At one stage I collected rejection letters. Most were polite, the pre-formatted sentences of disappointment sent as some form of recognition of what I was trying to achieve. Yet that did not make them easy reading. When your own stamped and self-addressed envelope returns home, it is hard not to be downhearted.
Yet the submission process remains crucial. It is still a common route to becoming a published author and it is enduring because it works. Now, I appreciate that many people do not believe this to be true. They look at published authors and sense that there is some secret, hidden route that once discovered will open the literary Garden of Eden where publishing contracts are tossed around with wanton abandon. I am also aware of the rumours of frustrated writers sending in the works of Jane Austen or some other literary great only to roar with delight when they are rejected by an agent.


Despite all that I firmly believe that the submission process does work. Anyone doubting that should read the biographies of the talented historical writers that are being published at the moment. Many come from “ordinary’ jobs. Be it teachers, vets, doctors, IT consultants or even bankers, many of us do not look supremely qualified to become a writer. And yet we do.
My own story is actually pretty typical. I have no degree, no creative writing experience or knowledge of publishing, writing or anything at all to do with the world of books. I just sat down one day and started to write.

When I had completed my first book, I engaged in the submission process. I blasted out my submission packages, following the rules laid out by the agencies carefully. I sat back and waited and watched the rejection slips wander back. As hard as this was to take, it was the process at work. The book I had written was simply not good enough. Now, that is a hard statement to write. I still think that story works. The plot was well formed alongside a cast of fascinating characters that would enthral a reader and the potential for a long series was built in for free. Yet it went nowhere simply because no one wanted to go out to bat for it. There lies the crucial detail. Agents are not just looking for good books and well-written stories. They are looking for something they can back with every fibre of their heart and soul. They do not do this lightly. They have to believe in you and your book wholeheartedly. They cannot do this regularly, no one can. They are searching for the gem that resonates with them as an individual.
​
So where does that leave us writers. Well, we have to do everything we can to hit that agent with something so punchy and so fantastic that we blow their proverbial socks off. For me it meant planning the submissions for my second novel with mercenary precision. I no longer blasted them out in the hope that someone would see it. I targeted individual agents with a track record of representing writers of historical fiction. They did not receive a standard, “Dear Sir” letter but one crafted just for them. I was no longer bland but professional and confident, detailing where my book fitted into the world, what it was similar to and why it was unique. It was a slower, bespoke approach but it worked. Four agents asked to read the whole manuscript with two showing particular interest. In a surprisingly short space of time David Headley of DHH Literary Agency offered me representation and I was away.

I have asked Dave why he offered to represent me. The answer should not be a surprise. My submission package worked. Dave receives a lot of submissions and he reads every single one. Mine stood out. I hope that does not sound arrogant but I honestly believe it is the truth.
So treat the submission process with the same care you have lavished on your manuscript, giving it your full and undivided attention. Research your targets with the same diligence you just spent months applying to your novel. Agents will read your work so do all you can to make your submission the best they have seen that day, that week or even that month. Do not break their rules, do not submit on fancy paper or try some other crass way of getting their attention. Hit them with a professional, considered and realistic package and explain why you have sent your work to them. There is no guarantee of success but you can be confident that you have given your work the very best shot of getting some attention. You can do nothing more.


View DHH Literary Agency’s submission guidelines here


The Scarlet Thief and The Maharajah’s General, the first two books in Paul’s Jack Lark series are available now and published by Headline.
Signed copies are available from Goldsboro Books. The paperback versions are available now as well from other retailers.
Visit Paul’s website: www.paulfrasercollard.com
Follow Paul on twitter: @pfcollard

