Author of Cattitide: Geoff Bartlett

As many of you know, I’m committed to students learning from the best in the business. Which is why I picked Geoff Bartlett to present the seminar: How to get your book published.

Many years ago, before I had written any books at all, Geoff mentored me on how to get published. Within two years, I had three books to my name – all sold internationally.

Geoff has a lot of experience writing/editing books and helping people take their concepts to publication. I chatted to him about his upcoming book Cattitude – which stemmed from a simple idea that turned into a fully-fledged book deal only one week later!

Here's the non-abridged version of the interview that appeared in our recent newsletter.

Valerie: Why did you decide to write about cats?

Geoff: My friend Gudrun (who is the photographer for Cattitude) has a cat.  When she bought her latest digital camera, she wanted to test it out. Before I knew it, Gudrun was showing me about 50 pics she had taken of her cat. She thought he looked so angelic.

I suggested he was trading on his looks and was of a far more devious nature. I wrote some captions of his "inner thoughts" which Gudrun really liked.

Then I remembered how popular "The Blue Day Book" was, so I put together a mock up of Cattitude, and had a book deal about a week later.

Valerie: Do you have a cat, if so what is it and what's its name?

Geoff: I grew up with dogs, so I'm an unashamed dog fan. (I think I was a border collie in a previous life.) They were great for playing with, and they were always happy to see you.

Valerie: What's the most rewarding thing about writing a book?

Geoff: Being able to give copies of it to friends and family. It's also a great calling card anytime I have a meeting with a prospective client.

Valerie: What would you advice be to people who want to get their book  published?

Geoff: Put yourselves in the shoes of the publisher. They want authors who will be easy to work with, who have a book that will appeal to wide audience and who can deliver their work to deadline.

Geoff's seminar on How to Get Your Book Published will be held at the Sydney Writers' Centre on Tuesday 10 October 2007. Cost $65. Click here for more information.

And of course, I couldn't let this post about a book on cats go by with posting a picture of my own kitten. Here is Rex. And no, Rex isn't in Geoff's book because Geoff wrote his book before Rex was born. Otherwise I'm sure Rex would have been on the cover!