Serial Writer

Hi everyone, and this morning I’m delighted to welcome Suzy Aspley to the blog. Suzy is a crime writer, and resides in Glasgow with her family. As a fellow subbing writer (where you are preparing your very much loved novel for agents), she was kind enough to answer a couple of questions for me.

Over to you, Suzy…

1) As a child, did you have a favourite author? Was there a turning point with any particular book that made you go ‘Wow!’

I’ve always loved stories and was a bookworm as a child. I loved Enid Blyton books especially the Faraway Tree and the Wishing Chair ones (was never really a Famous Five fan). I was also a pony mad child, so loved books by Christine Pullien-Thompson. I recall one called Three Ponies and Shannon about a girl who rode around the countryside solving puzzles with an Irish Wolfhound at her side. I imagined I was that character! I think books that made me go Wow came later when I went to university.

2) Did you enjoy English at school?

I loved English at school. I was always writing stories and reading. I remember I even used to write poems on my bedroom wall (my poor parents). My brain has always worked better with words and pictures, rather than numbers. That helped when I went to Northumbria Uni
where I studied modern and contemporary lit and came across books like One Hundred Years of Solitude, House of the Spirits, Beloved and Oranges are not the Only Fruit which changed my reading behaviour again. As well as crime fiction, I love to read books with a magical realist edge too.

3) Do you find that your day job helps you in your writing?

I spent more than 12 years working as a news and features writer on a newspaper, so that definitely helped. I’ve done a few jobs in PR too, although writing press releases is not quite the same. I’ve worked in the NHS for more than 10 years running a communications team and it’s a job I love, but a couple of years ago realised I’d lost touch with the creative part of me that loved writing. I started going to a night class which got me writing short stories again and my partner booked me on a crime writing retreat with some of my favourite authors in the Scottish Highlands. That was a turning point. I spent a brilliant week with Louise Welsh and Stuart MacBride, and Yrsa Sigurdadottir was our guest reader. That was the week I started my first book. An idea given to me during a writing exercise turned on a tap in my head and the book started to flow from that. I remember I was so buzzing with ideas that I had to stop the car on the three hour drive home to write some more of the story. I also made amazing friends that week and we’ve all been back several times together and support each other at events.

4) Are you on the lookout for an agent? If so, how is your submission process going?

Yes, I’m looking for an agent. I’m keen to take the traditional route. 2019 was an amazing year for me. I took part in a national tweet pitch in January and had quite a bit of interest from that. Then with the encouragement of brilliant friends including those authors mentioned, plus Mari Hannah, Alison Belsham and Susi Holliday in particular, I took part in pitching competitions last year. I pitched to Dragon’s Pen at Theakston’s Old Peculier last summer in Harrogate. I’d never done it before and was petrified. But I had such amazing response. The whole panel said they loved the sound of my book and asked to see it when ready. Jacky Collins (aka Dr Noir) gave me some wonderful chances to read at Noir at the Bar events and I then took part in Pitch Perfect at the Bloody Scotland crime fest in September and was stunned when I won it. The week after, my submission to the London Capital Crime Festival, was shortlisted as one of ten DHH Literary Agency New Voices. All of this gave me the momentum to submit, although to date, that has mostly been to agents and publishers who had requested to see my MS. I do need to start sending out to more agents in a more planned way and I’m hoping that this year, I’ll find the right agent.

5) Do you have any plan formed when you come up with ideas? How does your idea generation work?

I get ideas all of the time and in fact it’s become a bit of a joke that I see stories everywhere. Although not a planner, I do have a series of books outlined (mostly in my head) for my MC journalist Martha Strangeways. I’ve already started book two and have ideas for three and four simmering away in my head. I’m often prompted by everyday things. Someone I see on a train, a name that catches my attention, a story I hear about something that’s happened to a friend. My imagination takes over and often quite quickly turns into something dark.

6) Can you name one author that you admire, and why you like their particular style of writing? What is it about their stories that you find so intriguing?

So many authors it’s hard to choose. In fact I can’t! One of the first I read in crime fiction was Yrsa Sigurdardottir’s Thoraseries. There’s often an edge of the supernatural in her books, that ends being rooted in something quite ordinary and I love that, as well as the landscape and sense of atmosphere she creates. Mari Hannah’s Kate Daniels books take me back to my North-east roots and I can visualise all of the places she takes her characters to. I love Louise Welsh’s Plague Times trilogy, which seems very present just now and for a complete departure, I adore Katherine Arden’s Winternight Trilogy which is rooted in Russian Fairytales with a very dark edge.

7) What is your approach to planning your novel? Mine consisted of research and note taking (lots of each!)

To be honest, I find it very hard to plan, although I know it would probably make life much easier. Bizarrely, I find that doing tweet pitches is a place to start. If you can boil your idea into the length of a tweet, for me it’s like planting a tiny seed and it just grows from there in my head. I pitched another two ideas in the Xponorth tweet pitch in January again and had loads of interest. I may end up just releasing a book of tiny pitches! The downside is that I need to go back and do quite a lot of reordering and structural work if it’s not been all planned out.

8) What was the last book you read, and did you enjoy it?

I read a lot and recently loved Alison Belsham’s second in her Tattoo Thief series Her Last Breath. A breathless and brilliant read and can’t wait until The Embalmer is out too. A debut novel which I’d recommend is Eve Smith’s The Waiting Rooms published by Orenda. It’s a stunning book about a post antibiotics crisis, which has alarming similarities to how the current pandemic is playing out.

9) When you leave your desk on a Friday, what’s the first thing you do? On a Friday evening/on the weekend, what do you do to relax?

I usually ask my youngest son how his day has gone and then take my crazy dogs for a walk in the local woods. The problem is, my main character finds the dead body of a teenage boy with a poem about crows written on his back in those woods, so depending how lonely it is down there it can be anything but relaxing..

