Where to get the Book of Boff published?

[BoffinMum]

As some of you may know from other threads, or from being sent bits of my housekeeping book to help you out, I have written a domestic manual for those short of time and money that I'd like to get published. I did a lot of research into pitches, wrote what I think is a good one, and susequently approached Darley Anderson, a literary agency, and also Dorling Kindersley, the publisher, and have got absolutely nowhere (not that I expected to, tbh). Not even a standard 'thank you for your email' response. I would welcome any advice people care to give me on how to move this on, as I think it would be a real shame if it never saw the light of day.

I'll #ff you on Twitter tomorrow if you like Boffin (if I can figure out how to do it...). I think it's just a case of writing a glowing reference and then hashtagging it, isn't it?

MN itself publishes a number of books; have you pitched to MNHQ?

Disclaimer: bit of a long shot, as housekeeping is not strictly baby/child related, and it could annoy feminists (like me!).... but it's worth a thought.

Or a product placement on the Flylady site....

Well done on getting your blog sorted so quickly!

Vot is ff and hashtag?

I did do a list the people you talk on Twitter to most thing earlier and Sarah Beeny came up again.

Can't imagine MN would be interested in publishing this as they do books that include lots of our quotes.

Boff yes the ML site would poss want you there for a while. I will pop back there next week and post for you as I have a few posts to my name so not classed as a newbie although haven't been for a while. We have family staying at mo so busy couple of days!

Boff, a hashtag is just anything preceded by the #key, which turns it into a searchable link for other posts with that tag.

You make up your own or use existing ones, and it's one way of finding people with similar interests to you, other than noticing them in other peoples lists.

They're often used for games - for eg there was one trending recently that was #publishingmyths and people were posting funny things like "Authors dont need 2kno gramma and stuff that is wot copyeditors is 4 #publishingmyths"

So you could hashtag your posts #housekeepingtips or something - keep an eye on other posters in the area to find out what they're using.

If a hashtag is used a lot in the same day then it's called "trending" and it appears in a box to the right of your timeline, it will say something like "trending in the UK" and beneath will be things like #justinbeiber #bigfatgypsyweddings #youresexy

etcetcetc. The ones trending are usually rather depressing!

#FF is a hashtag which is used to suggest people to follow - it means Follow Friday.

The idea is you tweet the name of a person you follow, who you think the rest of your followers should follow. You just say something like "#FF boffmum - genius tips for making your life simpler"

Obviously you can't do an #ff of yourself since all your followers already follow you!

Mrs Snaplegs, thanks for that, it would be really helpful as I just can't work up a community membership there as well as engage properly on MN and TBH my heart is here (I do have a FT job as well, beieve it or not).

Theyoungvisitor, That is very helpful. I might try that with the wild food people and also parenthacks and see what happens.

Everyone, I am so not a yummy mummy wanting to give out muffin recipes, do you think a feminst housekeeping angle might go down well, or are people determined to stay in the kitchen with their cardies on these days (present company excepted, of course).

BoffinMum - I don't think there is a huge market for books on housekeeping; I say this as it is a genre that interests me and I have several, which I like, but none of them have sold well.

You might want to try being a little bit more analytical and a bit less anecdotal, in order to increase your book's universal appeal?

hahaha
My feminist housekeeping angle is not liking it, and wanting it to be as easy as possible. An "analytical" approach, as Bonsoir says, is also inherently feminist, as it makes it a strategic exercise, to be carried out by any person with a brain (not just a woman, but a man or child as well!)

P.S. Cardies are no good for housekeeping, as the current non-closing ones ("waterfall" and so on) dangle and tangle while scrubbing is being done.

Were I to write a book on housekeeping, I would have chapters with titles like "Make or Buy: an analysis of outsourcing", where I would reach conclusions about the housekeeping tasks that can (eg ironing) and cannot (eg cooking) be outsourced without impacting family ties.

"Sad", but helpful. And talks up to the reader, to boot.

I am pondering how it would be presented as a book that your dh or MIL could give you for Xmas without you thinking 'Oh fuck off!'

I think it comes down to aspiration: Nigella's Domestic Goddess book sold because it sold the dream of 'you too can be a domestic goddess.'

maybe you need to think about the aspirational figure that this book is promising you can become - who is the person we all secretly want to be that this book will turn us into?

this issue relates to the feminism one because the whole point about this figure is that s/he is not a giggly Boden embellished cardigan wearing cupcake baker; s/he is a busy, competent, leader, a decision maker and organiser at home and possibly at work too. S/he is balanced, calm and fulfilled. (Flora Poste.) S/he may well be a feminist but this is not her key attribute; you have to package it in a way that will not put off feminists but my hunch is that by aiming it too directly that way you will make it too niche.

when your MIL gives you the book for Xmas you have to not think 'oi, are you telling me I don't keep my house clean?', you have to think 'Ah, the Rational Housekeeper, [or whatever], ah yes, that sounds like me, I am very rational.'

