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As a professional writer, one of the daftest things to admit to a stranger is that you are a professional writer. It's possibly the worst of all professions to own up to at a party, apart from perhaps, "I am an acquiring editor at a publishing company." (I imagine)

The reason is that virtually everybody believes they have a book in them, or could be a writer of some kind, and want your help/advice/time/patience/use of your contacts/a way in. There have been times when I simply lie as say I am a lecturer/marketing manager/teacher or, and this is my own personal favourite, simply bone idle. But that can lead to looking arrogant and foolish should somebody know the truth about you which is later revealed. Internationally bestselling author to boot. And now, "So what do you write about," then, ‘"How do you do your research," followed by, "How long does it take to write a book," and, "Where do you get your ideas for a book in the first place," inevitably followed up by over 50% of people with the dreaded line, "I'm writing a book myself - if I wrote something would you look at it and give me some advice?"

I always reply, "Sure, of course I will," which is usually responded to with, "That's great, what shall I write about? And this is where I finally loose patience. "Ah ha," I say, "Now that's up to you isn't it." That's what a writer does: Has the idea, the long, long blank pages ahead and the dogged persistence to fill those pages with something others may find interesting enough to pay you for. (You could substitute the words dogged persistence here with work ethic, self discipline, or effort, but, and take my word for it, it is dogged persistence.) Books don't write themselves. Editors don't write them either; they contribute and improve, but only writers write them. By the way, despite offering many hundreds of times, nobody has ever sent me anything in the end, presumably because they can never think of what to write about, apart from their life story.

And that brings me to answering that all important question for you by example. Where do you get your ideas for a book? In October 2003, I had just published my third small, limited interest book in England and began casting my eye and tuning my ear to a big, wide market title. Something grandpa could buy for his cousin, cousin for his sister, sister for her husband, husband for son and son for grandpa. In other words, mass market, pile them high at Christmas and anyone can buy for anyone. Write a book on the New York Giants and you limit your target reader to Giants fans only, and that's not what you are looking for. So, with that detail understood, I spent a month or so trying to make a sport or music trivia book work in some way but the market is full of them at Christmas time so every avenue I explored had a dead end and no side turnings. Then, one lunchtime before Christmas 2003, I was in a good, honest British pub when a friend came in with the mother-in-law of all hangovers.

"You need a hair of the dog," I opined. "Definitely," he replied and, turning to the barman, "Hair of the dog, please - vodka." Now, the barman, a Columbian student who spoke very good English, just laughed and told us dogs weren't allowed in the pub anymore. So we laughed at him, ordered vodka sodas and went to sit down and wonder why a drink in the morning to cure a hangover is called a hair of the dog. To my amazement someone knew and told me the story from history that fashioned this phrase. To everyone else's amazement I knew the story of Admiral Nelson and the Battle of Copenhagen in 1801 that provided the expression "to turn a blind eye," and that was the night Red Herrings and White Elephants was born, my book of history told through popular expressions such as "bought the farm," "under the weather," "money for old rope," and thousands more. The book became an instant bestseller in 2004 and has gone on to be a bestseller in many English speaking countries across the world.

So, my point is, if you are looking for an idea for a book, one could appear in the unlikeliest ways, but only if you are actively looking for it. In my case it has led me on a six year journey through history, exploring and explaining the origins of much of our popular culture, eventually arriving at nursery rhymes in Pop Goes the Weasel, where I discover who Humpty Dumpty really was (A weapon of mass destruction during the English Civil War) and who the three blind mice were (The Oxford Martyrs) and what is the real story behind Ring a Ring a Rose.

More of how that book, and others, came to life in tomorrow's post. 

Albert Jack

September 2009

London