I was at a 40th birthday in London recently and I got talking to the band – lovely Scottish lads called The Holy Ghosts.
They have been working their wee socks off, playing gigs and parties all over the UK and Europe. They’re super, their lead singer has buckets of charisma (and an amazing voice) and I know they’ll make it because a/ they’re determined b/ they’re damn good and c/ they’re putting in the hours.
I told them the story about The Beatles playing in Hamburg that I first read in Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. In the book Gladwell explains the 10,000 hours rule – how if you put in the time and work hard, success will follow.
In a nutshell The Beatles performed live in Hamburg, Germany over 1,200 times from 1960 to 1964, amassing more than 10,000 hours of playing time. According to Gladwell the hours and hours that The Beatles spent performing live shaped their talent. He quotes their biographer Philip Norman who said ‘So by the time they returned to England from Hamburg, Germany, they sounded like no one else. It was the making of them.’
Gladwell also talks about Bill Gates and how …
I was at a 40th birthday in London recently and I got talking to the band – lovely Scottish lads called The Holy Ghosts.
They have been working their wee socks off, playing gigs and parties all over the UK and Europe. They’re super, their lead singer has buckets of charisma (and an amazing voice) and I know they’ll make it because a/ they’re determined b/ they’re damn good and c/ they’re putting in the hours.
I told them the story about The Beatles playing in Hamburg that I first read in Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. In the book Gladwell explains the 10,000 hours rule – how if you put in the time and work hard, success will follow.
In a nutshell The Beatles performed live in Hamburg, Germany over 1,200 times from 1960 to 1964, amassing more than 10,000 hours of playing time. According to Gladwell the hours and hours that The Beatles spent performing live shaped their talent. He quotes their biographer Philip Norman who said ‘So by the time they returned to England from Hamburg, Germany, they sounded like no one else. It was the making of them.’
Gladwell also talks about Bill Gates and how at the age of 13 in 1968 he spent over 10,000 hours programming on a high school computer.
Putting in the hours. It’s not very exciting, is it? But it’s so important. I think a lot of people starting to write don’t realise how hard writers work to get published and to stay published. How many hours they put in.
Coming up with an idea is the easy bit. Creating characters, plot . . . not so hard. Writing the first few chapters of a manuscript . . . not so difficult either. Finishing a book and then rewriting it over and over again until it’s as perfect as you can make it, that’s the hard part.
I’ve said it before but it’s worth saying again – you learn how to write by writing. By putting in the hours. At night after work, early in the morning before the kids get up, at weekends, on holidays, when you’re on top of the world, when your heart is breaking – you have to keep at it. You have to put in the hours. It’s as simple or as difficult as that.
All the very best for Christmas and 2013. Try to make some time to write over the holidays. And I’ll try to follow my own advice!
Yours in writing,
Sarah XXX
- Martina Reilly
To plot or not to plot? That is an interesting question. Over the years I have realised that it very much depends on what type of person you are.
If you are a planner – if you pack days before going away, if you know exactly where your passport is before travelling, then you’re a planner and you may need to plan your book.
If you pack the hour before leaving for the airport, if you hate planning anything weeks or months before it happens, than you’d probably think planning would kill your book’s spontaneity. And for you it might do just that.
So if you’re a planner like me – you need to plan. I’ve also interviewed a writer who is not a planner – the wonderful Martina Reilly – so you have both views.
So first, Martina’s answers:
Martina, how much planning do you do before starting a book?
I do no planning at all. I tend to get an idea of what I’d like to explore. In my next book ‘What If’ I had a few things I wanted to write about. The first, a moment where a life is changed forever (a …
- Martina Reilly
To plot or not to plot? That is an interesting question. Over the years I have realised that it very much depends on what type of person you are.
If you are a planner – if you pack days before going away, if you know exactly where your passport is before travelling, then you’re a planner and you may need to plan your book.
If you pack the hour before leaving for the airport, if you hate planning anything weeks or months before it happens, than you’d probably think planning would kill your book’s spontaneity. And for you it might do just that.
So if you’re a planner like me – you need to plan. I’ve also interviewed a writer who is not a planner – the wonderful Martina Reilly – so you have both views.
So first, Martina’s answers:
Martina, how much planning do you do before starting a book?
I do no planning at all. I tend to get an idea of what I’d like to explore. In my next book ‘What If’ I had a few things I wanted to write about. The first, a moment where a life is changed forever (a lot of my books are about such moments, I am unable to get away from that, though in this book it is very obvious what that moment is) and the second thing I wanted to write about was Alzheimers. Having experienced first hand how devastating this disease is, I wanted to write an uplifting story where Lily uses her disease to ask forgiveness from her daughter. But how do you ask for forgiveness when you can barely remember?
That was the challenge and so I just dived straight in and began to write.
Do you do any work on the characters?
None at all. I suppose I see my characters as people I have been introduced to at a party. If I like them, I leave them in the story and get to know them over the course of nine months or so (the length of time it takes me to write a book). These characters begin to grow week by week as I find out things about them. I then go back to the start of the story and flesh them out using everything I’ve learned. Some characters are much easier to know than others. In the next book, there is a prickly character called Deirdre, she was a hard one to get right, but to my mind, she is the best character in the book now.