I want a book on housekeeping that is a reference book. So that when I ask myself questions about how to tackle housekeeping tasks about which I am inexperienced, I can get a short, well-presented argument on the different viable scenarii I could contemplate that will enable me to make a rapid, informed decision about how to proceed in own particular circumstances.

Boffin, I love your blog!!

I don't like Austerity Housekeeping as a title. It puts me off through being too depressing-sounding.

you want your housekeeping to be financially- and chronologically efficient not just because you haven't got much of either but also because it is an index of how brilliant you are it. It's more flattering to the reader and less moany.

"Austerity" worked for "Austerity Mum" (ie totally tongue in cheek) but I agree with Sethstarkadder - it's no good if it is even a little bit serious.

This is interesting. There are women who are aware of feminist theory etc but feel very central and not political within society. (oh hang on that's me...)

Who are intelligent and like to be efficient. (My top tip is get two cleaners in at 8am for speed and efficiency). But are doing more at home due to ease etc

There are so may images with blondes in flowers cooking cupcakes. Perfect life yada. There is a gap for something for something less ridiculous.

But agree don't make it dour, about austerity or anything negative.

to build on what Bonsoir said about wanting a reference book, I think what I want is both a reference book and a philosophy.

some analogies:
River Cottage Meat Book
How To Eat
and the first two Trinny and Susannah What Not To Wear books.

the above have both sections of longer texts that set out the philosophy (and this is where Boff's ability to write well comes into its own) and bits that you keep going back to.
The philosophy section has to induce feelings of 'ah yes, of course, I never saw it quite like that before but it makes sense now you come to think of it!'
And the reference bits have to be what you refer to when something happens (a pipe bursts, your child starts school) and you think 'Help, what do I need to do now?'/'What do I need to put in place to manage this situation as brilliantly as I manage everything else?'

Something I learned quite early on from living in a "blended" family was that it was absolutely vital to have an annual review of our household organisation - it is so easy to go on and on doing the same thing month in, month out when circumstances have in fact changed and you need to re-engineer the way your household functions. So I would have a chapter all about that - how to identify and evaluate all the constraints upon your household, and how you fit housekeeping into that so that it all runs smoothly.

Is it a Mrs Beeton for the 21st century sort of thing? Household Management (which also sounds v dour). Instead of 'How to hire and fire servants' you might have 'How to get your DC to clean up their own f-ing mess'. I like the idea above of the How to Eat/River Cottage approach that is part take-to-bed read and part well-thumbed how-to reference guide.

Bonsoir, you sound super-organised!

"How to get your DC to clean up their own f-ing mess"

I would dearly love one of these for DH. DS seems to be getting it with regard to tidying up (especially when it puts off Bedtime).

Ha pluperv, DP and I had a blazing row about just that this morning, which is perhaps why I had tidying up on my mind

To be honest I have had it up to here with people wanting to tell me, via assorted media, how to organise myself domestically. I'm really hoping the whole domestic perfection thing, whatever form it takes, will soon have run its course.

Boff

when on earth did you have time to do all this?

This is absolutely brilliant, honest feedback. It's like having the best focus group in the world. Halleluia!

I am now playing with the idea of Analytical Housekeeping (if a little daunted at the notion of moving the entire blog across as it's taken a massive amount of work already).

What do we all think of 'The Rational Housekeeper' as a title? And base it more on business models for analysing tasks and performance? Nicking formats from MBA books where appropriate? Case studies and suchlike?

Does the style of what I have done already lend itself to that as a concept, i.e. if I plonked that on the blog instead of Austerity Housekeeping, would all the existing text and philosophy look out of place (especially the editorial bit on Wilena Hitching).

Does the slightly big-sisterish style of the posts fit with that concept as well, or would people like Bonsoir be wanting to read something more collaborative rather than instructive/didactic?

Extra chapters are the easiest part once I have got the voice right, so it seems there are already two missed opportunities spotted, one about delegation and one about managing difficult colleagues (aka one's children).

Foiled, I am with you on that but I have tried to write about efficiency rather than perfection as I think women have been sold a crock.

Muddleduck, I wrote the book on holiday in August (it was sitting there in my head in complete form, so not all that challenging), refined it after getting comments from a couple of dozen MN people at the end of last year, and then started up the corresponding blog this week whilst on sick leave and a bit immobile, following a suggestion on this very thread.