When I was about five, my mother bought The Railway Children on VHS (yes, I’m that old). During the scene where the children’s mother made a (albeit meagre) income from writing stories and poems, my ears pricked up. This was my first inkling that you could potentially make a career from writing. And that was my plan when I was a child. Of course I would be a novelist. Of course I would write children’s books. Of course people would want to read them.
I would painstakingly print off manuscripts and send them to publishing houses (always the Big Five, because I didn’t have the Internet and the only way I could figure out where to send a manuscript was to get a book and look at the address in it. Hodder & Stoughton, if you’re reading this, I’m sorry for all the novels I subjected you to.) These companies would always very sweetly write back and tell me to keep going and to purchase a copy of the Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook. (I couldn’t afford one on £3 a week pocket money, nor did I know where to get one, as this was before I knew about Amazon.)
My logic was based on knowledge that writers get a ton of rejections and if I got those rejections out the way now, I’d have more chance of success later. Rather than, you know, actually writing a decent manuscript and putting thought into a submission. (I was only eight or so.)
At the age of seventeen, I went into journalism and my novelist career took a back seat. In fact, although I continued to write novels for my own enjoyment, I never tried to get any of them published.
It wasn’t until watching a TV show where the main character would get to know other people’s hopes and dreams (mainly in order to manipulate the people, but okay) that I thought: “I wonder what I really want?” After a few days of careful pondering, I worked it out. “I want to get a book traditionally published.” Okay then. How do I make that happen?
Write something worth reading
Or, perhaps, I should say “Write something you would want to read.” Either way, my first step was to write the book. I’d had an idea lurking in my phone notes for many years about a girl called City. I thought the name was pretty. In fact, the note literally was: “City could be a good name for a character.” I combined this note with another one about “mirrors” and then proceeded to write City and Shadow. I like books with dark twists and have a strong appreciation for psychological thrillers. Even with a YA audience in mind, City and Shadow is quite a dark book. But that was what I liked about it.
I’m not sure if the timing was just very coincidental, but when City and Shadow was completed, I had a feeling I’d never had before about anything else I’d done. The feeling was strongly that this book needed to go out into the world, this was The One.
Choose your target
Unlike eight-year-old me, with my somewhat misguided belief that every rejection made an acceptance closer, I submitted City and Shadow to a select group of publishers. I also finally bought a copy of the Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook. I was very determined that I didn’t want this to be either vanity published or hybrid published. (Note: I don’t necessarily think there’s anything wrong with hybrid publishing – as long as the publisher is up-front about everything and continues to provide the author with support after they’ve taken their money. In fact, there was actually an article in the copy of the Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook about hybrid publishing’s merits. It sounds like a good way for small presses to work with new authors. Please research carefully if you are looking into hybrid publishers.) I was determined that if my work was good enough, somebody would want to take a risk on it. In hindsight, this was probably a really rubbish way to think – because there are so many awesome books that don’t get published through no fault of their own. But it was my benchmark and I had a point to prove to myself.
I submitted City and Shadow to 36 publishers, keeping meticulous notes so I could look back on it. Five of them turned out to be vanity or gave me slightly concerned vibes. I walked away. 24 said nothing at all. Six sent back polite rejections. But one of them, and this was the one I really wanted, said “YES!” (Okay, they didn’t send back an all-caps email with just the word “Yes.” That would be a little unsettling.) And, best of all, they were a traditional publisher with a catalogue of books that I thought City and Shadow would be right at home amongst.
They were also supremely understanding when I told them “Hey, I know I said quite categorically this was a standalone novel… but I’ve written a bunch more in the series now.” Venom and Blaze ended up becoming the first book in the series and is due out next month. My publishers couldn’t have been sweeter or more patient when I said “Look, I’m really sorry, I think there needs to be another book in between Venom and Blaze and City and Shadow. As it happens, I’ve written it and it’s called Fable and Legend.” I also solemnly promised this would be the last time I’d muck the order up! So far, I’ve managed to keep to this promise.
If you’re interested in what goes on behind the scenes during the writing, editing and getting-ready-for-publication process, I’ve published a blog series called What’s Involved In Writing A Book and updating it at various stages in the journey. Part of my aim with this website was always to document what was happening so I could look back later – and maybe an aspiring author will find it useful.
It doesn’t end
That sounds more ominous than I meant, but the whole business of writing is quite constant. Not only do you need to write the books (a process which, for me, includes daydreaming, snacking, walking around, dreaming, napping, thinking and a little bit of putting pen to paper or fingers to laptop keys), you need to craft your submission carefully (I really haven’t gone into detail about this above and I probably won’t because I’m absolutely not an expert and there’s a wealth of other blog posts about how to create an amazing submission if you’re interested) and, once you go through all the editing process, choosing cover art, more editing and more editing again, you need to promote the book somehow. I’m still figuring that one out, but trying to grow my socials, write this blog and get the word out about my upcoming debut novel.
Conclusion
In life, I’ve found there are a few moments where you feel utterly compelled to do something. Getting The Mirrordom Legends out there and published was one of those feelings. Maybe you’ve felt something similar in your life or maybe you’re reading this and thinking “What fresh drivel is she on about now?” but when I get those feelings (and it doesn’t happen often), I have to do my best to follow through. If you have a book inside you, bursting to get out, maybe it’s time you wrote it. And maybe, one day, I’ll get to read it.
I am so grateful to my publisher, for taking a chance on a brand-new baby author; for all my beta readers; for everyone who’s taken time out of their day to read something I wrote or like a post I made or just show some support.
If you are a recently published author, how did you find the journey? What steps did you take to ensure your book got the attention it deserves?