Any story boarding/plotting?
No! Having said that, diving straight in can be a bit of a disaster sometimes. Maybe about 40,000 words in, I’ll discover that the way I’m telling the story is all wrong. I might need to introduce a better/stronger plot (yikes) or I might feel that the book would be much better if it were told from a first person narrative instead of a third person narrative. I fight against it for a while until I KNOW it’s not working and then I’ll go back and rework. I have found though that it doesn’t really hold me up as I get a renewed interest in making the book right and I fly along. The way I write is quite organic, I suppose. I like to surprise myself with the story so that way I hope the reader is surprised too. If I plotted and planned, I think I’d lose the spontaneity with which I write.
I’m also a very impulsive person, so plotting and planning would drive me mental.
How much editing do you do after the first draft?
Very little. I suppose I edit as I go so most of my books (bar three) have been published with very minor changes.
And now I’ll ask myself the very same questions:
Sarah, how much planning do you do before starting a book?
My Dancing Daze Notebook
Do you do any work on the characters?
Yes. I write down everything I know or am starting to find out about the main characters – what they look like, their birthdays, their dreams, hopes, fears . . .
I give them names – I love naming characters. Once I find the right name for a character they become much easier to visualise and understand.
Any story boarding/plotting?
My Scene By Scene Plot Notes
How much editing do you do after the first draft?
Again, a lot. I usually do around five or six rewrites, often more, depending on the book. Some books require more rewriting than others. Ask Amy Green: Dancing Daze didn’t require too much rewriting; The Shoestring Club, my latest adult book required quite a bit of rewriting. In fact the first draft is very different to the final book. Pretty much everything changed and I think it’s a much better book for all the thought, planning and rewriting.
So there you go, two writers, two very different approaches. Now which type of writer are you? Do you need to plan or are you happier just sitting down and writing? I’d love to know.
Yours in writing,
Sarah XXX
(And a big thank you to Martina for giving me her time)
I’ve been writing this ‘Yours in Writing’ blog for many years now, and I would like to thank all of you for the fantastic feedback and regular comments both here and on Facebook and Twitter. It means a lot to me.
To say thank you, I’d like to address some topics that YOU have asked me to cover. The first – and yes, probably the easiest – is my writing routine. When do I write? How many words? Computer or long hand?
Over the next few weeks I will tackle the other questions I’ve recently been asked – on planning books, getting published for teenagers, what editors are looking for right now and other subjects. If there is something that you would like me to cover, you only have to ask.
So – my writing routine. And thanks to Claire Hennessy for the question, a very experienced writer herself.
Here’s a map of my writing day:
7am Rise (groggily) and get the kids to school.
8.30am Get home and start thinking about what I have to do today.
Potter around the house avoiding work, ‘tidying’, opening mail, checking emails, Twitter and Facebook (terrible I know but best to get it over …
I’ve been writing this ‘Yours in Writing’ blog for many years now, and I would like to thank all of you for the fantastic feedback and regular comments both here and on Facebook and Twitter. It means a lot to me.
To say thank you, I’d like to address some topics that YOU have asked me to cover. The first – and yes, probably the easiest – is my writing routine. When do I write? How many words? Computer or long hand?
Over the next few weeks I will tackle the other questions I’ve recently been asked – on planning books, getting published for teenagers, what editors are looking for right now and other subjects. If there is something that you would like me to cover, you only have to ask.
So – my writing routine. And thanks to Claire Hennessy for the question, a very experienced writer herself.
Here’s a map of my writing day:
7am Rise (groggily) and get the kids to school.
8.30am Get home and start thinking about what I have to do today.
Potter around the house avoiding work, ‘tidying’, opening mail, checking emails, Twitter and Facebook (terrible I know but best to get it over with early I find so I can get on with my morning! Twitter and Facebook are big distractions but also great fun and I dip in and out during the afternoon when I’m doing my emails and admin etc).
9.30 Walk – think about my current book while doing so (or that’s the idea – it doesn’t always work out that way – somametimes I end up chatting to my mum or a friend while walking – which is also nice!).
10.30am Switch off my mobile and take the phone off the hook – my writing computer does not have the internet – which is a Godsend! Sit down at my desk.
Stare into space for a while.
Stare into space some more.
10.45am Start writing.
I write straight onto my computer (I’m a fairly fast and accurate touch typist) but I do also write a lot of early plot notes/character notes in yellow notebooks. Yes, always yellow!
1.00pm Collect my son or if he’s in after school, stay writing until 2pm.
I aim to write about 2,000 words a day – that’s my natural limit. Anything more than that is a bonus but if I don’t reach my target I don’t beat myself up about it. I write as often as I can, every day if possible – that way it’s easier to jump straight back into the story. Otherwise I have to re-read what I’ve been writing and it slows the process down. Sometimes I stop writing in the middle of a sentence or a thought – I find it easier to pick up the thread of the story that way. It’s probaby a bit nuts, but whatever gets you through, right?
