Belinda Topan - Unveiling 'One of a Kind': A Writer's Journey

Music. In the spirit of reconciliation, I acknowledge the traditional custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community.

I pay my respects to their elders, past and present, and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Highland peoples today. Welcome to Totally Lit, the podcast celebrating reading, writing and creating literature. I'm your host, Kai Garvey. Thank you for listening. Belinda Topan, welcome to Totally Lily, I'm so excited to have you join me today. Thank you so much for having me. I must admit, this is like my very first podcast

interview, so I've never done one of these before, so I'm excited. I'll be gentle. Well, then we'll get the hot iron afterwards. I understand that you love vampires. Yes, I am obsessed with them.

Ever since I was like a kid, they've always been like my go-to thing, especially when i first watched this tv show called buzz like yeah on saturday disney channel when that was originally on on channel seven there was this creature called the energy vampire and i thought he was the coolest character and that kind of just sparked from there and i was like wait it's just a kid's version of a vampire okay that's cool let's go and that kind of just spiraled on from there yeah my

love for vampires hasn't wavered and people go oh could you try and do anything and I'm like other than vampires I'm like I'm sorry I can't I tried but I can't so tell me you've got a book coming out in a few weeks can you tell me about the book yeah of course my little book is called one of a kind I started writing this back in like when I was in high school and that's about over 10 years ago now and it's only just recently I kind of like kicked my butt into gear of like,

all right, it's time to write this story. So it's about a girl named Ceres who's going through her final year of high school and she's stuck in this rut. She's very much like trying to find her own path, trying to find out who she is as an individual, but her mentor and guardian holds on to her with an iron grip, rules with an iron fist almost. And she finds that quite conflicting and constricting, especially when you're a young person trying to find...

Your own path and it feels like someone's laid it out for you without you trying to seek it yourself like i understand that feeling where you feel like someone's trying to force you on a path i want it to be like you know that thing of like no you can find it you it does take a bit of time and it does take a bit of courage to take that first step but as she's like you know goes through that notions her closest friend disappears and as she starts looking for him

it gets interesting things get more interesting where she's like oh this is a lot more deeper than I intended it to be and so yeah I don't want to spoil too much. So you started writing that while you were at high school so does that mean you've been a writer from an early age? Yeah I think I started writing around start of year 10 so I was like 14-15 when I first started writing.

It became my outlet during hard times in high school and family life so it kind of helped me escape I always had like this vivid imagination where I'm like I gotta do something with this I've got so many stories so many ideas and like you know it'd be so cool to bring people into this crazy little world that I've got cooking in my head I started writing as well for that other reason and there was a lot of like compare like When you compare it to 15-year-old me to now,

it's incredible how much has changed from early written drafts of One of a Kind to early 30s Belinda, where you're just like, wow. Because I was a really angry teen back then. My grandmother read the very first editions of it, and she was like, you wrote this when you were in high school. And I was like, yes. And she was like, you were very angry at the world back then. I was like, yes. You hit the nail on the head, Grandma. and that was just from purely reading the book.

It is quite cathartic though to write your feelings and you can also kind of create the ending you want when you're writing fiction as well. So you can change situations if you want to make them be how you want them to be. I think there's a lot of power in writing.

This book is a self-published work. Did you want to tell me a bit about that experience? Yeah. So far I've self-published all my novels.

So this is will be the fourth one that i've self-published but this is the one that i think i've done right by it compared to the other releases with the other releases they were just like oh yeah here's a new book here you go have fun kind of thing where with this one i've actually was like okay let's actually do a book launch let's actually try and get some marketing up for it let's try and get some pre-orders going let's try and make it different compared

to all the other ones even getting in touch with Kathy from Turtle Publishing like I got in touch with her going all right I really want to try and maximize like I guess the availability of this book like to say hey like this is coming out but I've done like this really big push for it so like it's A lot of planning. Yes, it's a big project. Yeah, I started planning all this early January. That's when I started reaching out to people. I started organising book covers.

I started organising artworks to get done by independent artists. I also started looking into venues early on, like, you know, where can I launch this book? Because I was lucky to get a grant with Logan City Council, So that's what helps. Well done. Thank you. Thank you. Kind of gave me that extra motivation of like, okay, I actually have to do this. If I didn't have that deadline, I don't think I would have gotten this book out as soon as I originally did.

And who did you use as a mentor? I went through the Brisbane Writers' Centre and they appointed me Jan Andrew Henderson. Oh, he's amazing.