10) If you had to choose between Rod Stewart and Freddie Mercury, who would it be and why?

Always Freddie. I was lucky enough to see him perform with Queen at Roker Park stadium in Sunderland in my teenage years and he had such an incredible voice and presence. A legend in every sense of the word.

Bio:

South Shields born Suzy Aspley started her book after a writing prompt, six human teeth in a matchbox, reminded her of a story she once covered as a reporter. She’s lived in Scotland for more than 25 years and was a journalist on a regional newspapers for more than a decade. After pitching successfully at Dragon’s Pen, she won Bloody Scotland’s Pitch Perfect competition, she was shortlisted as a new writer at the inaugural Capital Crime Festival in 2019. Her debut novel One for Sorrow is currently out for submission.

Thank you for visiting the blog today, Suzy. I wish you all the best with your submission process!

Hi everyone. This afternoon I’m delighted to welcome Brian McGilloway to the blog. Brian is a crime writer and English teacher, based in Ireland, and he was kind enough to answer a couple of my questions.

Over to you, Brian…

1) As a child, did you have a favourite author? Was there a turning point with any particular book that made you go ‘Wow!’

I’d had a few. I remember reading John Diamond by Leon Garfield, a mystery story set in Victorian London, when I was about ten and loving it. As a teenager, I was a fan of SE Hinton and The Outsiders in particular. Her novel That Was Then, This is Now had that wow moment where you feel like the world has shifted under you. The idea that someone could write their own book while a teenager made me want to write even more than I already had.

2) Did you enjoy English at school?

I loved it – and that’s possibly why I’ve become an English teacher now. I actually started studying Biological Sciences at university and managed it for about two months before transferring into English. It was the right decision.

3) Do you find that your day job helps you in your writing?

I suppose it does in that it’s a very social job and so you’re constantly meeting people and hearing stories which is only ever helpful to writers as we’re all magpies of a sort anyway. It also offers me a contrast to the silence and isolation of writing, so the two work as nice counterpoints to one another.

4) What was your route to publication? How did you find your current agent?

I was first published by Pan Macmillan under their New Writing scheme which was designed to find new writers. I found my first agent after he picked up a copy of my first book from a bookstore in London called Goldsboro books which has been a huge supporter of my work since Borderlands. Fittingly enough, the owner, Dave Headley, set up an agency himself a few years back and I’m now with him, so there’s a nice symmetry to that.

5) Do you have any plan formed when you come up with ideas? How does your idea generation work?

Ideas are everywhere so that’s not difficult. The hard part is picking ones which have legs to sustain an 80,000 word story. I normally allow things to float about in my head for a few months or longer until I’ve looked at them for all angles and worked out the patterns that could run through the story.

6) How many times, roughly, would you say, that you polish a draft before you send it off to your agent?

I do my first draft and then a second run through before I show it to my agent. It would get another check over then before going to my editor. I tend to do a fairly brutal self-edit between draft one and two so hopefully it’s in presentable shape by that stage to be seen by someone I trust. Normally a book will have had 5 -7 runs through it before it goes to print.

7) Do you have any advice for writers looking to send their work to agents?

Don’t give up is probably the obviously one. You need to remember that agents will have their own tastes and interest and already have their own slate of writers, so if one passes on your work, it doesn’t necessarily reflect poorly on the quality of the work, but rather that its not right for that particular agent. Keep trying. Of course, if you’re getting the same feedback about specific aspects of your writing from a variety of agents, it’s probably best to take that on board.

8) What was the last book you read, and did you enjoy it?

I’ve been reading a lot of Irish crime recently. Jane Casey’s Cutting Place is a superb book and made me fall in love with police procedurals all over again. Andrea Carter’s The Body Falls is a really gripping, tense, atmospheric mystery set near where I live. And I’m just finishing Steve Cavanagh’s new one, Fifty-Fifty which is a page turner of the highest order that keeps you constantly on your toes and oozes confidence and skill.

9) When you leave your desk on a Friday, what’s the first thing you do? On a Friday evening/on the weekend, what do you do to relax?

Friday night normally involves a takeway and sitting in front of the telly! I started coaching youth rugby a year or two back so that takes up Saturday morning. And if I can, I’ll manage a cinema trip at some stage.

10) If you had to choose between Rod Stewart and Freddie Mercury, who would it be and why?

I’d say Freddie Mercury as I grew up in a house where two siblings were Queen fans so I got a taste for their music too. I’m a big fan of Tom Waits though and Rod Stewart does cover some his songs, I suppose.

Bio:

Brian McGilloway is the New York Times bestselling author of the critically acclaimed Inspector Benedict Devlin and DS Lucy Black series. He was born in Derry, Northern Ireland in 1974. After studying English at Queen’s University, Belfast, he took up a teaching position in St Columb’s College in Derry, where he was Head of English until 2013. He currently teaches in Holy Cross College, Strabane.

His first novel, Borderlands, published by Macmillan New Writing, was shortlisted for the CWA New Blood Dagger 2007 and was hailed by The Times as ‘one of (2007’s) most impressive debuts.’ The second novel in the series, Gallows Lane, was shortlisted for both the 2009 Irish Book Awards/Ireland AM Crime Novel of the Year and the Theakston’s Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year 2010. Bleed A River Deep, the third Devlin novel, was selected by Publishers Weekly as one of their Best Books of 2010.

Brian’s fifth novel, Little Girl Lost, which introduced a new series featuring DS Lucy Black, won the University of Ulster’s McCrea Literary Award in 2011 and was a New York Times Bestseller in the US and a No.1 Bestseller in the UK. The follow-up novel, Hurt, was published in late 2013 in the UK and Ireland by Constable and Robinson and was published in the USA under the title Someone You Know. The third Lucy Black novel was published in 2015 in the UK and Ireland as Preserve the Dead and in the USA, under the title The Forgotten Ones. Bad Blood, the fourth in the Lucy Black series, was published in May 2017. His tenth novel and first standalone, The Last Crossing, will be published in Spring 2020.

