Saturday mornings for me begin in a way that may repulse others.
I have always been an early riser, and like getting to my desk to produce the ideas I will work on for the rest of the day. But on Saturdays there is a 5km run in our local park.
It’s a really good community event, with those taking part ranging from just a few months (in buggies, being pushed by superfit parents) to pensioners, as well as several dogs. And the feeling of virtue you get from having had some exercise before 10am on a Saturday morning (you can tell from this that I am not superfast) is indescribably wonderful, made all the more special by the chance to listen to Inheritance Tracks on Radio 4's Saturday Live on the way home.
Last Saturday I wore my Penguin classics T-shirt, and had comments all the way around the course from stewards about its relevance. It promoted Mystery Mile – so one wondered if I was being ironic (this is a 5k run), several told me they had already read it, one in the familiar jacket, and others commented that it was good to be reminded of reading.
Apart from finding this rather surprising (the shirt’s role had not been planned) it set me thinking that this must be a sponsorship or marketing opportunity for books.
Representatives from Lucozade appeared one week at the finish to hand out free bottles of liquid support for the tired, and today a local sports shop was offering coupons with £15 off their merchandise (if you spent over a certain amount).
What’s to stop publishers putting tee shirts on a few runners and handling out money-off coupons at the finishing line? Publishers routinely produce tee shirts for bookshop staff to wear whilst promoting new titles (thank you to Joanna in Waterstone’s of Kingston for reminding me of this) but where else could they be displayed to maximum advantage?
Where would you like to find information on new books?
A former publisher, Alison writes about publishing and how to get published. She is course leader for the Publishing MA at Kingston University.
I try to start my writing day by writing at least a paragraph before I even think of catching my bus to work. Sometimes, if I manage to surface from my pit early enough, I'll get a page in. Then I can go to work satisfied that at least I've done something and won't feel guilty by bedtime if I haven't written anything between 6pm (when I get in from work) and sleep. Works for me. I've been doing this for months now and find it very helpful - i.e. eradicates that sinking, guilty feeling of having written nothing on days when it just doesn't come. So here's my rules: 1) wake up, write as much as possible before you have to jump in the shower and run for the bus. 2) When you come home from work, write some more.