago as a mentee, joining my year-long mentoring programme. In this snippet we recall the moment she found her writer’s voice. Writing the complete draft of a book is not the same as finding your voice – indeed you can write thousands of words of a manuscript without a clear voice. But your book will be all the better for having a clear purpose, or a ‘mission’ as Dr Anisha called it during our In Conversation Masterclass.
With a defined objective and a picture of your ideal reader you can write your way into your voice.
2. How to work with deadlines Dr Anisha was a highly experienced paediatrician when she came to write Raising Global Teens. As she explains during our In Conversation Masterclass, however, the confidence she had in paediatrics did not immediately translate into confidence as a writer. In other parts of our talk she emphasises the importance of self-belief and persistence – in this video, however, she shares a useful tip to stay motivated and efficient as the book took shape: deadlines.
Work with a mentor or buddy who will check in with you regularly to keep you on track.
3. How to hone your pitch to land TV interviews The final part of my In Conversation Masterclass allows the audience to ask the author their own questions. Here, we field a brilliant question concerning the clout of small publishing houses compared with the well-known companies.
My publishing house, Summertime Publishing and its sister imprint, Springtime Books, are well known in the expat and FIGT worlds though cannot hope to have the impact of the big name megapublishers out there. Dr Anisha explains in the video that’s not good enough for national print media. As she goes on to explain, however, you still could have a great chance on TV and radio with the right pitch sent out at the right time.
Time your pitches right. Find a contemporary hook to get the media to notice you.
If you want to stay up to date with my In Conversation Masterclass series, please like my Facebook page for announcements and reminders. A list of upcoming events is also available on my Virtual Events page. You can, of course, also subscribe to my YouTube channel where you will find all previous Masterclasses and much more.
Dr Anisha Abraham can be found on Facebook and Instagram. Her book can be found here on our ExpatBookshop page.
