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“Writing about a powerful figure like Narendra Modi is always a challenge” by Lance Price

11/25/2015

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Writing a book with the close cooperation of its subject is always fraught with difficulties. You are asking them to give up valuable time to help with your research and hoping that they will be as open and honest as possible in the process. Not surprisingly they ask themselves, “What’s in it for me?” The challenge for an independent author is to convince them that a balanced, impartial account is in their interests as well as being essential for a good book that the reader can trust. When the subject is a serving Prime Minister that challenge is multiplied many times over.
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When I first met the subject of my book, the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, I had to be ready to walk away from the project if my independence wasn’t guaranteed, and I was. Happily he gave me that guarantee and said, “You can criticise me as much as you like”. I flew to India four times during the course of my research and met Modi each time for an hour or more. He was welcoming and very talkative – just what a writer wants! And while he and his staff were naturally curious about how it was going and what I might say, they kept to their word never to tell me what I could or couldn’t write.

When I told them that I‘d be saying in the book that I wouldn’t have supported Modi in the election if I’d had a vote, they didn’t like it one bit. Not for the first or the last time I had to remind them that it was for me and my publishers to decide what went into the book, not them.

Since The Modi Effect came out and it became clear that I’d been lucky enough to get far more access to him than any other foreign journalist and more than most writers in India too, a lot of people have asked how it all came about.

Politics fascinates me, and election campaigns are often the most exciting times in politics. But the idea for a book on Modi’s campaign to become Prime Minister wasn’t mine. I was approached by somebody close enough to know his mind, although not a member of his inner circle. They knew that my politics were far removed from his and that as a former BBC correspondent I prided myself on my independence. But they said they hoped a foreigner would take on the task of assessing the campaign because they wanted it to be better understood outside India. They knew that I’d written well-received books on politics before and recognised that only a genuinely unbiased account would be taken seriously in the West. So that answered the question, “What’s in it for Modi?”

To my astonishment, The Times newspaper recently suggested that I had never heard of Narendra Modi before agreeing to write the book. As a news junkie with a keen interest in foreign affairs, that made me smile. Did they think I’d been hiding under my duvet for the past few months?

More serious was the implication that I had been paid to write a book favourable to its subject, which was equally untrue. For the record, I had a standard publishing contract with Hodder and Stoughton, with whom I’d done a book before. That’s how The Modi Effect was paid for.

When the person who introduced me to the project also offered to support the research financially, I saw no difficulty so long as the red line protecting my independence was never crossed. Research grants are not unusual and many excellent books could never have been written without them. In my case it covered the costs involved in doing the many and various interviews for the book as well as supporting me financially during the time that I was away from home for long periods and deprived of other sources of income. My publishers were aware of the situation and, like me, would never have allowed the arrangement to impinge on the book’s integrity.

The only request from the person who approached me was that he wanted to remain anonymous. He didn’t even want a “thank you” in the acknowledgements. In retrospect maybe I should have insisted, but anyway I’m thanking him now. I’m grateful too for the unstinting support of Hodder and Stoughton (see statement below) and my editor there, Rupert Lancaster. He and I worked together a few years ago fending off the efforts of Tony Blair’s government to dictate what I could write, so we had plenty of useful experience when it came to The Modi Effect.  And for what it’s worth the British government did far more to try influence the contents of my previous book, The Spin Doctor’s Diary, than Modi’s government ever did.

Writing about serving Prime Ministers puts you in the firing line. It goes with the job. But it’s worth it, even if some people worry – wrongly – that you may have got too close to your subject. They are fascinating material for a study in contemporary history and it’s worth taking the flak to try to explain what makes them tick.

Lance Price.

The following statement was made available by Hodder and Stoughton: 

The Modi Effect was written with the cooperation of Narendra Modi and his team, but it is an impartial and objective account of his election campaign from an outsider with a proven track record as an independent political commentator. In some reports it has been stated that Lance Price had never heard of Narendra Modi before embarking on the book. 

This is not correct.

A third party offered to finance the research stage of the book and, although they are known to Lance Price, they wished to remain anonymous. Hodder & Stoughton, which  has a publishing relationship with Lance Price,  contracted the book aware of the arrangement and satisfied that as a former BBC Political Correspondent and journalist of integrity, Lance Price would write a book that was entirely objective. From the outset all parties were clear that there would be no restriction at all on what Lance Price could write. There was no financial arrangement between Hodder & Stoughton and the third party.

