Newcastle Writing Conference

This time last week I was limbering up for the Newcastle Writing Conference. The programme read well and I looked forward to hearing Nicola Morgan speak. Her blog Help! I need a Publisher is choc full of information I've dipped into time and again.

Claire Malcolm chaired the conference for New Writing North and did so very well. The Great Hall in the Sutherland Building of Northumbria University was vast and I was surprised to see it completely full by ten when everything began to click into action.

Questions were not allowed until the plenary session, which did not suit everyone. Most, like me, probably forgot their question or had to rush off home at 4pm when the Plenary session was just about to kick off.
The first session included Nicola, Juliet Mushens (Literary Agent)  and Lisa Highton (Two Roads Books Publisher) I wished Nicola had been allowed more time. Juliet is a new agent and therefore deals mainly with debut authors. Lisa selects books that reflect her taste, and is looking for talent and an individual voice.

(Aside to self - If all agents select to their personal taste, isn't it time we knew what their personal taste might be? and - if thousands of fiction books are published every year in this country, how does she realistically expect to discover an "individual" voice? There simply cannot be thousands of individual voices. Or is that just me being picky? And - what exactly does she mean by individual voice?)

The second session was about Market Focus, subtitled What's Hot and What's Not, but do you know, no one actually told us what was Hot. Or Not. Barry Cunningham  (Chicken House), Mark Stanton (Jenny Brown), and Julia Churchill (A M Heath) were entertaining (even though BC kept his trilby on the entire time he was on the dais and the conference in general). On the stairs afterwards I asked him to describe J K Rowling's voice, since he was the man who "discovered" her. Straightforward, he said, not too grammatical, over use of adverbs, focussed on character. The one thing that drew him to the book was the friendship of the children.

On the whole I enjoyed the day, though the paper bag lunch could have been more imaginative, and I learnt a good deal about the process my book will go through once it has been accepted. The next conference should be on the writing process and have agents who can say what it is in writing that makes them say no - or I like it but I don't love it.

The pic? Sophie Rochester of the Literary Platform, Toby White, Lisa Gee and Chris Rickaby.

Pitching and Business

Helen commented, "Whilst I haven't pitched books before, I've done plenty of pitching over the years as part of my career in professional and financial services. What's worked for me is firstly,

• ensure the target already knows you or is aware of you before you even try and pitch."

I don't know how many pitches a business person receives but they say a literary agent receives thousands of partial submissions a year. If I lived in London, where most agents seem to congregate, then meeting them at a conference or party would be possible, but even then I suspect they get mortally tired of being approached by would-be authors talking work over an alcoholic beverage. I should think the best we can do is read their websites. Some give lots of detailed instructions on how to approach them, others give very little; but at least we can check that they are seeking new authors, which is vital, and that they want stories in the genre we are writing.  Then it is sensible and polite to address them by name - with the correct spelling - and introduce ourselves in the covering letter. Does that fit your suggestion or miss it by a mile?

"Secondly, really understand his/her work style and preferences (you could even ask them long before you pitch)."

 That’s a difficult one. Looking over their author list gives some idea of their past choices, but isn't foolproof as each title is so different. Making contact with an author who works with the agent would be one way of getting the information. Some agents are quite specific and say what they require on the website – and of course, the sensible person matches those requirements.

• "Finally, understand their next steps in the the pitch process (e.g. is his/her next step to present to a committee, board etc). By understanding this stage you will be able to prepare your pitch in a format that makes their life a little easier"

Here we seem closer. If the agent accepts you  and your story, then s/he has to pitch it to editors of publishing houses, who then has to convince her colleagues that her story is the one they should take on. It follows that if we provide a killer title, a succinct tag line or selling blurb that really works, then it makes their job so much easier.

 "Just my observations - not sure if they translate from the business world to the wonderful and exciting literary world."

It was good to see them, Helen, and thank you. Do tell if you think I'm missing opportunities!

Jaded

I have to say I'm wearying of the Olympics now. Twelve days, thirteen days...at first it was great, but I'm starting to wish for something else to watch of an evening. Yesterday we had guests, and the day before that my new laptop arrived and I spent an afternoon setting it up, so my work rate has been minimal so far this week. A measly 800 words is my total creative effort, and I'm not sure that I want half of those. The scene I wrote is entertaining - but I would think that, wouldn't I? But the scene doesn't have conflict, there's no suspense, no drama and no emotional intensity. I merely had a little fun with my chief female protagonist. Sigh. The scene will probably hit the wastebin very soon.

Yet another deadline for an agent has passed with no response to my submission. No acknowledgement of receipt, no rejection, nothing. Did they ever receive it? Sending submissions by e-mail always leaves me fraught with doubt that it ever gets to the intended agent. I sent a follow-up query on Monday, and so far that has produced no response either. I'm surprised, since the agency always seemed such a well established firm.

The picture? The Mairie in St Laurent des Batons. Almost every French village has one of these, and they're usually very smart and well-kept; a sort of Town Hall and Information Centre.

Spent the last few days preparing and sending off to an agent who shocked me by responding within the hour, requesting the full ms. I've got so used to having weeks to wait while the first three chapters are looked over that this came as quite a shock to the system.