He's lovely. he really gave me a huge confidence boost because I gave the like my drafts to the Brisbane Writers Council and they're like oh yeah we'll give it to Jan and I was like I think it has some really good bones in it and they were like Jan will tell you if it has good bones in it and I was like oh okay then all right he was like no it was a good story even though it's not completely finished you've got a good story on your hands and I was like oh wow I

didn't think there was anything good but like to hear that from another author that really boosted my confidence and also him asking why haven't you joined any like competitions and stuff like that and I'm like because I never thought my story would be good enough or I am a good enough writer like those are the those are the demons I deal with in my head where I'm like the self-doubt it's terrible but you've got to dip your

toe in this yeah it's difficult with competitions because sometimes it's just depending on what the judges are looking for. Yeah, personal preferences. Yeah, and I find with competitions the deadlines just fly by because I'm so busy. I really need to set some goals for next year to enter some competitions and get some more writing credit. Yeah. But, yeah, it is a good way to get your name out there as well if you can win a few competitions. So do it, Belinda.

Thank you. So I've applied for the Aurelis Award, so I've thrown in for that. So first competition, we'll do this one. And then when I look at the other ones, I'm like, do I even match the criteria for this? Because One of a Kind's 33,000 words, it's a novella. So it's not really classified as a novel, so to speak, because of how small it is. Yeah. Did you, like when you were going through, did you do like a project plan of how it would look or how did you approach the task of.

Okay, I have my manuscript, it's ready to be published, these are the steps I need to take?

I kind of just winged it really i didn't have anything written out i didn't have anything i it was like all right in my head i just started talking to people and i was like hey i i need a book cover can we get this done hey i need an editor i need some arc reviewers can we get that it was like you know it was kind of like i'll have arc readers going but then i'll have the book cover going at the same time so it's like it's working on bits and pieces because it's kind of like I don't

know how long each would take in regards to that as well as like pay an editor to do a final edit for you I got an editor to look over it for me I did the final edits and then I got some arc readers to read over and look over the final edits for me kind of thing and went through that because as much as like I have to admit the editor that I got oh man they were brutal like absolutely brutal there was no like I really liked this this was really

nice it was just like get rid of it pointless and I was like oh I definitely don't want you back kind of thing like they they were just like straight to the point cutthroat unlike the previous editor I had for Living With Vampires who was absolutely delightful where she was like, that made me chuckle. It's like, you know, I like those little tidbits because it's like I understand you want to be professional but also at the same time it's a little bit of niceness goes a long way for me.

Publishing is an interesting industry in that if somebody doesn't like it, they will tell you exactly what they don't like about it. Yeah, exactly. But it is nice when someone tells you they love something as well. But I think too with a body of work, you want your editor to be precise in terms of that you want all the typos gone and you want the grammar to be correct and the structure.

Like if they're going to guide you on, okay, this part doesn't quite work or maybe it needs to go here, you really want someone who can, guide you professionally. So it works and it sells really.

And you were quite creative with your marketing. Did you want to share with me a little bit about your pre-order pack that you put together?

Funnily enough, this was like a last minute decision, but like the week before I announced the release of my book took me like three or four days of just like making a website page and deciding what I wanted in the pre-order packs and stuff like that, where I've got a small, medium and large package deals so you know you've got a bit of differences you've got your paperbacks for the small hardback for the medium and then you've got a bespoke hardback which is a

little bit more fancier than your medium hardbacks so yeah I marketed it as like you can have a keychain a foil bookmark and like I do like a coven keychain so like I've got a little quiz that you can do so you can find out which vampire coven you belong to and it gives you a description of what they're about and who's the leader of each of these covens and it's like harry potter houses like you know if you like those kinds of things it's like that kind of vibe to it oh awesome that's a

question i asked all of my guests is what harry potter house you are in do you have one that you belong to ironically like when i did the official test and i did it twice because i didn't trust the first time i was like apparently i'm gryffindor oh excellent yeah which is so bizarre because I'm like, really? I thought Hufflepuff would be more my vibe. I'm a Hufflepuff. Yeah, because it's all about loyalty and, like, I'm like, I'm loyal.

Like, I'm loyal to my friends and it's just like, no, no, you're Gryffindor. And I was like, what? I'm married to a Slytherin, although he is, like, the nicest man on the planet, so I don't know how. How does this work? It's like the math ain't mathing right now. I think he's a self-identifying Slytherin.

Did he purposely choose the questions that no that he knew he would get into slytherin because that's what my mom did she purposely chose the questions you can rig the test rig the system, and how have you found the uptake of your pre-order packs for a small little like upstart i'm pretty happy with it it's like i didn't get a crazy amount of orders but that's fine And at the same time, you know what? It was my first time doing this. I think it was a success just even making a sale.

Like, you know, that's so cool. Like someone is actually genuinely interested in wanting a copy of this. And putting it all together is just really cool. Like getting all the bits and pieces, getting the key chains and like the bookmarks to just pretty to look at. So I can't wait because I'm going to do a video of like, let's pack the pre-orders together. Are you using social media to spread the word? Yeah, 100%. And what about distribution? How will you be distributing?

