Today I am turning over my blog to John Yeoman who writes The Wicked
Writing Blog and runs the Writer’s Village website. He has two MA’s and a PhD
in Creative Writing and
has been writing and publishing for decades. Now here’s John in his own words…
If your novel has been banging on agents’ doors for
years and got nowhere take heart from Berwick
Coates, an English author who this week nailed down a $130,000 deal
and a two-book contract at age 80.
His historical thriller The Last Conquest was snapped up by one of the
world’s largest publishers Simon & Schuster after Coates had failed to
impress agents with several previous novels. “They were clearly not being
read,” he said.
A retired history teacher, Coates succeeded only when he caught the eye of
agent Jim Gill, who was recommended to him by a fellow author. Now Coates is
finishing his second novel The Last Viking and can hope to see both in
book stores at an age when most authors might have given up or resorted to vanity publishing.
There’s nothing new about novelists in their Silver Age gaining a major
publishing deal. P D James recently published her 19th novel at age 93. But
it’s almost unprecedented for a debut author. Only Mary Wesley, whose debut
novel The Camomile Lawn was published in 1984, comes close to Coates in
age but she was merely 72 at the time.
As authors, what can we learn from Coates’ success?
1. Coates persisted with what he loved best.
After repeated failures with historical fiction he was urged by his son to
write a contemporary novel replete with “sex and violence”. It too flopped. So
he returned to what he knew and loved. And won.
2. He was introduced to an agent by an
established author.
That’s the ideal route. “Mary Brown, whom you represent, suggested I approach
you.” Any personal introduction is better than a cold call. (No doubt
Jim Gill will now be overwhelmed by debut novelists who start their cover
letters with a reference to Berwick Coates.)
3. Any age is the right age to submit a
novel.
Carolyn Gill had her first best-selling novel Don’t Knock The Corners Off
published at age 14. Susan Hill was an established name before her 18th
birthday. But old authors often have the advantage of being able to exhume a
dozen previous failures from their sock drawer, resubmit them and see them
lauded in reviews - once their debut work has achieved success.
Coates’ achievement also highlights the wisdom of pursuing the traditional agent-publisher
route, unless you can devote 18 hours a day to selling your novel yourself. Success
in self-publishing lies 10% in talent, 90% in marketing. Perhaps Coates realized that, at age 80, he no longer had the energy to promote a
self-published eBook with the passion of a John Locke, Amanda Hocking or Hugh
Howie.
Moral: Keep knocking on agents’ doors. Write several
novels. Then you can choose which you submit via the traditional route and
which you self-publish. Sell a million eBooks under your own imprint and
publishers will come knocking on your door.
John provides wonderful tips on his website and blog. He even offers FREE courses in writing. If you would like to learn more about writing, here's the link to his website http://www.writers-village.org/
