DULCE RODRIGUES
http://www.dulcerodrigues.info/
Q: Please tell me about yourself – what kind of a person you are, your beliefs, your nature, your follies, anything.
A: What a difficult question to answer. What kind of person am I? Well, do I really know myself? Sometimes I have the feeling that it is difficult to know anyone deeply, including ourselves. I don’t know about others, but there were situations when I was surprised with my own reactions. Considering the very many interpretations of the Delphic maxim ‘know thyself”, so often cited by Socrates and interpreted differently by Plato, I am inclined to believe that our personal identity changes with time, as a result of our experiences, perceptions and memories, all of them influenced by the changes we go through during our lifetime. Both our natural growth as individuals, and the external events and situations we are faced with, shape us into the individuals we are at a certain moment. So, in reply to your question I will say that, no matter I search and look inward to find my real “me”, I have to be self-reflective enough to recognize that I am ignorant about myself.
A similar interrogation exists regarding my beliefs. Do I believe in Mankind? Do I believe in God? I do believe that all men share the same ideals of justice, hope, happiness, but most get astray on the way to achieving these ideals because of external influences. I believe that all men are born equal, should be treated as such, and given the same chances. I cannot accept that these basic rights be refused to any human being. As a woman of Science, I do not believe in God in the same way as Christians believe in Jesus, Muslims in Allah, or the Jews in Yahweh. I believe that there is some entity more powerful than man – I call it a cosmic energy.
I am a woman of simple tastes and habits, and as anybody else I had ups and downs in my life, but I enjoy life and life has been good to me. Travelling is another of my hobbies and I'm a little like the wind - always on the move. I nevertheless enjoy staying comfortably at home, wherever I have one... and gardening. Nature, too, offers me delightful moments of meditation, through its splendour and diversity. I love History and Science, and every form of artistic expression that transmits Beauty is a delight to me. This is why I'm filled with sadness sometimes when I think about the Arts legacy - if ever we can call it Art - passed on to us through the last decades of the XX into the XXI century. I love music and dance, in particular the classics.
I have two sons and two lovely granddaughters. They are the best reward life could ever have given to me.
Q: Tell me about your writing journey, when and how did it all start?
A: Already in my childhood I enjoyed telling stories to other children like me. Later, at high school, I remember that I once wrote a novel for the History course that pleased the teacher so much that she asked me to leave the manuscript at the high school library. Turning this passion into a full-time “job” after retirement was just at a fingertip click on my computer…
The idea of writing my first children’s book popped up in my head one day when, after the Christmas holidays, I went to the doghouse to bring Barry home. And my writing career started after the book was published in French in Belgium. Some two years later, the book was picked by the French Ministry of Education for a pilot reading project in four schools of the Meurthe-et-Moselle department, and it was so much liked by the children that a few of them got inspiration to write their first poems. Lovely poems that took the teachers by surprise: it was the first time they saw children write poems inspired by a book they had read. To celebrate my 20 year-career as an author, a second new edition is being published, this time in France, as well as first editions in Portuguese and German. A second edition of the English version is also foreseen at the end of this year.
Since this first book, what a long journey indeed. Until now I have published 15 children’s books in different languages and countries (including one in Chinese by a Taiwanese publisher), two travel books (one in English, one in Portuguese), and one novel in Portuguese. A few of my children’s books and tales have received honours in The UK, The USA, and in France. And two of my children’s plays have been performed in Romania, Luxembourg, and Portugal.
Q: Tell me about all the difficulties faced in getting a publisher to publish your book.
A: Well, the publishing world is complex. My first children’s book, L’Aventure de Barry, suivie d’autres histoires d’animaux et d’enfants, was originally self-published in Belgium. My next six children’s books were published by “normal” publishing houses, but the experience I had was not the best. I realized that, unless you are a bestselling, or at least a very well-known writer, you will have enormous problems in getting your royalties paid to you. That is what happened to me, not only with the two books published in France, but also with the two published in the USA, and the two published in Portugal.
As the digital world was meanwhile also entering the stage of publishing, I turned to the “books on demand” publishers, where I can follow my sales on a daily basis, and the royalties are paid on a three-month basis. Regarding my e-books, I started publishing them with Amazon, which showed to be a good choice, too. I receive my royalties regularly every three months, I can also follow my sales day by day, and I was happy to see that a few of my books in Portuguese and in French were on multiple occasions on the top 100, or bestsellers rank, of the respective categories on Amazon. Meanwhile, three of my French books are also on the bestseller list of the French publisher. Unless I get a very interesting contract with royalties paid in advance, I guess I will stick to this kind of publishing.
Q: Do you believe that marketing is essential for the success of a book?
A: Unfortunately – and I say it because I hate having to market my books – this is a very important item for the success of a book. In today’s world, people are completely manipulated by the media and by those who have the money, therefore the power, to control our lives and even what we should like or not like. People are driven to buy what is advertised by the media, what they say is the “trend”. The notion of quality is no longer a choice; our choices are ruled by marketing and advertisement. Only a very, very tiny percentage of the population in the world do still care about, or trust quality in all its aspects. And it does not come as a surprise to hear publishers say “this is what the people want”. Is it really?
It is therefore difficult to “survive” as a writer when we resist and row against the “trend” tide.
Q: What marketing ideas did you deploy for marketing your book?
A: Well, as the majority of my books are targeted for children, I try to make schools and libraries aware of them. When I was still living (partly) in Belgium, I had my books distributed by a Belgian cultural service, which also used to send me invitations to literary events, like regional and international book fairs, not only in Belgium, but also in France, Luxembourg, and Germany. To add to this, I am also invited to school visits and book fairs in other countries through my personal website www.dulcerodrigues.info, as well as my educational project www.barry4kids.net. It was namely through these sites that I received invitations to school activities and book fairs in other places, like Switzerland, Portugal, Brazil, and Romania, where one of my plays was performed by school children.
Q: Do you interact with your readers? What do they say about your book?
A: My interactions with my readers are mainly through visits to schools and literary events, as mentioned above. But it is not unusual that I receive emails from parents whose children have read my books and loved them. It also happens that teachers write to me, asking permission for reading activities about this of that tale they found in the Barry’s site or in other sites where I also publish stories, from faraway places like Canada, the US, and even Australia.
Q: What suggestions would you like to offer potential authors?
A: I believe that sometimes we feel frustrated and are tempted to give up writing. However, if you do have a message you want to share with others, and the only way is through writing, do not look back and go for it. But bear in mind that your writing must be truly from your heart. You should also invest in editing, because writing a book requires a certain level of responsibility. It is not the same as writing an article in a blog.
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Dulce Rodrigues is the award-winning author of Barry’s Adventure and other children’s books in English, French, Portuguese and German, and even Chinese, and also of the kids' website in four languages www.barry4kids.net.