In 15 years of writing (10 of those full time) I have always written something when I’ve sat down at my desk. Even if I’m not feeling great or am having a horrible day/week/month I still manage to write a page or two. I have NEVER left my desk without getting something down.
In the afternoon I deal with my emails (I hate email but it’s a necessary evil), answer phone calls, write my blogs (I have two, this one and one on my Amy Green website and also blog for Girls Heart Books), do my event programming and check in with my Facebook and Twitter friends. I also update my website and write any reviews, articles or other bits of writing I’ve been asked to do.
I also used to work three or four evenings a week, but recently I have stopped this. I’m not as productive as I used to be but it gives me more time to spend with my family.
And that, my friends, is my writing day! I am very blessed to be able to write full time and I would like to thank my readers for making it possible.
Yours in writing,
Sarah XXX
Apologies for the lack of recent blogs, I was helping to run the Mountains to Sea Book Festival and taking some much needed time off. I wrote the following blog in August, before I sent my new proposal to my agent. More on this at the end.
For weeks now I’ve been worrying about a book proposal. Is it good enough? Will my agent like it? Will my publishers like it?
I’ve published 23 books now and it never gets any easier. The doubts are still very much there for every single book or proposal.
I worked hard on the proposal, on getting every detail right – the series title (it’s a new series for girls of 9+), the title of each book, the girls’ names (there are 4 main characters), the plots for each of the first 3 books, the setting; especially the setting. I started reading widely on the subjects covered in the plots and added details to my proposal.
I wrote some of the first book, then rewrote it many times until I was happy with it. Only then did I send it to my agent. She read it and gave some suggestions. I took those on board and rewrote the whole proposal again. Finally it was ready to be sent to my editors and so began the waiting game.
What happens next? My editors – if they like it – take it to an acquisitions meeting where the sales and marketing team get their say. If they all like it, and they think it will sell, then you have a book contract.
My most recent Ask Amy Green book - out now!
I visited my publishers, Walker Books in London to hear the news and I waited anxiously for their verdict. I didn’t have to wait long. As soon as I walked into the reception area (where some of my other Ask Amy Green books were twinkling at me from the book shelves), one of my editors said ‘Everyone loved your proposal’. I was so relieved! I thought my proposal was good, my agent thought it was marvellous but you never can tell . . .
But nerves are good. In fact they are important to writers. It’s what keeps us on our toes, makes us try our very hardest to produce something excellent. Nerves are like the adrenaline before a race, keeping us alive.
As writers we wear our hearts on our sleeves, outside our bodies. We are largely a highly emotional bunch and like actors, we crave an audience for our work – we need readers. We want people to say ‘We love your books’.
But we also need to have confidence in what we are doing. So once we get that initial ‘You’re on the right track’ nod, we need to take that affirmation on board and then get back to work. We need to put all those fears and doubts aside and write as if nothing else mattered.
Because if we let our writing worries consume us, we clip our own wings.
So once you get that initial nod – from your editor, or if you are not yet published, from a trusted friend – put all your worries behind you and fly. The only way to live a writing life is in the air and not stumbling along the ground.
Sneak peek at the Irish cover of The Memory Box (2013)
I’m all set to take my own advice. After proof reading The Memory Box, my next book for adults which will be out in early 2013, I’ll be writing the first book in the new series. The series is called The Wishing Girls. More about that soon.
Yours in writing,
Sarah XXX
Last weekend I spoke at the Waterford Writers’ Festival. The subject of the panel discussion was How to Write a Bestseller. The chair of the session, the very able Vanessa O’Loughlin from www.writing.ie asked us to consider the key elements of fiction writing and what makes a bestselling novel: character, dialogue, plot, making your book stand out. Also on the panel were fellow popular fiction writers Monica McInerney, Sinead Moriarty and Niamh Greene.
It got me thinking about the nature of the ‘bestseller’. A ‘bestseller’ is simply a book that sells a lot of copies, a book that has thousands of happy readers, all actively recommending it to their friends and family, and on Facebook and Twitter (which I think is the way most bestsellers are created – by word of mouth).
So I thought I’d jot down some of the things that came up during the panel discussion in case they are useful. And at the very end I’ll let you in on the secret – how to write a bestseller – as yes, there is a secret!
First of all: Character
We all agreed that creating big, interesting, real, lovable yet flawed characters is the key to writing good popular fiction. Monica McInerney said she creates her characters before plot; for Sinead Moriarty it’s the other way around. But when it comes to characters, you have to think BIG. (I covered this very topic during the 8 Week Write a Book course on this blog).
Monica writes warm, funny family dramas; Sinead’s books tend to have an issue at the centre – breast cancer, anorexia, breakdown of a family unit – and she takes her research very seriously indeed.
Research
Sinead said something very interesting – she said that you can write about anything as long as you do your research, which she finds very freeing. You keep reading until you know your subject backwards, she said. One of her books, Pieces of My Heart (about an anorexic teenager and her family’s struggle to help her get well again) took a lot of research and after the first draft she had to go back and unpick the chapters that were too research heavy and rewrite them. She was very honest and open about this, which I think was helpful for people to hear. Rewriting is a topic that came up a lot. More about that in a second.