In 2014, Brian won BBC NI’s Tony Doyle Award for his screenplay, Little Emperors, an award which saw him become Writer In Residence with BBC NI. He currently has a number of screen projects in development with BBC NI.

Brian lives near the Irish borderlands with his wife, daughter and three sons.

Brian is represented by David Headley of DHH Literary Agency

Thank you for visiting my blog, Brian. It has been a pleasure to interview you!

Hi everyone, this morning I’m delighted to welcome Claire Dyer to the blog. Read on for what authors have inspired her, her writing process and what she does to relax.

Over to you, Claire…

1) As a child, did you have a favourite author? Was there a turning point with any particular book that made you go ‘Wow!’

When I was little, I was a huge fan of Enid Blyton’s ‘The Famous Five’ series but then, as I got older, I fell in love with Jane Austen and the Brontës. I guess the thing they have in common is that they both deal with tension really well and tell good stories, but Austen and the Brontës are obviously in a different league! What I didn’t appreciate for a long time though is the humour in Austen’s work. The books poke fun at people’s foibles in a gentle, but relentless way. Then, when I was sixteen, I read ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ by Harper Lee and it had a profound effect on me. I have read it every ten years since, each time drawing down new and valuable lessons from its messages and writing style.

2) Did you enjoy English at school?

Yes, I did. My A Level teacher, in particular, was very exacting and challenging and taught me to read between the lines of both poetry and prose. Doing French at A Level also helped, as reading another country’s classics in their own language makes you look at your own literature through a different lens.

3) Do you find that your day job helps you in your writing?

My day job now is writing, editing and teaching creative writing so I’m pretty much steeped in all things writing all day every day. However, when I was working (for an HR research forum in Mayfair, and before that, a Livery Company in the City of London), much of my time was spent communicating with clients and members through the written word, and so structuring a coherent and cogent argument and/or putting together a persuasive email, and/or producing written reports and papers were important parts of my roles.Having said that, there’s no better way to help your own writing than to teach others and/or edit other people’s work (which I do through my Fresh Eyes service (https://clairedyer.com/fresh-eyes/)), because it makes you look at your own writing in a new light. You can get lazy after a while, so being reminded of the guiding principles is a good thing!

4) What was your route to publication? How did you find your current agent?

Oh golly, my route to publication has been very complicated and very long. In summary, I wrote 4 novels before I signed with my first agent. I then wrote another 4 novels before that agent secured me a 2 book deal. I then wrote another 2 novels and changed agents and published The Last Day with my current agent. I have written 3 more novels since then, which we have been working on to get submission ready.

5) Do you have any plan formed when you come up with ideas? How does your idea generation work?

Most of my novels start with an outline idea and a cast of characters and the story unfolds from there. I do plot, but not forensically, and I do tend to know how the book will end, but try not to tell myself this too soon in the writing process as I like to surprise myself because I believe if I’m surprised, then my reader will be too! I also like it when my characters go off piste and take the story in a new direction.

6) How many times, roughly, would you say, that you polish a draft before you send it off to your agent?

About three times I think. However, what my agent is brilliant at is pointing out where the structure of the novel needs work and also where the emotional register of the book needs ramping up. So, when I send it to her, I expect to do more work on it once she’s read it.

7) Do you have any advice for writers looking to send their work to agents?

Make sure the novel is finished, is edited and as polished as it can be and that you know what the book is about, its genre and what sort of reader it will appeal to. Treat your novel as a product you are taking to market because agents and publishers are in the business of selling books. Also, make sure you only send what the agent asks for, ie. the first 3 chapters, a synopsis and a covering letter. Do not pick and choose which bits of your book you think are the best. Also, a well-written synopsis will prove to the agent that you have a firm handle on your plot and that your plot makes sense! Also, following agents and publishers on social media will give you a heads-up about what sort of thing they’re looking for and give you the chance to get to know them a bit before approaching them. Avoid sending submissions while the Book Fairs are on (March or April in London and, for children’s books, Bologna, and October in Frankfurt).

8) What was the last book you read, and did you enjoy it?

I’ve just finished ‘The House at Silvermoor’ by Tracy Rees, which I enjoyed immensely. It’s the story of two young people at the turn of the twentieth-century and is about class and industry and family and love and secrets. It’s superbly written, with vivid characters and a great sense of time and place. I’m now reading an advanced reader copy (ARC) of ‘Another Us’ by Kirsten Hesketh, which is due for publication in May. Again, this is a super, bittersweet yet funny story about a mother struggling to cope when her son is diagnosed with Aspergers.

9) When you leave your desk on a Friday, what’s the first thing you do? On a Friday evening/on the weekend, what do you do to relax?

In normal times on a Friday night, I will have a glass of wine and a takeaway with my husband if I’m not compering Poets’ Café (https://clairedyer.com/poets-cafe-2/). My weekends (again, in normal times) usually involve visiting my elderly parents, doing chores around the house and catching up on my reading.

10) If you had to choose between Rod Stewart and Freddie Mercury, who would it be and why?

Definitely Rod! I have loved his music (and stage presence) since the Seventies and am in awe at the way he has reinvented his career, how his voice has softened and mellowed over the years and how he seems both to reflect and determine the feelings of the age. Having said that, I have huge respect for Freddie too and, when it was released as a single, my sister and I used to sing Bohemian Rhapsody in full on our way to school!

