On writing THE SURROGATE

So, it's nearly time for the release of my first book - THE SURROGATE and to be completely honest I'm working around the clock to get the editing finished in plenty of time for the release date of 11/11/11. I've barely had time to do anything else other than read and re-read and re-read the same pages again and again. In fact I've read it so many times, I don't think I'll ever read it again I'm that sick of it (insert marketing type comment here that tells people the book really isn't that bad).

All along, I've taken the approach that writing and publishing the book is more about an experience than any vain hope of success. Of course, I'd love for thousands of copies to be sold in the first weeks and to be sitting on a golden throne in a mansion with a swimming pool full of champagne by this time next year, but lets be realistic. That's not going to happen. Not until Cash My Gold send me back my throne anyway.

In recent weeks I've talked about how authors should be proud to be independent as it gives them certain freedoms over traditional authors. Pricing, release dates, marketing are all aspects of an indie authors work they have control over. Another is content.

Writing The Surrogate has made me realise how important having control over your own content is. I don't mean the plot, as I'd hope that most authors would resist any change to their well-crafted plots. What I am referring to all the little nuances that impact on a writer's style. For me, writing what is essentially a commercial work of fiction, it doesn't have that much of an impact, but there are still things I've included in the novel that I have put in there deliberately, that editors may not have understood the reasons for.

First of these is the use of Scottish dialect for some of the characters. While the book has no pretensions of being literary fiction, giving some characters an authentic voice not only adds realism, but enforces the class divide between the the middle class Tristan Shepard and his world and the working class realm of Marie McDonald. Yes, it does make it a little difficult to understand certain characters and what they say, but I find the Scots dialect one that is both humorous and humble and that's something I hope those characters will portray. Similarly, I used real locations rather than made up ones. Tristan drinks in high-end bars and goes to fancy restaurants, whereas Marie goes to fast food outlets. Using real locations also helps people reading the book who are familiar with the area to identify with the type of person the characters are. It helps me to cut out unnecessary description of areas and concentrate on the story. And it may get me a free beer or two next time I go to Edinburgh.

I do wonder if these things would have been sacrificed if I had gone the traditional route. Perhaps not, but in editing The Surrogate I've been glad not to have had to edit out some of the things that were important to me in establishing the how different the two protagonists are. And hopefully, just hopefully, it'll make entertaining reading for those who read it too.

C J Evans