An aspiring author emailed me for some advice and I thought my reply *might* be of use to some...

(Like a lot of people, being asked for some advice and being asked various questions about getting published went to my head and I spoke to the person who got in touch like I knew it all. I'm aware I don't and that more successful writers can probably offer him better advice. But in the hope this helps some here's my emailed reply-)  

'Hi- not at all, you weren’t rambling and you ask the pertinent questions. You’ve caught me on a rather stressful day as I’m in negotiations with a film company about the content of one of my books- actually a lot more tricky than it sounds with no money readily in sight- but I’ll advise what I can and you can perhaps return to me further down the line on another better day if you like. 

I’d be interested to know the name of your friends partner. I ask this because (and the same is true of me) in this field a lot of people tend to dish out advice as if they can advise on how to crack it when it’s a moving landscape with one person’s perspective and expertise limiting their field of vision. My advice is less useful now as these days I’m dealing more with agents than with publishers directly myself and in terms of getting published things may well have changed. I can only tell you what I did. Published writers (and I’m no exception) get immensely flattered someone is asking their advice and get carried away, which is of limited use. Re your concern regarding an educational background / dyslexia. Don’t worry about that, it’s not an issue. I can see from your email and the care with which its written there’s no issue there. The thing agents and publishers initially notice (I think) is ‘does this writer use lots of adverbs?’ and as a lecturer in this field what stands out for me as high quality writing- on first glance- is well punctuated dialogue.

My punctuation re the above was poor when I started sending work out and it didn’t stop my first novel getting published. An editor, at a publisher (Lauren at Legend Press) liked a short story of mine they accepted for a collection and wanted a novel from me. I was fortunate in that she was prepared to put up with my poor dialogue punctuation as she liked my writing. In that respect it proves it’s not an issue, the quality of the writing is; more on which below. It’s important to not allow agents and publishers any reason to dismiss your work, which given their pile of submissions they’re keen to do as they have workloads like the rest of us, which they want to get past so they can enjoy the funner aspects of life. I would focus on getting short stories published and building your repertoire as a writer, and tempting as it is given our ambitions only work on getting novels published further down the track when your novel really has something to say. 

Readers are smart (they are certainly pernickety and will pick you up on any details you got wrong) and can tell when a writer is talking about a real experience or just trying convey a sense of one they know nothing about in a novel. I had my first novel published at 27, and it was started when I was 21. I was writing about the adult world knowing little about it. Readers can tell. When you do start to send out novels I would go to independent publishers who are accepting unsolicited (not from agents) novels. Ideally ones who’ll have some vigour in how they market it. Agents come into play when an author wants books, I think, to get to the bigger publishers and audiences, and at the point when rights come into play. Getting a big publisher can be great in terms of reach, but I personally found having an indie publisher who was enthusiastic about putting my work into awards and schemes and magazines was great. They had a smaller reach but their enthusiasm enabled me to get my name out there in various media. Being on the roster of a bigger publisher- just like being on the roster of a bigger agent- might well mean they are more focused on their bigger authors. Your lovingly written novel about carp fishing might excite them less than the possibility of landing a million pound book deal with Hilary Mantel and getting to replace the decking in their back yard with the money that allows them. I would use the Writers Handbook as I did to find publisher, like Legend Times, or Bloodhound, who are accepting without agents manuscripts for novels (as in stories over 60,000 words). Publishers and agents want to feel they have found the hot new writing voice on the scene. In that respect, you feel powerless as a writer starting out but in some ways are strongest then. Once you have a track record of getting published you can prove- or people have heard of you- you are harder to ignore and though you are less young and hot (in that sense) you have more influence in that respect. 

The shorter a novel the more likely it is to get published (doesn’t apply with genre fiction, where fantasy is expected to be immersive and more expansive) but shorter novels are more likely to be read by busy reviewers and so get more coverage and then sales. Magazines like Litro are good to get your work published. I would not pay for competitions nor to be published. It’s a racket and you have to learn to develop alone the whole infastructure by which to promote yourself, which is a second line of work (yes, some have great success self-publishing but I've personally found another perspective is needed to have any chance to complete anything I do). If you want deep advice on what in your story works or does not submitting a novel to the likes of Collective Ink (who are publishing my next novel) will generate reader reports and you can see a frank, direct commercial analysis of your story and its viability. Having some kind of marketing approach- something whereby your work can be presented to receptive audiences- makes a publisher more likely to take it on if they have to do less leg work. 

Creative writing courses can be great to get a sense of how people react to your stories but I only really got this sense from readers via Amazon when my novels were published! My initial concern regarding courses was that they become a self perpetuating ecosystem outside of actual publication, with their own hierarchy. Teaching on them I can now see their value, as above, if you get a good group to be a part of. They offer a community of writers which comes with all those benefits, and the concerted time to develop your craft. The previous government was trying to shut them down as a right wing gimmick, despite the fact that most of their former PM’s publish book themselves (this is a situation I now hope to see improve). They saw art as a sole pleasure of the upper classes and not for the rest of us. That bitter aside aside, don’t let anyone bruise you about your artistry for their own inadequacies. A trusted partner or friend can offer the best advice on your story and if it works. If someone tells you everything you do is genius they're unhelpful. 

If you have a manuscript length novel or collection (60,000 words or over) and you want to submit it to publishers and have it checked over first, editors like John Romans- who edited two books of mine- can be helpful if you have a few hundred quid spare. Finding a good editor is just like finding a good publisher or a good agent- a learning process about who's the best fit for you- and being open to advice will probably pay dividends. It will mean the book is that bit more likely to get accepted as the publisher can see your intent more clearly and will have less work to do on it. But I’ve never done that, as a publisher takes on an editor when they contract a book. You ask about techniques, strategies and practices. For good or ill there is a whole industry claiming to do that. For my money writing about your genuine experiences, not falling into writing ‘as you think a writer should’, writing in a way that reveals yourself as vulnerable, and with genuine empathy, is what is of real value that people will connect with and nothing in the industry can teach it. 

My last thought is that the reading public will see anything with your name on it as having been created by you and you alone. It isn’t. Editors, publishers, and agents all likely had input on it and it wouldn’t be what it is without them. But Amazon reviewers will think of the novel with your name of it as solely your responsibility. You can guess how unfair that is on the team that made a novel. But at the same time it will be your name on it, and any sense of legacy from your writing is tied up in that. You have to fight, with some grace, as to what writing is out there in your world with your name on it.'