Bananas. I love them. They’re one of my best foods. I love them not just because they are a portable, neatly packaged fruit that’s the principle ingredient in my favourite kind of cake, but because bananas are responsible – if not all, then certainly in part – for me signing a contract with my lovely agent.
Way back then, before bananas were so beloved, I wrote because I loved writing, because it kept my brain ticking over while I looked after my young family, because writing was the perfect excuse to ignore the laundry and spend time gazing out of the window, and oh how I love ignoring the laundry and gazing out of the window. When I started writing I didn’t really think about the end-game, about having a book published, I wrote because I had a pretty good story taking space up in my brain and in order to free up the space, you know, so I would have a better chance of remembering shopping lists and where I parked the car, I needed to get it out. The thing is, once it was out and the words were on the page, 350 pages to be exact, a voice in my head said: You know what? This story isn’t too bad. Maybe you should try and get it published. I didn’t believe the voice in my head, echoing as it was around the newly freed up space, so I gave my book to a few willing friends and bit my fingernails to the quick whilst waiting for their responses. Surprisingly, all of them said: You know what? You should go for it. So I sent the manuscript off to seemingly every agent in the world and then gradually began collecting an impressive, and depressing, array of rejections.
One of these rejections was from an agent called Broo Doherty. What set her rejection apart from the others was the mistake she made of saying there was something about my writing and that if I decided to do any work on the manuscript she’d be happy to take another look. She was probably being polite but I leapt at the glimmer of hope. I went away and wrote in every minute I could find. As soon as the baby fell asleep I’d pull my edit notes out and race to get as many words down as I could before she woke and needed my attention. I wasn’t the best mum during those months; I was distracted, determined, and desperate. But when I emerged blinking into the sunlight from my self-imposed troglodyte existence, I knew I’d written something better. I emailed Broo explaining I hadn’t cooked for my children for three months, that I’d fed them only bananas, but I had managed to rewrite the book. She wrote back by return of email with the legendary words: If you’ve fed those poor children nothing but bananas, the very least I can do is take another look. The rest, as they say in glorious cliché, is history.
And this is why I bloody love a nice banana.


Amanda’s new book, The Judas Scar, is published on 1st May 2014.
www.amandajennings.co.uk
Twitter: @mandajjennings

With the recent announcement of a two book deal with Simon & Schuster for debut children’s author Abi Elphinstone (represented by Hannah Sheppard) and Bologna Children’s Book Fair right around the corner, we asked Abi to write us a piece on how it feels to get her first book deal, and her journey to it.

Here’s her story of how she gave up on the dream of becoming a unicorn, and found her place in the world of children’s literature. 


A lot of people ask me, ‘Did you always know you wanted to write a book?’ And the truth is: I didn’t, despite reading voraciously as a child and writing hundreds of stories. From the ages of 6-10 I wanted to be a unicorn and from the ages of 10-20 I wanted to be a Blue Peter presenter. So where did I end up? PR… Not a unicorn in sight sadly – and before long I realised I wasn’t cut out for promoting food and drink products to the über rich. And so after two years I bought a one-way ticket to Africa on a teaching contract.  Out in Tanzania, I began thinking back to my childhood, of running wild over the Scottish moors and diving into freezing rivers. Away from the clamour of London, I realised I wanted to write a children’s book, one that might capture the classic feel of the adventure stories I had loved as a child: Philip Pullman’sNorthern Lights, C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia and Mary Norton’s The Borrowers.


After four months I came back to the UK and went into secondary school teaching. My children’s book, at this stage, was hand-written into a leather-bound notepad. My mother looked at it and said: ‘There are the people who say “I’d like to write a book” and there are the people who say “I’m going to write a book.” You’re the kind of person who’s going to write a book. So see this through.’ In the next four years I wrote three books and each one was rejected by literary agents. But many of the agents said they saw ‘glimpses of brilliance’ and ‘raw talent’ in my work. So I kept writing. I attended literary festivals and writing workshops, I set up a children’s book blog and I got on twitter, and most importantly, I re-worked my writing until it was the very best that it could be.

