PUBLISHING PERSPECTIVES TALK SERIES:
The Inside Track with Jenny Parrott and special guests Arzu Tahsin, Fiona Erskine and Elise Dillsworth

There are many urban myths about getting published. And while no-one would claim the process is easy, it’s important to hold onto the fact that the industry constantly needs new authors. With a solid understanding of how agents and publishers make decisions and how those decisions affect booksellers - and ultimately readers buying books - writers can greatly improve their odds. We want you to leave this course confident you know how to approach the whole process in an organised way, from how to produce an excellent query letter to an appreciation of what is likely to happen once you’ve signed agency and publishing contracts. Of course for some writers self-publishing will be an excellent option, and we’ll look at this too.

Week 1 – Agents and editors. What do they do?

It takes a team to publish a book. We’ll look at the role of the agent, how they work with writers and how they connect authors to publishers. We’ll then focus on the different types of editor you’ll encounter - acquiring, structural, line and copy editors, each with different responsibilities - along with all the other things a publisher has to do to bring a book to market. We'll also look at the role of the all-important elevator pitch, blurb and synopsis.

Week 2 – Getting ready to submit

Now it’s time to consider what authors need to do to ensure their submissions make sense for agents and editors. We’ll help you hone your pitch, blurb and synopsis, and examine how they fit into the all-important agent query package. We’ll talk about other documents you might need, and we’ll look at the pros and cons of a social media presence. We’ll also discuss things that might raise flags for those in the industry, such as unusual book lengths, legal questions, or copyright issues.

Week 3 – The editor's perspective, with guest speaker Arzu Tahsin

It’s time for our first guest! This week we’ll chat to a successful self-published author and discuss all things self-publishing, including why they took this route, the good and bad they’ve learned along the way, and whether they’d do anything differently if they were starting over. As with all guest speaker sessions, there’ll be an opportunity for your questions. When we’ve said goodbye to our guest, we’ll have time to discuss and absorb their thoughts and advice.

Week 4 – The self-publishing perspective, with guest speaker Fiona Erskine

Our next guest speaker is a successful commissioning editor who will talk about the process of acquiring a book, including what happens if a book is bought in an auction situation. We’ll look at how commissioning editors take an author through to publication, and how they go about their own editing process. (This can vary from editor to editor, so it’s always useful to know the particulars.) We’ll find out how and when the contracts, sales and rights departments start work, and we’ll look at what authors can expect from the publisher’s marketing and publicity team. Perhaps most importantly, we’ll look at how writers can give themselves the very best chance of commercial success. And we’ll look at things authors should never do!

Week 5 – The literary agent's perspective, with guest speaker Elise Dillsworth

To wrap the course, we’ll welcome an experienced agent as our guest. We’ll talk about how the publishing industry is changing, ask the agent what they like to see in queries from hopeful writers, and find out how authors put them off! How might the ‘perfect’ writer deal with their agent and publisher? We’ll investigate the sometimes complex relationship between agents, editors and publishers, and find out what you can do to help this process run smoothly.

Week 6 – The submission process

For this final week, the spotlight will be on the nitty gritty of the submissions process itself, putting into practice what we've learned from our guest speakers. We'll go over exactly how you'll begin submitting to agents, and how agents will submitting to publishers. This is all about being organised! We’ll think about what happens if agents and publishers are keen, and how to cope if it’s taking time to secure representation and consequently a publishing deal.