So, I think we can all agree that 2020 has been just about the worst year ever on many levels. Many of the traditional ways to reach readers have been closed, cancelled or gone virtual. Not a great time to be published, especially for the first time. We also know the industry puts a lot of importance on debuts and authors often feel a make-or-break pressure on their first book.
This post is specifically for you debut authors - advice and encouragement to think beyond your first book, not panic and stay focussed on a long and successful career. With my huge thanks to the fantastic and generous authors below.
The great thing about a novel is that once it’s written, it exists forever. Everyone dreams of their debut becoming an instant bestseller, but this rarely happens and would be, I think, a scary thing to live up to. Far nicer and less stressful to build up slowly and acquire a following by word of mouth, although that path can be bumpy too. In my case, my first two novels didn’t trouble any of the bestseller charts, and the next four sold fewer copies each time. Then I was let go by my publisher - they’d done their best but I was no longer profitable. My agent, Jane Judd, submitted my next book to several other publishers but they weren’t interested either. I thought my writing career was over. Then Marion Donaldson, an editor at Headline, took me on and from that moment I was reborn. (Marion is still my editor and Jane’s still my agent - they’re both brilliant.)
Headline gave me a new cover style and sales began to take off - the word of mouth thing was happening at last. I think my eighth book reached a bestseller chart and from then on they all did. In addition, they reissued my first six books and these have all continued to sell steadily ever since. It’s lovely when readers get in touch to tell me that they’ve just discovered me and have read everything I’ve ever written...and then I learn they weren’t even born when the first dozen or so books first came out! So, don’t be disheartened if success isn’t instantaneous. Your book exists and luck can change at any time. Also, my first novel (written 35 years ago) has just been published for the first time in the US. Maybe Steven Spielberg will spot it in a bookstore and decide to turn it into movie - because that’s the joy of writing, you never know what might happen next.
Good editors are truly worth their weight in gold. Find one who understands what you’re trying to say as well as the way you’re trying to say it and who will help you achieve that. Find one who wants to amplify your voice rather than their own but someone who will tell you straight when you’re in the wrong or have written something that just doesn’t work. This advice also goes for agents! Also learn how to pick your battles. Don’t fight every point. Learn give and take.
Keep your head in the game. One of the greatest myths surrounding the publishing industry is that one must always be in possession of an MA from the correct university, or otherwise adopt a pretentious attitude in order to ‘fit in’ or be successful. Some voices will perpetuate that myth but, speaking as one who has taken a different road, I would advise any budding author to set aside literary ego and look towards the hardworking, jobbing writers of the 60s and 70s for a model of how to approach storytelling, e.g. Earl Stanley Gardner. There’s a decision to be made at the door: who are you writing for? Your MA tutor and a minority group of acolytes, or the vast, often silent, reading public for whom your stories might bring untold joy?
My first novel earned me £200. Eleven books later I hit the U.K. bestseller list for the first time. I was stubborn and resilient and I worked hard at the craft, making each book better than the one before. Eventually people took notice. And those early years - my apprenticeship - stood me in good stead. Maybe there was an element of luck involved too - for example, in finding a publisher who believed in me and stuck with me through the lean times. The world has changed and the publishing industry has changed, but I think hard work and hard-headedness still go a long way.
At the beginning of almost every long term relationship there’s the honeymoon period. You’re getting on fine. Always your best self. The jokes are hilarious. And those annoying habits? Oh, aren’t they funny? We’ll always be honest with each other. We won’t change.
If you want your relationship with your writing to last you have to take the same approach as you would with any other relationship worth having. That means when reality kicks in you have to start putting in the work - because the jokes aren’t always funny and those annoying habits - yours - make you want to throw in the towel. It also means that you’ll have to dig deeper as the years go on, returning to the thing that first made you fall in love, spending time and energy on new things or appreciating the old things, not comparing your relationship with anyone else’s and realising how lucky you are - not always but often - to have something as amazing as writing in your life.
Passion is vital for writers - but so too is professionalism. I always deliver on time. No matter what's going on around me - I push the world away and work, just like you would in any other job. It lets my publishers know I'm reliable (which helps oil the relationship) and meeting a deadline is an inspiration in itself. It also makes me feel Very Good Indeed!
I always tell authors to think long-term and never has this advice been more relevant. While it’s tempting to chase the short-term gains, if you focus on this being the beginning of your relationship with your readers, it really helps with focus. Kevin Kelly talked about the ‘1000 true fans’ concept. If you can start building your ‘1000 true fanbase’ - so readers who will buy anything you produce - then you’ve begun your journey solidly, regardless of how many books you sell. You can’t always control book sales but you can control your relationship with your upcoming readers through easy ways for them to get in touch with you, and setting up things like enewsletters and a Facebook group.
Most jobs start at ground level. We undergo training, we apply for entry-level jobs, and we work our way up the ladder of experience, learning and consolidating our professional relationships as we go. Writing - in spite of what we are often told - is not usually all that different. The media would have us believe that writing a successful novel is like winning the lottery; a sudden unexpected windfall that leads to a fully-fledged and lucrative writing career in no time at all. This is dangerous thinking, because although it is sometimes true that debut novelists can receive large advances, this doesn't often translate to a solid and continuing writing career.
Whether we drop lucky early or build up a reputation and a readership through slow increments, a sustainable career is built on long-term effort, maintaining relationships within the industry, spadework, occasional failures and lots of hard graft: and advances don't automatically go up in the way salaries do. Sometimes a large initial advance can give a false impression of what is to come, which is why so many promising debut novelists fail to sustain a long-term career in writing. A successful novel is a great start, but it *is* only a start: after that, the real work begins; building on an initial success, keeping the readers satisfied; changing with the times. Climbing the ladder towards a meaningful career in writing is at least as hard as rising through the ranks in any other professional career, and it's important to understand that a writer is only ever as successful as their latest book, which means that progress can be lost as quickly as it is made...
An author’s career is not all about the first book. If it sells well, write another. If it doesn’t sell well, write another. Of course, celebrate each publication day but a career is built book by book. Always be working on the next link in the chain. And by the time your first book is published, you should be writing, or even have finished your second book. Get it written and move on. I know it doesn’t sound as sexy as ‘I’ve published a book’ but if you treat it as a business from the get-go, as well as a lifelong ambition, goal or dream, you’ll soon have a backlist that could turn readers into superfans, who will wait impatiently for the next one. It’s not all about publication day sales, or even the weeks afterwards either. Try not to get hooked on sales or ranking watching. Every month has its peaks and troughs. I’ve had books take off suddenly after months of average sales. This then can often lead readers to my backlist.
Debuts are important, probably disproportionately so, but a good publisher knows that all writers have highs and lows, that the second, third or sixth book are often where the writer hits their stride and finds their voice. So try and stay calm, keep writing with eyes on the road ahead. Resilience and determination are hard traits to acquire, but if you've done it once there's a good chance you can do it again.
Your first book will always be special, but it's only the first step on a long journey. Learn from the experience, and write another. Then another. Keep a notebook filled with possible plots and characters. You've climbed the mountain, but there are other, higher peaks ahead of you.
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