But next: Dialogue
Niamh Greene talked about dialogue and how important it is to get it right. She reads out her dialogue and works on it until it’s perfect. I talked about how each character has to have their own way of speaking in a book, their own voice. If you are unsure about how to approach dialogue, read some of the masters – Roddy Doyle, Marian Keyes, Anne Tyler.
Plot
I explained how important it is to select a subject/setting that you really, really want to write about. It has to be something that fascinates you and that you’re dying to tell your readers about - eg zoo keeping (my latest novel, The Shoestring Club has a zoo keeper in it), the life of a young ballerina (Ask Amy Green: Dancing Daze – now that research – in Budapest – was such fun!).
I always say there are two types of people, the planners and the seat of the pant-ers. Planners know where their passport is weeks before travelling, seat of the pant-ers don’t. If you’re a planner, you may need to plan your book. I’m a planner and I make detailed plot notes for every scene of every book. Now, often these change once I start writing, but I need the plot notes to start a book in the first place – it’s like my safely net in case I get stuck along the way. A book takes a long time to write, and you need all the help you can get!
Monica is not a planner, her books evolve as she writes; Sinead is a planner. We are all different writers, just as we are all different people.
Theme
I talked about theme, about how your book has to say something. At the heart of The Shoestring Club is a family secret and the book is about how a buried secret can have devastating consequences.
Julia, the main character, blames herself for her mother’s death – this is at the heart of every mistake she makes in life. And until she comes to terms with this, she will never live a full life.
What’s your book about? Can you tell me in a few lines? If not, you need to work on your book’s theme. And this doesn’t always come easy. Sometimes the theme won’t be clear to you until after your first or second draft.
Rewriting
The difference between a published novel and an unpublished novel – the rewrites. Simple as that. Your first draft is just a starting point. Keep working on it until it’s a perfect as you can make it. Again, see my Write a Book Course for more on this.
Motivation
You have to want to write more than anything in the world. If you don’t have this overwhelming drive and passion, there’s no point in writing. Marilyn Munroe once said:
‘I wasn’t the prettiest, I wasn’t the most talented, I simply wanted it more than anyone else.’
Do you want to get published more than anyone else?
Because that’s the secret. Motivation, tenacity, drive. And the willingness to be honest, to cut a vein and bleed all over the page; to write about things that scare you, upset you, terrify you. You have to dig deep. It has to hurt. If it doesn’t, there’s no point writing. Unless you have to write, unless you have a burning need to tell people about something that means everything to you, don’t bother.
I’ll leave you with these final words from Pablo Neruda:
‘For me writing is like breathing. I could not live without breathing and I could not live without writing.’
Yours in writing,
Sarah XXX
My Latest Book (Sept UK)
Welcome to week seven of Write That Book. If you’ve just stumbled upon this blog, weeks one to six, covering getting started, characters, plot and editing may also be of use to you.
Once you’ve finished your manuscript and have rewritten it many, many times and copy-edited it meticulously, you will need to find an agent or a publisher. I’ll deal with why you need an agent below (and in some cases you don’t), but first, titles.
Book Titles
Book titles are very important. They say a lot about a book. Some writers find titles easy, for others it’s like pulling teeth. And it can differ with every book.
In the world of popular fiction/romantic comedy, I’ve always liked Katie Fforde’s titles: Thyme Out, Practically Perfect, Highland Fling. Maeve Binchy’s titles are also excellent – simple and catchy – Tara Road, Nights of Rain and Stars, Circle of Friends.
On the children’s side, I’ve always loved the quirky Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret as a title. It shouldn’t work, but it does. How to Train Your Dragon, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, Under the Hawthorne Tree, Ballet Shoes, Skulduggery Pleasant, Artemis Fowl – all fantastic, memorable titles. It’s hard to define what makes a good title. It must be simple and catchy, but it must also say something about the book.
So spend time getting your title right.
Writing a Proposal for an Agent
So you’ve finished your book, made it as perfect as you can (after many, many edits and rewrites) and you’re finally ready for the journey to publication. Some publishers will accept unsolicited manuscripts, but many of the larger publishers only accept submissions from agents.
If your book is a local history of Dublin, you can send it directly to an Irish publisher, and we’ll talk more about this, along with self-publishing, next week. If your book is a novel, and you’d like to see it published in the UK, all over Europe and the US, as well as in Ireland, you will need an agent.
Preparing your manuscript
Presentation is so important. Your manuscript must look professional. Make sure the pages are freshly printed out and look pristine. Make sure your covering letter is clear and polite. Include any personal details that you think are relevant and interesting – your experience living in an exotic country where the book is set from for example, working in the circus in your teens, your years as a ballerina/ballet teacher – but keep it brief and succinct.
Make sure your manuscript is neatly printed on plain white A4 paper, using double spaces and easy to read (eg Times New Roman) 12 point type; and make sure every page is numbered. Put your name, address and telephone number clearly on the title page, as well as the title of the book, and place a large elastic band around the pages. Don’t staple the pages together and don’t bind your manuscript – agents like to be able to read manuscripts on the train and in bed.
