Publishing Insight day: Penguin Random House

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Emurelda

Basic
Feb 27, 2015
London
As promised I'm summarising the day as best as i remember it. Needless to say it was very useful for many reasons specifically:

- Published authors; insight by Kit de Waal, Catherine Johnson, Sufiya Ahmed

Kit started the panel during the publishing process hour. At 51 she started her writing journey with a degree. Oxford Brookes Creative Writing course. Previously her work was not accepted for various reasons but ultimately she said it was because she didn't know what not to do. So for her it was only when she wrote about something she new did she start to attract interest. She was a published author at 54.

Catherine has published 20 children's books and it is clear that writing is a tiring process for her. She complained a lot about the lack of money paid to writers. She did it in a funny natural way that made it clear she doesn't want us to have any illusion about publishing a book. Even if we get a publisher that there needs to be other work to compliment your income as a writer.

Sufiya agreed with Catherine but had a more active approach where she compliments her work as a writer with school visits and workshops. She said to keep in touch with librarians. Her first draft read like a political speech and her background working at the Houses of Parliament was the reason for that. Interesting that she sat opposite an editor during a lovey dinner invite to brainstorm a new book with. It was at that editor meeting that paved the way for her next book. She even said if she had submitted that draft to an agent then it would have been rejected - her editor feedback took on to improve her writing and make it better. She also added that even after being published the biggest challenge was promotion. As an active writer she does this as mentioned; schools. Something writers have to consider if they write for children.

Clearly having an editor was fundamental for that process which got me thinking how much more difficult it was to get published if you didn't have the privilege to have that open to you. I mean how?! I made that point clear during the session later in the day when they asked how can publishers make themselves more approachable. Accessing their editors! Which sounds unpractical and impossible so we all agreed that events like 'WriteNow' was essential for this to begin at least crank the door a little bit for writers. But then what of the others who weren't selected?

The whole publishing process was taking us from;

1) the manuscript - agent will sell your MS to the publisher and an offer is presented for signing. There was one agent on the day - there should have been more because she was targeted quite quickly!
2) matching to an editor - you will work intimately to polish the MS as best as possible. Compromise and could take up to 3/4 redrafts
3) Rights and contracts - sales for regions and languages rights
4) Marketing & publicity - paid is the advertising and the publicity is with the media. Getting a serial in a paper is the most effective way to get exposure.
5) Design - covers involve bookshops input too! I found this surprising but they go through a lot of testing to get it right.
6) Audio and digital - sourcing the right actor/voice artist for your book.
7) Sales - they, like everyone else, collaborate from the start to finish and they work with as many retailers focusing on getting maximum exposure.

The benefits:

1) Meeting other wonderful writers; 50 of us got to mingle and chat together.
2) Penguin Random House staff mingled with everyone - there were as many staff as there were writers. Editors were in full force speaking to all of us and trying to cover as many people as possible with their questions.
3) One-to-one with your own editor. 20 minutes of editing feedback from an editor. This was what I waited for it was great to get an idea first hand what they thought about your book and whether there was ways to improve and where that was.
4) Food and coffee and lots of socialising on twitter! :D
5) Opportunity to show talent for a potential mentoring support from one of the biggest publishing houses!

#writenowlive

It's actually open to everyone if you have a case that you aren't represented then suggest it. There were people from all walks of life. If you're writing is good they may ask you to come anyway.

There are two more insight days left: Manchester and Birmingham. After that they will announce the 10 writers who they will mentor for 12 months with a possible publishing deal.

WriteNow
 
It's funny. I lived on Vauxhall bridge road all of my life (Lillington Gardens Estate), and when I was in my 20's I drank in the pub on the corner - the White Swan. I should have cultivated my connections with the editors that frequented it also.
 
You're both welcome.

Another thing that came up was self publishing. Someone asked how it impacted on the publisher's impression if a writer already had a book out. The response from Ebury Publisher director, Rebecca Smart, was that it depends on how well the self-published book did. It could be negative if it failed to take off. Suggestion to avoid this is to use a psuedonymn for self-publishing. Not relevant for traditional publishing that way you didn't have to mention it in case they searched your name.

