Manjeet Mann
has been working in the industry for over 30 years – the past year has obviously had an impact on their respective plans. “Having a book out for almost a year and only seeing and signing a single copy in an actual bookshop has been very strange,” says Marie-Louise. “On Midnight Beach launched at the beginning of April and due to lockdown restrictions, Irish bookshops couldn’t get stock from the UK until July.” While she confesses that she tried her best to make social media work for her during the lockdown, she “knew it was going to be tumbleweed time”. The light in the darkness of lockdown for her was being shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal though, which she says is “giving [On Midnight Beach] a second bite at the
Marie-Louise Fitzpatrick
cherry, which is bloomin’ fantastic.” Meanwhile, Manjeet found herself leaning more on her writing for financial stability during the last year, saying that while her acting work has come to a standstill, she’s been able to rely on writing commissions and hardship grants to get her through the worst of it. She’s used the past year to start thinking about future writing projects and let her current literary success sink in a little. She says: “Not being as busy this last year has also meant that I’ve had time to think about writing more books and let it sink in that I’m actually an author now too!” When it comes to advice for budding writers, both authors echo the same sentiment: just keep writing. “Just start and be consistent! Free write your first draft,” says Mann. “I don’t read the previous days’ pages, I don’t edit as I go along, I just keep going until I get to the end.” Fitzpatrick’s advice is along the same lines. She says it’s essential to just “write. “It sounds trite, but you’ll never develop the skills, find your voice or get a first draft down, if you don’t actually put the hours in and get the words on the page.” Both authors admit that a first draft is never going to be as polished as the final version, with Fitzpatrick telling new writers to “expect first drafts to be messy and barely coherent” and Mann calling this stage her “vomit draft”. But, as Fitzpatrick rightly says: “That’s what first drafts are for.”
l Find out more about ALCS’ copyright education resources, designed for young people aged 7-16, at
www.alcs.co.uk/copyright-education
l If you’re a writer and you’re not already a member of ALCS, you can sign up at
www.alcs.co.uk.
34 PEN&INC. Spring-Summer 2021
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