Some agents prefer a synopsis and a few sample chapters first, check with each agent for details before sending anything to them. Place the whole lot in a jiffy bag, and cross your fingers.
These days, some agents read most of their submissions on their Kindle or iPad, make sure to ring or email and ask how they like submissions before you send anything off. Be warned – sometimes you will ring an agent’s office and they will answer the phone themselves. And they may ask you to tell them about your book right then and there. Be prepared! This happened to me once and I was caught completely on the hop. I didn’t have my notes in front of me and I was hideously tongue tied. (In my case it didn’t actually matter – but it could have!)
This is what you will need to send an agent:
A brief, polite and informative covering letter
A brief biog – especially anything exciting or book related. Are you a librarian, bookseller, teacher, bee keeper, lion tamer?
A brief blurb (like you’d find on the back of a book – sell your book to the agent in 3 or 4 lines)
A synopsis of the whole novel – 2 to 3 pages
Character biographies of your main characters – to show you know who they are (I’m not sure if this is standard, but I always do it)
The first few chapters depending on their length – about 30 to 50 pages – ask how many chapters/pages the agent would like to see.
Most agents ask for the first few chapters; if they like them, they will request the entire manuscript. So you’d better make those first few chapters REALLY, REALLY GOOD. Never say in your letter ‘These aren’t the strongest chapters, it does get much better later on’. Never send an extract from the middle of the book.
And finally all agents want career writers, people who want to write lots of books, not just one book. So it’s a good idea to tell them what other book ideas you have, or what other books you have also written.
They want writers they feel they can work with, who are professional, hard working and in control of their work. They want writers who know what they are doing and have confidence in their own work, writers who aren’t afraid of rewrites, who take the business of writing seriously. Is that you?
Why Do I Need an Agent?
People often me ask this and I tell them the following:
The Irish publishing world is quite small and very few writers could survive writing only for the home market. This is where agents come in – to find international publishers for Irish writers, and to sell foreign rights.
There are many reasons why agents are useful:
1/ An agent can advise you on your manuscript and on how to make it more attractive to a publisher. Some of them, like my wonderful agents (I have two agents – in the same agency – one for my children’s books, another for my books for grown-ups) will act as unofficial ‘editors’ to their clients, or can, at the very least, suggest changes or improvements. Many are in fact ex-editors and are highly qualified for this work.
2/ An agent can find the right publisher for your work. Good agents will know what kind of areas particular publishers are looking to publish in at the moment. And they can sell your UK, US and other foreign rights.
3/ Agents deal with the difficult and technical area of contracts. They are also experts in digital rights and ebooks, which is an area that is becoming more and more important for writers.
4/ Money – they can chase up your royalties and talk to your publishers about outstanding monies owed to you.
5/ Good agents make you want to up your game – they make you want to write better books. Which is always a good thing! Ditto good editors – more on that next week.
Agents can be found in the Writers and Artists’ Yearbook. It can take a while for them to get back to you (up to 3 months). It used to be good practice to approach them one at a time, but these days it is perfectly acceptable to approach several at the same time. Of course, if you get an agent, do let other agents you have sent submissions to know, it’s only good manners and you don’t want to waste their time.
There are only a few literary agents in Ireland, the main ones being Jonathan Williams, Faith O’Grady and Marianne Gunn O’Connor (Details below or in the Writers and Artists’ Yearbook as above – or google them). Many Irish authors are with UK agents.
Contact the chosen agent and find out what they would like to see – for some it’s a few chapters, for others it’s the whole manuscript, plus news cuttings, reviews, biog, photo – anything relevant. Even the top agencies are always looking for new talent so don’t be put off by the fact that they represent Cecelia Ahern, JK Rowling or Marian Keyes.
See below for a list of recommended children’s agents and popular fiction agents. And finally I will leave you with some tips from the experienced Irish agent, Faith O’Grady:
Top Tips from Faith O’Grady, Literary Agent at the Lisa Richards Agency
1. Do some research on the literary agency before submitting your work to
find out if they handle your particular genre. It is worth making a brief
phone call or looking up the agency website to find out what their
requirements for submission are. Agencies have different submission policies
so it is worth finding out what they are looking for.
2. Write a cover letter which is clear and concise, giving a brief
description of your book and of yourself. Don’t exaggerate or oversell yourself or the book as this is quite off-putting.
3. Include an sae if you would like your work returned. And don’t expect an
immediate response as most agencies are inundated with unsolicited
manuscripts.
And next week - the final week – we will deal with publishers and self publishing . . .
Who Represents Who?
The Agents Who Represent the Most Successful Irish Children’s Writers (with Contact Details)
Remember to check each agent’s website for submission guidelines before you send anything out. Or ring the agency for details – I know it’s daunting but they are always happy to advise you on how (or if) to submit. Be warned – you may get the agent herself/himself on the phone. Be prepared!
