Bathurst writer shares breakthroughs
Retired sociology lecturer turns to crafting crime novels
The world of publishing has changed a lot. You need an emeritus professor in sociology, turned crime novelist to unravel it and guide you through its intrigues and mysteries.
Monty Roodt, a retired Rhodes University professor of sociology, who lives in Bathurst, managed just that at the monthly meeting of the U3A (University of the Third Age) this week at the Don Powis Hall in Settlers Park, Port Alfred with his talk, entitled “Paperback Writer — the dream and the reality”.
Roodt explained to the audience of about 100 people “what it takes to turn the germ of an idea into a story and to get it into a publishable format”.
Roodt is quoted in the U3A newsletter preceding his talk as saying about his books: “Once written, there’s the small problem of editing, proofreading, laying it out, making a cover, and getting it printed or uploaded as an eBook. No, you’re not finished yet. You need to sell the damn thing.
Book launches, bookshops, marketing. Self-published or a conventional publisher, agents, and so on. But hey, if you don’t do it, who will?”
Having self-published three crime novels of his own, Roodt certainly knows what he is talking about. His wife, he says, likens him to Bernie Bernard, the Eastern Cape sleuth that features as the protagonist in his novels.
Roodt, like Bernard, is a true detective with an approach that makes him exceptionally observant, noticing even the smallest clues that others might overlook. He can focus on seemingly insignificant details that ultimately lead to solving the mystery.
Roodt covered all aspects of writing and publishing in his talk, from writer’s block to uncouth but necessary agents who know how to sell your work to well-established publishers.
Writing, he says, is like practising for a sport. You need to exercise regularly and get fit. Added to that, anyone hoping to break through as a writer, better get used to rejection letters.
“Some rejections come with kind words and wishing you well for the future. I have 10 of them and I can frame them,” Roodt said.
Agents, he says, are necessary cogs in the publishing process. However, “They are the most snobbish, the most uncouth bunch I have ever dealt with.
“Agents can be very rude sometimes, but you must live with them. Overseas publishers won’t even look at your work if you don’t have an agent,” Roodt said.
Fortunately, self-publishing has become easier. In future, Roodt will be offering a course on self-publishing at the Book Fair in April in Bathurst.
Roodt’s self-published books form part of a series called the Bathurst Chronicles. According to Goodreads, a popular internet platform for book lovers, they include Dead Man’s Land: A Bernie Bernard Crime Novel, The Shining Path: A Bernie Bernard Crime Thriller and Triad: A Bernie Bernard Crime Novel.
Goodreads boasts a vast community of readers, authors and book enthusiasts. Users can rate and review books. Roodt’s books have all received high ratings in the Goodreads surveys with most noting an improvement with each book being published.