This approach makes sense. But not sure what happens if you self-publish and resubmit to agents. I guess if it fails you start something new.
 
Thanks for this Em.
One question--so, is it more about your concept than your first drafts? If you´re writing is not perfect but your idea is interesting you get your foot in the door? is that it? Is that how it works?
 
Thanks for this Em.
One question--so, is it more about your concept than your first drafts? If you´re writing is not perfect but your idea is interesting you get your foot in the door? is that it? Is that how it works?

This is their criteria:

How will you decide who gets through to attend the WriteNow insight days and who doesn’t?

We will assess applications based on two factors:

Quality of writing and originality: assessed by a Penguin Random House editor. Each application will be reviewed by two editors.
Meeting our desired criteria: as part of your application we'll ask you to tell us, in your own words, why you feel your voice is under-represented in books and publishing. Your answer will be assessed by our partner Spread the Word, a writer development charity, together with members of Penguin Random House's HR team.

---------

So both quality and originality come into it. Most people that submitted were literary fiction for older audiences but my editor told me it was ok to write commercial fiction too, which mine clearly was, apparently. I knew that but it was nice to get that assurance that something non-literary does get through.
 
Thanks so much Ermurelda. Please keep us informed about the other two days as well.

Once again congratulations on your win. By the way, is there a place on the net where I can read your writing?
 
Thanks so much Ermurelda. Please keep us informed about the other two days as well.

Once again congratulations on your win. By the way, is there a place on the net where I can read your writing?
The next one opens tomorrow for both Manchester and Birmingham. Closes on 28th October.

I don't have much of my writing on the net apart from a blog lol! Which is more for me to post stuff about careers and writing journey...i do most of it here now.
 
Thanks. Good luck with everything. Looking forward to reading your comments on the other sessions.

Invites are for one insight day only - I hope others here get through to those ones, if they apply, and tell us all about it themselves. ;)

So in total 150 people will have taken part.

50 for London (1010 applied!)
50 for Birmingham
50 for Manchester

Then 12 from London will be shortlisted for an interview to consider a mentorship, 12 from after Birmingham one and 12 from Manchester. Total 36 out of the 150 will be shortlisted. Then in February next year only 10 out of the 36 shortlisted will be told if they are through for the big prize - 12 month mentorship programme with Penguin Random House who introduce you to a suitable agent, match you to an editor, feedback your MS and polish it to the best it can be then a possible offer of publishing it with them!!!!!

The stakes are high and like everyone I would be bowled over to have this opportunity.

We will find out in two weeks who from the 50 are shortlisted for next stage- YIKES!
 
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That was really good of you Emurelda to think of us and provide feedback on your day. It sounds like a it was a great success for you so I am pleased.

It was great fun and I really loved being around other writers. If anything it made it so real and comforting to meet editors who encouraged you to trust your unique voice and be confident with it. Keep one eye on your writing and one eye on the market too. :)
 
This is their criteria:

How will you decide who gets through to attend the WriteNow insight days and who doesn’t?

We will assess applications based on two factors:

Quality of writing and originality: assessed by a Penguin Random House editor. Each application will be reviewed by two editors.
Meeting our desired criteria: as part of your application we'll ask you to tell us, in your own words, why you feel your voice is under-represented in books and publishing. Your answer will be assessed by our partner Spread the Word, a writer development charity, together with members of Penguin Random House's HR team.

---------

So both quality and originality come into it. Most people that submitted were literary fiction for older audiences but my editor told me it was ok to write commercial fiction too, which mine clearly was, apparently. I knew that but it was nice to get that assurance that something non-literary does get through.


