Panel Discussion with Harvill Secker Editor, Writer and two Agents

Continued from yesterday's blog about the panel discussion with Alison Hennessey, Claire McGowan, Phil Patterson and Euan Thorneycroft at the Festival of Writing 2015:

Three golden rules for writers appear to be:

1) Take your time, don't rush submitting your manuscript. Very few agents will look at a re-submission; they are far too busy.

2) Don't despair: RJ Ellory wrote 20 manuscripts before he was agented. Therefore it's important not to isolate yourself, spending time with other writers will help sustain you. Let's face it, friends and family just don't understand and may feel neglected.

3) Good writing will get picked up off the slushpile, which is why 1) is so important. An agent may get as many as 3-4,000 submissions a year and may only take on 3 new clients. That's a 1 in a 1,000 chance on average! Alison Hennessey says she gets 30 submissions a month from agents and may only take on 1 or 2 new writers a year. I believe luck therefore has a big part to play too.

And a few more gems:
Someone is missing is often a good hook.
Amorality is interesting.
If you have more than one narrator it's really important to have distinct voices.
Plots can be fixed, but an agent has to really love the voice or they won't take you on.





Which brings me to:

The Wheel of Life

Three poisons occupy the centre of the Wheel of Life, giving it momentum.

Desire : represented by a cockerel.

Hatred/Jealousy : represented by the snake.

Ignorance : represented by a pig.

I can't do much about my desire to write (I was born in the year of the Cockerel) or (maybe) about my jealousy of those who've succeeded where I have (thus far) failed. But I can certainly do something about my inner pig!