Tags
books, contracts, editing, getting published, literary agency, literature, manuscript, manuscript assessment, perserverance, publishing, submission, writers, writing, writing tips
I’d like to introduce a client of mine, Alison Mather, who’s recently signed with a prestigious literary agency in the UK. She’s had an interesting journey (to say the least) and has agreed to share it with you. I think you’ll find it inspiring:
Perseverance. It’s a word most commonly used when telling a person’s story of triumph, after they’ve triumphed – which is all well and good and serves as a reminder that your goal can be achieved, but is utterly horrible when you’re actually trying to do it: being perseverant. At least it is to me. I find it very much akin to what I imagine being lost in the wilderness to be like (without the constant threat of sudden death). What direction should I take? How do I know if this step is the right one? What if I’m just going around in circles? Why are the signposts so damned hard to find?
Okay, so that’s where the analogy ends because most people know that the best thing to do if you are physically lost is to stay still and that is absolutely, positively the worst thing you could do if you ever want to be a published author.
During my own journey as a writer I have asked all of these questions every step of the way, and a heck of a lot more. The results can be stultifying and very damaging to your chances if you are the sort to give up easily.
I am one of ‘those’ people who took time off to write. I am very lucky to have an extremely supportive spouse who encouraged me to do so. If you are now thinking that means I’ve had it easy, think again. Six months into writing my first manuscript I was diagnosed with thyroid disease, my husband was retrenched from his job and a 24 foot tree fell on our house during the big Brisbane storms. Add to that, I received nothing but rejection letters to every single query I sent out to publishers and agents. Things were not going to plan and it was very, very hard.
Somehow, though – and here is where the perseverance bit comes in – I managed to write a second, and much better, manuscript and tried again. Now, five years later, I have just signed with a literary agency and am starting work on editing the story – for what feels like the billionth time – in the more real hope of interesting a publisher.
Not the ideal journey to becoming an author, perhaps, but here’s what I’ve learned:
Your writing is key – do everything possible to ensure it is the best it can be, and I don’t mean asking your family. They will always be on your side and that’s not what you need. Join your local Writer’s Centre and find a manuscript assessor. I edited my own work three times and then hired Louise to edit it again. Is it really worth the expense? I sent my work, edited by me, to every publisher in Australia and it was rejected. I paid for professional advice and now I have an agent.
Listen to everything that’s being said to you by the people who know. I was rejected by a tonne of agents earlier this year but one actually took the time to write a personal letter of explanation suggesting that I was aiming at the wrong age group. I was so cut up about the rejection that I almost missed the significance of that particular crumb of advice. And they will be crumbs and you have to fall on them like they’re nuggets of gold, even if all you can hear is the criticism.
Cast a wide net – as in global wide. My agent is in London. By all means go local to begin but understand that there are a handful of publishers and agents in Australia and a shedload of writers – unless you’ve written that must-have story in which case I’m struggling with my resentment. I smashed the internet doing research and you really have to look. I strongly recommend the following websites: www.literaryrambles.com for agents that rep in your genre, www.writersdigest.com for new agents alerts – you have far more chance with agents who are looking to build their lists, Sarah’s blog at www.greenhouseliterary.com for tips on query writing and many more that I can’t fit in here.
Remember, I was totally green, I knew nothing about the industry that I was hoping to carve a career in, but I dedicated myself to it utterly and I’ve made it this far. You can too.
Writing success really is one part inspiration and ten parts perspiration. Keep at it, and if you’ve got any tips on how to keep motivation up while persevering, do share them with us below. Cheers! Louise
I have found tons of great advice and support from Kristen Lamb and WANA International. Whenever I’m ready to quit, I take a class and am suddenly ready to get back to the grind. (Yes, 90% perspiration.) Upcoming is WANACon, an online writer’s conference, just in time to give me a kick in the seat – again.
Thanks for this encouraging post.
Thanks for that tip, Sharon. I’ll check out WANACon. We’re so lucky to be living in this time when resources are so accessible on the Internet. No reason to stay in the doldrums!
You’re most welcome, Sharon, and thank you for the information.
Congratulations on achieving your current goal and thanks for the tips.
Cheers Jill. They are good tips, aren’t they. I checked out Alison’s recommended websites and they’re full of info and inspiration.
Thanks, Jill. Believe me, it feels great to finally have something to be congratulated on!
Thanks for sharing, Louise and well done, Alison. Your story serves as encouragement and inspiration to us all.
So glad you think so Rebecca! I was inspired by Alison’s perseverance too.
Thanks Rebecca, I really hope it does. Encouragement can be hard to come by in this game so please, take it and use it.
“What direction should I take? How do I know if this step is the right one? What if I’m just going around in circles? Why are the signposts so damned hard to find?”
Love this post on perseverance, Alison and Louise. So easy to say and so incredibly hard to do. I’ve had a long period of persevering (during which, strangely enough, I had a diagnosis of thyroid problem!), and it’s paying off now, with a terrific agent and a contract offer. I have no doubt at all though that more perseverance, more dark nights and searching for signposts lie ahead. These days I don’t think any writer can afford not to develop that will to go on.