Bio: Claire Dyer’s poetry collections are published by Two Rivers Press, and she has another forthcoming with the Press in February 2021. Her novels are published by Quercus and The Dome Press. She has an MA in Creative Writing from Royal Holloway, University of London, is a regular guest on BBC Radio Berkshire’s Radio Reads with Bill Buckley, and curates Reading’s longest-running poetry platform, Poets’ Café. Claire also teaches creative writing at literary and writers’ festivals and for Bracknell & Wokingham College, and runs Fresh Eyes, an editorial and critiquing service. Her website is www.clairedyer.com.

Thank you for visiting my blog today Claire, it has been a pleasure to interview you.

Hi everyone, and today I’m delighted to welcome literary agent Ariella Feiner to the blog. Ariella is a literary agent at United Agents, and before that she worked for PFD Literary Agency. Read on to find out what she looks for in that all important submission, alongside what she gets up to on a weekend.

Over to you, Ariella…

1) Did you see yourself becoming a literary agent after you left school? Did you have any other career plans?

I didn’t know that literary agents existed until I was at university, so it never occurred to me as a career option at school. Most people still don’t know what we do – it’s a fairly hidden profession and I’m constantly asked if I teach people literacy! I instinctively wanted to work with books and assumed that that meant becoming an editor. It was only once I applied for various work experience schemes at publishing houses that I heard of this as a job. I was fortunate enough to gain a placement on the work experience scheme at PFD and everything immediately slotted into place at that point. There are so many different, interesting and crucial jobs in publishing which don’t fit into the immediately obvious ‘editor’ bracket, and we should be better at explaining them to people.

2) How did you find the move from PFD to United Agents?

It was incredibly challenging, but also uniquely empowering. It brought the team together in a way that only a big shock to the system can do and also threw up all sorts of challenges and learning opportunities which I would never have had otherwise. I think it’s fair to say that we all grew a lot in that time.

3) What draws you to issue-led novels?

One of my favourite things about books is that they can not only transport you to a different place, but into the head of a completely different person. I want to feel myself grow a little as that character grows, to be carried along on their emotional journey just as much as they are. One of my favourite novels is My Sister’s Keeper. By the end of that book I completely connected with and understood how five separate individuals responded to one singular issue and it was an immensely humbling and powerful reading experience.

4) What do you consider a standout query letter? On the other hand, what wouldn’t attract you to a submission?

Tell me about your book in the first sentence – what makes it stand out, where do you see it in the market, why are you passionate about it? If you are able to write a wonderful novel you can definitely write an intriguing submission letter and it is important. I read everything which comes in, but I can easily receive at least ten submissions a day, so make your email count.

5) How did you find being nominated for The Rising Star by The Bookseller?

That was a very lovely moment and The Bookseller made it such a joyous occasion. We all had a tea together and celebrated and it felt like a good time to just take stock and enjoy it all.

6) What are your views on the crime and thriller market currently? In your view, is there a sub genre you think is in need of more representation?

I adore my crime and thriller books. People often think that it’s easy to write them because they are ‘commercial’, but nothing could be further from the truth. 

It’s an interesting question. For an extremely long time the psychological thriller was all-powerful, and now we are moving very much away from that to other genres, such as uplit, reading group novels and so on. I hope we see more of a resurgence of brilliant crime books in general and whilst the genre does very much have its challenges, and it can be hard to sell new books to editors if they don’t have that killer elevator pitch, people will always want brilliantly written, twisty books which surprise and enthral them. It’s also deeply comforting to discover a new author with a wonderful backlist you can rely on to keep you going. I’m planning on using this awful time with the Coronavirus to get through as much of Elly Griffiths’ backlist as I can!

7) Do you have a genre that you read for pleasure? Is there any genre of book that you wouldn’t read?

I have to read every night before I go to bed. I tend to read a novel and then go to a non-fiction book, and then back to fiction. I think that, overall, non-fiction is the strongest it’s ever been which is partly why people are turning to it more and more, but I couldn’t cope without my novels at the same time.

I don’t read any sci-fi, but otherwise dip into lots of different areas of the market. I love crime and thrillers, as well as uplit and reading group books, but then I’ve also read most of the professional memoirs out there and books such as Wild or Educated, about one person’s life experience, have stayed with me for years after I have read them.

8) What was the last book you read, that wasn’t one of your clients, and if so, did you enjoy it?

I’ve just finished The Silent Patient, which I hugely enjoyed. It’s so cleverly constructed and an extremely original idea, which is no mean feat. I’m just about to start War Doctor and then I’ll move on to Heatstroke. I like to plan ahead!

9) When you leave your desk on a Friday, what’s the first thing you do? On a Friday evening/on the weekend, what do you do to relax?

The best thing on a Friday is to just spend some quality time with my kids and on a Friday night I often love nothing more than to turn my phone off and curl up in my armchair with a glass of wine and a good book. When you’re a full-time working mum with two little boys, that’s pretty blissful!

10) If you had to choose between Rod Stewart and Freddie Mercury, who would you choose and why?

It has to be Freddie, for me. The over-the-top drama of it all is fantastic. Having said all of that, nothing makes me happier music-wise than a bit of old school R ‘n’ B.

Bio: I started working at PFD in 2006 before moving to United Agents and I now represent many bestselling, critically-acclaimed, and award-winning authors across fiction and non-fiction, including Sunday Times bestselling books, Richard and Judy bookclub picks, million-copy selling authors and #1 New York Times bestselling books. In 2017, The Bookseller named me as a Rising Star.

One of the joys of being a literary agent is the range of books I can work on. I adore the rush of being the first to discover exciting new voices and the strategy of working with authors to shape their careers in the long term. I want manuscripts which make me sit up and take notice of them, whether it be through beautiful prose, a hugely original idea or, at their best, stories which make me sob.

I am always open to submissions and have discovered many of my most exciting authors that way. In fiction do send me crime and thrillers, issue-led books, character-driven stories, reading group books, high-concept tales, a great elevator pitch, novels with strong female characters, historical fiction with a twist, and anything like Room, The Help or The Time Traveller’s Wife, which breaks the mould. Recent fiction I’ve adored includes The Lido, Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, The Familiars, The Rumour, and Queenie.

