Connacht Tribune
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Lifestyle – There is a saying that everyone has at least one book in them, but very few people know how to go about getting that book published. Award-winning author, Marguerite Tonery, tells Bernie Ní Fhlatharta about the publishing company she has set up to address this issue.
Have you a manuscript written that’s gathering dust in a drawer because you don’t know what to do with it or where to send it?
If you do, you are not alone. It is often the case that writing is the easiest part while getting published is the challenging part of the process of getting your book out to the masses.
Many well-known writers have their own rejection stories. It’s hard to believe now that the first Harry Potter book by JK Rowling was rejected by no less than 12 publishers!!! The series went on to sell almost 500 million copies worldwide, and has been translated into numerous languages.
The biggest problem people have according to Marguerite Toney of Tribes Press, is that they just don’t know what to do with their manuscript — be it hard copy or a document on their laptop.
Marguerite, a Galway woman who is an established children’s’ writer, just went ahead and published her own work online and following the success and the demand on her books, she got them printed.
No doubt it was her own personal experience that led to her setting up Tribes Press, which is a godsend for anyone who is facing into the complex world of publishing their own work.
Tribes Press is a self-publishing company that publishes, translates and promotes fictional work. At the moment, it is sticking to fiction as it is Marguerite’s own genre, it’s what she knows, and this makes sense as she is very methodical in her approach to everything she does.
This approach may well come to her pre-publishing life when she worked as a bio-chemist before becoming a psychologist. Though equally it might have come from her upbringing in a home where both parents were self-employed.
“I grew up in a home where the business model was discussed around the kitchen table. My parents valued hard work. I have a creative mind and a business head,” she explains.
It’s no surprise then that once Marguerite had navigated how to get herself published, she wanted to share that experience with others or at least take the hard work out of it for them.
For various grading of fees, Tribes Press will help people get work published, starting with the basic package offered which is providing an editorial assessment. There is no doubt that some works are probably best left unpublished!!
Marguerite has a team of people working for Tribes Press and she stresses that she doesn’t do any editorial assessments, saying she’s not qualified to do so for a start.
She enthuses about the professionalism and abilities of her team, most of them working from home.
“You couldn’t possibly translate work or assess it editorially in a busy office environment. It’s the type of work that lends itself to working from home.”
Tribes Press has the know-how to assess, edit, design, publish and even market works of fiction.
“Many do self-publish, but many people make basic mistakes like forgetting about ensuring there’s a barcode on the book and that it gets an ISBN number, which identifies each individual book and establishes copyright.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
Significant state investment is required to address ‘shocking’ inequalities that leave cancer patients in the West at greater risk of succumbing to the disease.
A meeting of Regional Health Forum West heard that survival rates for breast, lung and colorectal cancers than the national average, and with the most deprived quintile of the population, the West’s residents faced poorer outcomes from a cancer diagnosis.
For breast cancer patients, the five-year survival rate was 80% in the West versus 85% nationally; for lung cancer patients it was 16.7% in the west against a 19.5% national survival rate; and in the West’s colorectal cancer patients, there was a 62.6% survival rate where the national average was 63.1%.
These startling statistics were provided in answer to a question from Ballinasloe-based Cllr Evelyn Parsons (Ind) who said it was yet another reminder that cancer treatment infrastructure in the West was in dire need of improvement.
“The situation is pretty stark. In the Western Regional Health Forum area, we have the highest incidence of deprivation and the highest health inequalities because of that – we have the highest incidences of cancer nationally because of that,” said Cllr Parsons, who is also a general practitioner.
In details provided by CEO of Saolta Health Care Group, which operates Galway’s hospitals, it was stated that a number of factors were impacting on patient outcomes.
Get the full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune, on sale in shops now, or you can download the digital edition from www.connachttribune.ie. You can also download our Connacht Tribune App from Apple’s App Store or get the Android Version from Google Play.
Galway 3-18
Cork 1-10
NEW setting; new opposition; new challenge. It made no difference to the Galway minor hurlers as they chalked up a remarkable sixth consecutive double digits championship victory at Semple Stadium on Saturday.
The final scoreline in Thurles may have been a little harsh on Cork, but there was no doubting Galway’s overall superiority in setting up only a second-ever All-Ireland showdown against Clare at the same venue on Sunday week.
Having claimed an historic Leinster title the previous weekend, Galway took a while to get going against the Rebels and also endured their first period in a match in which they were heavily outscored, but still the boys in maroon roll on.
Beating a decent Cork outfit by 14 points sums up how formidable Galway are. No team has managed to lay a glove on them so far, and though Clare might ask them questions other challengers haven’t, they are going to have to find significant improvement on their semi-final win over 14-man Kilkenny to pull off a final upset.
Galway just aren’t winning their matches; they are overpowering the teams which have stood in their way. Their level of consistency is admirable for young players starting off on the inter-county journey, while the team’s temperament appears to be bombproof, no matter what is thrown at them.
Having romped through Leinster, Galway should have been a bit rattled by being only level (0-4 each) after 20 minutes and being a little fortunate not to have been behind; or when Cork stormed out of the blocks at the start of the second half by hitting 1-4 to just a solitary point in reply, but there was never any trace of panic in their ranks.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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GARDAÍ and the IFA have issued a joint appeal to all road users to take extra care as the silage season gets under way across the country.
Silage harvesting started in many parts of Galway last week – and over the coming month, the sight of tractors and trailers on rural roads will be getting far more frequent.
Inspector Conor Madden, who is in charge of Galway Roads Policing, told the Farming Tribune that a bit of extra care and common-sense from all road users would go a long way towards preventing serious collisions on roads this summer.
“One thing I would ask farmers and contractors to consider is to try and get more experienced drivers working for them.
“Tractors have got faster and bigger – and they are also towing heavy loads of silage – so care and experience are a great help in terms of accident prevention,” Inspector Madden told the Farming Tribune.
He said that tractor drivers should always be aware of traffic building up behind them and to pull in and let these vehicles pass, where it was safe to do so.
“By the same token, other road users should always exercise extra care; drive that bit slower; and ‘pull in’ that bit more, when meeting tractors and heavy machinery.
“We all want to see everyone enjoying a safe summer on our roads – that extra bit of care, and consideration for other roads users can make a huge difference,” said Conor Madden.
He also advised motorists and tractor drivers to be acutely aware of pedestrians and cyclists on the roads during the summer season when more people would be out walking and cycling on the roads.
The IFA has also joined in on the road safety appeal with Galway IFA Farm Family and Social Affairs Chair Teresa Roche asking all road users to exercise that extra bit of care and caution.
“We are renewing our annual appeal for motorists to be on the look out for tractors, trailers and other agricultural machinery exiting from fields and farmyards,” she said.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App
Download the Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App to access to Galway’s best-selling newspaper.
Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Or purchase the Digital Edition for PC, Mac or Laptop from Pagesuite HERE.
Get the Connacht Tribune Live app
The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Families queue up for school’s offer of free house
West has lower cancer survival rates than rest
Galway minors continue to lay waste to all opponents
Gardaí and IFA issue a joint appeal on summer road safety
Marathon Man plans to call a halt – but not before he hits 160 races