I found it easy to take out a couple of thousand words, too, which I probably shouldn't admit, but I can't lie about it. Mostly odd words that were superfluous, little bits of repetition or bits of backstory that weren't really required.

I'm going to print the whole thing out tomorrow, and I'll probably find more to take out. Generic nouns, verbs that have adjectives and adverbs attached, for example. I think I've got out of the dreaded habit of writing "she moved slowly" and now think of "saunters, strolled, ambled." Avoiding "Is" and "are", "was" and the -ing form of the verb - these are all good things. So is eliminating "there is/there are/ it is" and all those crutch words - we've all got them and some times it's quite a surprise to realise what they are.

Now I'm going back to my wip; chapter thirty-three - possibly the last chapter, depending how my protagonist feels about it. All I have to do is write it. Sounds so easy...

Something new and not-so-fresh

If I discount Matho's introduction in Till the Day Go Down, which was really Harry and Alina's story, the first book of Matho's story is Treason. I'm sending Treason out to agents, and although I'm still writing the follow-up, Defiance, I'm getting pretty close to the end. It is both a relief and sad at the same time. Relief that I'll be finished with it for a while before I go back and do a second draft, and sad because poor old Matho is not in a happy place at the moment.

I have plans aplenty for what I'll do in the gap between first and second drafts. First and foremost, the tennis season is almost upon us here in the UK and I for one will be glued to whatever scraps the BBC red button allows me of the French Open, the Aegon tournament and Wimbledon. Then we have a holiday in France - though I'll take the laptop with me, and continue snatches of work, and this blog, there. (I hope the mice haven't got stuck in any more toasters during my absence.)

About three years ago I wrote a story called Keep Trust, set in late Victorian England and after a couple of refusals sent it to an Advisory Service. Their comments were so disheartening that I put the story away and now and then looked at the comments. At first they made me angry, but now I can look at them and consider how to use them. To be honest, it hasn't taken me three years to reach this happy state - after the initial six months of gradually simmering down, I forgot about it and started writing about Matho. Now, I may be able to make something of it. I still haven't decided if I shall turn it into a historical mystery, or add more social realism. Evidently if I have a main character who is Lord Blank and also a hands-on mineowner, then that makes it an uncomfortable fit in the popular genres - and a reason agents etc won't want it.

And yet, we're always being told that they're looking for something new and fresh. If I add more social realism and omit some of the romance, maybe that will slot it into a different genre. I can only go with my own gut feeling...if only I could decide what that was...

So, with a nod to the gentry mineowners of the North-East, I add a photo of the nearby Causey Arch, said to be the oldest railway bridge in the world. Click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Causey_Arch for more information.

Good News

This morning I received news that another story - Reluctance - has been accepted by MuseItUp Publishing. The setting for this one is 1803, if my memory serves correctly (I'm not good at remembering figures. Words, yes, but numbers just go into limbo and disappear) and I took a local setting I know fairly well - Gibside Hall, now a National Trust property, and imagined my characters into it. Great fun. The story was fun to write, too, though my hero/ine both suffer till they get to the last page. In true romance style, there's a happy ending.

After a run of rejections from UK agents (well, OK, two; all very nice and polite, wishing me well elsewhere but unfortunately my story is just not for them), this is such good news. I wonder if I dare look for a third piece of good news this week?

The pic is my other half looking out over the battlements of Stirling Castle. The hills behind him are where the Highland Line begins.

It's a wonder

It's a wonder anyone ever gets published. Prowling the internet yesterday I found these words reported in 2008 from a masterclass with agent Luigi Bonomi on the blog Wondering-Mind

Of 200,000 books sold per year, 190,000 sold less than 3000 copies. Of 85,000 debut books published – 60,000 sold an average of 18 books. It costs a publisher £7,500 to publish a book (printing, marketing, design, distribution) and that doesn’t include any advance – generally it is reckoned that 20,000 must be sold to cover costs.

The new writer therefore has to stand out and should check the market to discover what is selling. Literary Fiction takes about 5% of the market and has to have a big theme rather than small town ideas. Somwhat dependant on winning the Booker or some such award to make sales. Original structure and good writing is important – e.g. The Book Thief.
Commercial Fiction takes about 95% of the market. Despite gloomy reports, sales are vibrant – but in specific areas – so check the market.

The agent’s goal is to find the next talent – but they are overworked so they aim to reject – to weed out. The writer’s aim is therefore not to give the agent a chance to reject her. The writer provides a synopsis (3-4 pages maximum), 3 chapters or less, 1 short page covering letter.

Luigi’s agency receives approximately 5000 submissions a year (100 a week). – of these they will look at 60 (5 a month). If the submission has anything more than a simple rubber band for binding, it is rejected. If the cover letter has any spelling mistakes or it is badly presented, it is rejected. The first paragraph of the first page of the text (not the synopsis) is read – then the second paragraph – if it looks interesting it is put aside, otherwise it is rejected.In half an hour he will process 40 submissions and put aside possibly 4, of those he will read pages 2 and 3 – and probably reject – resulting in perhaps 1 a week.He will then read that submission (the first three chapters – or less).

