When the Macmillan New Writing imprint was first launched, Giles Foden, writing in the pages of The Guardian, described the venture as “publishers trying to pull a fast one over impressionable young authors”. To anyone coming from such a perspective, I might be the ultimate vindication. . .or quite the reverse. Time will have to tell. In any case, that quote leads nicely into the main subjects of this article, for in the course of getting my first novel, Cover the Mirrors, published, I was somewhat surprised to learn that I had (quite inadvertently) hit a couple of controversy buttons located outside any themes covered in the story itself.
The first is related to the year of my birth. That would be 1980, but I’ve never made an issue of my own age, as it never struck me as being particularly worthy of note, and anyway, I’m promoting my book, not myself. However, based on the reactions I’ve had from other people, I’ve learned that it is a subject of some interest, so here are five of the juicier frequently asked questions relating to my status as a younger author:
1) Do you find that people are generally positive about you being published in your twenties?
So far, fortunately, yes. The majority of people who have felt moved to comment specifically about my age in relation to what I do have been very kind. In fact, Laura from hags was one of the first to get in touch with me expressing her appreciation for younger people who apply themselves to their vocation of choice rather than spending all their spare time and money in the pub. I too see it as a question of choice: essentially (and completely irrespective of the numbers on my birth certificate), I decided to apply myself to writing a book and trying to find a publisher for it. I haven’t done anything differently to my older counterparts in that respect; I just chose my priorities and followed through with them. (And I don’t drink and I’m not really one for group socialising, anyway, so for me the choice between a laptop and a pile of books and the local boozer was an easy one to make. Each to their own.)
2) Given your age, what made you choose historical fiction, of all genres?
This one always confuses me a bit. It’s hard enough to explain one’s choice of genre as it is, and all I can put my tendency to write historical fiction down to is my interest in history, but again, that’s a passion that can and does strike people of all ages. Anyone can have an interest in the past – in fact, I'd argue that at least some understanding of it is vital to the present and future health of society, but that's another subject.
3) Is Molly [Cover the Mirrors’ protagonist] anything like you?
This isn’t, strictly speaking, a question focusing primarily on my age (having spoken to many writers with a varying number of candles on their birthday cakes, I now firmly believe that this question must be one of the all-time top ten novelists’ pet peeves), but I’m including it anyway because, with a bit of probing, I usually find that in my case, the line of thinking said question arises from goes something like this: young female protagonist + young female author = book is thinly-disguised autobiography with fancy costumes. Such attitudes make my brain hurt, both because they’re so uninspired and so insulting to the intelligence of readers and writers everywhere, but also because such questions have, on more than one occasion, led to people asking me (with varying degrees of subtlety) some incredibly personal questions about my own life, as if I had already laid it bare when I created the entirely fictitious character of Molly. To answer the question once more (last time pays for all, as the saying goes) – no, Molly and I are not very alike at all. We have the occasional similarity, but no more than I might have with any other person, real or fictional. We are very different in the vast majority of ways, and have led dramatically different lives, so she’d make a poor author surrogate. Oh, and I’ve never been a Victorian Spiritualist.
4) Aren’t your twenties supposed to be a time for doing other things?
I believe you make your own path and your own purpose, so your twenties (or thirties, or forties, or nineties) are for doing whatever you choose to do with them. I can’t imagine doing anything else with mine, and I’m never happier than when I’m surrounded by a pile of textbooks, highlighter pens and notebooks, being creatively inspired by the past.
5) Do you think your age and relative inexperience in life make you more vulnerable to exploitation in the world of publishing?
This brings us neatly back to the quote at the beginning of this article, and in many ways it’s a difficult one for anyone to answer objectively, because of course most people (again, whatever their age) have difficulty seeing the cracks in their own psychological armour. If I deny that I’m just a wide-eyed ingénue, people are only going to tell me that I’m bound to be ignorant of any mistakes I make until I’ve made them, so all I can say is this: I am as confident as any newcomer to a professional environment like publishing can be that I am taking care to consider all my options and make my own decisions. I am by nature a cautious person, and I very rarely act on impulse, preferring instead to do my research and compile mental lists of options and the pros and cons for each. What more can anyone do?
What I did, when I first read about Macmillan’s New Writing imprint in Writers’ News, was email them the manuscript for Cover the Mirrors. I had already checked out their website and done what research I could there, and ordered a copy of Transparent Imprint, the book written by the imprint’s founder Mike Barnard describing the genesis of the venture. Then I continued to work on my second novel, Trades of the Flesh, which occupied most of my attentions until one day in November 2006, when I opened my email inbox after an enforced absence (technical problems) to find a message from Will Atkins at Macmillan, who is now my editor. Like many an author hoping to be published, I had grown used to getting myself excited about responses to my queries, only to have my hopes dashed by sentences beginning with the word “Unfortunately”, and so it was a complete shock – a pleasant one, of course – when I realised that Will’s email contained no such sentence. In fact, he said that MNW would be delighted to publish it.