Then I sent my book, Oracle Bones, to the editorial consultants, Cornerstones, who gave it straight to one of their editors, Hannah Sheppard. Luckily for me, Hannah was just starting to build her client list with the DHH Literary Agency. This is what she said:

‘I loved Oracle Bones and think it has real potential. I’m really looking forward to meeting you at our brainstorm.’ I might have cried after reading that email (a lot), and the following week I met up with Hannah to discuss her thoughts on the manuscript. She was effortlessly articulate about the edits she thought would enrich the book, while I sat there grinning and stuttering like some sort of hyperactive child. And then after the meeting I got another email from Hannah: ‘I just wanted to reiterate how excited I’d be to represent you and, assuming you’re keen, look forward to working with you to find Oracle Bones(and future books!) a publishing home.’

Within a few weeks we’d signed a contract and Hannah helped me make the book so much better. Without her, I’d have had the Animal Rights campaigners on my back and quite a few laborious character descriptions weighing the book down. She saw exactly what the book needed and before long, we were ready to submit it to publishers. I thought we’d just be emailing the book out but Hannah devised a fantastic Christmas postcard that landed on editors’ desks the day before we sent out the manuscript. It read: ‘What’s on your Christmas submission wish list? Keep an eye on your inbox. Oracle Bones is coming…’ And then we waited. I imagine Hannah waited in an effortlessly articulate manner; I, on the other hand, stalked editors on twitter and checked my inbox every five minutes.


And then, a few days before Christmas, Hannah and I got a two-book deal offer from Simon & Schuster! For the first time in my life, I was completely speechless. I remember standing in the middle of my sitting room in silence – in total shock. And then it sank in and I cartwheeled and star-jumped my way around the house… After Christmas Hannah and I went in to meet the Simon & Schuster team (and another major UK publisher who was keen). Simon & Schuster’s enthusiasm and passion was almost tangible and we signed our two-book deal.
I was out in South America doing research for my second book, Soul Splinter, last week and on the final day of the trip, in a moment of Peter Pan wonderfulness, I hang-glided over Rio de Janeiro. Afterwards I went back to the apartment and I saw an email from Hannah saying that my deal had been announced in The Bookseller. It was one of the best days of my life and even now I’m still cartwheeling and star-jumping around London with excitement. And the irony of it all is that in the week of my deal being announced, I also got a rejection letter from an agent for a book I sent off a year and a half ago. Ironic though it was, it was a sharp reminder to me of the grit and determination needed to make a book deal happen – from the decision to write the book in the first place and the endless rejections that often follow, to the excitement of seeing your deal announced. If I could give advice to anyone out there wanting to write a book, I’d tell them that there are a million excuses you can come up with to put off your plans but ultimately, if you want to write, you’ve got to get on and start writing – regardless of what’s happening around you. And you’ve got to be humble enough to take criticism from agents and publishers but determined enough to bounce back from it.

They say writing is a journey. If that’s the case then large chunks of the past five years have felt like wading through knee-high snow in Scotland. But right now, with my book deal announced and the thought of seeing Oracle Bones in bookshops soon? That’s a First Class flight straight into the Bahamas, that is…
​
You can visit Abi’s brilliant website at www.moontrug.com
Follow her on twitter: @moontrug
Like her Facebook page at: www.facebook.com/moontrug

As In Bloom is my first book for young adults, the one question that seemed to reign supreme when doing the publicity rounds is “what advice would you give to young writers?”
The truth is I have none. So invariably I just shrug and mumble something about reading widely and not being disappointed by rejection.

However, as it is now eight years since I first signed up with a literary agent, below I have bulleted the advice I wish I’d received as a young author. Take of it what you will.