I hope this question doesn´t sound rude or offensive, but are you expected to write something that has to do with your race, religion, color, creed, sexual orientation, country or whatever it is that makes you under represented? Or is it enough to just be a "person of color" so to speak? I ask because I am also a part of that under-represented group but I have no interest in writing about mexican life, as you might have noticed. Or do your characters have to also be a part of a minority? There are lots of opening now for this kind of stuff in the U.S. as well, but I still find it a bit if not offensive--i find it still signals people out. I´ve gotten the "because she´s mexican, we need for her to write about the trials ans tribulations of the illegal immigrants who live in poverty stricken East LA, whhen in truth, I am a third generation mexican -american who knows nothing about being an illegal immigrant, or living in the projects. Do you feel that way at all??
And btw-thanks again for sharing. You are on fire!
 
I hope this question doesn´t sound rude or offensive, but are you expected to write something that has to do with your race, religion, color, creed, sexual orientation, country or whatever it is that makes you under represented? Or is it enough to just be a "person of color" so to speak? I ask because I am also a part of that under-represented group but I have no interest in writing about mexican life, as you might have noticed. Or do your characters have to also be a part of a minority? There are lots of opening now for this kind of stuff in the U.S. as well, but I still find it a bit if not offensive--i find it still signals people out. I´ve gotten the "because she´s mexican, we need for her to write about the trials ans tribulations of the illegal immigrants who live in poverty stricken East LA, whhen in truth, I am a third generation mexican -american who knows nothing about being an illegal immigrant, or living in the projects. Do you feel that way at all??
And btw-thanks again for sharing. You are on fire!

That's a very valid question and one that I asked too. The short answer is no. You don't have to write about anything like that. What they want is to find talented writers from under represented communities - whatever YOU define that as - they will assess your own definition and judge based on your writing and why you think you are underrepresented. It literally is anything. One lady said she was hard of hearing and her writing was clearly very good which got her through.

I write sci-fi aimed at the middle-grade reader nothing to do with me as an arab etc. It's about both the quality of your writing and your case as an under-represented member of a demographic. Both go hand in hand.

Hope that makes sense. Happy to explain further if need be.
 
At the end of the day they are a business and they will only select writing that they believe they can sell to mass market. They get first option of taking your work on so you are essentially limiting yourself to one publisher. But frankly that's hardly a 'problem' for many of us. Or it's one problem I'd happily take on board :D
 
That's a very valid question and one that I asked too. The short answer is no. You don't have to write about anything like that. What they want is to find talented writers from under represented communities - whatever YOU define that as - they will assess your own definition and judge based on your writing and why you think you are underrepresented. It literally is anything. One lady said she was hard of hearing and her writing was clearly very good which got her through.

I write sci-fi aimed at the middle-grade reader nothing to do with me as an arab etc. It's about both the quality of your writing and your case as an under-represented member of a demographic. Both go hand in hand.

Hope that makes sense. Happy to explain further if need be.

Thanks so much for that great answer. I really appreciate it. i´m so glad that they see things in this light. Thank you for sharing your experiences. And again, best of luck. Your writing is top notch. I´m sure you´ll make it!:D
 
Thanks so much for that great answer. I really appreciate it. i´m so glad that they see things in this light. Thank you for sharing your experiences. And again, best of luck. Your writing is top notch. I´m sure you´ll make it!:D

You're welcome and thanks! Yes I agree was so glad that they accept that too otherwise it seems like we're just filling their quota which is NOT fun at all.
 
A very generous and comprehensive bit of feedback, Lady Emerald. We have such great scouts here. Fingers crossed for a backer for YOUR work.
 
A very generous and comprehensive bit of feedback, Lady Emerald. We have such great scouts here. Fingers crossed for a backer for YOUR work.

Thanks! Hope others are applying.The Birmingham panel really looks great too! Good luck for those who apply from here. It would be nice to get another's perspective with the amount of talent we have here you, yourself, would surely get in KTLN.

For those writers who attended the London Insight Day, this week emotions are intensely high because everyone was told that we would find out someday this week who the next 12 go through to next stage before the final selection!

I have been trying to keep sane but am so anxious about it all that I can't stop thinking about it. It's becoming unhealthy!
I was told to keep myself occupied. So I made pizza. Now I'm thinking watching a film whilst twiddling thumbs.
 
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