On Being a Writer in Wales: Tom Maloney

Tom Maloney

A Tale of An Accidental Purveyor of Words

Well, what to say about being a writer in Wales? I think I should begin this piece by putting my cards on the table. Though I have dabbled with writing at different times throughout my life, I am in many ways an accidental purveyor of words, rather than setting out with gusto to become a writer. There is much that one might call serendipity at work here. 

There has to be a starting point and for me that is the landscape in which I live, but it took me a long time to realise this. I would for good measure add this it is not just my local landscape, which I adore, I have come to understand that living in Wales is very important to me.

I am never happier than when I am wearing my old leather boots that are crumpled with age and stepping out on familiar paths. When you really get to know a landscape, you come to understand that it never stays the same, quite often it reveals something to you at the most unexpected of times.

Light in all its glorious moods, flickering shadows, swirling clouds in an ink wash sky and a panorama of industrial ruins with all their hidden stories all attract me and touch my innermost thoughts and feelings, they bring me well-being and the joy of just being in ‘the now’.

In the best of these moments, I walk with Constable and Turner, Monet and Cezanne, Seurat and Van Gogh, the great Welsh artist Peter Prendergast and with so many painters who, in different ways, call us to view what we see more closely and with appreciation.

The desire to share something of this simple pleasure led me to ‘Twitter’. Curiously though, I think the limit on word use was part of my initial decision making, it was all about sharing an image at first.

But it was not long before I wanted to make the words count in a different way, I wanted them to be the music accompanying the mood of the picture, to sing a little rather than just be words on the page.

Needless to say, I was not an overnight social media sensation, but quietly my ‘tweets’ gained an audience and brought enjoyment too. It surprised me just how far away they were being picked up and read and I think it still does.

Out of the blue, I was contacted by Jon Gower at Nation Cymru to write ‘A Letter from Abersychan’.  Jon is one of life’s amazing people. He is an acclaimed Welsh author and presenter, but somehow manages to find the time to help and guide others with such generosity of spirit. I would say that it is so, so important to have someone like Jon in your corner, as he gives you the precious gift of confidence.

For me, penning this letter was a pivotal moment, it forced me to develop my ideas at length, well longer that I had previously anyway and it forced me to clarify my thoughts in a disciplined way, whilst hopefully, still being creative. This led in its turn to a yearlong weekly series of articles entitled ‘Y Filltir Sgwâr’ and to the current monthly series ‘Teithiau Tom’, Welsh language titles meaning ‘The Square Mile’ and ‘Tom’s Travels’.

The scope of my written pieces has broadened through these articles and I am especially proud and fond of the articles remembering the villages of The British and Pwll-du and of the enduring friendships that have come about as well.

With Jon’s encouragement I entered an open ‘call out’ for book proposal submissions by a publisher that would be considered to go forward to publication taking the theme ‘The Square Mile’ based on the series ‘Y Filltir Sgwâr’, but with a more all Wales approach.

A ‘call out’ is essentially a competition, so it was with some trepidation that I put my ‘hat in the ring’. Although in the end my submission was rejected, it was done so in a way that left my pride and my ambition intact.

‘The panel liked your idea but felt that it might be difficult for us to access its potential readership in sufficient numbers given its regionalised nature. Due to the financial pressures we’re facing, in-part due to the depressed book-buying market and a 40% cut in grant funding, we’re currently unable to take on the risk of publishing books which have real cultural and/or artistic value but are unlikely to cover their costs. For that reason, we’re looking for titles which align closely with our distributors’ current markets and the panel felt that other submissions we received might be a better fit.’

But having gone through the process of creating an idea for a book, the seed to go down this road was firmly planted, but where to go from the rejection? 

‘Call outs’ for book submissions do not appear too often, so it was time to consider whether publishing my own book would be a way forward.  As with all things, this took me a little time to think through, as I was mindful from the feedback that I had received that I was about to enter a depressed book-buying market as a novice.

But … in the end, I decided that this would be a new adventure that was worth a risk and I am delighted to introduce my book to you:

The Square Mile: Exploring The Blaenafon World Heritage Landscape (ISBN: 978-1-0667232-0-1)

What does it mean to be a writer in Wales? For me, the list has grown so much. It means being an accountant, a market researcher, a designer, a publisher and of course doing the author bit as well.

One of the greatest benefits of publishing with an ISBN number is that copies of the book must be sent to all the national libraries where it will be kept safely forever. Understanding how quickly a landscape can change, it gives me great satisfaction to know that a ‘point in time’ record of the Blaenafon landscape and that first hand memories of the village of Pwll-du are being preserved. 

This is an adventure that all started with a ‘Tweet’ and I hope that serendipity will continue to have its place as the journey continues

Diolch yn fawr iawn am gymryd yr amser i ddarllen. Thank you so much for taking the time to read.

Many thanks in good measure to Jon Gower and Nation Cymru. And to the support shown by the wonderful people at ‘Book-ish’ for stocking my book in their bookshops in Abergavenny and Crickhowell, where it is also available online, and at the Blaenafon ‘World Heritage Centre’ and ‘Heritage Railway’ for making it available in their shops. 

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