by Sylvia McNicoll | Jun 25, 2014 | Sylvia McNicoll
This is the scene from the Valhalla B & B,
near L’anse aux Meadows where Annie Proulx stayed for a year and wrote Shipping News. After a long drive, and a quick visit to the viking ruins at the national park historical site, we felt cold and tired and I spontaneously and unknowingly chose this special place to stay. A magical coincidence. While sitting in the bedroom that could have been hers, I looked over some 30 copy edit notes on this book: 
I can’t say the creative spirit was really needed or used for this job. Still will Newfoundland inspire any new
stories?
Who can tell? What I can say is that I wanted to be a different person after visiting. Someone heartier, more entrepreneurial, I wanted to plant rhubarb and potatoes, to knit mittens and hats, make jam from wild berries, and paint the outside of my clapboard sunroom pink.
Instead, I read more, threw myself into a locally set story I’m writing and ignored all those physical tasks that Newfoundland inspired me into wanting to accomplish. The rock made me want to be a different person. Writing makes me become someone else. Travel connects the writer into the possibility of an another identity.
And really, how can I not be affected by images such as this:
by Sylvia McNicoll | Jun 3, 2014 | Sylvia McNicoll
The Secret to Getting Grants
Recently I attended a session at the Onwords Conference of The Writers’ Union of Canada called “The Desperate People” or “Get that Grant”. The speakers included Marion Vitrac, Program Officer for Canada Council’s Grants to Professional Writers, and novelists (applicants and judges) Denise Chong, Trevor Cole
and Mark Frutkin.
Marion said the CC Applicant success rate is 10 to 20% immediately disputed by author Trevor who felt it was lower. But here’s something she documented that happened to me. First the peer jurors access all the projects and rate them. The highly recommended ones receive grants until the money runs out. This occurs late February.
My project was deemed “highly recommended”, I received the note, no money. This buoyed me up hugely. Despite some many rejections from Canadian publishers who used to embrace my work, I realized my peers still felt I was a good writer. But for the chance of a different wind blowing, I would have had the money and all my financial problems solved.
In April, the fiscal year end for Canada Council, any undersubscribed grants in the other disciplines dump their
funds into the Creative Writing pool and some lucky writers have their projects funded. This wind blew a different way, and I received a nice cheque. This second Christmas is what fills in the difference between Trevor’s perception and the true percentage of grants awarded.
Some of what the panel said seems like basic common sense but I will repeat what I remember in case it’s new to you.
Take time to make a good application. Like most writers I’m afraid to give the grant proposal too much emotional investment as then my heart will break when I don’t get it. Let’s get over ourselves. Treat the application like an article, workshop the project description with your writing group or partner, set the whole thing aside for a few days and read it over against the grant requirements.
The CV Canada Council pays more attention to this than the Ontario Arts Council who asks for “blind” manuscript pages for their competition. I have had much greater luck with Canada Council, 4 for 7 compared to the OAC, 1 for 6, who don’t pass the bio along to the judges. I’ve been writing 25 years with many publications in different countries. Trevor said he likes to see that the writer is not a hobbyist, that there is an apparent devotion to craft. If you’re a full time lawyer or doctor, perhaps you shouldn’t apply.
The Project Description
Some of the projects jump out at the jurors. For nonfiction there’s a sense of enquiry that’s evident. For fiction there’s an apparent effort to grow in the writer’s craft.
Length of proposal The judges are reading tons of applications and really appreciate clear concise proposals. Show confidence and only use one page if offered one to three pages.
Sample Submission
If the section you’re submitting doesn’t end on the right note, instead of going longer, rewrite it so that it does. For Canada Council the sample doesn’t have to be from the project you’re proposing it can be from a previously published work. For Trevor that has never worked, but Mark insists it’s a great idea. In my own experience I once submitted a small segment of the project and the balance from a recently published work and the grant was successful. I like to submit from the beginning, let’s face it, that’s the starting point and the perfect introduction to your work.
Finally I hear from applicants who try once and insist they will never apply again. What’s the point? I get it, rejection is painful. Why subject yourself to it?
The point is the next time you may get it. There will be a different set of jurors and applicants with a different set of projects. There may be more money. What I like to tell myself is that it’s an altruistic thing I’m doing for other writers. My project may prove just to be cannon fodder. There needs to be a certain percentage that fails as there needs to be a healthy body of applicants. Otherwise the funding will be cut to match the lesser numbers.
Good luck. Next deadline is October 1. For more information visit:
http://www.canadacouncil.ca/en/council/grants-and-prizes/find-grants-and-prizes/grants/grants-for-professional-writers-creative-writing
by Sylvia McNicoll | May 5, 2014 | Sylvia McNicoll
Really, I want everyone to love everything I write. There’s some part of me that still believes that each new story I produce will be the ultimate all acclaimed novel. But the thinking part of me sadly realizes this won’t happen. Usually there’s some pattern, a few reviewers like your work, hopefully many, and then one or two pan it. Some vitriolic ally.
Blogging critiquers can be the worst. I once had a librarian, who was completing her thesis while applying for jobs, stop everything to begin a new blog solely to diss crush. candy. corpse. (Hers was the first review and the book later earned much love from many.) She admitted she only skimmed the first three chapters but went on to say I was lazy in my research. She never added to this blog again.
I was lazy.
That was not a good bad review.
A review that accurately summarizes the plot and offers a thoughtful opinion with specifics as to why the book does not work for the reviewer, and yet may work for someone else, that’s a good bad review. I like this one http://sisterslibrary.blogspot.ca/2014/04/kill-fly.html
Mary-Esther at Sister’s Library wishes my main character would have other hobbies besides catching flies, that the book would be funnier, have more conflict, that sidekick character Ginny Malone, would actually be the main character. But she says I’m a subtle writer. She likes main character Will’s inner conundrum. She also suggests she may be too picky a reader, that middle grade readers may even try training their dogs to catch flies.