On the non-fiction front, do be in touch with exciting non-fiction such as topics which feel untouched before now or are inspiring, expert-led ideas, mouth-watering cook books and empowering female tales. Non-fiction which has moved me enormously or made me laugh includes This is Going to Hurt, Wild, Educated, and Everything I Know About Love.

How to submit: For submissions please email a synopsis together with either the first three chapters of a novel or a proposal for a non-fiction book directly to me at afeiner@unitedagents.co.uk.

Thank you for visiting the blog today, Ariella. It has been a pleasure to interview you.

Hi everyone! Today I’m delighted to welcome literary agent Ludo Cinelli to the blog. Ludo is an agent at the Eve White Literary Agency and was kind enough to answer a few questions for me.

Over to you, Ludo…

1) Did you see yourself becoming a literary agent after you left school? Did
you have any other career plans?

I don’t think I knew what a literary agent was when leaving school. I think
I wanted to be a journalist and I spent a lot of time working on my school
newspaper. I knew I liked reading and writing, which is why I ended up doing an English degree and then a Creative Writing degree. Then in the nebulous post-university times, I had the privilege of trying out a few different work experience positions in publishing and enjoyed working at an agency
immensely.

2) How do you feel that your Creative Writing degree has helped you in your
current job role?

My job involves a lot of editing, as we have to give a manuscript the best possible chance of getting lots of offers of publication when submitting it. This editing isn’t so much on a line-by-line level, but more on a big-picture level like structure, character, and plot. I believe that giving feedback to my classmates during my degree really helped me gain experience
in this type of editing. I also believe it’s helped me to see the
submissions process from both sides, as I did submit some work to a couple of agents after I’d finished my degree. The latter pushes me to keep my
empathy when dealing with writers’ hard work.

3) What do you consider a standout query letter?

One where all the different elements required in a query letter align towards the same purpose. If we can know what you’re writing, why you’re
writing it, and what you’ve done to develop that writing thus far, and all these form a cohesive picture, it’s likely that you’ll have me hooked.

4) On the other, what wouldn’t attract you to a submission?

A hard sell. Don’t tell me that your book is incredible – it’s my job to
make that call. When writers submitting to us tell us how many millions of copies their books will sell, it reveals a few things: a lack of understanding on how many books actually sell, a probable lack of flexibility in editing and guidance, and a lack of understanding in how
competitive the market is.

5) What are your views on the crime and thriller market currently? In your view, is there a sub genre you think is in need of more representation?

It’s a strong market – it’s crowded and it’s hard to make something stand out, but there is always room for amazing new work that truly puts a new spin on things. The psychological thriller sub-genre remains the easiest to
sell across the world. Domestic suspense also can be very fruitful. Police procedurals are tougher and will really need to pull off something special to grab editors’ attention.

6) Do you have a genre that you read for pleasure?

My passion is in literary fiction – fiction that experiments with the limits of what fiction can do. Recently I’ve enjoyed work by Ben Lerner, Mary Gaitskill, Olga Tokarczuk, Rachel Cusk and Kevin Barry.

7) Is there any genre of book that you wouldn’t read?

I struggle with sci-fi and adult fantasy, unless it’s particularly radical or
experimental.

8) What was the last book you read, that wasn’t one of your clients, and if so, did you enjoy it?

Boulevard Wren and Other Stories by Blindboy Boatclub. I enjoyed it immensely – this collection of short stories isn’t the most technically polished you’ll read, but it lives by the sheer quantity of mad ideas packed
into it and its willingness to follow through with them. Humour is so tricky
to pull off in prose, but every story had me laughing.

9) When you leave your desk on a Friday, what’s the first thing you do? On a
Friday evening/on the weekend, what do you do to relax?

I love to cook and I often try new recipes. At some point during the weekend I’ll usually stick a film on as I love cinema. I like to go on long walks in London, and I’m on a quest to find the best pizzeria in town. I’m also partial to good pub quizzes, board games, and more video games than I care
to admit to.

10) If you had to choose between Rod Stewart and Freddie Mercury, who would
you choose and why?

I find Freddie Mercury the far more interesting and mysterious character of
the two. Rod Stewart is an entertaining hot mess, but he’s too obvious. Can
I keep “Young Turks” though? I don’t want to throw the baby out with the
bathwater.

Thank you for visiting the blog today, Ludo. It has been a pleasure to interview you.

Bio: Ludo Cinelli joined Eve White Literary Agency in 2017, after various internships in the publishing industry. He assists Eve White on her list of clients as well as building and maintaining his own. He has an MA in Creative Writing from Royal Holloway, University of London. Regardless of their genre, the books he loves shine a light on unfamiliar people, places and things.

Hi everyone, and today I’m delighted to welcome literary agent Laura Longrigg to the blog. Laura has been an agent since 1994, and represents both fiction and non-fiction. Read on for what she looks for in that all important submission.

Over to you, Laura…

1) Did you see yourself becoming a literary agent after you left school? Did you have any other career plans?

Both of my parents were writers so spending my working life with writers seemed an obvious career path. But I worked for a theatre company before deciding my skills (at that point a history degree and fairly rudimentary shorthand typing) were better suited to a publishing editorial department.

2) In your view, how has the publishing industry changed since you became a literary agent?

Enormously. When I first became a literary agent we were still typing on word processors and sending faxes. There were many fewer literary agents and many more small, independent publishers.

3) What are the differences between representing a range of fiction genres? Are there any similarities?

I would say there are more similarities than differences: it’s a question of how connected you are to the people working in that genre. For instance I would not know where to start with a science fiction novel, but would feel confident about committing to a saga writer.

4) What immediately draws you to a submission? Or, what would make you reject one?