Eoin Colfer is represented by Sophie Hicks.
sophie@edvictor.com
0044 (0) 2073044100
Derek Landy is represented by Michelle Kass
(Who also represents the wonderful Patrick Ness)
office@michellekass.co.uk
0044 (0) 207 74391624
Darren Shan is represented by Christopher Little
Christopher Little Literary Agency
10 Eel Brook Studios
125 Moore Park Road
London SW6 4PS
Tel: +44 (0) 207 736 4455
Fax: +44 (0) 207 736 4490
For general enquiries please email: info@christopherlittle.net
Sarah Webb (moi!) is represented by Philippa Milnes Smith at LAW
Contact: All submissions should be sent, in hard copy, by post to:
LAW, 14 Vernon Street, London, W14 0RJ
www.lawagency.co.uk
Cathy Cassidy is represented by Darley Anderson (Spends a lot of time in Ireland and a lovely woman so I’ve included her!)
Contact: Darley Anderson Literary, TV and Film Agency
Estelle House
11 Eustace Road
London SW6 1JB
Tel: 00 44 (0)20 7385 6652
Fax:00 44 (0)20 7386 5571
Email: enquiries@darleyanderson.com
Judi Curtin and Marita Conlon McKenna are represented by Caroline Sheldon
Contact via:
www.carolinesheldon.co.uk
71 Hillgate Place, London W8 7SS
Other Recommended Children’s Agents:
Julia Churchill
Greenhouse Literary Agency
If you want to make a submission, we take e-queries only, please.
To Julia at submissions@greenhouseliterary.com. Check our submission guidelines on this site for full information before querying. Please note, we no longer accept snail-mail queries or email attachments.
We are sorry that we cannot take (or return) phone queries regarding submissions.
Eve White, Eve White Literary Agency
(represents Andy ‘Mr Gum’ Stanton)
eve@evewhite.co.uk
00 44 (0) 207 6301155
Veronique Baxter at David Higham
Contact: David Higham Associates
5–8 Lower John Street
Golden Square
London W1F 9HA
Switchboard: 00 44 (0)20 7434 5900
Fax: 044 (0)20 7437 1072
E-mail: dha@davidhigham.co.uk
Who Represents Who?
Irish Popular Fiction Writers and Their Agents with Contact Details
Remember to check each agent’s website before you send anything out for submission guidelines.
Maeve Binchy is represented by Christine Green
Contact: 0044 (0) 20 7401 8844
info@christinegreen.co.uk
Christine Green Authors’ Agent
6 Whitehorse Mews
Westminster Bridge Road
London SE1 7QD
Marian Keyes, Cathy Kelly and Monica McInerney are all represented by Jonathan Lloyd (also CEO of Curtis Brown)
Contact: 0044 (0)20 7393 4418
lucia@curtisbrown.co.uk
www.curtisbrown.co.uk
Sheila O’Flanagan is represented by Carole Blake
Contact: Blake Friedmann Literary, Film & TV Agency
122 Arlington Road
London NW1 7HP
Telephone: 00 44 (0)20 7284 0408
Fax: 00 44 (0) 20 7284 0442
email: info@blakefriedmann.co.uk
Cecelia Ahern is represented by Marianne Gunn O’Connor
Marianne also represents Claudia Carroll, Anita Notaro and Sinead Moriarty
Contact: Marianne Gunn O’Connor Literary Agency
Morrison Chambers, Suite 17
32 Nassau Street, Dublin 2
mgoclitagency@eircom.net
Melissa Hill is represented by Sheila Crowley
Sheila also represents Colette Caddle, Emma Hannigan and Sarah Harte
Contact: 00 44 (0)20 7393 4492
crowleyoffice@curtisbrown.co.uk
Sarah Webb is represented by Peta Nightingale at LAW
(LAW also represent Sophie Kinsella – Irish name, but not actually Irish!)
Contact: All submissions should be sent, in hard copy, by post to:
LAW, 14 Vernon Street, London, W14 0RJ
www.lawagency.co.uk
Clare Dowling is represented by Darley Anderson
Contact: Darley Anderson Literary, TV and Film Agency
Estelle House
11 Eustace Road
London SW6 1JB
Tel: 00 44 (0)20 7385 6652
Fax:00 44 (0)20 7386 5571
Email: enquiries@darleyanderson.com
Marita Conlon McKenna is represented by Caroline Sheldon
Contact via:
www.carolinesheldon.co.uk
71 Hillgate Place, London W8 7SS
Patricia Scanlan is represented by Lutyens & Rubenstein Literary Agency
Contact via: www.lutyensrubinstein.co.uk
21 Kensington Park Road, London W11 2EU
Other Recommended Popular Fiction Agents:
Madeleine Buston at Darley Anderson
Contact: Darley Anderson Literary, TV and Film Agency
Estelle House
11 Eustace Road
London SW6 1JB
Tel: 0 44 (0)20 7385 6652
Fax: 0 44 (0)20 7386 5571
Email: enquiries@darleyanderson.com
Lizzie Kremer at David Higham
Contact: David Higham Associates
5–8 Lower John Street
Golden Square
London W1F 9HA
Switchboard: 00 44 (0)20 7434 5900
Fax: 044 (0)20 7437 1072
E-mail: dha@davidhigham.co.uk
I’m on day three now of the first rewrite of The Shoestring Proposal (adult novel for 2012 – working title), and it was all going along nicely until I hit a major plot hiccup and had to start all over again.
