Hello and welcome to my first newsletter
I’m sort of finding my feet here, so bear with me. I’d love to hear from you and if you have anything you’d like me to include in these random missives, then do let me know.
It’s been an unusually cold start to the year, which has meant all I’ve wanted to do is light a fire, drink tea and wrap a blanket around me. Being a writer is quite odd in that way. Because nothing is really expected from us from week to week (until the moment a whole 90,000 word manuscript is suddenly due next week), it’s easy to pretend that, well, nothing is due.
Over the years I have become much better at taking myself more seriously and protecting my time. Which is another funny thing about being a writer. When you start off the likelihood is you’ll be doing it with no guarantees, probably no real knowledge of the publishing industry. You’ll be carving out time between all your other commitments and it will feel compulsive – because really why on earth would anyone write a book! All of which makes it very strange when you get your first deal and you start being paid for your hobby. And, even then, unless you’re one of a very few, you’re unlikely to be earning enough to give up the day job, which means, you’ll probably have written about three novels before you’re able to become a ‘full-time writer.’ All of which makes the mental switch between this thing being a hobby to a real job that pays the bills, can take a bit of time.
I have just finished writing my seventh novel (out sometime next year) and, for the first time in my professional life, I went way over the due date. Like, nearly a year over. It wasn’t that I wasn’t working hard, it was just that some books are absurdly difficult to get right. This level of not rightness has never happened to me before. I am a writer who needs a lot of thinking and a lot of drafts to get to a finished book, but before I’ve always felt like I was at least progressing in the right direction. This time, every draft felt wrong. My agent and editor were brilliant and helpful, but they also knew it wasn’t right. There were many times I felt like giving up and starting something shiny and new, but also I had invested so much time and thought in to these characters, I felt like I owed it to them to keep going. And I’m glad I did, because I’m proud of the finished product. Also, it taught me a valuable lesson: namely there’s always so much more to learn and we’ll probably never reach a place of anything coming easily! (Btw I can’t say anything about it yet, but will be doing so over the next few months).
The book was the second book in a two book deal with Macmillan in the UK, but in the US I was out of contract, which meant we had to go out on submission. Now, it really doesn’t matter how many times you’ve done this, it is a horrific process. Your agent sends your book out to a selection of publishers she thinks might like it, along with a pitch letter. Publishing is a business that works on networking, so she will probably know these publishers and you might have even met them. Seven books in most of them will at least know of you or your work. It makes the whole experience intensely personal. Also, it’s not a quick process. Even if they read it fast and love it, it has to go through so many hoops before they can make an offer. You promise yourself that you won’t spend all day refreshing your email, but of course you do. Nerves get shredded, anxiety reaches breaking point. And again, I can’t say too much now, but after a few nail biting weeks, I did get interest and finally an offer, which, again, I’ll be talking about more when it’s officially announced.
So, now they’ll be more notes and more changes, discussions about the cover, publicity, crossing fingers for reviews and finally a new book. And meanwhile, I’ll be coming up with a new idea and once again staring at a blank page, thinking how on earth does anyone ever write a book?
Things I’m looking forward to:
My fourth novel, Imperfect Women, is being turned in to a series for Apple TV, by Elisabeth Moss’ production company, Love & Squalor. It’s due to start filming in LA in May and will be starring Elisabeth Moss, Kerry Washington and Kate Mara. I’ve read the scripts and I love them. They’ve kept the feel of my book and characters, whilst adding a bit of Hollywood glamour.
The Beyond the Book festival in Brighton on May 10th. I sit on the board for this festival and it’s a cracking programme this year. Also, it’s great value at £35 for the day, with an afterparty for all ticket holders. Plus, if you’re an aspiring writer, you can enter your pitch to win a discussion with a literary agent. Details here: www.beyondthebookfestival.org
The weather getting warmer!
My latest book, One of the Good Guys, is out now and is part of the Richard & Judy bookclub at WHSmith. As it’s half price it would be rude not!