A few weeks ago I blogged the first part of ‘How To Get Published’ and the response was overwhelmingly nice, so here’s part two.

Of course, this is a guide. There are no guarantees. I know lots of people –six I could name without pause – who are brilliantly gifted writers and why they aren’t all published bestsellers, I don’t know. But I hope they will be soon. (Joy, Avril, Rob, Jan, Martin, Jamie, that’s you.)

This blog post is about the traditional publishing route.  I don’t know anything about self-publishing. So many people are much better qualified than I am to talk about it.

But I’ve been published by HarperCollins and Boldwood Books. I’m very happy to blog about being published by a good publisher, who has all the skills of editing and marketing and publication that I don’t; who understands cover designs and blurbs and content and titles and how to effectively read the minds of readers, how to understand statistics, trends, global movements. Publishers who are behind my selling a million and a half books, without whom I probably wouldn’t have sold ten.

So first, as a writer, you have to make yourself that person agents and publishers will want. No compromises. Here’s a list for you.

• Be the best writer you can be, whatever that takes. Read. Practise writing. Read. Practise writing. Listen. Improve. It’s a journey.
• Have a novel ready. Don’t submit anything that isn’t at least very finished. And edited a couple of times.
• Go on courses. I did an MA. Did that help? Well, I enjoyed it, I learned some useful things, met some gorgeous people and it gave me a good starting position. That’s not to say everyone needs one. I went to Winchester for a Writers’ Weekend – they hold one a year – where they have agents who read excerpts of your books and tell you if they are commercially viable. Was that worth the £300 pounds it cost me? Absolutely. Immersing yourself in the industry and having inside knowledge of how it works is so important. Some people came away with offers. I did – but it wasn’t for me at the time. I got a much better one with the knowledge I brought away though. Meet other writers. Work with them.
• Look to the experts. The RNA – Romantic Novelists’ Association – do a new writers’ course. They know exactly the best routes to being published, the best skills to hone. Align yourself with professional people who are steeped in good practice. Build a team around yourself. RNA come highly recommended.
• On that note, join a writers’ group. You won’t look back if it’s a good one.
• Avoid vanity publishers. I won’t say any more. It’s up to you to do the checks and balances, but the rule of thumb for me tends to be that good publishers pay you, not the other way round, unless you want 10 sweet copies of your novel to give to your kids.
• Get your name out there. Enter competitions. Get published in periodicals, in anthologies. Write reviews of other books, clever ones, kind ones.
• Follow agents and publishers and writers on Facebook and X, if that’s your thing.
• Consider your relationship with social media. You’ll need a good author page or two, profiles, a website, a blog. Can you make your social media sing? Give this some serious thought and check out what other authors do.
• Buy The Writers’ Yearbook. It has names of all the agents in there. Check them out on line. Might they like your book? Here’s a hint. Do they publish your genre and other authors like you?
• Double check. Look at the back of the books you enjoy, the writers whose work you admire. They’ll have acknowledged and thanked a wonderful agent, a talented editor. If you write in a similar style, then their agents may be interested in you.
• Go online and check when the agent wants submissions. Do exactly as the submissions request. This shows you are efficient.
• If you email an agent, keep the email simple. They want to know about you and why you think you should be published. Because your nan loves your writing isn’t the answer. Because you write commercial women’s humorous literature, just like Maeve Binchy and Marian Keyes about modern women in the modern world is a good start. Remember, you have to be commercial. No one will buy anything that won’t sell. You can take the best and most impressive combine harvester into a cake shop but if it isn’t a cake, you’re out of luck. And most people like chocolate…
• Send your submission – 4 chapters, 10,000, words, whatever you’re asked for – in the best state you can send it in. Edited. Spell checked. Any excess trimmed. Cut. Edited again.
• Expect agents not to write back. Or to write back and say no. Or to say nice things but still refuse. Agents are busy. And human. With deadlines. They might be in Frankfurt. Or have a sick mum. Don’t take it personally. Keep trying. Don’t blame yourself or anyone else – it’s simply not your time yet.
• Take any advice you’re given. You’ve just had a bonus gift from a professional. Even if that means writing the whole thing from scratch. Take advice like gold dust! Avoid being disgruntled and saying ‘They don’t recognise talent when they see it.’ You may be talented. But will your talent sell books?
• When you get an offer, celebrate. Read the contract carefully. A good agent is the same as a guardian angel.

I’ll leave it there for now. I know there’s lots more I need to come back to you and discuss. Including – the difficult bits of writing. To plan or to pants. What to do when you’re stuck. What to do when you think what you’ve written is rubbish. How to simply keep going. Managing deadlines. Managing ego. Managing no ego at all.

Just ask. I’m here.

I hope this has been helpful. Do let me know.

J x