Reviews of THE MODI EFFECT confirm Lance Price successfully achieved his aim of writing an impartial account of Modi’s campaign to become Prime Minister of India:
‘It’s not a partisan account… It was a calculated risk to give a left of centre political writer so much access…Price’s account is respectful rather than admiring.’ – London Review of Books

‘Price is suitably sceptical about other aspects of Modi’s image…He dissects Modi’s strategic and tactical decisions.’ – Financial Times

‘Unlike most Indian journalists he is not overawed by the man. So whether it is setting aside the apocryphal story about Bal Narendra grappling with a crocodile or indicating the Prime Minister’s undoubted vanity, calling out his exaggeration (that he has been begging for food for the past 40-45 years), Price can be fairly ruthless’ – India Today
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The Devil is in the Detail by Mark de Jager

11/24/2015

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Last week saw the announcement of the acquisition of debut fantasy novel Infernal by Mark de Jager. Mark’s editor, Michael Rowley of Del Rey UK said, ‘written in a style that reminds me of bestselling authors Joe Abercrombie and Peter V. Brett, I was instantly drawn to the character Stratus, an anti-hero set to take the genre by storm and break new ground. Like a magical blend of Jason Bourne and Jack Reacher, he moves through the world as an unstoppable force of nature in this action-packed, dark and violent fantasy thriller. We’re thrilled to have Mark on the Del Rey list.’
You can view the article here in The Bookseller, announcing news of the deal, announcing a ‘bold new voice in fantasy fiction.’

The past year has proved to me that time is relative. Little over a year ago I was muddling through the second or third draft of my latest manuscript and quite happy with it, toying with the idea that maybe it was in a good enough shape to let someone else read it.
I bit the bullet and sent it off to a few willing and brave friends and then patiently waited, although by patient I mean largely resisting the urge towhatsapp them for an update every 10 minutes. Eventually though, I had my feedback and was surprised to realise how differently some things had been interpreted. One of the problems with living with a story in your head for so long is that you forget that just because you know that X knows the backstory of Y, no one else does!

After another nip and tuck, I was ready to level up and submit it to an agent. Both Liz and I are fortunate in that we’ve been exposed to the industry in one form or the other for some time, initially via the contacts made while running our (now closed) blog, but more handily for me, I had learned my lessons a lot when Liz went through the process with her Blackhart manuscript. My first course of action was to get hold of a copy of the Writer’s Handbook and made a list of agencies who would accept fantasy, but I also approached others who we knew socially to ask them for pointers as to who might be looking. One of those kind people was Hannah Sheppard, who suggested that I add DHH to my list, which I did (and I still owe her a number of drinks for that).

Being a bit of a nerd, I set up a spreadsheet listing the agencies I wanted to approach and then broke each down further to list which agents in particular I should be addressing my cover letter to and what their submission criteria were. The latter is more important than many people realise: ignoring them doesn’t make you a groundbreaking rebel, it just makes you easier to pass over in favour of somebody who can actually follow simple instructions.

There are quite a few dedicated blogs and articles out there about what you should and shouldn’t say in a cover letter, but in the end I just bore it in mind that whether I knew the person I was writing to or not, I was now approaching them in a professional capacity and kept it succinct and neutral-friendly (a description that owes a lot to many years of D&D), again with an eye on their submission guidelines.

For all of the dozens of spellchecks and read-throughs, after I clicked ‘send’ it took me less than 30 seconds to spot the glaring typo on the first page of the extract. Facepalm. I think I might have said something along the lines of “oh golly gosh, what have I done?” *
Three weeks later I received an email from DHH requesting the full manuscript, which I may have read a few times and taken even longer to send a cohesive reply to that wasn’t all in CAPS. A fortnight thereafter I sat down with David Headley and Harry Illingworth and accepted their offer of representation, which felt surreal enough already, let alone that I was talking to people who understood my characters and my world and were so enthusiastic about it. We discussed the structure and character arcs, and I went away and prepared a fresh synopsis charting how I saw the story progressing.

