So, we have written quite a lot of quiz books, but I was keenly aware that music was missing. Not least because people kept reminding me. I felt a little stress every time I thought about it. How much of what kind of music? Is it possible to please every music lover? What if this music quiz is far too easy or ridiculously hard? In the end, in order to address the wants and needs of our “fans” (you know who you are, all 5 of you), I just had to go for it. Whether or not I got it right is a matter for you to decide but I will say that I am pretty happy with it.
I always start off with a list these days of the rounds that I plan to write and the music quiz was no exception. This does change as I go along – I realise that I can merge two, or that I have missed something. I do always leave a few spares for later in case something good comes along. When I first started writing books, I’d just make the next round up when it came time to write it. There is a lot more organisation now! I wanted to have a really good balance with issues such as UK versus USA and with international in the mix. It is important for me to make a book that has lots of variety.
I also think carefully about which groups and solo artists I include. You want to get all the greats in – The Rolling Stones and Whitney Houston, Elvis and Kylie, The Beatles and The Bangles but equally I want to get in a few lesser known or newish acts too. I keep a spreadsheet as I go along so there aren’t 10 questions about Queen and none about ABBA. This really helps me avoid getting into a pickle. I do sleep between writing sets of questions and inevitably forget. It also means if we need to go back and change anything it can be fixed without repetition.
The music quiz cover involved taking two elements from an announcement we had on our Facebook page. These were a string of notes and four sets of piano keys. I like the effect and it just looks right. When the proof arrived, it was most definitely too pink, so the string of notes is now an indigo colour and looks better. Making the covers is one of the hardest jobs. What will appeal when people are scrolling through pages of similar items? What will make us stand out? That is why the cover needs to be as good as the quality inside. I hope we achieve this. I should say, all three of us have to be happy with this including our 13-year-old. She makes sure it will appeal to a younger contingent.
When we read through the draft copy of the music quiz, we found a few errors. Am I weird? I love to find errors. That is because it is there anyway and if I find it in the draft book it gets fixed before you see it. I want you to see the book at the absolute best it can be. Anyhow, we saw a 1940s song on the 1950s page and two questions about the same song on the 1950s page. It was obviously a long day!! If you do find any errors in any book, then send us an email and we will fix it.
So that’s how The Ultimate Music Quiz Book came in to being. I’m still a bit nervous about it but people tell me it’s a good one! My highlight of this week was spending half an hour with three good friends and the “Only One Minute” round on page 57 the other night. Basically, you’re given a word like “touch”, and you get one minute to think of songs with that word in the title. We had such a laugh. This is like a mini version of our “One Minute Rush” book that comes out in June. I can’t wait to give it a try with them now!
Take a look now on Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com