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Gordon Brown Circuit Break Tennent's

From lager to louts

By The Drum, Administrator

June 4, 2009 | 10 min read

Former Tennent’s marketing boss Gordon Brown has been hiding a secret. A secret that could now change his life forever. As a teenager he began writing crime fiction thrillers and now he is poised to see his first published novel, Falling, hit bookshops

1. Your first book ‘Falling’ hits shelves on 10 June, what would you consider a success in terms of sales?

For me if one person that I don’t know purchases the book then I’ll see it as a success. Other than that that if we get to a reprint that would be a great milestone.

2. How long have you been writing fiction?

I’ve been writing for pleasure since my school days and my first novel was written back in my twenties when I was on holiday in Crete. I was sitting on the back of a jeep with a group of friends on our way to a beach in the back end of nowhere. With the wind in my face conversation was impossible and we zipped past a man with a huge ruck sack and I began to wonder who he was? Where was he going? On reaching the beach I borrowed some scrap paper and started writing a book call The Drifter.

I wrote it long hand and it is still sitting in a case somewhere waiting for its day. My first success came in a writing competition where I was a runner up for a short story. It was the first competition that I had entered and I’ve put it on my website at www.gordonjbrown.com - it’s called The Short and the Tall of it. It’s a good few years old now, but it has a special place because it nearly won.

3. How long did it take you to complete this book?

I had just finished a long term marketing contract with STV in May 2008 and decided I was seriously going to try and get a novel published. I started the novel in June and put the full stop on the rough manuscript in September.

4. Are there any special techniques you use to write?

I could quote Somerset Maugham, who said: ‘There are three rules to writing a novel. Unfortunately, no-one knows what they are.’

I have taken a leaf from Stephen King and have adopted the following three rules:

Rule 1 – Keep reading books. This may sound trite but all the authors I have met never stop reading. By reading others you pick up tips and techniques and you can begin to asses whether your own style has any merit.

Rule 2 – Write about something you know and enjoy. My first attempts at writing were about subjects that I thought others would be interested in but I wasn’t - as a result it was hard work. By writing about what you are interested in it seems to flow better.

Rule 3 – Set yourself a target. I aimed for a thousand words a day when writing Falling. However even if it is only a thousand words a week it is amazing how you move from telling people ‘I am GOING to write a book one day,’ to the phrase ‘I am NOW writing a book.’

5. What fiction writers do you admire and why?

I love books in general but if I look at my book shelf it is full of thrillers, science fiction and reference books.

Stephen King is a great story teller and for all his association with horror I still see him more as an observer of life than a ‘scare merchant’. Larry Niven is a science fiction writer with a stunning imagination. Clive Cussler’s Dirk Pitt novels are my favourite ‘Chewing gum for the mind’ books. John Grisham has a knack of drawing you into a legal world that should be dry and dusty and turning it into a real page turner. Also Edgar Allen Poe. One summer my wife bought me the complete works (all bound in one huge volume). I lugged the thing around trains, planes and automobiles and discovered the man that really brought the crime mystery to the world.

6. How did you go about finding a publisher and how tough was that process?

I sent out a sample chapter and synopsis to five publishers and Fledgling Press picked it up. This was unusual as last time I tried to write a novel I got thirty seven straight knock-backs. Knock backs are the norm and there is often more luck than skill involved in landing a publisher.

In my case there was a large slice of luck involved - as you will note from the first few lines of the publishers letter to me: “Thank you for sending me a synopsis and sample from your novel. I don’t understand why, but I like it. You have a great turn of phrase. You also have a curious habit of leaving a deliberate misprint on every page, which I have marked with pencil. Do you read your own writing?”

8. Did having a background in marketing help you to sell your idea to a publisher?

Absolutely. I approached it like any other marketing exercise. I did the leg work on what the market wants from my type of novel – short chapters, characters you can relate to, keep the pace up and surprise the reader on a regular basis. I researched how to approach a publisher. I went to the Edinburgh Book Festival to sit in seminars on the subject and I followed their advice. Then I put myself in the shoes of the publisher and constructed a synopsis that made it easy for them to relate to.

I briefed a cover for my book that would sit well amongst its peer group and created a communication campaign that reflects the core essence of the book.

9. Did you consider giving up on being published?

No. In fairness I have only really tried to get published in a serious manner once before and I still believe that the novel was good enough, but getting a publisher is just hard work. There are times when you are going through the endless process of editing or fighting your corner with the publisher over some plot line or other that it can be wearing, but I love to write and that carries me through.

10. You spend much of your time teaching people techniques to think creatively, how did those techniques help you in writing this book?

The Brain Juice Training has been an immense help. I don’t plan out my books in advance. I simply start at the beginning and write. Along the way I run out of ideas and then I use my KEYS (see www.brainjuicetraining.com) to get me back on track. Falling is probably the best example of what creativity training can achieve. Without it I doubt I would have got to the second chapter.

11. How is the book being promoted and have you been involved in that process?

There is a lot of truth in the cobbler’s shoes/gardener’s garden stories you hear. It is the toughest thing to market your own product as I lack the objectivity that I can bring to the clients I work with. However I have managed to rope in some of the best people in the business to help me create a campaign that includes posters at train stations, Ad Bikes to coincide with the launch at Borders on Buchanan St on the 10 June. There will be A3 posters for stores along with bookmarks.

The book will be sent for review to targeted titles and a local PR campaign is being rolled out. In addition I have set up a website for the book at www.gordonjbrown.com.

I’d like to say a few thanks from a marketing perspective. To Richard and Bill at 999 Design for the cover design (thanks Sean for a great job), Douglas and Ian at Petrus Advertising, Alex at The BIG Partnership for help with the PR, Ruth at the Media Shop for the media buying and Paul Derwin at Become Interactive for the web site.

12. Can you see a day when you concentrate fully on writing or will you always be involved in marketing?

I’d love to jump ship and write full time but not yet. If the book was a big success and a publisher walked in with a great deal I would seriously consider it. However most authors need to keep up the day job to pay the bills and at the moment I get the best of both worlds and work in marketing by day and write by night.

13. Having a book published must be a huge high, but looking back on your career in marketing, what have been your proudest achievements?

Some of the work I’ve done with clients has been hugely satisfying. The marketing and re-branding of the Scotland International Football Squad, the launch of New Tomorrow for Invocas plc, the work and awards on the Glencairn Glass (finally a glass for whisky!), my first gig for Circuit Break helping with the Littlewoods Pools marketing strategy, the marketing and re-branding of Scottish TV and Grampian TV into stv – the list seems endless. I loved the role at Tennent’s – how can you not enjoy something that involves alcohol, music (T in the Park) and football (Tennent’s Scottish Cup). Taking Tennent’s Lager from a forty year old design into the world of the red T was great. Being on the board when we floated E-comsport on the stock exchange back in 2000 was also a biggie but at the top of the pile must be setting up on my own.

We have three signed copies of Falling, kindly donated by the author Gordon Brown, to give away to Drum readers. To win a copy just answer this simple question

(the answer is in the article)

Q. Where was Gordon Brown on holiday when he began writing his first book, The Drifter?

Please send you answer by email to richard.draycott@carnyx.com. The first three correct answers will receive a signed copy of the book (which might be worth a fortune one day).

Falling is published on 10 June and is available to buy priced £7.99 from selected Borders, Waterstones, WHSmiths and other good book shops. Also available online at www.fledglingpress.co.uk and www.amazon.com

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