Writing Magazine March 2020

http://www.writers-online.co.uk MARCH 2020 83

Library search techniques
There are different ways to find material in libraries.
Browsing can be helpful provided you’re using a relatively
small library, you’re not too specific about the material you
want to use and/or you want to map out what’s available.
To browse effectively, familiarise yourself with the library’s
classification system (many libraries use the Dewey Decimal
Classification, https://writ.rs/deweydecimal), find the right
shelves and check what’s there.
Browsing doesn’t always work though. In large libraries there
are simply too many shelves to go through. Also, exploring
what’s on shelves doesn’t give you the full picture of what
a library holds as you won’t see the books that are on loan.
Furthermore, if the books are kept in storage, it’s impossible to
browse at all. Hence, you may find using the library catalogue
a more effective strategy.
Thankfully, the old card catalogues have more or less been
replaced by online public access catalogues. Usually you can
access these through the library’s website. Although there are
some differences in how different libraries’ search engines
work, they tend to be easy to use. For more advanced search
techniques, however, read the instructions first – typically
library catalogues’ search engines are not as intuitive to use
as Google.
If you’re struggling with your research, don’t be afraid to
ask for help. Librarians are information specialists. They know
what’s in their libraries and, therefore, can help you find what
you need.
Good luck with your research!

ONLINE ‘LIBRARIES’

There is an increasing number of

specialist online depositories of books

which could be, loosely speaking,

defined as libraries. For example, the

Internet Sacred Text Archive (www.

sacred-texts.com) contains over 1,700

books about religion, mythology,

folklore and the esoteric. You can

find more digital ‘libraries’ by

searching online.

Book cover reveal day gives new author

Gillian Harvey a warm glow in the

run-up to publication

Under the covers

When I’m perusing Twitter (other social media networks are

available), from time to time I’ll see an author revealing the

cover of their next novel. It’s an exciting moment for any writer

• and I was thrilled when my publisher told me recently that
  my own cover design would be with me shortly.
  Finally, I thought, this is going to feel REAL.
  A week of email-refreshing later, and a missive dropped in my
  inbox. Heart thundering, I clicked on the attached pdf and was
  confronted with the cover of Everything is Fine.
  I expected to feel overwhelmed with excitement, hardly able to
  contain myself. But actually, what I thought was ‘oh yes, there it is’.
  Having spent a couple of years working on the book (writing
  and editing and sending off and editing and signing contracts
  and editing) I know Jessica, the protagonist, inside out. I’ve
  considered her feelings, her situation, her ups and downs. I’ve
  been with her for every messy and complicated step of the way.
  But whilst I’d had a few ideas of what the book might look
  like, I didn’t have any strong feelings about colour, picture
  or design. I knew I’d be asked for my approval, but to be
  honest unless they’d made my funny little book look like
  a psychological thriller or stuck a picture of a horse on the
  front (my novel is horse-free), I’d pretty much have agreed to
  anything. I’m all for leaving it to the experts.
  Of course that didn’t stop me speculating about my debut’s
  possible appearance.
  Now, don’t get excited, I’m almost definitely not psychic.
  But when my weary husband and I chatted about my ideas
  over a plate of spag bol a few days before book cover reveal
  day, I said that I imagined a cover with a pic of Jessica taking a
  selfie; with a hint of her chaotic existence off-camera.
  So when the picture of her as imagined by someone
  else dropped into my inbox, I suppose what I felt was
  recognition. And I loved it.
  I’d thought I’d feel differently when looking at my book
  cover for the first time. That I’d be screaming from the rooftops
  (which usually I just reserve for Friday nights and the third
  Saturday of every month) or overcome with
  emotion. Instead, I opened it, saw the cover
  and smiled.
  No fireworks, no fanfare, no screaming,
  jumping, popping of champagne.
  Just a feeling that I was seeing an old friend.


• Everything is Fine by Gillian Harvey is
  due for publication by Orion Fiction on
  28 May.