The Business

How to Succeed

If success in publishing is what you want, you must treat publishing as a business - because that is exactly what it is. New writers who have a good feel for what is going on in that business inevitably possess a considerable advantage over those who remain unengaged. Being savvy and, above all, professional can go some way towards making your odds of publication that much more realistic. And, of course, a good knowledge of the market steels the new writer against the inevitable disappointments ahead and alerts them to the potential pitfalls. Being business-minded is not the same thing as tailoring your writing to a buyer’s market (though, of course, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that and good luck to you). Being business-minded is about distinguishing yourself from the amateur - and it’s something of a job in itself. It’s about learning who does what. It’s about understanding how to present work to magazines and publishers in order to give the best possible impression. It’s about being in touch with the literary culture and trends, and those who comment on it and influence it - such as reviewers and arts commentators. It’s about helping you to make the right, informed choices for you and your work - which, as you’ll discover, is something of a talent in itself.

Before you even begin to contemplate sending work out to book publishers - or magazines - and preferably before you embark on a sustained project, you should make a point of picking up a copy of a good reference book for writers. The two leading reference manuals in the UK are The Writer’s Handbook [amazon link] and The Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook [amazon link]. Reasonably priced, bang up to date (revised editions are published every year) and available in all good bookshops either is an absolute must for any serious writer, new or established. They provide frank, accessible and invaluable information written by industry professionals for writers on many complex aspects of the business, ranging from copyright to market trends. And they contain complete listings for all reputable agents, publishers and magazines in the UK and Ireland. For publishers and agents, they also provide details of the kind of material they handle and specialise in and, just as importantly what they don’t - thus avoiding much disappointment and an inevitable waste of stamps. For agents, a sample list of representative clients is also provided; for publishers, a sample of recent and more established authors from their list. Both The Writer’s Handbook and the Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook also offer information on prizes and awards open to emergent as well as published and well established authors. No serious writer of serious intent can get by without them. Read them.

Staying in touch with the literary culture and the current climate is vital. Make a point of reading the Books pages of the broadsheets. You want to be a part of that conversation - so find out what people are talking about. Find out what’s hot and what’s not. This can provide you with a useful indication of where you stand within the market. And, by the by, before you embark on your coming of age trilogy set in the Norfolk Broads it may be useful to know that that particular book has already been written - by somebody else and it’s already getting rave reviews. Finding out what’s going on now can help you avoid the common pitfalls of hackneyed plots and long-exhausted themes that typify the output of writers who fail to plug into the scene. Work needs to engage with an audience and a culture. Those who are out of touch with the culture easily betray themselves to agents and publishers alike.

In tandem with what people are saying about books, you should, of course, be reading them religiously yourself. No amount of careful research can make up for the lack of this. Learning to be a good, discriminating reader is the first step towards becoming an intelligent writer. Reading the work of others will develop and enhance your own output. If you don’t read books you will never become a writer of any merit at all. And you should really consider whether writing is really for you if the culture is of no interest.