I’m trying to focus on the overall structure of the story this time but it’s very tempting to tweak at the dialogue and the sentences too. I’ve gone over the first six chapters about five times now and it’s time to let go and move on to the next section of the book. I’ll come back to the first section again later and then start the whole process all over again!
But rewriting is an interesting process. To give you some idea of what I’m up to, below is a short section of a scene from near the opening of the book, with notes (in italics) as to why I’ve added or changed things.
Read it if it interests you. I’ve given you both the original version and the new version.
But first – Other things I’m working on during the rewrite – some of these are minor, some are big:
Changing the name of a secondary character from Rebecca to Jessica – I had a Rachel and a Rebecca – mother and daughter, and I was getting confused as to who was who – so I’m sure a tired reader might confuse them also.
Making my main characters – Jules and Pandora – stand out more. Adding lots of detail – clothes, mannerisms, giving them each a very particular way of speaking. A lot of this was in the first draft, but it wasn’t consistent enough. It needs to be perfect.
Making sure I’ve got all the continuity correct – Pandora was 14 when her mum died, Jules, nine; birthdays; childhoods. Is this all consistent throughout the book?
Upping the drama – making the reader FEEL is vitally important in popular fiction. Have I made the most of each and every scene?
Fact checking – lots of fact checking. I need to talk to a medic for a start – luckily I have a friend who’s a surgeon who will be able to help me. All the facts need to be 100% accurate.
Adding a rabbit (don’t ask).
Making Pandora’s meltdown BIGGER.
Putting in two new scenes – taking out other scenes, ones I know are not working.
And that’s just for starters – once my agent and my editor get their hands on it, the work really begins! Fun, fun, fun. But all part of every writer’s life.
At the end of the day, the more work you put into a book, the more love and passion and enthusiasm your pour into the pages, the better it will be.
The Shoestring Proposal (First Draft)
Old version: (Bits in talics are my notes)
I knew I’d get a mixed reaction when I first suggested the trip to Paris.
(I deleted this line as I want the Paris bit to come as a surprise to the reader.)
I’m standing behind the till at Shoestring, the second hand designer shop I run, along with my sister, Jules, and Bird, our spritely eighty-four-year-old granny. It’s a quiet day and Jules has wandered over for a chat.
(all a bit bla – needed more of a sense of who Jules and Pandora actually are – and I haven’t actually given Pandora a name – I want the reader to know her name early on as she’s the narrator)
‘Have you thought any more about your birthday present?’ she says without preamble, leaning over and plonking her elbows down on the desk. ‘How about hand-made leather gloves? There’s little place in town that makes them to measure and you can choose the leather and the lining. I know you like practical presents and it’s something a bit different. I’m not giving you a voucher again, not for your thirtieth.’
It’s now or never, I decide.
‘I’d much prefer a weekend away, Jules,’ I say, trying to keep my voice light. ‘How about Paris?’
She twists around and stares at me. ‘Paris? Are you sure?’
She has every right to be surprised. I’d spent three months studying at the Paris Institute of Fashion and Design in Montmartre in my early twenties and I’d come home with a lot more than notebooks jammed with dress ideas, and conversational French.
OK problem here – Paris is a big deal – Pandora left Paris in a hurry and has never been back – so wanting to go there for her 30th is a HUGE deal – which isn’t clear her – and also would stop the conversation – it wouldn’t just be – Paris . . . Jules in shock . . . then back to the previous conversation – wrong, wrong, wrong!
I nod. ‘I’d prefer to be out of the country when I turn thirty. That way I can pretend it isn’t really happening. Thirty’s so ancient. I can feel the crow’s feet coming on already.’ My hands flutter to the outer edges of her eyes and I start rotating the skin gently under my finger tips.
New version:
(Second draft – and still a long way to go yet!)
I’m sitting behind the till at Shoestring, the second hand designer clothes shop I run, peering at the computer screen when my sister, Jules wanders in the front door pushing her road bike in front of her with one hand. She’s only ten minutes late which isn’t bad for her.
My mind’s all over the place this morning; I’m supposed to be updating our website before the shop floor starts to get too busy – adding new stock and taking down anything we’ve sold – but I’m finding it desperately hard to concentrate, so I’m glad for the distraction.
‘Hey, Pandora, have you thought any more about your birthday present?’ she says without preamble, propping her bike against the desk, swinging her bag off her shoulder and dumping it the floor, and then leaning over and plonking her elbows down on the desk, making the bracelets on her wrist jangle down her arm. She’s wearing a very odd-looking outfit today – nothing new for Jules – red knitted leggings, yellow cut-off denim shorts and a purple bat-winged top.
