What You Need To Know

... before you write a novel

Francesca Segal is the author of three novels and a memoir. Her first novel, The Innocents, won the Costa First Book Award, which is A VERY BIG DEAL. She is back with Welcome to Glorious Tuga, a beyond-charming story of the fictional island of Tuga, which is inhabited with rare tortoises and other oddballs

Francesca has written for us today some things that everyone needs to know before they write a novel. She will also be active in the comments section from 0930-1030 today, Wednesday 10th July. If you have to be somewhere else this morning, just leave a question and I’m sure she will answer it & you can come back to it later.

Anyway, take it away Francesca!

1. It's important - essential, actually - to be contented in your own company. Being a novelist means you spend almost all your professional life on your own in a shed - literal or metaphorical. 

2 Rewriting. Rewriting is writing. I sometimes worry that new writers think revision implies failure, and I would argue that editing is actually when the true magic happens. First draft is 20%. The rest is deepening, strengthening, polishing, sharpening, discarding. Inner voice of judgement turned down to zero for the first draft - no self-consciousness or angst permitted - but crank it back up when it's time to sit back and understand what you have. Did you really need that adverb? Probably not.

3 Some people get lucky finding an agent - for most people it’s less straightforward. You'll increase your chances of success by doing proper research. Find the agents who represent the authors you love, and demonstrate that you know who they are and what sort of book they’re looking for. Agents receive so many mail-merged pitches, so a truly personal message will go a long way. Authors usually thank their agents in their acknowledgements, or subscribe to The Writer’s and Artists’ Yearbook, which has a comprehensive listings section. This is your chance to turn stalker/detective with impunity.

4 Publishing is always a bit of a gamble, which is precisely why you can only write the book that you want to write and not the book that you think is going to sell. If you want to write zeitgeisty Romantasy, that’s great - but only if you are actually a fan and love to read it. 

5 All writers experience rejection at various levels, in various ways, and that remains true throughout the career of every single novelist working. Persistence in the face of rejection is not only essential but might actually be the single greatest quality needed for publication. That absolute impulsion to write is essential - after all, without it, there are many more immediately rewarding and lucrative careers available. There are sunny, glorious easy days as a writer, sure, but those moments tend to be fleeting - then it’s back to the shed with you.

Over to you! Flex those fingers and ask Francesca anything in the handy comments box below.