– “More sex and adjectives” is a good approach to life, but a bad creative manifesto. Tone it down a bit. They get the gist.
– Show don’t tell.
– Do it because you love it and treat everything beyond that as a bonus.
– Email is not like real life – introductions do not require Dutch courage. Do not drink before submitting work. It will end in a hangover you do not deserve.
– Everyone’s selling something. Do not be afraid to push yourself. But learn from the mistakes of the creeps that do nothing but.
– With regards to the above, balance is key. As things stand you put more effort into writing books than you do into ‘being an author.’ Keep it that way.
– The only people who “sell out” are those with something worth buying in the first place. Don’t be a fucking idiot- swallow your pride, take the money, and RUN!
– Try to be kind. There are always a hundred ways to say something is crap. The real skill is finding an interesting way to say why you liked it. The older you get the more you should treat acerbic put-downs like two-day benders: infrequent but spectacular.
– Enjoyment shines through. Write the books you’d like to read.
– Read Stephen King’s ‘On Writing’ because it’s so good. Do not read any other writing guides. They’re shit. Spend your money on adventures and the like. If you know how to write then all you need is experience. The rest will come naturally.
– Every embarrassment makes you feel like the world is ending. It is not. One day each mortification will become an anecdote.
– Don’t take boring books to read on the bus because you want people to be impressed by how clever you are. You won’t even talk to strangers, let alone sleep with someone who approaches you on the top deck of the 363. Take a book you enjoy and stop being such a tit.
– A good story, well written with believable characters is all it ever has to be- which in itself is a big ask. Stop trying to reinvent the wheel. It works just fine as it is. Nobody wants to read an eighty thousand word Power Point presentation on your command of the simile.
– There must always be a beginning, a middle, and an end (no matter what order you stick them in.)
– Semi-colons are not as sophisticated as you think they are.
– In time you will learn to enjoy others’ success. It is a good sign. A healthy industry is the most you can ask for. The rest is up to you.
– Never accept a drink from an aspiring author. It will be the longest pint of your life. Pretend to receive an urgent phone call and throw yourself into the nearest taxi.
– (Try to be kinder)
– Lower your expectations.
– Send thank you cards.
– Stop worrying so much. And stop being in such a hurry. Finishing a book is a huge achievement in itself. Sits back and enjoy the spoils every once in a while.
– Read widely and don’t be disappointed by rejection.

One day you will be proud.
​
In Bloom is published tomorrow in paperback, you can order it here
Follow Matthew on twitter: @mizzlecrizzle

I’m happy to be here as a client of Broo Doherty at the DHH Literary Agency – happy for many reasons. I’ve been with Broo for a few years now and enjoy having a friendly, communicative agent who is on my side in the crazy world of publishing.
And yes, much as I love it, it is a crazy industry!

How did I start as a novelist? In 1991, I won a major $10,000 writing prize in Australia and publication of my first novel, after ten years of trying and six full novels written. To say I was ecstatic is putting it mildly – I was just about tap-dancing on the ceiling.
That book (Persons of Rank) was a regency romance, set in 1818, and was great fun to write. Thanks are due to Georgette Heyer, still my favourite author, for inspiring me to write it.

I didn’t look for an agent to handle this book. I have a Master of Business degree and the contract seemed straightforward enough. However, looking back, I didn’t understand all sorts of business details that needed following up – the sort of work an agent does, as well as selling books.

I didn’t even know there had been a US edition, didn’t receive or know to ask for sales statements, didn’t know about selling subsidiary rights . . . I was a babe in the publishing woods.

Then I came down with chronic fatigue syndrome and had to give up my day job. The editor who’d verbally accepted another book from me left the publisher– and I was dropped. Like the Queen, I was having an ‘annus horribilis’.
However, this was the best thing that could have happened to me, though I wouldn’t have believed that at the time.

I wrote to a London agent (Bob Tanner, RIP, lovely man) and he sold that other book within a month to Hodder & Stoughton. He said I’d be happy with them and I have been – for 21 years and 33 books, with more in the pipeline.

Bob and his lovely staff guided me gently through the publishing mazes, a very steep learning curve. My health improved and I found I could write more quickly. Bob sold one of my ‘spare’ books to Severn House.  I’ve written 21 novels for them now, modern stories at the moment. My, how time flies when you’re having fun.

