Bella’s Blog – The Big Interview Posted on January 26th, 2018
Hello and welcome to our first blog of 2018 from ‘The Chatterbox’ in Silver Birch Dell! We’re so excited to be starting a brand-new year full of new ideas, events and of course…. new books too!
This month we interviewed Sue Richardson for the January edition of ‘The Big Interview’. Sue is another vital member of our team who helps us get the books ready for printing.
What do you do in the team?
I have two jobs – the first is to edit Ali’s wonderful stories before they go to the designer. I check the spelling is right and that all the commas and full stops are in the right places, so the stories are nice and easy to read. My second job is to look after the books in our book warehouse and make sure that when the bookshops order them that they get there in good time.
Who is your favourite character?
It must be DT. He is such a rascal, and yet so lovable. I think his enthusiasm and general ‘bounce’ is infectious and he makes me smile whenever he is around. I also love trains, so he and I have a lot in common. I’d like to take him home with me, but I know he would hate to be parted from all his friends in Silver Birch Dell.
How did you begin to edit the books from Behind the Fairy Door?
I start with reading through the whole story and getting my mind around what is happening with all the characters. I then go back through and carefully check all the sentences, marking up any place that I think could do with improvement. I will sometimes send my edits to Ali for her to approve my changes. Mostly though we seem to be on the same wavelength. It’s not my job to rewrite the story – that would be all wrong! It’s a bit like polishing something lovely to add a bit of extra shine and sparkle!
Later, another person who works with me, Maria, looks at the final proofs She will check the words again and watch out for any missed words or full stops or that kind of thing. She also makes sure that the words are fitting nicely round the pictures.
What’s your favourite place in Silver Birch Dell?
My favourite place in Silver Birch Dell is River Dawn’s caravan. I would love to go and visit her and see all the lovely things she’s knitting inspired by the starry night sky. And I’d be in seventh heaven exploring her button collection!
Thank you, Sue,
