So, here I am at the end of week three of school visits. It’s been hard work, rushing from my day job (the one that pays the bills) to numerous Primary Schools spread far and wide over Sydney, battling traffic, and mentally checking off my list (book – tick! postcards – tick! posters – tick! address of school – oops…) and invariably walking into a hall with up to 200 eager young students, ready to hear my talk on the essential building blocks of good storytelling, and to hear me reading from Cats On The Run.
Hitting the road is part and parcel of being a writer now. Long gone are the days when a major publishing house would give you a million dollar advance and leave you to bash away on your trusty typewriter, undisturbed in the corner of your lake house. Even the most commercially successful writers out there have to press the flesh at writer’s festivals, book signings, radio shows and myriad other distractions from the act of actual writing. But that is the reality and I’m grateful for the early morning hours I call my own when I get up and focus on my craft before most of the city has cracked open its eyes.
But back to these school visits…what I didn’t realise until now, as I visit the last of the schools on my list and prepare to refocus on my writing, is the absolute thrill it has been to meet my readers. To know there are actual people out there, reading (and enjoying!) Cats On The Run has been a heart-warming surprise to this cantankerous old man. I think sometimes when a book is launched and the initial excitement has passed it’s too easy to forget that your book which has been sent out into the ether is actually sitting on someone’s shelf, getting dog-eared in someone’s schoolbag, being dropped to the bedroom floor as someone falls asleep reading it. To hear great reviews from your friends is one thing. But to have total strangers walk up and treat you like a rockstar…that’s kinda cool (even if they are ten years old). And what’s more, it makes all those lonely early morning hours at the trusty typewriter so much more worthwhile.
Cheers. GG xx
Ged – your recent visit was the highlight of the Term for our students. They loved learning the story formula. We look forward to seeing you back in August for Book Week. Thank you!