New Writers' Forum column

Mention to anyone that you have written a novel and there are two things they invariably ask: what’s it about and has it been published? But, just as no one really wants to hear about your bunions when they politely enquire ‘How are you?’, neither do they want to know the details of your book. Especially when you go on to admit that it’s unpublished. At that point their eyes feel free to glaze over. Because to most people an unpublished book is not really a book at all.

Well, I have a confession to make. I have written not one but four unpublished novels. The pessimists among you may well regard that as an unmitigated failure. I prefer the more optimistic view. Many highly successful novelists have suffered more than their fair share of rejection before hitting the big time. James Herriot, John Grisham and even JK Rowling were all turned down by a great many publishers before someone somewhere spotted that they could be on to a winning formula. What these writers have in common is that they kept on sending their work out until it was accepted.

That’s why I choose not to call my novels unpublished, they just haven’t been published yet. And, of course, the fact I have completed four novels is proof that I can do it, that I have the staying power to see the job through to the end. And that’s not failure in my book.

A year spent working on a novel is not a wasted year, it’s a year of turning what begins as a vague idea into a big fat manuscript to be proud of, learning and developing the craft as you go. Every damning criticism (ouch!) or helpful comment received from an agent or publisher who turns you down helps to guide your work towards improvement… and hopefully finding the right home. So, let me tell you about my four novels to date. Now, now, keep your eyes open! I promise to be brief.

Book One was written after its first 150 words won the Mail on Sunday’s Best Opening to a Novel competition. As a result, two literary agents approached me. Yes, they approached me. That was all the encouragement I needed to finish the book. One of the agents had faith in it and sent it out to 16 publishing houses, one of which took it through several reading stages – before saying no. My agent did all she could but no deal. Some people might have given up at that point, but I’d come close enough to believe I could do it next time. Hence Book Two.

The trouble with Book Two was my agent didn’t like it. If she couldn’t sell Book One, which she did like, then she wasn’t going to waste time on one she didn’t. I tried a few publishers direct, but it seemed the agent was right, so I decided to write that one off to experience and embarked on Book Three.

By now, life was getting in the way. Children, work and a shrinking amount of motivation slowed me down, so I turned my attention towards short story writing. Only a few days devoted to each project and the results – seeing my work in print and earning a few pounds – were much more immediate, and a great confidence booster. Book Three was eventually finished, but my agent had lost interest by now (probably because I had cost her money!) and I couldn’t get another to take me on. I was, after all, just another unknown and (as yet) unpublished author. The publishers I approached were slow to respond and many had no interest in anything that had not come via an agent. The old chicken and egg situation.

And so to Book Four. It’s gained a lot from all the earlier practice. And, what’s more, now it’s finished I like it. And if I still like it, having lived with it in my head and on the computer screen for a couple of years, and having read it from start to finish almost as many times as I’ve read Spot Bakes a Cake (a favourite among the children I work with, I hasten to add), then hopefully someone else will like it too.

So, here’s the plan. This time, I’m going all out to get a publishing deal. I’m not going to self-publish – I want someone to pay me, not me to pay them. I want to see my book on the shelves (and in the window) at Waterstones, I want to see it in libraries and casually dropped into supermarket trolleys alongside the sliced bread and loo rolls… and to spot someone reading a copy on the train.

And I’m going to get as much help as I can from industry experts and fellow writers. I’m going to ask editors and agents to look at it and tell me the honest truth. I’m going to ask publishers why they have rejected it – or didn’t even read it. And because getting a novel accepted involves nail-biting weeks or months of waiting, I’m also making a start on writing Book Five…

But I’m not sure I can do all this on my own. So, if you are planning, writing, or polishing a novel ready to drop it into a jiffy bag, with the same hope as me – of finding an agent, attracting a publisher, seeing your book in print and maybe even giving up the day job – let me know. Let’s share our experiences, our disappointments and our dreams. Between us, with hard work and determination, perhaps we might just get what we wish for.