I was talking to the 6th class pupils from Rathfarnham Parish National School this morning - fab bunch of boys and girls. Smart cookies too - and all huge readers.
We were talking about writing stories and what made a good book. They all agreed that a brilliant book should have all or some of the following elements:
Brilliant characters
An exciting and interesting plot
It should also be:
sad
scary
funny
And it should tell you something interesting or surprising.
It should also be unpredictable. (This is a very clever one indeed!)
See, told you they were smart!
All these things are also vital for an 'adult' novel. I read a book over the weekend and it had some of these elements but by no means all - and frankly, it was boring. And boring is fatal - if you want to hold your reader's attention your story has to be above all exciting and interesting.
The pupils wrote a cracking story with interesting main characters (a 57 year old would-be rock star and a 7 year old X Factor type judge who happened to be Simon Cowell's god-daughter). It had humour, motive, and it was interesting.
We can learn a lot from 11 and 12 year olds!
Sarah X
If you want to read a non boring story - try The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett - clever, witty and sweet. I've just started the new Cathy Kelly, Once in a Lifetime and so far, so good - I'll let you know how I get on.
I was on the Seoige Show this afternoon - talking about 3 of my favourite books - Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret? by Judy Blume, Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak, and a newer book called The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - jeepers, a bit of a mouthful of a title, which is a great book about the German occupation of Guernsey during the second World War.
Anyway, I do like going to RTE, it makes a change from sitting at my desk and I do love getting my make up done! Shame it's only the kids who get to see it. Wasted really.
The Seoige sisters are lovely, very genuine, both stunning, and both good fun. The show seems to be going from strength to strength and they obviously enjoy working together. They dance around, sing and speak to each other in Irish - just like normal sisters, well Irish speaking ones that would be!
It's nice to see two women on the telly who are so at home in their skins, bright and fun. Killer heels too on the pair of them. Can't be easy doing a daily show - so huge kudos to the shining Seoiges!
It's Monday, and I wrote about 1,000 words today, which is a huge relief as I hadn't written a fresh word since Dec 16th. I've been doing all kinds of other things - editing, writing articles, writing content for my amy green website - www.askamygreen.com - and being sick. I get horribly tetchy when I haven't written. But the next adult book (the plastic surgery one) is coming along nicely now. I'm more than 1/2 through and there's a structure and a nice 'feel' to the chapters, even though the writing is not as tight and polished as I'd like it to be yet.
I can't believe there was actually snow outside this morning - and I was too sick and wrecked to do anything about it - I'm feeling a lot better now but it's dark - boo. Check out my amy green website for a pic of our little snowmen in the garden. Sorry, for some reason I can't post pictures on this blog - apologies. I must get that sorted.
And check out the igloo I made when I was little also.
Amy Green is officially out today - 2nd Feb. There's a special dinner to celebrate tomorrow - for booksellers and press and I'm very nervous. I do hope readers like it. The early signs are good, but it's always stressful. This year I've had 2 books out in 2 months - extra stressful. But exciting.
Ha, yes, I'm cheating - 3 days in one!
I have to talk in a school tomorrow and I'm taking a rest today - I'm sick - boo - I'm a terrible patient! Sinus stuff - v boring.
And I really must get back to writing - so for the next while I'll only being doing the odd post I'm afraid - at least once a week though. And thanks so much for reading and for all the nice comments and emails.
Right - getting published. First of all - do you need any agent?
Yes and no. (see the end of this post for the section on agents)
Many of the Irish publishers are happy to read unsolicited manuscripts - all except Hodder Ireland I believe (although this might have changed recently). But here are the main Irish publishers and what they publish:
Poolbeg
Specialise in commercial women’s fiction. Poolbeg discovered Marian Keyes and Cathy Kelly. It was my first adult publishing house before I moved to Macmillan. It's a good place to start.
Also interested in thrillers, sagas, historical fiction.
Editor - Gaye Shortland
Submission details on their website - www.poolbeg.com
O’Brien Press
Publish children’s fiction and adult fiction
Recently had a big hit with Ross O’Carroll-Kelly’s ‘PS I Scored the Bridesmaids’ - he then moved to Penguin Ireland - the best (and pretty much only) Irish publishers for children's books
Editor – Mary Webb and Helen Carr
Contact details on their website - www.obrien.ie
New Island
All kinds of fiction, including commercial fiction.