Thanks for a great post
What a coincidence about the thyroid problem, Phillipa! Although, I must admit as a Louise Hay devotee, I do wonder if physical illnesses are a result of predictable psychological/emotional states. Certainly perseverance is a tough emotional state to be in, and would cause stress levels to rise. So glad to hear you’ve got an agent and a contract now. Support of other writers can be such a benefit in helping maintain motivation, that’s for sure.
Hi, Phillipa – You’re so right about the saying versus the doing. I genuinely asked myself (and others) those questions so often over the last five years that it made my head hurt. My warmest congrats on the agent and book deal – you’re a step ahead of me! I agree that you have to have the will to make it. It’s so hard when you’re in it though – how do you know if you’re just around the corner or miles away? Not an easy road…
Here’s to women with thyroid disease! We should form a club…
Thanks Alison and Louise – and congratulations Alison. I’ve done the professional assessment-rotation and I’m now on find-an-agent, so this post comes at exactly the right time. Two Australian agents agreed to read, but that was four months ago. Seems I could be in my dotage before they get round to it, so I’ll give the OS ones a go. I’m specially grateful for the links. Thank you.
Good luck with it Helen, and keep me in the loop with how you go. If you get stuck anywhere, just email me and we can brainstorm ideas. Cheers!
Hi Helen and thank you. You are most welcome for the links – they are out there but can be hard to find. DO give OS a go! It’s funny you should mention dotage because I said the exact same thing more than once! It sounds like you have a good product if two agents have already requested the full but keep pushing in the meantime. And yes, it does seem to take forEVER…
Hi Alison, I love this post. All writers, whether fledgling or published, will relate to these words. My debut novel is being launched at GenreCon in Brisbane in just a few weeks and that would have never happened without many, many years of wandering and writing in the wilderness – and seeking out the advice of professionals including the incredible Louise Cusack. Good luck with your writing & keep persevering.
Hi Cheryse. Thank you and congratulations! Wow – launching at GenreCon, eh? You’re now my hero. I’m encouraged to hear that my exprerience is relatable. No matter how many times I’ve heard that other writers experience similar emotions, it still feels terribly isolating at the time, doesn’t it? It can be a very lonely thing, writing a novel. I often envied people who could lean over to the next cubicle, say ‘what do you think of this?’ and get immediate feedback.
And you’re right – Louise IS incredible…
Awww, now I’m blushing…
Hi Alison, I recognise you from Louise’s seminar at Strathpine Library 🙂 Congratulations on securing your agent 🙂 I am in those early stages – and luckily also have a supportive husband – and am learning so much as the month’s drag on after my first round of submissions to Australian publishers. I’m researching agents at the moment – starting with Australia – and wondering whether UK/US agents would be more suitable considering my market. The age of my characters is always in question for me. They are new adult age ( 20), but my content is more suited to young adult. It’s certainly more the market I’m after. That feedback you received would have been wonderful! I hope to have the same. Best of luck with book 🙂
Hello Lorelle, thank you for the good wishes. Yes, it is a remarkable support to have an agent, particularly for the generous feedback they provide. Rare as hen’s teeth in Australia. Have you tried approaching Alex Adsett as a potential agent for your manuscript? She’s a Brisbane agent and I believe that she is interested in YA and fantasy. I would advise you to think long and hard about your target audience before approaching agents or publishers. While it is definitely true that young readers always want to read about characters older than themselves, if your content is aimed at Young Adults then an average age of twenty for the characters is a bit too far past the top end of the range.
Broadly speaking, the way to classify a YA novel – apart from age – is by subject matter. The developmental issues and themes for Middle Grade readers are generally inward-focussed (finding out who they are), and YA is more concerned with outward-focussed themes (finding their place in the larger world). An excellent example is To Kill A Mockingbird – it is classed as a YA novel because, while the characters are Middle Grade age, the themes of the book (racism, rape, mental illness etc) are more concerned with the larger society.
If you written your story to cover YA issues, then I would urge you to lower the age of your characters. Remember that to a teenager, twenty is OLD.
I wish you every success with your manuscript and your writing career.
Thank you so much for advice, Alison. I would love to be able to work with Alex Adsett and am currently researching agents, trying to work out how I can turn my unsolicited manuscript into a solicited one – especially since Alex isn’t accepting submissions at the moment. With regards to young adult, I really do appreciate your detailed response. I guess essentially, it would be classed as new adult with regards to age- even though the sexual themes are subdued. I have to be really careful not to imply that all new adult is erotic. There’s a whole discussion topic right there lol. I’m not sure how this age group is accepted in Australian publishing; I would love to know.
There is an Australian author who has marketed her book as young adult and her MC is 19; her book sits exactly where I want mine to with regards to genre and themes. When I started writing, I was always told to write what I love, the way I want to ( stay true to yourself) and get the story out. But I do have to consider the environment I write in, like any business, and adjust accordingly 🙂
Sounds like you know exactly what you’re about, Lorelle. I wish you the best of luck for your story and bright, shiny silver linings in the dark times.