This is a much nicer way of saying essentially the same as that longtime standby phrase book reviewers usually use “kids may like it anyway.”
I can live with this review. I can even choose phrases that make it sound like Mary-Esther loves the book. I won’t though.
What I will say is, Mary-Esther, you will love Best Friends Through Eternity (Tundra) February 2015. Everyone will love it!
I wish.
by Sylvia McNicoll | Apr 14, 2014 | Sylvia McNicoll
by Sylvia McNicoll | Apr 9, 2014 | part of the writing process, Sylvia McNicoll
As promised these are my notes for the talk I gave at CANSCAIP Wednesday April 9, 2014. The first entry is a poem I wrote in honour of poetry month.
On Earning a Living Writing
by Sylvia McNicoll
Most people work seven and a half hours a day.
So if you only write for two hours,
Don't expect a full day's pay.
You must teach, apply for grants,
register for Payback and PLR.
You must edit, keep good books,
publicize your works near and far.
And when you finally settle down to write
You may be too exhausted cause it’s late at night.
It will be a cherished, well-earned delight
Ten Top facts about Earning a Living as a Children’s Writer in Canada
1) You can’t define writing income solely as advances and royalties:
It’s a cobbling together of Public Lending Rights (PLR), Access Copyright, School/library & conference speaking, teaching, editing, judging contests, receiving grants and everything else people pay you to do because you’re a writer.
2) You must do more than write one book a year. See above for other possible income streams. Ask yourself if you want to write other things: websites, scripts, advertising, corporate newsletters or whether that will distract too much from the writing you love.
3) Promotion: You owe it to your book to use some of your creativity to promote it. Don’t grind your teeth about that infringement on your writing time. Consider it part of the writer’s job. Do the parts you enjoy, ignore the rest. Let your university, your local library, your community newspaper, your local bookstore know when you have a new book.
4) Join the Writers’ Union of Canada (TWUC) to support the solidarity of all writers. Nothing says you’re a pro like belonging to TWUC. Sign up and enjoy The Writers’ In the School Program, Northern Writers in Schools and National Reading Grant programs. Join the Canadian Children’s Book Center and apply to tour. Join CANSCAIP for community of like-minded creators. SCBWYI is their American counterpoint. IBBY and PEN International are worthwhile altruistic organizations.
5) Make sure you are registered for PLR, Access Copyright and for TWUC’s school list. Keep your bios up to date.
6) You must get out there. Opportunities show up because you’re out and about. Even if you’re not the one who gets hired for all the author visits and festivals. In Toronto you have so many launches and events—don’t you dare be an unsocial couch potato writer. Beginners, if you show up for other authors’ launches, you may make contact with the publisher and/or publicist. It’s easier to step away from the unsolicited slush pile this way.
7) You need other jobs to keep your writing alive as well as pay your mortgage. You want to meet new people/characters, encounter new situations/possible plots.
8) You need a website. Blog, tweet, facebook, tumblir, instagram, whatever, as minimally as you want, short pithy posts are better than long ones.
9) Keep the doors open to new opportunity.
10) Be nice: Don’t be a prima donna, a grouch or a whiner. Don’t gripe about the lack of money. This is a dream job, everybody wants to be you.
For an additional post on the grant portion of the talk, please see Grant Me Creative Writing Money Canada Council http://sylviamcnicoll.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=971&action=edit .
by Sylvia McNicoll | Mar 16, 2014 | Sylvia McNicoll
Writers seem to be of two types: the extreme introverts who hate attending any kind of function or getting together with anyone; and the heavy partying types, Hemingway for example, who crave getting together with other likewise engaged individuals.
Deb Loughead, by her own admission, likes to hole away and just write––while I’m more a party person. CANSCAIP brought us together. One pre-meeting dinner I was lamenting how my son was going away so far to study film at Confederation College in Thunder Bay and Deb told me all about her son Ben, a homebody like Craig, and how he loved the film program there and how great the people were. She made me comfortable with the idea, not an easy task, and we became good friends.
Since then we’ve spent weeks in Sudbury touring schools. We’ve shared agents. We’ve shared heartaches and triumphs. We’ve both been treasurer, vice-president and president of CANSCAIP. I think I talked Deb into those jobs. And we still remain friends!
We continue to discuss our projects and give each other contact information. We’re both published abroad because of our friendship and exchange of information. I feel Crush. Candy. Corpse landed at the perfect publisher, Lorimer, because of Deb and my agent. In fact our socializing could be called networking although we always share lots of laughs and laments when we get together.
Here we are sharing a great signing together. We each sold about 20 books at Chapters Queensway. I expected to split our buyers in half but I remember one moment when I was introducing my new historical fiction Revenge on the Fly to a mom and her young reader, when Deb spontaneously interjected, as though she had just thought of it, that she bet this new book would win an award. Sale made.
I would talk about her books after, before or between my own and say how much I enjoyed them. (I wrote an endorsement for the back blurb of Time and Again). The truth is we met lots of book lovers and they could easily buy one of each of our titles. So they did.
We spent a whole Sunday afternoon talking up our titles together in between exchanging shop and family tidbits.
Signings can be painful for the sole author with having to explain plots and inspirations for our books and where the bathroom is. Deb and I had a great time.
Thank your Kristin Knowles at Chapters, Queensway. And thank you CANSCAIP!
This is the scene from the Valhalla B & B, 
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