Two of the pre-orders are from over interstate, so I'll be sending them via post, but the others are all here locally. So on the day of my book launch, they will be getting their own copy, ones who order the collector's boxes with the special pre-order packs that are going to be handed out on the day. Of the release, which is on the 27th of October. So they're going to get their special hardback and their own special keychain and a signed dedicated copy to them.

Yeah. And will you be listing on Amazon or where can people buy the book? People can buy from Amazon as well as directly from me. When they buy directly from me, they get a signed copy. And will you be trying to stock it in local bookshops as well? Yeah, that's the next stage of the plan as well. I'm going to be doing that. I'm also going to be attending a few, the book festival on the 2nd of November as well. Oh, the Logan Book Fest. Yes.

Sorry, the Logan Book Fest and the collector's market as well. That's happening on the 30th of November to the 1st of December.

So that's another convention I'm going to. If people would like to pre-order one of your special packs, where can they go to do that? Unfortunately, they're run out. So I had a cut off date. Oh, cool. That's good. So there was actually a cut off date. So that's what I mean. It's like once the date's over, that's it. It's gone kind of thing. They can still order a normal paperback from me and they'll get a nice little foiled bookmark with it.

But unfortunately, yeah, that was July to the end of August. You have your chance to grab a thing. So once it's gone, it's gone. If people want to follow you on social media, is it just Splendid Topan? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook. And your website? Also, belindatopan.com.au. Fantastic. And you can do the quiz there too as well. The quiz is on the homepage. Oh, cool. I'm just going to scroll down.

Quiz and find out what coven I'm in. Hell yeah. I'd love to know. Definitely let me know. And what are you working on in the future?

Have you got something else you're working on? So I'm working on the audio book version for One of a Kind. So that's in the works. But I'm yeah it's it's a lot of fun voicing it myself I did some vocal training I kind of learned how to manage my voice which is a lot of fun I only need to do that sorry listeners.

No no it's a lot of work especially when you're reading from a script and and stuff like that and I have a friend who's gonna audio engineer it for me which is amazing and that's great yeah Yeah. But while working on that, I'm also working on the sequel for One of a Kind, so I already know what the title is. It's just mostly working out the nuts and bolts of the villain. Their purpose, why are they doing this kind of thing, and for my character's own development as well in the story.

Because I kind of want her to grow as a character, but slowly. She doesn't learn lessons straight away kind of thing. I want it to be over the course of the book series.

That's I want to write a book but I don't know what's going to happen and I get a bit caught up in worrying about I don't know what the ending is yet and I really need to just sit down and write it and the ending will come to me along the way but that is the thing that holds me up the most with my writing up like picture books are easy short stories I'm fine with but I'm like I really want a novel I've got this idea in my head but I don't know the out and

I keep not starting I understand it's like I don't even know how the final book's gonna end but I feel like taking that first step it's like the hardest like you know but also the most rewarding because it finally gets you going and I always say to people like write what you already know like what you already have in your head and that tends to have that flow on effect with all right I already know what this part is and this part is and then as you ride along you're like oh

I've got inspiration for this bit now and you tend to like weave and stitch together. The story you want to tell I tend to have scenes in my head where I'm like it's going somewhere in the middle here.

For now but it might be closer to the beginning or closer to the end but at least it's written down and I know this is what I want I'm very much when I sit down and write I write from start to finish so I just will write a short story okay that's finished yeah so the writing a novel is a very different experience and that's where I'm like okay can you do it I think I have to yeah put together a bit of a plan so it can't happen I'm definitely envious

like if you've got four books out I'm like wow that's amazing will I ever have four I don't know oh gosh I like look the one of my books definitely needs a rewrite so don't be too envious because it needs rework it needs some work amazing and tell me where is your book launched so i'm hosting it at a a store in springwood called dorky desires it's a game shop slash card shop and anime shop so very much like for the geeky people out there they love the nerdy stuff definitely

a place to come and shop all your dnd needs but i'm gonna host it there and the girls who run the shop are absolutely amazing and they're very excited to host this with me.

Very cool. Well, thank you so much for joining me today, Belinda. I've enjoyed hearing about your mentorship and your process of self-publishing and the book sounds pretty cool as well in terms of content. Thank you very much for joining me today. Thank you so much for having me. It's been an absolute delight. I think there's definitely people out there who are looking at self-publishing their own books and it's great to have those tips to know how to get started.

Thank you so much, Belinda. Thank you. Totally Lit is an independent podcast. You can help support us to continue to chat with wonderful Australian creatives by leaving a review on iTunes or sharing our socials with your friends. You can also make a contribution at www.buymeacoffee.com backslash totallylit. This will also help with equipment and podcasting platform fees.

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