The year leading up to Cover the Mirrors’ publication in November 2007 was a blur of weird and wonderful discoveries as I learned exactly what it was like to prepare for a book release. A cover blurb was written for my book. I decided on a dedication, and wrote a list of acknowledgements. My editor and I worked on the manuscript to produce a final draft (which reminds me – I will scream if I read one more poorly-researched newspaper article claiming that Macmillan advise or even require New Writing authors to employ freelance editors at their own expense, and I think Will might have something to say about being put out of a job in such a way). Far from knocking together a cheap, second-rate piece of cover artwork for my book, Macmillan’s design department produced something truly beautiful, and I’ve lost count of the number of compliments the striking red hardback cover has received. An equally stunning cover was subsequently created for the paperback edition, published in September 2008 – pale pink and white stripes with an old black-and-white photo, in case you fancy looking for it in your local bookshop! I also visited London to have lunch with Will and MNW’s publicist, Sophie.
In fact, from what I can gather, the only real difference between my experiences and those of authors published elsewhere is that I received my first cheque after the publication date instead of before. Would I have liked an advance? Of course. In a perfect world, I’d have liked one of those socking great advances; the ones writers like to torture themselves by reading about. But such things are extremely unlikely for anyone attempting to sell their debut novel, and I don’t feel in the least that I have been robbed or taken advantage of, and no misinformed or spiteful attempt to portray MNW in such a light has swayed me thus far. I absolutely recommend MNW, and given my time again, I wouldn’t hesitate to make the same choice.
As for the future, I’m happy to report that all is progressing nicely. Macmillan New Writing celebrated its second birthday in the spring of 2008. Cover the Mirrors sold well in hardback, and is also available now in paperback, large print and audio editions. Rights have been sold for a Romanian translation, and although I don’t speak a word of the language, I can’t wait to see my words laid down in a foreign tongue. Trades of the Flesh has been accepted for publication by Macmillan as well, and is set to appear in bookshops in September 2009. And as for me, I now have an agent (Edwin Hawkes at the McKernan Agency), and a pile of ideas for future books. . .
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7 comments:
Brilliant post, Faye.
Nik (born 1981).
Stoppit, you're making me feel old.
(I jest of course. Glad you enjoyed it!)
Excellent! Though I didn't know the old "MNW authors have to pay for editing" was still circulating.
David (born 1954). Neither old enough nor young enough to be a topic of conversation in interviews, alas.
It does still rear its ugly head on occasion, alas. I forget where I saw it last; I think it might have been in an article published around the time of MNW's birthday. Will said he was going to write to the guilty publication and correct them.
Trust me, you're not missing out on much with the age-related questions.
Excellent post.
I'm a year older than you and just found out in January that Macmillan will be publishing my first novel (in November, it looks like). I suspect the fact that I'll be thirty when my novel comes out will make my age a non-issue.
Also, given that Hemingway was something like twenty-two, Stephen King was twenty-seven, Lawrence Block was eighteen or nineteen, and on and on, when their first novels were published, I can't help but wonder if there's a bit of sexism in the question, the unspoken assumption being that a man in his twenties is a man but a woman in her twenties is a girl. But maybe not. Maybe it's a question any young writer would get. It just seems odd, given the number of writers who've published in their twenties.
Back to work. I'm in the middle of responding to Will's notes, which is why I'm procrastinating by reading blog posts.
Excellent post.
I'm a year older than you and just found out in January that Macmillan will be publishing my first novel (in November, it looks like). I suspect that, since I'll be thirty when the book is released, I won't face any such questions.
I also can't help but wonder, given that Hemingway published his first novel when he was in his early twenties, Lawrence Block in his late teens, Stephen King when he was twenty-seven, and on and on, if there might not be a bit of sexism in the question, the assumption being that a man in his twenties is a man but a woman in hers is a girl. Maybe not, though. Maybe all young writers get asked those questions. It just seems odd given how many authors broke through in their twenties.
Back to work for me. I'm in the middle of responding to Will's notes, which is why I'm procrastinating by reading blog posts.
Hi Ryan,
First of all, congratulations! It'll be interesting to see whether thirtysomething authors get the same questions as twentysomethings...just in the interests of science, y'know.
That's an interesting point about the gender issue, and to be honest it hadn't occurred to me before. I hate the idea of being one of those women who sees sexism everywhere, so I tend to overcompensate by perhaps not seeing the gender issue in any matter relating to me personally. Your examples are good ones, though, and it does make me think that perhaps some people have expectations as to the kind of book a young woman would/should write - hence the rather dismissive label of 'chick lit', I suppose.
It's a pity you're a year older than me rather than a year younger (or even the same age) - we could have tested the theory out then! Still, never mind. Congrats again - what's the title of your book?
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