See my answer to 3) – a genre in which I am not comfortable. I am drawn to a submission – even from the initial email/letter of enquiry – if the author has a clear idea of what they are writing (including some realistic author comparisons), who their readership might be and most importantly a synopsis/blurb which makes me want to read the book.

5) What are your views on the crime and thriller market currently? In your view, is there a sub genre you think is in need of more representation?

Cosy crime seems to be less popular with editors/readers at the moment, but these things seem to be cyclical. Domestic psychological thrillers all look so alike, and seem to include the same algorithm-catching phrases, that they have become hard to tell apart. True crime, non fiction memoirs involving doctors, prisoners, soldiers – many of these have ‘thriller elements’ and are obviously very popular at the moment.I have always enjoyed historical adventure (Patrick O’Brian, Bernard Cornwell) and feel this is an area underrepresented by women writers, and perhaps in the hashtag MeToo era that could change.

6) Do you have a genre that you read for pleasure?

What I think one would call book group fiction – thought-provoking, character-led, really well-written fiction.

7) Is there any genre of book that you wouldn’t read?

I don’t have any reason to read children’s picture books at the moment, sadly.

8) What was the last book you read, that wasn’t one of your clients, and if so, did you enjoy it?

I am reading OLIVE AGAIN by Elizabeth Strout (see my answer to 6) – I think she is terrific (both the character and the author).

9) When you leave your desk on a Friday, what’s the first thing you do? On a Friday evening/on the weekend, what do you do to relax?

Walk the dog, listen to music, have supper (and a large glass of wine) with the family.

10) If you had to choose between Rod Stewart and Freddie Mercury, who would you choose and why?

Freddie Mercury (although my first date with my husband was to a Rod Stewart concert). At the moment I am learning to play Bohemian Rhapsody. It is very difficult and completely wonderful.

Thank you so much for visiting my blog Laura. It has been a pleasure to interview you.

Bio:

Laura worked as an editor, mainly in the genre of popular fiction, for HarperCollins, Heinemann and Penguin. She became an agent in 1994, working with Jennifer Kavanagh and then joining MBA just before the millennium. Her clients’ work covers the whole fiction spectrum, from genre, including romantic comedy and saga, through crime and thrillers, to ‘reading group’ and literary writing. She also agents some non fiction, but would not be the right agent for science fiction, children’s, poetry or illustrated books. She founded and administered the Harry Bowling prize for unpublished fiction. Her clients have won literary prizes including MIND Book of the Year, Romantic Novel of the Year Award, James Tait Black Memorial and Encore Prizes; appeared on the Booker, Portico and Wingate shortlists, Baileys longlist and the Sunday Times bestseller lists and been adapted for TV, film and radio.

Hi everyone, and this morning I’m delighted to welcome literary agent Amanda Preston to the blog. Amanda co founded LBA Books with Luigi Bonomi in 2005. She was kind enough to answer some questions, particularly about that all important query letter.

Below the interview, you can find what she looks for in submissions.

Over to you Ananda…

1) Did you see yourself becoming a literary agent after you left school? Did you actually have any other career plans?

I always wanted to travel the world so when I left university, my first thought was to try and be a travel writer and work for the Lonely Planet. That way I could visit as many countries as possible and be paid for it too! I did work experience for the Lonely Planet and I quickly discovered that all their writers only wrote about countries or cities that they had lived in (at the time a writer had to have lived in the place for 10 years), so I had to rethink my career plans! By chance and by great luck, I did a temping job at a literary agency which resulted in getting a full time job there and I’ve never looked back. I’ve always been an avid reader and I feel incredibly grateful to be able to do a job which involves doing one of things I love most.

2) If you had to choose between literary and commercial, which would it be and why?

That’s a tough question. I’ll happily read literary or commercial (and a lot of books fall into that crossover bracket), as long as the storytelling is well-written and I’m hooked from the start.

3) What do you consider a standout query letter?

For me, it is when it is obvious the author clearly reads in the area they are writing in and is able to pitch their work in one or two lines – instantly telling me what the book is about while simultaneously grabbing my attention.

4) On the other hand, what wouldn’t attract you to a submission?

When an author is clearly dismissive of the area they are writing in and it is obvious that the author doesn’t actually enjoy reading in the area they are writing in

5) What are your views on the crime and thriller market currently? Do you feel that there is a sub genre in need of more representation?

The crime and thriller market is still a buoyant market in terms of sales (you only have to look at the Sunday Times bestseller fiction charts and the Amazon kindle top 100 charts to see this) and it is great to see more and more high-concept, clever debuts being bought (with a more diverse cast of characters and in less typically associated roles in this genre) but I would love to see more.

6) Do you have a genre that you read for pleasure?

I would happily immerse myself in any genre, as long as the book captivates me.

7) Is there any genre of book that you wouldn’t read?

No, I don’t think there is.  

8) What was the last book you read, that wasn’t one of your clients, and if so, did you enjoy it?

I’ve just read The Last by Hanna Jameson and really enjoyed it. Great concept, great writing and incredibly gripping.

9) Once you leave your desk for the day, what’s the first thing you do? On a Friday evening, what do you do to relax?

To get home I have a 15 minute tube journey and a 15 minute walk from the station so I usually listen to a podcast. On Fridays, the general agreement in my household is that it is pizza and movie night and no work!

10) If you had a choice of Freddie Mercury or Rod Stewart, who would you choose and why?

Freddie Mercury. Whenever I hear one of his or Queen’s songs, I’m reminded of my mum.

Bio: I read English Literature and Latin at Manchester University. I have been an agent for over 20 years, first working at Sheil Land Associates, and then in 2005 I set up LBA with Luigi and I’m a director of the company. I run the Good Housekeeping Competition with GHK and Orion. In 2018, I won the RNA Literary Agent of the Year award.