‘I had an idea on the way over,’ she continues, oblivious to either my stares at her get up or the fact that she’s late for work. ‘How about hand-made leather gloves? There’s little place in town that makes them to measure and you can choose the leather and the lining. I know you like practical presents and it’s something a bit different. I’m not giving you a voucher again, not for your thirtieth.’
I’ve been mulling over how to work my birthday into a conversation for a good week and now that Jules has given me the opening, I may as well get it out there.
Trying to sound as breezy as possible I say ‘I’d much prefer a weekend away than a present, Jules. A city break maybe. I’d like to be out of the country when I turn thirty. That way I can pretend it isn’t really happening. Thirty’s so bloody ancient. I can feel the crow’s feet coming on already.’ I start to rotate the skin at the corner of my eyes gently under my finger tips. ‘You have to massage your face several times a day, apparently,’ I add, trying to make my ageing-concern believable. ‘And do special exercises.’
It still isn’t perfect, but it’s a hell of a lot better than it was. Several more rewrites and I might actually be brave enough to show it to my agent. Maybe . . .
Right, back to work.
Yours in writing,
Sarah XXX
I’m just back from holidays and about to start working on the first rewrite of The Shoestring Proposal (working title – sequel to The Shoestring Club which will be published in February 2012 – so for 2013, gulp!). After this rewrite it will go to my lovely agent, Peta for her notes. And once we are both happy with it, the rewritten draft will wing its way to my editor in Pan Macmillan.
So step one: I’ve printed out the manuscript, made some early notes and this morning I’ll start reading through the pages and make even more notes. It’s slow going, but it works for me.
I know it needs a lot of attention, I know one of the characters in particular isn’t quite right yet and I’m not sure about one of the story strands. I also need to do some fact checking. Rewriting is a vital part of the writing process and demands a clear head and a brave heart.
Yesterday I read JoJo Moyes’s blog (with thanks to Melissa Hill for the heads up on Twitter). This is what she said about rewriting one of her books:
So, four days ago I took the decision to cut 70,000 words out of my finished book, and rewrite them. Yup, I’ll say that again. Seventy thousand words. Or, to put it another way, a shortish novel.
I didn’t do it lightly; even now, a few days on, it feels a bit like an amputation. The most I have ever cut at one time is around 5,000 words (a chapter). When I talked about it to friends this weekend I found myself saying the words with a slightly-too-giddy laugh “I’ve just deleted 70,000 words of my latest! I know! hahaha!” and using the kind of voice that suggests an imminent lurch towards a gin bottle.
But I had handed the manuscript over to my agent in June, and a month’s distance – and a barely perceptible edge to her words which told me that while she loved it, she didn’t love it as much as the last two – meant that something had to give. In today’s unforgiving publishing landscape, you can’t afford to put out a book that you – or your agent – doesn’t believe is not just good, but the best darn thing you have ever written.
And here is the galling thing. I think I knew. The book – The Girl You Left Behind – is a dual timeframe epic about love, betrayal and nazi-looted art. Half of it is set in German-occupied France in 1916 – a subject I thought I would struggle with. But no, that part of the book flew; it was the modern plot-line that refused to take off.
And from 20,000 words on, a little voice at the back of my head kept whispering that it wasn’t quite working. I tinkered. I rewrote. I told myself that it was a huge subject, a complex plot. I reassured myself that I had often felt ambivalent about finished work. As writer Debi Alper tweeted me afterwards: “It’s hard to draw the line between clever gut and inner critic.”
By the time I handed it over, I knew I had done a good job. But that little voice was still there, muffled but insistent. And then I sat down and checked the proofs of my finished book, Me Before You, which will be published in January, and I made a horrible realisation. The Girl You Left Behind was just not as good.
So here I am, 2000 words in to a 70000 word rewrite. I have no idea how I will get it done in time. I suspect a return to the 6am writing stints will follow (bleurgh). It will be stressful and, as a freelance, it will cost me money.
The good news is this (and believe me, I need some good news): even 2000 words in, the new plot feels right. (I’m going to assume that’s my clever gut talking. And not an ulcer.)
But it has taught me a valuable lesson. Firstly, that buying yourself a month away from your work in progress is a really useful thing. And, secondly, that if a little nagging voice is repeatedly telling you something is wrong, then, guess what? It probably is. And the sooner you can accept that, take a step back and re-work it, the less likely you are to be working out how to rewrite an entire novel during your summer holidays.
70,000 words! Brave, brave woman. But sometimes courage is what it takes; courage and conviction and, above all, the will to work hard and to stick with it until you get every scene, every word right.
As I’ve said time and time again, writing is all about rewriting. It’s part of the craft of writing; it’s part of every writer’s life. And it’s also what separates the published from the unpublished.
So here I am – at stage one. I’ll let you know how I get on and what changes and decisions I make along the way as it may be useful to you. Documenting it will certainly be useful to me and help to keep me motivated. And as my head is still drowsy from my holidays, I need to focus. Focus, Sarah. Back to the book!
(And there is the small matter of Amy Green 5 also – which I’ll be starting next week – ah yes, the joy of juggling!)
Yours in writing,
Sarah XXX