‘Tatty’ by Christine Dwyer Hickey was one of their recent bestsellers.
Submission details on their website - www.newisland.ie
Mercier Press
has recently shaken itself up under Commissioning Editor Eoin Purcell's watchful eye www.mercierpress.ie
children's and adults - esp Irish interest - inc picture books!
Also - Gill and Macmillan (for non fiction) and some others - check www.publishingireland.com for details.
Irish offices of UK publishers -
Penguin Ireland
Publish all kinds of fiction.
Recent success story - Sinead Moriarty and Niamh Green
Editor - Patricia Deevy
Submission details on their website - www.penguin.ie
Hodder Headline Ireland
Publish women’s fiction and crime novels.
Recent success story - Deirdre Purcell, Ciara Geraghty
Editor - Ciara Considine
Contact details - www.publishingireland.com - as far as I know you might need an agent - but worth checking in case
Transworld Ireland
Publisher - Eoin McHugh www.transworldireland.ie
recent success - Amanda Hearty, Amanda Brunker
fiction and non fiction
There are of course many other publishers in Ireland and the UK, check in a copy of the Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook for details. Available from your local library or bookshop. However most of the larger UK publishers will require you to have an agent. But check and see - not all do. My lovely children's publishers - Walker, don't.
So you've sent them your manuscript - What next?
Most Irish publishers will get back to you within a few weeks – or 3 months. Be patient – it often takes a little time. You can ring and ask if they received your manuscript but always be polite. In the smaller Irish publishing houses the person answering the phone may well be the editor and you don’t want to get off to a bad start with him or her.
The Truth about Advances
Whatever you read in the papers, few authors get large advances. Most get royalties based on their sales. These are usually from 6 to 10 % of the price of the book – so say the book is 9e (standard p/bk is 8.99) then the author will get a maximum of 90cent per book sold. On the plus side – some Irish writer’s royalty earnings are tax free - up to e250,000 - you can apply to the tax office for this status and they will decide whether to grant you the artists’ exemption or not.
Once you’ve submitted - Keep writing
Don’t get discouraged. Getting published is hard and there will be many set backs along the way. Even J K Rowling was turned down by many of the top publishers – including Penguin and Harper Collins - who are now kicking themselves no doubt. Don’t just sit around waiting for an agent or publisher to get back to you - keep writing.
My word final advice is - don’t give up! New authors are published every month, one day it might be you. Good luck!
Recommended Book: The Best Book for Writers That I Have Ever Read
For a real insiders guide to how the publishing industry really works, read From Pitch to Publication. Written by Carole Blake, one of the top UK literary agents, this book is full of useful information on the publishing business, submitting a manuscript, contracts and troubleshooting. I can’t recommend it highly enough - it’s the definitive guide to getting published.
And finally_
Agents – what they do and why you might need one
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.
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 will act as unofficial ‘editors’ to their clients or at the very least can suggest changes or improvements.
2/ An agent can find the right publisher for your work. Agents may also know what kind of areas particular publishers are looking to publish in. And they can sell your UK, US and foreign rights.
3/ Agents deal with the difficult and technical area of contracts.
4/ Money – they can chase up your royalties and talk to your publishers about outstanding monies owed to you
Agents can be found in the Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook. There are only a few agents in Ireland, the main ones being Jonathan Williams, Faith O’Grady and Marianne Gunn O’Connor (Details in the Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook as above). 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. Some of the best agencies are always looking for new talent so don’t be put off by the fact that they represent Cecelia Ahern or Marian Keyes.
The very best of luck with your writing. It's a long, hard road at times, but it really is worth it in the end. There's nothing like seeing a book with your name on it on the shelves - it's pure magic.
I'm not feeling the may west today - I was in bed all day yesterday and I'm the world's worst patient. Since Friday I've been feeling miserable - but I hope I'm over the worst - sinus, headache, earache, throat - lovely stuff!
Has anyone tried shooting salt water up their nose and out the other nose - sorry, nasal irrigation it's called - very yogic - anyway that's what I have to do twice a day, as well as take the meds - it's a very odd feeling - and your eyes water and it all feels a bit wrong - but I'll let you know if it works - it's for sinus conditions.