What I Look For: I represent a wide range of authors, from award-winning debut novelists to popular fiction bestsellers and quality non-fiction. Whether commercial or literary, I like innovative and well-written storytelling, fantastic concepts and I want to be hooked from the start. Ultimately I’m looking for unforgettable books that demand to be talked about and shared, regardless of genre, and that I’m still thinking about days after finishing. I’m not looking for fantasy, science fiction, children’s fiction or poetry.

Thanks so much for visiting the blog Amanda. It has been a pleasure interviewing you.

Hi everyone. Today I’m delighted to welcome literary agent Oli Munson to the blog. Oli is a literary agent at AM Heath and he loves nothing more than discovering new talent. He also represents David Jackson and Mari Hannah – writers I am privileged to say I have both met.

Below, read on for Oli’s answers to my questions on what he looks for in submissions, his views on the crime and thriller market and what he does for some relaxation time! Over to you, Oli…

1) Did you see yourself becoming a literary agent after you left school? Did you have any other career plans?

I left university with an English literature degree which is a passport to everywhere and nowhere. So I supersized that with a Publishing Studies MA and through that course I soon realised that being an agent was the part of the industry that would suit me best.

2) What are the differences between representing both literary and commercial fiction? Are there any similarities?

In a nutshell, I’d say that literary fiction is more about the quality of the prose and commercial fiction is more about the plot. So in that sense it’s easier to get editors interested in commercial fiction because the pitch tends to be more straightforward. Defining something as literary or commercial is inherently unhelpful because it presupposes that something well written can’t sell and something that sells can’t be well written. Which is thankfully, nonsense.

3) What do you consider a standout query letter?

A clear, concise pitch, realistic comparisons with other writers and a sense of where a book sits in the market.

4) On the other hand, what wouldn’t attract you to a submission?

“This would make an amazing movie”, “ My wife/husband thinks it’s fantastic”,

5) What are your views on the crime and thriller market currently? In your view, is there a sub genre you think is in need of more representation?

I think we’re at a crossroads. Psychological suspense has dominated sales and chart placings for the past eight years. I suspect it’s taken us as far as it can and those in the business are all waiting to see what’s coming next. One things for certain, people in the trade are always sick of a trend long before the reading public so there may be life in it for a year or two yet.

6) Do you have a genre that you read for pleasure?

Crime, thrillers, biography, literary fiction. I recently joined a library for the first time in about 25 years so I’m reserving all sorts of books and getting a thrill when an email comes through saying they’re ready for collection. It’s the simple things in life…

7) Is there any genre of book that you wouldn’t read?

I don’t read sci-fi or fantasy. I’m pretty clear about this and yet every day people send me sci-fi and fantasy submissions which is ultimately mutually disappointment for both sender and receiver.

8) What was the last book you read, that wasn’t one of your clients, and if so, did you enjoy it?

I finished THE TESTAMENTS last week. It was very good, I enjoyed it, but in my humble opinion there’s no way it should have won the Booker. GIRL, WOMAN, OTHER does something truly different and scratches an itch I didn’t know I had. Which is the way I felt when I read THE HANDMAID’S TALE…

9) When you leave your desk on a Friday, what’s the first thing you do? On a Friday evening/on the weekend, what do you do to relax?

I go home and hang out with the family. The weekends are largely spent trying to entertain an indefatigable toddler.

10) If you had to choose between Rod Stewart and Freddie Mercury, who would you choose and why?

I think Faces are a great band and Rod’s early solo stuff stands up. But I’m not a fan of late stage crooner Rod. You can’t argue with the Queen back catalogue and Freddie was a once in a lifetime vocalist. Would you rather live in a world without Maggie May or Bohemian Rhapsody? I’ve literally spent 15 minutes thinking about this and I still don’t know: too close to call.

Thank you for visiting the blog, Oli. It’s been a pleasure to interview you.

What Oli is looking for:

I have a wonderfully varied list (one of the perks of being an agent) but I’ve always been a sucker for commercial fiction that has the Holy Trinity of pace, plot and character. Those are the three elements I’m looking for in any novel. I also love books that have a clear pitch; a hook that has me immediately wanting to know more.

A significant part of my list is comprised of award-winning, bestselling authors of crime, suspense, and thrillers. Between Mari Hannah, David Mark,Julia Chapman and David Jackson, I think my authors have killed most of northern England. I’m eager to find authors who are plotting the demise of other victims, wherever they may be.

I do love speculative fiction with high concept plots in the vein of Lauren Beukes, Sarah Lotz and Kate Mascarenhas but I’m not looking for the type of science fiction or fantasy that would solely be found on the SFF table of a bookshop.

I’m on the hunt for commercial fiction with an emotional heart, compelling underdog stories with unlikely heroes and heroines. Something uplifting to balance out the murder and mayhem in the rest of my fiction list.

On the non-fiction front, I particularly enjoy sports writing and narrative non-fiction exploring contemporary social issues. I’m looking for great storytellers who bring an original, often personal, take to a subject. And I love it when the sheer power of an author’s words completely draws me into an area I had previously known nothing about. Adharanand Finn taught me what it was like to run with Kenyans, Kate Mayfield showed me what life was like growing up in a 1960’s Kentucky funeral parlour, and Gary Dexter spent a year as a street poet, learning the rhymes and taking abuse from midnight drunkards so I didn’t have to.

Discovering new talent is one of the highlights of the job. Nothing beats the feeling when you pick up the phone to a debut author to tell them a publisher wants to buy their book. But I’m also interested in existing authors who fancy a bit of reinvention and scriptwriters who would like to take their talents in a new direction.

I’ve given talks to various writers’ groups, university courses and international book fairs as well as being a Frankfurt Book Fair Fellow in 2010 and a former committee member of the Association of Authors Agents. You can almost certainly find me in the bar at the Harrogate International Crime Festival.