As I grew more experienced and speeded up still further, and started writing for Allison & Busby as well.

Now, I have 65 novels published, which I would never have dreamed could happen. As I live half the year in Australia and half in the UK, I continue to be glad of Broo’s help on so many levels. I couldn’t keep in touch with the UK publishing industry from 10,000 miles away and I don’t want to try. I want to write my stories.
I’ve been a story-teller since I was two. Stories run through my head morning, noon and night, more than I have time to write down. It’s a nuisance that a human being needs so much sleep!

Now, I’d better get back to my current story . . .
​
http://www.annajacobs.com/
https://www.facebook.com/Anna.Jacobs.Books?ref=ts&fref=ts

DON’T GIVE UP THE DAY JOB
Even if you get a publishing deal, an author’s life is financially precarious for all but a tiny few, so assume you will need another source of income, either from a writing-related job or a totally different career. Having another job will give you vital life experiences and inspiration – so meet people, do things, go places and get out there!
 
READ WIDELY
Read, read everything – popular fiction, literary fiction, classics, non-fiction, newspapers, magazines – and keep an open mind about all the things you read. Everything informs your writing life, develops your voice, helps you to see what the market is like and what you actually might like to write. Above all, write what you enjoy writing, not what you think you ‘ought’ to write.
 
WRITE EVERY DAY
Write. That may seem obvious but Just Do It. Write every day if you can – even if it’s only a few words – try different projects, experiment. Write even if you think your work is rubbish; all writers think that at some point. A successful writer also knows s/he’s going to rewrite. The magic happens in the rewriting/editing process.
 
SELL YOURSELF
Finishing a book is only part of the story; you need to decide how it will reach an audience. You’ll need energy, professionalism and courage to approach agents and publishers and market your work. Once you do have a book deal, don’t expect to be able to sit back and let your publisher’s PR/marketing department do all the work. Bear in mind they may have dozens, even hundreds, of other authors to support. These days, you need to engage with readers in person and online via social media. That means establishing a website or blog, a Twitter presence and/or a Facebook page. You don’t have to be online 24/7 but you do need to be aware of and respect the fact that readers will want to know more about you and your book. Remember too, that the clue is in the title and ‘social media’ means being sociable – not simply sending out a stream of ‘Buy My Book’ pleas.
 
NEVER GIVE UP BUT…
Develop a thick skin; learn to deal with knockbacks, and self-doubt and Keep on Writing. However Not Giving Up is not the same as Not Taking Advice i.e. thinking you have nothing to learn and blindly resubmitting the same work (and making the same mistakes.) However you need to be careful who you take advice from. Personally, I only listen to my editor, my agent and a very small group of trusted author friends who know me well enough to give honest and constructive feedback. Knowing who to listen to, and how much, if any of their advice, to take on board, is part of the process of becoming a writer and finding your own voice. You’ll always come up against conflicting advice and ‘should I or shouldn’t I?’ moments in your career but with experience, you’ll gain greater insight into what works for you and your book.
www.phillipa-ashley.com
@PippaCroftBooks and @PhillipaAshley
The First Time We Met – Penguin Books – Feb 2014

Hello everybody and welcome to our new blog at DHH Literary Agency.
Here is where we will endeavour to keep you up to date with anything and everything related to our agency, not that we shall limit it to such affairs. In between publishing related news you can expect articles from our agents, guest posts from our authors, advice for when it’s that dreaded time to submit your novel, details on events our agents are going to be at and anything in between.
All of our agents will post articles on this blog on all sorts of topics. We will announce deals, we will share news. We would like it to be a platform for you to feel free to communicate with us.
We invite you to comment, to ask the questions you’ve been afraid to ask, or to simply say hello.
For now though, I shall say goodbye.
Best Wishes,
Harry.