“Neither of the books I’d written so far had a strong enough hook. On my way home, I had another idea…”
Helen Cooper had to kiss a lot of frogs before she got her book deal for thriller The Downstairs Neighbour. But, the author reveals, she learned something important from every one.
I recently watched Love Life, a BBC drama chronicling a woman’s relationship history on her way to finding ‘The One.’ Its message is that life is no straightforward fairy tale, but all those ‘failed’ experiences are necessary in pursuit of a happy ending. It resonated – not with my love life, but with my writing life! I wrote five novels until ‘The One’ that got me a book deal, and each taught me something vital.
So, I’m approaching this article like the TV show: one episode (paragraph) for each significant love (book)!
How to Choose Your Tattoo (2009-2013)
My first love was the first book I actually finished! I wrote the beginning for my Master’s dissertation, but continued with it afterwards, breaking my habit of abandoning projects ten chapters in. After two rounds of submitting to agents (with laborious editing in between), I had a combination of rejections and non-responses. However, a handful sent a note with their thanks-but-no-thanks, saying the writing was strong, though the book wasn’t for them. It seems mad to rejoice in rejections, but the fact they’d taken time to say encouraging things spurred me on. Also, I noticed a general confusion about what kind of book I’d written. One agent asked, ‘is it a YA novel?’ because my narrator was a teenager. So, the lesson? My writing had potential, but I needed to be clear what I was writing.
Empty Pages (2013)
After years of slogging over that first novel, I wrote the next in a frenzy. I was clearer about its genre – a romance, set in a stationery shop – but never submitted it, though I retain a soft spot for it. In Love Life, this would be the fling that never got serious but was important nonetheless! It showed me I was able to write another book after committing so much energy to the first. And I did get to pitch it at a ‘How to Hook an Agent’ event run by Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook. In fact, the agent who’d sent the most glowing rejection (an oxymoron?) for my first novel was there – and remembered me! I failed to wow her with my pitch for Empty Pages, but I learned something crucial. Neither of the books I’d written so far had a strong enough hook. On my way home, I had another idea…
What the Mountains Know (2013-2015)
In Love Life, this would be the second most significant relationship. The one you think is ‘it’. I poured everything I’d learned into the writing, worked hard on my covering letter and pitch, then braced myself and sent it to some agents. I still remember being at work, halfway through giving a lecture, and checking my phone to glimpse the email I’d dreamed of. When I signed with Hellie Ogden, she said my covering letter had really stood out, so perfecting that pitch was definitely worthwhile.
You’d be forgiven for thinking this is the happy ending. Yet we’ve still got two episodes to go?! Well, like all good stories, it wasn’t so simple. What the Mountains Know went out on submission to various big publishers. Its first few rejections weren’t too troubling; they contained heaps of praise, and phrases like, ‘I’m certain it’ll be snapped up elsewhere.’ Unfortunately, by the end of the process, everyone had said the same! I was devastated, but clung to two realisations. Firstly, several publishers had said they’d be keen to see future work; and secondly, they’d provided thoughtful feedback, which I could use. I set about a painstaking analysis of their rejection notes. Afterwards, I knew what I needed to do with my next book: strengthen the hook (again!), increase the pace, and sit more firmly in the genre of suspense.
The Last Thing You Do (2015)
You’ll notice we’ve still not reached ‘The One’! This book was never really destined to be it, though. It was another rapidly-written pallet-cleanser, and a much better story idea occurred to me in its wake. An idea I knew was worth taking my time over. And finally….
The Downstairs Neighbour (2016-2020)
After all those wrong turns that weren’t really wrong turns at all, The Downstairs Neighbour got me a two-book deal with Hodder (and, yes, I cried!). Of course, finding ‘The One’ in your love life is usually the end of the relationship rollercoaster… but I’ve already fallen for my next work-in-progress…
Helen Cooper is a writer of psychological thrillers from Derby.
She has taught English and Academic Writing in both Further and Higher Education and was Head of Learning Enhancement at the University of Birmingham. She has a MA in Creative Writing from Nottingham Trent University and has been published in Writers’ Forum, Mslexia, the Lincolnshire Echo and Derbyshire Life. She was shortlisted for the Bath Short Story Prize in 2014 and came third in the Leicester Writes Short Story Prize in 2018.
Her first novel, The Downstairs Neighbour, is published by Hodder & Stoughton in the UK and Putnam in the US. It tells the story of three families sharing a converted Georgian townhouse in south west London, whose lives drastically unravel after the disappearance of the 17-year-old girl from the top floor apartment.
Helen has also co-authored two books on academic writing for university students. She loves reading and running, and lives in Leicester with her partner and his daughter.
Find her here:
www.helencooperwriter.com
Twitter: @helencooper85
Instagram: @helencooperwriter
Facebook: facebook.com/helencooperwriter
About The Downstairs Neighbour:
In a converted Georgian townhouse in south west London, three families live under one roof.
The large flat that takes up the top two floors is home to the Harlow family: happily married Paul and Steph, and their bubbly teenage daughter Freya. The smaller first floor flat is rented by Emma, who spends most of her time alone, listening to people coming in and out of the building. And the basement flat belongs to Chris, a local driving instructor, who prefers to keep his personal life private from the neighbours.
But their lives are all upended when Freya vanishes. As the police become involved and a frantic Paul and Steph desperately search for answers, they begin to realise that the truth behind their daughter’s disappearance may lie closer to home than they were expecting.
When everyone has something to hide, can you ever really know those closest to you? Or will some secrets be taken to the grave?
Having trouble starting, sticking with or completing a writing project? Meet your Creative Gremlins!
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Finding ‘The One’: the journey to landing a book deal