The outline was agreed, and having considered it, I opted to do a full re-write. I knew where the story and characters were going, so it didn’t take anywhere as long as the first draft had. There were a few more revisions, including my first proper full manuscript edit complete with comments and suggestions which I was ludicrously excited about. Eventually it was ready to submit to actual publishers, and away it went, coincidentally accompanied by a spike in the sales of Jura whiskey.

Several parties were interested in the manuscript, which was thrilling in itself. Having the DHH team fighting my corner meant that the process was far less fraught than it might have been, the inevitable rejections notwithstanding. Some of these were actually uplifting despite the ‘no’ attached to them- from the perspective of a newbie author, it is still quite a shot in the arm to know that an editor wanted to read your manuscript, and having done so, hasn’t simply replied with ‘are you serious’ or ‘LOL’.

And then I received an email asking me if I would be available to meet withMichael Rowley of Del Rey, as if they really needed to ask. I knew Del Rey, and had in fact raided their stand at Worldcon the year before quite extensively. Michael was as enthusiastic as we were, and had picked up on everything I had been trying to do throughout the manuscript.

He got it, and was keen to take it forward.

Publishing has taught me a lot about patience and managing anxiety, but eventually we received the news that they were making an offer! What a year. It’s been an amazing experience, but wow, it went fast!

* Not my exact words by a long shot


Infernal will publish as hardback in August 2016.
Follow Mark on twitter: @Gergaroth
Follow David on twitter: @davidhheadley
Follow Harry on twitter: @harryillers
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DEL REY UK ACQUIRE A BOLD NEW VOICE IN FANTASY FICTION INTRODUCING A REVOLUTIONARY NEW CHARACTER

11/20/2015

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ACQUISITION ANNOUNCEMENT

Del Rey is delighted to announce the acquisition of Infernal from author Mark de Jager. Michael Rowley, Editorial Director at Del Rey has acquired world all languages rights, including audio, film and TV directly from David Headley (MD) and Harry Illingworth (Associate Agent) at DHH Literary Agency. Del Rey will publish in hardback in August 2016.

Infernal is a bold new fantasy thriller of dark magic, revenge, with a central character like no other. Anti-hero Stratus moves through the world as an unstoppable force of nature after waking up in an unfamiliar place, with nothing but the knowledge that he is not human and with no memories of his past. Possessing great strength and powerful sorcery, he sets out across a landscape torn apart by the ten year war between the Kingdoms of Krandin and Penullin, seeking the truth about what he has become and his unquenchable thirst for vengeance.

On being acquired by Del Rey, Mark said ‘I am absolutely delighted to be working with Michael and his team. Their enthusiasm, understanding and support for Infernal has been amazing from the outset.’

David Headley said ‘Mark de Jager is a powerful new voice in epic fantasy fiction, and has created an anti-hero like no other. Infernal is a genre-bending, dark and thunderous read that will appeal to science fiction, fantasy and thriller readers alike. Myself and Harry were blown away by the enthusiasm showed by Michael at Del Rey, and are delighted that Mark will be joining their list.’

Michael Rowley said ‘Written in a style that reminds me of bestselling authors Joe Abercrombie and Peter V. Brett, I was instantly drawn to the character Stratus, an anti-hero set to take the genre by storm and break new ground. Like a magical blend of Jason Bourne and Jack Reacher, he moves through the world as an unstoppable force of nature in this action-packed, dark and violent fantasy thriller. We’re thrilled to have Mark on the Del Rey list.’

Notes for Editors
Infernal by Mark de Jager
Hardback, August 2016, £16.99
World All Languages (including audio/TV/film)
Del Rey is an imprint of Ebury Publishing, a Penguin Random House company
 
Mark de Jager isn’t sure if his love of writing led to his love of gaming or vice versa, but his earliest memories involve both. He now spends his time trying to find a balance between these and working a full time job in the City, a process made slightly easier by his coffee addiction.

An ex-MP in the South African army, Mark now lives in Kent with his wife Liz (herself a published author) and their lazy dog in a house that is equal parts library and home.
You can follow Mark on Twitter, Instagram (and PSN) as @Gergaroth
​

For more information please contact Tess Henderson:thenderson@penguinrandomhouse.co.uk
Follow Harry on Twitter: @harryillers
Follow David on Twitter: @DavidHHeadley
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