When I first started writing blogs back in 2019, it was all relatively straightforward. I sat at my laptop and stuff came out of my head. Then I found some pictures, uploaded everything to Blogger and posted it. Bosh. I didn’t have a lot of writer’s equipment back then. The aforementioned laptop (long since worn out and replaced), my phone for photos and the kettle, vital for all aspiring writers. Sometimes I employed electricity via the light switch. Simpler times.
For the last five years, I’ve been co-running the British Christian Writers’ conference in September, based in Cambridge, along with top chum and fellow writer Andy Chamberlain. We pull together a two-day schedule packed with plenary sessions, workshops, drop-ins and networking opportunities. This year, we had sessions on AI, marketing, poetry, Instagram and crime writing amongst others. Mr Leigh and I took to the stage to deliver a real-time talk on setting up your stall and selling books. Much fun was had. We got to wear lanyards and had poké bowls for lunch (the children think it’s hilarious each time we use this phrase. “Poké bowls”, that is. Not, “lunch”). It was a really blessed weekend and the sun shone throughout. Fortunately, the only equipment with which I had to wrestle were various hand-held mics (someone else switched them on and presumably plugged them in) and the SumUp machine.
Note the excessive use of lanyards. Mics in background
We had a couple of days to recover then I headed off to Derbyshire with fellow writers Sue Russell, Sarah Nicholson, Liz Carter, Nigel Oakley and Sheelagh Aston to CRT (Christian Resources Together). This is a huge trade show for all aspects of publishing – distributors, bookshops, authors, publishers and so on. They have awards too, with gold envelopes and people saying, “And the winner is …” This year, for the first time, Resolute Books had a stall. We went to CRT complete with branded T-shirts, a quiz and a lot of Love Hearts. I heard Rose Hudson-Wilkin, the Bishop of Dover speak and wanted to leap to my feet and give her a standing ovation. She’s the first ever black woman to become a Church of England bishop and is the most incredibly inspiring and courageous person.
This year I was helping out on my publisher’s stall as well as doing a stint over at Resolute Books. I’d invested in a little set of clip-on mics and was rather proud of myself for having used them correctly.
The CRT Six at CRT. Clip-on mics not shown
Note to self. When buying new equipment, maybe try reading the instructions. It couldn’t hurt. I thought I’d recorded a short piece to camera with my voice magically amplified. In fact, not only had I omitted to turn on the mic, but I had completely missed the thingy (that’s the technical term) that you put into the charging port of your mobile which helps with the sound.
I only found this out because the lovely Matt McChlery (fellow writer also published by Instant Apostle) videobombed Sarah and I trying to film in front of our stall.
“You haven’t got it turned on, Ruth,” he observed, peering at the mic. “Where’s the thingummy wotsit? You should have that plugged into your phone.”
Dear reader, he did not call it a thingummy wotsit. That was me.
So I tried again, this time with it all turned on and plugged in, and lo and behold, I was audible. I had gone from Mrs Richards in Fawlty Towers (“Is this a piece of your brain?”) to Instagram goddess (well, not quite).
For Christmas, I got a ring light and a big posh microphone that people who do podcasts and who broadcast to the nation use. Naturally, I had to ask our seventeen-year-old daughter to set it all up, which she did quickly and with the minimum of fuss. I did my first TikTok video for a while, bathed in the warm glow of said light. There were definite Amandaland vibes going on. Except I’m not a posh, blonde woman in my forties, living in SoHa.
I can’t imagine that I’ll need to use any more equipment in the future, but you never know. My heroine, Isabella M Smugge, is a whiz at all this kind of thing, but unfortunately she’s not real. So for now, I’ll just have to rely on helpful fellow writers and my children #turniton
