Author Image by Krishanthi
“I asked my agent to put a pause on
submissions and I took some much-needed time away from the book.”
After facing rejection, writer Hannah Tovey took six weeks away from her novel. But would the subsequent draft finally land her a book deal?
Everyone told me that getting an agent would be the hard part of my journey to publication, and so I wrongly assumed that, having secured mine quickly, the next part would be smooth sailing. But within five months of submissions, I’d had a total of 23 rejections. I remember sitting on the tube having just been informed that the doors to yet another publishing house were closed to me. I held my scarf up to my face and sobbed into it all the way home. I felt hopeless, dejected, and my confidence was at an all-time low.
I wanted to be an actress when I was younger, but it became abundantly clear in my many unsuccessful drama school auditions that this profession was not for me. I’m not the sort of person who handles rejection gracefully – every single ‘no’ felt deeply personal, and just as savage as the last. I have no idea why I thought it would be easier as a writer.
After the twenty-third rejection came in, I asked my agent to put a pause on submissions and I took some much-needed time away from the book.
I remember my tutor Richard Skinner saying to us, ‘A book is not written, but rewritten.’ It wasn’t until that moment that I understood what he meant. I couldn’t see my novel’s flaws before because I hadn’t given myself time away from it. Jane Austen used to lock her finished manuscript in a drawer, give the key to a friend and instruct her not to return it for one year. I didn’t take one year, but six weeks, and then I sat down and returned to the beginning of the book. I had (almost) forgotten about the heartache of the previous months and was able to focus on writing the best book I could write.
I printed off every rejection email I had and made a long list of action points for the new draft. I edited and re-edited and got various, wonderful, writer friends of mine who I met at Faber Academy to take another look at it. Two months later, I sent the new manuscript to my agent, and two weeks after that, I had my first offer.
The road to publication is a marathon, not a sprint. Listen to the relentless whisper inside you that’s telling you to take your time, to breathe. You’ve got to rest if you want to keep going.
Hannah Tovey is from South Wales, but grew up in Hong Kong. She graduated from Faber Academy in 2018, after completing the Writing a Novel course, where she finished The Education of Ivy Edwards. Hannah lives in East London and is working on the sequel, out summer 2021. The Education of Ivy Edwards was published by Piatkus @ Little, Brown Book Group on 13th August 2020. Hannah is represented by Hayley Steed at Madeleine Milburn Literary, TV and Film Agency. Find Hannah Tovey at www.hannahtovey.com and on Twitter @hannahctovey
About The Education of Ivy Edwards
Adult life is hard. Send help …
Fleabag meets Gavin and Stacey in this raw, confessional debut with the most endearing and honest of heroines. Ivy Edwards is thirty-one years old, funny, shameless, and a bit of a romantic. She’s also currently trying not to cry in the office toilet. Partly because she’s just run out of money for fags. A bit because her mum continues to annoy her. Definitely not because she’s just been dumped by her fiancé. With her London life in shambles and her family miles away in the Welsh valleys, Ivy doesn’t actually feel like she belongs anywhere. At least, she has her friends – and a bottle of vodka. Embarking on a journey of singlehood, Ivy is about to discover that sometimes, having your life fall apart can be surprisingly fun. Sometimes, heartbreak can be the best education…
The Education of Ivy Edwards is perfect for fans of Dolly Alderton’s Everything I Know About Love, Holly Bourne’s How Do You Like Me Now?, and Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s Fleabag.