Hi everyone, today I’m delighted to welcome crime writer Helen FitzGerald to the blog, to discuss her approach to the all important first draft process. You can find her biography below as well.

Over to you Helen…

1) When you begin the next book, how do you go about it?

“Beginning” the next book sounds like a fairly straightforward thing – it’s anything but! First I need to know what the book is about, and that’s a long, agonising process with myriad twists and turns. I mine a mixture of personal experience, news stories and (far too much) reality TV, and somehow, out of that, one particular idea will emerge.

2) Do you follow the same process for the book before?

I always do lots of research for my books, but never as much as for ASH MOUNTAIN. There are lots of reasons. The size of the tragedy, for one thing; I owed it to those who have suffered in fires to get my facts right. Also, the fact that it was set in a fictional small Victorian town, similar to the one I grew up in. I have friends and family who still live there. I wanted to get it right for them too.

3) What is your research process, if you have one?

If I’m writing a crime book set in the world of prisons or probation officers, I’m never off the phone to former colleagues, asking questions about anything from breach procedures to the texture of custard served in prison canteens. If the world of the book is one I’m less familiar with, I’ll do a lot of Googling and YouTubing. For every new novel, I buy a lined, soft-covered A4 notebook, and it’s always with me in case I have an idea I want to scribble down.

4) How quickly after thinking or planning do you sit down to write?

Planning and writing aren’t really two separate processes for me. From the seed of the first idea, I’ll be writing lines and pages, even though I don’t yet know where or how I’ll use them, or if I’ll use them at all. I always have a rough idea of where I’m heading with any particular story, but I don’t force myself to come up with all the answers until I absolutely have to. I like my books to surprise me, and they always do.

5. How does the draft form on the screen?

For the first 20-30,000 words I’ll write chapter by chapter, re-reading yesterday’s pages before starting today’s. When the book gets longer and more complex, I’ll sometimes open separate files where I can play around or experiment with ideas before adding them to the main body. It’s a psychological thing; by using a separate file as a sandpit, you don’t feel the intimidating presence of the rest of the text. It encourages you to be bolder.

6) Where do you write the majority of the draft?

I have three principal places where I physically write. In descending order of importance they are:

1.      The desk in my office, which was the front bedroom of the house and which overlooks our lovely little street.

2.      One of several cafés with comfy seats and good cappuccinos.

3.      My bed.

4.      The couch in the sitting room, probably with Housewives of Orange County on TV in the background.

5.      The kitchen table, but only if there’s nobody else in the house, because they’re noisy bastards.

Thank you for visiting my blog Helen. Finding out all about your perspective on your first draft process has been fascinating!

Bio:

Helen FitzGerald is the bestselling author of Dead Lovely (2007) and nine other adult and young adult thrillers, including My Last Confession (2009), The Donor (2011) and most recently The Cry (2013), which was longlisted for the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year. Helen has worked as a criminal justice social worker for over ten years. She is one of thirteen children and grew up in Victoria, Australia. She now lives in Glasgow with her husband and two children.

I’m delighted to welcome crime writer (and fellow Northerner) David Mark to the blog. David lives in the North East and is the author of the DS Aector McAvoy series.

 

I’ve usually been thinking about it for an age before I get down to the writing, but nothing feels real until I’ve put 25 to 30 chapter headings on a page, and written a line or two under each them outlining what needs to happen within that chapter to move the story to the next key point. It can be something as simple as ‘McAvoy finds the body’ or ‘tension between two antagonists suggests shared history’, or somesuch. It’s all about pacing more than anything else. You wouldn’t write a concerto that was just wonderful openings. You have to get the rhythm right. 

2) Do you follow the same process you did for the book before? 

 

I try to. I used to be much more rigid how I worked, being at my desk for 9am and carrying on until 2pm, then researching for the rest of the working day until I began afresh the next. Now I have a two-year-old who wants to play horsies, so things are a bit more erratic. 

3) What is your research process, if you have one?

 

I’m a big fan of passive research, in that knowledge comes to me by accident and suggests the merest hint of a story, and then I’ll start to look into that subject in more depth until I feel able to write. When I wrote my historical novel, The Zealot’s Bones, which is set in 1851, I had to go slightly mad trying to get my mind into the right shape to make the narrative voice sound authentic, and to be able to write about what a character might smell like, feel like, what tastes might be on their tongue, whether they’d notice the fur on their teeth or remark upon a rat in the gutter, etc. It was a bit of a killer really. 

4) How quickly after thinking or planning do you sit down to write? 

 

I have stories lined up like bullets, waiting to be slotted into the chamber. An author who is much wittier than me once said that writing the next book is the reward for finishing this one, and that is very true. 

5) How does the draft form on the screen? 

 

In pretty much the same order that you read it a year down the line. I’m not one for pinging about and writing the middle before the beginning. I might make structural changes when I’m done, but usually it’s pretty close to how I plan it. I want writers at their start of their journeys to try and remember that just because you’ve had a new idea, it doesn’t make it a better idea. Have the courage of your convictions. And if you’re faffing about with coloured post-it notes and bits of string and character cards, there’s a very good chance you’re playing a game rather than writing a book. Write the sodding book. 

6) Where do you write the majority of the draft?

 

Very simply, on my trusty old PC, in my office at home in rural Northumberland, occasionally stopping to look out of the window and shout at ramblers who think they can put their rubbish in my recycling bin. Countryside living is so good for one’s tranquillity ….

 

Thank you for joining me on the blog David. Your first draft process sounds great! I can’t wait to read your latest book!!

Bio:

David Mark is the author of the internationally-acclaimed McAvoy series, which began with Sunday Times bestseller DARK WINTER. His new thriller, BLOOD MONEY, is available exclusively through Kindle. Gangster-noir epic BORROWED TIME will be released in March, published by Severn House. For more information, visit his website at http://www.davidmarkwriter.co.uk