“There is no shame in seeking reviews from others, either a decent friend (who will give you honest feedback), or from a professional.”
Novelist Louise Fein tells how getting input from others was key to her landing a deal for her debut.
Writing a book is hard at the best of times. It can feel harder, even impossible, when reading daily news of best-sellers, huge six or even seven figure advances, and publishers scrambling to pre-empt or enter auctions for another ‘stunning’ debut. When I was writing my debut, I was advised to ‘get plugged in’ to social media. So I dutifully followed prospective agents, publishers and bookish people with a view to picking up that elusive agent and publisher myself. The result, however, as I scrolled daily through my feed, was growing despair. Just when I felt like I was wading through treacle with my own novel, I could see everyone else, out there in the virtual world, sailing along. They were effortlessly (it seemed) producing exquisite words, genius plot lines, engaging characters and unique stories, when I was struggling with a horrible mess.
I was nearly at the end of my first draft. What seemed like a good idea at the outset, possibly even to the half-way point, had deteriorated and disintegrated to a wreckage of an end. It made me question the whole premise of the book, every character, the plot, the pace. Literally everything, I realised, was wrong with the book. I felt like a total failure. All those wasted hours, that hope dashed. How could all these other people be so much better than me?
What I didn’t take into account from these announcements, was the many, many drafts and the input of others into those stunning books. When you are unpublished, you do not have the benefit of agents and editors to help guide you and I was frustrated to find I wasn’t able to shape my book into how I wanted it to be. But I wasn’t willing to give up on it. And that’s why I sought the advice of a professional editor. There is no shame in seeking reviews from others, either a decent friend (who will give you honest feedback), or from a professional. When I read the editor’s report on my book I was, at first, devastated that there seemed to be a problem with every aspect of it, although it did rather confirm what I already knew. However, when I got over my first emotional response, I was able to see that the editor thought there was great potential in it. My brain then kick started into thinking up ways to solve the issues, and I knuckled down and got back to work. Two years and several drafts later, my book was one of those plucked off the slush pile and the subject of an announcement.
I’m just at the end of the first draft of my second book. It’s an awful mess and, compared to the first finished book and all those lovely novels I’ve been reading about lately, It’s truly terrible, and hard to see how it will ever be any good. But this time, I know I can make it better in subsequent drafts, and I have faith it will turn out okay in the end. Writing does not get any easier, and it’s a long game. The secret is never to give up.
Louise Fein was born in London. Following a career in law and finance, she took an MA in creative writing. Her first novel, People Like Us (named Daughter of the Reich in the US and Canada edition) is to be published by Head of Zeus and William Morrow (HarperCollins imprint) in May 2020. It is also being translated into seven foreign languages. The novel was inspired by the experience of her father’s family, who escaped from the Nazis and arrived in England as refugees in the 1930’s. Louise lives in Surrey with her husband, three children and small dog, and is currently working on her second novel.
Are you a traditionally published author (or soon to be published) with your own story about how you push/ed through your blocks to become Unstoppable? Contact me at nicola@theunstoppableauthor.com for a guest slot on the blog!
How to become Unstoppable: Author Louise Fein