If you aspire to being published by a nationally recognised publisher,
the first step is to identify an agent who can represent your work.
There are no set rules as to how to go about this but the following are
good places to start:
Research agents and agencies in The Writer's Handbook (editor Barry
Turner) published by Macmillan. This publication also has a huge amount
of useful information about how to operate as a writer. It is updated
annually and is usually available in libraries as well as bookshops.
Research the agents who have represented authors whose work you
admire or think is similar to your own (writers often thank their
agents in the dedication pages of their novels).
Read The Bookseller to find out who is buying what in publishing.
See www.writersservices.com/agent/uk/agent_uk.htm for contact details for many UK agents.
The main thing to remember is that publishing and being an agent are
both commercial enterprises. For your work to appeal to publishers or
agents they must not only be convinced that it is good enough to be
published but also that it stands a chance of attracting a large
readership and will therefore make them (and you) enough money to
justify going ahead with the publication. Understanding that publishing
is a business rather than a purely artistic pursuit and that your work
has to be extremely well conceived and have large market appeal will
help you understand how the whole publishing process works.
If you are happy to see your work published by a smaller independent
press (where you are unlikely to get a huge advance) you can contact
them directly.
In June 2004 New Writing North produced the Fresh Fiction Festival
Hothouse Weekend, two days of events that focussed on how to get
published if you are a fiction writer. Over the coming months, we will be adding edited transcripts of
interviews and staged events with agents, editors and editorial
assessment services. We believe that this information is the best
advice that we can offer you in terms of understanding more about the
publishing process.
COMING SOON
What not to Write
Claire Malcolm (director of New Writing North) picks the brains of
Debbie Taylor, (editor of Mslexia magazine), Andrew Crumey (author and
literary editor) Kirsty Dunseath (fiction editor with Orion) and Emma
Hargreaves (publisher at Tindal Street Press) to find out what’s hot
and what’s not hot in publishing at the moment.
The Literary Consultancy’s Do’s and Don’t’s
Jeremy Sheldon and Julia Bell (Literary Consultancy) in discussion with
Debbie Taylor, (editor of Mslexia magazine) about how authors should
approach agents and publishers.
The Terrible Truth about Slush Piles
Jenny Brown (literary agent) and Angus Cargill (Faber and Faber editor)
in conversation with Mark Robinson (head of arts at Arts Council
England North East) about their slush piles.
How to sell a First Novel
Claire Malcolm (director of New Writing North) interviews Jonny Geller
(literary agent with Curtis Brown) about what he looks for in a first
novel and how agents work with authors.
What Makes a Good Novel
Novelists Maggie Gee and Penny Sumner and Orion fiction editor Kirsty
Dunseath discuss how writers and editors work together to produce fine
fiction
Can Anyone Teach you to Write a Novel
Author Charles Fernyhough talks to Penny Sumner (Northumbria
University), Debbie Taylor (editor, Mslexia magazine) and first time
author Jonathan Trigell about creative writing MAs, courses and
workshops and asks if they help or hinder aspiring authors.