If he likes it he will ask to read the rest of the book.There will be no feedback or suggestions re-revision – though if he is really interested he may send it to a reading agency for a critique. The language, style, rhythm, sound – is very influential. So it is important to listen to other people reading it (reading aloud to yourself is valuable, but hearing other people read shows better how it will be received). Then he looks at plot, storyline and characters.
Frightening to see what we're up against, isn't it?

Rejection rears its ugly head

Saturday morning is usually the day when rejections fall on the mat beneath the letterbox. Agents and publishers alike must clear out submissions Friday morning, send the pile tottering off to the post office Friday afternoon so they have a clean desk for Monday morning. It makes sense. I could come to dread Saturday mornings.

This one acknowledged my work as competent, which is good, if not something to set me dancing around the room. Better than telling me to give up and find another hobby, though! Evidently I did not set the agents's pulses singing, competent though I might be. Still, that comes down to personal taste, I think. Another agent may find that it does something for them, so I am not too disheartened. And I didn't wait ages to hear; I sent the sub off before I went on holiday, so it has only been 3 weeks.

I still await a reply from a publisher who cited 6-8 weeks for a response and they're still within their time-frame. Last September an e-publisher got in touch with me, asked for a clean copy of the whole ms and now does not answer my follow-up e-mails. I think I have to regard that one as fallen over the edge of a cliff and gone for good.

My skin has thickened since I began this writing thing. Once a rejection would have dejected me for at least a fortnight, but today woke up the very next day thinking where are the first 3 chapters of that ms...let me see what I can do with it before it goes out again.

Literary Agents, are you listening?

What is the magic ingredient that agents and publishers look for? Does anyone know? Do agents and publishers know that they want?

I am sure there are thousands of well researched, well written books flooding through their letter boxes and inboxes every day and most of the writers receive no more than a polite thank you, but no thanks.

It can be disheartening. It can be soul-destroying. I heard someone say of Mills & Boon that they make "nice" rejections, because they are kind people and they don't want to hurt anyone's feelings.

That can be bad, too. The next agent, perhaps pushed for time, may tell the plain unvarnished truth of the same submission: this is total rubbish and unpublishable. Which is the kindest in the long run?

What would help, and is virtually impossible to receive, are concrete facts on what publishers want. I think the truth is they want the next bestseller but don't know it until they see it. A bit like me searching the dress racks rejecting them all and then pouncing on one item: thats it!

But what do you think a book needs to make it that hot certainty?

Clarity of prose? Accurate research? a good story? or does it come down to the real nitty gritty - no adverbs, no past tense, no passive sentences?

Must we follow fashion and write in the first person or the present tense? Must there be a cliff hanger at the end of every chapter - or, as I read somewhere last week, at the end of every scene?

How much luck is involved? If I am writing a book about Merlin (I'm not, but let's imagine I am!) and a new tv series on Merlin starts to rapturous ratings just as my manuscript hits an agents desk, will that do it for me?

H'mmmm. If so, I'd better buy a crystal ball.

Whittle Dene and fiction genres

In the Whittle Dene valley there is a collection of holiday dwellings, or weekend retreats. They look self-built, though in the last five years a couple of new ones have appeared, and they look far more sophisticated. The owner of one of the older homes has carefully coiled and wound the branches of growing trees and shrubs into circular shapes all around his property. The effect is curious - part Tolkienish and part hobbycraft.

The trees have accepted their restrictions and kept on growing, sometimes melding branches together. It would be interesting to know why it has been done, but there's never anyone there to ask. I know the woods are coppiced, and the valley used to be famous for bleaching linens as the water was so clean and pure in the Whittle Burn. The old stone buildings are ruins now.

There's been an interesting and helpful discussion on the RNA (Romantic Novelists' Association)online group recently about the distinctions/genres used by publishers and agents. I thought I knew what these were, having worked all my life around books, but still had lots to learn. Given the ease of communication today, American terms and British terms are used interchangeably but they do not necessarily mean the same thing. Also it seems to me, agents/publishers apply their own definitions to terms like commercial fiction, literary fiction, womens' fiction. Sigh. Homework time!

With a Bang

I've started off the new year with a bang. I've expended £20 on submissions to agents.
So we'll see if that brings any results. Half went on printing out partials and half went on postage. As my dh said, "At least you might get somethng back from your £20. I never get anything back for the money I spend." So here's hoping. I have to say I don't have a lot of faith in agents, but perhaps I'm cynical.

I spent 2 days preparing, honing, checking the submissions, so now its back to normal business. There is a duel awaiting me out in the cool misty dawn somewhere in County Durham and I'm off to track down all those involved.

The skis have come in from the cold. They are lurking in out hallway, waiting to be taken to Norway very soon. Our ski boots are huddled up next to a radiator trying to get warm. Poor things. We've been watching weather reports - isn't the web so handy for this kind of thing? - and Voss doesn't seem to be any colder than Zermatt. I'm surprised, but when I think about it, Zermatt is at a much higher altitude than Voss, so the temperatures are probably about the same. I wonder if we'll see the Northern Lights?